My Vegan Journal

Vegan ice cream can often be expensive… or sometimes it contains too many ingredients that I’m not really in the mood for, especially when I’m trying to eat less processed foods. So here’s a super simple way to make your own vegan milk shake at home without vegan ice cream!

You know those bananas that ripened too quickly and are sitting in your fruit bowl turning brown? Well if you’re not in the mood for baking banana bread, chop them up, put them in a plastic bag and throw them in the freezer!

Once they’re frozen, toss them into the blender. I usually use between 1 to 2 bananas per shake. Then add a few chopped strawberries, 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla, 1-2 teaspoons of flaxseed meal (for fiber and Omega 3!) and about 1 or 1 1/2 cups of nut milk! I used hemp milk this time, but I usually use vanilla almond milk which is also yummy! There’s no need for sugar because the overly ripe bananas will add plenty sweetness! Once you’ve added all of your ingredients, blend until it’s just the way you like it!

All of the suggested amounts are just that… suggestions! So feel free to adapt to taste ~ and of course, adjust the quantities to how many shakes you’re making.

It’s really good! And really easy! The only part you have to plan ahead for is freezing those bananas…

And you know what? By enjoying a vegan shake, you’re making the animals happy too! Not only do dairy cows prefer to not be permanently impregnated their entire lives, they would also like to enjoy their newborns for more than a few hours. They love their babies just like people do.

Did you know that after dairy cows give birth, the baby male calves are sent away to the veal industry within 48 hours to spend their entire miserable lives on a metal grate, confined in 23 out of 24 hours of darkness, without even enough room to turn around? When people drink dairy milk, they’re supporting the veal industry… usually without even knowing it. No need to do that, when there are so many scrumptious alternatives, like this vegan strawberry “milk” shake!

Good for the cows, and good for you too! Hurray!!

(and if you prefer to add greens to it, here’s a smoothie I made with —> Kale & Blueberries!

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I can’t believe how beautiful this corn is! Seedsman Greg Schoen got the seeds from Carl Barnes, his “seed teacher” who lives in Oklahoma. He’s of Cherokee heritage and an octogenarian. And sadly that’s about all I know!

(Photo Credit: Bill McDorman, Seeds Trust) —>

As far as the coloring goes, when seeds exhibit this pattern it’s likely due to a phyllotactic defect where regular columns of kernels suddenly make a checkerboard pattern and then go back to columns again. I wanted to share more information about this corn with you – because it is SO out-of-this-world beautiful, but the photo has gone viral and their website is currently receiving so many “hits” right now that I can’t access it. If you’d like to get more information – visit SeedsTrust dot Com and hopefully it will be up and running again soon!

I’d certainly love to have some of this corn… but honestly, I think it may be too pretty to eat!

Isn’t nature wonderful?? Simply beautiful!

Or “Companion Animal” Food Recall Expands, as I like to say…

Most of you may be aware of the huge pet food recall that’s underway and I just wanted to let you know that you should probably double check to see if the brand you feed to your animals is on the list, as additional companies continue to be added.

Initially I was only aware of a recall of “Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul.” But then the recall expanded to Country Value, Diamond, Diamond Naturals, Premium Edge, Professional, 4Health, Taste of the Wild and Kirkland Foods.

Then, about an hour ago I received an email titled “IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM WELLNESS PET FOOD” announcing that they were recalling some of their puppy food. I had not seen Wellness mentioned on any of the previous lists in the media. So please, google whatever brand you use and see if there’s a recall. I’d also suggest signing up for emails on the website of whatever brand of companion animal food you use. If I wasn’t on the mailing list for Wellness, I’m not sure when I would have heard the news. Earlier is always better than later…

What’s interesting is that according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the recalls were issued in response to a salmonella outbreak that made 14 people ill. The CDC said an investigation of 10 of the people infected with “Salmonella Infantis” showed that seven of them had been in contact with a dog or dog food during the week before they became ill. It’s only because people became ill that we even know about the “alleged” salmonella in the pet food. All the more reason to pay extra close attention to the health of our companion animals… if they’re not feeling well, please check their food and make sure it hasn’t been recalled.

Here’s a hotline number if you need more information: 1-866-918-8756 (Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. EST.) Or go to diamondpetrecall.com And again, just a reminder – I suggest signing up for the mailing list of whatever brand of “pet” food you use. You can also get daily updates from the FDA.gov website.

Here’s the email I received today:

“May 5, 2012

Dear Pet Parents,

We want to let you know that we have announced a voluntary recall of one recipe of Wellness dry dog food. This voluntary recall is being done out of an abundance of caution as these products were produced at the Diamond Pet Foods facility that has been linked to recent recalls of Diamond brand foods due to the threat of Salmonella.

We test every batch of Wellness product produced before releasing it for sale. These lots were all tested and verified to be free of salmonella before they shipped to customers. While we stand by our testing and have no reason to believe there is a problem, we are voluntarily recalling this recipe with these best by dates out of an abundance of caution and to put our consumers’ minds at ease.

The lots involved in this voluntary recall are:

Wellness Complete Health® Super5Mix® Large Breed Puppy, 15 and 30 lb. bags and 5 oz. samples with best by dates of JAN 9 2013 through JAN 11 2013

No other recipes, sizes or WellPet brands of food are impacted by this voluntary recall.

Pet owners who are unsure if the product they purchased is included in the recall, would like replacement product or have additional questions, may call us at (877) 227-9587 (Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM through 6:00 PM Eastern time and Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 AM through 5:00 PM Eastern time).

Sincerely,

Wellness Natural Food for Pets” (end quote)

It’s really yummy!

I thought to post a few pictures from my trip to the grocery store today. Nope, it’s not Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s or Sprouts! It’s Ralph’s!! A subsidiary of Kroger’s!

Why is this so awesome? Check out ALL of the organic fruits and vegetables!! That’s an entire long row of them! I remember not too long ago there weren’t ANY fresh organic fruits and veggies in mainstream markets… and just recently there were only a handful of them to choose from, and most were wilted looking, as though they had been sitting there for ages with no one to buy them.

Why is this SO important? It means there’s a huge paradigm shift in eating habits unfolding right before our eyes! Sure, we’ve been able to buy fresh organic produce at farmer’s markets and local health food stores for decades now, but they’re now hitting mainstream stores in a BIG way! This is surely a reflection of consumer demand, and with that will come increased revenue for the organic produce growers, some healthy competition and hopefully a deflation in price making it much easier for the average consumer to buy them!

Makes me SO very happy!!

And check out the labeling on their canned and dry organic products. They’re clearly marked with a “V” for vegan! Why is that important? It affirms that there are actually lots of vegans out here and that people finally know what the word vegan means. It wasn’t all that long ago that I had to explain to my doctor why I was requesting a B12 blood test. Me: “I’m vegan, you know… it means I don’t eat any animal products, so you need to check my B12 now and then.” Doctor: “Vegan?”

Isn’t that weird? I can’t believe people didn’t even know what it meant… but they didn’t! I only knew of one other vegan when I decided to stop eating animal products, and she was just a random girl I met that didn’t even live in this country! Alas, no more! I know a bazillion vegans now!

Vegan! Organic! It’s here, it’s there, it’s everywhere!! A simple trip to the grocery store today gave me a little ray of hope for this brutal world… let’s keep this organic vegan train a movin’…. chugachuga chugachuga Choo Chooooo! All Aboard!!!

Did you plant a tree today? Maybe get a butterfly painted on your child’s face? Go to an earth day festival and buy a bag of herbal tea? Or a tie-dyed “Save the Earth” shirt? Groovy.

Well, I hate to be a “Debbie Downer” and repeat what most of you already know, but this message bears repeating. I’ll make it short and sweet.

GO VEGAN!

Do you know how much of our natural resources go towards producing that unhealthy slab of carcass on a bun? It’s inexcusable and unacceptable, and if you’re not vegan, you’re responsible for it. And all the henna tattoos in the world won’t make your toll on this planet any lighter.

(I think this is about when some of you throw your “oh MY goodness, another self-righteous vegan” hands in the air and your guilt-reflex kicks in triggering a few unkind thoughts. It’s ok. I still like you. And more importantly, I still care.)

WATER: It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat! A vegan diet requires only 300 gallons of water per day, while a typical meat-eating diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day. Why does it take SO much water to produce “beef”? Because animals eat a lot! It takes 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of “beef” and those grains take a LOT of water to grow! Not to mention all the water that it takes to wash all that poop off. Well, at least they TRY to get all the poop off. Mmmm… poop burgers!

TOPSOIL: We’ve lost 1/3 of our topsoil due to agriculture because it takes SO much to feed all of those animals. Why do we need topsoil? Because our crops can’t grow in a desert, that’s why. Crops need nutritious soil to flourish. I’d prefer to eat more than cactus and agave, thank you.

ENERGY: Producing animal-based protein requires EIGHT times more fossil-fuel energy than creating plant-based protein. Why? Think of all of the fuel that’s used to transport the live animals (and their carcasses), all the energy used to refrigerate their bodies, and how much energy it costs to run a factory farm. Oh, that’s right, you changed your lightbulbs to energy efficient ones. Hmmm… nice, but no soup for you!

AIR: According to the UN, animal agriculture is a larger contributor to greenhouse gas than ALL forms of transportation. It’s no surprise. Why? Because animals used for your “meat” produce 87,000 pounds of POOP per second. And I’m being nice using the word poop. It’s actually $%&# and there’s nothing cute about it. Yep, 87,000 pounds of it EVERY second! That’s a lot of greenhouse GAS. Boy, meat eaters sure make a stinky mess! I can smell a factory farm from miles away, can’t you?

WORLD HUNGER: 700 million tons of human-grade food goes into animal agriculture each year and over 70% of the grain grown in the United States goes to animal agriculture. Fine, so you don’t care about animals or the environment… well can you at least care about your fellow human beings? Stop giving all of the food to the animals who are overbred and miserable, and start giving it to the people who are dying of starvation and make them happy! Even in the United States, 1 in 5 children go to bed hungry every night. Does this matter to you? I know it matters to me!

The point is, every little bit we do to help our world is wonderful. Every. Little. Bit. And I don’t think any of us will ever be perfect. I have a car which uses energy, and of course it would be better if I could walk everywhere instead. My home is also made from wood, which came from trees. I guess living in a cave would be kinder, but alas, no cave. We do the best we can, and we always strive to improve. But earth day, for me, is bittersweet. I’m a little sad to see everyone caring SO much for one day, and yet forgetting all that they could do the rest of the year. It’s like an alcoholic who gives up drinking for 24 hours, but runs around the rest of the year with busted capillaries on his face, a flask in his hand and violent booze breath. Please. Put down the bottle. Get sober. Go vegan and make a BIG difference. The world will thank you, and your body will too! If you need any support or inspiration, come swing on by the My Vegan Journal Facebook Page. Lots of good people there!

And now, I’m off to go speak at an Earth Day Festival! Gotta plant more seeds of change… I hope you’ll let this one grow. Happy Earth Life!

My friend Christine just made a “mean green” juice with the new juicer she bought yesterday! I don’t have a juicer, but I’m sure I’ll be making one of these as soon as I get one! I also need to watch the movie “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.” I hear it’s awesome!

How cute is little Joey?! The green juice looks great, but I have to admit, I’m posting this because her pup is just so darn tootin’ adorable! Animals are the BEST!

Mean Green Juice:
4 sticks of celery
1 cucumber
6 kale leaves
2 green apples
Inch cube of ginger
Half a peeled lemon.