Go Green, You Vegan Beauty!

"Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art". -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy St. Patrick's Day all you Naughty People! Today, some people are turning their beer and food green. That is fun, but I wanted to talk about cosmetics being green! So, as I become aware of more and more vegan friendly beauty products and cosmetics, I am definitely going to talk about them with all of you fabulous people. 

Recently, I received some products from Tarte to try (thank you, Tarte!). I am falling in love with their cosmetics and I adore how they are conscious of their vegan customers. None of their products are tested on animals, however for the vegan products, they work with PETA to ensure they are truly vegan and even have a vegan section on their website in which you can view all of their vegan products easily on one page. Thank you Tarte for really taking the guesswork out of cruelty-free beauty products. Sometimes it can be tricky, especially for those of you who are just beginning to familiarize yourself with ingredient lists, so I really like when companies accommodate their vegan customers like this.

From Tarte's Vegan section of their website

Bravo Tarte, for making glamorous products that are not tested on animals and for providing so many cool vegan options. I really admire companies who are natural focused and conscious of animals and the environment (a lot of their product components are recyclable or post-consumer recycled materials!), while still being stylish and hip. Also, this is professional quality and natural! You just can't beat that! I really love the way Tarte's natural products feel on my skin, and they look just as nice; bonus! And for now, the Dirty Vegan is signing off. Stay gorgeous!

A beautiful and natural look from Tarte's website

What are some of your favorite vegan beauty products? Also, what's on your St. Patrick's Day food and drink menu today?

Tweet

Three Cheeze "Bacon" Veggie Pita Pizzas & the GIVEAWAY WINNER!

The winner of the Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss Giveaway is Noelle! Please e-mail me at thedirtyvegan.blogspot@gmail.com with the address that you would like me to mail your prize to. I will get that shipped out right away! Congratulations, Noelle and thank you to everyone who entered. There will be lots more giveaways coming up soon, so please stay tuned for them! Now onto the pizzas...

Three Cheeze "Bacon" Veggie Pita Pizzas 

6 whole wheat pita pockets

1/2 jar of tomato sauce

1 package LightLife Smart Bacon

1/2 cup vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower

2 slices Galaxy Nutritional vegan mozzarella slices

1/2 cup Daiya  Mozzarella cheese shreds

1/4 cup Daiya Cheddar cheese shreds

2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with a little non-stick cooking spray. Place the pitas on the sheet. Spread tomato sauce on them. Break up or cup Smart Bacon into small pieces and arrange on the pitas. Then add your vegetable toppings. Now with the mozzarella slices, tear or cut them into chunks and place around on the pizza. Next sprinkle the cheese shreds. Lastly, drizzle olive oil on top of each pizza and bake for about 10 minutes, or until pizzas are melty and slightly brown/ crisp. Enjoy!

I really love Lightlife products and have since I first became veg. You can do so much with the Smart Bacon, I love their Gimme Lean products and I cannot even think of having a barbecue or picnic without their Smart Dogs or Tofu Pups. They were kind enough to send me some coupons so I can try out anything I haven't had or make up some cool recipes using Lightlife. I usually use the Smart Bacon for VBLT sandwiches but really loved using it on this pizza. Also, I will be using their Smart Ground in one of my next posts for lasagna, which has been requested by a lot of readers on my Facebook and Twitter pages; stay tuned for that! And for now, the Dirty Vegan is signing off.

Tweet

A Blissful Dessert and a GIVEAWAY!

There are so many ways to describe this vegan dessert, but the name says it best...bliss, Coconut Bliss that is! Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss offers a variety of flavors, some of which include: Cherry Amaretto, Dark Chocolate, Vanilla Island, Naked Coconut (ooooh sounds Dirty), and lots of other great flavors (you can get it in pint size or Bliss Bars!). This delightful dessert can be found at Whole Foods and health food stores.


I really am totally hooked on their vegan frozen desserts! Cool, smooth, creamy...oh so enchanting! I happen to love all Coconut Bliss flavors that I have tried, but my favorite is Dark Chocolate. I love the creaminess of the coconut while having the richness of the dark chocolate; its great!

I don't have to be the only one having all the fun here. Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss were cool enough to donate a giveaway prize for one of my lucky readers! Are you excited? I am!

THE PRIZE: One of my lucky readers will receive a Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss prize pack, which includes: 2 FREE pints of Coconut Bliss in any flavor, a groovy Coconut Bliss sticker, tucked inside a colorful Coconut Bliss comic.


HOW TO ENTER
You can enter the giveaway any of these 3 ways:

You can enter here the Blog-way: by being a
subscriber AND leaving a comment below telling me why you think you should win!

You can enter the Twitter-way: Follow @theDirtyVegan AND mention/ RT about the contest!

You can enter the Facebook-way: "Like" The Dirty Vegan fan-page AND leave a comment on my wall telling me why you think you should win!

BONUS ENTRIES: each "way" you enter, gives you that amount of contest entries per day. Maximum amount of entries is 3 per day, via the Blog-way, Twitter-way, and Facebook-way.

DEADLINE TO ENTER: Entries must be received by Monday, March 14th at 9:00 PM EST.

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN AND ANNOUNCED ON TUESDAY, MARCH 15th!
*by entering you are agreeing that we can announce your name if you win - Good luck!

Luna & Larry, a bunch of coconuts. I love it!

Tweet

Once You Twist You Can't Stop

Twist and Shout With My 'Cheezy Pizza Twists' Recipe

What you will need:

1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls (be sure to check the labels to ensure you get a flavor that is vegan)

2 slices Galaxy Nutritional Foods vegan mozzarella slices

1/2 cup Daiya cheddar cheese shreds
1/4 cup marinara sauce of your choice (for dipping)


What to do:


Preheat toaster or regular oven to 375 degrees. Unroll crescents from can and lay as flat triangles. Cut the mozzarella into 4 strips from each slice. Place a mozzarella strip in the middle of each dough triangle. Then take sprinkles of cheddar shreds and press them into the dough, all over the triangle. Fold in cheese and twist the dough. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown and no longer doughy. Enjoy with marinara dipping sauce!

This recipe is great to make for parties, holidays, quick snacks or after school snacks, to make with your children, or to make in college dorms, to serve with drinks at a cocktail party, for an appetizer or light meal, or for any reason at all.

Tweet

Be an Eco-Diva!

"On matters of style, swim with the current. On matters of principle, stand like a rock". -Thomas Jefferson 

The Dirty Fashion Model!

I am a huge fan of responsible consumerism and the accompanying responsible merchants of conscious goods. If you are looking for a clothing store that offers vegan, sustainable, fair trade, and cool fashions...never fear, Ecolissa is here! I received a sweet blogger discount from Ecolissa, and got right to it! As I browsed through everything, I realized fairly quickly that I wanted it all! Everything was very fabulous and at the same time it looked comfortable as well.

Their chic clothing and accessories are all eco-and-vegan friendly (using eco-friendly and lots of sustainable materials like bamboo!), which is good for the environment, and containing no animal products, which is also good for the environment, and importantly for our animals pals. Ecolissa offers options to shop by material (bamboo, hemp, modal/ tencel, organic cotton, reclaimed materials, sorona corn, or soy), by fair trade items, or by products made in the USA.

I love this outfit I put together, which consists of the following three items:

 Toggery L'WREN Tunic (shirt or dress, depending on how you wear it - made of sustainable rayon of bamboo!)

 Mata Traders Tribal Angel Wing Earrings (fair trade!!!)

Homemade Chunky Infinity Scarf (and yes, that is Shirley biting me in the picture...she is 6 months and teething LOL)


As you can see, even Shirley likes my new Ecolissa duds!

She tried to steal my Angel Wing earrings...

...and she even tried to steal my Infinity Scarf!

What do you think of sustainable products? Does that factor in when you are shopping for clothing and accessories?

Tweet

Life is Best Lived Saucy and Cheezy!

"The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends." -Author Unknown

Eat Happy Food, Like My 'Cheezy "Sausage" Pasta a la Peas' Recipe

Ingredients:


1 lb pasta (I used small shells)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
14oz package Lightlife Gimme Lean Sausage
15oz can sweet peas
1 cup MimicCreme (or other vegan heavy cream substitute. I love MimicCreme, made from cashews and almonds!)
1 cup Daiya cheddar cheese (or other vegan shredded cheddar) 
1/4 cup Earth Balance (or other vegan buttery spread)
sea salt and pepper to taste


Boil water and cook pasta for about 10 minutes or until al dente. Heat olive oil on medium high heat and sweat garlic until aromas are released. Brown veggie sausage for a few moments. Mix in peas, cream, and buttery spread. Cook for a few moments then melt in "cheese" shreds when just about ready to serve. Mix into your pasta and enjoy!

Tweet

Organic Produce: What's the Real Deal?

What You Can Buy Non-organic and What You Should ALWAYS Buy Organic

When it comes to organic produce, sometime it can be pretty pricey...and sometimes not (hello Super Walmart and PriceRite who sell cheap organic produce!). We all have heard the horror stories about harmful pesticides, and the stories are pretty accurate if you think about it. If the levels of pesticides can kill or keep away "pests", what is it doing to our bodies and health over time? 


Some fruits and vegetables have protective layers of skin, making it okay for us to buy those particular items non-organic. Some produce skin is eaten with just a quick wash or wipe, and that can be extremely harmful to our health if it is laden with pesticide - especially high amounts. You know some of your anti-organic friends have said things to you like, "organic is just a scam", or "years ago there was no such thing as organic and everyone was fine". Well if you feel the need to buy everything organic, maybe one would feel like its a scam if its not completely necessary to do so. Some produce is completely fine to be eaten non-organic since the pesticide is not likely to penetrate into the fruit you finally ingest. And years ago there was no "organic and non-organic" thinking, but back then farmers took the loss of their crops being partially destroyed. In the money-fueled day and age we now live in, the pesticides are thought of as necessity to them, in order to prevent taking a financial hit to their livelihood. 


But don't forget, a lot of local produce is actually organic, but farmers do not take the time or spend the money to become Certified Organic; it is hard to do, has lots of strict perimeters and guidelines, and is costly for them to do. So be sure to ask farmers at your local farmers markets or local produce stands. They may very well be pesticide-free, so just ask them. It is always better to buy local produce anyways. For the safeness of it potentially not containing harmful chemicals, and also it being local you are supporting local business, and finally, the produce has not traveled great lengths so it is fresh and in season! Yum! 


Thought to be safe due to their thick skins - the pesticide residue stays in the skin or peel, not contaminating the fruit flesh that you eat. Always wash your produce before eating it:


avocado


bananas


pineapple 


kiwi


mango


papaya


Some produce requires less pesticide because it attracts less animals or insects:


asparagus


broccoli


cabbage (peel away the outer "protective" layers and do not use those)


garlic (it keeps insects away and is used as a natural pesticide!)


onions (lots of protective layers)


Some produce should ALWAYS be purchased organic because the pesticides are sprayed directly on the fruit and it is the part that you eat and that people usually do not peel prior to eating. Even if you peel them, likely it will not make a difference since the peel is not thick enough to keep the chemical away from the fruit you eat and can likely harm your health - especially over time:

Fruits (in order from highest pesticide content to lower pesticide content): 

Peaches

Apples

Nectarines

Strawberries

Cherries

Grapes

Pears

Raspberries 

Plums

Oranges

Tangerine

Cantaloupe

Lemon

Honeydew

Grapefruit

Watermelon

Blueberries

Vegetables (in order from highest pesticide content to lower pesticide content): 

Sweet Bell Peppers

Celery

Lettuce

Spinach

Potatoes

Carrots

Green Beans

Hot Peppers

Cucumbers

Cauliflower

Mushrooms

Winter Squash

Tomatoes

Sweet Potatoes

So there you have it folks. Please always wash your produce and think in terms of safety and health. I know people may think it is "over-thinking" it, but the chemicals used these days, due to cost effectiveness, are scary. There are natural pesticides available, produce and certain plants that naturally keep away unwanted visitors, but how many companies use them?

Do you buy all organic, just some, or are your purchases based on price alone? What do you think?

Tweet