Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 50

Cauliflower Leek Soup

Susan Waxman, co-author of The Ultimate Guide to Eating for Longevity, is sharing her Cauliflower Leek Soup recipe today. Thank you Susan!

Cauliflower Leek Soup

By Susan Waxman

Soups are an important part of a healthful diet. Both strengthening and balancing, aim to have one serving of vegetable soup per day is ideal. There are two main categories of soup: savory and sweet. Both savory soups and sweet soups are delicious and healthful, although the health benefits are different for each.

Savory soups activate the digestive system and build healthy intestinal flora, helping clean out our intestines. Sweet soups are mildly sweet, and are often creamy in texture. The sweetness and consistency are derived by using a combination of cooked sweet vegetables. Sweet vegetables relax the central organs, which has a stabilizing effect on our blood sugar. This cauliflower leek recipe is creamy and falls under the sweet category, enjoy!

Preparation time: 45 minutes Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 3 cups onions, diced

• 1⁄2 cup leeks, diced

• 1⁄2 to 1 head cauliflower, about 5–6 cups chopped florets

• 5 to 6 cups water

• 3⁄4 teaspoon sea salt

• Parsley, finely chopped for garnish

Preparation

• Place diced onions in a pot with 1 cup water, just enough to cover the onions by an inch.

• Turn on the flame and bring to a boil.

• Add a pinch of sea salt and continue to cook the onions for several minutes or until they become translucent.

• Add the leeks, cauliflower, and enough additional water to cover the vegetables by an inch.

• Add a generous pinch of sea salt, cover, and bring to a boil on a medium-high flame.

• When water begins to boil, cover, and simmer on medium- low heat for approximately 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

• Use a hand food mill or an immersion blender to purée until smooth and creamy in texture.

• Place in a serving bowl and garnish with finely chopped parsley.

Note: You can adjust the consistency by increasing or decreasing the amount of vegetables and water. If soup becomes too thick, add additional water until desired consistency is reached.

 

Susan Waxman, co-author and creator of the delicious recipes found in The Complete Macrobiotic Diet, is world-renowned for her culinary creations, which merge health with taste. By way of her teachings and countless years of cooking experience, she has presented an array of new healthful recipes in this book that can only be defined one way, taste with integrity. 

 

Top Photo: Dolly and Oatmeal

Farm to Bottle Sourcing

mykind Organics is truly a farm to bottle company! I’ve shared a lot about our ingredients, certifications, and mission but this video is helpful to see some of our ingredients directly from the source! Our Herbal products were four years in the making.. We had to break ground and create a truly organic (Certified USDA Organic) method for extracting the necessary key active compounds from these herbs without the use of petroleum chemicals or GMO-derived alcohols.

Enjoy this behind the scenes look at where some of our magical herbals come from. How cute are some of these French farmers??

 

 

Top Photo by Victoria Pearson

Take Action to End Cruel Fur-Trapping in CA

In 2018, California issued 133 commercial fur trapping licenses, used to capture capture 995 muskrats, 105 gray foxes, dozens of skunks and other mammals. This horrifically cruel practices of trapping animals for their fur predates the Gold Rush! The fur is then used to sell abroad in foreign markets.

Recently, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzales submitted Assembly Bill 273 – which would ban the state from issuing commercial fur trapping licenses!

“Today I introduced AB273 to ban fur trapping in California. Not only does the cruel fur trapping trade decimate our increasingly vulnerable wildlife populations, but it doesn’t make sense to subsidize this industry with out tax dollars.” Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez tweeted.

Fur trapping is a cruel and incredibly antiquated practice. It’s about time California step up and take the lead! This bill (AB 273) will help conserve California wildlife and our beautiful ecosystems that the state is so loved for! It addition to protecting species, it will also save financial resources by ending taxpayer-subsidized commercial trapping.

Please call your assembly member and encourage them to support this important legislation! Wondering who your assembly member is? Find out here.

Thanks for taking action!

 

Photo: Mendonoma Sightings 

 

Yummy Hamantaschen

Purim, a Jewish holiday that has roots in honoring a veg Queen, is just around the corner.  I’m really looking forward to our Purim celebration this year! We’re planning a festive gathering with costumes, vegan potluck, and canned goods collection to donate to a local food pantry (one tradition of Purim is ‘matanot l’evyonim’ which equates to giving food to the hungry).

I read this article and was so inspired by this quote below, I hope you guys are too!

“On Purim we are commanded to hear, recognize and try to wipe away the evil in our world. It is the responsibility of each of us to bring healing to the world instead of pain and sorrow. One of the best ways we can do that is by choosing to eat and live in a way that prevents violence and heals us, the animals and the planet.” – Rhea Parsons 

Any who, my pal Christina Pirello is sharing this Purim recipe below from her latest book, Back to the Cutting Board.  In this book, her magical cooking secrets are at your fingertips. With Christina as your guide, the stress associated with tackling a meal will be alleviated and replaced with curiosity, intuition, simplicity, and play!

Hamantaschenaka “ears of Haman” is one of the most common traditional dishes during Purim.  They are three-sided pastries filled with poppy seeds, fruit, preserves or other types of filling like chocolate! Let me know if you make these delicious-looking cookies in the comments below

Bringing Up Baby Vegan

Eric C. Lindstrom went vegan overnight. What started as a 30-day health challenge soon became a bet that, to this day, Lindstrom still refuses to lose. His journey became the subject of 2017’s The Skeptical Vegan, a self-deprecating and honest look at a middle-aged man going vegan overnight. In The Skeptical Vegan, Lindstrom not only wrote about his transition to ethical veganism, he also wrote, in some detail, about making vegan babies. Babies that soon became the inspiration for his recent book, The Smart Parent’s Guide to Raising Vegan Kids. We sat down with him recently for an exclusive “raising vegan kids” Q&A.

Why did you write The Smart Parent’s Guide to Raising Vegan Kids?

ECL: It needed to be written. There are books about raising kids vegan but they focus on diet. Diet is just one part of veganism. I wanted to also address the environment and animal rights.

I was so fortunate to have many contributors add gravitas to this book. Drs. Neal Bernard and Tom Campbell, Gene Baur, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, and so many more helped make this book the last word on whether or not you can raise your offspring vegan.

What do you hope parents will take away from the book?

ECL: That it can be done. It’s a challenge, but anything worth pursuing is a challenge. You’re giving your kids such a head-start on excellent health, an educated outlook on the environment, and a true love for animals.

For many decades we have been fed, pun intended, so many misconceptions about health-advantages of meat, dairy, and eggs. Especially dairy. I dedicated two full chapters to dairy since I think it’s the most important thing to remove, or hopefully never start on, from your family’s diet.

What are your top tips for introducing a vegan lifestyle to kids?

ECL: Teach by example. Eat your veggies, mom and dad. If your kids see you enjoying vegan foods, they’re going to enjoy vegan foods. Always have washed and cut fruits and veggies on-hand, and you’ll find that your kids will grab the and devour them (like I used to devour a box of Fruity Pebbles). If they see a bowl of apples or fresh pears, they are going to want to eat them.

Humans are herbivores. Grazers. Our bodies thrive on a vegan diet.

My other tip is to recognize the fact that until they have a paying job and a way to get to the grocery store, you’re 100% in control of what they eat.

How do parents overcome the challenges associated with bringing up their kids vegan?

ECL: Always be prepared. And persistent. The two p’s. Be prepared to not only answer all questions from well-intended friends and family members but also be prepared to have vegan food with you wherever you travel. Road trips, the movies, birthday parties. Your kids will feel less “left out” if they have their own treats whenever they want them.

And be persistent. You’re going to come up against some pretty strong opposition to raising kids vegan. Dig your heels in the ground and don’t back down. It’s tough at first, but it all evens out over time.

What do you feed your kids on a normal day?

EL: Luckily for us, our kids love all of the plant-based milks and would rather eat broccoli over brownies. Breakfast can be a bowl of cereal, toast with vegan butter, or pancakes and tater tots (on the weekends). Their lunches consist of fruit, veggies, hummus, a fruit pouch, a granola bar, and usually some sandwich that they both love. Vegan cheese with Just Mayo or sun butter and jelly. Most parents forget that meals like peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti with marinara, and rice with beans are all vegan all the time.

Dinner is something different every night as I love to challenge myself in the kitchen preparing new recipes for some of my old favorites. The kids love homemade fettucini Alfredo (cashew cream-based), fried rice (sometimes with VeganEgg added), pesto penne, vegan Shepard’s pie, and tacos. Vegan tacos will please everyone.

Do you see benefits in your kids’ health/attention, etc vs non-vegan peers?

While we’re not supposed to compare our kids to the other, meat-eating kids, I can tell you I know one thing for sure: ours are never constipated. May not seem like a huge win, when other parents have to call off playdates because their kids is crying on the toilet all morning, we do feel having “regular” kids is a sign of a much healthier diet. There is no real required nutritional value to eating meat, dairy, and eggs. And our kids’ check-ups are always excellent. They are thriving. Anyone who tells you otherwise is misinformed or doing it wrong. Setting aside all the amazing alternatives for non-vegan foods, a whole food, plant-based diet is nutritionally superior to any other diet. And the physical and intellectual growth we see in our own children proves this every day.

What’s next for you?

ECL: I’m thinking someone needs to write “Sending Your Vegan Kids to College.” The Smart Parent’s Guide to Raising Vegan Kids sets the stage for a lifetime of excellent health and a compassionate perspective on all life on our planet—but now those littles are headed to university.

When you look back over the eighteen years you spent taking care of your children and fight back the tears dropping them off at college, you’ll want to know that what you’ve taught them carries them through their entire lives. We all have a responsibility to the next generation to right so many wrongs. Actor and activist James Cromwell said it best after reading The Smart Parent’s Guide to Raising Vegan Kids, “(this book is) a guide to the gift that keep on giving: veganism, the best survival tool for whatever comes next.”

 

Eric C Lindstrom is the author of The Skeptical Vegan and The Smart Parent’s Guide to Raising Vegan Kids. When he is not writing, he is the Director of Marketing for Compassion Over Killing, a Washington DC-based animal protection agency. Lindstrom lives in Ithaca, NY with his vegan wife, two vegan toddlers, and vegan dog, Kimchi. For more information, visit TheSkepticalVegan.com.

 

mykind Organics Herbals Celebration!

We recently had a release party for our new mykind Organics Herbals! Check out the video below. Have you tried our herbals yet?? Let me know your favorites in the comments below!

 

The post mykind Organics Herbals Celebration! appeared first on the kind life.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Maca Cups

These peanut butter cups are reminiscent of my chocolate peanut butter cups from The Kind Diet. This recipe includes our mykind Organics superfood blend for an energizing boost! Let me know how you like it below.

Serves: 12

Use Organic

Backyard Gardening Made Easy with From Seed to Spoon App

Dale wrote in sharing his health journey and how that ignited a plant passion project developing an app. The app is called From Seed to Spoon and it’s mission is to make it easy for everyone to grow food where ever they are. Dale shares more info below, check it out! 

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I was 340 pounds and had battled health issues my entire life when my daughter Brooklyn was born in 2008. Her birth lit a spark in me to change and I lost 120 pounds in less than year through diet and exercise. However, no matter how far I ran, the anxiety & depression that ruled my life didn’t go away.

I met my wife Carrie in 2013 and everything changed. She’s a nurse and started charting what we ate in hopes of discovering what triggered my crippling panic attacks. Pretty quickly we discovered that plants had a huge impact on my mental health and we started a garden shortly thereafter.

Over the course of 2 years, we converted our entire backyard from grass into food gardens to feed our family of 6. It all felt so overwhelming in the beginning, with so many things to calculate and memorize. We read every book we could find, attended classes through Oklahoma State University, and dedicated our lives to learning how to grow food. Friends and family soon began to come to us for help and that’s where the idea for From Seed to Spoon was born. We wanted to make it easy for everyone to grow food and take control of their health.

That’s why my wife and I started learning how to code last year and we built our free mobile app that makes growing food simple. Our iPhone, Android, and Web app gives you customized planting dates based on your GPS location and guides you through all aspects of growing over 70 different foods (& more added monthly!), as well as managing pests with organic methods. We also recommend which plants are best to grow based on 26 different health-related reasons! If you’re looking for a simple step by step guide to walk you through growing produce locally, check out Seed to Spoon!

Learn more & download @ www.seedtospoon.net

 

Top Photo by Brad Stallcup

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NYC Public Hospitals Go Meatless on Mondays

Last month NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public healthcare system in the U.S. started offering several Meatless Monday options to patients at all 11 public hospitals. This is wonderful and about time! Should have happened over a decade ago but thank goodness it’s happening now.

In addition to serving a variety of plant-based meals, hospital dietitians will help inform patients on the benefits of eating plants and the meatless options.  I’m so inspired by this! Watch the short video below for an inside look at the launch

Talking Beauty & Health with AS IF Magazine

I spoke with Tatijana Shoan, my friend and Editor-In-Chief/photographer of AS IF magazine, about all things mykind Organics, beauty, food, and activism recently. Re-sharing our lovely interview below, enjoy!

AS IF: How and why did you decide to create your own line of organic herbals?

My journey with supplements started when I was pregnant with my son, Bear. In order to grow the healthiest little human possible, I was already feeding my body all the clean, nutrition-packed foods that had transformed my health years ago. But because these babies can be little nutrition vampires—and because some days were not all sunshine and kale—I wanted to have the peace of mind that I was getting every health-supporting vitamin and mineral that my body needed during this special time. I embarked on a quest to find the cleanest prenatal vitamin possible, ideally one that was aligned with the way I eat: organic, non-GMO, completely plant-based, and free of funky processed junk. I didn’t want a bottle of chemical isolates dressed up with organic fluff. The vitamin I wanted to take didn’t exist. So, I went looking for a partner—the stars aligned with Garden of Life—and I co-founded mykind Organics. Together, we created an entirely new kind of vitamin line that is Certified USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, and free of synthetic binders and fillers. Last month, we introduced mykind Organics Herbals, the first dual certified USDA Organic Non-GMO Project Verified line of Herbal Supplements.

What have been some of the major challenges?

Developing my herbal line had a much longer timeline than I ever anticipated, which was frustrating. In fact, we had to push back our launch several times. It was a long process in which we had to plant, wait to harvest, and then test the extractions until we were able to create the most incredible, effective formulas, which are traceable from seed to shelf. We also innovated a groundbreaking extraction method without the use of conventional GMO corn alcohol or other harsh chemicals, which took time and was no small feat.

What is the philosophy/mission behind your mykind Organics brand?

We knew that we wanted to make the cleanest possible herbal line out there. Right now on shelves there are ‘natural’ marketed herbals but their extraction process isn’t truly natural or healthy. Even if a product has organically sourced herbs, the extraction method is carried out with ethanol (corn), hexane (gasoline), or vegetable glycerin (corn is primary source). The primary methods of extraction are not organic compliant due to the genetically modified corn used. Therefore, we knew we wanted to provide a product that was one hundred percent healthy. Our extraction process is different, using water first. If we must use alcohol, we use only Organic, Non-GMO ethanol. In addition to working on the actual ingredients and creation of the product, I worked really hard on the packaging aesthetic and branding – to make sure each would be beautiful, stand out, and clearly express how our product is unique.

What inspired your activism within health and wellness?

I adopted this diet for the animals but the biggest surprise was how amazing I felt! I ditched by asthma inhaler, stopped my weekly allergy shots, lost weight, and had a new glow from my skin and hair. I felt incredible from having more energy, and balanced out moods. This way of eating transformed me. Since then I have not needed caffeine, aspirin, or antibiotics. My body healed itself by being plant- based. The health benefits are truly immense physically, mentally, and spiritually – softening your heart and spirit. My book The Kind Diet is a delicious resource to learn more about this way and build beauty from within.

What are some of your favorite products from your mykind line? 

I love the Elderberry Immune Syrup, and Elderberry Immune Gummy, the Golden Milk for sure (it’s so delicious and comforting!), the Adrenal Daily Balance, and the Sleep Well R&R Spray.

Which organic herbal supplements do you incorporate into your daily diet?

Before we made our own truly clean mykind Organics supplements I didn’t want to take anything on a regular basis. Now that I have a supplement line that I can trust, I try to take mykind Organics B Complex, mykind Organics B-12 spray, and mykind Organics Vitamin C Cherry Tangerine spray (especially when traveling!). I also take our 40+ multivitamin gummy as a sweet treat that’s also good for me! Some herbal supplements I use as needed include mykind Organics Sleep Well R&R, Ashwagandha, Adrenal Balance, and our delicious Elderberry gummies. When I’m feeling under the weather I enjoy a sip of our Golden Milk.

Your instant pick-me-up during an especially tiring day?

I love a spritz of the delicious mykind Organics B12 and Vitamin C sprays for an energy boost and extra immunity support. I also love a few of the mykind Organics Elderberry Immune Gummies or the mykind Organics Turmeric Inflammatory Response Gummies in the afternoon as a healthy sweet treat that contain no added sugars (unlike a lot of the vitamin gummies on the market)! My gummies are made with 100% all real foods.

Can you tell us about two of your favorite recipes from your book The Kind Diet that are both simple to make, and delicious?

My books The Kind Mama and The Kind Diet have some more of my absolute favorite recipes! A couple highlights for me from The Kind Mama include Protein Packed Waffles, Veggie Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash, and Chocolate-Dunked Coconut Delights. From The Kind Diet some go-to dishes include: Quick Date-Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal, Artichoke, Mushroom, and Leek Crostini with Pesto, Bok Choy Drizzled in Ume Vinaigrette, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.

What are some of your favorite vegan/cruelty free make up and skincare products?

I don’t need makeup to feel fresh thanks to the best beauty trick of all: eating plants! But on top of my my kind diet foundation, there are some products I do enjoy using. Right now, I’m using Sibu’s Sea Therapy Face and Body Bar to wash my face. It smells so good! At night I sometimes cleanse with Goddess Garden Organics Erase the Day Clay Cleanser or Modicum’s Essential Cleanser. For toner I use rose mist or Tammy Fender’s Chamomile Roman Tonic. I love a good face serum, particularly Garden Apothecary’s Higher Ground Serum, Modicum’s #3 Essential Serum, and Carasoin’s Cold Fusion Intense Moisturizer. A face mask I love is Josh Rosebrook’s Cacao Antioxidant Mask.

For make up, I like Maison Jacynthe, Gabriel, One Over One, 100% Pure, Inika, Tata Harper and W3ll People. Right now for mascara I’m enjoying Dr. Hauschka, Zao, and Pacifica. For concealers, I like Ecco Bella and Zuz

Can you describe a couple of your favorite at-home beauty treatments?

I really enjoy doing the hot body scrub from my book The Kind Diet! You can also find it on my website TheKindLife.com. It’s an easy technique that’s cheap and refreshes your whole body because it increases circulation, helps the fat trapped under your skin loosen up and dissolve, opens pores to release toxins, and helps circulate lymph fluid. Try it yourself! Do it for a month straight and see the amazing results!

What are some natural anti-aging treatments and products you recommend? 

The best anti-aging treatment is a plant-based diet! In addition to diet, mykind Organics Plant-Based Collagen Builder is really awesome for keeping your skin looking young and supple.

What is your top beauty trick for an instant glow?

Eating whole, plant-based foods is a sure-fire way to get radiant skin, bright eyes and glossy hair. Prioritize eating your greens! Greens such as kale, bok choy, collards, watercress, and seaweed — not technically a green but it’s so important for the skin — are packed with a host of great things like vitamin B9, vitamin K, folate, calcium and iron. Nurture your body with all kinds of veggies made in a healthy variety of cooking styles. Fill up on whole grains, like brown rice, quinoa, along with beans like adzuki and black beans, as well as bean products, including tofu and tempeh. With these ingredients, you can come up with some seriously delicious, healing, and glow-y recipes. I love watercress with creamy tahini dressing and toasted sesame seeds, which I included in my books.

Lastly, what is your daily beauty regime?

My beauty routine is not where I really focus my energy. It’s my Kind Diet that saves me. I can wear no makeup, and be really tired, but if I’ve been eating clean then my skin is glowing, my eyes are white, and I feel great.

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