Vegan Beet Cake

Posted on April 15, 2010 by admin

Beets are a vegetable that definitely doesn’t receive the credit it should. Beets are very nutritious; the juice is rich in natural sugar, sodium, sulphur, chlorine, iodine, copper and vitamin B1, B2, C and bioflanoids. And its beautiful rich reddish purple color means it’s high in beta-carotene. Some holistic practitioners believe that beet juice combined with other juices like carrot and cucumber are excellent for cleansing and restoring the health of the kidneys and gallbladder. Additionally, being a fibrous root, it is excellent for aiding in and eliminating constipation. Beets are delicious baked, shredded in salads, roasted or steamed.

If you’re not fond of its different earthy taste, but still want the great nutritional value of this vegetable, then check out the recipe below for a chocolate cake made with beets. And don’t worry, you can barely taste the beets. This cake is also basically guilt-free, so feel free to have more than one slice.

Ingredients:

  • 1 can cooked beets (fresh can be used)
  • applesauce
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup white flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 1 cup sugar (I used agave nectar)
  • 2 tsps. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Puree beets in a blender or food processor with a quarter-cup of water. Pour the beets into a large measuring container and add enough applesauce to bring the total to two cups. Mix in the vanilla and apple cider vinegar.

Now, mix all the other ingredients; then fold in the beet mixture and mix it all thoroughly. Once the batter’s ready, bake it in a pre-greased 9×13 pan at 325 degrees for 35-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool before serving. Top with an icing of your choice, if desired.

My review: This cake was really good! I used zero sugar though so I wasn’t expecting it to turn out exactly like it was supposed to. It was more like a brownie than a cake, but still good all the same. I would have liked to be a little more rich, but it is a great way to get in the nutrition of some beets, and it was also very easy to make.

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Chelsea Handler Against Fur: Video

Posted on March 25, 2010 by admin

 

Chelsea Handler recently took a stand for animals on her late-night show, Chelsea Lately on E. It all started when Kelly Bensimon from Real Housewives of New York went shopping for a fur vest and claimed, “It’s amazing to have an orginization like PETA, but I’ve always been a great fur wearer.” She continued on to say, “Do I wear fur? Yes. Do I support the abuse of animals? Absolutely not.”

…Wow. Does that statement make an ounce of sense? Absolutely not. Was it extremely hypocritical? Yes.  

The quick-witted Chelsea Handler fired back with a pro-animal stance, stating “Really? You don’t abuse animals? I think the chinchilla who just had his hide ripped off might disagree. You think you’re a great fur wearer? You know who wears it better? The innocent animal it came from. This is not a smart move. You just taunted PETA on national television while wearing an unattractive fur vest.”

Chelsea’s heart is certainly in the right place. She’s also made the compassionate move of adopting a dog from an animal shelter. Check out the video above.

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Ellen Goes Vegan

Posted on March 2, 2010 by admin

Newlyweds Portia De Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres have become vegans, because they both love animals so much. Continue reading →

Posted in Helping Animals | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Blissed Out on Chocolate

Posted on February 16, 2010 by admin

 Blissed Out is dedicated to bringing the purest, most bliss inducing chocolate to the world.  

We specialize in the highest quality organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, raw chocolates.  Raw cacao, the main ingredient in all Blissed Out chocolate is one of the world’s most nutrient dense foods.  Vast arrays of its nutrients are destroyed in the conventional chocolate making process.  We at Blissed Out hand craft each small batch of chocolate in such a way that ensures the over 300+ antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals remain intact.

Sounds amazing, right? Inspired by a 30-day vow to live as a raw foodist, Erika Martin started Blissed Out, which is dedicated to bringing hand-poured, raw truffles to the masses. The raw chocolate company is changing the way some cities eat sweets.

“I did the raw food diet on the conditions that I could still have my two vices of chocolate and wine. During that time, I was introduced to raw cacao, which I love. It’s totally different than regular chocolate . . . I almost clung to it in an addictive way,” says Martin. While on the diet, she realized how difficult it was to find raw truffles, bars and chocolates on par with high-end chocolatiers.

The conventional chocolate-making process requires heating, dairy and refined sugars, all of which are eschewed by raw foodies. Eating raw means that 75% to 100% of your diet consists of unprocessed, living, uncooked organic produce; once food is heated above 118 degrees, it becomes more difficult for the body to process.

After staying raw for almost a year, Martin eased up on the restrictions but stuck to gluten-free whole foods. Her chocolate obsession, and dedication to finding a way for raw to taste real, never subsided. It took her one month of research and development, which “consisted of me eating a whole lot of chocolate.”

After putting her tastebuds to the test, she came up with a line of raw chocolate truffles flavored with mint, cashew, goji berry, citrus and, of course, classic rich dark chocolate. Everything is organic, gluten free, dairy free and raw. The ingredients lists on her products are short but sweet: cacao powder, cacao butter and cacao paste, sweetened with honey and agave, which is emulsified with coconut oil instead of soy lecithin. The use of coconut oil makes for a fudgey texture that’s frankly addictive. Instead of refined sugars, she uses local, cold-packed raw honey from Honey Pacifica. The chocolate is treated at a very low temperature to maintain it’s “raw” status. The result is a dense, rich dark chocolate truffle.

The chocolates are available at a few natural foods stores, including Erewhon, Nature Well and Euphoria Loves Rawvolution, as well as a few stores in Austin, Texas.

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New Rules Issued for Organic Dairy Products

Posted on February 12, 2010 by admin

The Department of Agriculture issued new rules on Friday meant to settle a dispute in the organic agriculture industry over how much time cows at organic dairies must spend grazing on pasture. The ruling was cheered by many in the organic industry who said it would shore up consumer confidence in organic milk and could force some larger dairies in Western states to change how they operate.

“This is the biggest deal in the organic community for many years,” said Miles V. McEvoy, the deputy administrator of the National Organic Program, the arm of the agriculture department that regulates the organic farming industry.

“Because of the controversy and the complaints against some of the larger Western dairies, it has really affected consumer confidence in the organic label. That’s why it’s so important for us to set the standard and say that organic livestock are pasture-based.”

The new rules clarify an older requirement that said only that organically raised livestock had to have access to pasture. That left a loophole for some dairies that would put cows out to pasture only during periods when the animals were not giving milk or would feed their animals almost exclusively on grain or other feeds.

The new regulations, which go into effect in June, are much more specific. They say that animals must graze on pasture for the full length of the local grazing season. The season will be determined by local conditions and agriculture authorities, like organic certifiers or county conservation officials, not by the dairy alone. While the grazing season must last at least 120 days, in many areas it will be much longer. The rules also say that animals must get at least 30 percent of their food from pasture during the grazing season.

Aurora, which supplies organic milk for the private label brands of several supermarket chains, agreed to make significant changes in 2007 after the agriculture department threatened to revoke its organic certification. Among the changes, the dairy agreed to give its animals greater access to pasture.

The new rules also apply to cattle raised for beef. In the case of beef cattle, however, the requirement that 30 percent of food must come from pasture is lifted during the so-called finishing period, which is when the animals are being fattened for slaughter and are often fed on grain. During that period they must still be allowed to graze, however.

Click here for full article.

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