A great book for teaching kids why veganism is important

An Amazing Talk Given by a Medical Doctor about the Direct Connection Between What We Eat and the Diseases We Have:

This is a really good talk about the impacts of eating animal products on our health. Watch the other parts (this was just 1 of 6 parts)on youtube by simply clicking on the video (it should take you right to the other segments). Show this to your friends and family even if you think they won't listen. The great thing about knowledge is that you can't unlearn things! It just might plant a seed, and that's what I'm interested in. This is a very important video!

T. Colin Campbell, PhD, on cancer and animal based proteins

The link between dairy consumption and prostate cancer:

My friend Ali came to visit me the other day, and while she was here she got a phone call from her dad saying he had prostate cancer. I was quite shocked, but then remembered the numbers of men who get this disease each year. I have done some reading and decided to put up some crucial information about the link between dairy and meat consumption to prostate cancer:

"Surprisingly, one of the most consistent, specific links between diet and prostate cancer has been dairy consumption. A 2001 Harvard review of the research could hardly be more convincing:

...In these studies, men with the highest dairy intakes had approximately double the risk of total prostate cancer, and up to a fourfold increase in risk of metastatic or fatal prostate cancer relative to low consumers."
This was taken from the book The China Study, Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health, by T Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell the second. It's a very famous national best selling book that everyone on the planet should have access to.

Here are a few more links to get you started on the subject if you are interested:
Dairy Products and Prostate Cancer

Cancer Prevention and Survival

Dairy Consumption Linked To Breast, Prostate Cancer

Learning to Relax

We've been riding our bikes for months now- why don't you get yours out?! James and I (Lyn) went to Center Island for a day of relaxation, and a good day it was- hot and sunny with no clouds at all. I've been having some computer issues in the past few days and it was necessary to remove myself from the damned thing to refocus. That's why I haven't posted anything lately.

Anyway, this is a photo that James took of a Yellow Warbler in a tree. He's so cute! James also captured photos of all sorts of snakes... which I will not put up because they will freak you right out (even thought we really don't have much in the way of poisonous critters here in Canada). We're all animals, but boy are snakes ever creepy looking.

Peaceable Kingdom Movie Trailer

I went to the Animal Rights Fair yesterday and met the most incredible people. I was thrilled to recorded video of talks given by Paul York from Students Against Climate Change, and Harold Brown from Farmkind.org and the movie Peaceable Kingdom. They moved the audience to tears with their stories of compassion, advocating for understanding of how to create a more peaceful world by adopting a vegan diet and treating animals with the kindness we show our own pets. I'll be posting footage at a later date.

Garbage Island Documentary

This is a real eye opener. I have heard of this island made up of garbage in the middle of the ocean that is double the size of Texas, but never really seen footage. This is the trailer for a documentary called Garbage Island. So... I challenge myself, my family and friends (that's you), to make it through this week (to start with), without buying any plastic products. Let me know how it goes!

Watch the full documentary at this site:
http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1485308505
(and please excuse the advertising here, but it's the only place I could find the whole documentary).

Sprouting Seeds!

Good morning! It's sunny and beautiful today so I thought we'd talk a little about sprouting seeds... that's logical, no? Here's a little bit of writing I got from the book 'When Technology Fails' by Matthew Stein:

"Seeds are one of nature's most perfect foods. They contain all the nutrients necessary to sustain the growth of budding seedlings until the seedling has developed a root system large enough to sustain growth from soil sources. One of the few foods more perfect than raw seeds are sprouted seeds. The sprouting process decreases the carbohydrate and increases the vitamin and protein content in these 'live' foods."

Matthew talks about sprouting in his book as an emergency preparedness tactic- incase food supplies fail in the future, having seeds on hand to be sprouted could actually save our lives. This may sound paranoid, but better safe than sorry right? We should all be stocking up on seeds because sprouting is the simplest and quickest way of insuring that we have the nutrients we need to think clearly in stressful situations. It requires only a container of some sort and water.

You just put a couple of spoons of seeds in a glass jar (I've done it in bowls and plastic containers too), cover them with water, leave them to soak for a few to several hours (depending on the type of seed-I'll post a chart later), and then rinse them using a sieve twice a day. In 3 to 5 days you will have sprouts! This can be done anywhere whether there is light or not. It's very satisfying and delicious. Seeds should be a part of everyone's survival pack.

HAPPY EARTH DAY MY FRIENDS!

Every day is earth Day actually, but this is the one official day where everyone's eyes are focused on the issues at hand. Here's something you might like- a video by the author Mel Bartholomew who wrote the best selling book Square Foot Gardening. He now has a new one out that is really fantastic - All New Square Foot Gardening:Grow More in Less Space!

It's perfect for intensive city gardening on roofs, small yards and public spaces. We're growing a vegetable garden on our roof again this year, and one in front of the book store I work at, so I'm going to try and implement some of Mel's ideas.

The movement here in Toronto (and I think all over the world), is to use any available space to grow organic food instead of having a lawn or a bare roof that could be covered with life. It's so rewarding, empowering for us, and inspiring for others who see what you've done. Collecting the seeds from what I've grown is my goal this year. Seed exchanges happen all over the place- you can even host one yourself.

My challenge to you today is to create a garden in whatever small space you have, and then send us some photos of your project! We'll post some of them up for everyone to see.

Becoming Vegan, The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet

If you are considering a vegan lifestyle and don't know where to start, this book is essential. Actually even if you have been vegan for a while it's something that you should read. We often think we know it all once we've done it for a while, but I'm constantly surprised by information I find when I'm flipping through this book. Becoming Vegan is thoroughly researched and packed with everything you need to know about adopting the diet.

Here's an interesting little fact from the book:
"Over 95% of the cases of B12 deficiency do not occur in vegans and are not due to inadequate B12 intakes. These are associated with impaired absorption of this vitamin..."

Becoming Vegan goes on to say that vegans do need to take B12 supplements though, because absorption from natural sources is more difficult, and can cause serious health problems if there is a deficiency.

beautiful vegan Tv..episode 2, How to Open a Coconut!

I hope you guys like it! This is the easiest way to open a coconut that we have found and it takes only minutes to get the whole thing out of the shell.

Animal Rights Eco Fair

Thought you might like to know about an all day event that's happening in Toronto, Canada - so if you're in the city I'll be there with some friends!

What: Animal Rights Eco Fair
When: Saturday, April 25th, 2009 from 11am-5pm
Where: International Student Centre, 33 St. George St.

Come on out on April 25th as UTCARE (University of Toronto Coalition for Animal Rights and the Environment), celebrates Earth Week by hosting an Animal Rights Eco Fair!

This will be a really fun and educational day with Harold "Farmer" Brown (President and founder, FarmKind, featured in the film Peaceable Kingdom) giving one of his amazing talks (as well as other speakers TBA), tabling by various local animal rights/enviro groups, TWO movie screenings (The Witness and Peaceable Kingdom) as well as a super low cost AND super yummy vegan feast!

How much is the event? FREE so come one, come all! This will be an event that you won't want to miss!

RAWvolution book

Hi guys! I bought Matt Amsden's book, RAWvolution quite a while ago and I absolutely love it, so I thought I'd give you the heads-up if you haven't heard of it. Matt is actually from Ontario, Canada, but now runs a famous restaurant in California that attracts star power every day. His raw recipes are very flavourful, simple to make (for the most-part), and beautifully photographed in the book. He also gives us simple explanations as to why raw food is so important to our bodies.

I like the personal touches with photos of Matt on a tractor, doing a crazy yoga position and making a beach picnic for his wife. If you're in Toronto drop by Fertile Ground Environmental Books and pick it up (instead of going to Chapters/Indigo). I help out at Fertile Ground a few days a week and get to bring in any titles I like. And as we all know vegan lifestyle is definitely environmentally friendly, so we carry a range of vegan books.

beautiful vegan tv...episode 1, raw spinach soup!

Well this is our first episode of beautiful-vegan Tv! It was a lot of fun to make, but it took me 9 hours to edit what turned out to be 8 minutes of video! I clearly need help. If anyone has time on their hands, is practiced at editing, and feels like getting involved in the project please email us at www.beautiful-vegan@hotmail.com. We have to work on lighting too, it seems.

More episodes coming soon! Please tell your friends and let's get the ball rolling. Thanks guys!

Raw...Vegan... Chocolate Pudding!!!

Chocolate pudding that's good for you!?

You're going to freak out when I tell you that it takes only 3 minutes to prepare...

In a blender, mix:

1 avocado (pitted and peeled, of course) -should be a ripe one
3 heaping Tablespoons of raw cocoa powder (you can use normal cocoa powder if you don't have raw)- *make sure it's fair trade though!
1/3 cup raw agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or the scrapings from a vanilla bean pod)
1/2 cup water (or more depending if your blender wants more water to work or not)-sometimes it needs quite a bit more.

Make sure it's really creamy, use a spatula to get the pieces of avocado that get missed. And that's it. I know it sounds weird to make chocolate pudding with avocado, but it turns out creamy and absolutely delicious! My son's friends (who are not vegan) love it and ask me to make it when they are over. It can be used for a breakfast, snack or formal desert. Just add berries (especially strawberries) or use it as a fondue with cut up bananas and other goodies. this recipe serves 2 big bowls. 

Freeze it in a container and it looks like this when you scoop it out:

If it's too hard let it thaw a bit before serving.

Raw cacao has lots of antioxidants, and...

"Avocados provide nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. They also act as a "nutrient booster" by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha and beta-carotene and lutein, in foods that are eaten with the fruit."

Avocados and Cardiovascular Disease

"Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, but a healthy diet and exercise plan may help reduce your risk of developing the life-threatening illness.

The American Heart Association (AHA) Dietary Guidelines recommend a diet that has at least five servings of fruits and vegetables, contains up to 30% of calories from fats (primarily unsaturated) and is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, trans fats and sodium while being rich in potassium. Avocados can help you meet the AHA dietary guidelines because they have both monosaturated and polyunsaturated fat and contain potassium." (Info taken from http://www.avocado.org/nutrition/)

This recipe is my go-to comfort treat, so luckily it's quick, nutritious and AWESOME!! 
It's our most popular recipe so give it a go!

XOXO from Lyn and everyone here at beautiful-vegan :)

Raw Stuffed Red Peppers!

Good morning! I have to run, but I'll post the recipe for this awesome Raw Stuffed Red Pepper dish later on today. AAAHHH! I can't for the life of me remember where I wrote down this recipe! I'm sorry, but when I find it I'll put it up because it's a really good one!

Raw Vegan Spinach-Avocado Soup with Thyme and Fresh Lemon Juice

OK this is possibly my favorite soup in the world. And it's RAW! I have to give you the recipe and you have to make it tonight.

In a blender:

2 cups spinach (washed well because it's one of those veggies that tends to have grit)
1/2 a green onion
1 small apple (peeled and cored)
1 avocado
1/2 cup or 1 cup tomatoes
1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon capers (rinse them or they will be too astringent)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (do not use concentrated lemon juice)
4 cups hot water (either from the tap or heated slightly in a pot)- added last gives you warm soup!

1. blend for a couple of minutes until it's smooth.
2. top with diced tomatoes, freshly ground black pepper, green onions, sesame seeds and you absolutely have to squeeze fresh lemon juice over it before serving.

The flavours are exquisitely paired and I'm in love with this soup! I made it last night for dinner, kept it in the fridge and ate a huge bowl of it a few minutes ago. Makes 4 bowls of soup.

*Food photography tricks: Pour some olive oil into a spoon and drip it over the surface of the soup, and make sure you have many levels of texture, contrast and colours. Use white dishes and shoot in daylight- it's the easiest way to achieve natural, fresh-looking food photographs.

Yesterday was good.

Yesterday James and I went for a hike in High Park and took many photos of the elusive wood ducks on Grenadier Pond. We had never seen one in real life, so being the bird nerds we are, it was exciting. We discovered a spot where the rushes were twice as tall as us, with all sorts of small paths through them. It was really whimsical.

Dominical, Costa Rica

Here's an old photo of My friend Natalia, Josh and I in front of the tent we lived in for 6 months in Dominical, Costa Rica. Oceanna is the beach dog that we fed and in return she guarded our tent day and night. Dogs run free there, up and down the beaches, through the jungles and even walk into restaurants! But because of the huge numbers of them the locals put out poison once a year and tell owners to keep their pets inside. It's horrible and not a solution in my eyes.

Josh and I lived on $250 a month, including food, traveling around on buses and daily needs. We just set up a tent on the beach near some fishermen under some palm trees and I home-schooled Josh every day, letting him go surfing when he was done. Then we went to Panama for a Rainbow Gathering, back up to Costa Rica where we met up with friends who were caravanning all the way to Mexico. So we Traveled part of the way with them up through Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and parted ways with them in Guatemala. Josh and I arrived at the Mexico Rainbow Gathering with only 10 pesos in our pocket (that's another story though).

We wrote a book for two years (that we'll be releasing soon), that includes some pretty crazy stories of our travels, lots of vegan recipes (half raw and half cooked), vegan myth-busters, environmental, health and karmic reasons to consider the lifestyle, and loads of photos! It has been a lot more work than I ever would have imagined, but the final product is beautiful and I'm very pleased that we did it. I'll be letting everyone know when it comes out.