Displaying items by tag: organic

Saturday, 28 June 2014 14:06

Viewer of the Month: Jodi Hoberg

Jodi is a very sweet part of the Eco-Vegan Gal team - I love her kind, open spirit and it was so wonderful learning more about her journey in this feature. I think you'll be inspired by Jodi's story about how the vegan lifestyle helped her connect with her family and lose weight:

I’m 23, and currently reside in Menomonie, Wisconsin. I studied Technical Communication and recently graduated in May 2014—woohoo!

jodi horse riding

I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin with a couple horses, dogs, barn cats, and chickens. Horses are my greatest passion, and I’m fortunate to be able to work at a stable that caters to the dressage, eventing, and hunter/jumper crowds while I’m at school. I have two horses back home, Star, a ten-year-old Breeding Stock Paint, and Swayze, a four-year-old Paint/Arabian sporthorse. My family also has an eight-year-old European Crème Golden Retriever named Ryla who is very dear to me.

jodi horse riding 2

I, along with my mother, became vegan nearly four years ago due to the health benefits. My family has a history of health problems, and we wanted to prevent those same problems from happening to us. My mom discovered the vegan diet, and we began the process of eliminating animal products. At first, I began eating vegan because I agreed with my mom’s reasoning, but after doing some of the reading for myself, I started to eat vegan because I wanted to.

The book that fully converted me was The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. (A dense, but informative book.) Since reading The China Study, I’ve read numerous books on veganism and nutrition, in addition to the dozens of cookbooks my mother and I now own. The transformation that has occurred since I went vegan has been unreal—I went from a size 8 to a size 4 in a summer, and the positive shifts in my demeanor have increased drastically. After being vegan for nearly four years, I could never imagine eating the way I used to. 

jodi dog

Health has always been a part of my life, but until I went vegan, it had been on the backburner. Now, cooking is one of my favorite pastimes and all my friends know me as the organic-eating, vegan girl. (Which I find rather endearing while they consider it humorous.) A couple other tidbits of information about me: soccer is my favorite sport—I’ve played for sixteen years and love every opportunity to kick a ball around; I love to work out and be active; fashion is more of an addiction than a passion; and books—I love to read and could spend all day in Barnes & Noble.

Jodi's favorite Eco-Vegan Gal video: "My favorite Eco-Vegan Gal video is: “How Recognizing Your Personal Value and Power Contributes to a Better World”. I’ve always been drawn to inspirational quotes, videos, and people. Whitney is one of those inspirational people. This video nearly put me in tears because everything Whitney says in the video is true. Oftentimes, we forget how much power we truly have over our lives and the influence we have over the lives of others, and this clip reminds us of our power and influence.."

Follow Jodi's journey:

Published in Viewer of the Month

Product review by EvG team member Amanda Shea:

I am always on the look out for new healthy, great tasting bars, though as a gluten-free vegan, it can be difficult finding some that taste great. More often than not bars are full of preservatives and high in sugar. Thus, I was excited to hear learn about Taste of Nature, because all of their bars are vegan, gluten-free, and organic! Could I ask for more? Oh yeah, they're also made without additives, artificial flavors, or preservatives! Here's what I thought of them:

Published in Packaged Food Reviews

Product review by EvG team member Amanda Shea:

I am somewhat of a chocolate aficionado. I love chocolate, so of course I was excited to review PASCHA. The entire line is free of the eight major food allergens: nuts, dairy, soy, eggs, fish, wheat, and gluten. All the chocolate this company produces is vegan, and bonus it's organic and fair trade The prices of the bars are reasonable: for a full size 3.5 oz. chocolate bar it costs $5.00. Some people may think this is expensive compared to other brands but when it comes to chocolate you truly get what you pay for - the cheaper the chocolate, the more likely its been overly processed leaving out the richness of cacao.

Published in Packaged Food Reviews
Saturday, 03 May 2014 10:09

Matcha Mango Berry Smoothie Recipe

This smoothie is one of the best I've ever had, let alone made at home! Matcha green tea powder is one of my all time favorite culinary flavors, and if you haven't tried it yet it's 'bout time! Or perhaps you've tried it in something like mochi and you just didn't realize what was behind the delicious flavor of that scrumptious dessert. For those unfamiliar, matcha is bright, vibrant green, fine powdered green tea with a rich, sweet flavor. It is high in antioxidants and gives the body a smooth, steady stream of energy for hours. It's traditionally used by whipping the powder and hot water together in a bowl to make a tea drink, which is how the Zen Buddhists prepared it back in the day. Now matcha is common in fancy tea shops and natural cafes, where I get very excited to see it on menus.

Published in Recipes

It is estimated that 1 in 5 people in the US have dandruff, which amounts to approximately 50 million citizens. Yikes - that’s a lot of people struggling with itchiness and embarrassing white stuff on their dark clothing! Fortunately they can all breathe easy because this unpleasant scalp condition can be prevented and treated naturally through some simple lifestyle choices and home remedies.

Published in Hair and Nails

Product review by EvG team member Rachel Curit:

When I first received Tofurky’s Artisan Sausages in the mail, I knew immediately that I wanted to do something special with them. Why would I just eat them all on a bun when I could slice them up and put them on a pizza? Rather than treating them like the meal themselves, I set out to use them as an ingredient, just as I would with a sweet onion or bitter greens.

Published in Packaged Food Reviews

Product review by EvG team member Kelly O’Brien: 

Before Macro-Life Naturals sent me their products to review, I knew absolutely nothing about the company. A big box arrived at my doorstep and inside was a container labeled 'Macro-Greens'. Macro-Greens is a powdered formula that you scoop into a glass of water or juice, mix and the benefits are almost too good to be true...yet they are! Macro-Greens consists of certified organic barley greens and "a multiple system photo-nutrient herbal blend" (their words) that includes 18 Billion probiotics. I was ready to stabilize my blood sugar while gaining a whole lot of energy, so, put away all of my 'greens' supplements and savored this delicious drink every day! It's pretty incredible when you really start to realize the long list of benefits. Yes, it is gluten-free as well which was an extra added bonus.

Published in Packaged Food Reviews
Friday, 28 March 2014 03:00

Kaibae: Baobab Fruit Powder Review

Product review by EvG team meber Amanda Shea:

I am always excited to try out new, healthy vegan products to add to my diet. In all honesty, I have never heard of Baobab fruit powder before I received samples for Kaibae. I did a little research on Baobab fruit and found out it originates from Africa. The actual fruit is hard to come by; the next best thing is getting it in powder form. It truly is a superfood because of all the amazing health benefits.

Published in Packaged Food Reviews

Product review by EvG team member Courtney Rasbach:

I am a very active lady. Yoga, weight lifting, biking, crossfit, equestrian horse riding, dancing with friends...the list goes on! Needless to say I need a deodorant that can keep up with me. I also want a deodorant that is not full of harsh chemicals or is made by a company that does animal testing. Well I think I have found it everyone…

Published in Body Care

Product review by EvG team member Kelly O’Brien:

You are all in for a treat today! Are your taste buds ready to be stimulated? When I was asked to do a product review of Bhakti Chai my first thought was ‘What in the world is Bhakti Chai’?! I headed over to the website to learn more about the product and discovered a plethora of super inspirational information on this special tea. And after receiving samples, I have been drinking the Unsweetened Bhakti Chai with fresh pressed ginger & fiery spices each morning this week!

Published in Packaged Food Reviews
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