Tag Archives: organic

Welcome to your new favorite online store, The Beauty Library!

September 24, 2020 By in Animal Welfare~, Articles~, Home & Beauty, Reviews~ Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

If you are anything like me, you consider yourself an ethical human, passionately against the horrific practice of animal testing. You most likely steer clear of leather purses and fur vests. But what about your beauty products? Are you carefully reading each & every label? Do you check your peta app to ensure your shampoo & lipstick are cruelty free? Do you make sure they are 100 percent vegan and made with non-toxic ingredients?

Most vegans try very hard to only purchase products that meet high ethical standards without harming animals. But it can be stressful. Most of the big stores that many of us frequent, sell a massive array of bath, body & beauty products. It takes time to read through every ingredient list. And do we really want to be supporting stores that don’t share our values? How wonderful would it be to have an online store that only sells products that are completely VEGAN?!

I think we can all agree that testing on animals is a barbaric & unnecessary practice. Today’s ethical companies & products are completely cruelty free, vegan, and made without toxins such as sulphates & harsh chemicals. These are the products we can feel good about buying and TheBeautyLibrary is the online store to find them.

Every Product The Beauty Library carries is 100%:

Vegan

Cruelty-free

Non-toxic

Paraben free

Nano particle free

Phthalate free

I’ve currently got my hands on 7 amazing products from The Beauty Library and I’m crazy excited to share them with you!

Let’s begin with Start Happy Bodywash. The smell of this geranium & peppermint bodywash is the first thing you will notice. It’s not overpowering but definitely strong enough to awaken your senses! It’s made with organic essential oils and is a low water formula. A little bit goes a long way! This wash is free from parabens, sulfates, phthalates, synthetic fragrances and any other yucky stuff. It’s certified organic, made in the USA, gluten free and of course it’s vegan & cruelty free! It left my skin silky & clean without any residue. Highly recommend this product!

If you are struggling with dry skin, especially due to the changing weather, you will want to try EVOLVh SmartBody butter. It’s a light and non greasy moisturizing repair treatment that actually leaves your skin feeling like butter. (Vegan butter of course) The scent is incredible and I find myself constantly smelling my hands. Yeah I know, weird, but you will be doing it too. This creme has no parabens, no petroleum, no gluten and it’s cruelty free & vegan. Love it!

This adorable wooden facial cleansing brush from FitGlow Beauty, will look perfect on your vanity or bathroom counter. Aside from being very nice to look at, it is a fabulous addition to your cleansing routine. Just lightly dampen the brush with water and apply your favorite cleanser. Gently allow it to exfoliate your skin, giving your pores a deeper clean and leaving your face with a natural glow. Every girl (and guy) should have one of these!

I really like Soapwalla Citrus Deodorant Creme which comes in an attractive & reusable glass jar. This deodorant is made from vegetable powder, clay & essential oils. It doesn’t get more natural than that and it only takes a small amount of creme on your fingertips to offer a full day of protection. It’s made in Brooklyn and the scent is light & lovely! I was happy to find that this deodorant cream goes on invisible & smooth. I’m a huge advocate for all non-toxic bath & body products, but your deodorant absolutely must be free from harsh chemicals! Our underarms, especially due to daily shaving, are an easy & dangerous place for toxins to enter our bodies. Many studies have linked the use of toxic deodorant & antiperspirants to a higher risk of breast cancer.

I’ve fallen in love with River Organics Cheek Color. I’m not someone who wears a ton of makeup, and I strongly dislike a heavy, wet feel on my face. Thankfully this cheek color had no greasy feel and looked truly natural. It offered the perfect amount of color & glow. River Organics packages all of their products in paper, allowing them to lead the way in creating sustainable beauty products!

French Girl Le Lip Tint is the best! The rose color looked amazing and it lasted for hours. I usually wear another brand of lip gloss and it’s literally faded & gone within 20 minutes. This tint is organic, vegan and tested on French girls, never on animals! My purse will never be without this little gem!

Last but certainly not least, is the bomb of all mascaras! Inika Long Lash Vegan Mascara made my eyelashes look thicker & longer than they ever had before. The mascara went on smoothly and without any clumping. I felt pretty amazing wearing this stuff, I’m not gonna lie. It’s made in Italy, derived from all natural ingredients & ideal for sensitive eyes. This would be the perfect stocking stuffer for every girl on your holiday list!

I really can’t recommend The Beauty Library enough. This company was founded by Katie Wirth, a Vegan woman who saw a need for a one stop shop for Vegan, cruelty free & non-toxic beauty products, and she made it happen.

Katie is the type of entrepreneur that this world needs. Let’s support vegan owned businesses that are furthering the movement and spend less of our dollars at big stores that won’t even notice our business and have very little concern for selling ethical products.

The Beauty Library is offering 30% off and free shipping over $75. Another bonus is that you can choose 2 free samples with every purchase!

The holidays are right around the corner and The Beauty Library is the perfect place to begin your shopping!

www.thebeauty-library.com

This is a sponsored post

Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins

April 13, 2012 By in Health & Nutrition~, muffins, Recipes~ Tags: , , , , , , 17 Comments

I was trying to come up with a healthy breakfast muffin recipe, without  white flour or refined sugar. Whole wheat flour, fresh fruit & maple syrup are perfect ingredients for these morning muffins. They are not super sweet, but put a little Earth Balance spread on them while they are still warm, and YUM~breakfast is served!

Set oven to 375 degrees

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 cup almond milk

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 large banana mashed

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup maple syrup

Mix together dry ingredients. Then add the remaining ingredients. Blend well and scoop into greased muffin pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

A Review Of “Raw Star Recipes” Organic Meals, Snacks & Desserts In 10 Minutes

February 5, 2012 By in Health & Nutrition~, Recipes~, Reviews~ Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Apparently the universe has been listening to my constant jibber jabber about my desire to incorporate more “fun” raw food recipes into my family’s life. We do eat lots of raw fruits & veggies, and gallons of homemade green smoothies, but nothing too exciting… I picked up a raw foods cookbook a few months back, but most of the recipes called for a dehydrator, which I have had sitting in my Amazon.com cart since last summer. Yeah, yeah, I’ll get around to buying it one of these days.


A couple of weeks ago a friendly, cookbook author & Eco Chef named Bryan Au contacted me, and asked if I would test out some recipes from his Award Winning cookbook “Raw Star Recipes”, and give my opinion. Of course I happily agreed since this was the extra little push I needed, to come out of my Vegan comfort zone and try something new.

Over the past week I have made Fruity “Tuna” Wraps, Carrot Ginger Soup, Energy Bars, Spinach Herb Dip, Chocolate Shakes & Cinnamon Donuts! And YES all of these recipes are completely RAW!!

I love the fact that Chef Bryan uses organic ingredients, most of which are completely whole & in their natural state. A majority of the recipes do not call for any appliances other than a blender. Each meal can be prepared in around 10 minutes and costs somewhere in the $10 range. This is music to this mom’s ears!

Energy Bars

I began my raw food adventure with “Energy Bars”. I combined nuts, seeds, dates, buckwheat groats & goji berries to create yummy & healthy snacks for my family. They were quick, easy & totally yummy! I will surely make these again soon!

Carrot Ginger Soup

My favorite recipe is the “Carrot Ginger Soup”. The zesty flavor of the fresh ginger combined with carrots & chickpea miso is incredible! I basically threw the ingredients into my Vitamix, and I had a healthy & delicious lunch for myself. This is a great soup that you can throw together quickly, that will wow your house guests!

Fruity "Tuna" Wraps

Fruity “Tuna” Wraps, was the first recipe from the book that I made for my husband. He is a huge hummus fan, but he doesn’t love cauliflower, which is a key ingredient. I knew that he would enjoy the texture, but I was not sure about the flavor. Surprisingly, blended with the walnuts, lemon, miso & spices, he didn’t even notice the cauliflower and he ate 4 wraps! I garnished them with yellow pepper & crunchy apple. So Good!

Spinach Herb Dip

Guacamole lovers will go crazy for this flavorful “Spinach Herb Dip”! Avocado blended with spinach, herbs & spices make for a delicious dip experience. I strongly recommend dipping and array of raw veggies. This may be the perfect way to get your kids to eat raw broccoli, it worked for me!

I was really excited to make raw “Donuts”! The recipe shows how to make cinnamon, chocolate & glazed varieties. I stuck with cinnamon, but I will be trying the other two very soon. I think I whipped these up in about 5 minutes and I made a new best friend along the way.. “Coconut Nectar”!! Have you ever tried this? It’s not quite as sweet as Agave, but much better for your body. I drizzled it over the flax & banana donuts, along with lots of cinnamon. I ate them for breakfast and had no guilt, because they were incredibly healthy and very,very, yummy!

Chocolate Shake

The last recipe that I made was a “Chocolate Shake”. It actually calls for carob powder, but you would never know it from the look on my kid’s faces after they took a sip! I never let it slip, that their creamy, delicious, chocolate shake, didn’t actually contain chocolate!! That was priceless!!

Eco Chef Bryan Au has created an amazing array of raw meals that will delight & entice your entire family. If your children are hesitant to eat raw foods, give this book a try. The health benefits of organic, uncooked, plant foods are practically endless, and all human beings will benefit from adding more raw foods to their diet. These recipes are good for our bodies, friendly to the planet and safe for kids to help prepare! 🙂

 Be a “Raw Star” and buy this book!!

Visit Bryan’s website at www.rawstarrecipes.com 

Feeding Your Vegan Baby

January 11, 2011 By in Baby~, Health & Nutrition~, Tips~ Tags: , , , , 19 Comments

I was recently asked a question on “The Vegan Mom” FaceBook page, about feeding a Vegan infant. I am not a doctor, and honestly my family went Vegan when my youngest child was three years old. So, I don’t have much experience in this department. BUT, I plan to have one more child, so I have done lots and LOTS of reading and research on this subject!

This newly Vegan mom was concerned about what she should be feeding her 7 month old daughter, other than breast milk. She is not currently producing enough breast milk to completely nourish her baby. The mom is using formula to supplement her daughter’s diet, and wonders if this is the best thing to be doing for her child. The answer is yes, since babies less than 12 months old need to be drinking breast milk, formula, or both. Vegan parents should be feeding their child the best possible formula, and Vegan health educator “Christina Pirello” claims that “Babies Only Organic” brand formula is the best bet for Vegan infants. It is soy based and free of corn syrup and GMO’s.

After babies turn one, they can stop drinking breast milk or formula (although, many natural health professionals feel that breast feeding your baby until he turns two is best). At this point your child is ready to thrive on a well planned, plant based diet! What does this mean? A variety of fruits, veggies & whole grains! Introduce a colorful mix of organic foods slowly. See what your little one likes and does well with! Try to stay away from white breads, pasta & rice. Buy whole wheat & whole grain versions. Offer sweet potatoes more often than white ones. Also steer clear of too much sugar and processed foods. Feel free to let your little one try some non-dairy milks, such as almond or oat. Soymilk is okay, but make sure it is organic and free from GMO’s. Processed soy products are not recommended in large amounts. Try to stick with “traditional” soy, such as organic tofu, edamame, tempeh & miso.

You may want to add a vitamin supplement to your child’s diet, if you are concerned about the lack of any nutrients. But if your toddler is a good eater, and enjoys a well balanced Vegan diet, the only thing you need to be concerned with is B-12. The bacteria known as B-12 comes from the ground, and humans obtain it through meat, eggs, & other animal bi-products, probably from the dirt the animal ate. Since we wash our veggies so well, we don’t get this vital bacteria from a whole foods, Vegan diet. We must obtain B-12 from fortified foods & beverages or supplements.

Overall, feeding a Vegan baby or toddler is easy & rewarding! It is such a great feeling to know that you are offering your child the best nutrition our planet has to offer! You are setting your child up for a life of optimum health and compassion! People will question you, and even try to persuade you to feed your child animal products, but always stand your ground. Your child will thank you….. some day. 🙂

“Organic Tempeh & Garden Veggie Pasta”

August 4, 2010 By in Recipes~ Tags: , , , , , , , 6 Comments

I am especially proud to share this recipe with you, because it is my own. I am also excited to say that most of the ingredients, came from my very own garden. This might not seem like a big deal to some…. but to me, it is HUGE! This is the first year that I have ever had a vegetable garden, and I jump up and down for joy each time I find a new ripened veggie.

Please give this delicious, super easy and very healthy recipe a try!

Ingredients:

1 bag organic fusilli pasta

1 package organic Tempeh crumbled

1 med. green pepper chopped

1 med. red pepper chopped

1. large white onion chopped

1 bulb garlic, each clove thinly sliced

2 med. tomatoes chopped

1 cup fresh green beans trimmed

handful of both, fresh basil & fresh cilantro chopped

About 6 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil.

Boil water for pasta & cook aldente. While pasta is being prepared, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil to large saute’ pan over med. heat. When oil is warm add  crumbled Tempeh to pan. Cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and onion, cook for another minute. Add peppers, green beans & herbs. Cook for another few minutes, stirring everything often.

Drain water from pasta and return pasta to the pot. Add the Tempeh, veggie/herb mixture & the rest of the oil. Mix well. Stir in some extra olive oil if needed.

Sprinkle with Vegan Parmesan if desired.

Enjoy!

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