HippyShoppingChick Blog2008-07-09T02:40:12Zhttp://blog.hippyshoppingchick.com/atom.aspxQuick BlogRising Moon Organics has TV dinners now!tag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-02-18:296d2ce3-aef8-4d29-aa0e-ec7e06bac0cdHippyShoppingChick2008-02-18T15:53:45Z2008-02-18T15:52:00Z Rising Moon Organics pasta line. They have vegan raviolis and they’re really yummy. So for the last two Sunday nights in a row, I’ve been enjoying the TV dinners. I know “TV dinners” is an old-school term, but I don’t know what else to call them. Frozen meals? Frozen vegan meals ready to eat?
The biggest challenge for any vegan has to be lasagna because it’s impossible to find vegan ricotta cheese anywhere. I’ve looked. You have to make your own. (The Post Punk Kitchen is a good place to start if you want to do that. I haven’t tried it yet. The boyfriend was going to try to make me vegan lasagna right after Christmas but we got sick).
They’re light meals, not very filling. But that’s probably a good thing. If you need a cheesy pasta fix, I highly recommend Rising Moon Organics frozen vegan meals. Thank God for this company and anyone who can pull off good vegan cheese.
]]>So much for that new year's resolution!tag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-02-18:d92cc843-21b7-45e1-9431-39fa31b2083bHippyShoppingChick2008-02-18T15:51:50Z2008-02-18T15:45:00Z other one. Let me just start by saying I'm not making excuses here. I didn't lose passion for the blog and i actually thought about it every day. I wasn't thinking about it in a guilty way either. Guilt was not eating away at me, but time was. What happened was this; I took a full-time job after nearly two years of freelancing. So there's this problem now of structure in my life. I'm used to doing what I want when I want, like blogging. No more. Now I'm on a tight schedule with the full-time job, the part-time radio job, the freelance work, and working on the college degree online with Boston University. I actually schedule sleep for seven hours a night! That is how tight the schedule is. Today, I have chosen to make my blog a priority in a busy schedule. This is a schedule that currently involves moving. So if I can find my way back to my new year's resolution today, so can you! Go do it, whatever it is. ]]>Hippy Shopping Trip: Whole Foods Food Craving Indulgence Nighttag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-23:af3266c9-36da-47ff-ba42-527d4f3259e2HippyShoppingChick2008-01-23T18:00:05Z2008-01-23T17:55:00Z
Full Circle Organic Merlot (only $7.99!)
2 Bosc Pears ($2.54)
Nature's Gate Herbal Daily Cleansing Shampoo (the only acceptable shampoo, period. $5.29)
Since this is a shorter list than normal, I included the individual prices so you could get a better idea of what this stuff costs so you can plan your own Hippy Shopping Trips.
]]>Rave: Laura's Wholesome Junk Foodtag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-23:11712441-43a6-4ae1-a0e5-3563bff960a4HippyShoppingChick2008-01-23T17:54:53Z2008-01-23T17:49:00Z The best part, as I scarf 'em down is reading the label so I feel less guilty:
All natural Gluten-free No hydrogenated oils No preservatives (see, you have to scarf 'em or they'll go bad) No artificial colors or flavors Cholesterol free Made with ingredients you can pronounce (I love that one) Real food for real people (Hey, Mom, I'm real people! Who knew?)
Two Brownie Bite-Lettes are 120 calories, 6 g fat, and 2 g sat fat. They also have a surprisingly large amount of potassium: 105 g.
They kill the craving for chocolate and are quickly becoming my favorite chocolate cookie-type item.
]]>Not So Good: Nature's Highlights Rice Crust Pizzatag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-23:a42811ae-ca96-47e9-bf26-a8024a295b77HippyShoppingChick2008-01-23T17:49:02Z2008-01-23T17:42:00Z So I picked up a rice crust soy cheese pizza. I don't have celiac disease but I don't mind eating gluten-free products. Often the gluten-free stuff tends to also be free of dairy allergens as well. I guess if food processors try to knock out as many allergies as possible in shot. The rice crust soy cheese style pizza is lactose free, cholesterol free, gluten free, and finally--yeast-free.
I don't like the rice crust and that may be just a personal preference. I guess if I did have celiac disease, I'd probably be fine with it. The cheese was OK, the sauce was good, but overall, I just didn't like it. I didn't even eat the whole thing.
This stuff is great! It's yummy and smooth so it's a great pick-me-up on a cold day. It seems to be just a simple puree of squash but that's perfect. Usually I like a good veggie or lentil soup that's really chunky, but this was a welcome change. (And it was on sale at Sunflower Market for $1.99).
]]>Would you eat cloned meat?tag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-21:0a18d034-2138-452d-807a-01cef36f6d47HippyShoppingChick2008-01-21T21:55:37Z2008-01-21T21:51:00Z thing online written by someone who is thinking of going vegan (whether this is serious or not I have no idea) because the cloned meat idea is scary. Is it that scary? What do you think? I'm curious as someone who doesn't eat meat at all and who gave it up years ago for far different reasons. I can't tell you I've run into many people who are excited about eating genetically-modified food. I also don't understand the point of cloned meat. You may as well eat fake meat, in my opinion, which is already plentiful in your local health food store. I definitely want to look into this when I have more time, but this is going to be it for tonight. Feel free to leave a comment about this; I'd love to hear from you! ]]>Natalie Portman's vegan shoestag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-21:07811a00-a133-45d0-85c3-d42e7cf26e86HippyShoppingChick2008-01-21T21:47:26Z2008-01-21T21:42:00Z Shoes without leather, suede, or any other dead animal parts.
With that out of the way, Natalie Portman has a line of them for Te Casan. This falls into the category of expensive "Hippy Shopping Chic." They aren't cheap. Check out the info on the Shoe Blog. How expensive? How about $185 for a pair of flats?
Vegan shoes don't have to be expensive. Find yourself some cheap ones at Payless!
]]>Super Target’s Surprising Health Food Optionstag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-21:66931820-3b96-4081-95d2-9b822c5cba72HippyShoppingChick2008-01-21T21:37:00Z2008-01-21T21:36:00Z I was wrong!
You can totally find healthy food at ST. I was excited by a “steam-in-the-bag” frozen concoction called the Southwest Blend. It had wheat kernels, kidney beans, red & green peppers (which the boyfriend hates and picked out), pineapple, green beans, and corn. I don’t steam in a bag; that is so totally ghetto. Dribble some EVOO in a pan and stir-fry it up for six minutes and you’ve got a healthy, well-rounded meal. It’s made my Archer Farms.
I also found some health food store brands I was familiar with as well as the Urban Detox mentioned below.
Bonus Tip: When you’re shopping for food at ST, you can also hit the container aisle to stock up on reusable plastic containers you can use to pack lunches. I told the boyfriend we’re going to have to do this together to greatly improve the lunch lifestyle we lead.
]]>Giving the Gift of Yogatag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-21:5d4f69bd-371f-4f47-8624-db6169aa2a18HippyShoppingChick2008-01-21T21:27:18Z2008-01-21T21:26:00Z
]]>Function Urban Detoxtag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-21:77c4f17d-faa3-431a-93c2-57b802472b02HippyShoppingChick2008-01-21T21:19:15Z2008-01-21T21:07:00Z Function Urban Detox (for $1.67) at Super Target the other day not just because of the pretty bottle but also because of the verbiage on the label:
“Fight hangover and rid your lungs and sinuses of airborne pollutants using the “smog-scrubbing” anti-oxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and natural anti-inflammatory prickly pear extract.”
But is it snake oil? My big bad cold/flu thing that I have had since 12/26/07 seemed to be clearing up around the time I bought this, but I wasn’t in the clear yet. I drank it, and conditions did improve after that day…but was it the Urban Detox or the prescription decongestant horse pills I had also been taking? I have never heard of the NAC stuff before. It's supposed to break up your mucus by breaking its disulfide bonds and is also going through US clinical trials for OCD. (Just wanted to throw that in since my last BU course was biology and I think I may kind of have a grasp of what happens when the bonds are breaking). Normally I’m anal-retentive enough to research stuff like this before I swig, but I was so desperate I thought “what the heck” and gave it a try. It was like a sports beverage. I think I’d give it another run though but I'm pretty undecided on this product.
]]>I'm five entries behind!tag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-21:d59da99d-80f5-4bc6-af94-1ff92dcbbe96HippyShoppingChick2008-01-21T21:07:38Z2008-01-21T21:04:00Z The Music Stalker. So check that site out and come back for some quickie updates tonight. That's the cool thing about owning your own site; you can make as many entries as you want in your blog and they can be as long or short as you want. I try to mix it up as much as I can. ]]>Trying to improve our dietstag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-16:80fde4ff-b662-4c43-8b4b-118c3f24b4afHippyShoppingChick2008-01-16T13:38:11Z2008-01-16T13:36:00Z While making positive changes like this was easy when I lived alone, it’s a little harder now that my boyfriend and I live together. I go to the health food store and buy vegan stuff that goes together so I can make meals out of it. Then he’ll go to Super Target and buy a ton of cheap food, none of which really goes together and can be turned into meals. It’s cheap, sugary cereals and a lack of fruit filling the kitchen. Or he’ll go to the health food store and buy too many fresh fruits and veggies, which will go to waste because we can’t use them fast enough.
A Horrible Upbringing
He wasn’t taught much about eating right growing up. It was an Italian household heavy on the white pasta and cheeses with very little veggies thrown in. The closest thing to veggies for him growing up was the potato—ruined by large amounts of cheese, butter, sour cream, etc. His diet growing up is one he’s still drawn to today; it’s one of meat, carbs, and fat. They didn’t eat fresh fruits in his house growing up! Fruit was known only as canned peaches or pineapple and ice cream was a nightly treat.
To top it all off, cheapness was encouraged over all else. So here’s a guy who will find the cheapest price for the most stuff. He will actually stand in a grocery store aisle and figure out which jar of applesauce has the cheapest price per ounce. And we all know that cheap food is seldom the healthiest and this is mostly true when it comes to processed, pre-packaged foods. Fresh fruits and veggies are pretty cheap for the most part.
So here’s the story he’s been told his whole life; buy cheap, crappy food or be crucified. It’s the story I have to undo. I’m not making the poor guy buy organic everything. We are on a budget and keep it simple. But we’re not going to eat like shit just to save money. Eating right can be done on the cheap.
The new way things are going to be around here
What I’m trying to teach him is how to move towards a more whole foods diet. Boca Burgers and fake chicken patties are fine, but not all the time. A fake chicken patty on a bun is also not a meal. Where’s the vegetable? What about a fruit? You can’t just keep eating a diet of bread and meat. We need to be buying whole grains, fresh fruits, fresh veggies, beans, lentils, tofu, and tempeh. I told him we’d be better off spending less on going out and spending more on healthier groceries. We can spend less time going out and more time working out and making healthy dinners together in the kitchen at home. Since that appealed to his frugal side, I think he liked that idea.
Nutritionally, it’s not looking good for my man.
His usual fare he’s been buying himself: Lean Pockets (the horror!), large quantities of peanuts, and Michelina’s TV dinners, if I even spelled that right. I tried to explain to him that Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets aren’t meant to be eaten every day, if at all. And when is the last time he ate a vegetable or a fruit? He makes a lot of meatball sandwich runs to Subway and trips to Carl’s Junior. He likes chicken sandwiches and buys chicken breasts to make at home but I never see him actually cook them. I told you how he was raised. Can you see why he has no idea what to feed himself?
Then I made him a lunch he could take to work:
*Fresh carrots and broccoli with a container of Veganaise for dipping *A small amount of peanuts *A small bag of chocolate chip cookies *Two small containers of applesauce *Two pickles *One banana *One sandwich with two slices of soy cheese and four slices of Tofurkey, mustard, and Veganaise
It was a heavy amount of veggies for dipping in the Veganaise, which he loves. He shared his peanuts with a jealous single friend who knew immediately my man hadn’t packed that lunch for himself. I think the pickles and cookies went first. He was full. He even brought home leftover veggies and Veganaise he didn’t finish. The packed lunch made his night. And he was in awe of how filling healthy food actually is.
I think we’re onto the start of something good.
]]>What I Boughttag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-16:5736c747-4790-40be-903e-75bf45326d2aHippyShoppingChick2008-01-16T12:54:50Z2008-01-16T12:54:00Z It was my turn to grocery shop. I didn’t feel well so I just wanted to make a quick run at the Sunflower Market. I tell you all about my best find of the night below the list. Here’s what I came up with:
2 packs of applesauce Soy mozzarella slices Soy Swiss cheese slices Kosher Pickles Tofurkey slices – deli style Tofurkey slices – hickory smoked Kashi 7 grain nuggets (4) Amy’s Soups (more on that below) Kashi Organic Cinnamon Harvest 2 lbs baby carrots Honey whole wheat bread Veganaise (so much better than real mayo!) Bag o’ broccoli crowns Bag o’ navel oranges Bag o’ red delicious apples Bag o’ vine ripened cherry tomatoes Bananas
Amy’s No Chicken Noodle Soup!
Amy’s No Chicken Noodle soup is the greatest invention ever. I was sick; I needed comfort food bad, and Amy’s delivered a tasty, healthy, vegetarian treat as always. Is this a new product? Had I just not noticed it before or had Sunflower just not carried it before? Whatever the case, this was an answer to my little Hippy Shopping Chick food prayers. A “chicken” noodle soup for vegetarians! Instead of grisly bits of chicken (I do not eat birds), I was treated to some yummy tofu pieces that looked so realistic I did a double take as my soup warmed in the pot. Yummy. I’ll definitely keep this one on hand like I would regular vegetable soup.
]]>Another school year starts todaytag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-16:9b8883dc-29b3-4da1-80ff-e189772f4df1HippyShoppingChick2008-01-16T12:51:52Z2008-01-16T12:45:00Z]]>You Get Older, You Get Jadedtag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-13:0b76a7c4-bd8b-46b9-ae6d-eaf76b7adcd4HippyShoppingChick2008-01-13T22:47:46Z2008-01-13T22:41:00ZHow Activism Changes Over Time
I was thinking today of what it was like when I started out as a vegan. I launched myself pretty quickly into a strict vegan diet over a time period of just three months. It was a science-based decision about my health but activism also influenced me to give up anything that may even have eggs in it.
No Krispy Kreme donuts for me back then.
I’ve since gotten less strict and will have, say some pancakes or toast at a restaurant that probably have eggs in them. Sometimes I’ll eat seafood or eggs but not very often. These are things I only eat outside the home; never stuff I buy at the store, take home, handle, and cook myself. They amount to guilty pleasures; I like eggs over easy and seafood. I could do worse.
It all comes down to what is right for me at the time; sometimes the lesser of two evils is the choice. I visit my parents in a small town where they eat at a restaurant that has deer heads hanging on the wall. Obviously there’s not much choice in that place! It’s eat the fish and chips or starve. I still never eat dairy because I think it’s disgusting, unnecessary for humans, and since I’m lactose intolerant avoiding it saves me a lot of grief.
Staying Strong
In over three years, I’ve still never had any beef, chicken, pork, or any other dead flesh other than fish or eggs. Lots of vegetarians still eat these two things. It comes down to your own personal edge and how far you’re willing to go for your health, activism, or whatever made you make the choice. There’s no food police to write you a ticket. No one is going to beat you if you’re trying to go veg and you falter.
The Aging Activist
As time goes on, life happens, I get older, my figurative plate is full, and so my dinner plate becomes much less about activism when I go out to eat. But at home, it’s still a vegan kitchen unless the boyfriend cooks fish. I think it’s easier for younger vegans to be passionate activists just because that’s our nature when we are younger. As we age, activism becomes more about how you spend your money and time. Picketing is so much more attractive when you’re under a certain age. Then you get older and can’t imagine doing that. What if you get arrested? What if your boss finds out? Since you’re older, what used to be militant activist behavior has morphed into writing checks for the Humane Society or other favorite animal-related charity.
The Chicken-Killing Do Gooder
Then someone comes along who totally blows tradition out of the water and it’s so unexpected that is refreshing. And it comes from someone in the culinary community. Thank God.
He’s a television chef. He’s a heavy weight in the culinary community. He’s not asking you to go veg but he is asking you to take a look at battery eggs. Is that what you really want to eat? Don’t you want to pay extra for humane-raised or organic eggs?
I’m glad someone like this has stood up to give some attention to humane farming practices. At the end of the day, my reason for staying vegetarian comes down partially to activism. While I’m not trying to convert people, I do want people to think about what they’re eating and whether they’re really getting the cleanest, healthiest food possible. Are you?
I know it’s hard to ask people to pay more for eggs during what seems to surely be a recession. But if you’re going to eat an egg, wouldn’t you want to eat the best one possible? Wouldn’t you want your egg to have come from a hen that wasn’t fed antibiotics?
I believe the world would be a better place if everyone took the time every day to think about exactly where the food on their plate came from, how it traveled there, how it was raised, and how that whole chain benefits from your purchase of it. Did your health benefit? Did the farmer benefit? Or did you eat some antibiotic-filled meat that came from the factory farm that put a small farmer out of business?
]]>Talk about deviating from the recipe...tag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-12:0ae024bd-0174-4cd1-825c-a9706a84c1afHippyShoppingChick2008-01-12T14:00:37Z2008-01-12T13:57:00Z
These were supposed to be the Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies from page 198 of Vegan with a Vengeance. (Can you tell someone got a new cookbook for Christmas?) But instead of going with the recipe and doing the flaxseeds, walnuts, and raisins, I did chocolate chips. So they're really pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. They were really good, moist, and chewy. The boyfriend says he'd prefer plain old chocolate chip. I go for variety. More cookies for me!
]]>M y new favorite recipe from Vegan with a Vengeancetag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-12:da2730bc-e015-4e6e-a780-862264cf045bHippyShoppingChick2008-01-12T13:56:44Z2008-01-12T13:51:00Z
This is me cooking Garlicky Kale with Tahini Sauce from page 120 of Vegan with a Vengeance. It was the best! It even got rave reviews from the boyfriend and I was worried about springing a new green food on him. Luckily he likes tahini, though I had to add extra lemon juice and salt to his taste.
I love this cookbook. One of the best things about it is that Isa Chandra Moskowitz encourages you to deviate from her recipes. There's a lot of deviation from recipes when the boyfriend cooks, if he even uses a recipe at all. Since I grew up in a house where cooking was only a fantasy and the microwave ruled, I stick to recipes lest I get myself into a culinary mess I can't get out of.
]]>Stuff You Know You Shouldn’t Like to Buy But Do Anywaytag:blog.hippyshoppingchick.com,2008-01-12:9d4692d8-a6ff-4222-85ee-84a43addd3dbHippyShoppingChick2008-01-12T13:47:19Z2008-01-12T13:44:00Z Allergy Meds
I tried the Boiron stuff for post-nasal drip because I wanted to go a healthier route than buying endless boxes of Mucinex and Sudafed. (Of course I buy the generics, but I swear the generic Claritin doesn’t last 24 hours. That’s for sure). It’s cheap, only around $6, plus it’s all natural and homeopathic. I figure anytime you can get by with all natural and/or homeopathic, you’re ahead of the game. Then I get some nasty mystery affliction that is two parts cold, one part sinus, and all parts disgusting.
So what’s a Hippy Shopping Chick to do?
I went to Walgreens and turned in a prescription for Sudavent I’ve had sitting around since Dec. 27th, when I went to the doc for the flu. I didn’t fill it because I already had a Sudafed/Guafinesin supply at home, not to mention the non-Sudafed plus antihistamine med that doesn’t work perfectly, but it works well enough.
Part of Hippy Shopping is living within your means. What good is buying another pill when I already have a couple that do the same thing at home? Actually the Sudavent isn’t so different from my generic Guafinesin/Sudafed combo. It has the same amount of guafinesin but a ton more of the Sudafed stuff, which I won’t even bother trying to spell out.
Some things you just can’t clear up with the hippy stuff, or if you can, I haven’t figured out how yet. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and go with the old stand-by that works. I buy a couple things just like that.
Dishwashing stuff
For a while, I was buying the eco-friendly dishwashing liquids at the health food store. Then Dawn came out with Direct Foam. I was hooked and it’s the only dishwashing fluid I buy now. You can squirt it on a sponge and wash whatever dishes you need clean. You don’t have to fill up a sink with suds. How convenient is this? Even before this product came along, who actually filled their sink with soapy water to wash a pile of dishes the old fashioned way? Show me one modern person who didn’t squirt some dishwashing fluid on a sponge to wash a dish. It also doubles as a germ-killing hand wash that comes out of the pump as bubbly foam. I love it. It’s all chemicals and I certainly don’t want my cat sticking his curious little nose in it, but it makes my life so much easier I won’t switch.
Olay Moisturizer
I like to buy vegetarian cosmetics and personal care products whenever possible. “Whenever possible” means when I can:
A) Find these products They’re affordable C) They work when I use them so I become a repeat customer
I’m not spending $20 on Aveda base or a base at Whole Foods. I buy some Revlon stuff that costs half that much and choose Revlon because they don’t test on animals. So when I can’t find a vegetarian product, the second best thing is something that is at least not tested on animals.
My three favorite Hippy Shopping Chick moisturizers:
A) Avalon Organics Kiss My Face Organics C) Jason
But since I have accumulated some sun damage I wanted to get rid of, I had to go back to the old stand-by: Olay Regenerist. I can’t tell you the last time I found any affordable moisturizer that makes my skin look as good as this stuff does. It costs around $18. It’s definitely not vegetarian and Olay tests on animals, which I am against. So I’m a total hypocrite buying this stuff. But it works so well, I can’t quit using it.
I’m not perfect.
I don’t want newcomers to the blog to think that I and everyone who reads this is a dirty hippy wearing patchouli and not shaving her armpits. It comes down to lifestyle choices and which are comfortable for you. There are times when I’m a strict, hardcore vegan and there are times when I eat shrimp. But if you’re interested in options, they are out there. Maybe there’s something just as good as Olay Regenerist at the health food store that I haven’t found yet because it’s probably out of my budget.
Don't let this fear of having to be a 'perfect' vegetarian or vegan keep you away from this great lifestyle choice. There's no veg police watching your every move. It's the same way if you want to go green or organic or whatever. There's no organic police officer hiding behind your fridge waiting to write you a ticket.
It’s pretty easy to be a Hippy Shopping Chick if you have money to burn. ‘Green’ eco-goods can be super-expensive. Organic denim can cost you $200 for a pair of jeans. If you bought all organic groceries, your bill would be astronomical. The post below this one? Yes, if you want designer yoga duds, they exist.
I’m not a designer Hippy Shopping Chick. I’m a broad on a budget. So what you will find here are Hippy Shopping Chick tips for the average wallet. We all make the best choices we can. Maybe your activism is buying veg-only beauty products. Maybe your activism is buying only organic, local, or vegetarian food. Whatever it is you want to accomplish with your conscious spending, it can be done.
They’re affordable