Moon Cookies

by with No Comment Recipes

Sat Nam!
Here’s a little background…
The first time I had a cookie like these was from a dear yogini friend who had brought to Sadhana. I liked them so much I went online and searched for oatmeal vegan recipes and found a very basic oatmeal cookie recipe I knew I could twist to my liking…so I went to work. The outcome was this fabulous recipe which is very easy to put together and tons of fun to have in the process. Every Full Moon Kundalini Meditation on the beach event we go to I like to bring these cookies along …hence the name “Moon Cookies”. Thanks to the yummy ingredients they are a hit wherever I go because they please every palate.
I hope you enjoy baking them as much as I do, and fine-tune them to your palate’s enjoyment if you feel the need. ^_^

Moon Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

– 3/4 cup of vegan margarine (Earth Balance is good)
– 3/4 cup brown sugar (or can do 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 agave nectar, or real maple syrup)
– 1 T vanilla
– 1/2 cup almond milk (note: if after adding the dry ingredients it looks too dry add another 1/4 cup of milk or less, gradually)
– 1 cup unbleached flour (can use almond flour or cashew flour)
– 1/4 t baking powder
– 1/4 t fresh ginger, finely minced (ginger powder is a good alternative)
– 1/4 t cloves, ground (i prefer to grind w/mortar and pestle just before tossing into the mix)
– 1/2 t cinnamon
– 1/4 t nutmeg
– 3 cups oatmeal
– 1 cup dried cranberries (or 1/2 cranberries and 1/2 raisins)
– 1/2 cup almonds
– 1/2 walnuts
– 1/4 cup coconut flakes

Preparation:

-Cream together margarine and sugar until smooth
-Add vanilla and milk
-Mix well
-Add flour, baking powder and spices and mix well, then stir in oats, cranberries/raisins, almonds and walnuts
-Spoon 1 1/2 inch balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10 – 15 min at 350º ..or until done.

vegan shoes

Vegan Shoes

by with No Comment Community News

Vegan Shoes Take Over The World?
by Lindsay, a Peta.org author

vegan shoes

Some of you might remember that last summer, I blogged about the top 10 places to find vegan women’s shoes. Well, proving once again that when it comes to fashion—as with most things—vegans are ahead of the curve, the Wall Street Journal recently ran an article all about fashionable vegan footwear!

The authors of the article gave the thumbs up to cruelty-free pumps, boots, and flats by Olsenhaus, Neuaura, Stella McCartney, and Toms, schooling the Wall Street Journal’s more than 2 million readers in the virtues of vegan fashion. (Yes, I said 2 million—it is the second largest paper in the country, after all

No doubt, we’ll be hearing more buzz about vegan footwear (and cruelty-free fashion in general) as savvy shoppers seek out “green” additions to their wardrobe. Vegan products are pretty much synonymous with eco-chic—environmentally friendly style that is taking fashion magazines and runways by storm.

Unlike leather products, vegan shoes, belts, and bags don’t require harmful chemicals to keep them from, um, decomposing. Leather is also an environmental no-no because tanneries pollute groundwater and streams and because raising animals for their flesh and skin wastes massive amounts of resources—not to mention that it sentences animals to cruel deaths!

Are you still scuffing around in the skins of dead animals? Maybe it’s time to get in step with fashion—and compassion—and treat your feet to a pair of pleather shoes!!)

vegetarian book

Vegetarian and vegan diets are appropriate, says ADA!

by with No Comment Healthy Living

Thanks, ADA! I’ve Known It All Along!
by Heather, a Peta.org author

vegetarian book

I already knew that a vegan diet is healthful and nutritionally adequate and can help prevent and treat certain diseases, but it’s a big coup when the American Dietetic Association (ADA) says so too!

Now, the ADA has long said that vegetarian and vegan diets are appropriate for every stage of the life-cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence—and for athletes—but just recently, the ADA updated its position paper in support of vegetarianism. Among other things, the paper explains that healthy, plant-based diets can prevent—and even reverse—many life-threatening diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

The ADA also points out that well-planned (not just Oreos, pop tarts, and French fries, obviously) vegetarian diets can meet the recommendations for protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, and vitamins D and B12, as well as other essential nutrients. (If you want some basic healthy-eating tips, check out my blog, A Vegan’s Guide to Good Nutrition.)

Best yet, the ADA predicts that the number of vegetarians in the U.S. will increase over the next decade. Yay! If you’re one of the people who haven’t gone vegetarian yet, what are you waiting for? Seriously—you don’t have any excuses! Our “Vegetarian Starter Kit” will help get you started in the right direction.