Lifestyle
Vegan Grillin'
26 May Shopping at The LA Wholesale Produce Market?
One of the most frequently asked questions I get in comments and emails is that regarding saving money or living on a budget as a high carb, high raw vegan. Good news! I have some very helpful information, especially to those of you who live in...
19 May Composting & My Organic Home Garden
Today I am sharing with you a highly requested post on composting & my organic home garden. I hope that you find this useful and that it helps you start or improve your own garden!
What is compost?
Compost is defined as organic material that can be added to soil to help your plants grow. The material is decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment and is a key ingredient in organic farming. The resulting fertile soil also has far greater moisture retention, allowing you to use less water in your garden.What are the benefits compost?
- Reduces the amount of waste that we dispose of >> especially if you eat a high raw or even just vegan diet. I have A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of scraps daily from my fruit meals, and practically fill up my CompoKeeper (info and discount below) every other day, and sometimes everyday.
- Enriches the soil and therefore reduces the need for chemical fertilizers (no thanks, miracle grow). helping retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests.
- Encourages the production and growth of beneficial bacteria and fungi
- These break down organic matter to create humus {the organic component of soil, formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant material by soil microorganisms. It significantly influences the bulk density of soil and contributes to moisture and nutrient retention}.
- Reduces methane emissions from landfills and lowers your carbon footprint (as does veganism ;) Please check out Cowspiracy!).
- Surprise plants in your garden! >> From compost, my mother has grown a mango tree, avocado tree, papaya tree, fig trees (yes, two of them!), pumpkin, acorn squash, tomatoes, herbs, and peppers. What I mean from surprise is that from simply composting the scraps of herbs, fruits and vegetables, new plants have emerged without us intending to do so. The trees are still very small, but we plan on planting them in our backyard and that of friends and family to hopefully have large fruitful trees in the future :)
Butternut squash that grew from compost![/caption]
03 Apr Vegan Goodies at Natural Products Expo West 2015 + Giveaway! (CLOSED)
As some of you may have seen on my Instagram and Twitter accounts, I attended this year's Natural Products Expo West, which is the world's largest natural, organic and healthy products event! I went through my photos from the event, and I ended up taking around 200, WHAT?! I definitely could not post them all here, so I decided I would share with you all some of the highlights of the event, and products that stood out to me most. Since we looked at thousands of products throughout the 3 days, I narrowed it down to quite a few, but I promise you I made this worth the read! I categorized everything as best I could, so head to whichever you are most interested in <3 (There is no particular order for everything that is listed).
Of course I had to rock my Green Juice Tote at the expo, SSV represent ;) I made sure I packed fruits for the weekend, and they really helped since I was on the go. The expo had a lot of sweets and snacks throughout, but nothing that I would want to make a meal out of. The one things I suggest to you all is to be prepared! You never know how your day is going to play out, and is better to be safe than sorry.
28 Feb My Story: How I Used Veganism To Mask My Eating Disorder AND How Veganism Helped Me Heal It
Please, before you comment, criticize, share, whatever you’re going to do with this, I just ask that you read the whole thing. I know the title may be controversial if you read it on its own, but it is the truth, and only for the reasons that you will read below. And please read this with caution. It may be triggering to some individuals due to the mention of certain numbers, time periods and weight loss regimes, and I would like to disclose a warning before continuing to those that may be negatively affected by this information. This is probably one of the hardest and most personal things I will ever write up and publish on my blog, but what I want to [finally] share with you all is who I really am, and how I came to be the person that I am today. This is my story. All that is experienced during our lives provides lessons that contribute to our journey ahead. As cliché as it may sound, ‘Everything happens for a reason’. Growing up, my understanding of this phrase extended no further than its contextual definition. It was not until I had reached the start of my adult life that I found the importance it; it was not until I battled an eating disorder that I learned that experiences I perceived to be negative had actually allowed for many other positives in my future. A large part of what I struggled with was aided by constant inspiration by individuals that have shared their stories for the entire world to see. Inspiration from those that allowed themselves to be vulnerable and expose their raw and true identities. What I am here to do is hopefully the same as what they did for me. I want to share my story to help others that are or have previously struggled with what I struggle[d] with. I want to be able to tell others out there that YOU ARE NOT ALONE, and YOU WILL get through this, no matter how impossible that may seem. I want to be able to show that what you are going through does not define you. It is not who you are, and it is not who you are meant to be. Rather, it is something that you were meant to go through to allow you to grow STRONGER, allow you to now overcome anything that comes your way because you have been to hell and back, and to allow you to embrace that you are beautiful, unique, and special, just the way you are.
11 Feb Sweet Simple Vegan Shop Update
My Etsy Account will be moved back to my shop here, and my items are now available! For any of you looking to open a shop, we weary of the Etsy pricing. They charge per listing, then again per sale, and it was getting too expensive for my budget. Big Cartel is $10 flat per month and works just as well if you are going to have your shop bounce off of your website. Available in my Shop: Totes are coming soon! They will now be of better quality and organic, score!