Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 159

dog & cat nap together

Via LA Unleashed
 
Interspecies friendships are irresistible. Do you have cats and dogs? Are they friends?

success story: zena heals her relationship with food

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Kind Lifer Zena recently shared her success story with me about how adopting a kind diet helped her to regain a positive relationship with food. Check it out:

"Almost two years ago I spent a semester studying abroad in London far away from family friends and familiarity in general. As soon as I arrived I felt incredibly lonely and without anyone to turn to I sadly resorted to extreme dieting as a distraction. I became obsessed with tracking calories: five hundred was a good day eight hundred acceptable and anything over a thousand a disappointment. My diet consisted of Coke Zero the occasional piece of fruit and sparing amounts of junk food. I kept to myself in order to maintain my diet and am sad to say I spent most of my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity laying in bed hungry alone and watching television specials about weight loss.

When I finally came home I was 30 lbs lighter physically but felt 100 lbs heavier emotionally. I knew I couldn't continue starving myself and I wanted to be normal again but the neuroses I had built about food were hard to break. I would convince myself that it would be good for me to relax and eat a couple slices of pizza like a normal person only to lose control after so much deprivation eat the whole thing and then feel so awful afterwards that I would force myself to throw it up. I started to hate food. Every meal felt like impending guilt on a plate.

Then my best friend told me she went vegan a decision she attributed to your book. I rolled my eyes at first but when she came to visit me and we spent a week cooking vegan dishes I was surprised with how light and positive I felt. I bought your book the day she left and read through it immediately.

I'm happy to say I have been vegan ever since. It's been one year and I plan to celebrate by having a delicious plant-based meal with my closest friends. The Kind Diet reminded me that food is supposed to nourish us not torture us and that we can be mindful of what we eat without being neurotic. Avoiding animal products allowed me to divert my focus away from calories and into living a greener healthier lifestyle. I used to weigh myself every morning first thing when I woke up but now I take a minute to lie in bed and think about all of the yummy vegan food I'm going to eat completely guilt-free.

I can't imagine how I ever would have crawled out of the hole I fell into had it not been for your book. Thank you for helping me heal my broken relationship with food. It honestly opened my heart again and even my friends have noted the difference in me. I know it is all because I am living a kinder lifestyle most importantly with myself."
 
I am so happy for you Zena and thank you for sharing your story. If any of you have a success story to share private message me or write a note on your profile and "like" it. I may feature you on the homepage of The Kind Life!

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kind events: walk for farm animals!

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This fall thousands of people will join Farm Sanctuary's 2011 Walk for Farm Animals to help raise money for abused and neglected farm animals. The goal is to raise 1 million dollars to help fund Farm Sanctuary's lifesaving rescue and animal care efforts.
 
If you're not yet familiar with Farm Sanctuary you'll definitely want to get to know this organization! They've been around for 25 years rescuing farm animals and operating animal sanctuaries in New York and California. They're one of the biggest advocates for farm animals and their annual walks are a great opportunity to donate to the cause get some exercise and meet fellow animal-lovers!
 
To find a walk near you go here. You can then register join a team start a team or even join a "virtual" walk. Registration is 15 for adults 5 for teens and kids under twelve are free. On the day of the walk you'll check in and mingle then the actual walk lasts for an hour. Afterward there is a celebration including food music and prizes. The walks are happening all over the country this fall so you have plenty of time to plan and get as many friends and family members as you can to participate!
 
Sign up at WalkForFarmAnimals.org then spread the word! Where is the walk nearest you and who do you plan to bring?

sweet carrot salad

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I love this simple slightly sweet carrot salad! Here's how to make it:
 
Grate three or four carrots and mix with a handful of raisins. For the sauce whisk together vegenaise ume vinegar lemon juice and a little grated ginger if you like. You can swap the ume vinegar for white balsamic but I think ume is delicious.
 
Pour the sauce over the carrot and raisin mixture just enough to coat then mix it all up and dig in!
 
What's your favorite summer salad?

kind classics: sugar-holics anonymous

There are certain questions that I get asked a lot both in my daily life and in the Kind Forum. Topics like "how do I get protein?" or "what's the deal with B12?" or "what should I feed my dogs?" come up all the time especially among flirts and new vegans. I want everyone to have easy access to my answers to these frequently asked questions so to that end I'm going to occasionally repost blogs from The Kind Life archives.

I'll only be reposting blogs that contain evergreen advice addressing a common question so hopefully everyone will benefit! For kind newbies it'll be a great way to get answers to burning questions and for longtime kind lifers it'll be a handy reminder for those moments when you're wondering "what was the reason I avoid this food?" or "where do I find a kind version of this product?"
 
With that said here's one from the archives…enjoy!

Sugar-holics Anonymous

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Ok so my name is Alicia Silverstone... and I'm a sugar addict.  
 
It's not my fault! It follows me everywhere I go. It stalks me. It shows up everywhere unexpected... seduces me then leaves me miserable.  

This is an official cry to the world to say that if you care about me in any way shape or form please DO NOT bring me any item made with cane juice!! I don't know how to say no to it! It is so sweet and kind of people to want to feed me great chocolates and muffins and cakes and such but what it does to me is so bad.  

I also eat it because I think:

a. It's vegan and that's so great that this person giving it to me found something vegan. They went to all the effort to get it...

b. I think I am your test pilot and need to tell flirts about great chocolate and stuff

and finally...

c. I'm crazy!

None of these reasons are rational.

When I was still in New York for Time Stands Still I went on a fun date with Laura Linney when our show was all done. We saw a play went to Angelica's for an early dinner then to Lula's Sweet Apothecary for ice cream. She got the Caramel with something I can't remember what it was scoop. I couldn't decide what I wanted so I got four different flavors... that's right you heard me FOUR. I got the Peanut Butter with Fudge how could I say no to that?! the Caramel one the Mint Chip and the Coffee. My favorite was the Caramel and Peanut Butter.  

Lula's is adorable and really yummy. For anyone flirting or vegan in NY you must RUN there. For superheros don't do it. Or just do it every once in awhile. I didn't eat it all that night so don't worry. I left half of it and they were baby scoops... but it was delicious.  

Here is what happened that night: I went to bed and felt like I never went to sleep. I mean eventually I fell asleep but it never felt like I did. I had one idea going round and round in my head so it never felt like my brain turned off or that I rested. Then I woke up earlier than usual. This is what happens to me every time I have sugar... even the pretty cute pure cane juice sugar. I do NOT like this!!! I like to have restful sleep and feel rejuvenated the next day.   

The crazy thing here is that I know this is going to happen to me every time I have sugar. I mean there is an entire chapter about this in my book! I know it's bad and yet I still do it. This is why I started Sugar-holics Anonymous... so there is a place for addicts to come and discuss and try to get off this stuff together. I'm being silly here but part serious too fyi.  

I barely have sugar at home in LA. New York was mean to me. It seduced me everyday with chocolate ice cream and cupcakes and such. I'm breaking up with sugar now... I hope for good! And if you are going to have sugar at least don't be a dummy like me and have it anywhere close to bedtime.
 
On a little side note to vendors out there that are awesome vegan treat-making businesses that use cane sugar - If you guys are wanting to send me some of your goodies to try please refrain!! I can't take it anymore. I'm sad to say that but the sugar is making me crazy!

P.S. Since I wrote this blog I have been free of sugar for a while now...thank god! I've been in Los Angeles and Louisiana and making yummie treats at home in my little kitchen that I love so the sugar cycle has been broken. But man I was hooked for a while!

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chipmunk washes his face

Via LA Unleashed

In slow motion! This video is so sweet! Really lovely.
 
What are your favorite animal videos? Share links in the comments below!

guest blog: ed begley sets the record straight on the prius battery debate

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I had been hearing about how toxic Toyota Prius batteries were and that they didn't last very long. I personally own a Prius and was upset by this news. If the battery was super toxic and didn't last long then that would negate the car's eco characteristics which would be a major bummer. I went to my trusty eco friend Ed Begley to see if he had any insight on this because I was having a hard time believing this news. Here is what Ed told me:

"As far as I can tell most of the misinformation about Prius & EV batteries has come from an article written by a conservative fellow in Canada. It was wrong on nearly every count. From the gross overstatements about carbon footprint for shipping the batteries around the world to assigning all the pollution from a nickel plant in Sudbury to the Prius batteries - a plant that was cleaned up years before the first Prius ever rolled off the line and that makes nickel for many other uses not just Prius batteries.  

But first some battery basics: Folks throw away old AA AAA C D & 9V cells even though they shouldn't! because there's no deposit on them. Ditto with old cell phone batteries computer batteries etc. Car batteries are different even in internal combustion cars. There's a deposit on each and every battery. Any service shop would be throwing hard cash away by discarding an old 12V if they just dumped it. And they'd risk a hefty fine. Very few do-it-yourselfers just dump car batteries any more since there's a deposit on their batteries as well. As for hybrid and electric cars there is a rigorous battery recycling program in place at Honda Toyota and Ford for all the batteries that they will one day receive. I say one day because it's all theory at this point.  

I have friends with 150000 miles on their electric RAV-4 with the same battery pack! Mine has nearly 75000 miles after 7 years with the same pack... Which is nickel-metal-hydride by the way and is nowhere near as hazardous as lead. And ask around among the many friends that we both know who have a Prius. See how many of them have replaced even one of the many battery modules in their hybrid.  

But back to the pollution associated with batteries and oil: the amount of pollution and waste associated with drilling refining and pumping gas is a number. The amount of pollution involved in battery production recycling and use is another number; it's just a much lower number. But our goal should be zero pollution no matter what technology we use! Still hybrids and electrics are a positive step for now."

Personally I have never ever had a problem with my Prius. I had a 3-year lease on my first Prius and then leased another one after that. I ended up buying the second one many years ago... All in all I think I have been driving a Prius since 1999 maybe earlier and have never had one problem. My car before the Prius which was a Ford Bronco had to be fixed every 3-6 months!

I hope this helps any of you out there who have been hearing the same nasty rumors about Priuses and their batteries that I was hearing! And thank you Ed!

green your bedroom!

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I really like the store Green for Bedroom and Baby in Thousand Oaks! It's a bit of a drive for me and not available for people who live outside of LA but for all you Angelenos it's a great place to help make your bedroom the healthiest it can be.
 
Several years ago when I was looking to replace my previous not very eco mattress of 13 years I hunted high and low for an all-natural option. But here was the dilemma I faced: California state law requires that mattresses must be fire retardant which is super-toxic. On the other hand the natural alternative was wool – which wasn't an option for me either.
 
That's when the folks at Green for Bedroom and Baby helped me discover this great organic mattress company named OMI. Now most of OMI's mattresses are made with wool and even though they maintain that they only source their wool from providers who treat their sheep humanely I still felt uneasy about a wool mattress. After all the sheep are still sent to slaughter at the end of their lives.
 
But this is where OMI stepped it up. It turns out that the legal requirement for mattresses does make allowances in cases where a doctor can verify that there's a medical excuse such as an allergy to wool. A friendly chiropractor wrote me a note which opened the door for Green for Bedroom and Baby and OMI to create a vegan all-natural all-healthy mattress for me as they can do for anyone who has a doctor's note. I wasn't an unusual case – all of their mattresses are non-toxic with no VOCs or Kevlar a synthetic fabric used in everything from mattresses to armor to racing tires. And with the proper doctor's authorization they are happy to custom-make the mattress wool-free as well.
 
I also picked up some amazing pillows at Green for Bedroom and Baby. They're called Kapok pillows and even though they feel exactly like down aka feather pillows they're actually eco-friendly and cruelty-free check out PETA's article about why we should avoid down or feather pillows here. Kapok is a fiber extracted from the seedpod of the kapok tree found in the rainforest so it's all-natural. I went for the thickest kind because they squish down pretty quickly and become the softest yummiest pillows ever!
 
Recently my husband and I went back to Green Bedroom and Baby for a new mattress topper. He prefers soft beds and even though I tend to like harder beds in general my hips were getting a bit sore towards the end of my pregnancy so I was open to a softer option. The people at Green for Bedroom and Baby and OMI set us up with a super comfy topper it's a squishy thing that lays on top of your mattress again ordered without wool.

So to all you Southern Californians I urge you to go check out their store. It's super cute and stocked with all kinds of bedding and baby accessories that are all eco-friendly and healthy. Even though they do sell some wool products they're willing to help make almost anything without it. Some of their stuff can get a bit pricey but it's so well-made and sustainable that it just might save money over the long run – and it'll help save the environment so that new baby of yours will have a better future to grow up to! And of course it's the healthiest option for you and your baby.

Thank you OMI and Green for Bedroom and Baby!
 
Do you have a green store for bedroom and baby near you?