 Credit: Nature's Path Our families don't add sugar to anything; Even our plant-based milks are unsweetened to avoid added sugars. If you like Granola and don't like the added sugar, here's some great news for you!
Nature's Path has added two new No Added Sugar Granolas to their portfolio: Mixed Berry Granola and Almond Butter Vanilla Granola! No Added Sugar granola is 100% certified organic ingredients and is now available at major retailers nationwide including Kroger, Target and Amazon. Enjoy! We are :)  Image: STASH. Double Spice Chai and Orange Mocktail Are you looking to 'spice up' your Summer Tea Times? Stash Tea has brewed up an assortment of tea-infused non-alcoholic and alcoholic chilled libations sure to help you cool down on hot summer nights and steamy summer days. Take a moment and chillax on the chaise with one of these Stash Tea tea-infused summer quencher recipes:
Mango Passionfruit Hard Seltzer Chai and Orange Mocktail was created for Stash Tea by Veronica Hendrix. Veronica is a Los Angeles-based journalist, cooking coach, recipe developer, Food Network finalist, and podcaster. Regent Punch Pom Raspberry Iced Tea Cocktail Shaken Mango Passionfruit Tea Soda Enjoy!  Image: Taub Family Selections Are you looking for a new refreshing Brut Rosé? Valdo Floral Spumante Brut Rosé is a blend of Nerello Mascalese (75%), a notorious Sicilian native grape (the vineyards are located approximately 1,000 feet above the sea level on the lower slopes of the Etna volcano in Sicily), and Glera (25%), from Veneto, mainly known as the “Prosecco Grape”.
Both grapes are harvested during September, and the blend results in a sophisticated quality wine that presents a typical fruity bouquet with hints of raspberry and red fruits. The fine perlage is obtained by a selection of natural yeasts that grant a pleasant round finish. Enjoy!  Image: Stone Soup Leadership Institute “Stone Soup for a Sustainable World: Life-Changing Stories of Young Heroes” features the stories of 100 young climate change trailblazers, environmental justice changemakers, educator champions, sustainable business leaders, intergenerational legacy figures, green inventors and entrepreneurs, and emerging island leaders from 38 countries worldwide and 32 U.S. cities.
These brave young people have innovative solutions to the most challenging issues of our times and they are shining the light and inviting us to join them - before it's too late. WHY THESE STORIES ARE SO IMPORTANT: “Stone Soup for a Sustainable World'' invites readers to take concrete actions to support these young heroes and their organizations, and to help them maximize their impact in building a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. A six-year-old girl in the Netherlands, appalled at what she learns about plastic pollution in the oceans, begins a determined campaign to fight it. By the time she is 8, she has started a Facebook page, and by the time she is 12 she and her followers have picked up 200,000 pieces of plastic. A young entrepreneur in Barcelona has a successful business making fashionable eyewear out of plastic waste retrieved from the ocean. A young woman in Mumbai begins by turning a scrapyard in her neighborhood into an urban garden, and goes on to become a researcher/educator about the importance of protecting native plants. Two sisters in London, ages 8 and 10, learn about the devastating effect deforestation is having on orangutans. They confront Kellogg’s on their palm oil suppliers, and succeed in getting them to support more sustainable practices. A young woman in Uganda goes from standing alone outside her parliament, holding up signs about the urgency of climate action, and is now an internationally known spokeswoman for the movement. When a young American realizes the connection between social justice issues and the climate crisis, he creates The Climate Reporter, an online publication that features the work of young climate activists worldwide. Now, as the youngest member of the White House's Environmental Justice Advisory Council, he is helping to plan a strategy for combating the global climate crisis. These are just a few of the encouraging, inspiring, and ultimately very hopeful stories in these pages. In addition to the stories of today’s younger generation taking on the challenges of climate change, there are stories of those in previous generations who have through the years fought for and kept the dream of social justice alive, from heroes like Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Cesar Chavez to the youth today who take courage and inspiration from their examples, and are carrying out those dreams. There are also stories about ordinary people as well as Hollywood stars (Laura Dern, Ed Begley Jr.) who have supported successful businesses that use sustainable practices. And there are intergenerational family stories too: the grandchildren of Peter Yarrow, Mahatma Gandhi, and Cesar Chavez, and the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy tell not only how their families inspired them, but what they are doing today to carry out the dream of a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. This book needs to be on your bookshelf regardless of your age, your ethnicity, or your interest in environmental activism. Not only does it give hope and encouragement that positive change IS possible, but it also provides an action plan for how to get involved and do it. Need more inspiration and encouragement? 100% of the proceeds from this book are donated to the Stone Soup Leadership Institute's global initiatives. (Over the last 20 years, this non-profit organization has invested in training young people from around the world to become leaders in their communities and the world!) “We need to help our children understand and contribute to the world they are living in. The stories in this book of courageous youth leaders around the world are a great educational tool. They challenge us all to do whatever we can to build a more sustainable world for all children.” —Matt Damon, Actor, Co-Founder Water.org "These dedicated young people are a shining example of how we can imagine a more sustainable world. I encourage you to read the inspiring stories in this book. Listen to these young people. Learn from them. Join with them. Support them. Let's get to work! It's going to take all of us working together. The planet is counting on us, and so are our children.” —Ted Danson, Actor, Co-Founder Oceana  Image: Barebell Are you looking for a new and delicious plant-based protein bar? Barebells Functional Foods™ was launched in Sweden in 2016 to offer products high-in-protein plant-based bars that are 100% vegan and dairy-free, with 15 grams of protein, no added sugar, and no palm oil.
One of our favorite bars is Hazelnut & Nougat which blends a delicious combination of creamy nougat and crispy chocolate-covered hazelnuts. Each bar has 15g of plant-based protein derived from soy, peas, and rice. Enjoy!  Image: Gianna Simone We are grateful to have interviewed Gianna Simone, the host of the healthy plant-based living Amazon series “Love, Gianna,” who just released her vegan cookbook Plant Love with best friend & actress Andrea Logan. With breakout Film/TV roles, Gianna has now made it her mission to educate about the many benefits of a plant-based lifestyle. Gianna shared with us some of her life challenges such as an abusive upbringing, trying to be healthy and thin while staying energetic and an associated eating disorder. She wasn't initially aware of plant-based eating. She said, "When I saw animals being slaughtered in horrific ways I couldn't go back... I kept educating myself and lead as an example ... and Help Develop Love."  Image: Gianna Simone Gianna teamed up with actor and best friend Andrea Logan to release their new plant-based cookbook, Plant Love. With heart disease as the nation's #1 cause of death and a whole food plant-based diet being able to prevent and reverse it, Gianna is working to send a message to the world that there is a brighter future. When not in front of the camera or producing, Gianna created the Gianna Simone Foundation to help provide rescue and wellness support to abused and neglected human beings and animals. Gianna is a lovely soul. Please see their Pumpkin Waffle Recipe from the Book below.  Image: Gianna Simone Recipe
 Image: Simon & Schuster How to Grow Your Own Food by Angela Judd is a beautifully illustrated guide to container gardening for absolute beginners available May 25. Aimed at readers who may have already dabbled at houseplant gardening, this easy-to-follow guidebook shows food-gardeners-to-be how to take their experience to the next level and grow 50 common vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Per the Author, you can put the container anywhere! You can put your container to your balcony, deck or sidewalk!
Readers will learn:
No matter how much or how little space you may have, you can enjoy everything from basil to onions to strawberries with this practical guide to container gardening. This is a great book for friends and family too! Enjoy!  Image: PenguinRandomHouse We highly recommend this new book from Suzanne Simard, as she is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence. She's been compared to Rachel Carson and hailed as a scientist who conveys complex, technical ideas in a way that is dazzling and profound. Her work has influenced filmmakers (the Tree of Souls of James Cameron's Avatar) and her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide.
Now, in her first book Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest, Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths--that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp, but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life; that forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities with communal lives not that different from our own. Editorial Reviews include: "Simard has spent decades with her hands in the soil, designing experiments and piecing together the remarkable mysteries of forest ecology . . . elegantly detailed . . . deeply personal . . . A testament to Simard’s skill as a science communicator. Her research is clearly defined, the steps of her experiments articulated, her astonishing results explained and the implications laid bare: We ignore the complexity of forests at our peril.”--The New York Times "Vivid and inspiring . . . For Simard, personal experience leads to revelation, and scientific revelation leads to personal insight . . . Finding the Mother Tree helps make sense of a forest of mysteries. It might even persuade you that organisms other than ourselves—even fungi—have agency.”—Eugenia Bone, The Wall Street Journal “[Simard] shares the wisdom of a life of listening to the forest . . . a scientific memoir as gripping as any HBO drama series.”--The Observer  Image credit: Birchbox and Stasher Birchbox and Stasher have teamed up to spotlight sustainability, collaborating on an eco-friendly box transformation for Earth month! This collaboration is about bringing sustainable options to consumers.
The box will arrive in a Stasher platinum silicone bag and includes all sustainably-minded beauty picks:
 Image Credit: Que Pasa Foods Cinco de Mayo is coming up soon!
Que Pasa started out as a street-front deli in Vancouver, BC in 1983 selling authentically crafted tortilla chips. In 2012, Que Pasa joined the Nature’s Path family. Both were independent and family-owned with a deep social and environmental commitment to organics and sustainability. Que Pasa Chips are Vegan, Organic and Gluten Free made to share with your amigos and amigas! Salud!  Image Credit: Hatherleigh Press “To many, the words love, hope, and dreams are synonymous with horses.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes
The Horse Lover's Quotation Book is a collection of over 200 fun, inspirational, and meaningful quotes perfect for every horse lover. Full of wonderful quotes about horses, riding horses, owning horses, loving horses, and everything in between, The Horse Lover's Quotation Book brings readers into a deeper connection with these majestic creatures, highlighting on all the joy and surprises that come from loving these animals.  Image Credit Delysia Chocolatier Mother's Day is right around the corner!
Of course you want to give very special chocolate to your loved one ...or to yourself on this special day! :) Delysia Chocolatier’s Wellness collection chocolate truffles is a great pick and dairy free! and Delysia Chocolatier’s Tea collection chocolate truffles are a great dairy free pairing with your tea. Enjoy!  Image Credit: Nature's Path Gardens for Good We have featured Nature’s Path organic breakfast cereals including the Golden Turmeric Superfood Granola and love it! We'd like to feature some great news the Company has just announced; North America’s largest certified organic breakfast and snack food company announced the winners of their annual Gardens for Good program, recognizing the critical role of community gardens and their efforts to provide access to organic, fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables.
With more than 350 submitted grant applications, Nature’s Path brought in extra resources to vet and select 21 winners - adding a 22nd grant at the last minute - to each receive $5,000 to support local gardening efforts. Special consideration was given to gardens serving BIPOC communities, disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. “With so many deserving applicants and amazing stories about local community garden impacts, it was so hard to choose only 21 gardens to receive our grants, which is why we added an extra at the last minute!” said Jyoti Stephens, VP Mission and Strategy at Nature’s Path. “The overwhelming response to this year’s Gardens For Good program shows us that – amidst a time when access to nutritious foods became a critical challenge due to the pandemic – local communities have rallied together to support each other. It is truly heartwarming.” Submissions to this year’s program included various community gardens with a shared vision of providing nutritious food to those who do not readily have access to fresh, organic produce. Not only do these gardens provide healthy foods, they offer community gathering places and educational programs on horticulture, nutrition and food preparation. “After a year of physical distancing, it feels wonderful to celebrate so many gardens that are bringing their local communities together in a healthy way. After such a challenging year, it’s time to get back to the roots of good health and happiness. That’s what these gardens do,” continued Stephens. The winners of the Gardens For Good grants include:
With this year’s contribution, Nature’s Path has donated over $515,000 and supported 52 community garden projects globally. Great work Nature’s Path!!  Credit: Workman Publishing Did you know that if you adopt a vegan diet you can save money, have glowing skin, ward off Alzheimer’s, Type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis and other metabolic diseases? While plenty of books tell you how to go vegan, 72 Reasons to Be Vegan is the book that tells you why. And it does so in a way that emphasizes not what you’d be giving up, but what you’d be gaining.
Here are some recommendations: "A symphony of chapters which are succinct, cogent and precise and define the nutritional literacy that is essential for long, healthy lives and a forgiving planet." - Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease "Stone and Freston have brilliantly researched the most compelling reasons to be vegan, and they've made it a thoroughly enjoyable read" - Ingrid Newkirk president and cofounder PETA "This excellent book explains why plant-based is supreme for athletes like me, but also why an animal-free diet is empowering in so many other critical ways." - Brendan Brazier, former pro-Ironman athlete.  Gratitude Gourmet has announced the Winners of the Gratitude Gourmet Climate and Peace Prize, and Planted Trees are the Prizes. We are very pleased to announce the Winners on Earth Day.
Gratitude Gourmet Climate and Peace Prize Winners: Eggcitables. Hannah Chisolm owns a business that has revolutionized my breakfast, and the breakfasts of many people who don't want to or cannot eat eggs. It's a delicious product; you can make breakfast sandwiches, wraps, and any number of other egg-based dishes. My favourite is a breakfast egg BLT using eggcitables and a plant-based bacon substitute. If awarded this prize, eggcitables would receive some long-overdue recognition, in my opinion. The Abbey, is a great vegan restaurant in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. They offer healthy, fresh, vegan meals and support local food providers. Their food is delicious and we often go there for the book club, (before Covid!) but still they are offering take-out now! Supporting local is huge for us and the planet! Issacsway. An beautiful restaurant with local food, artwork on the walls from local artists. It is not strictly vegan but locally sourced food! Also they raise money for kids and youth for art and music programs! Delicious food! The Palo Alto Farmer's Market provides an opportunity for all locals to get access to fresh and nutritious foods. The organization is volunteer run and donates most of its earnings to Avenidas retirement community. The do what they can to be environmentally friendly and provide a culture of sustainability to the community. Somebody People makes the most incredible plant-forward dishes I've ever tasted, has a killer vibe, and offsets their entire carbon footprint. The amazing cocktails they make (like their eggless sour) are just bonus. They are in Denver, CO. Yootrition is a plant-based nutrition company that creates sustainable and clean snack foods known as the "Magick Goods" product line for health-conscious consumers. Founded by Autumn Reaghard, Yootrition recognizes that adopting a plant-based diet contributes not only to the optimal health of your body, but also to the optimal health of the planet. The company is committed to using only local, organic plant-based ingredients to curate its products. Since its inception in 2019, Yootrition has been committed to continually reviewing and improving its sustainability practices as it scales its operations. Autumn Reaghard teachers chemistry at Rise Kohyang High School. She holds a Masters of Public Health degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Autumn and her company Yootrition completed the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator's Founders Business Accelerator program in 2020. Congratulations to all the Winners!! and Happy Earth Day!!  Image Credit: Hatherleigh Press "Earth, my dearest, I will. Oh believe me, you no longer need your springtimes to win me over." —Rainer Maria Rilke
With Earth Day just around the corner, Earth, My Dearest - Inspirations on nature, conservation, sustainability, and stewardship written by Jackie Corley, is an inspirational compilation of over 200 quotes around conservation and sustainability. Highlighting the wonders of our planet and ways on how best we can save it, Earth, My Dearest includes quotes ranging from poet Henry David Thoreau to activist Greta Thunberg. This quote collection will help show all of us how to cherish the environment and key ways to protect our fragile planet moving ahead to an uncertain future. Beautifully packaged, Earth, My Dearest makes the perfect gift.  Brussel Sprouts - MesaVerde Santa Barbara has been one of our favorite weekend spots to visit. See our last writeup here! We recently visited again and gratefully got the chance to have dinner outside at a gourmet vegan mediterranean restaurant MesaVerde and organic vegetarian breakfast at AH Juice. At MesaVerde we very much enjoyed the following: - FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS Fava bean puree, pickled red onion, pepitas, capers, dill, za'atar, sherry vinaigrette, tamari POLENTA FRIES Cacao black beans, chilies, carrot, jackfruit chorizo, chives.  Mushroom Unami Burger - MesaVerde MUSHROOM UMAMI BURGER w/ salad or za'atar fries Lettuce, heirloom tomato, beet ketchup, caramelized onion, sprouts, pickles shallots, mustard, cashew aioli TUNISIAN CURRY & KING OYSTER MUSHROOMS KEFTE A rich worming curry made with ginger, fresh turmeric, kabocha, garbanzo, tomato, carrot and kefir lime, roasted kefte spiced king oyster mushroom seasoned with lemon served over Israeli couscous with cilantro and extra virgin olive oil and paired it with a lovely glass of Perrin Cotes Du Rhone Nature. We will be back again!  Free Range Omelet - AH Juice At AH Juice we enjoyed the following:
- FREE RANGE OMELETTE With organic cheddar, mushrooms & spinach. Served with avocado, tomatoes and side of artisan sourdough toast. - PEANUT BUTTER CUP SMOOTHIE Blended with fair trade cacao, avocado, house cashew milk, peanut butter, banana, honey and cacao nibs. - TROPICAL SMOOTHIE Mango, banana, raw almonds, coconut, dates & coconut milk. We returned again for breakfast and will be back! :)  Image Credit: NadaMoo NadaMoo!, the original dairy-free, coconut milk ice cream rich in plant-based ingredients, is officially launching their take on the classic S’mores flavor – just in time for Summer! We are a fan of this coconut milk ice cream especially the Mint Chip! Yumm!
NadaMoo! makes the creamiest dairy free frozen desserts on the market by whipping together organic coconut milk with hand-picked agave and other scrumptious ingredients. Every ingredient in NadaMoo!’s pints are grown in pesticide and synthetic-free soil, processed without artificial preservatives, colors or flavors, and are certified non-GMO, gluten-free and B-Corp. As a bonus, NadaMoo! also remains committed to using low-impact, environmentally friendly farming practices and 100% sustainably sourced sugarcane & paper-based packaging. Enjoy!  Image Credit: Simon and Schuster Are you ready to start growing something green and lovely as we move into a fresh new season! Here's a new book to help both first-time and well-established gardeners get their plants off to a great start this year.
Gardening Hacks 300+ Time and Money Saving Hacks by Jon Vanzile is perfect for all gardening skill levels whether you’re starting your first garden, looking to expand your crop, or simply searching for ways to make it easier to care for your extensive plant collection. With more than 300 time and money-saving tips, you’ll find everything you need to know to make your garden grow – indoors or out! Gardening Hacks includes helpful tips like:
 Image Credit: Timber Press BICYCLING WITH BUTTERFLIES: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration (Timber Press; April 13, 2021) recounts Dykman’s inspirational ride alongside the monarchs as she follows unmapped roads in Michoacan, México, through the United States, into Ontario, Canada, and back, again, to Mexico. Every year, the monarch butterflies complete a multigeneration, multinational migration. In 2017, for the first time, cyclist, biologist, outdoor educator and adventurer Sara Dykman (then 32) accompanied the millions of monarchs to celebrate their journey and be their voice. During her 10,201 mile, 3 country tour, Dykman presented to more than 10,000 students and community members across the monarch’s range. “The monarchs need us,” Dykman explained, “they can’t call politicians to demand healthy prairies or rally for native gardens. But we can. We might not be able to fly like butterflies, but we can bike alongside them, and be their voice.”
Sara’s entire trip was made on a beat-up bicycle weighed down with everything from camping to video equipment. She covered about 60 miles per day, with rest stops to give presentations at schools and nature centers. At night she camped or stayed with all sorts of people. “From Mexico to Canada people were so willing to invite me into their house and let me experience a generosity found along the entire migration.” “Bicycling with Butterflies is part science, part adventure, part love letter to nature,” Dykman explained. “I hope readers will come away with a deeper sense of connection to the land and be inspired to join the network of people already fighting for the survival of the migration.” Share with us your thoughts on the book! |
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