Animal-friendly beauty favorites

My daily beauty regimen and products rarely change. After years of searching for and testing out animal-friendly products, I'm not exactly ahead of the curve on trying out new products or experimenting with new trends.

Recently, however, I've expanded my normal routine to include a few new things that I'm really enjoying right now. While none of these items are particularly cutting edge in the beauty the market, they are new to me and quickly moving up my list of "must haves" in my beauty buys.

Burt's Bees Lip Gloss: In the last year or two, I've become more of a lipstick girl. But for the weekends or my "I'm feeling too lazy to try today" days at work, nothing is easier than swiping on some gloss. Burt's Bees makes a really good, long-lasting gloss in a range of colors that are not only animal-friendly and earth-friendly, but are easy to find at any Target or drug store.

e.l.f. Face Primer: Face primer is still a relatively new thing for me. Most of the beauty experts recommend it, but when I looked at prices online for primers, they seemed ridiculously expensive for what they claimed to deliver. That is, until I found this primer - part of the animal-friendly line e.l.f. - which can be found at most Target and WalMart stores. And, at just $6, it's definitely the right price for creating a more flawless makeup finish.

The Body Shop Body Butter: I am basically obsessed with this stuff right now. The Brazil Nut scent reminds me of summer without being overly sweet, and the buttery texture of this moisturizer makes it super easy to smooth on after a shower. My skin has never been softer.

What are some of the beauty items you're loving right now?  

Veggie Burritos

A couple posts back, I offered up a few ideas for saving some extra cash on groceries to boost your budget for humane meats and dairy. One of those ideas was whipping up "kitchen sink" meals that essentially use up the inexpensive produce buys or already-in-your-fridge items in delicious ways.

Last week, our kitchen sink veggie burrito was on the menu, so I thought I'd share. One of the best parts of this meal is that it's so easy, my husband can make it. No ingredients to measure out, no recipe he actually has to read and comprehend, nothing. Just chopping up some veggies, wrapping them in a tortilla and calling it dinner.

Our burritos generally follow the same base formula, but we'll throw other items in if they're around and need to be used up. I encourage you to simply use this as an idea starter and then create your own based on what your family likes. Enjoy!

Veggie Burritos

 Ingredients:

2 bell peppers (red, orange or yellow), chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 can black beans

1 c. fresh or frozen corn

1 c. brown rice, prepared according to package directions

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 c. chopped lettuce

1 pkg. flour tortillas

Spices - salt, chili powder or chipotle chili powder, and cumin to taste

Cilantro

Green onions, chopped

Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

Salsa, hot sauce or Trader Joe's enchilada sauce

Directions:

Prepare rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, sauté peppers, onion and corn until tender. Warm tortillas in oven or microwave until soft and flexible, then build burrito with ingredients as desired. Roll up burrito and enjoy.  

Help fight the Ag Gag bill

Here in Tennessee, animal welfare has been a major news story as of late. In addition to on-going coverage of the abuse of Tennessee Walking Horses (latest news story here: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013304260097), legislators are trying to pass what is being called an Ag Gag bill that would require witnesses of animal abuse to turn over evidence to police immediately.

While it sounds good on the surface, the bill, if signed into law, would mark a major setback for groups that fight animal abuse. If you've ever watched Food Inc. or any of the other movies that show animal abuse, you likely are aware that this footage was captured secretly over several days and months, usually by individuals who go undercover as ranch hands to get evidence of suspected abuse.

This bill, supported by big agriculture, would effectively make it illegal for these groups to collect evidence over time to build a case, making it that much harder to expose animal abuse.

Thousands of Tennessee residents, including myself, have contacted Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam asking him to veto this bill as it has already passed the House and is likely to pass the Senate. National celebrities, including locals like Carrie Underwood and non-locals like Ellen DeGeneres, are also sending messages to Tennessee citizens and the governor to stop this from happening.

If you live in Tennessee, I strongly encourage you to be a part of fighting this bill by calling Governor Haslam or sending him an email. The Humane Society has made it easy by posting his phone number and creating a sample email: https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6037&s_src=A6047

If you don't live in Tennessee, I encourage you to post this link out of Facebook or Twitter to inform your Tennessee friends and show your support for the residents and organizations working hard to fight this legislation.

Want to learn more? Check out these articles about the bill:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130407/NEWS01/304070085/Bill-would-limit-undercover-investigations-animal-abuse

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013304230032

http://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/tv/tvguide/article/Carrie-Underwood-Tweets-Rage-at-Tennessee-Ag-4456424.php

Fresh Corn & Bean Fritters w/Tomatoes

As the weather heats up, summer ingredients are starting to find their way into grocery stores. The things I’ve waited all winter to eat are making their first appearances, and recipes that have been tucked away for several months are starting to surface again.

This recipe is the ultimate summer recipe. Fresh corn and fresh tomatoes are the keys to this quick and easy dish. This week, I found both at the store on sale, so a blew the dust off this one and got some of my first few bites of warm weather flavors. Yum!

Fresh Corn & Bean Fritters w/Tomatoes

Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

Ingredients:

4 ears fresh sweet corn or 2 c. frozen whole kernel corn, thawed

1 lb. grape or cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp. vinegar

1 ½ tsp. salt, divided

1 15.5 oz. can butter beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 c. corn meal

1/3 c. flour

½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. chili powder

Olive oil

Directions:

If using fresh corn, cut kernels from cobs; set aside.

Meanwhile, coarsely chop, halve, and/or slice tomatoes. In small saucepan combine tomatoes, vinegar, ½ tsp. salt, and ¼ c. water. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. For fritter batter, in large bowl, mash beans with a fork. Add corn, corn meal, flour, baking powder, sugar, egg, chili powder and 1 tsp. salt, and ½ c. water, stir to combine.

Heat a large griddle or 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tsp. oil. Drop four ½ cup scoops of batter on griddle at a time. Cook 4 minutes per side. Serve fritters with warm tomatoes.

3 More Tips for Buying Smart on a Budget

With tax season wrapping up this week, money seems to be on everyone’s minds. It would be ideal if money were no object when it comes to personal health, humane treatment of the animals we consume, and our impacts to the environment, but the reality is we all have budgets and limited finances.

Last year, when I first introduced the idea of making major life change in regards to meat and animal product sourcing, I also talked about some of the ways that I revised our purchasing habits to ensure our new contemplative lifestyle could fit into our budget.

Not much has changed when it comes to what we do and don’t spend our money on, but upon closer observation of what the average American spends grocery dollars on, I realize that there’s a few things we’re doing differently to keep those costs down.

In that spirit, here are a few more ideas for how to buy smart on a budget so you can splurge on humanely-raised meats, eggs and dairy this year:

1. Keep snacks to fresh fruits and veggies

Although fruits and veggies can be a bit more expensive than pre-packaged snacks, booting the boxes and sticking to fresh items can save big. I stick to items that are very affordable – carrots, celery, oranges and bananas. I generally don’t buy organic for any of these, which really helps keep the costs low – usually around $1 per pound – so my total spend is about $6-$8 for the week. We just throw several in our lunch bags and either eat them for lunch or spread them throughout the day if we get hungry.

The biggest payoff for this is that we are only eating fresh foods for snacks, which means we get closer to reaching our daily dietary needs AND our bodies no longer crave the salt, sugar and fat found in pre-packaged snacks. But from a financial standpoint, those $2 and $3 boxes of crackers, cookies, granola bars and fruit snacks all really add up at the grocery store – often to far more than my measly little $6-$8 of real food.

2. Reduce beverages to your top three

Beverages are one of the biggest wastes of money and one of the easiest things to eliminate to save money and a heck of a lot of calories and sugar. We drink three things in our house: filtered tap water, milk/soy milk and two varieties of juice (orange and tart cherry). There are no sodas, sports drinks, vitamin waters or sugary juice drinks. There is no coffee. There is no bottled water. Alcohol is a treat – we keep a few of our favorites tucked away in a cabinet, but no beer or wine unless we’re entertaining guests. I also keep a few boxes or tins of my favorite teas for steeping on the weekends, but no bottled teas.

For those of you having a heart attack at the very thought of giving up all your precious fluids, just take it in steps by eliminating one item each week or simply not replenishing them when they run out. And start drinking water instead of all that other crap – you’ll be amazed at how great water tastes when you’re saving tons of money and losing weight by drinking it. 

3. Make “kitchen sink” meals

When I have a week or month where I’m especially trying to save money, you can bet the menu will be loaded with things like soup or stir fry where you can throw in everything but the kitchen sink and it tastes delicious. Meals like these mean I can buy the cheapest on-sale veggies that week, use up the veggies I already have on-hand, go meatless or throw in just a ½ pound of whatever I have from our farmer, and call it dinner. If you get sick of soup or stir fry easily, try this concept with pasta, burritos, casseroles or omelets to mix it up a bit.

Saving money to enable us to buy humane has taken some creativity over the years, and some pretty intense scrutiny of our dietary habits and purchase behavior, but the payoff has been huge. I encourage you to keep finding good, contemplative solutions to free up extra grocery cash for those humanely raised eggs, milk and meats and share your tips here!

Potato Pancakes

Recently, work has been extremely stressful. I’ve been putting in lots of extra hours, missing lunches, attending work-related dinners, and having to skip my regularly scheduled exercise. When times like these hit, it’s amazing just how quickly my body starts to rebel, my overall sense of well-being really takes a nosedive and I just generally feel icky.

My main method of easing the situation is to retreat back into the things that are most comfortable (and controllable) for me. Usually, this includes majorly upping my veggie and fruit intake and going meatless.

That probably sounds really weird considering most Americans retreat to the cookie jar or the ice cream tub when things start getting chaotic. But for me, self-medication comes in the form of reducing or eliminating meat even more than I normally do. Meat-free meals just make me feel lighter and more energetic, plus it ensures I eat more veggies and fruits to help my body function at its best and fight off all the other nasty stuff going on.

Recipes like this one help me feel my best. Though I would hardly call this recipe cleansing, the all-natural ingredients, comfort food taste and texture, and lack of meat is perfect for these stressful times. Plus, the heavy use of potato (which we rarely eat) means I get a good dose of some vitamins and minerals.

Potato Pancakes

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

6 medium potatoes, peeled and shredded

½ c. finely chopped onion

¼ c. olive or canola oil

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Mix in potatoes and onion.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In batches, drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the potato mixture into the skillet. Press to flatten. Cook about 3 minutes on each side, until browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels.

Top with all-natural, no-sugar-added applesauce or salsa.

5 Steps to Select a Farmer

Spring is here, which means farmers and farmers markets are back in full swing with their meat and dairy offerings. If you haven’t made the switch yet from conventionally farmed to humanely farmed meats and other animal products, now is the best time of year to make that transition. Read more about how I made that switch here.

But where to start? How do you know which meat is the best or which farmer is using the best practices?

Through my own trial and error of locating farmers, both in Seattle and in Nashville, I’ve developed my own method for how I select who I purchase my meat from. Yes, it does take some time. And yes, it does require some research. But if you’re going to make the switch, don’t you want to be sure you’re spending your hard-earned money supporting the best farmer and eating the best quality meat?

Here are the five steps for finding the right farmer for you:

1. Visit EatWild.com

This website is a wealth of information about animal welfare and provides a comprehensive directory of more than 1,300 pasture-based farms across the U.S. and Canada that must adhere to an extensive list of production standards to be included on the website.

Use the search function to locate farms in your state, then narrow it down by your region, the types of products you want to buy, etc. For example, I wanted to work with one farmer who offered a range of meats instead of several specialized farmers. And I wanted a farmer who I could buy from online and have products delivered, or who had a stand at a local farmers market so I could easily pick up my meats. Convenience and variety was key for me.

2 Ask Questions – LOTS of Questions

Once I find a few farmers who meet my initial criteria of location, products, etc., I check out their websites (if available) and email them with questions. I ask A LOT of questions, and I expect good answers. My farmer in Seattle told me that any farmer who is proud of how he/she farms animals and has nothing to hide is going to be 100% transparent, and that any farmer who doesn’t want to answer a question is one I wouldn’t want to work with.

I’ll be honest in saying that slaughter methods are a big sticking point for me and I ask a lot of questions about their methods and request graphic answers. I believe it’s imperative that if I’m not slaughtering the animal myself, that I understand exactly what is happening to that animal so I have a comfort level of how humanely that animal was treated. It’s not comfortable information to hear, but I implore you to become educated – it’s because of sweeping this stuff under the rug that we’re in the conventional farming conundrum that we’re now in.

Here are some of the questions I ask:

Are your animals 100% grass-fed and finished? If not, why not?

How much time do they spend out on pasture/open land? How much time do they spend inside?

When inside, how much space do they have to walk, lie down, etc?

Do you use any antibiotics, hormones or other medicines?

How are the animals transported to slaughter?

Are they slaughtered and processed with other groups of animals from other farms?

What are the exact methods of slaughter? Why do you use this method?

I won’t go into the answers I’m looking for because some are graphic, but if you want to know what you should be looking for or why I ask a particular question, please email me at thecontemplativecarnivore@gmail.com.

3. Meet the Farmer

Once you’ve satisfied your curiosities via email, visit the farmer in-person either at the farmers market or at his/her farm. Every farmer I’ve worked with has been so transparent that I’ve been invited to his/her farm to see what’s going on there. The Tyson’s and Perdue’s of the world would NEVER do this!

Introduce yourself, explain what you’re looking for in a farmer, and ask some more questions. Just like the start of any business relationship, meeting someone face-to-face is important to build a basic foundation and some common ground. I usually ask them to tell me about their farm, why they got into the business, and just some basic small talk. Plus, it gives me a chance to check out how they run their business and work with their customers.  

4. Sample the Product

Once you’ve asked all the questions and feel good about what they have to say, try some of their product. Even amongst humane, grass-fed animals, you’d be amazed at how drastically different the meat can taste from farm to farm, processor to processor.

We’ve sampled a lot of meat over the years, and for us the biggest indicator of whether we will choose to buy long-term is the taste of the pork products. Bacon and pork chops are a dead giveaway for quality. We also try their beef and their chicken – though the specific cuts aren’t as critical for these.

If you’ve never tasted humanely-raised, grass-fed meat, prepare for it to taste different than conventional, grocery store meat. People often describe it as gamey. I grew up eating wild game, so it tastes fantastic to me, but it can be a bit of a shock for someone who has never eaten it. Also, it’s flavorful. Chicken really tastes like chicken, beef really tastes like beef. And it cooks up fast because it’s lower in fat and doesn’t have water pumped into it (yes, conventional farms do this to make more money off of you).

5. Build a Relationship

If everything checks out and you like the meat, start buying from your farmer regularly and getting to know him/her.

I know my farmer and his wife by name and they know me. They know which products I typically buy and how frequently I buy. They check in regularly to see how things are tasting, and know exactly when something isn’t quite right.

For example, one time I handed them my list for the month and they forgot to put an item in my bag. I never said a word about it, but when I came back the following month, not only did my farmer remember exactly what he forgot to put in my bag, he gave it to me for free. That’s amazing service!

I love knowing the people who help me put food on the table, and feel great about supporting the great things they are doing for our animals and for our community. Start taking the steps now to make this change in your life this year. Not only will you enjoy better quality food, you will be contributing to the welfare and humane treatment of God's creatures and the environment.