New Year & A Better Blog

 

I made the resolution to be a Vegan in 2012, and I have stuck with it and loved it. I want to do more, be more and just improve my healthy and my life. I made the switch from junk food vegetarian,to junk food vegan. Now don't get me wrong I eat healthy most of the time, but since Halloween I have had enough dark chocolate, and Trader Joe's Vegan goodies for everyone on the planet :) I want 2013 to be about finding a new workout routine, starting back up with my clean eating that I did most of last year. I want this blog to help keep me accountable for making better choices.

 

I also will use this blog to share more of my journey with veganism. My fight for animals, I hope to volunteer a lot this year and I will share that with you as well. I want this blog be somewhere were you can not only learn something but share this journey with me.

 

I hope you will join me!



Gone but not forgotten

Although I have been a bad blogger over here on my vegan blog, I have tried to be active on my beauty blog. Usually an absence from a vegan blog means the blogger has gone non vegan or has been lead astray from what their blog was created for.

Fear not, I am still VEGAN, and I have been doing some serious soul searching. There are a few gray areas for me with veganism and I wanted to find absolutes before I start talking about them. As a makeup artist in a smallish town, it is hard to compete without name brand products. If you have ever worked freelance you know that clients expect your kit to have certain items. They usually tell me what they prefer or an idea of what they want. It is hard for me to be vegan and use and buy products that are tested on animals. 

With the list ever changing for companies that are giving into making more money than to keep their cruelty free status it hurts even more to give up the products. But, after a lot of soul searching I have decided to go completely cruelty free. I will not review products or purchase known products that are tested on animals. I wouldn't eat dairy or meat because someone wanted me to. So , why should I allow the pressure of not having certain brands make me buy from companies that I know are hurting the animals I love so much. 

So, here I state that I will be going cruelty free with all products used in my life. This will take some time, I will make mistakes and uninformed purchases. I hope to do the best I can with the information I have gotten from reading tons of blogs and websites. I want you to help me, if you see something I am buying that is no longer cruelty free please let me know. Please know that I go at everything with the best of intentions and I will never again knowingly purchase products tested on animals.

Please be sure to check out my beauty blog for all things beauty related and this blog will be for health,fitness and my vegan journey!

http://crazybeautifulmakeup.blogspot.com

Starbucks Strawberry Frapp now contains crushed up bugs?

The website thisdishisvegetarian.com reports Starbucks' Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino is not vegan, even if it contains soy, after a barista alerted the site that the company's new strawberry flavoring contains "cochineal extract" - which is essentially crushed up dried bugs used as dye.

(minus the whip cream of course)

-this drink use to be Vegan safe but now obviously is not

The news has also prompted some to point out that a whole lot of our food already contains cochineal extract - and has for quite some time. The FDA says the dye is safe and food and cosmetic labels must state if cochineal extract is present. That means it may be found in wines, yogurts, candies, fruit drinks, ice creams, ketchup, lipsticks, eyeshadow, nail polish - you name it.

For the full article please visit http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57405140-10391704/starbucks-strawberry-frappuccinos-dyed-with-crushed-up-cochineal-bugs-report-says/

or also thisdishisvegetarian.com

What do you think about this? Should companies have to put out signs so people know when a products ingredients change.Especially when something is known for being a vegan product and then overnight changes to containing a new substance?

You tell me what you think!

In the News:Dangers you should know about!

I am by no means a doctor but I try to stay up to date on "What is good for me and my family" and the dangers of certain foods. As a vegetarian a lot of studies do not include me because I haven't had meat in 16 years. However, I love fitness and living a healthy lifestyle so I want to know answers when someone says "WHY" shouldn't I do this or that.

So here is the first article I wanted to share with you guys.  Why you shouldn't be eating red meat and especially hot dogs!

Eating red meat daily increases your chance of early death by 13percent. Eating processed meat everyday such as hot dogs or even just 2 slices of bacon can increase your chance of premature death by 20percent!

Oddly enough this quote came out 

‎"Hot dogs are part of a balanced diet." - Janet Riley, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Meat Institute. 

So please do your research, and find out the truth and do not rely on big corporations for your information!

It seems that they discovered replacing red meat with other foods such as nuts and legumes could decrease your risk of premature death by 14-19percent! 

In the US alone we spend 2.6 trillion on healthcare each year, maybe some of these small changes will save us that trip to the hospital for cardiac arrest,cancer,diabetes and so much more.

Please read these articles if you have specific questions!

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/13/health/la-he-red-meat-20120313 

http://www.kens5.com/news/health/Risky-red-meat-can-lead-to--143860946.html 

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-12/a-hot-dog-a-day-raises-risk-of-dying-harvard-study-finds 

A few books to consider

These are a few of my favorite cookbooks and just books in general that have helped me so far on my journey. I am not trying to push the veganism on anyone but this is what inspired me! I will do more in depth reviews on each book but please feel free to ask me if you have questions before then!

Please read this book, at least consider it for $10 on amazon.com 

Just got this book so I will be sure to let you know why I love it so much!

Naturally Fresh Spray Mist Deodorant-A Review

http://www.naturallyfreshdeodorantcrystal.com 

$3.99

This is something that I wanted to try out after all the articles I had been reading about the dangers of our traditional deodorants. They are said to contain parabens and aluminum which have shown to lead to Alzheimer's and Breast Cancer.

I was always afraid that they would not work for me,and that I would hate them. I now it's silly to just assume that but I thought "yeah right" until I ran across this one. I thought why not let me try it, and so I grabbed it when I saw it on sale for $2.99 at my local health food store. 

I really enjoy this deodorant and it not only works but even with me working out in the heat it works. I just spray 2-3 pumps under each arm and go. I have not had one experience with it not working and it makes me feel good that I know it's natural and does not contain all those chemicals that could potentially lead to a scary disease.

This particular deodorant is available at Wal-mart and several other big box stores. So you can find the roll on, or the spray versions. If you give it a  try let me know what you think!

I bought this with my own money,and this is my honest opinion. 

A new blog...a breathe of fresh air

This blog will be an extension of my beauty blog but beauty from the inside. My life as a longtime vegetarian turned vegan.My journey to weight loss and just a healthier happier me.

Please stay tuned for recipes,books,ideas,pictures,and just join me on my journey.