Posts Tagged ‘vegan’

Dazzle Dry Toluene, Phthalate, and Formadehyde Free Finger Nail Polish

The Dazzle Dry Nail Polish System is made for the “on the go lifestyle”. The really great thing about the quick drying Dazzle Dry Nail System is that it contains no harmful chemicals. It is free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, and camphor and is also nitrocellulose free (this is the stuff that turns your nails yellow).

The Dazzle Dry formula is also Vegan and Non-Toxic.

Handmade Holidays: Farm Fresh Apple Butter

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists!

If you want to have a totally handmade holiday, now is the time to get started. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be posting about recycled gifts and giftwrap you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale!

When my pal Jes from Cupcake Punk posted about making her own apple butter, I just new this was the perfect holiday food gift! We’re all about mason jars full of tasty treats around the holidays, and you know we’re into canning around here, so this seemed just perfect! Not only is apple butter a crowd pleaser, but since apples are in season right now, you can probably find local ones pretty easily!

Celebrate National Sandwich Day!

Today is National Sandwich Day, supposedly because November 3rd marks the birthday of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Legend has it that Montagu ordered his servant to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread so Montagu could eat one-handed while gambling.

While I’ve yet to be convinced that National Sandwich Day wasn’t created to sell more sliced bread, the holiday is still a good excuse to make [...]

Know Your Roots: Recipe to Roast your Rutabagas and Other Fall Veggies

I confess: rutabagas overwhelm me. Turnips come in a close second. As these hefty big root crops pile up on the counter here at Inn Serendipity, I realize I need an easy cooking plan.

Fall crops – from butternuts to beets – require taking out the big sharp knives, the cutting boards, and usually can’t go from garden to plate in ten minutes or less. (Case in point: the yummy, yet rather complex, Beet Burger recipe I wrote about last week). But there’s a reason for that: these types of fall vegetables are meant to store and be savored through the winter months, particularly here in through our Wisconsin winters. Tougher skins and harder insides hold up to seasonal and local eating booty through our lean Midwest growing months, providing the opportunity to still eat fresh year round.

Consider this Roasted Root Vegetable recipe my point of entry into the winter cooking season. Cooked in olive oil with some simple seasonings, this recipe showcases the distinct, hearty flavors of root vegetables. Potato recipes get temporarily bumped off the breakfast plate at Inn Serendipity this time of year as this flavorful, unusual recipe prompts folks to rethink their assumptions about rutabagas and other roots.

Roasted Root Vegetables (Vegan)

No PhytoEstrogen: Organic, Worry-Free Beauty Products for Babies & Up

Original Sprout organic beauty productsOne of the perks of being a mommy blogger is getting great new organic beauty products to try on my family. We recently tested Original Sprout “Worry-Free Luxury” Natural & Organic Family Collection.  These products smell wonderful and are free of “added hormone disruptors, parabens, petroleum oils, phthalates, dioxanes from sulfates, formaldehyde, & propylene glycol.”

Do you know about PhytoEstrogens?  PhytoEstrogens are called “dietary estrogens“, because they come from food sources, such as soybeans. They are often promoted for consumption in menopausal women for bone density, but there is concern that over exposure to PhytoEstrogens increases the risk of breast cancer and causes fertility issues.  Original Sprout explains:

Working as estrogen mimics, phytoestrogens may either have the same effects as estrogen or block estrogen’s effects. Which effect the phytoestrogen produces can depend on the dose of the phytoestrogen. The phytoestrogen can act like estrogen at low doses but block estrogen at high doses. Estrogen activates a family of proteins called estrogen receptors. Recent studies have shown that phytoestrogens interact more with some members of the estrogen receptor family, but more information is needed about how these receptors work, especially in breast cancer. Finally, phytoestrogens acting as estrogen mimics may affect the production and/or the breakdown of estrogen by the body, as well as the levels of estrogen carried in the bloodstream.

Phytoestrogens - acting differently from estrogen - may affect communication pathways between cells, prevent the formation of blood vessels to tumors or alter processes involved in the processing of DNA for cell multiplication. Which of these effects occur is unknown. It is very possible that more than one of them may be working. Also, the effects in various parts of the body may be different. from Phytoestrogens and Breast Cancer.

Meatless Mondays-Vegan Anti-Aging Goji Berry Muffins

Going Meatless on Mondays doesn’t have to mean deprivation of all your favorite foods. By making some simple changes to recipes, you can easily swap out the animal products for vegan options. Here is a simple veganized muffin recipe, so you can start your Meatless Monday off with delicious, healthy, energizing and decadent baked good.

Tibetan Goji Berries are regarded in Tibet as the “Fruit of Longevity and Well Being”. Goji berries have been traditionally regarded as a food that offers your body longevity, strength-building, and sexual potency. Goji’s are a complete protein source and a low calorie snack that strengthens your immune system, increases energy and helps to curb cravings. It has one of the highest antioxidant contents in all food, which helps to fight free radicals, keeping you young and vibrant. Goji’s contain 18 amino acids, vitamin C, beta-carotene, 20 rare trace minerals, vitamin B1, B2 and B6 and vitamin E.

In honor of this Meatless Monday, let’s boost our energy, keep ourselves looking and feeling young and chow down on some delicious vegan, anti-aging muffins.

Vegetarian…Wine?

A couple of weeks ago, Rachel did an awesome writeup of wine pairings for vegetarian meals. Why not really get your veg on and make sure your wine pairing is vegetarian, too?

How to Become Vegetarian: 5 Key Steps (& Famous Vegetarian Celebrities)

If you are thinking about going vegetarian, here is a list of things that should help you to actually do it,… and to stick to it once you’ve started.

Favorite Meal of the Month — Homemade Indian Yum Yum


Indian food is my favorite, so I may be a little biased on this one. Nonetheless, the following is a delicious meal that I think most people can enjoy.

I am calling this “Homemade Indian Yum Yum” because it is full of spices often used in India, but it isn’t actually based on any specific Indian dish.

In Honor of Meatless Mondays: Vegetarian Wine Pairing-Uncork This!

In the latest edition of Veg News, there is a small article discussing the quandary a Plant Based eater may face when trying to pair a fabulous wine with a fabulous vegan meal. Unlike our omnivore friends, plant based eaters don’t get to follow the age-old rule of  “red is for meat and white is for fish”. So simple for the meat eaters, except it just doesn’t sound quite right when put into veggie terms. Can we really say “red is for seitan or texturized soy protein and white is for tofu and tofurky”? Selecting a wine to pair with your food can make a meal spectacular, or spoil the flavor of both the meal and the wine.  Have no fear all you wine loving vegans, Denis Cotter, owner of Café Paridiso, serving seasonal and vegetarian fare in Ireland of all places, has put together some very easy pairings for us to rely on (along with some help of some wine experts). You, my thirsty friend, do not have to be wine expert to get the basics down.

Vegan Ice Cream Challenge: Review Roundup


Summer is starting to wind down, and it’s time to say goodbye to weeks of eating far, far too much delicious ice cream. Thanks for all of the great comments and suggestions. You guys really helped take this challenge to the next level!

After six weeks of grueling, scientific research, here is my favorite flavor and the runner-up:

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