The Smoothie Vegetarians

One of the easiest ways to adopt a healthy lifestyle is to throw yourself into it. When it comes to becoming a vegan the best thing to do is to start cooking for yourself, but doing so can be challenging for those who don’t have the proper kitchen tools. But as a vegan, what tools do you need? These are my cannot live without kitchen gadgets for a vegan lifestyle. 1. Juicer A juicer can be super handy for many reasons. If you are like me and you bought all of those bargain bin oranges (even though you knew it would be physically impossible to eat them all before they turned over to the dark side) and now you need them gone, this is the time for a juicer. One of my favorite things to do is add a bit of fresh juice to a smoothie instead of water or almond milk (seriously YUMM). 2. Vegetable Slicer Honestly, I am chopping ALL OF THE TIME. Owning one of these has been a LIFESAVER. I like to do all of my meal prepping at the start of the week and cook from that. This coo...

Interested in moving to a Vegan lifestyle? Many people are really interested in the concept, but in practice, it can seem extremely scary to actually do. In order to ensure that you are able to get the biggest benefits possible from the Vegan lifestyle, it is important that you make some serious changes that are designed to last for good. This means that it is very important to start from the beginning and begin making some small changes that you can actually sustain for a long time.  In order to really get started with Vegan cooking, you need to start assessing your current eating habits. If you normally eat meat for every meal every day you are likely to experience severe problems switching to a Vegan lifestyle immediately. In order to get started successfully you should typically look for ways that you can start slowly. This would mean limiting the meat that you eat slowly and incorporating additional vegetables and fruits into your diet. To start you need to of course...

Regardless of if you go vegan for the sake of dining animal-free or if you go vegan as a purely dietary preference, here are eight vegan tips to keep in mind to stay properly energized and adequately nourished… 1. Discover New Proteins You can get protein sources from foods other than meat. That’s why a healthy vegan diet consists of non-animal proteins such as soy and tofu, beans, lentils, and quinoa. Nutritionists recommend a daily protein intake of roughly 0.8 grams of protein per each kilogram of body mass—which equals about 50-grams of protein for a 130-pound female daily. 2. Start Small Baby steps are a good place to start when making large changes to your diet. Nutritionists suggest starting small by gradually replacing meat in meals with protein-rich, plant-based foods so you can access any changes that take place—for instance, lagging energy levels or unbalanced mood swings. 3. Boost B12 Vegans are most prone to vitamin B12 deficiency due to the fact th...

When you get anxious, your breathing goes shallow and fast. Paying attention to your breath and focusing on slow, steady breathing in turn helps calm your nervous system down. That’s why these simple exercises work so well. While none of the breathing exercises I’m about to share with you are complicated, by far the simplest one is breath counting. Take slow and steady breaths, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Start counting each exhale. By the time you get to twenty, you should feel noticeably calmer.  Another good exercise is to find a calming breathing rhythm. Start by breathing in through your nose for four seconds. Hold your breath for two seconds, then slowly exhale through the mouth for six seconds. After a minute or two you should start to feel noticeably calmer. Keeping this steady, slow rhythm of breathing melts stress and anxiety away.  Another great technique if you have the opportunity to sit or lay down is to...

Meditation is something we have discussed many times before, it has also been one of the most helpful tools to help manage my anxiety. Click here to read  Why I Meditate and Tips for Better Meditation  and  Buddhism and Yoga Meditation ! Meditation is a great tool to help you calm down and get back to thinking clearly when you’re feeling particularly anxious. It can instantly calm down the overexcited nervous system and have you feeling more centered and ready to face whatever live throws at you. As helpful as it is in reducing anxiety on demand, it’s even more powerful when it comes to prevention. There are two components of anxiety that relate to the brain. The first is those random thoughts and worries that keep running through your head, and making you feel anxious. The second part is that as a person that worries and gets anxious a lot, you are using the amygdala, the part of your brain that’s associated with regulating emotions a lot. This particular ar...

If you've been reading our blog for awhile then you may know that I absolutely LOVE essential oils! I use them in my defuser, in my homemade skin care products, in my homemade cleaning supplies, and in any way else that I can use them! So, you can imagine my excitement when I found out that Simply Earth has an essential oil subscription box! The box includes 6 recipe cards that help you create a healthy and chemical free home for your family. In the box I received, there were recipes ranging from diffuser oil mixes to a mud mask! Most of the ingredients I needed for the recipes were included. The items that were not included were perishable items and they are clearly marked on the recipe cards. The box cost $39 for the monthly subscription, $45 for one box every three months and $49 for a one month box and shipping is free in the US! Each box is valued at +$150! So that is a pretty great deal! Use my code STELLAEVANSFREE to get ...

Last week I had the worst cold! I am not a fan of taking over the counter medicine, and I try to avoid it at all costs. This means, when I get sick I have a few secrets that I swear by to help clear up any cold I may get. It is also important to note that technically, there is no way to cure a cold, but these tips can help you feel better faster! With cold season quickly approaching us, I thought this would be a really good time to share my tried and true ways to beat a common cold naturally. Some of these things may seem like common sense, but I decided to put them in because the better you take care of yourself, the faster you will recover (or you may not get sick at all!) -Hydrate When you are sick, be sure to drink more water than you typically would. Your body is working hard and your body needs the extra water to get the "ick" out of you. The recommended amount is to drink 9-13 8 ounce glasses a day while you are sick. If you are suffering from a sor...

Hey guys! Today I wanted to share a super fun fall recipe I have recently discovered. Food is a major part of how my family spends time together. Every night, we eat dinner at the dining room table together. On some days it is the only time we are all together. I am lucky to have a family that is very supportive of my diet choices, but a month ago my Step Mom was diagnosed with diabetes so meals became a bit harder. We still ate meals together but sometimes we may be eating completely different things because of our diet differences. Recipes like this are super awesome because it is not only something she can eat but I can eat it as well. This recipe is os good that it most omnivores will love it as well! They will not even think to ask if they are vegan once they try it! My family always has a ton of potlucks and get-togethers for the holidays, this recipe will defiantly be in my rotation for things to bring! Overall, this recipe is super easy! Y...

One of the biggest unexpected pains of going vegan was replacing all of my beauty and hygiene products. It never ever crossed my mind, previous to going vegan, that there were items that included animal products. First, let's talk about the difference between cruelty-free and vegan. Sometimes people think they are the same thing, but they are not. An item can be cruelty-free but not vegan. However, for a product to be truly vegan, it would be cruelty-free. Cruelty-free means the product or the ingredients used to make the products were not tested on animals. Some companies have labs where they keep animals like bunnies, rats, cats, dogs, ect to test new products on to see if there are any negative reactions. These animals have a terrible quality of life, some of them have not ever seen the light of day. A person who is vegan, does not consume, use or wear any items that came from, are byproducts of, or harm animals. There is tons of debate ab...

I am lucky enough to have a family that tries to accommodate my Vegan lifestyle as much as possible. The other night we were having soup beans and cornbread for dinner, and my family planned in advance to make sure everything was vegan. For the Soup Beans, they replaced the ham broth with veggie broth. For the Cornbread, we veganized one of our favorite cornbread recipes . I had never really made cornbread of any kind on my own, so my Step Mother (Amanda) was nice enough to help me with this. She makes some of the best baked goods I have EVER had. If we were being completely honest, she took the lead on this. I helped cut up Jalapenos and forgot to wash my hands before I touched my face. If you have ever done that, I do not need to tell you how uncomfortable it is! Needless to say, I was not much help during this process. To make the perfect Cornbread, a cast iron skillet is a necessity! If you do not already have one, I recommend this one! Using a Cast Iron skil...