Displaying items by tag: review

It's almost that time of year we all dread - bathing suit season. Though we know it's coming, it always seems to creep up on us and suddenly we've run out of time to whip ourselves into shape. You can try intense liquid-based cleanses, diet pills, and 20 minutes on the elliptical each day - or you can find an exercise class that will kick your butt. If you live in Los Angeles and can make it over to Marina Del Ray, I've got just the place for you.

I love Google Analytics. It's an amazing tool that shows website owners practically everything about the traffic coming to their site. And not in a creepy way, it's actually very useful. I'm always most fascinated with the ways people have discovered my site. Today I looked at the Top 50 keywords used to find my site and thought I'd put them in a post to help others find what they're looking for faster. If this is your first time here, Welcome to Eco-Vegan Gal!

I've had my eye on Justin's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups for a while, but for some reason I never bought them. Perhaps it was the price: $1.99 for 2 small cup seemed a little steep. However, I decided to treat myself when I spotted them at Whole Foods today.

Most women (and some men) spend a lot of time styling their hair - spending lots of money and time on hair cuts and products. Unfortunately, these beauty routines aren't very eco-friendly or healthy, as the products as often full of harmful chemicals. This probably isn't new information to you, so perhaps you use organic products. However, you may not know this: most hair dryers give off as much radiation as a microwave - YIKES!

While shopping at Co-Opportunity this evening I stopped at their beer section to see what gluten-free beers they had. The entire selection is very modest, and after a quick scan I didn't see any of the GF drinks that I often find in Whole Foods. I was upset for a moment - how could my favorite market not have gluten-free beer? However, during my second scan my eyes landed on a bright label with some of my favorite works: gluten-free. I grabbed a 12 oz of New Grist and decided to give it a shot.

As I write this post, there's a cool party happening in L.A. to celebrate the launch of the new book Meat Is For Pussies by Cro-mags vocalist John Joseph. Unfortunately I'm missing it because I'm out of town, but I've heard rave reviews.

Last night while dining at Candle Cafe in NYC, I saw a copy of the book with the word "pussy" covered up by a bunch of grawlixes. I thought that was pretty funny because I'm not offended by the title. Though I rarely use profanities, I'm usually not bothered when other people say them - it's just part of the language sometimes. In the case of this book, I'm glad the word "pussy" is used because it is attention grabbing. Much like "Skinny Bitch", people will pick up this book and want to read the description or first page. Or, if offended, they'll talk about their feelings to other people, which gives it more publicity; it really can't go wrong in my opinion.

Avoiding gluten in food has been much easier than I thought it was going to be, but I didn't expect to find it in beauty products. Turns out, much like animal products, gluten sneaks into some of the oddest places. If you are seriously sensitive or allergic to gluten this will be a big problem:

Gluten sensitivity is a systemic immune reaction to gluten anywhere in the body, not just that entering the body via the gut. Therefore, topically applied lotions, creams, shampoos, etc. containing gluten would indeed provide a source of gluten to the body (Celiac.com)

Following the gluten-free diet may seem daunting, but it's easier than you might think and completely worth a shot. You can enjoy many fun foods, like pizza, ice cream, and all sort of baked goods. A great example is Purely Elizabeth, which offers lots of baking mixes. I was really excited to try the Perfect Pancake Mix, but unfortunately I had a hard time with them - they fell apart in the pan and didn't look very pretty. However, they tasted delicious - very hearty and satisfying. The mix is sugar free, so you can add your favorite sweetener (agave is suggested). I'm definitely willing to give them another go - maybe I'll try a different type of oil, egg replacement, pan, or add more liquid.