Native Foods Blog

5 Reasons to Vegan this Week!

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

 

1) Luna Bars  The classic vegan food sustenance bar has created LUNAFEST, a "traveling film festival – by, for, about women – dedicated to building community, through the power of film and through the power of story."  And Native Foods Cafe will be providing delicious treats tonight, Thursday, November 17th at the Chicago screening!  If you have not gotten your tickets already, get them HERE!

 

 

2)  Vegan Marshmallows!  You can't go wrong with Sweet and Sara mallows or the Chicago Soy Dairy Dandies.  So get on it and whip up some s'mores... I just pop the marshmallows on a skewer and roast them over my open gas burner!

3)  Freakin' Awesome Vegan Boots that you can fold over or wear straight up by Big Buddha.  Snuggly, warm and very attractive... can you ask for anything else?  Order yours HERE.

vegan boots, vegan shoes, vegan food, vegan restaurant

4) Turkeys!  Cause they rule, they're super smart, social butterflies by nature and will talk your head off.  Plus, why would you ever want to eat one when you can order a Native Wellington from Native Foods Cafe?  The Native Wellington is a delicious puff pastry filled with savory Native seitan and seasonal veggies.  It comes with mushroom shallot gravy, serves 6-8 peeps and is ready in an hour!  Get yours HERE before they sell out!  And check out what the turkeys are saying about the Native Wellington:

 

 

5) Hurraw Lip Balm They're soothing, delicious and fair trade.  And they come in tints... you know, if you're into that.  My favorite is the Moon Balm, uber intensive night treatment, cause I forget to balm up during the day sometimes.

Being a Healthy, Inspired Vegan in Orange County: OC Vegan Adventures

by Kriss Young

Native Foods Cafe Contributing Blogger

After learning about the cruelties of the dairy industry and factory farming, I adopted a vegan lifestyle in January 2011. Being vegan is easy, especially in Southern California.However, it takes some research to learn how to do it in a way that is healthy and sensible. That’s why I created a blog dedicated to veganism in Orange County, covering everything from veg-friendly restaurants to nutrition facts, great beauty products and more!

Native Foods Cafe uses this photo courtesy of  OC Vegan Adventures

Vegan Eating

For the first few months that I was vegan, I would hardly eat out because I didn’t knowwhere to go or how to order. Luckily, that allowed me to try a lot of healthy recipes at home, including "cheesy" black bean enchiladas, veggie pesto sandwiches and roasted tomato soup. Eventually I learned that there many local places to eat out, including 100% vegan establishments like Native Foods Cafe, Freesoulcaffé and the Seabirds Food Truck.  Surprisingly, there are popular chain restaurants that accommodate the vegan diet as well.

Native Foods Cafe uses this photo courtesy of  OC Vegan Adventures.

Shopping

Did you know that Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Whole Foods and Mother’s Market each carry an abundance of vegan products, including frozen chicken-free nuggets, all-natural shampoo, bee-free lip balm and more? I didn’t think that finding these kinds of items would be so easy. I also didn’t know that Target has all-natural hygiene and beauty products, or that Sephora carries Urban Decay, a popular brand of cruelty-free cosmetics.  Check my blog for a list of my favorite products and where to get them.

Native Foods Cafe uses this photo courtesy of  OC Vegan Adventures

About Being Vegan

Since I am not a vegan-veteran, I feel like I still have a lot to learn. I'm slowly scratchingthe surface on important subjects like taking supplemental vitamins, eating "perfect proteins", supporting local animal-oriented charities and more. I am excited to share everything I learn on my blog, as I continue to grow as a person and become increasingly familiar with the different aspects of veganism.  For more information about being vegan in Orange County, including animal-oriented volunteer opportunities, local events, resources and facts, please visit my full blog at www.ocveganadventures.com.  I’m working hard to update it and add new information everyday. Thanks for reading and allowing me to share my journey with you!

 

*Kriss was one of the winners of our "Blogging with Chef Tanya" Facebook Contest!  We loved her Vegan Adventures in OC blog as it guides you through all the basics of the vegan lifestyle, in Orange County!

 

5 Reasons to Vegan this Week!

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

 1. QuarryGirl!- This mystical girl that rises from the depths of the quarry into the terranean world solely to seek and find out the latest happenings in vegan cuisine and then types up the good news for us.  Deal! Someone needs to write a song named “Ode to the Quarrygirl” Check out this good news www.quarrygirl.com or stake awake with her on Twitter @quarrygirl. 

2. L.A. Famous Chefess Goes Vegan for a Night!-Susan Feniger of Border Grill fame is having a 7 course veggie tasting menu that can be made vegan. Oh whoopdeedoo! They say it’s for one night only so be extra alert.  Though her regular menu mentions that many items are vegan or can be made vegan just for the asking…nice! Thanks Susan and thanks Quarrygirl for the info! www.eatatstreet.com 

3. HSUS Brings In The Bacon! -The Humane Society of the United States just brought in over $1M at their fundraiser gala hosted by Will Estes in NYC with an entire vegan menu created by Chef Tal Ronnen! The scent of vegan food around just brings in the vegan bacon too!! 

4. Vegan Cosmetics Shop-An entire whole shop opened in NYC called Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics  and you can also order online www.occmakeup.com …pretty pretty! 

 

5. CalciYum!-Easy and delicious calcium sources that naturally contain magnesium... Yummy Plants: broccoli, brussel sprouts, collard greens, kale, mustard greens and Swiss Chard to name a few.  When in doubt, eat sunshine!  

For some delicious vegan food loaded with calcium and magnesium, try the Sesame Kale Macro Bowl at Native Foods Cafe!  Native Foods Cafe Los Angeles, Native Foods Cafe Chicago, Native Foods Cafe Portland, Native foods Cafe San Diego, Native Foods Cafe Orange County

5 Reasons its Great to Be a Vegan Gal!

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

 

1.  Can't make it over to Native Foods Cafe to get your Watermelon Fresca fix?  Keep one of these Watermelon Punches, from Epically Epic Lip Balm, handy and your lips will be eternally grateful.  Fresh watermelon tastiness and super moisturizing pistachio, jojoba and almond oils keep lips moisturized and oh so kissable (if you wanna be kissed that is). And there is a nice bit of tint for your pout to boot!

2.  Crystalyn Kae has been designing some amazing vegan handbags for quite some time now... but she has just unveiled a new line of awesome lil' cosmetic bags (I love little bags!  My big bag is filled with little bags!  It is like a whole village of little bags in there!)  Get one for yourself... or they make a great gift filled with some delicious watermelon lip balm and ab fab MAC eyeliner... hint hint, wink wink.

3.  This amazing black vegan leather tote from Etsy.  JCrew is gonna be sooooo jealous.  And you can put a bunch of lil' bags in it...

4.  Pacifica is superb.  They make vegan candles, body butters, body wash.... and the scents are out of this world!  And now they have just introduced the Island Glow Beautiful Body Kit... (so you know... you can have a temporary glow... just when you feel like it) containing the following:

• Coconut Crushed Pearl Luminizing Body Butter 
• Coconut Crushed Pearl Bronzing Body Butter 
• Kona Coffee and Sugar Detox Whole Body Scrub
• Coconut Pearls Luminizing Lip Quench

Or you can buy each individually.

5.  The Volcolm Line of Creedlers, which is basically their way of saying sandals I guess.  Sometimes you wanna wear sandals but not flip-flops, and not platforms... know what I mean?  These are stylish and very summer chic.... just make sure to read what they are made of, most are vegan-friendly, but not all!  My favorite is the Piece of My Mind:

All Eyes on MAC!

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

MAC Cosmetics has confirmed that another of my favorite of their eyeliners is vegan!  This makes me VERY happy.  We already reported that the MAC Engraved Eye Pencil is vegan as well.... So to add another to the cruelty-free list is radical!  Now MAC, if you would just create a readily available list of all your animal-free products, or just eschew animal products all together.... you would seriously rule the school... as in the school of vegan make-up wearing peeps glamorizing the world over.  The MAC Ebony Eye Pencil is my favorite for lining the outside of my eyes.  

Dear Ms. Allen, 

Thank you for taking the time to contact us and for your interest in M.A.C. Please accept our apology for the delay in responding to your email. We sincerely appreciate your patience and are pleased to address your correspondence now.

 In response to your inquiry, the Eye Pencil Ebony does not contain animal derived ingredients.

We trust the above addresses your concern. We hope that we have the opportunity to serve you in the near future. 
Sincerely, 
Allison Cronk 
Response Representative 
Global Consumer Communications

5 Reasons to Vegan this Week

by Chef Tanya Petrovna
Native Foods Cafe

1. Whole Foods Organic Cherry Sale-Friday July 8th. Cherries are vegan!

 

2. Lots of choices in vegan make up and beauty care products at White Rabbit Beauty. Nothing has to die for you to live beautifully.

 

 

3.Veganaise-The great vegan mayonnaise product that beats out popular brands of non-vegan mayo all the time. They can also use it to help clean oil off of sea turtles (new use!) and it is available at regular grocery stores now.

 
At Native Foods Cafe, we love both vegenaise and sea turtles!

 

4. Vegan Sandwich Options-Yes at Native Foods Cafe they are plentiful, but there are even others now as well... Check out this mouth-watering Huffington Post article!

 The BBQ Love Burger at Native Foods Cafe ....limited time!   MMMMM!

 

5.Vegan Drinks- Groups that meet up all over the country where vegans bring non vegan friends to learn (or not) and chat it up. Find one in your area and do the vegan boogie with some new buddies.   Check out Vegan Chicago for some cool vegan meet-ups in the Windy City.

 

 

Vegan Beauty Product of the Week!

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved (which is super black) is one of my most favoritest liners EVER.  I use it on the inner-part on my eye... which some people frown upon... but hey, they are my eyes!  I can do what I want with them.  It is softer than the traditional pencil liners and it has a magnificent staying power... all day long baby.  

I wrote lots of emails to MAC inquiring about the animal ingredients in their products. With MAC, you have to submit a separate inquiry for each product... so I submitted quite a few and have only heard back about this one... But it is vegan!!!  Here is the e-mail reponse they sent:

Dear Holladay, 
Thank you for taking the time to contact us and for your interest in M.A.C. Please accept our apology for the delay in responding to your email. We sincerely appreciate your patience and are pleased to address your correspondence now.
In response to your inquiry, the Powerpoint Eye Pencil Engraved does not contain animal derived ingredients.
We trust the above addresses your concern. We hope that we have the opportunity to serve you in the near future. 
Sincerely, 
Melina McPhee 
Response Representative
Global Consumer Communications 

Eyeball!!!  Soft but intense edge around the eye... Love the Engraved!

Munching in Munich: the Airport Food Report

Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

 

If all airports could be like Munich, no one would ever leave the airports! It's a super-modern, easy to get around airport and even boasts a prayer/meditation room… so it is actually a stress free zone! NO ONE cares if they miss a flight.  It's actually a bonus to hang around here. Top food and restaurants abound as well as shopping and you can have your makeup done at the Bobbi Brown stand (which by the way Holladay is working on a compilation of which products they sell that are vegan all the way).

Fresh Veggies in the Munich Airport... Now this is the way to travel!!!

And it just gets better with the food selections. Here's a shot of a salad station, mound some of that on your plate and choose between three different kinds of infused oils and vinegars. There are also more choices of grilled vegetables, olives, nuts, dried fruits and that is just one place.

 

Then go get a freshly baked roll with sunflower seeds that pops fresh and light but crusty in your mouth with a little spicy mustard, or sweet mustard, or regular mustard and you've got a meal, and I haven't even mentioned the beer yet! 

 

Ach de liebe!

 

Buttafly Jonez Homemade Vegan Body Butters!

By Kaharra Harbour

Guest Blogger, Native Foods Regular!

 

Peace, I'm Buttafly Jonez. I want y’all to know about the love and dedication that goes into each and every single jar and container of Buttafly Jonez Body and Hair products. I began creating body butter to start in 2006. I used to go to places like Bath and Body Works all the time and realized that my skin was becoming irritated by all the chemicals that they put into their sprays and lotions. My skin never healed, the dry skin was just covered up. I began to seek natural products and found that I was breaking my bank account just to have healthier skin, and all it really was.. was "thick lotion" and not real body BUTTER. I began going to farmer's markets and different fairs and found butters that were just "ok" and decided to start making my own. 6 formulas and 4 years later.. I have the purrrfect, paraben free (preservative) Phalate free (hormone) all natural body butter using no mineral oils or petroleum jellies (which just sit on top of your skin and never gets absorbed and is a bi product of crude oil.. eeewww) and are Animal Friendly.

 

I use it absolutely everyday... and my skin no longer gets ashy, or dry patches if I do not apply it. Buttafly Jonez Co. body products have actually healed mine, and my customers, family, and friends’ skin from irritations, and has made a natural glow on our skin. God gave me the formula to Buttafly Jonez Body products. He is the inspiration to my life and to my business. I feel like God wants everyone to have healthy skin, nails, and hair. Main Ingredients that I use in my products are Coco, Shea, Mango, Apricot Kernel, Coconut butters and OIive oils. These are VERY expensive and high quality products. Luckily, this is my hobby, so my goal is to spread more love and healing than gain of profit on my products.

 
 

Everyday life experiences are the inspirations for my products. For example, friends and family will tell me what they want and I will create it. My good girlfriend Dionne, who is also an authorized seller of the products wanted some butter for her face, so I created a successful face line for sufferers of Acne and for gentle faces. Another time, Dionne and I met Holladay at Native Foods Café in Westwood. We were in the middle of handling business and Dionne called Holladay over to smell some Buttafly Jonez Body Butter. Holladay said that it smelled really good and went on to describe her signature fragrances that she likes to blend. The blend of Patchouli, Coconut and Lime sounded awesome so I asked her if I can create a similar scent and call it “Holladay”. She agreed and it is the featured fragrance for September on our website www.buttaflyjonez.com. I also make Dred Jewelz for our wonderful Dread Lock wearers out there.

 
 By the way, Dionne enjoyed the Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger with a side of steamed organic Kale. I had the Portobello and Sausage Burger with Cheddar and a side of Native Fries. That was Dionne’s first night there, and man did she enjoy it. She’s not a Vegan and was absolutely raving about the Native Foods Café. Dionne ended up ordering dessert and an extra dish to take home in our cute little Native Foods tote bags. What a wonderful night that was. Thanks for reading.

You can find Kaharra's fabulous body butters at the link below.  Thanks Kaharra!

http://www.buttaflyjonez.com/

THE STORY OF COSMETICS-a great documentoonary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq000AF1i8

 

 

I'm not sure what you call a documentary in the form of a cartoon but "documentoonary" sounds like it may be a word in a Cajun dictionary, but this spicy documentary comes from Annie Leonard author of The Story of Stuff, another great documentoonary.

 

This ties in great with Native Holladay's blog on vegan cosmetics as this is about what's in the common stuff we put on. Cause what we put on, goes in and goes out and so it goes. We've been hearing about lead in lipstick that is an approved ingredients but how much of that shampoo you are using is really herbal, or was it what was being smoked by the folks that were printing the labels! Learn about Pinkwashing where the women's health issue is being promoted on labels with ingredients that promote cancer, absolutely wild. If you want to be wild women, run with the wolves, not the skin whiteners.

 

Watch this quick clip and pass it on, plan a viewing party at your casa and in the meantime gain a personal relationship with your deodorant.

 

Eat Peace,

Chef Tanya

Native Foods Café Founder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq000AF1i8