Interesting News & Stuff (linked)

• Article regarding that new KFC “doubledown” sandwich: “That is to say, a VP for McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Burger King or their ilk, someone who sits around all day trying to discover new ways to manipulate, coerce, poison, and otherwise flagrantly kill millions of humans worldwide by convincing them to eat mass-produced, industrial feedlot, chemical-blasted garbage you should not feed to your dog unless you totally hate him and want him to get heart disease and die.” 4/10/10 — This dude is sensationalist, but he’s hilarious and mostly right IMO. Read the comments for some very interesting perspectives and a lot of people calling out the writer.
• “Consumers are moving beyond the terms ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ toward broader expectations of minimal processing and general healthfulness, according to a new report from The Hartman Group.” 4/8/10
• “Federal inspections of food manufacturing facilities have declined over time, as have regulatory actions triggered by inspections, a government auditor reported on Wednesday.” 4/8/10
• Can you “be” vegan and eat oysters? This writer thinks so! “There are dozens of reasons to become a vegan, but just two should suffice: Raising animals for food 1) destroys the planet and 2) causes those animals to suffer. Factory farms are the worst offenders, but even the best-run animal operations can’t get around the fact that livestock are the largest contributors to global warming worldwide and that the same amount of land used to feed one beef-eater can feed 15 to 20 vegans. Animals are terribly inefficient machines for turning plants into food, and an inefficiency of this scale is disastrous. The animal welfare argument is even simpler: While there are limitless ways in which humans are different from nonhuman animals, one thing we share with most is the ability to feel pain. Since I consider it unethical to cause you, dear reader, undue pain, there’s no reason—other than simple preference for my own species—to have a separate standard for mammals, fish, and birds.” 4/6/10
• Ghent, Belgium isn’t alone! San Francisco now encouraging a “meat-free” day per week, too! “…the [San Franciso's] Board of Supervisors passed a nonbinding resolution declaring every Monday as “meat-free.” The resolution, sponsored by Supervisor Sophie Maxell, a vegetarian, urges restaurants, stores and schools to offer “plant-based options” every Monday to improve the general civic health.” 4/6/10
• On a green economy — “If you listen to climate scientists — and despite the relentless campaign to discredit their work, you should — it is long past time to do something about emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. If we continue with business as usual, they say, we are facing a rise in global temperatures that will be little short of apocalyptic. And to avoid that apocalypse, we have to wean our economy from the use of fossil fuels, coal above all.” 4/5/10
• On animal rights and meat sale — “A federal appeals court revived a California law Wednesday that bans the sale of pork products made from pigs that were too feeble to walk before they were slaughtered.” 4/1/10
• On doing our part — “Help fight childhood hunger at the Bread Art Project. For each upload we’ll donate $1 to Share Our Strength, the leading national organization working to end childhood hunger in America.”

FREE STUFF

• Jamba Juice is offering a Buy ANY Drink and Get Another of Equal or Lesser Value FREE coupon here from 4/12-4/25
• Justin’s All-Natural Nut Butter is offering FREE standard shipping on all orders over $45!
  
  Click here.

Any opinions on the news/interesting items? What’s your favorite Jamba Juice or Justin’s Nut Butter flavor?

<3,

The Cranky One

Dude, I think my mom is getting younger! She is always smiling, dancing, singing and goofing off. Her beautiful accented voice charms everyone — and we all can’t help but laugh at her occasional malapropisms.

We celebrated on Sunday, the day I came back to CA, with a family dinner. I made chicken and cheese enchiladas for the carnivores, and vegan sweet potato enchiladas for myself and anyone willing to try something new.  It was my first time using the enchilada sauce from Trader Joe’s (I think it’s a new item). It was delicious and tastes very much like the typical red enchilada sauce I’m accustomed to using, however, it has about twice as many calories.

The best part? This vegan chocolate cake with vegan “butter cream” frosting…

Cake recipe found here and frosting recipe found here. This cake was *so* good that I couldn’t help screaming at it in an accusatory voice, “Are you kidding me?!?!”  Don’t tell me I’m the only one whose yelled at a dessert…. :/

There was obvs too much frosting, but I decided to drench the cake in it (mmmmm). I then stuck it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. When served, the cake tasted like an Oreo ice cream cake, no doubt. Clocking in at about 500 calories for a piece of cake with frosting, it’s certainly a decadent recipe, but not something I’d make outside of special occasions.

Food News

• Is Kombucha really a magical tea? Read here. Muy interesante!
• Justins Nut Butter is coming out with new flavors, including Organic Chocolate Peanut, All-natural Chocolate Almond and All-natural Chocolate Hazelnut! These flavors will be available “soon” at Whole Foods. I don’t know when “soon” is, but it doesn’t seem soon enough. (News via Justin Nut Butter e-newsletter dated 1/12/10).
• Vitatops are going to be available, for a limited time, at Costco warehouses in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona. I haven’t been able to confirm this myself (News via Hungry Girl here).
• Applebees and Dunkin Donuts have introduced (or continue to introduce) healthier options. Click here for more info. on Applebees and here for Dunkin Donuts. Just don’t pull a Taco Bell and tell me you’re on the Dunkin Donuts or Applebee’s diet ‘cuz I’ll have to smack you. Thanks.
• Dave’s Killer Bread Sin Dawg variety is now available at Fred Meyer Nutrition Centers in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho,

<3,

The Cranky One