CrispyQ

Brit, you are tooooooooo funny! Hero, I love both pics & even with my inexperieced eye, I can see that you have improved so much between pic1 & pic2. However, oh my!!! In pic1, your hair sways me!!! Put that hair on pic2 & oh, man!!! I would not be responsible for my actions!

The Uncheese Cookbook has something called "All Season Blend." It's a blend of nutritional yeast, garlic & onion granules & spices. It's great! I use it wherever NY is called for. Really yummy sprinkled on top of baked spuds, popcorn & so many things! Even used it in my pizza dough a few weeks ago when making Vegan Madre's white sauce pizza. Will I be in violation of copyright rules if I post it here?

Here's their products page: http://www.aubrey-organics.com/categories1.cfm They have customer testomonials on many of the individual product pages that I've found helpful. Also, the "Travel A Go Go" kit is a nice way to test their skin care regime. All of their products use all natural ingredients & all are not tested on animals. With the exception of 1 or 2 products, all their stuff is vegan. 10 SYNTHETIC COSMETIC INGREDIENTS TO AVOID http://www.aubrey-organics.com/about/treat_10synth.cfm I've been using AO products for about 5 years now & cannot tell you how much nicer my skin is! I saw results in less than 2 weeks of using their stuff. You can order online or many HFS have their products.

While it may not be a huge factor, check your shampoo for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or Sodium Laureth Sulfate, sometimes called SLS. There is some controversy as to the harmful effects of this ingredient -- Google it & see what you find. I do believe the cancer scare has been debunked, but there are still other issues with it's effect on hair & skin. Unfortunately it is frequently found in 'natural' shampoos. IMHO, Aubrey Organics has the best skin & hair care products to be found! But if you were to ask a room of women their fave products, you would probably end up with a list longer than the number of women in the room!

Ohhhh, I finally tried that Tofurky sausage in the past couple of weeks & it's really good! I was quite surprised! For breakfast I had a small bowl of lentil soup & a Boca chik patty. For lunch I had a bean burrito with salsa, lettuce, tomato & guac. I could eat guac all day, every day! No plans for dinner yet.

Almost every mainstream food mfg is on the GMO list. http://www.truefoodnow.com/shoppersguide/guide_printable.html

Holding you & your family in my thoughts during this time. Hugs to little Sofia.

What a great opportunity to read a great book! If I recall, it's not overly graphic. I realize graphic descriptions of the animal industry can have a profound effect on people, but I'm already on the path & those images haunt me for weeks & weeks.

Hi Karen! Skinny fat -- I like that term. I was skinny fat for many many years, then I got fit & was in great shape, then I lost it all & got fat fat. Now I'm back on the path to get fit again. I've already gotten some good suggestions & made some progress since visiting this site. I'm sure you'll find it helpful too! Welcome!

Some of the religious zealots believe that deliberate childlessness is a sin. 6.7 Billion people on this planet, & they believe everyone should procreate. Guess my husband & I are living in sin after all!

My visits here & some great suggestions from CompassionateGirl & others have finally inspired me to really get serious about losing weight & to get strong again. I found my old workout logs from about 4 years ago & am impressed with the level of strength I had reached in what was a fairly short time. I remember - with much fondness! - an incident in the grocery store parking lot. I had a 50# bag of dog food & 40# bag of cat litter in my cart & one of the clerks collecting carts in the parking lot approached me as I easily lifted the dog food from the cart into the back of my truck. He laughed & said, "I was going to ask if you needed help with that, but now I think you should apply for a job here! Most of the women here can barely lift a 50# bag." That's my goal & I"m sticking with it! I realize I'll have slumps, but I'll re-read this post & it will help. Great site, great people, great inspiration.

Veggymeggy, I don't know if you've ever read Thom Hartmann, (one of our best progressive voices, IMHO) but he states exactly the same thing -- our best opportunity to make change is at the local level. I pay attention to my city council meetings & visit my city & county websites frequently -- to be aware of what is going on in my immediate community & get my voice out there on issues that are important to me. It seems futile, sometimes, to start so small, but we should each remember where we started on our road to fitness & vegan-ness & where we are now. Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

So I made the recipe called "Earth Scrub" & it's very nice! Much like a Soft Scrub type product. It's a combo of baking soda, liquid soap (I used Dr. Bronner's), water & white vinegar. Mix it all up & pour into a container. I cleaned my kitchen sink & bathtub with it & it worked great! I'm really happy with it.

So many neighbors don't appreciate the concept of compromise. And going to the environmental agency when you were clearly trying to work with them was mean-spirited & very un-neighborly. I wonder about the types of personalities that want to escalate to a higher authroity right away. What is it about them that they can't work with others. I bet when they were kids if things didn't go their way they threatened to take their ball & go home. Arghhh! So childish! And Daywalker, if anyone tried to hurt my animals, it would definitely be war! You can mess with me & even with my stuff, but don't you dare hurt one of my animals. Sorry you both have such jerks to deal with.

Happy Birthday & have a fantastic day!

First, Happy Birthday! This meal sounds wonderful!! Just tell me when & where & I'll be there! BTW, my family is also terrified of the small but mighty soy bean!

http://www.citizens.org/priorities/hr3156/index.cfm snip... In an era of spiraling health care costs, H.R. 3156 will likely increase the price of popular herbs and dietary supplements like St. John’s Wort, saw palmetto, and omega-3 fatty acids by establishing a burdensome and unnecessary set of ingredient and adverse event reporting requirements. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 already provides for the establishment of Good Manufacturing Practices for the dietary supplement industry, and for the ability of the FDA to pull unsafe products. So why are we adding another expensive layer of regulation? This bill hurts consumers’ pocketbooks without making supplements any safer. H.R. 3156 would also reduce the availability of herbs and dietary supplements. Under current law, the FDA can pull any product from the marketplace if it proves that the product “presents a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury”. H.R. 3156 would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ban any product if he or she decides that its risks outweigh its benefits, even if there is no proof of harm. One person should not have the right to arbitrarily deny American consumers access to herbs and dietary supplements that have been used safely for thousands of years. We believe that citizens have the right and responsibility to make their own decisions about health, and H.R. 3156 denies us that right. === If you value the right to purchase the dietary supplements you have decided are beneficial for your health, please consider signing the online petition at the link above.

Thanks, I will look for one. My friend has one that is +$100 - way out of my range! She programs her workouts into it, even her interval workouts. She laughingly tells me you have to be a computer programmer to use it.

Do you know if there is a standard that companies are checked against for products with the bunny logo? In other words, if there is a bunny, is it pretty certain the company doesn't outsource it's animal testing? I just don't understand why animal testing is still around. How many medications have been tested on animals with one result only to discover that it doesn't work the same on humans? And what moron needs to pour copious amounts of any substance into the eyes of bunnies to know that this isn't good for humans either? Sheesh! It seems that common sense should rule, but alas, that is one thing humans seem to be sadly lacking.

A more traditional recipe: Thanksgiving Casserole from VegWeb http://vegweb.com/recipes/events/3968.shtml I've made this recipe before & it's very good! It's pretty easy too. I add some grated carrot & sometimes chunks of seitan too. I double the recipe as my husband could eat most of it on his own. Add some cranberry, maybe some baked or mashed spuds & gravy, some pie & you've got a meal. Those tamales, however, sound darned good!

Me too, CG, me too. I had to go to the restroom so my co-workers wouldn't see me crying. Poor little Rodney! My heart breaks to think of the millions of animals in similar situations. I could do some very anti-vegan acts to people who are involved in this type of thing. Michelle, kudos to you for your kindness & care for those two puppies!

That is so good!!

Under Republicans, man exploits man. Under Democrats, it's just the opposite. We no longer have a government of, by & for the people, but rather, of, by & for the corporations. The 2000 election was stolen by the US Supreme Court when they decided the presidential winner without counting all the votes. Like Jay, I believe that the 2004 election was stolen by Diebold & ESS, shills for the Republican party & their corporate masters. There is plenty of evidence supporting this outrage (see link below) & it should be blasted on every front page of every paper in our nation & should be the leading story on every news network. But not a word in our ‘liberal’ media about this travesty to our republic! Anyone who dares to bring this topic front & center is accused of wearing a tin foil hat. We need more people to get involved at a local level. Your local Election Board is a good place to start. Another very significant position is the Secretary of State. (Remember Katherine Harris & the dreadful influence she had in the 2000 Florida election.) Also, revoking corporate personhood would be a key step in setting many, many wrongs right! I spent 20 years totally apathetic to politics & our political process. I’m one of millions who are partially to blame for the mockery our government has become. Not anymore. I will work within the system, outside the system, any way I can. BTW, CollegeB, Kinky Firedman was on Bill Maher a few weeks ago & I thought he was pretty right on! === Powerful Government Accountability Office report confirms key 2004 stolen election findings http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1529[/b]

Ecover has a nice "soft scrub" type cleanser that I like lots! We have a local eco products manufacturer & I try to buy from them -- ecologically friendly AND local too! CompassionateGirl, I'll have to try that vinegar in the rinse cycle tip. I've never heard of that before.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search.html/002-2187220-5227244?me=&node=3580501&keywords=tofu%20shirataki snip... Product Description This HEALTHY, sought-after, versatile food may be used in sauces, stir-fries, salads, soups, pasta, appetizers, desserts, and main course recipes. This traditional low-carbohydrate Japanese Food is made from Konnyaku root. Konnyaku is part of the yam family. By combining tofu with processed yam flour, a healthy, uniquely textured noodle-like product has been created to please the consumer. Ingredients: Filtered Water, Tofu (Soybeans, Calcium Sulfate, Glucono Delta Lactone), Yam Flour, Calcium Hydroxide. No Preservatives. === There's one review on each type of noodle & both reviews are 5-star. Interesting, huh?