prAna: Sustainable Clothing

I get asked a lot why I am vegan. I have been vegan for the last 6 years. It’s definitely not something I’ve ever forced upon, or even suggested to, anyone else. I am an animal lover but to be completely honest my choice was first and foremost about health and not about animal rights or environmentalism or anything like that. I’ve never really written anything about it so here is my story for those interested.

I became interested in nutrition and veganism after reading a book called “The China Study” by respected nutrition and health researcher, Dr. Colin T Campbell. The book details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes and cancer. It also examines the source of nutritional confusion produced by powerful lobbies, government entities, and opportunistic scientists. The New York Times has recognized the study (China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project) as the “Grand Prix of epidemiology” and the “most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease.”

As soon as I read this book I knew I had to make a change but I didn’t know how. I couldn’t cook and I didn’t know what to eat. I didn’t even like salad very much. Around the same time Ethan Pringle and I visited the North coast of California for some bouldering in Lost Rocks and limestone sport climbing at Trinity Aretes. It was there I met Dru McCasland, an old friend of Ethan’s. Dru was vegan and a strong climber. We got to Arcata late in the evening and arrived just in time for dinner at Dru’s house. It was an amazing, delicious dinner prepared by Dru’s girlfriend Juliet of grilled organic veggies, organic black beans, organic cilantro, homemade salsa, guacamole, organic rice and organic tortillas. For the rest of our trip we ate delicious vegan food prepared by either Dru or Juliet. I also got to see what kinds of vegan food and snacks they packed for climbing. I was impressed with how good vegan food could be, I had NO idea. We also visited some vegan restaurants in Arcata and I was impressed there too. I began to notice, after a week of climbing and vegan food, how healthy and happy I felt. The trip was a life changing experience not just in terms of my food choices but also in terms of my climbing (more about that here).

After that trip I decided that I had to eat vegan and get into healthy living. After being inspired seeing how other people do it I knew I could do it too. I read 19 different books on veganism and nutrition and educated myself. I was particularly influenced by “Thrive” by Brendan Brazier. Brendan Brazier is a professional Ironman triathlete, bestselling author on performance nutrition, a two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion and a long time vegan. After reading this book I wasn’t worried anymore about “where would I get my protein?” and “how will it affect my climbing?” I knew exactly how to make sure I was getting enough nutrients through my food, especially as an athlete.

I learned a lot about diet, nutrition, cooking, food politics, animal rights, farming, the meat industry and hunger through my reading. Ever since then I have become healthier, more informed and way better at cooking. My main reason for remaining vegan is still mostly for health reasons but some are now somewhat political and ethical too. I try to eat fresh and local veggies, fruit, beans, nuts and seeds for the most part but I still like to indulge in a good vegan dessert every now and then. I’m also lucky enough to live two blocks away from the best natural foods co-op anywhere, Rainbow Grocery. I don’t see myself going back to eating animal products and refined food.

Most people respect and understand my choice to be vegan and are open minded about it even if they aren’t vegan, or even vegetarian, themselves. Everyone I’ve ever cooked for has absolutely loved what I cook for them. There are still some haters out there though. It turns out, for people who aren’t even remotely close to living the way I do, they sure seem to think they’ve got it all figured out. I have no interest in arguing with someone who would be too abrasive to ever be worth a justification of my choice. However, I’d like to share a few words from “Vegan’s Daily Companion” to explain the definition of being vegan.

The word vegan was coined in 1944 by British activist Donald Watson (1910-2005), the founder of the first vegan organization. Watson crafted the word vegan from the beginning and end of the word “vegetarian,” because he was frustrated that the word vegetarian had come to include dairy products and eggs. He defined veganism as “a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude- as far as is possible and practical -all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.”

See how I put “as far as is possible and practical” in bold font?? That’s a really important thing that some people can’t seem to understand. The idea doesn’t mean going to every extreme length possible to the point where you can’t ride your bike because you might run over an ant. It means that you’re doing everything within reasonable means so that you make the most positive choice you can. It’s not about being 100% pure in every direction possible to the point where you cannot even exist.

This is probably on of my longest posts ever. Thanks for those of you who read the whole thing. I’m not trying to push my lifestyle on anyone, I’m just trying to put it out there for anyone who might be interested since I get a lot of questions about it.

~Natasha Barnes, prAna Ambassador

Here are some resources if anyone is interested: ENJOY!

Books

Diet, nutrition, disease

“The China Study” by Dr. Colin T Campbell

“Thrive” by Brendan Brazier

“Forks Over Knives” by Gene Stone

Ethics and politics

“Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating” by Erik Marcus

“Meat Market: Animals, Ethics and Money” by Erik Marcus

“Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization” by Richard Manning

Food, hunger, society

“Hunger: An Unnatural History” By Sharman Apt Russell

“The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-eye View of the World” by Michael Pollan

“Harvest For Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating” by Jane Goodall

Cook Books

“Vegan with a Vengeance” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

“The Raw Food Detox Diet” by Natalia Rose

“Veganomicon” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

“Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health” by Brendan Brazier

“Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Other Vegan Athletes

Brendan Brazier   Steph Davis   Ashley Hamilton   Jeani Hunt-Gibbon

Other Vegan Food Sites

Lunch Box Bunch   The PPK

Check out Natasha doing her thing Vegan style…

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Bhakti Fest is a four day music festival celebrating devotion through chanting, yoga, meditation and community. All presenters embody the spirit of Bhakti – deep devotion. We gather on 450 acres of inspiring desert land to express our love and devotion as one community through an enchanting array of activities, including:

Constant Kirtan Concerts • Yoga Classes • Private and Group Meditation • Vegetarian, Vegan, and Raw Vegan Cuisine Eco-Friendly Vendor Village • Camping, Cottages and Cabin Accommodations Wellness Sanctuary: with massage, reiki, channeling, and other unique healing sessions

In addition, a substantial portion of the festival’s proceeds are donated to charitable organizations.

For more information and registration please visit www.bhaktifest.com

Need some motivation? Here are some highlights from last year…

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

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Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

Join Us On Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo & YouTube

Last week prAna employees shared their Every Day is Earth Day stories. Motivated by positive inspiration we had to tell our stories. Everything we do makes a difference! We hope you get as inspired as we did…

Planting a new tree in our backyard with my girls.

I try to ride my motorcycle to work every day. My last tank of gas I got 55 mpg. I would like to start riding my bicycle to work again. I bring my lunch to work almost every day. My lunch rarely comes from a package and because of that, and other waste reduction, my wife and I are able to have no more than one small bag of trash per week. She takes her lunch to work as well. We do not have a compost pile at home but we put all of the things we could compost in our green waste so it does not end up in a landfill. We also recycle everything we can at home. We have not used a throw away grocery bag in more than 3 years and have been using the same reusable bags for as long. We even have reusable bags for our produce. I try to not take a plastic bag from any store and if I do I will reuse and then recycle it. I always sweep up the yard trimmings after I cut the grass so the trimmings do not end up in the storm drains and then the ocean. When I surf I do my best to pick up 3 pieces of trash from the beach. I try to use organic produce whenever possible. I also try to buy local produce and other goods when available and not cost prohibitive. My main purpose for being a vegetarian is to lower the impact on my body but I believe it also lowers the impact on the earth in many ways. That is a win win situation!

1. Trying to eat local – try to buy food from local producers 2. Trying to eat green – I have been eating more fruits and vegetables which is good for my health and the planet’s. 3. To reduce emissions from my vehicle, I have been trying to combine my errands into one run. 4. Have replaced many of my home products with EnergyStar – light bulbs, fan , heater, etc. to be more energy efficient. 5. At work, turn off the light above my desk when I am going to be away for extended periods of time. 6. Turn off the lights in empty rooms – both at work and home. 7. Turn off computer, calculator and other electronics at the end of the work day. 8. Reduced paper usage at work – stopped printing out Shipping/Retail batches and started saving them as pdfs in our system. Not only has this reduced paper usage, but it has also helped cut down on finding storage space for boxes of printouts. 9. Trying to convert as many of our customers as possible to accept emailed versions of invoices and statements to reduce paper usage and mail expense. 10. Use the other side of printouts for scratch paper and then recycle. 11. Recycle at home and at work. 12. Compost at work.

Recycle all plastic bags including grocery/newspaper Pick up after dog Throw ice from drinks on plants Use all paper at least twice, than recycle Take my reusable bags when shopping Take my used car oil to auto parts shop for proper disposal Use shower water to water plants Turn off overhead lights and monitors when not at desk Released lady bugs in garden

Turn off un-needed electric components, separate glass, aluminum, plastic and cardboard. Bring to work recycle batteries and grocery bags. Carpool with my wife to work.

Ride my bike to work and back

I re-use every container I can until it falls apart~ then I try to recycle it I shower quickly and try to use minimal water! I have taught my children to adopt an earth-friendly approach to life, and taught them to teach others the same~ pass it on! I turn off the lights! Unplug chargers! Conserve electricity wherever I can… I pick up litter in my own neighborhood so it won’t end up in the storm drains! When you make it your mindset, it becomes natural and easy.

1. try to take 2 minute showers 2. 2 18oz glass jars w/water in toilet tank 3. use non chemicals to house clean like vinegar 4. try to air dry clothes when time allows 5. make my own compost 6. bring non plastic bags to shop 7. use vending water machine to fill up reusable jars

We feel that Earth Day is about the community since we all share the earth- so we will be beautifying the area around prAna by picking up garbage. Also, we are going to put together boxes with fruit and herbs from our own gardens to share with fellow prAna peeps. We are going sans-lights for Earth Day in our office as well!

Just a few, in no particular order… most of these are fully integrated in my daily life and a take little effort. It’s just a way to live, that keeps evolving 1. PD department trash clean up on the streets around our office for earth day 2. Carpool to work 3. Collect rain water 4. Compost/ garden 5. I keep chickens in my backyard – for eggs 7. Support local CSA’s and farmers markets for Almost all of my fruits and vegetables 6. Make a point to purchase items with the least amount of packaging whenever possible & use re-usable bags & containers for storage

Pick up trash when I walk thru the warehouse Pick up trash when I walk on the beach If I’m out and have a plastic water bottle that I use and there is no recycling bin, I bring it home to recycle Don’t use a space heater…always keep a sweater and jacket available. Turn off my desk lights if I am away for any length of time Re-use file folders, cover old label with new one Reuse paper clips, rubber bands, binder clips, etc….never throw away Put leftovers in washable, sealable containers rather than disposable plastic bags Unplug power strips and electrical appliances that are not in use for an extended time Turn off automatic sprinklers in winter Turn off lights in rooms not occupied…do a lot at work, especially kitchens.

I will be attending a friend’s wedding! But I have arranged to carpool there with 4 of my friends to make sure I tread as lightly as possible on my way to a not-to-eco-friendly event

1. I recently traded in my beloved gas guzzling Land Rover for a Prius. 2. I involve my kids in being green by making sure they know what goes in compost, recyclables, or trash. 3. We started growing a veggie and herb garden.

We reclaim our sink, shower and washer water (just expanded our system), 5 areas use fake grass, succulents and drought tolerant plants are the vast majority of our landscaping, rainwater harvesting,low flow sprinkler heads, irrigation clocks closely monitored – our water bill is less than half of previous owners. solar hot water for the house, solar heated pool, very lean use of electricity, low flow pool pumps, energy star appliances and many energy efficient light bulbs,personal habits and incentives for kids to use less electricity, explored photovoltaic and because our use is so low it did not make sense to build a system at this time. we rarely use heat, just wear sweaters in the house and have down comforters, combine foods in cooking process to save energy. own and drive 2 hybrid vehicle, Prius gets 45 + mpg, constantly teaching and and sharing ideas with others how to save our natural resources in simple, fun ways, often do not drive anywhere on weekends. ( i bring all of our recyclables to prAna to recycle since we don’t have it in our neighborhood), we compost much of our yard waste and all of our raw food scraps, we grind up our own wood chips and mulch for the yard, we have used trees that we cut down for benches on the property, we buy local and unprocessed food, we have a 3 season garden with over 70 plantings, 26 fruit trees on the property that we share with friends and family. Use the back side of printed paper to print and right on – rarely virgin paper, don’t use napkins.

I bring my lunch in reusable containers, i recycle, i reuse my water bottle, turn the water off when i brush my teeth

Compost @ home. Don’t buy Meat products.Recycle when ever possible. We “like” on Facebook our favorite companies and ask them what they can do to recycle. We buy off Craigslist. We reuse & re-purpose furniture and clothes. We use cloth diapers. Take shorter showers. Turn off lights, electronics when ever not in use. We carpool on weekends Bring our lunches as much as possible. We buy local fruits and veggies. We buy only organic at home. We try and buy in bulk where we can. We enjoy the outdoors as much as possible…

I always turn off the water while brushing my teeth. I always bring in my dead batteries to recycle. I recycle cans and bottles at home.

Recycle as much as possible. Compost whenever possible. Pick up after my dog. Work from home whenever possible.

Joined a CSA, cut down on plastic use, carpool to work almost everyday, and I have a garden

My wife and I are landscaping our home with drought tolerant plants and not grass to keep our use of water to a minimum. We also collect rain water to water all of our plants.

Buy organic or sustainably made product whenever possible Use a stainless steel water bottle to reduce my use of plastic Recycle and Compost at home and work No AC or Central Heat at home, just good ol’ fashioned windows and blankets! Grow a small amount of food in my backyard Use cloth diapers (except for time at daycare which doesn’t allow them) Only wash clothes in cold water Hope to start biking into work, need a roadie bike first though Support local farmers, my family buys often from farmer’s markets Don’t shave often = saves water Pick up trash when I’m out walking/surfing/biking Participate in beach clean-ups

My family is very conscientious about recycling materials. We recycle all paper and plastics at home. We recycle cans in a program at my daughter’s school, called Cans for Critters. We reuse water bottles while using our water cooler system, and we remind each other regularly about not running water while brushing teeth. We are also members of Kids Korps at my daughter’s school, where we clean up trash in parks, beaches and volunteer with animal shelters regularly.

I teach my children the importance of recycling in hopes that they will do the same with their children(My Grandchildren). I am trying to lead by example and set the tone for their future. My son has to sort and recycle what we can at home, he also crushes the aluminum and we take it to a recycling center. He can easily take home $50.00 for his efforts. Not a bad pay-day for a 15 yr old. Granted it does take some time for our family to gather enough to recycle but the reward always seems worth the effort. My Daughter is also starting to recycle at age 5 by bringing her recyclables to her school. One Friday each month the recycled items are gathered by the students and by parent volunteers to be recycled. I was amazed to hear how much the school benefits from a recycling program such as this. The students receive a ticket which allows them to receive a bag of popcorn or popsicle at the end of the day. The kids love this reward and it teaches them a valuable lesson.

Carpool bring my lunch I conserve water when my shower is heating up, and water my garden with it i save rain water grow my own veggies/have chickens to lay eggs…and share w/ neighbors i recycle at home i eat from local/home grown restaurants

Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, Clean up trash when I see it lying around! I’m all about my Klean Kanteen and travel coffee cup

I compost at work and at home, have separate recycling pails with SIGNS on them so guests are encouraged to recycle, no longer purchase paper towels!, use an every day travel mug for my coffee, buy in bulk at Henry’s and recycle my bags, looking at purchasing a Prius…..

Recycle my goodies, use baby jars for singles salad dressing, use the cooled water from boiling veggies to water my plants

Bring in veggie/fruit waste for compost Reduce printing paper in department Only shower, instead of taking bath Bring in e-waste to be sorted and not dumped in with regular trash

Recycle at home walk or ride bike to do things in my neighborhood donate compost to dad’s organic garden carpool when I can.

Recycle at Home Turn off water while brushing teeth

I walk my local beach and pick up trash.

I am growing my own garden. I collect rain water to use for my garden. Recycle anything we can. We try and use as few paper towels as possible. All bills are paperless and we only use reusable bags.

Bring in my own lunch Use a reusable coffee mug Separate all recyclables at home Utilize a compost at home Practice water-saving methods to get my bill down to a minimum. Always turn off lights and appliances when not in use. I also practice minimalist-gardening techniques to ensure my yard is overgrown and producing as much oxygen as possible. This is also known as being lazy

No more plastic water bottles, only reusable Reusable Coffee Cup Turn water off while brushing teeth Bring my lunch Energy saving light bulbs in my house Recycle At home Compost at work Take old clothes to Good Will or give them to my house keeper My Gardener mulches my upper yard with the lawn clippings Bought a more fuel efficient car Put water saving filters on shower heads Use the energy saving setting on my dishwasher Fill the sink with water instead of letting it run while rinsing dishes

I’ve been exclusively using re-usable shopping bags for grocery shopping for about 5 years now and mostly use green household cleaning products. At work I eschew using disposable cups or water bottles.

I recycle at home and at work, I ride my bike when I can, I am a part of the prAna CSA, we have a garden at home, we enjoy the earth by running, hiking, surfing, biking, camping, and spreading the love to others!

I recycle everything I possibly can. More recyclables are picked up each week from my house than trash.

We are constantly trying to lower our impact by; 1. Buying organic whenever available 2. Recycling 3. Vermicomposting (worm bin) and we also got my farther-in-law to start and our neighbor and are working on my brother in law. The key from us has been to tell people how much the compost improves their plants! 4. Looking at purchasing a Nissan Leaf or the soon to be released Ford Focus EV (Chevy Volt = No) 5. We buy local and from Etsy whenever we can to stimulate small businesses 6. We are crappy farmers but try to grow as much as we can at home in containers and are part of the prAna CSA. We love to buy from resale shops, estate sales and garage sales. You can always find a bargain

Tell us what you do to make it Earth Day every day!

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Raise your hand if you’ve been a vegetarian in Japan. Great – you people know my pain. The rest of you can go ahead and imagine ingredient lists in Kanji, restaurants being predictably ambiguous on their definition of ‘meatless,’ and (if you strive in any way to be sustainable) good luck tracking down where that radish came from.

For me, life abroad became not only the exploration of a new country…but also of explorations in my own tiny, oven-less kitchen. I started blogging as a means to track my survival tactics for eating, cooking and living vegetastically amidst language barriers, cultural differences, foreign appliances and curious new ingredients.

After two years in Japan, I’m back on US soil embarking on a new culinary adventure – this time with a cause bigger than that of my own kitchen: Real Time Farms. Real Time Farms is a start-up (that is, we’re a bunch of everyday people bootstrapping to create awesomeness). What kind of awesome? The kind that revolutionizes food transparency by helping you, the consumer, KNOW the source of your food. How, you ask? By connecting you to sources for farm fresh food, innovative food artisans, and farm-to-table restaurants in your very own community.

The intent was two-fold. The founders, Karl and Cara Rosaen, set out to create a place to learn about local food – how it was grown and where it could be found.  So, YOU are left educationally empowered and confident in your culinary decisions. Second, they wanted to create a socially interactive space striving for collaboration – allowing others to share information and photos in celebration of the voices of farms and farmers across the country. Anyone (yep, even YOU) can join, add, edit information, and share photos from farms, food artisans, and farmers markets. We all create Real Time Farms together – this spark of understanding is our platform – that we as savvy consumers each have a voice that matters.

I’m a food nut. Call me a foodie, a crunchy carrot connoisseur, a pretentious pickle picker… I am what I am -  passionate about food.  And in Japan I missed having a closer connection with my ingredients (admittedly my mediocre grasp of the language contributed to the disconnect). When Real Time Farms launched last spring, I jumped at the invitation to participate.There is a need for a better food system in our country, and connecting people to local sources of the advantageous fruits and veggies is the perfect way to start making a change. I love to amble through farmers markets and unique grocery stores. Food and its potential exhilarates me – the colors, the varieties of produce, the seasonality, the joy of seeing someone experience a new taste for the first time – it’s thrilling!

The team at Real Time Farms aims to excite, engage and educate consumers about food ecosystems right under their noses. And lo’ and behold – we’re succeeding! Excitement is contagious; farms, farmers markets, and food artisans are being added from the US, Canada, and abroad. (In fact, over 12,000 photos have been submitted from users since our launch!)  We think when people get excited about learning where their food comes from, they are led naturally towards choices that are healthiest for themselves and the environment. With positive feedback, growing partnerships and nationwide attention, Real Time Farms is booming. We still need your help though! How about visiting a farmers market this weekend and posting a photo or two?! We’d love to see your favorite local farmer or cheese-maker, an amazing display of produce, or a delectable pile of baked goods….anything that gets your stomach begging for more!

~Lindsay-Jean Hard, Gastronomic Guru

Real Time Farms is a user-generated, online food guide–users learn about where their food comes from, whether eating in or eating out, so they can feel confident in the food they eat. Connect, share and participate with them on Twitter, Facebook and their blog.

*This post was written before the tragedy in Japan. It’s been heartbreaking to feel so connected and so disconnected all at the same time to a country that I called home, and hard to know how best to help. I decided to make a donation to aid disaster recovery, and if you’d like to as well, there are a number of organizations working to help the victims as well as longer term recovery and rebuilding (the American Red Cross, the Japanese Red Cross, the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund, and many others).

In a country so abundant in factory farms and the corporate monopoly, it is important to show support to local organic farmers.

Even in Las Vegas, I have found a way to help out.

I recently became a shareholder in an agricultural community in Overton, NV, a small town just an hour away called Quail Hollow Farm. Once a week a lovely basket of home grown, fresh vegetable are sent to my home. As a vegetarian for over 12 years, it is exciting to have this opportunity to try new produce and support a worthy cause.

This week included Buttercrunch lettuce, Hakurei turnips, and carrots (that actually looked like real carrots) to name a few. A weekly newsletter is sent with the basket including “What’s happening on the farm,” a Quote of the Week, and calendar for local fun food events. They even have yummy recipe ideas for the more unique produce.

Please take the time to check out their website and do what you can to support your local CSA!

~Heather Robinson, prAna Ambassador (not the chicken or the turkey)

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Looks like its time for another road trip! Pack up the gear and head out to Joshua Tree this weekend as the weather looks to be beautiful and in the low 80′s! Yoga, Kirtan, Meditation, Workshops and so much more…

Yogi’s

Kirtan Artists: Jai Uttal, Shyamdas, Donna De Lory, David Newman (Durga Das), Shantala, Arjun Baba, Dave Stringer, Wah!, Jaya Lakshmi, DASI Karnamrita, Sean Johnson & The Wild Lotus Band, Gina Salá, Saul David Raye, Girish, C.C. White, Amritakripa, Prema Hara, Govindas and Radha &  Joey Lugassy

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It’s always fun to add an extra layer of flavor to your food, and just because you choose to eat dairy-free and animal-friendly meals doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun!

This vegan Parmesan, whose goal is not to exactly replicate dairy parmesan but to have a scrumptious flavor and sharpness all of its own, gives you freedom in choosing its ingredients and their quantity.

Not to mention their quality. I’ve made it using various nuts (raw or toasted, salted or not; cashews, walnuts, pepitas…), more or less garlic, different sorts of miso, and I, as well as the other people who tried it, have never been disappointed by the outcome.

I prefer to use shiro or white miso (made of rice and soybeans) because it is milder than most, but feel free to use whatever you like best. The color of the miso might alter the color and flavor of the parmesan itself, but not outrageously so. I used mugi miso (made of barley and soybeans) here, a rather dark and fuller-bodied miso, and you can see the resulting parmesan is still lighter in color than light brown sugar.

The amount of garlic is up to you: the parmesan doesn’t get cooked, so the garlic flavor remains bold. If you have co-workers to deal with, it might be good to be sparse with it. On the other hand, go all out if you work from home. I know I do, and the cats don’t seem to mind too much. At least they don’t say anything to my face…

You can use this on top of pasta drowning in marinara sauce, but you could also add a generous handful of it in all sorts of salads, like the red cabbage pictured here, be it directly stirred in the vinaigrette or sprinkled right on top, for a boost of flavor and nutrition. It’s also great to use in fake meatballs, on top of pizza or gratins…the possibilities and uses are pretty much endless. Just as long as you don’t use it on ice cream, you’re good to go.

“Why is it called Gene Parmesan?”, you ask. Well, because I’m a geek with a big crush on the now defunct Arrested Development show and it was one of the characters’ name. That is all. (Don’t judge me.)

A few notes about the ingredients:

• Maca powder: comes from the maca root, a nutrient-dense whole food packed with vitamins, minerals, as well as fatty and amino acids. It is claimed to increase stamina, boost libido and decrease fatigue. I simply use it as a flavor booster here: it has a cheesy, buttery, kind of sharp bite to it that really works well in cheese substitutes. A little goes a long way, as it has a strong flavor and especially because it is a rather expensive ingredient. That’s why it is optional here: it isn’t vital, but it does definitely bring something to the table, flavor-wise. I use the Navitas Naturals brand.

• Coconut flour: high in fiber and flavor, this is another ingredient that adds a buttery touch to this parmesan substitute. It is gluten free and a good source of protein. Bob’s Red Mill is my favorite.

• Nutritional yeast: a deactivated yeast that grows on molasses, not to be confused with brewer’s yeast. It has a yellow color and a savory, nutty taste that might take some getting used to for those who aren’t familiar with it, but if you like beer, Marmite or Vegemite, you’re bound to be a fan of it. And if you’re not a fan of these, I urge you to be bold and give it a try anyway. Be sure to look for nutritional yeast that is enriched in vitamin B12, such as Red Star.

• Miso: Japanese seasoning in paste-form that has a salty flavor, made from fermented soybeans. I like the Eden brand, it has the advantage of being organic.

1/2 cup (50 g) shelled walnut halves

1/2 cup (64 g) whole cashews (raw or not is up to you)

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, optional if using salted nuts

1 to 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon (15 g) maca powder, optional but recommended

1/2 cup (60 g) nutritional yeast

1/4 cup (28 g) coconut flour

1 tablespoon (7 g) white miso

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until a crumbly, parmesan-like appearance is obtained. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Yield: 2 cups (230 g)

~Celine

Celine Steen is a vegan cookbook author and a bike fiend who lives in California. She hails from Switzerland and channels her inner Heidi by missing those Swiss mountains, a lot. You can find her at havecakewilltravel.com. She is also the co-author of The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions.

We are happy to kick off a series of recommendations for iPhone app’s that may help improve the quality of life for you, your friends and family as well as the planet… and they are ALL free.

It was a tough decision. Android vs. iPhone. PC vs. Mac. Lots of my friends have gone through the process that has split the geek community. I had long ago decided to walk the fence and use both operating systems as there are distinct advantageous to both but having two phones seemed like a ridiculous concept so the decision had to be made. As you can tell from the title of this post, Steve Jobs has won another, albeit minor, battle and I don’t see myself going back unless someone can finally produce an indisputable “iPhone killer”… but I digress.

There are few recent technological advances that I can concretely say make my life both healthier and happier. My iPhone apps unequivocally do. Let’s start with one of the best, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch app…

The oceans supply us with food, help regulate our climate, and supply a livelihood for millions of people. Just as important, we depend on the oceans for recreation and renewal. But our seas are not the infinite bounty they appear to be. Today, no parts of the oceans remain unaffected by human activities. And among the many factors influencing our ocean ecosystems, none has a greater impact than fishing. Humans have been fishing the oceans for thousands of years. But over the past five decades technology has allowed us to fish farther, deeper and more efficiently than ever before. Scientists estimate that we have removed as much as 90 percent of the large predatory fish such as shark, swordfish and cod from the world’s oceans. In 2003, the Pew Oceans Commission warned that the world’s oceans are in a state of “silent collapse,” threatening our food supply, marine economies, recreation and the natural legacy we leave our children.

Through better practices, we can create healthy, abundant oceans for everyone. Seafood Watch, a program of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, has always been about making this vision a reality. Working with consumers, fishermen, restaurants, retailers and suppliers, we’ve been making a difference since 1999.

But there is still much to be done.

As a Pescetarian (fish only vegetarian), our family includes quite a bit of fish in our diet. As we began to learn more and more about the depletion of certain species at an alarming rate, I looked for a resource to guide our purchase decisions and viola’! There’s an app for that. Since its release in 2009, the Seafood Watch iPhone app has helped more than 325,000 people find sustainable seafood. The latest version adds some very cool functionality that includes user interactivity, aka Project Fishmap, where you can add your local sustainable seafood finds. With the addition of badges (think Foursquare), not only can you make a personal contribution to the health of your favorite fish species but also have some fun doing it. Don’t buy much seafood from your local market but love Sushi? Fear not! Seafood Watch also has a handy-dandy Sushi Guide to make your ordering a little simpler “dōitashimashite”.

Still haven’t downloaded the app yet? These 6 features should help close the deal…

Provides free, up to date recommendations at your fingertips with detailed seafood information

Uses your phone’s GPS to load the right regional guide for your location

Enables you to search for seafood quickly and easily by common market name

Allows you to sort seafood by “Best Choice”, Good Alternative” or “Avoid” rankings

Sushi guide lists fish by Japanese names as well as common market names

Highlights our list of “Super Green” seafood that’s good for you and the oceans

Andriod or Blackberry user? You can still access the Seafood Watch pocket guide to slip in your pocket on the way to the store.

For those of you who have not upgraded to a smart-phone, here are more guides to help you shop for seafood in just about any corner of the world! You could even print out a copy and drop it off at your favorite restaurant(s) “OR EMAIL IT” as a coworker just shouted across the room. We can all use a little help sometimes, even if it is just an app…

Additional Resources

• Austria seafood guide (German -  link to web page with link to download the PDF)
• Belgium seafood guide (French  – link to web page with link to download the PDF)
• Belgium seafood guide (Dutch – link to web page with link to download the PDF )
• Denmark seafood guide (Danish – link to web page with link to download the PDF)
• Finland seafood guide (Finnish, PDF)
• France seafood guide (French – link to web page with link to download the PDF)
• Germany seafood guide (German – link to web page with link to download the PDF & Smartphone app)
• Hong Kong seafood guide (English & Chinese, PDF)
• Indonesia seafood guide Seafood guide
• Italian seafood guide (Italian, PDF)
• Malaysia seafood guide (Bahasa, PDF and English, PDF and website: Save Our Seafood)
• Netherlands seafood guide (Dutch – link to web page with link to download the PDF & iphone app and more)
• Norway seafood guide (Norwegian – link to web page with link to download the PDF)
• Poland seafood guide (Polish, PDF)
• Russia seafood guide (Russian, PDF)
• Singapore seafood guide
• Spain seafood guide (Catalan, PDF and Spanish, PDF and website: Guía de consumo responsable de pescado)
• South Africa seafood guide Sustainable seafood initiative
• Sweden seafood guide (Swedish – link to web page with link to download the PDF)
• Switzerland seafood guide (English)
• German online version or PDF version
• French online version or PDF version
• Italian online version or PDF version

• Smart Seafood Guide Food and Water Watch
• Sustainable Seafood Guide Posters
• Seafood Choices Bringing ocean conservation to the table
• Environmental Defense Seafood Selector
• National Audubon Society Seafood Guide
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch
• Blue Ocean Guide to Ocean-Friendly Seafood
• What MSC fish products are available in your country?
• In the UK… refer to the Marine Conservation Society – FISHONLINE website
• In Australia.. refer to the Australian Marine Conservation Society



~Andre Walker, Global Interactive Media

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

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I had a cow last winter.

It was so good that I just decided to have another one this winter, too. Even better, this winter I found an even more local source of the meat than I did last time – I’m buying my half a cow from someone who lives less than five miles away, as opposed to the two hours’ drive away required for my meat that I got last year. I bought a quarter of a cow last February from a nearby rancher, stuck it all in my freezer, and I’m just now finishing eating it (with Kevin’s help, of course). Time to have another cow, for sure.

It makes so much sense, really, this whole buying local thing, but I didn’t really get the kick in the pants I needed to do it until I read two books pretty closely together, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingsolver and Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition, by Paul Pitchford. I also watched the movie Food, Inc. Like a lot of people, I guess even though I knew better, I’d gotten a bit apathetic about the ease of just buying whatever looks good/tastes good/fits the right price range in the grocery store, without reading the ingredients or considering how far things have traveled to reach me (and the resources consumed by those journeys).

Reading these books and watching this movie, I found myself wondering why so many of us are willing to spend extra money on gourmet prepared coffee drinks, shiny new cars, and other such concoctions and objects, and yet we’re somewhat or totally neglectful and inconsiderate about how we fuel our physical beings, our containers for life. Why put high-octane fuel in a car and pay extra for that if you’re not willing to pay a little extra for better fuel for your very own (and only) personal machine, your body? Not to mention the negative impact on the planet that mass-produced food has.

Wondering why I hadn’t really taken charge of exactly what I choose to put into my human machine, I reconsidered much of my already healthy diet (by typical American standards) and made some adjustments accordingly. I starting by thinking about why I became a vegetarian at age 16 (and stayed one for 11 years), and I realized that my convictions are still the same – I wasn’t opposed to meat consumption, but I was (and am) opposed to atrocious and appalling ways of raising animals for human consumption. Ranching is huge in Wyoming, and I thought there had to be a way to buy local beef from someone – and I was right. I found the first rancher I bought beef from on Eat Wild. Right after that, I discovered that I could’ve bought beef from someone even closer, which is what I’ll do this year.

What else changed? I’ll give you a couple other examples. From the Pitchford book, I was shocked to discover the prevalence of refined sugar in just about everything (including table salt), so I started reading labels and trying to find products that had less refined sugar or none at all. Unable to find a single loaf of bread at a grocery store that didn’t have refined sugar as an ingredient, I started making my own honey-sweetened bread in a bread machine (you can pick one up for pretty cheap on Overstock.com or Amazon), using flour from Wheat Montana. Wheat Montana is close to local; it’s a five-hour drive from my house to its location in Three Forks, Montana. The Kingsolver book, among other things, got me to stop eating bananas all the time after considering how far they travel to get to me and the resources consumed by that journey. Nothing against bananas, but it just made sense. I also try now to always buy humanely produced meat and dairy, and I try to incorporate organic foods when it’s feasible (harder than you might think living where I do).

It’s really no big deal, and I’m not a fanatic about it, but the way I see it, just having my consciousness raised has helped give a little bit back to the planet in terms of alleviating its suffering and overuse/abuse, both small-scale and large. I’m encouraging family ranching and the local economy by buying my meat locally, and I’m also endorsing humane practices by choosing local beef, as well as by being considerate when I do buy eggs or chicken to make sure I read how they’re raised. I look for produce and products produced locally or regionally first, and I choose organic products when they’re practical and affordable for me. I can’t buy 100 percent organic or local, not yet, anyhow, but no matter. Even baby steps make a difference. The more people making those baby steps, the bigger those steps become…and the larger the footsteps they leave for the future to follow in.

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

These qualities infuse not only our name, but also our aspirations, the things we make and how we make them.

Welcome to mindfully designed, built to last products – born from the experience.

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