Good bye, Au Revoir, See you later Alligator!

I've jumped ship to Tumblr, y'all.

Eat Anywhere: Good Pho You

Good Pho You* is one of those places you can go to to not only eat decent food, but also marvel at all the little adorable asian things inside. This place may serve Vietnamese food, but it's Korean-owned, so you KNOW they've got all that cutesy Korean stuff all up in there.

But on to the food......this place is vegetarian friendly! When I went, I actually had a lot of things to choose from; but what I ended up getting was the vegetarian fried rice (Boring, I know. But hey, that's what I felt like!). And as you can see it's not only delish, but they give you SO much, I could have eaten that for days.

So yay! Go to eat at Good Pho You if you're in the mood for some Vietnamese cuisine without all the guilt of killing animals! Did I mention they also have frozen yogurt there too? Amazing!

*Note: I've noticed that an unimaginable amount of my friends have NO IDEA what the hell "pho" is. Granted, these are my mom-Asian friends, but still! You live in the valley, you ought to know what pho is! But for my readers who don't know, pho is a popular vietnamese beef noodle soup. It's obviously NOT veggie friendly, so many of the pho places I enjoy going to have other options.

Oh, and don't bother asking for vegetarian pho because the waiter WILL give you a weird look if not straight up laugh in your face -_____-

YOGA <<< important stuff, people!

I do not recommend learning yoga from Couples Retreat :)

Never before today have I seen my bikram yoga class so packed. Literally, we were like sweaty little sardines stuffed in that hot tin can of a room. Obviously a lot of people had "get into shape via yoga" as their new year's resolution. I'm anxious to see how many of them actually stick with it.

But stick with it they SHOULD. I really have a couple things in my life that I am completely and utterly passionate about. First is Buddhism and how awesome it is, second is the diva cup and how EVERY woman should use it, finally there's yoga and the amazing benefits it has for every single person in the world.

If you don't take my word for it, check out these two articles I found....

The first is from the Washington Examiner that talks about how Washington D.C. is looking to bring yoga to its trouble juvenile youth as a way to help rehabilitate them:

The District's troubled juvenile justice agency is looking for a yoga teacher, or maybe a tai-chi instructor, to work with some of the city's most dangerous youths. The idea for the new Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services programming comes from interim deputy director Barry Holman. Late last month, Holman e-mailed the agency's staff to see if they have "hidden talents that might be tapped to further our work with the young people in our care." In the e-mail obtained by The Washington Examiner, Holman said his primary interest was in finding among the staff an instructor certified in yoga, tai-chi, or another "mind-body connection discipline."

http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/01/dc-wants-teach-juvenile-delinquents-yoga-tai-chi#ixzz1AE2FLEeZ

Another article I found is about how many yoga classes in Columbus, Ohio are offering free yoga classes to the unemployed.

With national unemployment just below 10 percent, $20 yoga classes don't qualify as necessities for many out-of-work people who've pruned luxuries from their budgets. So in a gesture that's part send-good-vibes-to-the-universe and part community outreach, a handful of yoga studios have decided to cut the unemployed a break.

"We didn't want them to have to choose, 'Should I eat today or go take this class?' We wanted to give them the ability to do both," said Zack Lynn, a computer techie by day who teaches a free yoga class for people out of work in Columbus.

The Integral Yoga Institute in New York started offering free weekly classes last year when some students lost their jobs and couldn't afford to pay $17 per course. Now, a dozen or two jobseekers drop in for free sun salutations and other stretches every week.

"It helps to quiet the mind and helps people realize that this is a temporary situation," said Jo Sgammato, the studio's general manager.

Yogis say breathing exercises can reduce the stress of job interviews and post-stretching tea time is good for networking.

"You're not really thinking about other things," said Quinn Johnson, a 42-year-old former limo driver who started attending Integral Yoga's free classes earlier this year. "You're relaxing. You're stretching."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTp5DVv4Qisj9CFdbTFX-j1rBE6Q?docId=4d140ccf08a0495f9f55429d89b5afe6

Both of these articles may not necessarily highlight the importance of yoga, but it is putting yoga back in the forefront of people's minds saying that it IS important and extremely beneficial. I personally believe that yoga is the best form of physical exercise (but I'm also extremely biased about it hehe) and that EVERYONE and their mom and grandma need to do it!!

Car Culture: A History

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Here's Mad Men star Vincent Kartheiser talking about how he lives in Los Angeles.....WITH NO CAR. He's been car-less for four years and a vegetarian as well. Now that's pretty green if you ask me. He also talks about how he doesn't have a toilet -_____- [This video is about a month old, so maybe he's gotten a toilet now? Let's hope.]

But NO CAR??! IN LOS ANGELES? That's crazy! Trust me, if I could go sans car, I totally would. But the fact of the matter is, I simply cannot. I work at 5 o'clock in the morning five days a week, and I'd be hard pressed to find a bus running that early in the morning. Also, none of my friends live close enough to me where I could reasonably walk over to their place and meet them. And grocery shopping? The only place I've ever walked to and shopped was Trader Joe's. Everything else is too far where I am, not to mention too inconvenient.

I know, I know, I'm supposed to be all GREEN and blahblahblah (this IS my blog by the way). But the inconvenience that comes with not having a car in Los Angeles is not MY fault. It's Los Angeles'. Or I should say more specifically the San Fernando Valley. Or actually more specifically: THE SUBURBS.

Here's a little history: A long, long time ago in America, when the war was over and things were starting to look up for people, some genius decided to build areas that were just comprised of homes. These would be quiet places away from the hustle and bustle of the city where people could raise a nuclear family and live a happy life with white picket fences and a dog. People were happy, and more suburbs were built.

Unfortunately, the main definition of a suburb is "residential" and "away from the city." Because of that, people had to commute to work. Multiply that by the thousands of suburbs that cropped up around America in the mid-20th century and you've got a lot of cars on the road and gas being guzzled. Fast forward to now and you can start to understand why it's hard for suburbanites (like moi) to commute.

If I were to ever go car-less, the only way I could do that (and still maintain a decent living) would be if I moved out of this suburb and into a city where I could live and work and still have a social life.....OR if I worked from home, ordered in, and had no friends. I patiently await for the former.

So kudos to this Vincent fellow for braving the crappy public transportation system here in Los Angeles (although I'm sure it's a lot better than here in the Valley)!!

Vegan Beer?!

Enjoying some happy hour (VEGAN) beer at Gyu-Kaku! aka Budweiser :P

That's right. Apparently some beer is made with animal products!!!! Like, ew. It's kind of like how I don't eat jell-o and marshmallows because it contains gelatin, which is derived from animal parts. But beer? I never really LOVED beer anyway (I'm more of a cocktail or wine kinda chick) but now I have to be weary of certain brands??! What?!

......

Okay, so I did a little more research and some of those non-vegan beer don't actually contain animal products per se. It's more like they are filtered through products derived from animal products like gelatin. Some beers also contain honey. Since I'm merely a vegetarian, I don't mind the honey. But for those who are a little more hardcore than me, be weary.

Well fortunately, even if you're just a plain old vegetarian like moi or even just someone who simply cares, it's not too hard to avoid the non-vegan beers. Most of the non-vegan beers are from foreign manufacturers and are really far and few between.

Of the well known beers, Newcastle is the only NO-NO.

For a complete list of vegan and non-vegan alcohol check out http://www.barnivore.com/

Encino Farmers Market

The Farmers Market in Encino is a great thing to do if you've got nothing to do on a Sunday morning. They are there every Sunday from 8 am to 1 pm at 17400 Victory Blvd. Van Nuys, CA 91406 (the One Generation facility).

I'll admit, shopping at a farmers market is a lot more expensive than shopping at, say, Vons or Ralphs. But it's good to go to farmers markets because you're supporting local farmers, interacting with your community, buying organic food, and, along with a buddy, having a great time :D

So go out there, find a farmers market near you, grab your reusable tote bag, some cash, an empty stomach, and have a great time!

Eat Anywhere: Stonefire Grill

My favorite: Pesto pasta, garlic cheese mashed potatoes, and breadsticks!

Stonefire Grill is a Valley favorite, especially for those meat eaters. Apparently people can't get enough of that tri-tip :/

Fortunately for vegetarians, Stonefire Grill has PLENTY of options including amazing salads (just ask for no meat/meat on the side), pasta, pizza, and, of course, their amazing breadsticks.

So next time your meat-eating friends decide to go to Stonefire Grill, have no fear veggies!! There's plenty for us to eat to make us feel like we're pregnant when we leave the place juuuuuust like everyone else :)

Grill 'Em All........not Grille Mall!

Can you believe this is my first experience with a food truck? Granted, I have bought food from food trucks in LA, but not from these new age food trucks that garner huge followings on Twitter and are usually accompanied with a long line of people. So I was very excited when my co-worker Aaron informed me of a food truck stopping by near our workplace.

What's great about the Grill 'Em All food truck is the fact that you can get any of their burgers with a veggie burger substitute. On the menu and their website they say there is a $1 extra charge for that, but when I went and ordered the Samona Joe with a veggie burger the guy didn't charge me extra! (Perhaps he simply forgot haha) Some of the burgers do have bacon toppings, but you could always ask for no bacon. The Samoa Joe that I got has cheddar cheese, BEER SOAKED ONIONS (something they have on most of their burgers), pineapple, and barbecue sauce.

Almost our turn!!

The hungry people line of people behind us

Not exactly the best food picture I've taken

For more information about this food truck check out their site: http://grillemalltruck.com/

Bikram Yoga Newbie Here

I love yoga. To me, yoga is the best kind of workout, not only because I firmly believe the ancient Greeks did it to prepare for the first Olympics, but also because it's a complete workout that requires very little "stuff". Going to the gym is great but, to me, it seems like such a backwards thing to do. You have all your exercise machines for running, stair climbing, bicep curls, shoulder presses, blah blah blah....yet all those things can be achieved without a machine.

Yoga uses your own body, the law of gravity, and the law of SQUEEZING to work your entire body - with only a yoga mat and towel (which you don't even need). Why jump on a machine and spend hours of wasted energy, when you can do the eagle pose that works your butt, shoulders, arms, legs, and back all while just merely standing in that pose? (Try it, you'll be sweating bullets) Did the ancient greeks have the Bowflex Revolution Home Gym machine? I think not.

Eagle pose for your reference

The New Water Saving Toilets!

I recently went to the bathrooms at the newly renovated Santa Monica Mall right off 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica and THIS is what I see......

But at home, stick to "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down." ;)

Eatin' Veggie

Here's a recipe for a simple and delicious vegetarian breakfast...

What you need:

4 eggs

2 medium avocados

1/4 cup of corn

1/4 cup of sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)

1/4 cup of chopped olives (green, black or both!)

1/2 cup of silken tofu (chopped or smashed)

2 tbsp of chopped green onion

1 tbsp of EVOO

salt and pepper

your appetite!

1. Pour the EVOO in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, add the green onions and stir for a minute or two

2. Add the corn, tofu, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives and stir

3. Break the eggs into the mix and stir until the yolk is evenly mixed. Don't over-mix, unless you're going for more of a scramble. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. When the eggs are cooked, turn off fire and move to plate. Add the avocado.

aaaaand VOILA! A healthy vegetarian meal to start your day!

Happy eating :D

New crocheted hat!

How to become a vegetarian.....for men??

Earlier this year former Cro-Mag (I'm not even going to pretend I know anything about that band) John Joseph came out with a book called "Meat Is For Pussies" intended to be a "how-to guide for dudes who want to get fit, kick ass and take names." I stumbled upon it while reading Alternative Press magazine at work and was intrigued.

When I looked up the book online I was directed to a bunch of extremely negative reviews of the book, followed by equally pissed off comments by readers. I haven't read this book yet, but I definitely want to see what all the fuss it about. Most comments were directed solely at the title of the book (making me wonder if those commenters actually read the book from cover to cover).

Honestly, I freaking love the title. I think John gets away with a title that's extremely relevant to what he's talking about, funny and to-the-point, while also serving up a massive heap of sexual innuendo - which I like ;) I'll definitely pick this book up and review it in a future post!

Confessions of a Closet 80-Year-Old: Crocheted Beret

I finally got around to crocheting a beret for myself! I started last year when I stumbled upon a YouTube tutorial on how to crochet a beret, and since I love to crochet (thank my 5th grade teacher Mrs. Sanchez) I decided to start on it. Finally, one whole year later, my beret is complete!

The video tutorial can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPBRjGCQ6B8

This Is Why You Shouldn't Eat Happy Meals.....or McDonald's in General.

Stolen from Gizmodo.com (Go to the link to watch the creepy video):

http://gizmodo.com/5662271/watch-six-months-of-a-happy-meals-eternal-life?skyline=true&s=i

"Sally Davies bought a McDonald's Happy Meal on April 26, 2010. She placed it on her coffee table, uncovered, and took photos every day for six months. This video shows the results, which are quite scary.

180 days—and she says there were no worms, mold, smell, or visible decomposition of any kind.

Perhaps you have seen similar things before, but the fact that anyone can repeat this simple experiment, the fact that a burger and fries can survive through six months—including New York's fierce summer—is just scary and gross. Even more so than knowing how chicken nuggets are made and sterilized. Sally talked about his experiment to Good Morning America.

What I want to know now is what kind of technology does McDonald's use to create these things. Is a Happy Meal scientifically considered inert matter? Is it made of carbon-based polymers? Can it be recycled into jet fuel? They taste marginally better than asbestos, so it must be okay to use them to build houses.

I have no answers for you, but I hope there's a lesson in this for all of you, dear parents, would-be-parents, and I-don't-want-kids-but-I-like-Happy-Meals-anyway people out there. [Flickr]

This just goes to show how gross McDonald's really is. If their food can't mold after sitting out for SIX MONTHS, how can we trust that their food is good for us? It's so unnatural!!

I mean, this could be taken as a good OR a bad thing. It's bad because hello, it's freaking creepy and nasty....but it's good because this means food will never spoil!!! McDonald's must have discovered a super magical new form of preservatives that allows food to last FOREVER!!

Wait until terrorists get a hold of this stuff, they will be unstoppable. -___________- Yeahhh, I tried rooting for them, but I failed. That's just gross. Period!

Eat Anywhere: Cici's Cafe

One great place to eat, if you're in or around Tarzana, is Cici's Cafe. This place is ALWAYS packed - and for good reason. Expect to sit and sift through the menu for a good 20 minutes because the menu is packed. There are so many choices of salads, sandwiches, other lunch items, but most importantly, breakfast items liiiiiiike red velvet pancakes. Yum.

I ordered the tofu scramble, which is a great vegetarian meal if your savory tooth is calling. It's loaded with tofu, broccoli, tomatoes, brown rice, and this amazing vegetarian chorizo. I'll be honest, I had to Google what chorizo is and I gotta say, I'm glad they make a vegetarian version at Cici's!

There are PLENTY of other delectable vegetarian items on the menu (remember, belgium waffles are vegetarian). Keep in mind, the place closes EARLY (3pm Monday through Friday, and 4pm Saturday and Sunday), but they are open at 6am every morning, so go get your eat on!!

WORLD VEGETARIAN DAY!

My favorite Simpsons episode :D

That's right greenies, this Friday October 1st is.................wait for it......................

WORLD VEGETARIAN DAY!!!!

What is this magical day all about? Well to be honest, in my 8 years of being a vegetarian, I've never heard of this day. I knew there just HAD to be a day dedicated to vegetarianism, and I'm sure there's one for vegans too, so I'm not surprised to learn of this most special day.

This day is basically a day to promote vegetarianism. Being a vegetarian means a lot more than just being an animal lover. Most people don't realize vegetarianism is good for the planet and can help stop world hunger. Every time I get into it, I feel like a preacher to my friends. But i guess this Friday I can preach all I want! Woooot!

Here's an informative flyer from www.worldvegetarianday.org that briefly explains how going meatless can help the planet...

So in honor of the day, I challenge all you meat eaters to try going meatless for just one day. You'll notice it's not that hard, and you'll probably sleep better knowing you did something great for mother nature.

Greenasium: Turning Those Gym Rats to just that....gym rats

A long time ago I came up with a brilliant idea of turning gyms into sources of energy. I mean why not right? Thousands of people all over Southern California spend massive amounts of hours per week running on a treadmill and spinning on a bike burning all their calories and getting no where! Unfortunately, I failed chemistry in high school and really had no clue where to go with this idea. So I'm so happy to hear that in San Diego there's a new gym called The Greenasim that does JUST WHAT I HAD ENVISIONED! Read on greenies...

"The Greenasium really wants to be green. To do it, the new gym in San Diego is turning its customers into real gym rats.

The Greenasium , which opened Wednesday, has three specialty spin bikes that push electricity back into the grid, helping provide power to the gym and other electricity customers. Its the first human-powered fitness studio in San Diego, according to its owners.

"The bike's are retrofitted by a company up in Seattle that we work with called Resource Fitness," said Greenasium's co-owner Byron Spratt. "As the bike (spins), the wheel creates DC power, converts it to AC power, which is plugged back into the wall, which puts energy back into the grid."

Spratt expects to add elliptical bikes in October to help offset their carbon footprint to an even greater extent.

The 2,600-square-foot gym isn't completely human powered, at least not yet, Spratt said. Their goal is to be balanced, producing enough energy to offset what they consume.

Every three months, management will look at the gym's power-consumption totals, and then the gym will sponsor activities such as a beach cleanup to offset any additional carbon footprint.

The gym's green in other ways, too. Its rubber flooring is made of recycled tires, and the equipment has been refurbished to a near-new state. Other environmentally friendly elements include low-flow showers, dual flush toilets, filtered tap water and a no- to low-plastics policy -- there's no bottled water at the Greenasium."

Source: Harnessing the Power of Gym Rats | NBC San Diego

Friendly Treehugger vs. Psycho Environmentalist

After the James J. Lee vs. The Discovery Channel incident, I started thinking about what that whole situation means to me. Pretty much I just preach about how I'm not a preacher...

Flea Market Find!

I visited the Melrose Trading Post today on this beautifully lazy Sunday to get some more cheap ceramic plates. My ring collection has been slowly growing thus causing my lone ceramic plate to overflow with bling. I went back to the dude I got my first plate at and he gave me two more for 5 bucks! Now my rings and earrings have a home. All is good in the world :D

Oh and since I now have more room for rings, I bought 4 more for 20 bucks! Gotta love the trading post!!