Amy

In the town I live in there are 4 Krogers, 2 Schnucks, 2 Super Walmarts, 1 Meijers, 3 Jewel/Oscos, and a few small grocers.

welcome!

you would think that I would live by at least one of the stores on the list but I don't.

Hi Robert! I am a Christian and I do believe there is a God. It is more than a belief of mine because I know he is in my heart. How do I know he exists? It is not from bible teaching. It is not from what others tell me. It is from what he has shown me in my life. One small example is every time I tithe. I can have very little in my checking account, give 10% as an offering, and every time it comes back to me without fail. A check for something will arrive in the mail. A bill that I thought had to be paid somehow is mysteriously taken care of. I used to be "all about me". I try to be all about HIM every day. It is a hard thing to do since I can't see him physically. I just have faith that he is there. Let's just say that God doesn't exist since I have never seen him. Let's just say that all of the faith that I have placed in him was misguided. Am I harming anyone? I honestly don't believe so. I don't try to push my faith on anyone. The way I lived my life in the past was harmful to myself. My faith and belief in God has made me a better person today. I am by no means perfect at all. I am happier today to have him in my life. I could go on and on about how my life is better now. I can't physically introduce you to God. I can only share how he has helped me in my life. (I would love to share by the way). I am really not trying to start a debate or upset anyone by sharing my personal beliefs. Just like I am sure you aren't trying to upset anyone by sharing yours. I believe everyone on this forum are very loving individuals. It is shown by everyone's respect for life. My question is how can anyone prove that God does not exist?

Welcome!

I am not a fan of family get togethers when it involves food. Every member of my family eats meat. I love my family though and want to spend time with them. I'm sure that is why your family wants you to be with them. They will miss you if you aren't there. Maybe you can sit at the kids table so you don't have to stare at the turkey. I'm kidding. Maybe you can ask your family to serve food buffet style for a change. That way the main turkey isn't sitting on the table to stare at. Hopefully your family will take your feelings into consideration. My family is really large. We don't have room for everyone to sit at one table for dinner. And it is too much to put all of the food on the table too. Everyone brings a dish and then the food is served up buffet style. I think my brother's wife this year is preparing me a main dish instead of the turkey the rest of the family will be eating. I plan to bring several vegan items that I can eat as well as others. I am bringing a crock pot of beans or black-eyed peas (I haven't decided yet) and avacodo sushi. I also plan to make broccoli casserole. I just have to find out how to make it vegan style. Anyone have suggestions on a good vegan cheese that melts good (and tastes good) when baked?

Did anyone watch Grey's Anatomy this past week? The episode was about animal testing. I love this show but this episode was extremely hard to watch.

He is HOT! You can view his website at www.marcus-patrick.com. I would buy his program just took drool over his abs.

His youngest child weighed 13 pounds at age 3?????!!!!!! That is so sad.

Elizabeth Banks was on the Jay Leno show tonight. She is going to a Halloween party tonight with her husband. He is going to dress up as a Guido and she is going to be the girl hanging all over him. LOL Her favorite website is http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/ and that was her inspiration for their costume. It reminded me of this posting. Anyone dress up as a Guido for Halloween? LOL

I am in the process of finishing my website http://www.VeganTurtle.com Feel free to go to the link and bookmark it. I will uploading the "real" site soon. Until then you can check out the absolutely amazing logo that RAINRA (Javier de la Camara) designed for me. He is very talented and so cool!

I own both. There is no comparison between the two. The Vitamix wins hands down. I do like the Magic Bullet and I'm not throwing it out. I did however run into the same problems with the seal leaking. It would make a mess in the motor area and was yucky to clean. It is however great to make salsa or a quick on-the-go drink. The Vitamix makes smoothies, ice cream, or even hot soup (plus much more). Their website lists many vegan recipes. I used to make smoothies in the Magic Bullet. I haven't even touched it since I got the Vitamix in August. The Vitamix has the best motor in it and can crush ice in record time. This is the first blender I have found to crush ice as quickly as it does and without burning up the motor. The Vitamix is also by far the easiest blender I have ever cleaned!!!! It is well worth the investment.

You can go to Peta Kids website http://www.petakids.com/accvegan.html and look at all of the vegan food products that are out there. If you look at the 'snacks' list you will see what I mean. I was surprised there were so many! Hopefully this will help. Again, not all is healthy, but at least it is vegan.

When traveling with a pet I highly recommend a pet crate. Crates are good for a variety of reasons. I was traveling (in town) a few years ago with one of my dogs. I was actually holding her in my arms at the time and the vehicle I was in was rear-ended at a stop light. I grasped her tightly and she almost slipped out of my arms. After that, I try not to take my dogs on car rides (in town) even though they love it. If I do take them anywhere (even long road trips), they share a crate together. Crates can be seat belted in as well. It is not cruel, it is short-term and is for their safety. We have seat belts and animals have crates. Dogs (or cats) of course love the freedom to look out windows, but they can also get scared and run under (or around) the foot pedals of your car too. I have a friend who travelled from California to Illinois with her two cats. One of them got extremely car sick during the trip. Thank goodness it was contained to the crate instead of all over the car. If you travel by air, you will have to have a crate that is approved by the airlines in order to take your animal with you. I strongly believe in crate training animals if they will be living inside of your house. Crates are not to be meant as punishment for animals. They are meant to be there as a bed or safety for the animal while you are away and can not watch them. If done correctly, the animal you crate train will find comfort in their crate and will frequent it when they want to get away from young children or if they get nervous. It becomes their safe haven. Crate training is very beneficial for housebreaking a dog. I once thought that if I showed my new puppy (13 years ago) enough love and attention and took her out constantly that I could trust her. I let her sleep with me and I also let her roam free in an empty room that had a child gate on the door (when I wasn't at home). Needless to say, she ate the base board of my bed (little by little each night - un noticed). She ate a pair of boots and gnawed on the baseboards in the hallway. She even ate through the sheet rock in the empty room and pulled insulation out of the wall. I was in shock! She had so many toys but chose not to take her chewing out on them. Once I got a crate for her and didn't give her as much "freedom" to chew, all of the chewing of household items stopped. The crate was kept open at all times if she needed to go to bed on her own. When I left the house to go to work, she stayed in the crate. As she got older and more mature, the crate wasn't needed as much. My dogs now sleep with me at night (they are spoiled). They are even sleeping next to me right now. Their crate is no longer needed while I am gone. When we travel they ride in the crate without hesitation. When we get to the destination, their crate becomes their home away from home. They find comfort in having a familiar place to go to.

Really? You don't like the pink font? I like it!

I just got home from work and opened up a box from Vegan Essentials. I ordered some vitamins from them day before yesterday and it was delivered today. Fast shipping again!!!!! Inside the box was a brochure for Veggie Brothers. Anyone tried it? www.veggiebrothers.com

I am about 2 1/2 hours from Chicago (central IL). I'm not sure how far Vegan Essentials is from that area. I know LeanandGreen and theDaniSays stopped there right after they went through Chicago. I don't think it is very far.

Hello and welcome!

The American Dietetic Association recommends: Protein: almonds, black beans, brown rice, cashews, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, peanut butter, pinto beans, seitan, soybeans, soymilk, sunflower seeds, textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu, vegetarian hot dogs, and vegetarian burgers. Iron: Black beans, bran flakes, cashews, Cream of Wheat, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), GrapeNuts, kidney beans, lentils, navy beans, oatmeal, pumpkin seeds, raisins, soybeans, soymilk, spinach, sunflower seeds, tofu, tomato juice, whole wheat bread. Calcium: Almonds, black beans, broccoli, calcium-fortified orange juice, collard greens, great northern beans, kale, kidney beans, mustard greens, navy beans, orange juice, pinto beans, sesame seeds, soybeans, soymilk, textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu. I am certain there are many other ways to get protein. I don't drink Soy milk. I drink Rice Milk and there is protein and calcium in the milk I drink. I try to eat beans each day for either lunch or dinner. I drink orange juice with calcium. I also take vitamins. I try to drink one smoothie each day with bananas, orange juice, and strawberries. I just added Vega Smoothie Infusion to my smoothies and it is really good. I make it a point to get all of the calcium and protein in my diet on a daily basis. If I don't then I have to pay the price of listening to my family lecture me (you can read previous posts about that) LOL. The above information (protein, iron and calcium) I found in a Vegetarian Starter Guide (printed by Compassion Over Killing). Mercy For Animals and PETA also both have a Vegetarian Starter Guide that you can get for free online at their sites. These guides refer to the common questions many people have with dietary needs when they start out as vegetarians/vegans. I am also in the process of working on a website that will help newbie vegans (like myself) to help with answers to dietary questions. I will definitely post when the site is finished.

Welcome! I am glad you are here. I have seen some amazing veggies (on tv) that were grown in Alaska.

I plan to start making green smoothies to take to work with me. What is your favorite drink container to take smoothies (or other cold beverages) in while you are out and about? I am looking for recommendations for a container that is easy to clean and safe to drink out of. Thanks!

Welcome! We are happy you are here.

You did a really great job! Real impressive!!!

cool website!

Iraqi puppy adopted by Ill. soldier lands in D.C. WASHINGTON (AP) -- A puppy adopted by an Illinois soldier has landed at Dulles International Airport outside the nation's capital, and is headed to Wisconsin this weekend. The puppy, named Boo, belongs to Spc. Ashley Siwula, of Antioch, Ill. Her brother, Nick Mitcheff, of Salem, Wis., will watch the dog for Siwula. The dog was one of six rescued by Operation Baghdad Pups, run by Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International. The group is returning to Iraq this weekend to pick up another batch of dogs, including a puppy named Ratchet adopted by a Minnesota soldier. That dog's cause has been championed by thousands of people from around the world after the soldier initially ran into problems getting it out of Iraq.