Review: Follow Your Heart Mozzarella

Follow Your Heart Mozzarella- ****
Ok, so I won a contest for a vegan kit from Follow Your Heart. I recieved a jar of vegenaise, a tub of cream cheese, a block of this cheese and a spreader tool. I started by cutting off a chunk of the "cheese" and ate it. I was instantly grossed out. The texture was like tofu. I wasn't expecting it and it was not pleasant at all. Well the after taste was great. It didn't leave a weird after taste like most vegan cheeses do. So I decided that I would grate the cheese and use it on a lasagna. The first layer I used the remaning DAIYA vegan mozzarella I had. The other 2 layers I used the Follow Your Heart (FYH)  stuff. The fyh stuff shredded great. It was super easy with my cheese grater. The lasagna was AMAZING! My daughter loved it. She had seconds. Her response was "It has a taste I've never tasted before but I love it! This is really good!" She was right. It didn't exactly taste like mozzarella but it was good. I will definitely use it for lasagna or pizza again and I prefer it to the mozzarella alternative I had been using before. I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because it wasnt the best ever and it had a texture I didnt like when it was straight out of the package but it did melt good. I would recommend it.

Review: Vegenaise from Follow Your Heart

Vegenaise from Follow Your Heart- *****
I gave this 5 stars but honestly out of 5 stars I should have given it ten. I cannot even begin to describe the heaven that is Vegenaise! I LOOOOOOOOOOVE this product! Ok so I won a contest for a vegan kit from Follow Your Heart. I recieved a block of mozarella cheese, a tub of cream cheese, a jar of vegenaise and a spreader tool. I opened the jar of Vegenaise and tasted a little on my finger. My instand reaction was "YUM!" then I got a super serious craving for a sandwich. The next day I went out and bought sub rolls that were 75 percent off because they needed to be sold by that day, (Always love a deal) and some  shredded lettuce, red onions, cucumbers and Yves meatless balogna. I made sub sandwiches and they were so good that I ate them for 3 meals in a row. THEN, after the sub rolls were gone I made sandwiches on regular sandwich bread. I have never tasted a better sandwich. I am actually salivating at the thought of it and I have already had 2 sandwiches today. My favorite part is the red onions right next to the vegenaise. Any thing that requires mayo will taste much better with vegenaise. Eat it if you are vegan or even if you arent. This stuff wins my vote. Thank you to Follow Your Heart for sending me a full jar! I cannot wait to try it on pasta salad. Go out and get yourself a jar NOW! Don't walk... RUN!

Review: Parma Garlicky Green

Parma Garlicky Green: ****
Parma! was kind enough to send me a sample of each of their flavors of vegan parmesan to try and do an honest review. I love garlic so as you can imagine I enjoyed this flavor. I wouldn't say it tasted like parmesan at all. I had it on spaghetti and it was good but I needed alot of it to taste it. It had a delcious nutty garlicky flavor. I would definitely add this to pasta salad, veggie salad, pasta dishes and pizza but I don't think I needed it. This is one of those things that taste good when you add them but aren't really needed. It's not something I would go searching for or that a dish would just HAVE to have but it was great. I say it would be worth picking up some more when I stop at the Whole Foods Co-op again but I wouldn't make an extra trip for it.

Review: Fantastic World Foods Tofu Scrambler

Fantastic World Foods Tofu Scrambler: ****
This is "Ok." I tried it once and thought it was pretty good but also said to myself "I can make something better." The next time I made it I used my own spices and it turned out much better. I did have this again and was less than satisfied with it after having made my own before. I would recommend this if you dont feel like putting your own spices together. It really doesnt take that much more effort to do it yourself. I love my tofu scrambler with lots of garlic and onion flavor. I also like to add in onions and peppers. I would say skip this, crumble or scramble your tofu in a frying pan, add in nutritional yeast, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, cumin, a little soy sauce, peppers and onions and whatever else you think tastes good then stick it in a tortilla. YUM.

Review: Primal Jerky

Primal Jerky: *****
I haven't tried all of these flavors yet. I stopped at the Whole Foods Co-op and grabbed 3 while I was in the checkout. I grabbed Hickory Smoked, Teriyaki and Texas BBQ. They were all good. They were all compareable to jerky although the Teriyaki in my opinion was a little more mushy and less jerky-like than the others. The flavor was great. My favorite would have to be the hickory smoked. This is proof that my love for meat as a meat eater was not because of the meat itself but the flavor of the seasonings and sauces it was cooked and prepared with. These were $1 something each, comparable to regular jerky. It would be just like buying one from a convenience store. I would definitely buy a bunch of these to eat as a snack while Im out on the road or away from home.

Review: Tasty Bite Bombay Potatoes

Tasty Bite Bombay Potatoes: *****
First , I want to apologize for my photo being sideways. I am not sure why it is like that. It is normal on my computer but once uploaded it is sideways. I am not sure how to fix it. Anyways, again, I am not a fan of the microwave but this is a super easy and quick meal. You could also heat this on the stop top by putting the package in some boiling water. A microwave isn't necessarily needed. I love potatoes and chickpeas. This was also pretty spicy like chili. Most Indian food I have tried is. I think alot of them taste the same with minor differences. This one had potatoes and the other one I reviewed did not. I would eat this again. I would buy it. This does not need to be refridgerated. You can keep this in your cupboard till you are ready to cook it.

Review: Fantastic World Foods Vegetarian Sloppy Joe

Fantastic World Foods Vegetarian Sloppy Joe: ***
Well, I would eat this again if I had some in my cupboard but I would put it in a burrito or taco or in chili. This did not taste like a sloppy joe at all! It tasted like it had alot of chili powder in it. For sloppy joes I like to make my own with the meatless crumbles or use chickpeas mixed in a sloppy joe mix. Actually my daughter loves when I use the chickpeas. We called them Garbanzo Joes because they arent really all that sloppy. They stay put pretty good in the bun. Don't waste your money on this!

Review: Tasty Bite Channa Masala

Tasty Bite Channa Masala- ****
I enjoyed this. It was super easy to make. Just 90 seconds in the microwave. I am not a big fan of microwaves and I got rid of my own but I made this one day. It was so quick and easy. I just poured it into a bowl and ate after I heated it in the microwave. This is great for a fast meal or a lazy meal. I would eat it again. If you enjoy Indian food you will enjoy this. I love chickpeas and this tastes like chili almost. Also I like that it doesnt have to be refridgerated. This can sit in your cupboard until you are ready to make it.

Review:Fantastic World Foods Taco Filling

Fantastic World Foods Taco Filling- ***
This was "ok." I love Mexican food, especially tacos and taco salad. This was a little disappointing. It was super spicy like it had too much seasoning in it. I actually like to make my own with burrito seasoning instead of taco seasoning because it isn't so salty and spicy. I like to control the seasoning in my food. I would use this again if I had it but I wouldn't purposely spend my money on it. I would rather buy meatless crumbles and add my own seasoning. Another alternative I do sometimes is chickpeas. A can of chickpeas (gorbanzo beans) prepared the same way as ground beef, with the seasoning tasted pretty good too. My daughter loves tacos with chickpeas. So I say skip this prepared stuff...

Review: Morningstar Hickory BBQ Riblets

Morningstar Hickory BBQ Riblets- *****
These are delicious! I have had other mock bbq rib products and hated the sauce. This sauce is great. My daughter asked me in fear if these were real because they tasted so much like the real riblets we had in the past. These reminded me of the rib thingies on a Mcrib sandwich and Mcdonalds. Although I LOATHE Mcdonald's, I did love the mcrib sandwich when I used to eat there. We had ours with mashed potatoes and corn. The only bad thing about these is that there are only 2 in a package. It isn't so bad if you are eating alone or feeding only 2 people but for a family of more than 2 people it would get pretty spendy to feed everyone. This is something I would splurge for. I would buy or make delicious bakery buns sliced with a riblet and some pickles and lettuce to make a delicious cruelty free vegan rib sandwich. Also, I have found that alot of Morningstar products are actually NOT vegan so be careful when making purchases. Always check your labels. This product IS vegan though and says right on the package.

Review: Gardein Chick'n Scallopini

Gardein Chick'n Scallopini- *****
Of course these got 5 stars. I have not tried a Gardein product that I didn't love. These were very comparable to real chicken only without the cruelty. These can be used in place of turkey at a holiday meal. Of course they are delicious with mashed potatoes and corn. My wife who is a very picky eater and usually dislikes anything vegan but she enjoyed this. If you like something spicy try these on a sandwich with buffalo sauce (the vegan kind) and a couple lettuce leaves.

Review: Gardein Home Style Beefless Tips

Gardein Homestyle Beefless Tips- *****
These get 5 stars. I absolutely LOVE these beefless tips. If I could live off one vegan product this would be it. I have had these a few times already. I like to eat them plain. I have cooked them and then ate the refridgerated leftovers cold. They are great with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. I also had someone tell me these are great in a "beefless" stew. I cannot wait to try that. I am actually salivating right now thinking of these beefless tips. These can be purchased at most Super Targets and Whole Food Co-ops. I got mine at Cub Foods.

Review: Light Life Smart Dogs

Light Life Smart Dogs- *****
I gave these veggie dogs 5 stars because they were the best veggie dogs I have tried. They had the consistency of regular hot dogs and I was able to cook them any way I choosed and they turned out well. I also liked the flavor. Bring these to a BBQ and share with everyone. The kids dont notice a difference. Also, these are one veggie dog that non veggies will say is good. My 15 year old nephew ate these right up. He is not a vegan but is usually willing to try things like this and eat them again after having them once.

Review: Yves Veggie Dogs- The Good Dog

Yves Veggie Dogs- The Good Dog: ***
Ok, so I tried these back when I was a vegetarian and I thought they were a little gross. I boiled them like I normally would boil hot dogs. They had a weird consistency and tasted "a little weird." So I didn't buy then for awhile. Then one day I tried them again but I had them in the microwave and I put them in a wrap with vegetarian chili. That was pretty good. Then another time I had them in a tortilla with BBQ sauce and pickles. That was also pretty good. I found that if I ate them uncooked I like them alot better. I will eat them right out of the package as a quick snack or slice them lengthwise to put on a sub when I was out of vegan balogna. I would have given this 4 stars if it wasn't for the fact that I found a brand that I liked much better! I will eat these again but most likely they will be uncooked.

Review: Rice Dream Mint Pie

Rice Dream Mint Pie: *****
This one got 5 stars because it was DELICIOUS! It was a minty chocolately Heaven in a tiny package. I stopped at the Whole Foods Co-op. I just wanted a quick snack so I grabbed one of these. I ate it in the car on the way to the waterpark. Wow it was so good. Of course it didn't taste quite as creamy as dairy ice cream does but it was so good it didn't matter. I would like to go back there and buy a whole box to stash in my freezer. I can't remember how much I paid for it but I know it was less than $2. Maybe $1.59? Either way it was worth it.

Review: Yves Meatless Balogna

Yves Meatless Deli Balogna: *****
I give this 5 stars because it tastes so close to balogna that nobody even notices the difference. When I gave it to my daughter she looked scared for a minute and asked if this was real meat or fake. I told her it was not real meat and she got this look of relief. She smiled and took a bite then said, "This is so good that it tastes better than REAL balogna!" I had her cousins try some and they agreed that it was acceptable. We had these on wheat sub rolls from the bakery with shredded lettuce, pickles, and vegan cheese slices. It tasted great and we spent way less on 8 subs than we would have spent at Subway. It tasted great and only took a few minutes to put together. We were very pleased.

Review: Tofurky Deli Slices Hickory Smoked

Tofurky Deli Slices Hickory Smoked: *****
I had to give this 5 stars. It was the perfect meatless deli slice option. My mouth is watering thinking of it but sadly I ate every last slice. It tasted just like real sliced turkey only without the dead flesh taste. The texture was the same, the flavor was so close that had I not taken it from the package myself I would have been questioning whether it was real or not. It was delicious on a sandwich and so good that I ate the slices alone. They were great with tofutti cheese slices and pickles on wheat bread. I am thinking of buying a whole case of this stuff.

Review: Tofurky Deli Slices Peppered

Tofurky Deli Slices Peppered: ****
I had been searching for a meatless deli slice option for my sandwiches. I was getting tired of pb and j. I love the Yves Meatless Balogna but I wanted something different. I found Tofurky. All I can say is yum!
I gave the peppered kind 4 stars. I would have given it 5 stars but it was a little TOO peppery for me. It was something I enjoyed but I would have to be in a special mood for it to have it again. It actually wasnt too bad for price either compared to the Yves options. I would recommend it if you enjoy peppered deli meat.

Standard American Diet (SAD) or Vegan?

Ok so I officially became vegan on April 9,2012. That means that as of November 9th I will have been vegan for 7 months now. I did start losing weight before I became vegan. I started with cutting out soda. I lost 10 pounds in the first week when I started drinking more water and juice and no soda. I quit cold turkey. Now when I drink soda I am only able to get a few sips down before I get a bad taste in my mouth. Soda is disgusting when you aren't used to drinking it anymore.
After cutting out soda I stopped snacking and eating all the junk I was used to. I was feeling more energetic but I wasn't losing anymore weight. I was still eating meat and a lot of cheese. I switched to soy milk because cow's milk was starting to bother my stomach. Someone posted a link to the 30 day vegan pledge. I believe it was on PETAs website. So I took the pledge and I bought all kinds of vegan products. I started losing more weight. I liked the meat alternatives and the soy milk but I "couldn't give up cheese." So I was a vegetarian. Then I watched a few videos online of what happens to the animals on factory farms. I, being an animal lover, was outraged. I was angry, I was upset. I became obsessed with watching these videos. I had to know everything that was happening. I had to be vegan. So I started my transition to veganism, losing more weight along the way. I finally made the full change April 9th and I couldnt be happier. My goal is to lose another 50 lbs.
I am happy that I am healthier than I ever have been and my daughter is following in my footsteps now too. Pretty soon our whole household will be vegan. I will probably post another blog in the near future about all that is wrong with the Standard American Diet. I am so grossed out by the Standard American these days. It really is sickening to think that not even a year ago I was one of these people stuffing my face with what is really not edible. Just because it doesn't kill you TODAY doesn't mean it isn't toxic.

Review: Yves Veggie Cuisine Meatless Pepperoni

Yves Veggie Cuisine Meatless Pepperoni: *****
I have been vegan for several months now and I just discovered vegan pepperonis. Yum! I have been sadly disappointed in my pizza options and thought I would never be happy with pizza again. I ate these pepperonis plain and I thought they were good. They were great on pizza though. I put a little bit of sauce on a crust, used some vegan mozarella slices and used pepperonis and banana peppers. It was delicious. I am actually salivating at the thought of this pizza I made last night. Even my daughter loved it. She knows the good stuff though. Of course it was more expensive than regular non vegan pepperonis but it was well worth it. The taste was good and my daughter ate it. I give this 5 stars.

Review: Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese

Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese- *****
I was always a lover of cream cheese. Cheese cake was my favorite and I ate cream cheese on bagels, toast and crackers. I love flavored cream cheese and plain. Oh and I cannot forgot my favorite... Jalepeno Poppers. Once I became vegan I thought I'd never get to enjoy the taste of cream cheese again but I was wrong. I discovered Tofutti. Yes, it's more expensive than non vegan cream cheese but it is totally worth it to know I am not harming animals for my taste buds. I love this cream cheese. I have eaten it on toast and bagels. I made cheesecake with it which was DELICIOUSI made Vegan Jalepeno Poppers.
I made a delicious Wild Berry Cheesecake with it. I will post a recipe for that sometime in the future.  I also used the leftover jalepeno cream cheese from my poppers recipe and had that spread on crackers. Yum! I found a delicious pumpkin cream cheese spread recipe that I am going to try. I will let you know how I like it.
So overall Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese is a little more expensive but the taste and texture is great, works well in recipes or plain. I give it 5 stars!

Banana Oatmeal Pancakes- It's Vegan!

I found this recipe in Fitness Magazine. I tweaked it just a little using almond milk instead of soy milk because I prefer it. It was delicious. It tasted like banana bread. Even my wife liked it and she's not vegan. Of course my daughter had to eat seconds and thirds. :)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups soy milk (or almond)

1 cup rolled oats

2 bananas chopped

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 TBSP plus 1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt


Direction:

In a blender, puree your non dairy milk and oats until smooth then add in bananas, flour, salt and baking powder. Puree for a few seconds then let rest for 10 minutes. These pancakes will stick to the pan so cooking spray is needed. Brown on each side (about 5 minutes.) Top with slice bananas if you like and pure maple syrup. Enjoy!

This recipe makes 8 pancakes.

Vegan Jalepeno Poppers

I have loved jalepeno poppers for as long as I can remember. I loved the combination of hot jalepons with cream cheese. MmmmmMMmmmmm... Well since I became vegan I hadn't been able to enjoy that combination...until NOW. Of course I have a pinterest and I am always seeing delicious looking recipes involving cream cheese and jalepenos. Usually I skip over them because I am vegan now so I thought I couldn't indulge in their deliciousness. That is, until I realized that I could use vegan cream cheese! DUH! So I found one post that I used for inspiration and I tweaked it a little. Here is the recipe I used.

Veganized Jalepeno Poppers

ingredients:

6 oz vegan cream cheese softened (the original calls for 8 but I didnt need that much)
1/2 a small can of minced or diced jalepenos ( I actually used a little more than half)
1 tube of vegan crescent roll dough (beware of hidden milk ingredients)

directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees farenheit. Grease a cookie sheet. Combine your softened vegan cream cheese with the jalepenos in a bowl. Mix well enough that you will have cream cheese and jalepenos in every bite. Open your crescent roll dough and separate into 2 sheets. Pinch the seams together and lightly flatten the dough so you are left with 2 rectangular sheets of dough instead of 8 individual crescents. Spoon the mixture onto the dough and roll up cinnamon roll style. You should now have 2 long rolls. Cut them in equal pieces. I ended up with 8 per roll, 16 total. Place on the cookie sheet with cut sides down. Bake 11 to 13 minutes (mine took the full 13 minutes.) Let cool and enjoy!

Delicious Kale Smoothie (even the kids will love it)

I had some kale on hand that needed to be used up so I decided to make a smoothie with it. I first blended the kale and a tiny bit of plain almond milk in a blender. I added just a little bit at a time to make it easier to blend. Then I added in a banana, frozen strawberries and some orange juice. It looks pretty delicious to me but alot of what I make lately is green. Green no longer means gross in this household. Anyways, MacKenzie couldn't wait for her smoothie. She was squealing with delight the whole time she waited for me to finish the smoothie. She said it was like having dessert in the middle of the day. She took a sip and exclaimed, "OH. MY. GOSH. THIS IS DELICIOUS!!!" I sure do love my girl.

Quick Organization Tip: Sunglasses/eyewear

Hang fabric or string of some kind horizontally on the wall and hang eye wear over it. I used an old shoe lace, hung right under a shelf. I will probably make something fancier eventually but for now it gets my wife's sunglasses off of the dresser, floor and anywhere else I find them laying around. :)

Reviews to come!

Ok so I am planning to review some eco friendly, chemical free, energy efficient, cruelty free type products and items in upcoming blog entries. Leave me a comment and let me know what products or things you would like me to review and I will see if I can get my hands on some. Any products to compare? Anything you just want to know more about? Or trying to find a certain kind of product that will leave your hair shiny, clean your toilet or that just smells really nice? Let me know!

Factory Farms and the Environment

Factory Farms and the Environment

Industry not only revolutionized the manufacture of goods but also made farms more efficient and cost saving. This cost savings is what consumers demand but it comes at a high cost when the product is a living creature. Factory farms are not only harmful to animals but also to the environment and ultimately to people too.
So what exactly is a factory farm? Well, a factory farm is large-scale industrial operation that houses hundreds or thousands of animals in extremely cramped conditions that are bred to be slaughtered for mass production of meat for grocery stores. In these factory farms cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys are crowded into tiny cages with no room to walk or move. They are crowded with one another, wounded with no veterinary care, kicked and thrown around by workers. Their lives are not valued and they are given no gentle care at all because they are seen as beneath humans and only there to serve a purpose to humans as food. Their throats are cut while fully conscious and often dunked in scalding hot water all while still alive. Chickens have their feathers pulled, their beaks cut and are scalded while still alive. Piglets are castrated with no pain medication. These are only some of the things that happen to animals in factory farms. The animals in factory farms are bred for the sole purpose to be killed so humans can eat.
The dairy industry is even worse than the meat industry. Female cows are forcefully impregnated so that they can continue to produce milk. Their infants are taken from them. The male calves are kept in individual crates in the dark and fed a milk replacer that is low in iron so that they become anemic. In their crates they are unable to move so that they experience muscle atrophy. This happens so that their meat stays tender. Eventually they are sent to slaughter to be sold as "veal." Dairy cows are kept pregnant until they become too sick or no longer can get pregnant or produce milk. Then they are also sent to be slaughtered.
The factory farms have a very negative impact on the environment. Rainforests are cut down to make room to raise more cattle but rainforests are vital to life on Earth. Rainforests regulate the global climate and the water cycle, absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide humans with medicines, food and much more. According to www.happycow.net "every second, one football field of rainforest is destroyed in order to produce 257 hamburgers."
Factory farms create pollution in land and water and produce carbon dioxide. Happycow also states that eating one pound of hamburger does the same damage as driving your car for three weeks. Eating a vegan diet reduces waste and devastation of Earth's precious resources. It takes up to 5,000 gallons of water to raise one pound of beef. According to the US Department of Agriculture statistics, one acre of land can grow 20,000 pounds of potatoes but the same acre of land when used to grow cattle feed, can produce less than 165 lbs of edible cow flesh.
People who live in close proximity to factory farms often complain of high incidents of illness. California officials identify agriculture, including cows, as the major source of nitrate pollution in more than 100,000 square miles of polluted groundwater. High levels of nitrates in drinking water also increase the risk of methemoglobinemia, or "blue-baby syndrome," which can kill infants. Animal waste contains disease-causing pathogens, such as Salmonella, E. coli, Cryptosporidium, and fecal coliform, which can be 10 to 100 times more concentrated than in human waste. More than 40 diseases can be transferred to humans through manure. The facts are scary enough to make a horror movie.
In the U.S. alone, roughly 29 million pounds of antibiotics, about 80 percent of the nation's antibiotics use in total, are added to animal feed every year to speed livestock growth. This widespread use of antibiotics on animals contributes to the rise of resistant bacteria, making it harder to treat human illnesses. Large hog farms emit hydrogen sulfide, a gas that most often causes flu-like symptoms in humans, but at high concentrations can lead to brain damage.
Nutrients in animal waste cause algal blooms, which use up oxygen in the water, contributing to a "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico where there's not enough oxygen to support aquatic life. The dead zone fluctuates in size each year, extending a record 8,500 square miles during the summer of 2002 and stretching over 7,700 square miles during the summer of 2010. I don't think I am wrong when I say that is insane!
So we have determined that factory farms are destructive and harmful to animals, people and the environment but what can we do about it? I personally think that factory farms should be outlawed. The only reason they exist is to make greedy people a lot of money. These people have a hand in the pocket books of the goverment and lawmakers so I don't see that ever happening. The best thing we can do is to not eat meat at all. We can adopt a vegan lifestyle, buy local fresh organic produce and not purchase animal products that come from factory farms. If the demand for the meat and dairy produced in these factory farms is reduced then the people running them will no longer be making a profit and will eventually shut down.
Factory farms are unnatural and not healthy for anyone or anything. We need to stop supporting these destructive facilities and begin to repair the damage they have caused. Those who say "change begins with you" are right. Decide today to make that change.

Shock collars for behavior control of infants and children

Controlling Children's Behavior in Public

Have you ever been out in public with your children and they made a fool out of you in front of other people? Have you been to a restaurant or movie theater and could not enjoy your date because of another person's children? Well, I have a solution for this problem. When children misbehave or they are unruly in public, the simple solution would be the use of shock collars.
Shock collars can be worn by children or even infants to control their bad behavior or crying. The parent or caretaker would have a wireless remote control with different settings on it. When a child begins to cry or acts up, one can press the buttons, causing the child to be shocked. This would be ideal for situations when adults have the most problems with controlling their children's behavior such as at the grocery store, at a restaurant, at the movies or on vacation.

Adults would be able to bring their children with them to once inappropriate places because children would no longer be running a muck. Children would remain quiet and sit still for the duration of the outing. Parents would no longer have to worry about their children talking continuously and spilling the beans on their private lives. There would be no more sibling rivalry! The shock collar can really be used anywhere. It can be used at home to keep kids quiet while you make dinner, clean the house or watch the game with your buddies. You can even use the shock collar to help your kids keep up with their chores. When Junior starts slacking, a turn of the knob or press of the button will send a shock that will remind him his chores are not finished.
Teachers and faculty can find great use of the shock collar, keeping students in line and quiet, ready to listen to today's lesson. This will improve test scores and grades, increase productivity and keep our schools safe. There is really no down side to the use of shock collars. Let's make shock collars a staple in raising children today!

I wrote this ironical essay for my Advanced Composition class last semester. Of course I got an A, but if the thought of children wearing shock collars is upsetting to you then why is it ok to use on pets? Animals feel pain and suffer too. Click HERE to read a very informative article about the dangers of using shock collars.

How to make your own natural all purpose cleaner with orange peels

I don't know about you but I cannot stand the smell of household cleaners. I choke, I gag and it literally makes me sick. I personally enjoy being able to breathe... I also do not like to use products that are very harmful to the environment so I decided to make my own all purpose cleaner. I read online that the oil in orange peels when mixed with vinegar is a very strong and all natural (and safe) cleaner. I had to try it. So I took a pickle jar I had cleaned out. I started collecting my orange peels.

Once the jar was full of orange peels I added in my distilled white vinegar until the jar was full.

Then I let my jar sit on my countertop for 2 weeks, until the liquid had turned an orange color and smelled like oranges.

Once it was ready I poured the liquid into a spray bottle I got for 99 cents at Walmart.

Then I added in an equal amount of water to dillute the solution.

My cleaner is now ready to use, smells of citrus and works great. This is a powerful cleaner. I cleaned all my counter tops, my table, the top of my freezer, my walls, the bathroom sink etc. My house does not stink of cleaners, I didn't harm the environment, I paid very little money and yay everyone in my house including children and pets and myself can still breathe!! Yippee!

Weight Loss so far/being vegan

I have lost 4 more pounds since the last pic was taken. I have lost a total of 45 pounds. I also became a vegan in the time since I last posted. Yesterday marked 7 months since I became a vegetarian. I became officially vegan on May 9th although I was mostly vegan for a couple months before that. Everything is going well although I have been sick with allergies (lilacs, daffodils and pollen) for the last 3 weeks and haven't been exercising much. I hope to start walking, running and exercising more in the next week. :) I'd like to lose more weight soon so I can post another picture on my weight loss progress.

Wolves Should not be Hunted in Minnesota or anywhere

                                     Wolves Should not be Hunted in Minnesota

         Everybody has an opinion when it comes to whether or not we should hunt the grey wolves in our area. My opinion is that we should not hunt the wolves. I personally do not believe that we need to control the population and I disagree with every other excuse the hunters give us as reasons to hunt the wolves.

        Many hunters say that the wolf hunt is a good thing. Some even say that killing the wolves will help the wolves. An article in The North American Hunting Club Magazine written by Luke Hartle states,"The good news: The boys at the USSA are more ready to fight for us—and for what’s best for the wolves—than ever before."

         How could killing wolves possibly be good for them? Some say killing wolves would benefit the wolves because they would have less resources they would have to share. There would be less wolves to kill the deer so there would be more deer available for the wolves and the hunters to kill. In the article"The Great Wolf Debate: Hunt Them Down or Let Them Flourish," Mayton points out that "For biologists such as Kronemann, killing wolves in order to protect them is contradictory. The Idaho biologist told The Ecologist that he believes it is simply fear that is driving government officials to push for hunting as a way to resolve the situation."

        Another argument people use to kill the wolves is because they are killing all the deer. This is simply not true. The hunters are killing "all the deer." According to www.deefriendly.com "Minnesota hunters harvested 192,300 deer during the 2011 season." It is estimated that each healthy wolf kills approximately 15-20 deer a year. With this year's estimate of 3,000 wolves in Minnesota we can assume that the wolves kill 45,000 to 60,000 deer a year. That means the wolves kill only about 1/4 of the number of deer that Minnesota hunters kill. According to the Minnesota DNR website, Minnesota has approximately 1 million deer. That means the wolves kill only 4-6 percent of the population a year while Minnesota hunters kill 19-21 percent of the deer population a year.
        It seems that a large number of people are supporting the hunt out of fear. People believe they need to kill the wolves to protect themselves and their family. People who are for the hunt are instilling fear in locals causing them to believe they are in danger. According to www.mnforsustain.org, "There is no record of a non-rabid wolf killing a human in North America and rabies has never been found in Minnesota wolves. A healthy wild wolf generally tries to avoid contact with humans." Wolf attacks are very rare. You are more likely to be attacked by your neighbors dog than by a wolf.
         A more common excuse to kill wolves is that they prey on livestock. Farmers are in fear that their livestock is in danger of wolves. The facts are that livestock are always vulnerable to predators and to theft from other people but killing by wolves is so low that we can not justifiably use this as an excuse to kill them. According to The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)'s 2005 report, livestock loss due to wolves killing them is the lowest, second only to killings from bears. According to the DNR we have had about 3,000 wolves in Minnesota for the last 10 years so the report has likely not changed much since then. In 2005 only 5 percent of all cattle loss was due to predators and only 0.11 percent (not even a whole percent) were due to predation by wolves.
Even if the statistics of wolves killing livestock were mich higher (which they aren't), there are other ways to solve this problem besides killing such a beautiful creature. Collette Adkins Giese said in her article against the delisting of wolves, "There are plenty of tested, nonlethal options to safeguard livestock from wolves, including the use of guard dogs, flagging and predator-proof fencing. And when depredations do happen, livestock owners in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan are compensated for their losses."
          I believe that hunters will use any excuse to justify the killing of wolves (or any animal) and instill fear into the local population to make it acceptable to hunt. They make claims that hunting benefits the animals, benefits nature and that it protects our families and livestock. All the hunters really care about is getting the trophy or achievement from getting the biggest or fastest animals. Luke Hartle said in his article, "As a hunter, I want the opportunity to kill a wolf as much as anyone else." Melissa Timm of Hamptom wrote to MPR News and said "I would love to hunt a wolf, just once. It is a highly skilled and smart predator. It would also be a great trophy."
I believe that if an animal is to be hunted it should be for food only. Sadly, the wolves are hunted for their pelts. Not very many people are willing to eat the wolf meat. People are looking forward to making money off the pelts. Some say that it makes sense to have the wolf hunting season when pelts are at their prime so we can get use out of the wolves that are killed to control population. I believe that nature has it's own balance. The wolves are at the top of the food chain and we never had a problem without human interfereance. There is a circle of life and every thing in nature has a purpose. Humans were not born with guns and bows in their hands. I believe, if we are not fast enough to catch them by foot and strong enough to take them down by hand, then we are not truly meant to kill them by nature's rules.
         The wolf is a beautiful and magestic creature who has just as much right to be here as humans do. Killing the wolves will never be right according to nature, no matter what excuses we try to use.

5 months

Today marks 5 months that I have been a vegetarian. I can't say I have had NO MEAT at all during those 5 months. I have had a couple accidental bites of meat not knowing it was meat. But, I haven't cooked a meal using meat in 5 months. I also haven't had chicken in even longer than that. It feels so good. I have lost 41 lbs, not all from being a vegetarian but I look in the mirror and I dont see myself as super fat anymore. I have a new confidence. It looks amazing on me. I have a new positive attitude. I no longer have stomach problems. I am not sick every day anymore. Changing my diet was like changing my whole life. This has been an amazing experience and I am glad I made the decision to become a vegetarian. I am so proud of myself for being so strong.

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

So tonight I was majorly craving something chocolatey. I had some silken tofu and cocoa powder so I gave it a try. This is what I did.
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of cocoa powder (mine was dark cocoa)
1 package silken tofu
I blended all the ingredients in the blender until smooth and it was enough for 2 servings. 1 for me and 1 for my daughter. She said it was great. She didn't even know it wasn't normal dairy pudding. I have to admit that it was delicious. I couldn't even taste the tofu in it. I will definitely do this again.

Not the best picture but it was a quick decision with no time to set up a nicer photo but you get the idea. :)