Giveaway! Subscription to 30-Day Vegan Challenge. (squeal!)

Update: See below in giveaway offer!

First off, I have been a very lame Snow White. I did not finish my Vegan Mofo by reaching my goal of 10 posts in one month. (sigh)

And yet, I don't feel too guilty. It's been a chaotic little autumn and one that Mr. Snow White and I were not looking forward to, due in great part to full-blown ninny-ness of forces that have wanted to do us harm. Hopefully this will resolve itself very shortly. (Sorry, can't go into it more than that.) But it's all been stuff that, in the big scheme, really doesn't matter. We have each other, everyone's healthy, Kaci does NOT have cancer, as our new vet suggested she might (the vet was thrilled as were we), we are both employed, we have a wonderful support system, and we both have good skin.

While going through this tumultuous time, though, I recalled some supportive words that had floated from the Facebook status of one Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. After having no luck retracing those pearls of wisdom, I wrote to Colleen, asking if she'd share them with me. Her husband had spoken them to her when they were facing similar ninny-like forces. Just seeing these words calms my heart (which has been beating much too quickly for my own good.)

"Keep breathing. Tell the truth. Be fearless. Choose love. Embrace mystery."

Beautiful, no? I feel so grateful to her and her husband David for sharing that calming mantra with the world. It's done wonders for my mindset.

And speaking of Ms. Colleen ...

She's got an incredible new online program called The 30-Day Vegan Challenge. I heard about it on her podcast and initially thought it wouldn't apply to me, since 1) I was a regular listener of the podcast, 2)  I had all her books, and 3) I had already been vegan for a while. How much new stuff could it offer someone like me?

A lot, it turns out.

The program only cost $20 and I originally decided to sign up so I could review it here for any folks here who wanted to try cutting meat, dairy, and eggs from their diet for just thirty days. I didn't anticipate how much I'd get from the experience.

The whole thing is designed to take you from day one, when you have no idea yet how you're going to pull this off, to the last day, when you realize how flippin' easy it is to eat without hurting anyone. You get one email per day, which opens up new parts of the program to you, step by step. I like this, because I tend to be an all-or-nothing gal who reads ahead, jumps in with both feet, and then often burns out. (Hello knitting.)  This way forces you to take it slow. The great part is that after that day's content becomes available, you keep it forever and can go back to it whenever you like. (Think of it as an online book you purchased. But a book with videos, podcasts, etc.)

The video section includes the following subjects: Stocking a Healthy Vegan Kitchen, Reading Labels, Getting to Know the  Grocery Store, Choosing the Proper Knife, Using the Proper Cutting Board, Tempeh Bacon Cooking Demonstration, Making the Time to Cook, Eating Out and Speaking Up, Rethinking Meat Cravings, Discovering That There is Life After Cheese, Kale Chips and Kale Salad, Plant-Based Milks, Better Baking without Eggs, Drop Biscuits, Green Smoothies, Finding Abundant Food Options While Traveling, Demystifying Tofu: It's Just a Bean, Eating by Color, Black Olive Bruschetta with Cashew Cream, Compassionate Fashion: It's Cool to be Kind, and A Vegan Thanksgiving. As a more seasoned vegan, I was amazed at how much these videos helped me, particularly the ones that addressed the interesting social issues that seem to arise.

There is a whole Audio Podcast section that is separate from her original podcasts on itunes. Like the videos, they cover a wide range of topics.

The Resource Section is a great go-to place for hardcore information, including Finding Vegan Food in Non-Vegan Restaurants, Restaurant and Travel Websites and Apps, and Tips for Making Travel Stress-Free and Fun. She delves into those often asked questions regarding protein, calcium, vitamins D and B12, and iron.

There are oodles of recipes, most of which I have not tried yet. (Did I mention it's been a stressful autumn?) But they sound delicious. Among them are the following: Coconut Red Lentil Dahl, Soba Verde Salad, Truffle Popcorn (!!), Lemon Artichoke Tapenade, and Mexican Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon. Yes. Yes to all of that.

And finally, there is a community aspect to the website as well. You can log on to ask questions to other folks. Or you can simply read the online discussions and learn from the expertise (and humor) of others.

Compassionate Cooks was kind enough to offer a free subscription to one lucky Suburban Snow White reader. This, my friends, is where you squeal. UPDATE: They have offered SSW not one, but TWO free subscriptions to The 30-Day Vegan Challenge.    Fainting.

 

If you've ever wondered if Ellen or Bill Clinton were on to something, but don't want to declare you're "going vegan," this is right up your alley. (And if you are totally on board, it's up your alley too.) If you merely want recipes on hand because you have a couple of vegan friends and always panic when they're coming over, wondering "What on earth do we make?" then this is a great chance to get some terrific ideas. Though truthfully, you'll end up wanting to hoard the food for yourself. Maybe you're just plain curious about veganism but have no intention to eat that way. You will learn a ton! So there's no pressure for the person who wins this to commit to an animal-free menu. I promise not to stalk you and peek into your windows to see what you're making. Unless, of course, you want to become my full-time chef.

Colleen is a super relaxed gal who explains things in a very common sense way. You don't feel preached at or guilted into anything. She just shares the information and lets you make up your own mind.  But I'm warning you -- you'll want her to be your new best friend. I'm JUST saying.

If you'd like to win this, simply write a comment below. You could explain why you'd like to win the subscription. Or share a tongue twister. Or send a message to Kaci telling her how pretty she is. Whatever. Be creative and have fun. Just be sure to leave an email address where I can reach you!

The Giveaway ends November 18, 2012 (Sunday night). Good luck! (I should mention that I'm not making a dime off of this. Just spreading the love.)

The Lorax and Someone Like You

I selected this post to be featured on Vegan Blogs. Please visit the site and vote for my blog!

Today on my Facebook feed, I was sent a link to one of my favorite videos that had made its way to a site called GodVine, which devotes itself to videos with a Christian theme. The video that shows the rescue of several beagles in Spain that were being used for animal testing. As I've mentioned before, I'm not of any particular religious denomination, though I lean towards Unitarianism and its non-dogmatic belief in the good in all people and in doing good in the world. It's a kind of religious free-for-all that my atheist Gramma was gung-ho about. (She on more than one occasion proudly pronounced that there was no God and that when you "dropped dead" that was it. Yet she loved hymns. Gotta love that.)

Anywho, I'm already zooming way off topic.

So I don't scout out Godvine, but occasionally a link will bring me there to some uplifting video. So I was not surprised that this video found its way to the site. Here is is below. (Very sweet -- not graphic at all.)

What really struck me though were the comments below the video. (I will say in GodVine's defense that their comments section is the only one I've come across where people had only positive things to say. It amazes me at times how vicious people can get on comment sections, saying things I would hope a person would never say to another face-to-face.) But what I found fascinating and troubling were the prayers to Jesus to stop such cruelty or the demands to arrest the people who had tested on the animals. Many people even seemed to think animal testing did not happen in our country.

But I did not see one comment that indicated that a person had reconsidered his or her using products that tested on animals.

That nobody saw the link between what we choose to spend our money on and what happens to these animals in laboratories was very troubling. It's great that people wanted to pray to God, if that's something that helps them in their spiritual growth. But what about making different (and super simple!) choices to effect change? And then spreading the word about companies that don't test to send the monetary message: We only spend our money on products that don't hurt anybody!

Would making changes be inconvenient? They might temporarily be a little work, finding products to replace our long-used favorites. It might possibly be more expensive. But to me it's worth it. (And I'll get more into how to do that further down.)

If experimentation on rabbits, mice, pigs, and monkeys doesn't bother you, experimentation on cats and dogs might. Stray/lost animals that are brought to shelters can be bought for animal experimentation: it's called "pound seizure." (Click here to see if pound seizure is legal in your state. You might be surprised.) In other words, your shampoo, soap, nailpolish, dishwashing liquid, or hair gel may be tested on people's lost pets, who want nothing more than to go home.

I'd love to think that prayer, wishes, or bemoaning the cruelty of animal testers will stop this, but I don't believe it will. We have to actually change things in our own lives to stop it. I think we sell ourselves short on what a difference one person can make.

Here's a great short video on making a difference by Colleen Patrick Goudreau.

I always loved the Dr. Seuss's book The Lorax. You may already be familiar with this wonderful story, which is narrated by the "Once-ler" who tells the tale of how greed and thoughtlessness destroyed a fictional land but leaves the reader with a seed and the powerful word "unless." The best quote, that I'm sure many will recognize, tells us,

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, 

nothing is going to get better. 

It's not."

 

In one part of the book, the Lorax debates with the owner of a corporation on what ordinary people will buy:

The Lorax: I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues. And I'm asking you sir, at the top of my lungs - that thing! That horrible thing that I see! What's that thing you've made out of my truffula tree?
The Once-ler: Look, Lorax, calm down. There's no cause for alarm. I chopped just one tree, I'm doing no harm. This thing is most useful! This thing is a "thneed." A theed, a fine something-that-all-people-need! It's a shirt. It's a sock. It's a glove! It's a hat! But it has other uses, yes, far beyond that. You can use it for carpets, for pillows, for sheets, for curtains! Or covers for bicycle seats!
The Lorax: Sir, you're crazy. You're crazy with greed. There's no one on earth who will buy that fool thneed!
[ a man drives by, buys the thneed and pays the Once-ler]
The Once-ler: The birth of an industry, you poor, stupid guy! You're telling me what the public will buy? 


Hmm... Sound familiar?



Of course, by the end of the book, the Once-ler comes to deeply regret his decisions and implores a young boy to spread the news of what once was. (Much in the way Richard Harris's King Arthur told the tale of Camelot to a young boy at the end of the movie.... Oh heck. I can't resist. Here's the ending of Camelot.)

Much to my delight, I saw that The Lorax is going to be a movie this spring! (Starring Danny DeVito, Taylor Swift, Ed Helms, Betty White, and Zac Efron.) Here is the trailer:

So where does this leave us?

Don't be a person who wishes for change or just shakes their head sadly. Be someone who does something. Something simple! Just pick one product to replace (in a babysteps kind of way). Once you've found one, try another.  It might make a great New Year's Resolution: replacing one product per week/month! 

Here is a great link to PETA where you can get a Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide. As well, there is a search engine, where you can search for cruelty-free products. There's even a Be Nice to Bunnies Phone App that allows you to quickly find out if a product tests on animals or not.

Many of these products can be found at Whole Foods or online at Vegan Essentials. Whole Foods is phenomenal at taking returns if the product you buy isn't the right fit. I've returned many products there and they never question it. If you don't have a receipt, they will give you store credit.

So make a change for the Lorax. And the beagles. Because unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.

P.S. What are you favorite animal-friendly products?

PPS. A great place to adopt pets that were used in laboratory research is the Kindness Ranch.

Life's Like A Movie

Kermit's back!

Yes, The Muppets is out. If you are a lifelong fan or a Muppet newbie, you will love this film. It's the only movie theater I can recall being in where the audience literally cheered and applauded throughout. It is relevant to the times but remains true to its roots. I don't know how they did it, but they did. 

There are endless funny moments, with several throwbacks to the late 70's/80's which will thrill the original Muppet generation. And there are moments where I got completely choked up in a good way. It was like entering a Time Machine to your younger self! The theater we were in was packed so our group had to break up in order to find seating. I sat with my brother-in-law and he was so sweetly invested in the plot -- he kept making concerned noises when any of the Muppets were sad or in any kind of trouble. I just about lost it twice -- once in the opening of a show they put on and once during a very sweet nostalgic duet.

Here is one of the many hysterical trailers out there. 

You gotta love that the turkey goes after Chef. 

But if you don't believe me, Rotten Tomatoes gave it 5 stars and a score of 98 out of 100. Not too shabby!

So how does this all play into a blog about not eating animals but being nice to them? Well, it goes back to the weirdness of our society. How can we claim to be "the biggest fans" of puppets that represent different animals --- but then eat those same animals? Omnivores at this point may be throwing up their hands in laughter, crying out, "Of for the love of G-d, give it a rest! It's just a movie! Lighten up!"

But think about it. We are so entrenched in what has been defined for us as normal, that it is easy (and natural) to miss the irony of our thinking. We grow up surrounded by animals in our books, our walls, our stuffed animals, our cartoons -- we love them. But we think nothing (literally) of eating them and having them live unimaginable lives behind conveniently placed walls. I love this clip by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau that illustrates this beautifully.

I think one of the most beautiful Muppet moments was the end of the first movie. The line, "Life's like a movie, write your own ending," always spoke to me, but even more so since I've pulled out of the violent industries that do unimaginably cruel things to the animals we grew up adoring. As much as individualism is revered, there is still a lot of pressure to do what everybody else is doing. So hail to Kermit!

And while we're reminiscing, here's another classic to enjoy...

I'd love to hear back from you! Favorite Muppet character? Favorite Muppet Show episode? Memories of seeing the original movie? Have you seen the new movie? (And check out The Muppets activity page - lots of cool stuff to make! Also, you can add your own Mahna-Mahna online...Funny!)

I love turkeys...and not in THAT way. Or the food way.

 Petunia, a rescued turkey at the Woodstock Animal Sanctuary in New York.

Today's post raves about how cool turkeys are! Tomorrow's post will focus on my yummy plans for Thanksgiving this year...stay tuned! :)

Two years ago, I happened upon a very graphic undercover PETA video on how turkeys are treated in the industry. (I believe it was at a Butterball factory farm.) I was devastated and could not fathom how people could be so cruel.

And yet I couldn't fathom giving up turkey.

So I went online and researched humanely-raised turkeys and how I could procure one that had had a good life and a fairly painless death. The closest I got was Whole Foods, who assured me that their turkeys had it much better than their Butterball counterparts. I felt slightly better, but still uneasy.

For two Thanksgivings, I got caught up in the tradition of the day -- a day I adore! How great is a holiday about giving thanks? -- and was able to successfully avoid thinking about the bird as anything but food. Yet I could always feel the blinders digging in in an irritating fashion, the way a bra feels when it's just not fitting right. (Sorry boys ... you'll have to come up with your own analogy.) :)

It wasn't until last April that I decided to stop eating animals, after finally seeing the immense suffering my taste buds were inflicting on animals that had done nothing to me. (And "humanely-raised meat," much to my dismay, did not get a free pass.)

Once I no longer had to deal with feelings of remorse,  though, I became very curious about the creatures that I had previously and guiltily acknowledged as food. Turkeys, whom I'd always assumed to be sweetly daft, are fascinating creatures who defy the stereotype as the animal kingdom idiot. (Hmm....is it easier to hurt an animal if we think of him or her as unintelligent? As Jeremy Benthem noted in the 18th century, "The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?")

Here is a lovely excerpt about a turkey named Ethel, written by Kathy Stevens, the founder of Catskill Animal Sanctuary in New York. (Taken from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Vegan's Daily Companion.)

Ethel, The Greatest Turkey of All Time

"Ethel arrived with six other turkeys, fortunate escapees from an industry that grows close to 300 million birds annually -- and then kills them.

Fortunately, Ethel was to have a different fate.


From her first day, it was clear that Ethel was a standout, curious kinda gal. Turkeys are gentle; Ethel groomed our truly free-range chickens, sheep, and pigs. Turkeys are affectionate; Ethel became our first lap turkey.


Ethel craves connection. Whether you're turkey, sheep, horese, chicken, rabbit, pig, human, or other is irrelevant. Her criteria are simple: if you live and breathe, Ethel wants to know you.


Despite her love of animals, Ethel seems to find the greatest joy in connecting with humans. When I sit down and cross my legs, Ethel sidles up to me until her big bird body touches my side, trills her lovely turkey trill, and stares at me. When I pick her up and place her in my lap, her body relaxes and her eyes quickly grow heavy with sleep. For those moments, all is right in my world, and, it seems, in hers. 


Every weekend throughout our visiting season, both tour guides and guests struggle not to step on Ethel. When we're in the barn, she settles into the middle of each group, moving with us as we move from animal to animal. She moves from one guest to the next, looking deeply into their eyes. In these moments, whatever's in that big turkey heart seems a lot like love."



To further illustrate how amazing turkeys are, there's a new documentary on PBS about a man who, by chance, became the mother of a clutch of wild turkey eggs. It's called My Life as a Turkey, and it looks fascinating!

You won't believe this short clip from My Life as a Turkey. So sweet and moving.

So if these creatures are indeed so wonderful, how can we justify hurting them? Killing them? Giving them such a horrendous life when they pose no threat to us? And all this senseless cruelty when we can survive quite beautifully without consuming them?

Below is an intense video (and one amusing commercial) on what happens to turkeys in order to bring them to our tables. I feel fairly certain that very few people will watch this. In fact, the chances are that nobody will. Which is fine. I totally get it. But if we can't even bear to watch it, what does that say about our choices? (And I'm throwing myself in that ring too -- I ate turkeys for 40 years.) Should we be paying others to hurt/abuse/kill feeling animals when we can't even watch it happening, never mind do it ourselves? If we are true carnivores/omnivores, shouldn't we be salivating, not cringing?

 Intense video of the journey turkeys take to get to our plates

(read above before watching)

 And this commercial, which is not intense, but very accurate and pretty funny!

So, as I said, tomorrow will be all happiness and holiday-cheer! I'll be talking about the yummy things I've got planned for this Thursday and how you can help these amazing creatures in very simple ways! 

Shortest post ever.

Wow. I think she said it all.

Admit it -- you're intrigued

Skipping products that are made of (or came from) an animal. You hear about the benefits. You've heard people talk about the movie Forks over Knives. **  You're a little shocked that Bill Clinton is vegan. As soon as someone mentions what the animals go through in the meat/dairy/egg industries, you feel awful and try to focus on something else as it's just too painful to contemplate. You suspect there's a lot of good in this kind of lifestyle. But man -- it just seems so extreme! And what about eating out? How would you even explain this to your family and friends? What about Thanksgiving and other special holidays? Wouldn't it ruin everything? Can you possibly give up bacon? Or cheese?

The Making of Forks Over Knives

Here's my advice. Just try it for thirty days. That's it. Then, if it's too hard or if it's not working for you, you can go back. 30 days goes by so fast. (You know it's true. Doesn't it always feel like you just paid your mortgage or rent and then it's suddenly due again?)

In the end, it is just about changing habits. Initially it feels odd to be doing something different. And it can even feel a little scary, deviating from what people describe as "the norm." But studies show it takes about three weeks to change a habit. Add a few days on there for good measure, and you're on your way.

When I started out last April, I was determined to change my habits but was admittedly very nervous about how people would perceive me. (I always like to think others' opinions of me don't matter. But dang it, sometimes they just do!) After my first month, I noticed a big difference in my energy level. I didn't get my weird 3 pm I-need-sugar-and-salt attacks. I didn't feel "stuffed" after eating. (I didn't feel deprived and hungry at all, just perfectly satiated.) And I thought, "You're kidding me. I would have done this ages ago if I'd known how easy it was!"

I wish wish wish I'd had the book The 30-Day Vegan Challenge when I'd started out. The author (whom I've mentioned enough times to probably annoy you) touches on everything you would want to know. I even left a review for the book on amazon:

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've never used this hackneyed phrase before, but this book is worth its weight in gold. More than gold, actually., August 25, 2011

By 

Katrina Donovan (Belmont, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 30-Day Vegan Challenge: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Cleaner, Getting Leaner, and Living Compassionately (Paperback)

If you asked me 6 months ago if I'd ever go vegan, I'd have told you that you were off your rocker. Give up meat? Maybe. Give up butter, eggs, cheese, and cream? Nope. No way.

Long story short, five months ago I watched a video showing what animals went through in the meat, dairy, and egg industries. My world changed instantly and I knew I'd never touch another animal product again. So I was left to fumble about a bit on my own and gradually educate myself on how to do this healthfully and sanely, all while hearing dire warnings from well-meaning family and friends. Luckily, I discovered this author's podcast pretty early on in the process (Vegetarian Food for Thought at compassionatecooks.com), so that helped me enormously. (She has, however, ruined other podcasts for me, as hers are so good.) I have never been happier. That sounds trite, but I could not put it any simpler. I am a very happy person now. (And much much healthier!) But I really wished I had had this book five months ago. How lucky are you, soon-to-be-reader?

It is amazing on many counts, but I'll narrow it to four:

1) The chapters in this book hit all the points a person in transition would ask or be asked. All the nutritional aspects are covered. Types of products are covered. Tips on making cooking easier, quicker, and more enjoyable are covered. But just as important, the social aspects are covered. In fact, the advice about social situations may be one of the ways this book is most helpful. It's hard to put into words, but she has a way of explaining things that makes you really understand where your concerned loved ones are coming from. Her words can help you toe the fine line between speaking your truth and being compassionate to all people in a very non-kumbayah-way; no drumming circles or tie-dye necessary. :) I've benefited from following her advice -- my family and friends have relaxed and are even trying my (her) recipes. Which is a good segue to point number 2.

2) The recipes are incredible. My husband, a former big animal-meat-eater is addicted to the Better-than-Tuna salad. And they're very do-able. The ingredients can be found in any supermarket. I've never had to scurry to find that elusive (and expensive) ingredient that I'll never use again. (We've all been there, right?)

3) The whole tone is very non-judgmental. You never feel bullied or guilted into making these changes. I got quite excited, in fact, to change. Moreover, I know that I (one little person on this vast planet) am making a remarkable difference in the world. I see it every day.

4) It's extremely organized, gorgeous, and easy to use. No fluff here. This book is such a bargain for what you are getting. I actually feel a little guilty -- like I should have paid much more.

So that's it in a nutshell. If you aren't sure if going vegan is for you, look at it this way: It's just 30 days. And you're paying the same price you'd pay for one month at a really cheap gym.

Go for it. You will be amazed. 

So there it is! I'd be curious to hear from some of you. If you are vegan or vegetarian, what was your transition like? If you are neither, what kinds of things are holding you back?


** Forks over Knives is getting MAJOR buzz...Ryan heard a bunch of non-vegan folk at work discussing it just this week. We watched it the other night on Instant View with our Netflix and it was incredible. No gore -- just incredible medical proof from respected scientists that animal protein is wreaking havoc on our bodies. In fact, we'd ordered the DVD on Netflix and, even though it was #1 on our queue for weeks, it kept not showing up in our mailbox. Confused and a little annoyed, I looked at our queue and saw some notes in red next to the title that said "Very long wait." I've never had that happen before with Netflix. Maybe that's why they put it on Instant View?   

The Big Giveaway with a Surprise Twist!

Yay! We hit 10 followers! Let the wild rumpus begin ...

So the Great Giveaway I announced before was Colleen Patrick Goudreau's book The 30-Day Vegan Challenge: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Cleaner, Getting Leaner, and Living Compassionately.   I haven't read this book, as it has yet to be released, but since all of her other books are wonderful and her podcast is amazing, I'm sure this book will also knock your socks off.

I've actually decided to make things more interesting by giving you a choice of Colleen's books, should you be the winner! What prompted this change was the realization that not everyone wants to make the commitment to eat only plant-based foods. Most of us love a new cookbook, though, to expand our repertoire, and that's not a major commitment if a plant-based diet isn't your cup of tea (yet). :)  So the books to choose from are the following:

Color Me Vegan (Everything I've made from this has been superb. My omnivore guinea pigs have raved about the food)

 The Vegan Table (I just got this and haven't cooked from it yet, but like her other books it's absolutely lovely inside.)

The Joy of Vegan Baking (I just got this one too. I'm not a big baker but will be drawing on the recipes for special occasions. Friends rave about this one, though.)

 and finally

The Vegan's Daily Companion (Gorgeous book. I'm not joking -- this thing is stunning. Granted it's not solely a cookbook, but there are many recipes in there and sweet, inspiring stories.)

As the new book is being released August 23, the winner will be randomly picked on that evening! The winner has 48 hours to respond. If s/he doesn't respond, another winner will be chosen.  (So keep your eye on the date!) :)

To get your first entry ( you must do this one before you do the optional ones that follow):

• Write a comment below about which book you'd like to win and why. (I know! It's tough to choose!) If you win and you change your mind on the book you want, that's fine!

To get three additional entries

•  "Like" Suburban Snow White on Facebook.

• Sign up as a follower to the right. (If you already did, then that's three additional entries already for you! Way to go!)

• Get a friend to become a follower or to "like" Suburban Snow White on Facebook, and then have them email me your name as the "recommender" 

•  Add a permanent link to Suburban Snow White on your blog, then email me the link to your blog.

To get ten additional entries

• Post the contest on your own blog/website with a link to this post and then email me a link to your post.

My email is donovank02339@yahoo.com.


Sadly, spouses of Suburban Snow White cannot enter (sorry Ry). How weird would it be to have Ryan win and then announce, "The book goes to .... US! Better luck next time, suckahs!" :)

I'm really excited to do this giveaway. I've entered many blog giveaways myself and I get embarrassingly excited.

That's all for now. I just harvested all my garlic today and may do a post soon on that as it's so flippin' cool to dig these bulbs out of the ground!

Good luck everyone!

The Truth About Eggs

Eggs. Isn't forgoing eggs going a little far? How could one possibly argue not eating them? A chicken (or other birds) lays eggs, you take the eggs, and the chicken continues on its merry way. No harm done. That's what we're raised to believe, anyway, and that was my way of thinking until I dug a little to find out what really goes on. (And honestly, "dig" is an exaggeration. Just do a google search on "egg industry" and you'll have plenty of educational material to enlighten you.) As with the dairy post, I'll describe the way our egg industry works in terms that educate, but I'll do my best not to get too graphic and "splash" you. (Though even just stating the reality can be admittedly jarring.) I'll include a video that is intense, so if that is the kind of thing you don't feel like you can watch right now, I totally get it. Just skip the video and read the information. If you want to know more, there are more "intense videos" on the right side of the page.

Eggs are, of course, part of the birds' reproductive cycle. Just like humans, hens release eggs periodically -- see where the word 'period' comes from? I just realized it as I typed that! -- and if they are not fertilized by a male, the egg leaves the body and no offspring are created. The eggs we eat are eggs that have not been fertilized. In other words, we're eating "chicken's periods." Yum. (I remember being little and being very worried I was eating undeveloped baby chickens. Whenever I'd help my mother bake, I'd crack the eggs open fearfully, wondering if a dead baby chick would emerge.) I don't outline all that because I think you're a moron. :) Rather, most of us simply don't give it much thought.

Sidestepping here for a moment, I was intrigued in the past couple years by the idea of raising our own chickens for eggs. My father and mother had done this when I was a baby (which I obviously don't remember) and later my father and stepmother did this in my early teens. I loved those chickens and their wonderful "chicken-alities." My Dad, who loved his red-headed mother-in-law but who had a constant teasing relationship with her, named all the five red chickens "Helen" after her and the one black chicken "Annie." (No idea why he chose Annie, but she really did look like an Annie.) Annie was his favorite and he'd dote on her. She'd clumsily fly up on his lap and eat food from his mouth that he'd hold out to her between his teeth. When newcomers would come to our house, he'd introduce them to the chickens, saying, "This is Annie, and that's Helen, Helen, Helen, Helen, and Helen." We collected and ate their eggs, which were, as you may have guessed, superior in taste to the supermarket brands. However, despite the fencing my Dad put around the chicken pen, raccoons and the newly repopulated coyotes killed the chickens one by one before their egg production waned.

I was very interested in replicating this experience for Ryan and me -- minus the predators -- but ran into some problems. First off, it is initially a little costly building a safe enclosure for them to protect them not only from predators but from cold New England winters. Second, I learned that the egg production does wane after a couple of years and found that most people at that point kill those chickens for meat, which Ryan and I both agreed we could never do. Third, in most cases, you order your female chickens from a mail-order company and there are usually a few that don't survive the trip, which is kind of an expected thing, much like the whole "the-potato-chips-may-settle-in-the-bag" disclosure. Finally, I wondered "What happens to the males? Do people order males?" We decided to forego the idea of raising our own chickens, as we realized that the responsibilities were too overwhelming for where our lives were at the moment. 

So going back to the egg industry. Many of my wonderings about raising chickens were answered when I researched the egg industry.

Eggs are hatched and workers immediately sort through the baby chicks. The females are put on one conveyor belt, and the males have one of two fates. Either they are thrown into enormous plastic bags with thousands of other males chicks to be crushed or suffocated to death, or they are simply and slowly ground up alive. I'll repeat that. They're ground up alive. It's also called maceration. (Many make it through this grinding process still alive and die a slow death.) This, more than anything, shocked me. And then I was shocked at myself for even being shocked. What else, I reasoned, would they do with them if they were of no financial use? We just don't think about it, do we, which is just peachy for the egg industry. We don't "not think about it" because we're cruel or thoughtless, but (in my opinion) because our lives are so busy, that our main thinking goes into other, more pressing areas of our lives.

The female chicks next have their beaks seared off with a hot blade, which is called "beak trimming." This is not like cutting off the dead part of our fingernails or cutting our hair. Their beaks are filled with nerve endings, so the process is extremely painful. (Anesthesia is obviously never used.) Many die after this procedure because the pain is so bad, they simply can't bear to eat and they starve to death. Occasionally beaks regenerate slightly and those unlucky chicks/chickens have to have the process repeated. Why is this debeaking even done? Read on ...

Chickens are placed in tiny cages called "battery cages." There are sometimes up to ten chickens in one small cage, in a room filled with cages upon cages. (It's very creepy to behold.) They are so cramped they cannot even turn their bodies around, much less spread their wings. All normal chicken behavior cannot occur. They pee and defecate all over each other (the birds on the bottom cages have the worst deal) and the ammonia from these secretions burns their skin and feathers. Understandably, they go a little mad, and if they still had their beaks they would peck each other to death. (More dead chickens, less money!) Thus, their beaks are seared off their bodies when they are chicks. 

At the end of their first laying cycle, there is what is termed as a "forced molt." Molting makes them to lay another cycle sooner. So to force this molt, they are starved for 14 days with no water and the room is kept dark. This shocks their bodies and they lay their eggs. Can you imagine? About ten percent of the chickens die at this point, and their bodies remain in the cages with the live chickens that remain.

After their second cycle, at the age of one of two, the chickens -- which normally can live up to 10 years old -- are considered "spent" and are sent to a slaughterhouse. Again, as with the cows, there is no happy chicken retirement farm where they get to live out their remaining days in beautiful pastures. The carcasses from these chickens, however, are so damaged, bruised, cut, and burned from the  conditions in the battery cages, that they cannot be sold as the meat we see in the cellophaned packages in the supermarket. Instead, it is used for soups, broth, pet food, and school lunch programs. Yes, you read that right.

So that's all pretty awful. But then a lot of people argue (myself included!) "But I buy organic and/or free-range eggs! So my dollars don't support those practices." Many of the same practices however, are used on these birds. Debeaking, killing male chicks, and unhealthy living conditions still occur. Often (not always but often) the area where they can "range" is a tiny dirt patch.

Short, intense video of typical egg production

So you are probably seeing the fine line approach, right? What about raising your own chickens or buying chickens from a local farm stand? That is obviously your call. I've seen many a small farm where the chickens roam about and look healthy and happy in an Old MacDonald kind of way. But for me, I can't purchase or consume their eggs, because I know now that if they ordered the female chicks, the males are still being killed and my dollars are still supporting that. If their own hens hatched their chicks, what happened to the males? Also, what happens to the chickens once their egg production declines or stops? For me, there are simply too many unknowns so I don't risk supporting the practices I outlined earlier.

Do I miss my daily morning omelets? (I did eat them every morning for a spell this winter.) Surprisingly, no.

What about baking? Truthfully, this is an area where I still need to educate myself, as I've never been a huge baker and as I'm still in the relative beginning stages of eating a plant-based diet. However, there are many great (and much healthier) substitutes out there that taste just as good as eggs, if not better. I will outline them as I experiment with them. (Though if you are itching to try some now, check out Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's award-winning The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets, as she has many options that reviewers are raving about.)

I will say, however, that the vegan baked fare that you'll find for sale really varies from crap to sublime. I went to Whole Foods one day (whose baked goods I've enjoyed in the past) and got a vegan blueberry muffin and was hugely disappointed when it tasted truly nasty -- very "flat"-tasting and oily. It tasted like what omnivores think vegan food tastes like. Bleck. I'm guessing they used canola oil, and it wasn't good.  But then some folks use much tastier substitutes! Flour Bakery, a Boston baked-goods hub that is unspeakably good, was my favorite pre-vegan place to get pastries (and this coming from a person who normally doesn't enjoy pastries.) One day recently,  my newly vegan self stopped by with a small spark of hope that they might have something on the menu without eggs or dairy. Lo and behold, there were several items! Yipee! But still hurting from the Whole Foods blueberry incident, I tried to hold my optimism in check. I bought the chocolate vegan cupcake and -- gasp - I've never tasted anything that good in my life. Ever. It was unreal. It didn't even need frosting, the taste was so decadent, with little bits of goo-ey chocolate throughout the cupcake. Heaven.

So life without eggs can be a delicious one, and I'll experiment more with this later and will share the results with you! I should add too that once I figure out the fine-tuning with these great substitutes, I'll be contacting Whole Foods with suggestions on improving their baked vegan fare.

I hope that helped you better understand why many people are forgoing eggs in their diet. Please feel free to post places that serve amazing vegan baked goods! And maybe we can all educate the establishments that are serving gross vegan stuff.

Onward and upward!

A Really Cool Lady with a Beautiful Message

So I discovered, like so many have, this remarkable woman named Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, who, in addition to writing many wonderful cookbooks, has created a vegetarian podcast that is always meaningful and fascinating... She has a remarkable way of making things clear in a very approachable and fun way that doesn't "put people off." She covers a wide range of topics, including specific foods to try, different animals and what makes them so special, how to transition to a vegetarian/vegan diet, how to make holidays great, and how to work on the social aspects of changing to a plant-based diet. 

Colleen feels like one of my dearest friends, and I've never met the lady! :)  Anyhow, take a look at her website, and then check out her podcast. If you sign up through itunes, the new podcasts just arrive in your itunes as they are produced. I guarantee you will fall in love with her!

Her book, Vegan's Daily Companion, is simply a joy to read, as well as having some gorgeous heart-warming photos. It may have been one of the first things to spark my "slight consideration" of being a vegan. I saw it in a bookstore a few months ago and was intrigued. It was so beautiful. After about two months of thinking about this tome, I finally bought it. It's now on my bed table, well-loved and well-read! (Click on the link above...you just have to see some of the pictures!) It makes me aware, and feel happy and hopeful.