Eating Consciously

Here's something I often make myself for lunch when I'm running low on time. It's a delicious eggless tofu salad that is almost too familiar of a traditional egg salad, minus the 24 hours of misery for a chicken for each egg you would have used. Yeah, when you keep in mind that not only are chickens the most mistreated animals in factory farms, it takes them approximately 24 hours to produce each egg. Think about that the next time you pick up a dozen of eggs, which contribute to a total of 12 days of suffering! So, here's my quick salad that you can throw on a whole wheat wrap, bread, crackers, or whatever else you have around. Feel free to throw in some chopped veggies too if you'd like. You can also make this sans the onions if you don't prefer their flavor, or the way your breath will smell afterwards ;) Eggless Tofu Salad 1 block extra firm tofu 1/4 of a white onion (diced, optional) 1/4 C vegan mayo salt and pepper to taste Mush all ingredients in a ...

Happy belated Earth Day! I was going to make a post yesterday, but couldn't find the time and figured it wasn't extremely important to acknowledge Earth Day, since I believe it is Earth Day everyday. Especially when you're vegan, which as you know is perhaps the most one person can do to help protect the environment. In honor of Earth Day, I did come up with a new use for and old pan that I would have otherwise thrown away. I put all my potted herbs on it to catch the water and make it easy to relocate them throughout the house. Check it out: I also came up with a delicious mock chicken dish yesterday made with my General Tso's Sauce and baked, breaded, seitan. You can now easily locate the recipe for the sauce by navigating through the recipe links over on the side bar. For the seitan, I made my own cause it's a lot cheaper, but you can buy it already made too. Here's how I made the breading: 1 C whole wheat pastry flour 1 C water 2 TBS ground flax seed...

I think people are turned off by lentils for two reasons: 1) They don't taste good. 2) They are hard to make. Those are both false. Lentils are not only a great source of protein, but are also a quick and easy meal that does not include the exploitation of animals. Here's a quick lentil recipe that I enjoy whenever I need dinner in less than 30 minutes. (Which is usually every night). Here it goes: Yummy Curried Lentils Lentils: 1 C red lentils 3 C water 1 tbs olive oil 4 cloves crushed garlic 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp tumeric 1/2 tsp corriander 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 c soymilk 1 tsp lemon juice salt and pepper to taste Couscous: 1 C whole wheat couscous 1 1/2 C water For the lentils, combine the lentils, water, olive oil, garlic, cumin, garam masala, ginger, tumeric, corriander, and cayenne pepper in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn to medium heat and stir frequently, cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until soft and mushy. When done, a...

Yes, walnuts are enough and only a handful per day will provide you with an adequate amount of omega 3's for the day. I would certainly suggest purchasing a small coffee grinder if you can, because freshly ground flax are of the most nutritional value and it's good to get your nutrients from a variety of sources. The whole flax seeds will not offer much in the way of nutrition, although it's fine to eat them that way. It's also important to remember not to heat any of your omega 3's because you will destroy most of the fatty acids. Keep in mind that poor omega 3 consumption is not only a vegan nutrition concern, but also a concern for omnivores as well. Most people get enough omega 6's but it's important to have a proper balance of omega 3's combined because the two compete for enzymes required to convert small fatty acid chains into longer ones. An imbalance can increase the risk for heat disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and multiple immu...

I visited a raw food potluck last night here in Philadelphia. It was quite interesting and all the food was really good. I get the feeling that most raw food consists of some type of mush. I know it doesn't have to be that way, as I have encountered at some fine raw food restaurants, but I do feel there's a lack of textures. Not to offend any raw foodies out there, that's just my opinion, take it or leave it. I also won the door prize which was a DVD called "Living on live Food", once I watch it, I'll have to report on that. So, I thought I would try my luck at using my old fashioned dehydrator for the first time yesterday. I made raw stuffed mushrooms: I even stuck little sprouts of oregano in each mushroom and finished the plate off with a ring of organic lemon wedges, YUM. They were pretty tasty. If you're interested, here's the recipe I used: RAW Stuffed Mushrooms 20 baby portobello mushroom caps 1/2 white onion 2 cloves garlic 1 cup pine ...

(Please be aware that this and all future blogs concerning what is happening in the world of Conscious Confections, will now have it's own blog, which my business partner and I will both contribute to. You can check my links, or visit directly at www.consciousconfections.blogspot.com) Okay, so we were ecstatic to hear The South Philly Review, a local paper, wanted to do an article on our Wellness Workshops, but when we heard we got the cover story, the feeling was totally surreal! It's so exciting to know that there is such a genuine interest in the work we are doing and lives we are changing. I think that this really shows that we can make a real difference not only here in Philadelphia, but in the world. Our mission from day one was to create an example of total wellness and sustainability both in individuals and communities. This article has turned that idea into a reality, as a group of individuals all focused on one common goal, we now serve as an example to the rest of o...

When you hear the word calcium the first things that probably pop into your head are: Strong Bones Dairy Products Protection of Osteoporosis Vitamin D The irony is that when you do a little bit of research, you will uncover that dairy products have little effect on any of the above mentioned. This is backed by some pretty credible data. Before we get into the data, it's important to realize that in the US, we are constantly marketed to by those who benefit from the sales of dairy products and have strong government affiliations such as the Dairy Council. The milk ads, text book information, school handouts, nutrition pamphlets, and even scientific research are all backed by organizations such as the Dairy Council. It's also interesting to notice that vegan diets tend to be criticized for not being able to reach calcium intakes due to high recommended amounts and low bioavailability. Yes, the amounts are high, about 1,000 mg per day according the the latest adequate intakes...