Whenever I go to the grocery store, I always try my best to load my cart with socially responsible products.  Cage free eggs?  Uh, yeah why not?  Organic lettuce? Sure, throw that on in there.

The truth is, though, up until recently, I didn’t really know what these things meant.  They’ve just been over-marketed so that I think I’m doing good when really I may just be wasting money.  That’s why I formulated a mini label guide for all of your shopping needs.

Hint:  don’t waste your money on the “organic” Oreos! Read More »

Last Tuesday I saw the documentary Food, Inc. and it changed my life.  Although it had a relatively minimal environmental focus, it still reminded me how important we are as consumers and how much our food purchasing decisions actually make a difference.

Think about it – 10 years ago you couldn’t really find any substantial amount of organic produce in mainstream supermarkets.  Now, due to the demand for healthier and more sustainable products, the supermarkets are flooded with organic products from Oreos to macaroni and cheese.  And for those of you who think you can’t afford eco-friendly foods on a college budget, think again.  I will show you where, how, and what to buy to decrease your carbon “foodprint” while increasing the size of your wallet. Read More »

I have never really liked meat. The idea of a bloody (or even well-done) steak with neatly criss-crossed grill marks on my plate has never been appealing to me, and I have basically limited my carnivorous intake to the occasional chicken breast. My boyfriend is a vegetarian, and I can go for long stretches of time without eating any meat at all. So why am I not a vegetarian, too, already?

Here are the reasons I’ve come up with (while sitting over a bowl of my mom’s famous beef stew):

- It still doesn’t seem to be quite accepted. If you’re invited to dinner at someone’s house or invited to a wedding or some other bash, it’s assumed that you eat meat. If you don’t, you either have to make everyone feel bad by arranging for a special plate or you have to forage for roots and berries among the side dishes.

- Some of my favorite dishes from childhood have meat in them. Sure, I don’t eat them now, but when I go home and my mom makes them, it’s sweet (and they’re still delicious). Knowing I couldn’t eat those anymore would kind of depress me. Wait, who am I kidding? It would totally depress me.

- One of my goals is to travel around the world, and I don’t want to have to limit myself in any way when I do that. Especially when it comes to eating local fare that may or may not come from an animal.

- BACON. Need I say more? Read More »

I am horrible when it comes to eating, and my metabolism is probably waiting until I’m thirty to get its revenge in the form of cellulite and love handles. I skip meals all the time, and have been known to go days without food.

No, I don’t have an eating disorder. I have a working disorder—I’m a total workaholic.

When I do eat, it needs to be healthy and somewhat portable. I’ve considered trying Atkins or Southbeach protein bars, Power Bars, or even Slim Fast Shakes as a snack I can pound in the car on my way to work. But, honestly, I can’t justify consuming 400 calories in the form of a little bitty rice bar that is not going to quiet my growling stomach, or 13 grams of fat in a similarly unsatisfying wannabe-milkshake concoction.

Instead, I live off of caffeine.

One morning, before work, I stopped at my favorite coffee shop to grab a skim milk, sugar-free vanilla latte, and saw a display of Vegan Energy Bars at the counter. I’m not vegan, but was hungry and I thought that those little heart-shaped bars might be crazy enough to work! I mean, the vegans are picky about what they put into their bodies and without meat or dairy, they still need nutrients, right?

I purchased a package of chocolate chip flavored (if it has chocolate it can’t be that bad), heart-shaped, soy-filled cakes of pure delight that day, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Read More »

Hit up any Chinese or Indian buffet and you’ll notice that a fixture of the line is fried rice — the kind that you can pile on your plate time after time and still enjoy with each new helping. It’s both delicious and addictive.

So wouldn’t it be great if you could make that rice in your own kitchen and avoid shelling out $8 for an all-you-can-eat meal of regret?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Here’s the good news: you can, and it’s easy. In fact, if you ever have stray vegetables or leftovers lying around (like I do almost… oh, let’s see, EVERY DAY), it’s even easier. Fried rice is incredibly forgiving—you can toss whatever you want in there, and it will still taste great.

So here’s a basic recipe, but feel free to play around with it! Read More »

My favorite places to eat at in Los Angeles include In N’ Out for their double-double animal-style burgers and Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica for their “godmother” sandwich, a bread and meat monstrosity with cold cuts from every edible animal. I rarely eat at home because I can’t cook, and when I do, my go-to at-home meal is a ham and cheese sandwich. I’m telling you this to give you an idea of how hard it is going to be for me to eat like a vegan for week.

My vegan week isn’t due to some sudden desire to save animals that would otherwise end up on the tip of my fork. I’m not opposed to saving animals –– if a cute puppy were to cross the street in front of me, I wouldn’t run it over –– but this adventure is purely an experiment. I’m doing it just to see if I can.

In preparation for my weeklong meat, dairy, and gelatin-free adventure, I searched the Internet for vegan-eating rules and information. When I Google searched “veganism,” the pull-quote from Wikipedia read: “Vegans are the result of a conspiracy among the liberal elite to create a new race of inbred, herbivores.” I’m nervous already.

Sunday

12 AM: My vegan week officially begins. I am immediately hungry. I fix myself a bowl of oatmeal. Basically, I’m eating a bowl of mush for dinner. Not satisfied. Read More »

Want a portable meal that’s delicious and nutritious? Forsake the chili bread bowl in favor of the stuffed pepper.

You can fill this guy with whatever suits your fancy—pork, chicken, beef, scrambled eggs—and you can also pack it with flavor and texture. Where else can you find protein, carbs, veggies, and taste all in one convenient, edible package the size of a man’s fist? Nowhere!

To make one stuffed pepper like the one in the picture, you’ll need the bell pepper (any color works, but I prefer to use green), half of one small onion, one garlic clove, a little bit of olive oil, a few ounces of ground beef, about three tablespoons of uncooked rice, 4-6 tablespoons of chicken broth, two tablespoons of tomato sauce or tomato paste, three tablespoons of parmesan or romano cheese, and seasonings to taste (basil, salt, pepper, etc.). Read More »

So a guy friend is hosting a barbecue this weekend on the terrace of his apartment building. In Manhattan. It’s not quite the same for me as a traditional backyard gathering, but these are the things we sacrifice to live in the city.

At least there will still be some classics in the way of burgers, hot dogs, and chicken. But the rule of being a dinner party or barbecue guest is you can’t show up empty handed. While ordinarily I prefer to contribute something of the beverage variety, or pre-washed-and-cut fruit from the nearest grocery store, I’ve decided it’s time to man up and cook something. I don’t want to be shown up by a bunch of boys, even though without question they can cook better than me.

Barbecue essentials that the boys will be providing consist of meat. I don’t cook meat, so I’m opting to make cole slaw.

You need:

1 small bag pre-chopped cabbage/cole slaw mix

Sprinkling of celery seed for garnish/flavor

Red grapes (as many/few as you like) Read More »

You don’t have to be an extremist to be environmentally friendly. There are a bunch of little changes you can make in your life that will not only help you to be kind to this planet, but these things will also save you money in the end.

Saving money is good; it’s really good. In fact, if you help save the planet enough, you can destroy your body with all of the alcohol you’ll be able to suddenly afford.

• UTILIZE CAR POOLS. Why drive separately? Work out car pooling whenever you can. Gas is way too expensive these days not to.

• CLOTHING/HOME GOOD EXCHANGE PARTIES. Get your girls together and swap the clothes and other things you no longer use.

• DON’T BE AFRAID OF TAP WATER. Even though bottle water is sooo cool, your tap water might not be bad for you — contrary to popular beliefs. If you start drinking your tap water, you’ll save money and reduce your plastic waste.

• HANG DRY YOUR CLOTHING. Sure, it’s sort of a pain in the ass, but you can save all of those dryer quarters for something else. Like arcades. Which are awesome. Read More »

I love animals. I always have. I had dogs, rabbits, birds, and fish growing up. Never for one moment have I ever thought that animals aren’t ‘alive’. Never for one moment have I thought that they can’t feel. And I still eat meat.

I have absolutely nothing against vegetarians. Many of my friends are vegetarians and, in fact, I was a vegetarian myself for a couple of years in high school. However, I H-A-T-E being talked down to by the occasional vegetarian/vegan who comes my way and feels it’s his or her duty to “inform” me of anything related to the subject matter. I hate it almost as much as I hate religious people who feel the need to damn me to Hell via conversation. I almost hate it as much as the smell of burnt hair. I hate it almost as much as I hate Daisy from Rock of Love 2.

Why all of the hate?

Because it’s not anyone’s place to tell me what to eat. Read More »