Take Action!

* So Delicious is donating $1 (up to $5000) to the Farm Sanctuary. for every UPC mailed in between now and September 30th. Farm Sanctuary does great work rescuing farm animals from cruel and inhospitable environments to instead live their lives on a peaceful farm in upstate New York or California. See kids, it's just like your parents told you- Daisy did go live on a farm! You can mail your UPC's to:

Farm Sanctuary Donation
Turtle Mountain, LLC
POB 21938
Eugene, OR 97402

* The Huffington Post offers some tips for those who "hate" cooking. You can also check out my beginner cooks larder (that's pantry for the rest of us) on The Art of Throwing Stones. You can also find my fledgling food writing there by clicking on "cooking" or "food".

* Dangers of soy. And more evidence from Scientific American

* Very exciting news: The USDA has approved new rules for the National Organic Program (NOP) called The Access to Pasture rule. It states:
"The Access to Pasture rule specifies that organic milk and meat products come from organically‐raised animals that are actively grazing on pasture. "

Basically, it requires organic livestock to have access to pasture throughout the grazing season and that that intake must account for at least 30% of the animals diet. Of course, organic livestock must still refrain from using GMO's, antibiotics/vaccinations, synthetic parasiticides, 100% organic feed with no animal by-products.

So, how is this different from what is currently labled "organic"? I had to look that up myself, and found a great side-by-side chart from the USDA website. Many of the changes have to do with verbage and further definition/inclusion of verbage (a crop is more than just the plant but also now includes the pasture, cover crop, catch crop, or any part of the plant used for food to either humans or animals or to feed the soil).

The point is, to be labled organic is now a more defined and policed process which protects the integrity of the product and the brand. Also, all those cows making your milk and chickens laying your eggs are now entitled to more time running around outside in pastures and enjoying their lives to the fullest!

Another Meatless Monday: Now with movies!

How was your Meat Free Monday? I may have partaken a bit too much in the ol' Irish cure on Sunday to have a really good one (seems my bronchitis is back), but I still managed to eat pretty well and surprisingly easy. As my daily diet becomes more and more vegetarian I have to worry less and less about what I'll make on Monday. It's the other days of the week that are still giving me trouble! Thankfully, I've got a couple new cookbooks I'm reading and hope to share my insights with you soon. Breakfast was a bit lame with some So Delicious Coconut Milk yogurt and a bag of pretzels. Lunch was much better- Boca burger on whole wheat toast with shredded cabbage, onions, and BBQ; served with pickles and some sauteed green beans. I love green beans!

Last night was my 3rd film 101 class/movie club. Every month we meet up to watch a classic or neo-classic film picked by me. The goal is to educate and entertain my friends one some great films that everyone should see. Previously we watched "Raging Bull" and "All About Eve". Tonight, I threw out all the stops and screened my favorite film of all time "Vivre sa Vie" by Jean-Luc Godard. You can read all about our movie nights here or by clicking on 'WWQTW' in the tags section of The Art of Throwing Stones.

What was even more exciting was that all the food we brought to nosh was vegetarian. We didn't even plan it that way! I (attempted) to make Goat Cheese with Sun dried Tomato Profiteroles from Giada on the Food Network. They were delicious, but somehow my profiteroles did rise the way they should. Instead, they came out looking more like biscuits (hence the picture above is from The Food Network's site) but still tasted great! Also at our spread was a veggie tray with homemade dip, pita chips with hummus or spinach artichoke dip, salad and bread sticks from Olive Garden (genius! I hope people forget to make things more often if it means OG salad- surely the best thing on the menu), and Oreo cheesecake cups. Didn't help my healthy eating much, but at least I didn't have to worry about what I was going to eat. Setting these movie nights on Meatless Monday is certainly a risk, but all my friends have been really supportive.

On a separate note:

**An Opera Singer in the Kitchen is having a great giveaway right now. Check out her site for how to enter to win a really cool Sunbeam mixer plus Naturally Nora products to use it on! She also has a lot of really cool vegan recipes that I can't wait to try. Definitely one of my new favorite food blogs! ***

Take Action!

* Genetic engineering (GMOs, etc) is excluded from organic produce, except in the case of vaccines. These vaccines can be given to livestock and have them still labeled as organic. To petition for change and learn more, click here.

* Daiya and Peta are joining forces to sponsor a really cool contest: Just tell them what you would make with Daiya and how you would share it with friends and you could win 10 lbs of Daiya cheese! That's a lot of cheese! Click on "contest" above to enter, but act fast- the contest ends June 1st.

* Eating Well and Organic Valley are sponsoring a holiday cookie contest as well. Submit your favorite, healthier cookie recipe and you could win a $2000 Baker's Dream shopping spree and a years supply of Organic Valley products. Check out the guidelines and enter here.

* I've heard a lot about the dangers of soy. An excess of soy in the diet can cause growth problems in children, thyroid issues, infertility, and certain cancers (like breast cancer). That's a pretty hefty list and it doesn't include everything that has been linked to soy. What's more, soy is in so many products today either as a filler or as the main source of protein. So, how much is too much and what should you do? The average recommended use I found online, called for soy no more than 3 times a week. That's not very much when you take into account soy milk in your cereal, veggie burgers for lunch, or tempeh/tofu for dinner. It is super important that you check in with your doctor regularly and before you start any type of new diet. Also, experiment with other milk, dairy, and meat substitutes. I love coconut milk and have been putting it in my oatmeal all week. It's naturally sweet and delicious. Sub seitan (wheat gluten) in recipes that call for tempeh or tofu. Daiya cheese is soy free and melts great. What have you heard or experienced about soy?

For further reading check out this article in Scientific American.