Do you really know what is in your foods?  When I was first learning about vegetarianism I was naïve to what was actually in my food.  I just assumed that if it wasn't the actually meat it was vegetarian.  When I am researching, I always make sure I have a tough stomach because some of the things I have come across make my stomach turn.  It is shocking what ingredients are actually in the foods we eat all the time without thinking.

Even though I’m not vegan, I still like to be conscious about the ingredients in foods I eat and prefer my foods be free of animal byproducts.  I made a list of cringe worthy products that have animal byproducts that might make you think twice about what you are eating.


DISCLAIMER- if you have a weak stomach or just ate lunch, you might was to wait to read this until your stomach is strong enough to hear all the ingredients might be in your favorite foods.

• When first beginning to research products that we not vegetarian gelatin was the first product I learned about.  Gelatin is mainly made from collagen, a protein often collected from animal skins.  Gelatin can be found in frosted cereals, yogurt, candy, some types of sour cream, and deserts.  The gelatin in deserts often comes from pig skin.

• Beef fat is an ingredient many Hostess Products.  It is gross thinking a favorite sweet childhood snack contains beef fat.  The ingredient is included in the list of other oils that may or may not be used.

• This is a more widely known animal product, crushed bugs are used as red food coloring.  Dried insects are boiled to produce a liquid solution that is turned into dye.  It is often called carmine or carminic acid.  YUCK

• Beaver anal glands, castoreum, are common in perfumes and colognes.  I don’t want to use anal glands to smell sweet, that’s for sure.  Another use, they are used to enhance the flavor of raspberry candies and sweets.

• It is more common people know Caesar salad dressing is made with anchovies, but they are in Worcestershire sauce too.  I was unaware of this until I did some research and now I avoid both sauces.

• Like jelly beans or candy corn?  The shiny hard coating is make from the secretions of the female Kerria Lacca, an insect native to Thailand.  I personally don’t like any bug secretions in my candy.



These are just a few of the cringe worth products that use animal products to be more appealing and satisfying to the consumer.  After months of researching and growth I learned that animal products are in so many unexpected places and products.  I find it very interesting to learn about all the products that use weird animal parts and secretions.  Peta.org has an extensive list of animal ingredients that are in food that might shock you.

Know of any more cringe worthy products with animal products? I would love to learn more, comment to share your knowledge!

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

With so many holiday parties and nights out with old friends that are back to town it’s easy to forget what you are drinking.  About a year after becoming a vegetarian, I was on the internet looking for recipes and stumbled upon a website about vegetarian beer.  It never dawned on me that what I was drinking could have animal products in it.  I was shocked at what I read!



I am not a big drinker so it never dawned on me to look at the ingredients.  What I read made me cringe; some beers are processed with isinglass, the swim bladders of fish.  I am no beer expert so I had no idea, fish bladders? I was so grossed out!  Some beers are also processed using gelatin, made from boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones from cows or pigs.  After this I made sure to know where everything I was consuming was coming from.

The holiday season prompts many parties and dinners, I made a list of common beers that are vegetarian safe.  For a full list from PETA, click here.

• Amstel & Amstel Light
• Bud Light & Budweiser
• Busch & Bush Light
• Coors
• Corona
• Dogfish Head Brewing
• Heineken
• Michelob
• Mike’s Hard Lemonade
• Miller Brewing Co.
• Natural Light
• Rolling Rock
• Samuel Adams Brewing Co.
• Thirsty Dog Beer

Hopefully this list helps new vegetarians going out with old friends during the holiday season know what to order! If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask, I love sharing my knowledge! :)

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

It’s almost thanksgiving!  I can’t wait to spend hours in the kitchen making a wonderful meal for my family…and that’s not sarcastic at all, I really can’t wait. :) I love to cook and bake, and thanksgiving gives me an excuse to go overboard in the kitchen.  This year we are having my family and my husband’s family over for thanksgiving dinner.  We have discussed with both of our families and decided we are going to have an entirely vegetarian thanksgiving.  It is going to be our parents first meatless Thanksgiving; I can’t wait to blow them away with the delicious food.

 Eating a meatless dinner on thanksgiving opens up a world of recipes possibilities!  My first thanksgiving without meat was a little strange.  I wanted to imitate all the classic thanksgiving dishes so I roasted some tofurkey and ate my fair share of mash potatoes to fill up.  But my second thanksgiving was completely different.  I had learned new vegetarian recipes throughout the year and was ready to create my own thanksgiving dinner.  There are so many great seasonal vegetables during the fall it makes it really easy to cook a yummy dinner.

As the years flew by I kept getting more creative with my thanksgiving dinner menu.  We typically go to my husband’s parents to celebrate and I bring a few of my favorite vegetarian thanksgiving dishes.  I am beyond excited to have both our families over and have some wonderful vegetarian food. 
I have begun making the menu and am super excited about it.  I still need a few more options but here’s what I have so far…DISCLAIMER these are recipes from the internet, I haven’t decided how I am going to spice them up and make them my own yet so ideas are welcome. :)

•    Butternut Squash Baked Risotto



•    Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy



•    Green Bean Casserole with Red Curry and Peanuts



•    Sweet Potato and Edamame Shepherd’s Pie



•    The thanksgiving favorite, Pumpkin Pie,
•    And obviously mash potatoes, cranberry chutney, and some roasted corn and carrots.

I love thanksgiving and all the rich and flavorful foods! I can’t wait to start cooking! In the meantime I think I am going make my family’s favorite, pumpkin cranberry cinnamon rolls to get my cooking bug out of me today.

Happy thanksgiving cooking!

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

Recently, I have been all about movements and initiatives for a healthy lifestyle.  I came across one on the internet yesterday while finding kid friendly recipes called The Kids Cook Monday.  It is a pretty simple initiative that encourages families to set aside the first night of every week for cooking and eating together.  It is very important to me that my family sits down for dinner and reconnects after our days apart.  Some dinners can be hard because of the restaurant but I always make sure I am home several days during the week. 



So now, not only is my family participating in Meatless Monday, but always The Kids Cook Monday.  This will be a great way to get my children into cooking healthy vegetarian meals that they enjoy.  My kids love helping out in the kitchen, when I am cooking and baking so this will give them something to look forward to every week. 

I believe that teaching young children to cook is an essential life skill they need to learn.  The joy I see on my kid’s faces when they are stirring something together or cracking an egg is priceless.  Although those helping out often turns into a kitchen mess, it is so worth it.  Cooking enforces portion sizes while they are learning about the vitamins and nutrients in the ingredients.  It also strengthens math skills, teamwork, and following instructions.  My daughter is beginning to learn about fractions in school so cooking is a subtle way to have her practice. 



Yesterday the kids had their mind made up on making a pizza…their favorite.  I like to add a subtle twist to the pizza by using a cauliflower crust.  My kids have no idea and absolutely love it, I highly recommend trying it! Here is the recipe I used to make the cauliflower crust before the kids got home.

Ingredients-
•    ½ head of cauliflower
•    1 clove of garlic, minced
•    1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
•    1 egg, beaten
•    1 tsp. basil
•    1 tsp. oregano

Instructions-
•    Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease a cookie sheet or pizza stone with oil.
•    Remove the stems and leaves from your cauliflower, chop it into chunks, place into food processor and pulse just the texture is similar to rice.
•    Sauté the cauliflower “rice” over medium heat until it is translucent, about 6-8 mins. 
•    In a large bowl combine the cauliflower “rice” with garlic, cheese, egg, basil, and oregano and mix thoroughly.
•    Spread the dough evenly on the greased cookie sheet or stone about 1/3 inch thick.
•    Bake for 25-30 mins until the crust is golden

When the kids got home, they spread the pizza sauce, added the cheese, and their personal favorite vegetables; green peppers, tomato chunks, carrots, olives, and mushrooms (precooked).  And then we baked our special pizza for about 5-10 min until the cheese was melted.




It was a great kid’s cook Monday and Meatless Monday in my book.  The kids had a great time making the pizza and liked eating it even better.  I think it is important to put time aside every day to connect as a family.  Our family dinners are always filled with laughter and good conversation.  A family that cooks together and eats together is a happy family.

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie :)