Plastic

Have you ever heard of BPA? I had heard of it before and heard that it was bad for you, but wasn't exactly sure why. I did some research on BPA and plastic and this is what I found. First of all, "Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical building block that is used primarily to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins." Different studies have shown that BPA has been linked to obesity, breast cancer, thyroid problems, neurological problems, reproductive problems, etc. Be careful when using plastic. Make sure to check the bottle recycle label. It will be numbered from 1-7. Here’s your list to what the numbers mean. This way you can know if they are safe:

Plastic #1: Most soda & water bottles are made of #1. It is considered generally safe, but does have a surface that allows bacteria to grow. It's best not to reuse.

*This is picked up by most recycling programs.

Plastic #2: Most milk jugs, detergent bottles, juice bottles, and toiletries bottles are made of #2. This plastic is considered safe.

*This is also picked up by most recycling programs.

Plastic #3: This is used to make food wrap, bottles for cooking oil, and plumbing pipes. #3 is not considered safe to cook food near it. NEVER cook using food wrap in a microwave even if the wrap says microwave safe!

Plastic #4: This is used to make grocery bags, bottles, and bread bags. This plastic is considered safe.

Plastic #5: Wide-necked containers, straws, ketchup, and syrup bottles are often made from it. This plastic is also considered safe.

*Some recycling programs accept this now.

Plastic #6: This is basically styrofoam. Some evidence says that this plastic gives of potentially toxic chemicals. This happens especially when heated! Avoid styrofoam whenever possible!

Plastic #7: This plastic number is a mix. Polycarbonate are in thiscategory, including BPA. Avoid number 7 whenever possible.

I try to avoid plastic whenever possible and just stick to glass.

Quinoa

I am trying out a new recipe tonight with Quinoa. Quinoa is known as "one of the best sources of protein in the vegetable kingdom." Pretty impressive huh? It is an excellent source of protein, iron, B vitamins, zinc, copper, and many other things. This is great for vegetarians & vegans! It is also gluten-free. So I am trying out a curried quinoa recipe. I will update this later on how it turned out.

Meal Starters

Today I tried the Morning Star meal starters chick'n strips alongside some flax seed organic waffles and maple syrup. I love REAL maple syrup! I really love Morning Star brand and haven't found a thing yet that I hated! The only thing I didn't enjoy too much was the Morning Star bacon, because it doesn't get crunchy. The chik'n strips would be great on a salad!

Going Shampoo Free

I have been called a hippie many times, and so what! Maybe I am! Anyway, I have been reading articles about going "shampoo free" and was intrigued. Basically what I've found is that shampoo is a detergent. It strips your hair of all the healthy oil your body produces. Most shampoo also has a lot of chemicals. I personally already use an all natural shampoo and did not think that I could get much more natural than I already am. Then I found this shampoo recipe:

1 Tbsp baking soda to

1 cup of water

Shake it up in a bottle and your good to go!

For conditioner you can use:

1 Tbsp apple cidar vinigar to

1 cup of

water

*This will detangle your hair & restore your natural pH balance.*

Baking soda is such a great thing that seems to be good for everything! I know I use it for everything from cooking to cleaning to litter box to hair, etc.

(I also already use baking soda to brush my teeth!) Just make sure that you buy aluminum free baking soda. Some studies show that aluminum causes alzheimer's. I would ra

ther be safe than sorry, so I use all natural bak

ing soda. You can buy pure baking soda at Whole foods or another place like it near you. I will try going "poo-free" as they call it, and update you on how it goes in a few months or so.

Pet's of the week

These are SCARS pets of the week! Little grey on the left is named Silver. He was dropped at at my place yesterday by a little girl who heard I was the "rescue lady" :) The one to the right of Silver is Pharaoh. I rescued Pharaoh from a local park. The big boy below is Oreo. Him and the other tuxedo Bandit need to go together. They love each other and have separation anxiety when separated. Little black boy, Ehu, is a very aloof cat. He likes to do his own thing.


If interested in adopting, please let me know!

- www.SCARShelter.com

SCARShelter@gmail.com

Butternut Squash

Tonight's dinner was a success! Even my husband (not vegetarian/vegan) liked it!

Butternut Squash Macaroni:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milkSalt and pepper to taste1 tablespoon chopped sage
¾ pound dried elbow macaroni
½ cup chopped toasted walnuts
½ cup bread crumbs (or panko)

Ginger (optional, I added this)

Nutritional yeast (optional, I added this)

Preheat oven to 350°

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 min

utes. Add squash, coconut milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in sage and simmer 1 minute more. (This part can be made ahead, up to 1 day in advance.)
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until tender but still firm, about 8 minutes. Rinse in cold water, drain well and transfer to a large bowl. Transfer squash mixture to bowl with macaroni. Add walnuts, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Transfer to prepared dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake until just golden brown and hot throughout, about 30 minutes. Enjoy!

-courtesy of Wholefoods.com

Let me know what you guys think!

Thursday coffee

So this morning I decided to make some vegan caramel sauce for my coffee. Keep in mind that this is a caramel sauce made to drizzle on things, not a hard caramel. This is the recipe:

Caramel Sauce

1 stick Earth Balance margarine
2 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. soy creamer or soy milk (I used almond milk since I had it on hand)
2 T. arrowroot

Combine 1/4 cup soy creamer with the arrowroot. Set aside.
Melt the Earth Balance in a saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Add remaining 1/2 cup soy creamer. Bring liquid to a boil and boil for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Take the pan off the heat and immediately add arrowroot mixture. The liquid should thicken quickly.

So I poured a little caramel sauce into the bottom of my cup. I then poured part of the iced coffee in. (I cheated and bought some black iced coffee at mcdonalds.) Then add almond milk & agave to taste. I added a little too much agave, but other than that, it turned out great!

"Organic" milk?

I personally do not drink milk, and would much rather consume almond milk. Although, if I did drink milk I would chose an organic milk produced by a company who treats their cows humanely. I have been doing research and was sad with what I found. A lot of different sites online say that the Horizon milk brand has been cutting a lot of corners when it comes to following the organic standard. They produce milk under factory-farm conditions. They also do not always buy organically raised calves. They purchase them from conventional farms. These so called organic cows have been fed genetically modified grains among other things. So do some research on it and make your own choice whether you want to drink horizon milk and support that company or not. I know I don't want to.

Also visit the notmilk website.

*Give soy, almond, rice, or hemp milk a try*

Rate of Slaughter in US 2008

Poke

Today's lunch was "vegetarian poke". I think that's kind of an oxymoron, don't you? It consisted of watercress, onions, tomatoes, & tofu in some type of light sauce. It was good but a little plain, so I dipped the tofu chunks in salad dressing and it was great along with my organic carrot juice. YUM! I am slowly going to the vegan side of things, but it is hard in hawaii to be a vegetarian let alone a vegan! Vegetables in Hawaii are so expensive it's retarded. Plus I try to buy everything organic as well, so even more pricey. Does anyone have any good suggestions on soy cheese? I've heard follow your heart brand was the best, but haven't even attempted to try any yet. When I was at safeway I also picked up one of those Amy's brand pizzas. This one is cheese-less, vegan. We'll see how it tastes:)