Miami Vegan Blog

Who knew veganism could be smokin'! This guy is an Ultimate Fighter who has been vegan since 2004.

I got to the point where I was sick of eating chicken. It started grossing me out for some reason. I was about a month out from a fight and I decided I was going to cut out all meat. I was working with a trainer who was vegan and he helped me make the switch. I won that fight and went on a 12-fight winning streak. And [not eating meat] made it really easy to cut weight for that fight.

Vegan Men are so delicious! =)

Read more @ [ecorazzi.com]

Labels: ecorazzi, mac danzig, ufc, vegan

Kathy Freston's Comments: Remember, if you slip, it's okay. You are leaning into a clean and conscious diet; no need to force yourself into something that is terribly uncomfortable. Do the best you can, taking baby steps until you feel comfortable and ready to embrace it wholeheartedly.

Week 1 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Labels: blog, oprah, vegan

Vegan preschool builds its own garden
BellaVita had a farm

By Melanie M. Sidwell
Longmont Times-Call

LONGMONT — BellaVita School has taken its vegan menu into the hands of its students.

The Longmont preschool at 641 Terry St. has created a community garden behind its building. The hope is to grow 5 percent of the school’s food there, owner Rachel Frisius-Henderson said.

Parents, teachers and the children have been working on the garden this spring.

“We found worms!” Dylan Knipe, 3, exclaimed as the children came in from a morning of hard work on their garden May 15.

So far, they have turned their backyard into a tilled plot with compost, with raised plant beds and a path, Frisius-Henderson said. On May 15, they planted seeds and plants, most of which were donated.

The school also received a grant from the Beanstalk Foundation, she said.

BellaVita planted tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, squash, watermelon, strawberries, herbs, peas, spinach, kale, potatoes, sunflowers and carrots, Frisius-Henderson said. Two honey crisp apple trees also were planted on the school’s front lawn.

The preschool buys most of its food supplies from Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers, Frisius-Henderson said.

“We’re all learning together how to plant and how to grow our own food,” she said. “One little girl said, ‘I used to think tomatoes were just in the store, but now I know they grow on plants!’”

[Source]

Three amazing things happened to me in the last week.

#1 - A vegan friend that I hadn't seen in a very long time showed up to a place I was. Moments before seeing her, I got a chill down my neck. In the past, this is how she described what it felt like when she knew I was nearby. I never understood it until she walked right in front of me on her way to say hello to someone else. I called her name and she was so shocked. We laughed for several minutes nonstop because we live so far apart, but still found our way to each other.

#2 - I was talking with a vegan friend about a vegan person that wanted to meet me. Within five minutes this person randomly called to say they were coming where we were. When he showed up, it was like speaking with someone I've known for years. Same philosophy. I also found out from his girlfriend that he and I became vegan the same way. An instant disgust for eating chicken.

#3 - I hadn't heard from this vegan man that I've been wanting to talk to. Today, I re-read an email message that I sent to him a long time ago. I wondered why I hadn't heard from him, but then I just let it go. I went out for several hours and when I came back, he had written me.

Being vegan tunes you into a channel or frequency that normally floats above most people's heads. Not to put anyone down, but being vegan is like nothing else in the world. However, people that are vegan for diet alone for some reason don't get that experience. It has to be an extra commitment to loving animals, choosing to do no harm and loving every sentient being, even with their faults that allows you to graduate to this special place. It's a small club, but as time goes by, I realize that it's meant to be that way. It's only for people that want it. I know vegan people that could care less about animals and people in general. They aren't tuned into the channel, they just want to lose weight or just want to feel superior to others. I call these "diet vegans". They are still vegans just not pure, in my opinion.

Anyway, I'm grateful I have the thing, whatever "it" is, that keeps me here. This is my identity and I'd be lost without it. =)

~inga~

Labels: art of food, downtown miami, miami, raw food

Well, I feel like I got baptized in Vegan Land today. Kathy Freston sent her chef, Tal Ronnen, to help me and three friends at Harpo who are doing the 21-day cleanse.

Wow, wow, wow! I never imagined meatless meals could be so satisfying. I had been focused on what I had to give up—sugar, gluten, alcohol, meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese. "What's left?" I thought. Apparently a lot. I can honestly say every meal was a surprise and a delight, beginning with breakfast—strawberry rhubarb wheat-free crepes. — Oprah

[Check out her blog]

The only sad part is that after 21 days if she decides to eat meat again, she is going to get sick as a dog. Then she'll blame it on the vegan diet, which actually it's her body's way of telling her, "No! Don't do it ... we were doing so good." Good Luck Oprah. You definitely won't ever have a weight problem if you're vegan, that's for sure.

Are you vegan/vegetarian? Are you very/kinda rich? Well if you answered yes to both of those questions then keep on reading (if you didn’t, don’t worry, you can keep reading too).

Documentary filmmaker Eric Prescott in association with the International Humanities Center and the Boston Vegan Association is trying to produce I’m Vegan, a ”series of short documentary profiles featuring vegans from all walks of life, produced with an eye toward addressing preconceived notions about vegans and veganism”.

[Read more @ ecorazzi.com]

I wish I had some money ... but I'm just a starving artist! Not starving but not rich ... =) yet! I love this guy Parrish on ecorazzi.com .. he is always promoting vegan topics on that blog.

I was born an artist. Playing in the yard as a child, I remember sculpting with mud, sharing my stories with snakes, tarantulas, and willow trees: ever since, I have utilized nature to express my opinions about art, politics, current events, sex, relationships.... While learning to walk naked in diapers, I heard music... I instantly started to dance and danced better than I walked. Everything creative flows strongly through my blood...

[CarsonCase.com]

And perhaps this explains why...

I fit in anywhere & nowhere. …I cannot be defined by any construct. ... I know who I am .... I will learn to do anything to accomplish my goals...and I have, but I love to collaborate with greatness.... I am a survivor, a fighter & a great lover ... I am a giver of love to the world ... I am an artist, a musician, a scientist, a poet, a philosopher, a teacher, a prophet, a dreamer, a daredevil, a warrior for truth, a unicorn, ...

How to get Protein in a Vegan Diet -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

I get asked this question more times than I care to admit. "How do vegans get their protein?" Doing ... :-P

This video should wrap that up!

Labels: deficiency, protein, veganism, vegans

Pitch Black is one of my favorite DJ/Producer groups.

If you want to travel somewhere very far into your mind ... download this song.

http://www.pitchblack.co.nz/downloads/soliton_lo.mp3

You can [Right-click] and save or [Click] and listen to it.

Close your eyes ... take that journey... don't be surprised if you don't come back ... =)

Buy their CD or mp3s because they're AWESOME!

~inga~

[Their Website]

Labels: art of food, miami, raw, raw food, vegan

I am doing some serious maintenance on my website. This site may be down for the next 48 hours ... or not?



~inga~

As promised, here is a video of Cinco de Mayo @ Whole Foods with me as the DJ.

Grocery Store Employees Dancing

Labels: dancing, employees, fun, whole foods, wild oats

Butternut Squash Soup w/ Lentil Burger & Avocado

I don't shop at Whole Foods very often. But when I DJ there, I grab a couple things. I found this Butternut Squash soup and Lentil Burger that just happened to be vegan. I passed on the vegan cookies because I ate like 50 dates a few days ago, so I'm good on the dessert tip.

WARNING
DO NOT heat the soup in the container they give you!!! I burned myself something fierce when I went to grab it. Should have used the stovetop like I normally do. However, I did learn how fast a vegan heals after being burned. No later than five minutes later, the burn felt normal again. Vegans heal fast. I know if I get a cut or bruise, in days it's disappeared. I digress ...

The soup is SWEET!!!!!!! The lentil burger needed a little something so I added a Hass Avocado that has been ripening in my dark pantry for 3 days now. Perfect. You can even mix them all together. Your mouth will go biserk ... in a good way.

Whole Foods loves the vegan girl. =)

P.S. Later I'll post some videos of the employees dancing to my Cinco de Mayo tunes. Cool people.

~inga~

Labels: whole foods

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