Ani Phyo Tonight!!

I'm going to see Ani Phyo tonight at Powells Book Store! She is basically my raw food hero and can't wait to meet her in person. More on her later. :) In the meantime enjoy this raw taco recipe. It's one of my favorites!

safe sun

Here in Portland people tend to get really excited when we have sun, and as a result get sun burnt very easily. So I put together a fancy list of a few vegan sunscreens to keep your skin as healthy as your insides!

This sunless tanner from Nature's Gate is the perfect way to add a little glow to your skin during the winter if tanning beds aren't your thing. I'm a huge fan of their unscented lotion, making this lotion great to use whenever I'm not nursing a new tattoo. Just remember to wash your hands after application! They will turn orange, and no one likes that.

As a rock climber this Aqua block, also from Nature's Gate, is exactly what I need in the summer. When climbing at places like Smith rock, it's necessary to wear the highest protection of sunblock you can find so you don't burn to a crisp. The water resistance is a big plus for anyone who does summer sports or spends a lot of time in the water, nothing worse than sweating off that spendy sun block.

Food Fight grocery carries this sport sunscreen by Alba Botanica. Other local stores that carry vegan sunscreens are New Seasons and Whole Foods.

It's always important to take care of your skin after being in the sun as well, because everyone forgets sunscreen sometimes! Aloe vera is always a good option or you could try an after sun lotion like After Sun Face & Body Moisturizer by Aubrey Organics. 

For those of us who like indoor tanning I am sad to report that I haven't been able to find an indoor tanning lotion suitable for vegans. If anyone knows of such a thing please contact me! I miss my tanning salon. :(

[note: Even though I have been known to use indoor tanning, I don't promote indoor tanning because I know that it can cause cancer. If you choose to tan indoors please be aware of the health issues involved.]

knowing your meat

 This discussion thread from Oregon Public Broadcasting's (OPB) Think Out Loud series "Knowing Your Meat" was meant to stir questions about locally sourced meats and if there was any value to it. The discussion quickly spurred lots of rage and debate among the Portland vegan community (thanks to the ladies at Herbivore clothing via their twitter @herbivorecc), and rightly so if you ask me. The photo used to promote the discussion (as seen previously on vegansaurus) is so sickening and unbelievable. I could only imagine holding a dead animal like that if it was my cat if she passed away, not something I was about to consume for food. Naomi Pomeroy, the woman from the photo and the owner of the restaurant Beast, says that the photo is meant to help us acknowledge that the meat we come from was once a living animal. As an ex vegetarian herself, Pomeroy suggests that we should only eat meat if we can understand where the animal orginated from. I don't know about you, but that's why I wont eat meat. As with most vegans and vegetarians it simply seems ludacris to eat something that was once a living and breathing sentient being. The ethics of this woman seem very strange to me, I feel like it would be natural to create a restaurant that equally caters to vegetarians as well as meat eaters with vegetarianism being in her past. Instead on the website for Beast she says that "pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans would find it a challenge to enjoy our six-course dinners."  But what more could we expect from a woman who turned away from vegetarianism for the benefit of her business. To feel like she was still doing something good, Pomeroy decided to start sourcing the meat for Beast from "ethical" and "local" distributors. This being the whole reason for the online discussion and radio broadcast, finding out if it's worth it to only purchase "ethical" and "local" meats, and if so where do you draw your lines on that? I agree with Michelle from Herbivore, she wanted to know why they weren't going to have any vegans or vegetarians as guests on the radio show. Just because we personally don't eat meat doesn't mean we can't offer some valid points on ethical eating. Instead the whole broadcast was full of ex vegetarians calling in to explaining why they began eating meat because they could now get it from ethical sources. My question here is WHERE THE HELL WHERE ALL THE VEGAN CALLERS! I know there were no shortage of vegans posting on the internet discussion, but not a single one was on the radio. I'm worried that OPB screened the calls, or maybe no vegans actually called in, which either way is a serious shame.(According to the Think Out Loud  blog there were a few technical difficulties with the calls. I understand that a few off the calls were dropped instead of being put on hold, so I'm sorry if that's what happened to the vegan callers.) Instead I listened to someone who was a vegetarian for over 20 years describe how she started eating meat out of respect for her husbands avid hunting. 

One of the other callers (also an ex vegetarian) spoke about buying whole animals to have butchered for food for her and her husband. The caller said she wasn't ready to yet raise her own animals for food for fear of growing attatched to them. I think this sums up what is wrong with her meat eating. She's admitting she has a problem with the death of animals for food, so why try to deny that by continuing to eat them? 

Overall, I'm sad this radio broadcast failed to represent realistic ways for Portlanders (and anyone for that matter) to eat ethically.

I think I've found my new favorite online clothing store. Everyday apparel is the style of Urban Outfitters but with clothing that is 100% vegan and fair trade! Mainly I'm just in love with their shoes. I own a pair of the black "drifters" and they have quickly become my favorite shoes to wear. Admittedly they look just like Tom's, but unlike Tom's, I can purchase solid colors in vegan styles. You can even purchase a few of their styles at Herbivore in Portland if you don't have the time to wait for an internet order to ship. (I promise they do carry them at Herbivore, they just aren't on the website yet.) My only problem I have with these shoes is the fact that my feet stink pretty bad after wearing them. I think socks would help... but we all have to make sacrifices for fashion!

Yesterday I took advantage of the beautiful weather and went on a bike ride. After a few miles it became very obvious that I'm in need of a new bike. My 1980's centurion has a flat tire, squeeky gears, and padding that has started to disinegrate from the handle bars. So this got me thinking about how to invest in a new bike for myself, and make sure it's all vegan. I'm all about buying anything gently used (except underwear... that's straight up creepy) and Craigslist is always a great place to start your search for buying anything. Not all of the bikes are going to have vegan saddles (bike seats) but those are easy to replace. If finding a new vegan saddle is something you need to do lovely bicycle has a wonderful list of them.

This vegan option by Soma called the Okami is my personal favorite. It's aprropriately girly, and functional all at the same time. It also comes in a plain white or black if you're boring like that. 

If I could afford a brand new road bike I would get myself the Brava by Bianchi. This beautiful hunk of carbon and alloy is my dream bike, and if I'm not mistaken, even comes with a vegan saddle. It doesn't have the pedals included, but ones with matching paint are currently only $39.99 if you order them directly from Bianchi. 

booooooze

I'M 21 NOW BITCHES!!!!

well okay, I've been 21 for a few weeks, but hey, it's super cool still. In honor of my new found freedom I want to make it my personal mission to go to all of the vegan bars and happy hours in Portland (yes, even including the vegan strip club). Today I'm starting with the Bye and Bye, an all vegan bar in NE. This was the first real bar I went to on my 21st birthday. I dragged a few omni friends with me and we gave it mixed reviews. Some of my friends said it was a little "yuppy" and that they felt out of place amongst all of the hipsters. If you don't like hipsters don't come to Portland... or come anyway and laugh at them. My friend Alexa also thought the prices were too high. (In reality she was just upset that they didn't have everything to make a "long beach".) The first time I came, I only stayed long enough to have the "Vitrola," and sadly I can't recall everything that was in it, but it was delicious! We weren't there for long before we noticed many people with this monstrocity.

This craziness in a mason jar (so very Portland) is called the "Bye and Bye", so naturally I had to come back and try it for myself. It may look sweet and innocent, but this drink could clearly get you into some trouble! (especially at only $7!) It has a peach infused vodka, peach infused bourbon, cranberry juice and a lemon. After trying this drink, I have no complaints about this bar (maybe it's just because I'm kind of tipsy... oh well). The food is all fairly priced, even more so at happy hour, which they have every day from 4-7 PM. True, the crowd can seem kinda yuppy, but it's a vegan bar in Portland, what did you expect? I'm just excited to go somewhere where I don't have to scrutinize the menu or the drinks after I've had a few. 

The Vegan Guide to SE 12th st

I consider Portland to be one of the most vegan friendly cities in the U.S. right now, but on an even smaller scale, SE 12th st. might be the most vegan friendly street in this whole city. I didn't always notice this until I started making frequent trips to the vegan mini mall (which is located on 12th and Stark).

 [Black forest cake from Sweetpea]

The vegan mini mall is possibly the most ingenious thing Portland has ever come up with. It has a tattoo parlor, grocery store, clothing store, bakery, and a cafe. You wont find a single thing on that block that isn't vegan! I am proud to say that I have two tattoos from Scapegoat Tattoo and would highly recommend their work to anyone, vegan or not. Food Fight! grocery has just about anything your heart desires from vegan marshmellow creme to queso! The cutest vegan threads can be found at Herbivore Clothing, they even carry shoes now! If you start to feel hungry stop in at Sweetpea Baking Co. for a slice of cake, one of their sandwiches, and a latte. They even offer free Wi-Fi for those of us who feel like taking up space while we write on our blogs. (*cough* like me *cough*)

[courtesy of Portobello]

This is just the start of the great things that await you on your vegan adventure on 12th st! For a fun, fancy night out, be sure to make a reservation at Portobello on 12th and Division. It's an all vegan Italian restaurant that's open for dinner Tuesdays through Saturday. The menu changes due to the season and has plenty of options for the gluten free folk (you can find all of their current menus on their website). Some people might say the prices are a little high, but if you consider the quality of the locally sourced vegan foods, I would say that it's a bargain! I guess the best way to find out is by checking it out for yourself, just don't forget the reservation. The wait can be up to an hour for a table on any given night, so be prepared!

[the Potato Champion]

If having a nice sit down dinner isn't your thing then the food cart pod on 12th and Hawthorne is the place to be! I am sad to report that currently none of the food carts featured here are exclusively vegan, but you'll be able to find vegan options at just about every cart before you can say "I'll have the vegan poutine please!" (try saying that five times fast!) If you have never heard of poutine then make your way over to the potato champion right now! It's basically fresh french fries covered in a savory gravy and vegan cheese (be sure to specify you want the vegan one! You'll end up with a real cheesy disaster if you don't). Pyro Pizza also allows you to sub vegan cheese on any of their fire roasted pizzas. Once you've ordered your meal take some time to chill out at one of the covered picnic tables in the area and make some new friends or be all lame and eat in your car, I wont judge...
If the food carts don't seem classy enough for you, then take a trip to the Hungry Tiger Too. They have $1 vegan corn dogs and PBR. Nuff said.
No trip to SE 12th would be complete without at stop at Microcosm Publishing for a little literary fix. Granted they aren't actually on 12th (they are on 11th one block southeast of the vegan mini mall), but they are close enough in proximity to it that I had to add them to this fancy little list. Microcosm carries and decent amount of vegan/ vegetarian books and zines for your browsing desires. If your brain hurts from vegan overload (highly unlikely!) check out any of their other zines and books covering just about any random topic you can think of. They even carry those fancy stop sign vandalism stickers so you can get in trouble with the law.
I didn't think it was so possible to pack so much vegan awesomeness into such a few blocks, but thanks again to Portland, SE 12th will forever be my vegan haven and maybe it can be yours now too!