My favorite vegan junk/fast food restaurants in Los Angeles

Believe it or not, the vegan diet is not limited to salads and rice; there are plenty of greasy, salty, fatty foods available! Though eating junk food on a regular basis is not the best for your health, it's certainly nice to indulge on occasion. Click here to see my Citysearch list of favorite places in L.A. to satisfy a craving.

Video Recipe: Faux Foie Gras from seed kitchen

Check out this video that I shot and edited, featuring Eric Lechasseur's amazing vegan foie gras

Home Improvement: 5 Easy Eco Kitchen Ideas

You spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but not because you fall into some domestic stereotype - you just love food. I don't blame you, making delicious meals is incredibly satisfying, and I'm guessing that you also enjoy finding new ways to spruce up your cooking space. Well, you're in luck: I have five simple tips on how to upgrade to a greener kitchen (no paintbrush necessary) and you'll even save money as a result.

Read the full article at Organic Authority

Quin-What Did You Say?

We all know protein is a vital part of any diet, meat however isn’t the only source of protein. Get ready to restock those kitchen cupboards, because protein is found in grains, nuts, beans, produce and even seeds.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), often mistaken as a grain, is a protein packed seed. If you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone. This tender seed...

Read more by clicking through to my original post on Organic Authority!

This is outrageous! How to take natural health to a whole new level

“Raw food is a power tool in the tool kit that helps you create the life you love to live."  ~ Pam Sterling

Changing my diet has had a profound impact on my mind, body, soul, and environment. When I went vegetarian 7 years ago I felt transformed. My outlook on life changed and so did my body. I felt that I was able to eat anything I wanted without gaining weight, and that was true for a little while. However, I eventually learned that just because a food is vegan doesn't mean it's the healthiest choice. Now that I'm eating mainly whole, unprocessed foods, I've experience even more weight loss and a heightened amount of energy and joy.

Happy Birthday EcoStiletto: L.A.'s green community celebrates 2 years of sustainable fashion

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff is known around Los Angeles as the queen of green events, since she throws one heck of a party. Last night was no exception: her second anniversary soiree for EcoStiletto was one of her best yet. Rolling Greens Nursery in Hollywood was hopping on the warm summer evening of July 14th, as several hundred eco movers and shakers gathered to celebrate with cocktails and organic food in hand.

Believe it or not: vegan foie gras

Vegans are always searching for exciting new meals and products, and some of us love faux meat and dairy alternatives because we like the flavors and texture. My personal favorite is Daiya "cheese" - this company has made my life so much more delicious and easy. When I ate soy and gluten I was in love with Gardein, and I'll allow it as a treat now and then. But I am most thrilled when I come across rare vegan foods, and I recently tried something truly unique.

Another gluten-free beer: New Grist

While shopping at Co-Opportunity this evening I stopped at their beer section to see what gluten-free beers they had. The entire selection is very modest, and after a quick scan I didn't see any of the GF drinks that I often find in Whole Foods. I was upset for a moment - how could my favorite market not have gluten-free beer? However, during my second scan my eyes landed on a bright label with some of my favorite works: gluten-free. I grabbed a 12 oz of New Grist and decided to give it a shot.

Going against the grain at Whole Foods

Yesterday I went to Whole Foods (Venice) fully prepared to do some eco-vegan shopping: I brought a reusable shopping bag, reusable produce bags, and a glass jar that once contained apple sauce. When I walked in the door my first stop was the customer service desk to inquire if they would allow me to put their freshly ground organic peanut butter in my glass jar (instead of their plastic containers). At first, the manager was a little hesitant because the jar weighed a lot (.60 lbs), but when I explained that I was trying to avoid plastic she helped me out. She weighed my jar then multiplied that by the cost of a pound of bulk organic peanut butter ($3.99), and then asked me to return to her when I filled it. At checkout, the cashier was a little unsure, but when she called over the manager the process was very smooth. I walked out of the store without buying anything prepackaged and I saved some money too (the peanut butter was only $2.50 - organic peanut butter can be up to $5)

EVG Q&A: Vegan Scones in Los Angeles?

photo from Punky Dough

Question: What are the best vegan scones in L.A.?

Answer: This is a tough question, because I can't think of any places that definitely have them off the top of my head. Whole Foods sells them on the East Coast, but not on the West for some reason. Here are some places that have them, but not sure which is best:

Food for thought: changing the life that you loved

While watching a friend's documentary last night I heard an amazing quote that really speaks to me and my lifestyle:

"What if finding the love of your life meant changing the life that you loved?"

I spy with my little eye...vegan cheese in the dairy section!

Last night my friend and I went to Ralphs market (Marina Del Rey). They have a surprisingly good vegan section there, along with organic and local produce. In each aisle there are cardboard flags that say "natural" to let you know where the healthy products are. They even have a health and green section on their website. As we were walking around I suddenly remembered hearing that Ralphs carries Daiya, so I started looking for it.

Barbrix - a hip restaurant with a romantic atmosphere and vegan options

Tonight I joined some old friends at Barbrix, a small restaurant/wine bar in Silver Lake. I wasn't thrilled about driving there from Venice on a Friday night, but once I sat down at the table I was glad I did. Unfortunately, since I didn't plan on writing a review on it, I didn't take my camera, so there won't be any original photos - these are from their website. Here are the reasons I really enjoyed Barbrix:

Venice Eco Fest: a fun and free event on the beach

If you're in L.A. tomorrow (Saturday, July 10th) and looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint, Venice Eco Fest is the place to be. And the best part is, it's free! Actually, the best part is that it's powered by sun and biodiesel, but the free admission is a close second. This is the third time they've had this event, so I'm sure it's even better than when I went their very first year.

There will be lots of cool activities and eco features, such as:

This means war - an attempt to control fleas naturally

My companion Evie has had fleas off and on since she's been living with me, but they haven't been out of control...until yesterday. The night before I noticed she was scratching a lot, but I figured she might have the usual flea or two. However, the next day I found about 15 on her throughout the course of the day, and she had horrible swelling and welts - this meant war.
Read more...

EVG email Q&A - gluten-free, yeast-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free diet advice

I often receive questions from readers via email and I love them - keep 'em coming! Here is a recent question and my answer.

Question: 

I was hoping you may have some advice for my friend. She recently was told that for two weeks to a month she has to be completely gluten-free, yeast-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free to cleanse her body because she developed a yeast infection in her intestines. That means she cannot have her usual fruit, oatmeal and whole-grain breads, so pretty much she is at a loss for what to eat. She is also taking a host of herbal remedies and acidophilus, but I thought I would try to help as much as possible and do research and ask others for some help. If you have any information or suggestions that may help her, I would so greatly appreciate it.

Vibram FiveFingers: Yes, I love them. Yes, you should get them

That is all I have to say.

Just kidding. Well, sort of.

I LOVE my Five Fingers, and I don't mean my hands (although they're pretty cool too). FiveFingers are a type of unique shoes by Vibram, which are becoming very

Fire Up The Grill: gluten and soy-free recipes for a healthy summer

A reader asked if I knew of any veggie dogs that were free of gluten and soy, and I was stumped. Though I don't often eat veggie dogs, something about the summer (especially July 4th) makes them sound so appealing. After a quick search I was unable to find any pre-made dogs (here's a list of the major brands), but I was able to find a bunch of recipes that look promising:

Eco-Vegan Q&A (from Google Analytics) - June 2010

In May I did my first Q&A based on keyword searches that led visitors to this site, so I thought I'd do it again. Please feel free to submit other questions in the comment section below.

Kombucha - the new item on the bar menu?

by romanlily

I have loved kombucha (a fermented tea) since it was first introduced to me while working at a raw cafe in 2005. After learning about all of its healing properties, I developed a taste the bitter vinegar flavor and tried every brand on the market. Last year I even made my own at home, which was really fun. There were times I drank several cups of it a day. Everyone around me was trying it, enjoying it, and raving about how great it made them feel. Thus, I was shocked to hear yesterday that it's been pulled off of shelves at natural markets like Whole Foods (this happened weeks ago while I was on vacation). And low and behold, I saw this frightening sign when I went there last night:

Good Karma: a sexy new Hybrid by Fisker

Look out Tesla, there's a new hot green car on the market! The Fisker Karma is a luxury plug-in hybrid, which runs on an electric charge for 50 miles then switches over to the gas engine. And it is one sexy beast - similar in style to Porsche and Aston Martin. But before you get out your pocket book, keep in mind that it costs about $90,000. Last night LAcarGuy, a new and used car dealer in Los Angeles, held an event to unveil the Karma, and some people were so impressed that they wrote out checks to purchase them before the party ended at 9pm! It's that cool of a car. But how does it compare to the famous Tesla?