Really Bone char

I was stunned to learn that sometime sugar isn't vegan. I mean hello it's sugar why wouldn't it be vegan. What I found out was that sometimes bone char is used in the processing of sugar.


Bone char~ Bone char, made from the bones of cows, is at times used to whiten sugar. Some sugar companies use it in filters to decolorize their sugar. Other types of filters involve granular carbon or an ion exchange system rather than bone char.


Ewwwww. The more I learn about the way our food is processed the more frustrating I find it that this isn't general knowledge. Shouldn't this information be put on the package?


What was the biggest "What it's not vegan" moment you had?

I think I've gone crazy!

As you can tell from my blog I started it just a few days ago.  I sent a link to a fellow vegan, who also blogs, to share my excitement in this blogging adventure..

I received a quick response and was told that there is this wonderful vegan blogging event happening starting November 1st.  It's called Vegan MoFo.... the name alone makes me want to join.  I looked at the link sent to me with more information and have decided to participate in this event.  A post everyday!  What have I gotten myself into.... eek.

I am moving forward with positive thoughts and a great mantra   "I THINK I CAN,  I THINK I CAN,  I THINK I CAN".

Only 4 days left and then Vegan MoFo 2010 starts.

Stay tuned.

Telling your family

So now I'm on my vegan journey and I realize that I haven't shared this with my family yet.


My sister is the first person on my "hit list". She hasn't eaten red meat since high school so my gut tells me this is a good place to start.   When I tell her I've decided to be Vegan not only was I amazed at how supportive and helpful she was but the many recipe suggestions have been amazing.  We have been to many vegan restaurants together and a couple of them she suggested as they were new favorites of hers. It has been great and fun because we have been hanging out more with each other either trying out a new restaurant or cooking.  I've noticed that since I've become vegan she has cut down her chicken consumption which puts a bit of a smile on my face.

My mothers response when I told her was "Not another one of you".  I explained to her that I had more of a restrictive diet now then my sister and knew  she had heard me. The funny thing about her comment is the next day I got a call from her telling me she had been testing out recipes for me and she made this amazing quinoa she thought I would really enjoy.  I think she didn't know how to respond to me but she couldn't be more supportive even if she doesn't understand why.


How did your family respond when you told them you were vegan?

New Native Foods

When I first became vegan a good frined of mine introduced me to Native Foods. This was my first time at an all vegan restaurant. I was in heaven. It was so good. My only moment of sadness was realizing how far away it was from my house and that the Westwood location was difficult because of parking.


I was happy to hear that they were going to open more locations. I hoped they were going to move to a location closer to me. The other day quarrygirl announced that M Cafe in Culver City would be closing and Native Foods was taking over. While I was sad about M Cafe closing I couldn't believe my luck.... not only did Native Foods open a new location but they moved closer to me.

I have just heard that the Native Foods in Culver City will be opening on Nov 15th. I can't wait and plan to be there with bells on!!

Eating out at restaurants

The first time I went out with some non-vegan friends I tried to do everything I could to make sure I wouldn't be slowing down the ordering process. I called the restaurant to ask questions about the menu and explained that I was vegan. As the menu was seasonal, and seemed out of date online, I ask if they had vegan options or would it be easy to alter a menu item so that it would be vegan. I was put on hold while they went to speak with the chef and when they returned I was assured it would be possible. After other questions I hung up satisfied that I wouldn't have a problem finding something to eat there.

I was so excited. I had done my homework and found out what I needed to know about the restaurant and was now armed with information and ready to go out for a nice meal with friends. Once we were seated at the table I looked over the menu and found there were no options and it looked as if there weren't items that could easily be made vegan. Sadly my discovery proved to be true and there were no vegan meal options.

It was so frustrating as I took the time to investigate before hand. What's the point in calling and asking questions just to find out there isn't anything for you to eat. Needless to say I won't be returning to the restaurant. I really wish restaurants would offer vegan options. These items are offer tastier than the other options on the menu.

What have your restaurant experiences been like? Do you call ahead of time to investigate options?

1st Vegan Cooking Class

Back in March of 2010 I took my first Vegan cooking class. A friend of mine, who owns Large Marge Sustainables, invited me to be her guest at a class by Spork Foods called "Spork Foods Home-made Protein." I was so touched that she thought of me and felt this would be right up my alley. Who knew there was more than one type of vegan protein.


Wow was she right!!! She opened up an amazing resource and door for me. The class was at Spork Foods and it couldn't have been more wonderful. Spork Foods is owned by sisters Jenny & Heather Goldberg and to say they are an inspiration is an understatement. They are passionate about what they are doing and it comes across on every level. The class was about two hours long and at the end we sat down and ate the food family style. What an amazing class. I got recipes for new foods and met some great new people.

In our class we learned how to make Almond Milk, Seitan (my first time eating it), and tofu.
The almond milk was so good and fresh and pretty simple to make. It really opened my eyes up to see how easy it was to make the milk. The seitan took more work but it was well worth it. I enjoyed it so much that I made it at home the next day and it was AMAZING! Now the tofu was a lot of work and while it was interesting to make I have to say I doubt this is something I will be making again. It seems I can buy organic tofu for less money than it would cost me to make it and overall the amount of tofu was not enough "bang for my buck" (for lack of a better expression).

It was a wonderful first looking into making vegan food that is a bit more complex than my everyday day food. I have been back there many times and enjoyed every class. And on top of it I've made some wonderful new friends through the classes.

Have you made vegan proteins at home? Do you have a favorite? Care to share a recipe?

OMGosh I'm Vegan?

I've been wanting to start a blog for awhile but kept letting life get in the way. I have been vegan for about 9 months now and am LOVING it.

I am surprised at the desire to want to blog because I don't think I'm a great writer however, I have been so excited and loving this new journey I am on I felt the desire to share with others.

About 9 months ago I believed I was eating to much meat and decided to cut out all meat and why not cut out dairy as well. I'm not sure if I felt this would be something that would "stick" but it has and I couldn't be happier.

I have been so shocked at some of the response to my decision. The negative comments from people have really bothered me. I am not one for "preaching" my beliefs and I don't believe being vegan has changed me in that sense. Sure I'm not going to lie, if people ate less meat or no meat I would be a happy camper, but I don't judge them because they made a different choice then I have. I have gotten some wonderful words of advise from friends (new and old).

I hope you enjoy this blog and my journey as I continue learning more about my new vegan lifestyle.