Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 187

my birthday party at animal acres

For years I have dreamed of inviting a large group of people who are not veggie and who have never been around farm animals to a sanctuary for a fun get-together and yummy food. I did this for my 25th birthday and here we are 9 years later!

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In the video you'll notice how surprised I was at how huge the cows were! They were literally the size of horses... I'd never seen cows that big in my life and I have seen some cows in my day... These guys were amazingly big!

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This year I had a post-birthday celebration about a month after my real b-day at Animal Acres a wonderful sanctuary just 45 minutes outside of Los Angeles in Acton California. There were so many adorable animals and great people at my birthday shindig so I'm sharing all my pictures in a series of blogs – this is just part one!

ricks weight loss

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After

Kind Lifer Rick is an Episcopal priest at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Basking Ridge New Jersey. He sent me his success story about losing weight after adopting a kinder diet – check it out!

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Before

 "So a year ago I was way overweight - and since then I've spent a lot of time and energy dieting and exercising to lose. I've had a good deal of success - and a few weeks ago I surpassed the 25lb mark. Pretty excited.
 
But then. . . I discovered the Kind Life. For the past two weeks I've been flirting. Really ramping up on whole grains veggies and some fruit. I've cooked several of the recipes from the book and I've just loved them! I've even thrown together some of my own - a really good mushroom chili that I made for the Superbowl that I'm still chowing down on.
 
Here's the crazy thing though. . . in the last 2 weeks my weight loss has taken off! I've lost nearly 8 pounds these past few weeks - after losing 25 in 4 months!
 
I've been shrinking out of all my clothes. In fact I had just bought two pairs of 'skinny jeans' a few weeks ago and now they are falling off my hips! I'm off to buy some more clothes that actually fit - and then hit Whole Foods.
 
I just can't believe how yummy the food is how good I feel and how quickly my weight loss and fitness goals are approaching.
 
This is a whole new way of life and I'm really pretty psyched about it. Thanks Alicia!"
 
Rick recently sent me this update:
 
"I'm a married father of 2 little girls an Episcopal priest and a vegan thanks to the Kind Life.
 
The Kind Diet caught my eye last year around Christmas time and after buying it and reading it cover to cover I was intrigued. And I thought I'd give it a go. So I 'dipped my toe in' by going vegan for Lent. I 'gave up' meat dairy etc. And of course in the end I really didn't feel like I had given anything up but that I had gained so much.
 
And I haven't gone back.
 
I was first drawn to the Kind Life for health reasons. I wanted to be healthy and 'clean.' And the more veggie and grains I ate the more clean I felt. I have struggled with my weight for years especially since becoming a dad. And over the past year and a half I've lost just under 50 pounds.
 
I am still amazed when I see a recent picture of myself. 'I look like that?!'
 
And of course I'm horrified when I look at old pictures of myself. 'I looked like THAT?'
 
This summer though my fortitude for staying vegan grew when my wife took it upon herself to learn about factory farming and the insanely cruel torture that we put animals through in our society. After learning the truth I can never go back. Just never.
 
I really thought Thanksgiving this year would be hard. This would be my first Turkey-less Thanksgiving. I was worried that I'd miss it. I was also worried that others would scoff at me for not partaking.
 
Really there was nothing to worry about. I had a great Thanksgiving. And I'm thankful that no animal was tortured and killed for my meal.
 
I've had so much fun learning new foods to cook and new ways to cook them - and I just love my green veggies!"
 
You are such an inspiration! Thank you Rick!

christina pirellos cooking classes in 2011

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Christina Pirello is an Emmy Award-winning host of the PBS show "Christina Cooks" a best-selling author and an internationally acclaimed authority on whole foods and vegan cooking. She is also my friend and has been helping me with questions about the upcoming pregnancy blog I've promised you as well as other health-related blogs that are coming soon!
 
Christina is based in Philadelphia and she has a bunch of exciting classes and workshops coming up at The Restaurant School in 2011 that are super affordable and sure to be fantastic! What a treat to be fed and be entertained by Christina while learning so much. I'm jealous!
 
She has a variety of classes to choose from:
 
Christina's demonstration classes are three-hour Saturday sessions where you get a meal and a great class for just 30 – sounds like an amazing deal!
 
Christina also teaches a three-day intensive program combining lecture demonstration and hands-on cooking. This class includes breakfast lunch and dinner on Saturday & Sunday. I wish I were there to eat all these meals!

If you want to really dive in Christina also has a sixth-month cooking and integrative health studies program where she not only teaches vegan cooking but helps you to change your life so that it's more healthy productive and meaningful.
 
If you're interested in more info or want to sign up go here for details.

my warm spicy wine

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This mulled wine recipe from my book is such a great holiday treat! It's organic and sulfate-free.
 
Warm Spicy Wine
 
Serves 8-12
 
Ingredients

1 bottle sulfate-free organic red wine
1 cup Madeira optional
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice optional - makes it great though
1/4 – 1/2 cup maple syrup - you can use less and it's still great!
5 whole white cardamom pods cracked optional
2 whole cloves
1 4" cinnamon stick 
2 slices fresh or dried orange with peel optional

Steps

Combine all the ingredients in a large stainless steel saucepan and heat slowly over low heat without boiling
Strain and serve immediately
For a stronger flavor turn off the heat cover and let the spices steep for several hours or overnight.
Strain and reheat gently.

What is your favorite holiday beverage?

try my candied ginger pears!

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During the holidays it can be hard to get away from cream and butter-laden desserts. But this superhero Candied Ginger Pears dessert from my book p. 279 is delicious and sophisticated and is a great option to serve to your guests!

Candied Ginger Pears

Ingredients

1 cup ground almonds
2 T brown rice syrup
3 large or 4 small pears halved and core scooped out
1 ½ cup pear or apple juice
1 t ginger juice grate 1" fresh ginger and use your fingers to squeeze out the juice
Pinch of fine sea salt
1 T kuzu mixed with 1 T cold pear juice
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
4 t maple syrup optional

Steps

Heat a dry skillet over medium heat
Add the almonds and toast for 3-5 minutes stirring constantly until fragrant and golden brown
Transfer to a small bowl to cool
When cool buzz the almonds in a food processor or blender until very finely ground
Heat the rice syrup in a small saucepan
Add the ground almonds and stir over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens
Set aside
Arrange the pears in a deep skillet cut sides up
Add the pear or apple juice to the pan along with the ginger juice and salt
Cover the pan bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 7-10 minutes or until the pear halves are soft
Using a slotted spoon transfer the pears to a serving platter reserving the cooking liquid
Fill the hollow of each pear with some of the ground almond mixture
Stir the diluted kuzu into the reserved cooking liquid and heat for 3-5 minutes stirring constantly until the sauce thickens
Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest
Pour the sauce over the pears and serve
For extra sweetness and some color drizzle each pear with 1 teaspoon maple syrup

I just made these again the other day and was reminded of how delicious they are. I'd be sad if you haven't had them yet! They are so refreshing and lovely! What are your favorite holiday desserts?

warren kramer in los angeles jan. 12-16

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Warren Kramer is a macrobiotic educator and health counselor who I've blogged about a few times. His classes are great and so is he - and he's coming back to LA January 12-16! If you want to be a superhero check out his classes or get a consultation. It's a great way to start the New Year!
 
This January Warren is teaching macrobiotic cooking classes and lecturing on topics including the importance of cooking in our culture and how we can keep it alive family-style one-pot meals and how to overcome sugar addiction.
 
If you are interested in taking Warren's classes or scheduling a private consultation go to www.macrobioticsnewengland.com. Classes are on evenings and weekends so they're easy to fit into your schedule. Warren also teaches all over the country so check his website to find out when he'll be near you!

Warren's classes would also be good for pregnant woman - he is excellent with everything but his wife had a baby not long ago and they did everything so beautifully and naturally so if you're pregnant you might want to see him for that too.
 
What are your dietary goals for the new year ?

eco-friendly gift-wrapping tips!

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Once you've chosen thoughtful eco-friendly gifts for your loved ones the challenge is to wrap them without contributing to the extra 5 million tons of garbage generated in the US each holiday season that's about 25 more garbage than we generate at other times of year!. Girlie Girl Army has a couple of great ideas for cutting down on waste:

Wrap gifts in old newspaper or thrift store fabrics and ribbons
Use brown paper bags although hopefully you don't have a tone of these because you are using your resusable canvas bags or get creative with magazines and even junk mail hopefully you have stopped your junk mail. If you haven't go here to learn how.

For any gifts we give we save ribbon boxes and paper all year round from gifts we have received. And we just use all of that to make our gift wrap. What other gift-wrapping ideas do you have?

holiday side dishes

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The holidays can be a challenging time for us Kind Lifers in some cases but can also be a very exciting opportunity to spread the kind love. One of the best ways to ensure you eat well during this time is to help with the cooking! If you will be attending non-veg holiday dinners asking the host if you can bring a side dish is a great strategy.

Some of my favorite side dishes are the Moroccan Couscous With Saffron from my book p. 148 Rice Pilaf With Caramelized Onions p. 235 and Black-Eyed Pea Croquettes p. 242.

Here's the recipe for the couscous:

Moroccan Couscous With Saffron

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cups peeled butternut squash cut into 1/4" to 1/2" cubes
2 cups yellow onion large dice
1 1/2 cups carrots cut into 1/4" to 1/2" cubes
1 1/2 cups zucchini cut into 3/4" cubes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1 1/2 cups whole wheat couscous
2 scallions white and green parts chopped

Steps

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the squash onion carrots and zucchini on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
Roast for 25 to 30 minutes turning once with a spatula about midway through.
While the vegetables roast bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper cumin saffron and salt to taste.
Cover the pan and steep for 15 minutes.
Scrape the roasted vegetables and their juices into a large bowl and add the couscous. 
Bring the vegetable broth back to a boil and pour over the couscous mixture all at once.
Cover tightly with a plate and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
Add the scallions toss the couscous and vegetables with a fork and serve.

What side dishes will you be serving this holiday season?

gingerbread cookies with maple-cream frosting

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I found a recipe for Gingerbread Cookies on PETA's website and it looked pretty yummy – but I made some tweaks to make it even healthier and this is what I came up with. Tasted good! I'm not a huge gingerbread girl so these didn't wow me to death....but the people i fed them to were very happy...and these cookies are super festive for right now!

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Gingerbread Cookies With Maple-Cream Frosting

Ingredients

For the Cookies

1 cup earth balance butter
1 cup maple sugar granulated
egg replacer equivalent to one egg do not add water just the powder
1 cup blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
5 cups flour we use a combination of 3 cups all-purpose and 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves

For the Frosting:

1 cup earth balance butter
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup soy powder

Steps

In a large bowl cream the earth balance and the sugar. 
Mix in the egg replacer molasses and vinegar.
Set aside.
In a medium bowl sift together the dry ingredients.
Add to the wet ingredients.
Chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight. 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.  
Remove the batter from the refrigerator. 
Roll out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick thicker for softer cookies on a floured surface. 
Cut into desired shapes.
Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until the edges brown. 
Remove from oven and cool.  
While the cookies are cooking make the frosting. 
Using a hand mixer or food processor with a batter blade if you have it mix the earth balance and sugar then add the remaining ingredients. 
Blend until smooth. The frosting should be thick. 
Using a pastry bag decorate the cookies. 
If you don't have a pastry bag you can use a ziplock bag and cut off one of the bottom edges of the bag. 
Or you can use a knife to spread the frosting on them as well. 
You can make cookie sandwiches like we did here too!

What's your favorite holiday cookie?

real food daily holiday gift bags!

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This year Real Food Daily is offering gift bags with organic sustainable kitchen pantry and bath & body items - plus chocolate tea wine and a copy of the Real Food Daily Cookbook. I love this idea! It could be a steep price for some but it might be the perfect thing for others! If you'd like to purchase one you can do so here.

Or you can make your own gift bags! What would you put in them?