Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 162

a kind wedding

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My friends Joy and Bart are getting married! Bart founded Candle 79 and Joy is a trained nutritionist and co-owner of the restaurant. Joy and Bart have been together forever; they're both grandparents and they're totally adorable!
 
Instead of wedding presents they're asking for donations to the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food NYCHSF an organization that promotes fresh organic foods in schools. As part of that effort NYCHSF also works to promote farm-to-school programs and school gardens as well as eliminate unhealthy competitive foods from school lunches. Among NYCHSF's accomplishments are creating a fruit and vegetable snack program in Ithaca New York and instituting a hot cereal bar a daily plant-based lunch option and a healthy à la carte menu featuring dishes named after kid lit characters like Curious George and Amelia Bedelia for students in the Corning Painted Post Area School District.
 
Anywho I wanted to spread the word about this great-sounding organization that's so important to my wonderfully kind friends! If you'd like to learn more about NYCHSF check out their website where you can also make a donation if you feel so inclined – and if you love what NYCHSF is doing be sure to spread the word as well!
 
What kind of healthy food initiatives are happening at schools in your area?

sponsored post: cook entertain and win with daiya foods!

Summer time is ideal for enjoying the outdoors and entertaining friends & family. The unofficial entertaining season is in full swing which means you've probably already begun picnicking in the park firing up the backyard BBQ and partying poolside!  
 
For your next backyard bash avoid menu complication and stress by making a meal that everyone can enjoy. Vegan kosher and allergen free with no preservatives trans fats or cholesterol; Daiya Style Shreds are free from everything but great taste.
 
Here is a simple party favorite that is always a hit:

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Daiya's Many Layer Dip

Ingredients

2 cups black beans cooked and mashed
1 large sweet potato cooked and mashed
1 head fresh spinach steamed and chopped
1 orange bell pepper chopped
1 yellow bell pepper chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
2 scallions chopped
1 cup black olives sliced
1 cup Daiya Vegan Cheese Pick your favorite flavor
1/4 cup organic salsa
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. chili powder
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a 9 × 9 inch baking dish layer each ingredient in the order above
Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbling and warm
Serve warm with your favorite tortilla chips

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Now It's Your Turn!

At Daiya Foods we know that all the top and most creative recipes come from the Daiya fans. Here's your chance to share a delicious Daiya creation and enter for a chance to win 500 towards the healthy kind activity of your choice.
 
Read the rules and regulations then submit your creation to be automatically entered to win! For inspiration check out all the Daiya fan recipes that have been submitted so far. You may just discover your next go-to dinner!
 
It's your Daiya how do you enjoy it?

eco moving with greenbox!

Kind Lifer Michele Powell told me about this awesome company called Greenbox.

She's used them twice for moving – basically you rent green boxes instead of using cardboard. You can also reuse the eco-friendly packing materials once you've moved!

Have any of you Kind Lifers moved recently? How did you make your move as eco-friendly as possible?

yummy vegan tacos!

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One night we used Lightlife Smart Ground in Mexican Style to make tacos! It was so good.

Here's what I do: Get some 365-brand hard taco shells some tomatoes iceberg lettuce and Follow Your Heart sour cream...yum! Then I put the Smart Ground in there and it's delicious.

One time I had five of these tacos in one sitting! I was pregnant ok!!

Do any of you have a yummy taco recipe?

success story: kaisey celebrates a year of eating kind!

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Kind Lifer Kaisey recently shared reflections on her one year kind anniversary with me! Check it out:
 
"It has been one year exactly since I bought your book and became vegan having been vegetarian for about five years. This past year has been the most wonderful year of my life so far.

I still have to pinch myself when I think about how I've not had any illness within this last year. I regularly picked up colds but I haven't had one in the last year. I also suffered continually from bad migraines and was never without some strong painkillers in my bag to help fight the next one off. I haven't had a single migraine in the time that I've been vegan - it's just amazing! Sad to think that I used to believe I would just have to live with them.

When I look back I feel like I wasn't really living properly like I was living in a thick fog. Being vegan for me has kind of been like walking up from that fog. My head feels crystal clear! I have loads more energy my skin looks alive no more bad period pain. The list of pluses is endless!!! The best gift of all though is the greater connection to my intuition which has grown over the last year.

So I thought I would commemorate my first vegan year by sending you a big thank you!"
 
Congrats on your first kind year and a big thank you for sharing your story - I'm so happy for you! If anyone has a success story to share private message me or publish a note in your profile and "like" it. I may feature you on the homepage of The Kind Life!

sponsored post: show off your summer glow with alima pure

[image error]Summer makes us think of shorts and sundresses dancing into the night and "sunning" by the water even if we must be under an umbrella or drenched with SPF 99. Even if we're running errands or working at the office we want to take part in summer - the warmth the relaxation and the promise of fun.
 
Alima Pure has captured these special summer qualities in a Pure Summer Glow set that's ready to go with you on all your adventures and will be a valued part of your makeup collection for years to come. Available in light-medium and medium-deep for 35 48 value while supplies last.
 
Each set features a full-sized Bronzer two full-sized Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadows and an adorable Petite Kabuki Brush. In each set one shadow is a return appearance of a popular Limited Edition Shadow from a previous collection so you'll want to grab it while you can! Packaged in our beautiful new box these sets also make a great gift for anyone interested in trying out mineral makeup!

[image error]Our Light – Medium set includes Mauna Loa Bronzer and Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadows in Buttercream and the Limited Edition Tiramisu.
 
The Medium – Deep set includes Seychelles Bronzer and Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadows in Leone and the Limited Edition Agate.
 
Just for Kind Lifers we're giving 10 off the Summer Glow Collection. You can choose either the Light-Medium set or the Medium-Deep set – just use code KINDGLOW when you check out at Alima Pure today through Monday July 25.
 
Where will you show off your summer glow?

UPDATE: We apologize for any problems you may have had with the coupon code earlier today. It is working properly now so if you had trouble before please try again!

your dishes can be vegan too!

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When I blogged about my yummy tempeh tacos a lot of people commented and asked where I got that cute plate with the word "vegan" embossed in it.

There is a store on Etsy called Vegan Dish that sells a bunch of really cute handmade dishware that is all labeled vegan! Check out some of their stuff. I like their bowls too. I have been using them for years!

Where do you get your dishes from?

are french people really healthier?

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Rumor has it that French people are skinnier and healthier than anyone in the world. But they eat so much meat and cheese – how can this be? I had a hunch that this was a myth so I went to PCRM to get to the bottom of it. Here is what PCRM's Dr. Susan Levin had to say:

"You hit the nail on the head with the word 'myth' because they the French are in fact not doing much better than the rest of us. Like a lot of traditionally healthier countries France's diet has become very high in fat especially animal fat over the recent decades."

So why do the French have a lower rate of heart disease than say Britain even though the French consume as much fat as their British neighbors? The answer is twofold. First the French classify heart disease differently than other countries so they underestimate their rates of heart disease by as much as about 20. The French also started increasing their consumption of animal products more recently than other countries; thus the consequences are not yet reflected in their statistics. So there you have it - increased animal fat consumption in any culture is bad news no matter how you present the statistics!
 
As for the skinny stereotype Dr. Levin says that the truth is on average most countries around the world are thinner than America and France is no exception. Most likely it has to do with portion control and the fact that in general the average French person eats fewer calories per day than the average American. That said many historically svelte nations have been packing on the pounds in recent years – so if the French continue that trend they'll catch up with their American counterparts soon.
 
In the end if you compare a kind American to the average French person who eats a meat and dairy-saturated diet I don't think there's a question as to who is healthier.
 
What do you think? Are French people headed toward the same health crisis that we're seeing in Britain and America or are they waking up to the value of a more plant-based lifestyle?

sponsored post: win 500 from daiya foods!

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We just gave away an iPad to Daiya "Get Cooking" video contest winner "Miss Kitchen Witch"! Now we're at it again but this time our winner will get 500 to spend on any healthy activity or product of your choice! Here's the scoop:

[image error]Enter Daiya's "Summer Cookout - Live and Eat Healthy" Recipe Contest

The Daiya team is looking for healthy creative and inspired recipes featuring Daiya Style Shreds to share with our fans! You can submit your recipe here then tell us how you would spend your 500. We'll be selecting five finalists to compete in a taste test. The Grand Prizewinner will be awarded 500 to use toward a healthy activity of your choice. Do you want a new bike? A day at the spa? Vegan cooking classes? If you win your healthy Earth-friendly & cruelty-free wish can come true!

The contest ends September 2 so start cooking and enter your recipe here. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

How would you spend your 500?

h&ms conscious collection

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I heard about H&M's sustainable "Conscious Collection" that came out in April and thought it sounded cool. H&M had a collection like this last year and I like that they're doing it again.

The line incorporates eco-friendly materials like organic cotton Tencel and recycled polyester. H&M's head of design said this about the line:

"It's not just about organic cotton anymore the possibilities for creating a complete fashion statement with eco smarter materials are huge now. By designing recurring Conscious Collections we have the opportunity to show in a variety of ways what's possible using more sustainable fabrics."

It makes me happy when huge companies like this start to move toward a more eco way of doing things. Although this is just one collection it's a good start! And the clothes look so nice too!

Do you know of any other big companies like this who are putting out eco collections?