Five fun ways to be very, very vegan (and romantic) on Valentines Day…
1) Make your favourite person (or yourself) a delish vegan breakfast in bed. Pancakes and Valentines Day just seem to go together. Check out these delectables from one of my fave foodie blogs, VeganYumYum (I like to replace ingredients such as soy milk with freshly made nut milk, sugar with raw agave nectar, and salt with Celtic sea salt etc). Even if you’re your own valentine, it’s still great to whip up a gourmet breakfast and head back to bed to eat it! Also, check out Vegan Yum Yum’s new recipe book: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-free Recipes for Entertaining and Every Day for more romantic brekky and dinner recipes.
SLOW RISE PANCAKES
Makes 8 thick 5″ pancakes
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast (one packet)
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Soymilk (or other non-dairy milk)
2 Tbs Oil
1 Ener-g Egg, prepared (1.5 tsp mixed with 2 Tbs water)
1/3 Cup Soymilk, for thinning the next morning, if desired
Whisk all the dry ingredients together until well combined. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the 1/3 cup of soymilk) and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Use batter anytime the next day.
Once you’re ready to make pancakes, remove the batter from the fridge and stir in up to 1/3 cup of soymilk to thin it if needed/desired. Let the batter sit out on the counter for 20-30 minutes. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Spray with spray oil and wipe out the pan.
Using a 1/3 cup measure, begin making pancakes. I added apple slices to the batter before it set:
You can add anything you fancy: blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, strawberries, etc.
Once the top is bubbly and the edges are set, check to make sure the bottom is brown. Flip:
Cook on the other side for another few minutes until browned. Stack pancakes in a low oven to keep warm, serve with earth balance margarine and maple syrup.
2) A card (of course!). Recycling anything from cardboard to fabric can make for a gorgeous love token. See this how-to guide from About.com. For those who love a little graphic design in their Valentines Day, check out this sweet duo from Jeannie and Jewell.
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When you’re an eco girl who loves fashion, finding the right look can sometimes be tricky. While there are more conscious designers adding their collections to the market than ever before, there are also plenty that can leave the urban eco fashionista a little depressed. It wasn’t so long ago that the words “vegan” and “fashionable” simply couldn’t be used in the same sentence. But times, they are (thankfully) a’changin’.
I recently spied hot eco label Lav and Kush and fell completely in love with their pretty designs. Besides the fact they’re green, Lav and Kush’s designs are also stylish, functional with a sweet simplicity.
The clever Canadian designers also give away some of their profits to some great charities including The David Suzuki Foundation (www.davidsuzuki.org), PETA (www.peta.org) and Imagine 1 Day (www.imagine1day.org).
Check out the the complete collection at Lavandkush.com.
If you’ve not yet discovered Etsy, the site where all things handmade rule, some may well say you haven’t lived. Here, a few of the world’s artistically-talented souls gather to sell gorgeous wares, some of which are vegan.
Here’s a preview of some of my favourite Etsy fashion finds of the moment…
Cloche hat from Giant Dwarf
Made from recycled peony pink faux cashmere sweater, embellished with 10 hand-cut grapefruit and ginger fancy felt petals, assembled into a single flower. The over-sized blossom is topped with a hand-pressed button. $USD45.
Soft Cotton Bracelet from Eastern Sky
While these sweet bracelets above are made from vegan-friendly cotton, the shop also makes some of their pieces from Merino wool, so be sure to look carefully when choosing. $USD12.
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2010 has hit full force. You can feel the electricity in the air.
I ended 2009 by cleaning out, dusting, getting rid of all the old, stuck energy in preparation for the new year. And now the start of a new decade has arrived, it’s time to dig even deeper. It’s time to get knee-deep into my wardrobe.
I’ve decided to box up everything I haven’t worn in the past six months, clothes I’m not really sure about, stuff that’s too big, too small, wrong colour. Even the items I don’t wear, but am sentimental about. Yep, they’re going too. My chosen charity awaits.
The year 2010 is about giving back. Living more simply. Thinking of others less fortunate. Giving without expecting anything in return. Just thinking about living that way feels good. So to do it must feel even better—for the giver and receiver.
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For every one celeb that goes on drunken binges and late night joy rides, there’s at least two who spend their time doing positive things. Take Charlize Theron for example. The talented actress has teamed up with Toms Shoes, the company that gives a pair of shoes to the needy with every pair sold—a one-for-one-deal.
Charlize co-designed a pair of the unisex, limited edition slip ons for her African Outreach Project. The design (see below) was launched on the footwear website just yesterday.
Made from all-vegan material, Charlize’s shoes were inspired by the baobab tree and feature the tree’s silhouette, which is embroidered on blue and orange canvas.
A portion of the proceeds from each pair will go directly to the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, which provides education about the need to provide sustainable health, education and recreational resources to remote areas with high rates of HIV/AIDS.
“I’m thrilled to have Toms Shoes as a partner,” Charlize says. “We are so grateful for their generous donation of shoes to the students that we work with. They are passionate about the kids and have been incredibly supportive of the work of the Africa Outreach Project. It’s exciting that we’re able to come together in such a cool and creative way to bring attention to the needs of many South African youth.”
The limited-edition, vegan shoes are available for $US54 and are sold exclusively on Tomsshoes.com. Best get in quick if you’re keen to snap up your own pair … the women’s style is already on backorder…
Rumour has it that vegetarian Leona Lewis has gone vegan, thanks to her designer pal Stella McCartney. The friends are also said to be hooking up to create a vegan fashion line under songstress Leona’s name.
To celebrate this match made in vegan heaven, here’s a peek at Stella’s 2010 Spring/Summer collection. Gorgeous, and proof that vegan fashion doesn’t have to be ugly! (I wonder if Stella employs vegan-only models?)
Photo: Mitchell Sams for Marie Claire
Photo: Mitchell Sams for Marie Claire
Photo: Mitchell Sams for Marie Claire
Photo: Mitchell Sams for Marie Claire
With companies such as Adidas exploiting animals for fashion, whatever is a vegan fashionista to do? Get her (and his) sneakers from companies with a conscience, sure. But where to find them?
In light of what I learned about Adidas yesterday—and other footwear manufacturers who make their wares from slaughtered animals—I went on a mission to find some cool casual shoes that were made without harming any cow, or kangaroo, in the process.
Here’s what I dug up:
• Blackspot Shoes (V1 style below) are marketed as the world’s most ethical. What makes them so? Well, the V2 hightop style features a sole made from recycled tyres, while the upper on every style is made from hemp. They’re also made in a union shop in Europe, so no humans exploited either. You can order your very own pair, for around $US75, from the super hip site Adbusters.
• Komodo’s Free Tibet sneakers (below) are ethically made, and are also shoes that keep on giving. Twenty percent from the sale of each pair goes toward the campaign that calls for an end to Chinese occupation of Tibet, and for improved human rights in the troubled region. Get them online from Hippyshopper.com for around 40 (UK pounds).
• Ethletic high top sneakers (below) are made from 100 percent fair trade certified organic cotton canvas upper and durable rubber sole. The sole is produced with natural latex, which they say is tapped from a tree in a well managed and growing forest. All dyes are PCP and AZO free, which I guess means no icky chemicals. Relive your inner Grease for around $US56.
• While I prefer to steer clear of companies who use animal parts in any of their products, it’s still nice to see mainstream companies such as Saucony producing a shoes for us animal-free folks. This shoe is the Vegan Jazz Sneaker, a running shoe for him or her. Check out your local Saucony supplier.
Know of any other ethical footwear companies doing their bit for a greener world? Feel free to share below!
I’m affirming to the universe that these gorgeous vegan shoes from Olsen Haus will appear under my Christmas tree this year. Or at least I’ll drop some really big hints in the direction of some key family members…
Blondie 100% Vegan Faux Suede, $265 USD
Balance 100% Vegan Faux Suede Heel $205 USD
When I became vegan, it of course meant it was time to clean out the closet and donate any leather, wool and silk items to charity. I proudly separated by wardrobe into two piles: the kind and the unkind.
Before long, I noticed that I’d more than halved my wardrobe. Gone were my sexy leather boots, my vintage silk scarf and even my warm woolly socks. This (as any fashion-loving gal would agree) is quite the predicament when one of my favourite phrases is “ugh, I have nothing to wear!”.
After much deliberation about what to do now I absolutely had nothing to wear, I came to a conclusion: donate at least 90 per cent of the cruel items to charity. The remaining 10 per cent stayed in my wardrobe, and then, when I would buy a new vegan piece, I would donate one of the old items.
Until my wardrobe became completely vegan, I made sure I wore any leather or wool item consciously, thinking about the animal and what it gave (ie its life) to make me warm.
This is my point: when you choose to lead a vegan lifestyle, it’s important to remember to be kind to yourself in the process—rather than beating yourself up because you couldn’t part with a pair of 1960s suede cowboy boots given to you by your late dear grandmother.
This also extends beyond the wardrobe. While I’m extremely strict about what I put into my mouth, I’m also kind to myself if I make a mistake. There have been times when I’ve found out there was indeed a fish sauce in the green curry, when there wasn’t meant to be. I consciously acknowledge it, and move on.
As for my wardrobe, I’m now eye-ing off this eco-fabulous coat from Vaute Couture, a hot vegan fashion brand that specialises in coats. I’m pretty sure I need a new tee too…
I love shoes. A girl can never have enough. I dream of building a wardrobe solely (pardon pun) dedicated to glam high heels, sweet ballet slippers, rock star boots and flip flops to flip over. A shoe heaven, if you will.
Going vegan of course not only changed my diet, but my wardrobe. Now this presents quite the challenge to any girl (or guy) who has a love affair with footwear. But a challenge, I believe, is merely an opportunity in disguise.
Once I started looking, I discovered a world of shoes that were created without killing another creature. Celebs such as Natalie Portman, Stella McCartney and Pamela Anderson have done great fashion deeds, pleasing vegans the world over with pretty pumps and other stylish goodies.
So fashionable are many of the vegan footwear options, that the Jewish community are following in our footsteps and stocking up on brands such as Moo Shoes, Olsen Haus (released by an ex-Calvin Klein and Nine West designer) and NoVacas.
A story today in Jewish rag, The Tablet, sings the praises of these shoe designers who are, for the first time, allowing them too to step out in style with their conscience fully in tact—and not a pair of Crocs in sight.
Clockwise from top left: Vegan Tahoe Blue slip-on and Vegan Wrap Boot from Toms, Swell Shoe from Olsen Haus, Olivia pump from Novacas, Stella McCartney animal print ankle boots (as seen in The Tablet).
Hot fashion find of the day? The ultra-luxe, super sustainable Vegan Queen range of handbags. While some vegan fashion may leave you feeling like a grandma dressed for church, this forward-thinking company knows how to please the most animal-friendly of fashionistas.
Materials used in their collections are natural, organic, non-toxic and recycled. Not an animal skin in sight.
Go shopping at www.veganqueen.com. See you there!
