Tag Archives: veganism

Daily Dose of Green May Box Review

I am LOVING my mailman this week. Yesterday’s “fun mail” was the May “Daily Dose of Green” box.

This is a new subscription for me, so I was super pumped to see what was inside. The boxes are $15/month (shipping included) and contain “samples of natural, organic, green, Eco-friendly and vegan products to your door in attractive earth friendly packaging”. Yay!

They sounded a lot like Conscious Box to me, so I was curious how the two would compare. (You can see my review of my last Conscious Box [the April Mystery box] here.)

So much gold!

So much gold!

What I saw when I opened the box — it matched my dress! Neat.

Goodies!

Goodies!

My first real “look”. I was pleasantly surprised with how much stuff was packed inside the box. Definitely a good sign.

A... shoe?

A… shoe?

I’m not a fan of heels, but I suppose this is more of a flat. Zing! Aaaanywhoo… This here is one of those paper seed dealies that you plant and (supposedly) watch purty flowers grow. Cute, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

Poppy's powder.

Poppy’s powder.

Poppy’s Natural All Purpose Cleaning Powder Whenever I see “Poppy” I think of that episode of Seinfeld where Poppy pees on Jerry’s couch. Perhaps if Jerry had some of this cleaning powder… Ahem… So I’m actually kind of excited about this product. It smells minty and I’ve been looking for something “greener” to clean the bathroom sinks with. This may just be exactly what I need. Woohoo! Thanks Poppy!

mmm... chocolate.

mmm… chocolate.

Health Warrior Chia Bar Chocolate? Peanut butter? VEGAN? I’m sold.

mmm... more choco---soap?

mmm… more choco—soap?

Valenti Organics Dark Raw Chocolate Bar Soap Totally thought this was another edible treat at first. But nope. Soap. It definitely smells chocolate-y, and there’s even a chocolate chip poking out of the side of the thing. I’m just not so sure about using it to wash with. We’ll see.

Yep, lotion.

Yep, lotion.

Be Natural Organics Aloe Leaf Lotion No subscription box is complete without a sample of lotion. This is that sample. I do appreciate the pretty little bag it came in though. :)

Stuff for yo' face.

Stuff for yo’ face.

Aletheia Skin Care Products A teeny pot of exfoliant & a tube of tea tree face wash. I already have a face wash that I use religiously, but I suppose I could give these a whirl.

They really want me to exfoliate.

They really want me to exfoliate.

7th Heaven Moroccan Clay Exfoliating Mask & Bee Organic Body Butter I haven’t used a facial mask since high school, so it’ll be fun to try one out again. Plus this one is all natural/organic. Gnarly, dude. The body butter suggests using it on cracked heels. Heck. Yes. I have some seriously rough heels, so I hope this stuff does the trick.

A little something for the kiddos.

A little something for the kiddos.

Circle of Friends Chocolate-scented Shampoo & Melon-scented Conditioner A weird combo, but I guess kids wouldn’t mind. Of course, my girls are only 9 months and VERY lacking in the hair department, so hopefully these don’t expire(?) before they have a use for ‘em.

So that’s my first Daily Dose of Green box! Not bad for $15 (actually, I snagged a promo code & got mine for $10). I like that they sent such a nice variety of products and that most of them will get used. I also really like that they send you a profile to fill out to help them choose products that will better suit you and your family (Do you have kids? Own a pet?). Oh, and major points for the products being vegan. Saves me a lot of label reading. ;)

Want to check out Daily Dose of Green for yourself? Click my handy little referral link below!

Disclosure: I purchased this box on my own. I was not paid to review it. All opinions are entirely my own. Post includes affiliate links.

My new addiction / Conscious Box “Mystery Box” Review April 2013

Confession: I’m addicted to subscription boxes. Like, unhealthily so.

What’s a subscription box, you ask? Welp, basically it’s a box that you receive in the mail (usually monthly) that’s chock full o’ goodies. They can range from $10/month to $50+, depending on the company/products offered. Some will tell you what will be in the boxes before they ship, but most don’t (which is the fun part!). Nothing beats a good mystery box… Well, unless it totally sucks. haha ;)

There’s a TON of companies doing this now, so you’re bound to find something that tickles your fancy. I’ve seen boxes for moms/babies (Citrus Lane, Bluum, Stork Stack), for nerds (Loot Crate, Booty Bin), makeup lovers (Birchbox, Beauty Army, Pop Sugar), for pets (Barkbox, Pawalla), foodies (Love with Food, NatureBox), etc, etc… Subscriptionboxes.com is a good resource to browse a lot of the more popular boxes out there. A good tip is to Google reviews of the boxes that you’re interested, to see what past boxes contained and whether or not it seems like a good match/value for you.

The only box that I currently subscribe to is Conscious Box. (I’m hoping to add to my addiction soon!) It’s currently a top-rated box on Subscriptionboxes.com and is $20/month, including shipping. They offer eco-friendly products, including household cleaners, healthy snacks, eco-conscious gadgets, baby products, etc. Each box contains 10-20 samples/full sized products. There are 3 different box options: Classic, Gluten-Free, and Vegan (yay!).

The last couple of boxes from them have been a little… underwhelming. However, they recently offered a “Mystery Box” that they promised to be jam-packed with goodies. So I crossed my fingers and ordered one. It arrived today, and holy guacamole, is it AWESOME!

The Mystery Box, in all its glory.

The Mystery Box, in all its glory.

As promised, the box was PACKED with awesomeness. When I caught a glimpse of the macaroons, I knew that ordering this was a brilliant call on my part. Go me.

Holy mother of macaroons! These are AMAZING.

Holy mother of macaroons! These are AMAZING.

I might as well start with these babies, since they’re most definitely the highlight of my box. I’ve gotten them in a previous month and absolutely fell in love. Vegan, raw, chocolately macaroons that melt in your mouth. Need I say more?

mmm... clusters.

mmm… clusters.

I’ve also received these in a previous box. Light, crunchy *natural* fruit snack. “Apple Crunch” was decent, but the berry-flavored ones were a lot more interesting (better).

Aw, nuts.

Aw, nuts.

Almonds & soy nuts. It looks like the Soy Nut Mix is vegan, but the almond one has honey in it. Boo. Oh – the Mystery Box couldn’t be customized, so some non-vegan items were included, but I’m okay with it. Most of the things I got were vegan anyway. Woo!

Brownies n' coffee.

Brownies n’ coffee.

Microwaveable brownies! Sadly, they have honey in them, but they look tasty. The chocolate coffee looks pretty fantastic though!

Ooooh... decadent!

Ooooh… decadent!

This looks very promising. AND it’s clearly labeled vegan. I’m down for anything chocolate. Or cocao nib-y.

What? I can't eat this?

What? I can’t eat these?

And finally, the non-food stuff… Green laundry detergent that promises to “get rid of built up minerals and leftover detergent” and a lid that converts a regular mason jar into a travel mug. The detergent I’ll most definitely use, but the lid thing… eh, no. I don’t have any mason/canning jars laying around, so… Really no use for it.

So that’s my haul. Considering I used a discount code and only spent $10 on this box, I’d say that I made out pretty damn well!

If you’d like to check out Conscious Box for yourself, please use my referral link below. Happy box-ing!

———————————

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Click away! :) 

Oh, October… How I love thee.

Autumn is in full swing & I couldn’t be happier!

I’m sitting on my comfy couch, sipping pumpkin spice coffee, half-listening to Anderson Cooper as he kindly provides background noise. The girls are asleep (well, one is) and the space heater is kickin’ out the warmz.

Cardigans are an everyday staple now and slippers never leave my feet.

The house is adorned with candy corn lights, vintage-inspired Halloween decorations, and orange candles. Patient pumpkins sit on a kitchen chair, waiting to be carved.

Needless to say, October is one of my favorite months of the year and I plan to savor every bit of it! — But it’s already halfway over! Noooo!

With that said, here are some highlights of my month so far, via good ol’ Instagram:

Mike & I celebrated our 2-year wedding anniversary with dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant. From top left: Vegetarian vegetable soup, vegetable tempura, Asian pumpkin tofu curry. Soooo good!!

Chloe has been full of goofy faces lately. She’s definitely the more expressive twin.

Chloe-monster!

Sleepy Everly.

Picking out pumpkins at the stand near my parent’s house. Felt so weird having to buy FOUR this year!

We got 2 big pumpkins and 2 medium-sized ones for $8.00. Not too shabby.

Hanging out in bed with mommy & daddy, watching godawful Saturday morning kids shows.

Hope everyone else is having a fun-tastic October too!! :) Oh, and feel free to follow me on Instagram (username “veganwendy”)!

Remembering June, the month of non-stop eating.

I can’t believe tomorrow is the first day of July! – July!!

If Baby A continues to mercilessly kick on my cervix (the girl wants OUT!), it’s very possible that July will be their birth month. Of course I’m hoping to keep them in longer, but I’ll be 34 weeks at the end of the month, so it wouldn’t be awful if they came that soon. Plus, I really can’t wait to meet them! And be able to breathe/sleep/walk/leave the house again!

I’m way overdue for a “bumpdate” post, but I haven’t been taking many self portraits lately. Being on bedrest gives me no motivation to do my hair or makeup, so I’m not exactly feeling very photogenic these days. I’ll try to make myself presentable next week for a 30-wk update. No promises.

For now, here’s a little recap of the month of June, Instagram-style. (Where it appears that all I did this month was EAT.)

vegan pizza

I made a perfect vegan cheese pizza that I’ve been craving since it was gone, but Wegmans has been out of Daiya for the last 2 weeks. Boo.

sweet corn

I’ve eaten corn on the cob every week since it’s been in season. So good!

vegan burrito

Mike & I made burritos with Boca crumbles, Daiya, lettuce & tomatoes. Not the most photogenic meal, but so good!

Grilled Daiya, Tofurky & tomato sammies. I had this for dinner like 4 times in the last 2 weeks. mmmm!

waiting

At the hospital, where we waited 2 hours for a steroid shot in my butt. Not a fun day.

vegan cake

Piece of the vegan cake that my MIL made for me. I wish I had more left!

flowers

Flowers that I planted on our back porch. All pink to welcome the twins!

vegan cinnamon roll

Cinnamon roll from Christmas that I found in my freezer. haha It was still delicious!

baby clothes

I went through all of the baby clothes we got the other day, cutting off tags & getting them ready for the wash. So many cute outfits!!

See? I did a lot of eating. ;)

Here’s a bonus video of Mike testing out our new monitors the other night. I really hope our babies don’t sound like that…

It’s true: I’m the laziest vegan ever.

I have a confession to make:

I’m a lazy cook.

Like, super lazy.

Sure, like any card-carrying herbivore, I have a nice little collection of vegan cookbooks propped up on a shelf above my stove. I even have a binder full of recipes that I’ve clipped out of magazines over the years. And copies of vegweb recipes scattered here and there.

Yes, I’m fully armed with the resources & inspiration to create a plethora of yummy, cooked-from-scratch vegan delicacies.

The problem? Recipes scare me. More specifically, crazy long lists of ingredients: A cup of this, a teaspoon of that, a dash of some random spice I’ve never heard of, a tablespoon of the juice of an exotic fruit that you can only buy in Chinatown during a lunar eclipse…

So it goes without saying that the first thing I do when I consider trying out a new recipe is jump down to the ingredient list. If there’s more than, say, 10 or so components, it’s a no-go.

With that said, I bring you one of my favorite, super easy go-to “recipes” for Yummy Vegan Pasta Salad. I used quotes because it’s really not much of a recipe, per say… More of a common sense list of ingredients that can be easily swapped for other things — perfect for the lazy cook!

I make this for summer gatherings & my (non-veg) family seems to dig it. I whipped up a batch for Memorial Day & I’ve been enjoying the leftovers all week. So good!

pasta salad vegan

Not the prettiest picture, but yummy nonetheless!

Wendy’s Super-Easy Vegan Pasta Salad

  • 1 box of your favorite pasta (I used some kind of spinach/zucchini blend)
  • 1 lb of carrots (7-8 medium sized), sliced
  • 1 small can of garbanzo beans
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • a few fork-fulls (real technical here, guys) of sliced green olives
  • your preferred dressing of choice (I used Wegmans brand sub oil – sooo good!)

Boil the pasta, chop the veggies, run cold water over the pasta to cool it down before draining it & mixing all the veggies in. Add as much dressing as you like. Mix. Let it chill in the fridge for a bit, and enjoy! Bam! So easy!

Obviously you can throw in any other ingredients you’d like, and omit anything you don’t — except the pasta — that’s kind of important. ;)

Let them eat waffles…

24 weeks twins

24 weeks & kicking like mad

We made it to another milestone yesterday — 24 weeks!

So exciting!

The ultrasound appointment went well and everything is looking good. Baby A is now 1.5 pounds and B is a tad bigger at 1.6 pounds. Nice & healthy weights! Not bad for a vegan momma, huh? ;)

As usual, the girls were both kicking their little legs like crazy, which the u/s tech attributed to the sugary breakfast I had (vegan waffles, oj & watermelon). Oops. Oh well, they looked like they were enjoying themselves. You’re welcome, kiddos.

Baby A still sticks to one little corner of my uterus, while B stretches out and seems to have claimed the whole place as her own. She even poked her nosy head into the shot while the tech was trying to get scans of her sister. Such strong personalities already… Hopefully A will hold her own & fight back once they’re out of the confines of my womb. Either way, I’m definitely going to have my hands full with these guys. We better start thinking about a good spot for a time-out corner…

Goats & pigs & chickens, oh my!

down on the farm

Mike loooves vacations. Pssh.

Mike and I don’t take many trips. In the time that we’ve been together (since 2008), we’ve only gone to a handful of places, all of which were a couple hours away. He’s not a fan of long car trips. (Or, you know, leaving the house.)

Fortunately for me, Farm Sanctuary‘s New York shelter is only about a two-hour drive from Buffalo. A quite scenic, lovely drive!

Located in the beautiful Finger Lakes region, Farm Sanctuary is a great day trip destination if you live in upstate New York (or thereabouts). It’s also close to Watkins Glen, which offers some good vegan dining options, including vegan soft serve ice cream! Heck yes!

At the farm, there are plenty of rescued pigs, cows, goats, chickens, sheep & various other critters who are happy to pose for photos and give kisses. There are guided tours every hour, which are fun & informative for vegans & non-vegans alike.

I know I’m only 16 weeks pregnant, but I’m already looking forward to taking the twins there. So many great photo ops!

i fell in love with a baby goat

There were so many baby goats!

baby goat

Drink up, lil’ goat!

rooster

Such a pretty clucker!

happy pig

The piggies all looked so happy!

vegan

Indeed.

Avocado confessions.

Aguacate / Avocado

Today I am 16 weeks pregnant. My babies are the size of avocados!

AVOCADOS!!

Now, being a vegan, you’d think I’d be a big avocado fan… Natural, healthy, plant-based “good” fat – a perfect vegan staple, right? Right? Um… Okay, confession time:

I, Wendy Rose, long-time vegan & even longer-time vegetarian, have never tasted an avocado. Ever

There. I said it. I have no excuses… no legit reasons for my avocado ignorance. Sure, I’ve had opportunities to try it. Whenever I go to Moe’s, they ask me if I’d like guacamole on my burrito. Each time I respond with a polite, but firm, “No thank you”.

I honestly don’t know what my fear is. The color? Texture? Some creepy, repressed avocado-related memory from childhood? (The only thing I can recall about avocados from my childhood is the fact that “Alf” had an avocado tree in his yard… Unless I’m making that up… Anyone wanna Google that for me?)

I think it’s time to give Mr. Avocado a chance… What harm can really be done?

In order to change my anti-avocado ways, I have added “Try an avocado” to my list of “101 Things in 1001 Days” goal list. So, along with “Get my photo taken with Santa” and “Be called ‘mommy’”, I WILL try a goddamned avocado!*

*Would a tiny dollop of guacamole count? – I’m scared!

Behold, the beauty of bean curd!

sesame bean curdEver since I made the switch from vegetarian to vegan, I’ve come to embrace the yummy-ness that is ethnic food. At the top of my list would be Thai (tofu curry! veggie tempura!) and Middle Eastern (FALAFEL!). Sadly, my husband doesn’t quite accept the notion that non-American cuisine is anything but, well, weird. He’s definitely the ever-cliched “meat & potatoes” type of guy. I’ve tried to sway him in the other direction, and he has made some progress in the time that we’ve been together (he actually enjoys seitan wings now!), but he’s still a work in progress.

Luckily for me, Mike does like to indulge in Chinese food. Yeah, I know, what normal American man doesn’t? But still… It’s something.

Over the last year or so, we’ve found ourselves in a routine where we have it about once a week. We go to the same little Chinese/Vietnamese place every time – Red Pepper. They have reasonably priced lunch specials & bring you a complimentary hot pot of tea after you’re seated. (I love little “extras” like that!)

I usually get the same dish every time – mixed vegetables with bean curd or sesame bean curd. They have other vegan-friendly options, but I’m boring & like to stick with what I know is good. I guess I’m more like Mike than I thought… Dammit!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 50 other followers

%d bloggers like this: