Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 165

delicate delicious celery centers!

[image error]

My husband introduced me to a snack that I now love – celery centers! Regular celery is good for ants on a log and for some prepared dishes and dips but I wouldn't chomp on it all by itself...that would be boring. But the last three or four stalks at the center are so tasty.
 
The lighter green stalks inside of celery have such a fragile beautiful taste. My husband likes them with a little bit of salt but I eat them plain. The flavor is that yummy!
 
Instead of throwing celery centers into a dish you're cooking snack on them while you're prepping your food or put them in a salad. Mine usually don't make it to a salad because I eat them first!
 
What have you been snacking on lately?

krysten ritters fave rice cakes!

[image error]
My Vamps co-star Krsyten Ritter recently sent me this picture of seaweed rice cakes made by Lundberg Family Farms! They are organic and non-GMO. Yum!

Have you tried them?

uncooking school!

[image error]

If raw is your thing here's a fun culinary treat to check out...raw vegan chefs Sophie and Dani are teaching a series of cooking classes in LA starting tomorrow June 24 at 6:30pm. From there they'll be teaching classes once a month through September details on the flyer above. To sign up call 310.291.5266 or email Sophie and Dani at zuddhagirlsgmail.com.

Are you planning to enroll in any cooking classes this summer? What kind?

action alert: help put a stop to google androids cruel game

[image error]

When I read about Google/Android's new game Dog Wars in which pitbulls viciously fight each other I couldn't believe my eyes. PETA is working hard to get this game canceled and they need our help.
 
I'm horrified by this. Let's make it clear to Google that glorifying animal cruelty is disgusting. Sign PETA's letter here and be sure to add your personal reaction to this awful game so Google gets the message loud and clear that promoting dog fighting is not okay.

sponsored post: what a difference 60 shades makes!

[image error]

Most makeup lines offer a foundation in a few shades eight to fifteen is typical each with dozens of ingredients.
 
Alima Pure turns the tables on conventional cosmetics by making Satin Matte Foundation available in 60 shades – each containing exactly four safe natural ingredients.
 
Once you find your Alima Pure foundation match you'll be amazed at the naturally gorgeous look you can get from a foundation that feels so light and clean. Alima Pure foundation is ideal for sensitive skin and many of our customers say their complexions have improved with Alima.
 
Finding your Alima Pure foundation match is fun and affordable. Alima offers plenty of advice on narrowing down 60 shades to three or four that are most likely to be perfect for you and each shade is available in a sample size for 1.50 samples contain enough to use for a week or two – until your full size comes.

[image error]Enter for a Chance to Win a Free Full Size Foundation and Brush!
 
Order three or more foundation samples between now and June 30th and in your package you'll receive a voucher for 6.00 off a full size Alima Pure foundation. Full size foundations are 22 and last approximately six months depending on your usage.

So let's find out which foundation has your name on it! To enter for a chance to win a free full size foundation and a 25 foundation brush pictured above check out our advice here and order your samples today. We'll choose one lucky winner who will receive a full size version of their favorite sample color along with our 25 brush!
 
What has been your biggest challenge to finding the perfect foundation?

maxine the cows inspiring escape

Back in 2007 a cow named Maxine narrowly escaped slaughter by escaping a live market in New York. She was found on a highway in Queens and her story captivated veg folks and meat eaters alike as this video from Farm Sanctuary shows. Because of her extraordinary will to live Maxine is one of the lucky ones who will get to live her life out in tranquility with other truly happy cows. The video is so sweet! Maxine must have thought they were going to take her somewhere bad for a second.
 
If you'd like to see more videos and behind-the-scenes footage of life at Farm Sanctuary check out their video blog here. For all of you who don't live near an animal sanctuary or don't have the time to make it to one this video blog is a fun peek inside life at a sanctuary!
 
Have you ever taken a meat eater with you to an animal sanctuary? How did they react?

happy summer solstice!

[image error]

Today is the summer solstice or first day of summer. The summer solstice always falls on the longest day of the year also the day on which the sun is farthest north for those in the southern hemispheres today is the winter solstice. It's a great day to enjoy the extra hours of sunlight outdoors and to celebrate Mother Earth!
 
Historically many cultures have celebrated the summer solstice as a time of fertility and an occasion for outdoor festivals and gatherings. For example at Stonehenge in Wiltshire England Druids and Pagans once gathered to celebrate the summer solstice by sitting around a solstice fire. Stonehenge was a sacred burial ground and ancient peoples would hold a vigil there until sunrise on the summer solstice. The sun appears to rise between the two stones at the northeastern entrance on the day of the summer solstice as shown in the picture above. This is part of the "mystery of Stonehenge."
 
For we modern folk the summer solstice is a wonderful time to nurture our environment remember our spiritual connection to the earth and celebrate with our loved ones. It's a time to enjoy the change in season and the new foods the season brings. It's also an occasion to pause and enjoy the sounds and smells and all the sensory experiences that accompany summer.
 
With the change in season comes a chance to begin again and renew our commitments to living kind. It's a chance to do as much we can to honor nature with our choices from eating plant-based foods as much as possible to reducing waste by using less.
 
How do you plan to spend the summer solstice?

sponsored post: get in on sambazons acai giveaway!

[image error]
We at Sambazon are best known for introducing açaí to North America over ten years ago. We make delicious organic superfood juices and smoothies all vegan gluten free and organic that are sold all over the US but our real pride and joy is in the açaí bowl - a scrumptious creation of açaí and banana blended up thick and topped with fresh fruit and granola. Packed full of antioxidants and healthy omegas Sambazon's açaí will energize your body and soul.

To help you feel as vibrantly healthy as possible we're giving away a consultation with celebrity dietitian Ashley Koff R.D. a year's supply of Sambazon's Organic Açaí Smoothie Packs and a professional Vitamix blender. Just like us on Facebook to enter for a chance to win!

[image error]
About Celebrity Dietitian Ashley Koff

Ashley Koff R.D. promotes a plant-strong diet made up of the best quality foods possible and works with many prominent vegans including Emily Deschanel. She appears regularly on national TV including "The Dr. OZ Show" "The Doctors" "GMA Health" CNN "The CBS Early Show" and E!; was the lead expert for the Huffington Post Living's "'Total Energy Makeover' with Ashley Koff RD."

Koff is frequently featured in national print like The New York Times InStyle O! The Oprah Magazine Prevention Redbook Women's Health and Shape. Koff is a member of the Fitness Magazine advisory board a contributing editor for Natural Health magazine and contributing dietitian for espnW. Koff was also the on-air dietitian for both the CW's "Shedding for the Wedding" and Lifetime's "Love Handles" reality weight loss series. Koff maintains a private practice in LA and helps consumers identify products that contribute to a healthy lifestyle through her Ashley Koff Approved seal of approval.

To enter for a chance to win a consultation with Ashley a year's supply of Sambazon's Organic Açaí Smoothie Packs and a professional Vitamix blender all you have to do is like us on Facebook!

What's your favorite way to eat açaí?

agaveoy vey!

[image error]
All About Agave
Guest Blog by Christina Pirello

To agave or not to agave; that is the question. It seems that everything today creates scandal and confusion…our food our politics our neighborhoods how we exercise and now even our sweeteners natural and otherwise.

A relative newcomer to the culinary world but not the world is agave nectar processed from the agave cactus. It became quite popular with the raw foods community because it is processed at low heat but in reality about 30 degrees higher than most raw foodists would deem acceptable but let's let that go for the moment.

It seemed that this low glycemic sweetener was destined to be the next big thing in healthy cooking. Deliciously sweet naturally processed gluten-free delicate enough for most recipes it had it all. Or did it?

Some facts about agave: agave plants are crushed and the sap is collected in tanks. It's heated to about 140º F for about 36 hours to concentrate the sap into syrup and develop the sweetness. See the main carbohydrate in agave is a complex form of fructose one of which is insulin. I know; I know too science-y. Anyhow the sap is not very sweet so when the agave sap is heated the complex form of fructose is hydrolyzed and then filtered to obtain the desired sweet flavor from the dark to the lighter milder amber. In short the complex fructosans are being broken down into fructose.

Based on my own research I am not as in love with agave as I was in the beginning. I believe that it's more processed than I originally thought and in that processing some of the vital nutrients that made it healthy for us are lost.

It is marketed as being low-glycemic and therefore safe for diabetics. Well I say "Not so fast" on that one. Not only is the whole glycemic index misinterpreted and mis-used but agave is considered low-glycemic because of its high concentration of fructose as compared to glucose only about 10. My concern is that this ratio of 90/10 is not natural. Even high fructose corn syrup only contains about 55 fructose and we consider that to be the Darth Vader of food because of its high concentration of fructose.

And the big deal about fructose? Ay ay ay! While fructose naturally occurs in fruits and veggies it is in small concentrations so the liver can handle its metabolism. But when concentrated like it is in agave and high fructose corn syrup an added burden is placed on the liver. Glucose our body's desired fuel is metabolized by every cell while fructose is not. It has to be metabolized by the liver which can lead to fatty deposits showing up in this most overworked gland. And since it's metabolized by the liver it is more likely to contribute to weight gain than other natural sweeteners.

Some studies also show that fructose can be indirectly linked to the inhibition of collagen and elastin production in the body resulting in skin that is not so firm.

And finally this form of hydrolyzed fructose contains no enzymes vitamins or minerals so like sugar; it can rob the body of these nutrients in order to assimilate itself for use.

Now that I front-loaded the bad news there is good news about agave. First and most important its high fructose concentration is where its similarity to high fructose corn syrup ends. Agave is natural while HFCS was invented making agave superior in quality.

Agave's low glycemic index does make it an okay sweetener to use in small quantities. Its molecular structure allows it to provide sweetness without a 'sugar rush' and resulting crash…and no blood sugar spike. And it does make great tequila so it can't be all bad. Kidding…

Look I have always found agave to be too sweet in taste so I did not use it much in my cooking. But I have found it to be a nice alternative for people looking for a more intense sweet without sugar and a gluten-free option for natural sweetening.

Do I think you should throw out your agave and cower in fear? Nope. But I do think that I will stick with my old reliable brown rice syrup which I have used with great success in both cooking and health for more than 25 years. After processing brown rice syrup remains 50 complex carbohydrate 45 maltose and 5 glucose. This strong polysaccharide structure allows brown rice syrup to be used by the body more efficiently and is less likely to store as fat. And it digests more slowly so you are less likely to crave more and more sweet taste and binge. You will be satisfied with less. And in most cases it also is gluten-free so read the labels before you buy if that is a concern.

Now that's not to say you can use it without reservation. With about 70-75 calories in a tablespoon brown rice syrup like all sweeteners is calorically dense about 60 in a tablespoon of white sugar and can pack on the pounds if not used wisely. So while a better choice than white sugar because it's a polysaccharide like all sweeteners brown rice syrup is a treat not a staple of life as much as we would like that to be our truth. If it becomes a staple of life you will have the waistline to prove it!

But…back to the topic at hand. Is agave healthy as a natural sweetener? In small amounts I would say it's okay not the best but okay. Is it healthier than HFCS? Yes because it's natural not invented. Is it healthier than artificial sweeteners? Heck yes for so many reasons. Are there other options? Yup from xlyitol to stevia healthy natural low in calories. If you like them go for it. And it's vegan as is rice syrup so it ain't all bad news. And as our modern food supply goes you could do a lot worse than agave nectar.

I prefer and will likely always prefer brown rice syrup as my primary sweetener for baking sauces puddings and all things sweet.

So relax and enjoy the sweetness of life…

Note from Alicia:

Thanks Christina! You can check out more articles and recipes from Christina here!

As much as I love the taste and the vegan-ness of agave it doesn't sit well with me. Since I eat superhero most of the time I actually do feel spiked by it the same way I do by maple syrup and cane juice. You don't have to avoid it like the plague - agave is great for an occasional treat. I just don't get excited about it in terms of how it makes me feel. Brown rice syrup never did me dirty though...love that!

How often do you use agave? What are your favorite sweeteners?

superhero recipe: millet patties!

[image error]

Lots of you have asked for more superhero recipes and although many of the recipes I've shared in the past are superhero there's always room for more! So here we go - this is a macro recipe from Dallas-based chef Margaret Lawson. I haven't tried this recipe but it looks nice and healing.
 
Millet Patties
 
For the Millet

1 cup millet
4 cups water
½ diced carrot
½ diced onion
1 tsp sea salt

Steps

Add 1 cup millet to 4 cups water
Add ½ diced carrot ½ diced onion and 1 tsp sea salt
Simmer for 40 minutes

For the Patties

2 cups cooked millet see above
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp cornmeal
1 minced onion
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup sesame seeds
Oil for browning

Steps

Combine cooked millet with minced onion cornmeal sea salt sesame seeds and sunflower seeds
Form patties about ¼" thick
Brown patties on both sides in oiled skillet

Chef's Note: Patties are a great way to utilize leftover cooked millet and can be made using any leftover grain. These patties are very flavorful and if you have leftover millet on hand this can be a quick main dish served with vegetables on the side.

For more superhero recipes check out these scrambled "eggs" and all the recipes in the superhero section of my book including tempeh tacos mock greek salad kinpira stew quinoa couscous miso kale soup adzuki bean and kabocha squash stew...and lots more!

What's your favorite superhero recipe you've ever had or what superhero meals do you eat a bunch of?