Category: Diet & Health

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Plant Based Party For The Planet

There’s no party like a plant-based PARTY!  We are thrilled to support the Plant-Based Party for the Planet: Summer Edition, which is raising donations for two incredible organizations, SupportAndFeed & Reverb.org 

Support And Feed is an initiative created to help those in need during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond in three ways.

  • Provide support for Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia plant-based restaurants who are suffering as a result of the current pandemic
  • Provide support for vetted charitable organizations & marginalized groups who have been greatly impacted by the crisis, such as children’s charities, homeless & domestic abuse shelters, food banks, family & senior centers, first responders, and hospital workers.
  • To raise awareness and educate on the importance of a plant-based diet for the health of the planet and to influence programs that feed those in need to provide at least 50% plant-based meals.

Reverb.org tackles the environmental and social issues we face, empowering millions of individuals to take action toward a better future for people and the planet by UNITING around the music WE love!

How Can I participate in the Summer Edition of Plant-Based Party For the Planet?

  • Make or order a 100% plant-based meal from your favorite restaurant
  • Take a photo or video 
  • Share on social media from July 24 – 26  and tag #plantbasedparty

What if I missed the Party?

If you find this post after July 26th, you can still play along. Consider incorporating Meatless Mondays into your lifestyle. You can find lots of resources and tasty recipes on their website.

The party always goes on! Support your local restaurants. If you’re looking for a local vegan or vegetarian restaurant near you, Happy Cow is my favorite app when traveling and looking for something new in my neighborhood.

Cheers!

TofuAlan

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Earth Day, Spring Flowers and Beautiful Buzzing Bees

Thank you Google and Dr. Jane Goodall for the Earth Day google doodle message.

“It’s April 21st and everybody knows today is Earth Day
Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday to whoever’s being born..” These lyrics from, Dramarama, always echo through my head when this date is near.

It may be argued that the date of April 22nd is the actual official date of Earth Day, but I have no need to split hairs on this distinction and strive to live every day like “it’s 1999″…. Wait, sorry, that’s a different song! As much as possible, I strive to live everyday as Earth Day. Our everyday small choices can create a large impact over time.

I have been a vegetarian for over 2 decades and being a quiet vegan is my simple way of being kind to Mother Earth. I love that many people I know have adopted Meatless Mondays, a simple step creating diversity in their diet and making their meals intentionally and thoughtfully healthier. If you haven’t yet tried this with your family, here are 2 “green” facts I found interesting.

If everyone in the U.S. went meatless for just one day we would save 70 million gallons of gas–enough to fuel all the cars of Canada and Mexico combined with plenty to spare.

If everyone in the U.S. ate no meat or cheese just 1 day a week for a year, it’s like not driving 91 billion miles – or taking 7.6 million cars off the road. (source: Environmental Working Group)

As a Southern California resident I understand our dependence on cars. Driving is a way of life ingrained in many of us who live here. If a change in my diet can help offset my driving miles, then I think of it as a small price to pay for the pollution I may be creating. I also try to limit my solo driving as much as possible and attempt to carpool when I can.

Whatever you do on this Earth Day, thank you for being mindful of your impact on our society and our global community at large.

I was visiting my dad earlier this week and when I walked up to his front door I was welcomed with a beautiful array of flowers. There were bright yellow daisies and a few noble purple ones decorating the garden.

Daisies and sunflowers always bring a smile to my face and can lift my spirits if I’m ever feeling low. Thank you Mother Earth for the joyous treat in my day.

Among the daisies were some buzzing bees. I have always been fond of bees. My first bee sting was in my adulthood and that was by accident. I stepped on a bee while enjoying a picnic in the park. I heard a podcast today about the importance of bees in the pollination of our food crops and the fact that it’s getting harder to do so because of the declining bee population every year.

I guess it’s appropriate on Earth Day to contemplate the symbiotic relationship of humanity with the earth and the impact we have on our planet and it’s ecosystems. It’s possible that our actions in decades past created an imbalance in our ecosystem through the extensive use of pesticides and fossil fuels. I love that there’s a social movement around the globe with greater importance placed on the preservation of the environment.

On this Earth Day I raise my glass to everyone who in their unique way is making a positive difference in our world. Thank you to the bees for their part in keeping us fed and to the flowers which bring sunshine and color into our lives.

Cheers!

TofuAlan