Happy Friday to All

Today's post is a bit of a mish mosh.

Here are some things I have been wanting to share, but on their own they don't really warrant an entire post.

I have been drinking lemon water because I heard it was a good way to start off the day...and I always read Sharon having it when she puts up her WIAW posts.

I opened the Vega newsletter this morning and low and behold they listed out 5 reasons to drink lemon water...sweet (well really tart):

Support immune function: Lemons are high in antioxidant vitamin C, known for its supportive role in healthy immune function.
Alkalize the body: Although the tartness of a lemon may make them seem acidic, lemons are actually one of the most alkalizing foods for the body. Lemons contain both citric and ascorbic acid, weak acids easily metabolized from the body allowing the mineral content of lemons to help alkalize the blood.
Aid digestion: Citrus flavonols are believed responsible for lemon’s traditional use as a digestive tonic.
Clear skin: Vitamin C and other antioxidants in lemons combat free radical damage. Free radical damage — especially as caused by UV exposure and environmental toxins — is responsible for many symptoms of aging.
Promote healing: Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), found in abundance in lemons, promotes wound healing, and is an essential nutrient in the maintenance of healthy bones, connective tissue, and cartilage.

These are some fantastic reasons to start your day off with lemons...so run out and pick up 1 or 20 and get to drinking.
For the full article click here.

My daughter found a new way to sleep:

She is in a box with two pillows curled up in a semi-fetal position.  I don't know how her legs didn't fall asleep, but she seemed very pleased with her ingenuity when I talked to her about it after the fact.

I signed up for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012

You receive the name of three fellow bloggers and send them each a dozen homemade cookies (include the recipe).  In return you receive 3 dozen cookies from other bloggers.

I participated last year and so enjoyed the treats I received (I was given 3 vegan bloggers and in return received vegan cookies).

You can participate outside of the US as long as there are 4 other bloggers from your country to participate.

This year's swap has an added feature in that you make a $4 donation to Cookies for Kids' Cancer as part of your participation.

So not only will you be filling your tummy you will be filling this wonderful charities coffers as well.

I am going to be running my second 5k, Hit the Brixx, this weekend.

Not only have I roped my mom into coming again (she ran the Women's Only 5k with me 2 weeks ago) but my 10 year old, Owen, is going as well.

I am excited to keep up the running fun.  I really can't believe that I enjoy training and running, as I have spent 30 years avoiding it (maybe this is what a mid-life crisis is).

The Packers won, and won big last weekend (WOOHOO), with Aaron Rodgers ALMOST scoring a touchdown (it was brought back when one of his teammates fouled):

To end this on a foodie note here is my absolute favorite find on Pinterest this week:

Source: blog.zokuhome.com via Cherie on Pinterest

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend.

Thanks so much for reading my ramblings.

What fun things are you going to do this weekend?

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Yucky Ingredients

I have been absent for a little while and I apologize for that.

I haven't felt very inspired and I haven't made anything of note (so sorry no new recipe to share).

What I did want to share today was some information I received in a PETA newsletter.

With Halloween just around the corner there will be a vast amount of treats available to children and PETA put out a list (not all inclusive) of some mainstream treats that are vegan...so I thought I would share them with you:

Airheads taffy
Brach's Cinnamon Hard Candy
Brach's Hi-C Fruit Slices
Brach's Hi-C Orange Slices
Brach's Root Beer Barrels
Brach's Star Brites
Chocolove Dark Chocolate bar
Chocolove Cherries and Almonds Dark Chocolate Bar
Chocolove Crystallized Ginger Dark Chocolate Bar
Chocolove Orange Peel Dark Chocolate Bar
Chocolove Raspberry Dark Chocolate bar
Chick-o-Sticks
Cry Babies
Dots
Dum-Dums
Fireballs
Hubba Bubba bubblegum
Jolly Ranchers (lollipops and hard candy)
Jujubees
Jujyfruits
Laffy Taffy (some varieties)
Lemonheads
Mambas
Mary Janes (regular and peanut butter kisses)
Mike and Ike
Panda Licorice
Runts
Smarties (U.S. Brand)
Sour Patch Kids
Super Bubble
Swedish Fish
Sweet Tarts
Twizzlers
Zotz

Something else contained in the newsletter was a list of ingredients that are commonly found in foods.

As a new vegan I need to familiarize myself with these, but once I read where the ingredients come from I was completely disgusted...see for yourself (PETA was nice enough to provide some alternatives to the animal versions):

Casein—Whey’s cousin, casein is made from curdled milk. Yuck! Alternatives: soy protein, soy milk, and other vegetable milks.

Gelatin—Rhymes with "skeleton." Coincidence? I think not. Gelatin is a protein made by boiling cows’ and pigs’ skin, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Jell-O? Heck, no! Alternatives: carrageen (carrageenan, Irish moss), seaweeds (algin, agar-agar, kelp—used in jellies, plastics, medicine), pectin from fruits, dextrins, locust bean gum, cotton gum, silica gel.

Honey—Sure, honey tastes sweet, but you’ll get a bad taste in your mouth when you learn how it’s "harvested."

From a former beekeeper: "[T]ypically, beekeepers are gloved and netted to avoid stings (nearly every bee who stings will die due to her entrails being pulled from her body attached to her stinger.) Then the hives are opened as quickly as possible and the bees are ‘smoked.’ Smoke from a smoldering fire carried in a ‘smoker’ is pumped into the hive and the bees are ‘calmed.’ In spite of this, the combs are pulled quickly and many bees are crushed in the process. When a bee is hurt, she releases a chemical message that alerts and activates the hive members who proceed to attack the intruder—giving their lives in the process."
Alternatives: in foods—maple syrup, date sugar, syrups made from grains such as barley malt, turbinado sugar, molasses; in cosmetics—vegetable colors and oils.

Lard—Lard is such a gross word, it almost makes you wonder why they just don’t call it what it is: "Fat from hog abdomens." Alternatives: pure vegetable fats or oils.

Pepsin—If the thought of eating lard turns your stomach, stay away from pepsin, a clotting agent from pigs’ stomachs, used in some cheeses and vitamins.  Alternatives: microbial coagulating agents, bacteria culture, lemon juice, or vegetable rennet.

Rennet—Certain words just make you cringe, like coagulate, congeal, clot—which is what rennet, an enzyme taken from baby calves’ stomachs, is used for in cheese production. Alternatives: microbial coagulating agents, bacteria culture, lemon juice, or vegetable rennet.

Stearic Acid—It may sound less gross than "lard," but stearic acid, which often rears its ugly head in chocolate and vitamins, comes from a fatty substance taken from slaughtered pigs’ stomachs—or from cows, sheep, or dogs and cats euthanized in animal shelters. Alternatives: Stearic acid can be found in many vegetable fats, coconut.

Cetyl Palmitate—Check your head if you’re using margarine that contains cetyl palmitate, the fancy term for the waxy oil derived from sperm whales’ heads or from dolphins. Alternatives: synthetic spermaceti, jojoba oil, and other vegetable emollients.

Urea—Urea comes from urine and other "bodily fluids." It’s used to "brown" baked goods, like pretzels. Alternatives: synthetics

I am pretty sure urea made me the most ill but pepsin is right up there for me as well. 

What I really wonder though is who sat around and thought "Urine that is bound to make baked goods have a pleasing brown color."  I guess what I need to research is how the ingredients even came to be acceptable options.

Hopefully I haven't ruined your day with this, but I just felt I wanted to share. 

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What Happened to Halloween?

Well everyone is well aware that last night was Halloween.

My kids barely made it through dinner before they were ready to run upstairs and get dressed up.

I must say they looked pretty cute as a princess and Batman:

The princess outfit was complete with rain boots.  We didn't have any rain she just wanted to be like her 4 year old brother who was also sporting boots.

My 9 year old was a character, sorry I can't remember what it is called, from Lord of the Rings (one who keeps watch over the ring).  He didn't give me any silly poses just a serious look:

Batman on the other hand was feeling quite silly

They were all ready to go and had practiced their "Trick of Treat" loudly in the car.

Once we got to my parents neighborhood there was a problem...no one was home. 

What is up with that?

I think my kids made it to 6 houses when we couldn't find anymore. 

One was my parents house so that doesn't REALLY count because who denies their grandchildren a visit on Halloween?

The plus side of this is that we didn't have to trick or treat for long and we don't have too much candy that I will have to pawn off on co-workers.  However I felt a little sad for my kids because they were really enjoying going up to peoples houses.

Well we will see what happens next year. 

Did anyone else experience any issues?

Hopefully everyone had a safe and happy Halloweeen.

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