Vegan migas with soyrizo

Ingredients:

-medium/hard tofu
-spinach
-bell pepper
-onion
-Serrano pepper
-vegan chorizo
-tortillas
-olive oil
-seasoning (can be taco seasoning or paprika or even just hot sauce)
                      

Directions:

1. empty the tofu of water, for "dry eggs" squeeze the tofu between two paper towels and plates and place heavy weight over the top. cut into pieces. these pieces do not have to be exact as the tofu will be eventually crumbled, the goal is to increase the surface area that is touching the skillet
2. chop or tear tortillas into smaller pieces
3. heat up a bit of olive oil and let tortillas cook until they become crispy
4. remove tortilla pieces from pan to add in later
5. place tofu pieces in skillet with olive oil. after a few minutes, crumble tofu into smaller pieces
6. chop onions, bell pepper, spinach and serranos. I like to mince my serranos but that is a personal preference, any sort of cutting will suffice. 
7. sauté some chopped onions and diced serranos in 1-2tsp of olive oil until onions become translucent. add in bell peppers and spinach. this can be done in a separate pan or if you don't want to wash an extra pan like me, just use a corner of the skillet with the tofu in it
8. once the tofu has become the consistency desired in eggs, mix everything together in the skillet (including tortilla pieces). I like very dry eggs so I waited until the tofu lost a lot of moisture. 
9. add in vegan chorizo and mix to distribute flavor. I used about 1/4 of the packet.
10. add seasoning to taste: salt, pepper, taco seasoning, paprika etc. I even threw in some tapatio sauce to give the migas a bit of kick. 
11. serve with warmed tortillas. 
12. serves 4-6 people

bon appétit,
MissEcoChic

Buddhist Temple Built from Beer Bottles?!

This is amazing! Read the full story here at TreeHugger.

Here are the beautiful images which just go to show that one man's trash can most definitely be another man's treasure.

[image via treehugger.com]

[image via treehugger.com

[image via treehugger.com]

Hope you enjoyed feasting your eyes.

XOXO,
MissEcoChic

Victoria's Dirty Little Secret Exposed, Pledges to Detox by 2020

Everyone secretly or sometimes not-so-secretly loves Victoria's Secret lingerie and clothing. We all know exactly when the semi-annual sale happens just so we can find that highly coveted piece that we've been yearning and can't afford during the regular season. 

[image via victoriassecret.com]

However, what we didn't know was that Victoria's Secret lingerie have very high level of phthalates.Phthalates are commonly used as plasticizers, meaning that they are added to plastics to increase flexibility, durability, transparency and longevity-all the qualities we appreciate in VS apparel. Phthalates, due to their lack of a covalent bond to plastics are easily leached from their source at a rate which if VS lingerie were held at the same standards as toys in the E.U., would be banned. According to the National Library of Medicine, phthalates are a toxic chemical due to their teratogenic nature, meaning they cause birth defects. They are also considered to be carcinogen (cancer-causing) and may lead to male reproductive system defects. 

 If we truly love our body as the ad above states, we should not expose our bodies to this toxic chemical. 

Since this discovery by Greenpeace last year, Greenpeace has started a Detox Campaign. So far the brands which have pledges to go toxic free are:

Nike

Adidas

Puma

H&M--you can see my post on H&M here

M&S

C&A

Li-Ning

Zara

Mango

Esprit

Levi's 

Uniqlo

Benneton

and of course, Victoria's Secret

[image via greenpeace.com

You can sign the Fashion Manifesto to urge other fashion retailers to phase out harmful toxics in their apparel just like these companies have. 

Congrats to Victoria's Secret which has pledged to go toxic-free by 2020! 

By then, I should have a decent enough salary that I might not even have to wait til the semi-annual sale to purchase VS clothing-oh and of course, support toxic-free and environmentally friendly clothing too.

Hope you will support these companies which have pledged to follow Greenpeace's Detox Campaign and sign the Fashion Manifesto  to urge other companies which have not yet responded.

XOXO,

MissEcoChic

Downton Abbey Inspired Vegan High Tea

If you don't already watch Downton Abbey, you should definitely start! Set in the Edwardian Era in Britain, the show follows the lives of an aristocratic family as well as their household servants. Think a more contemporary Jane Austen drama which deals with issues such as women's rights, social class and aristocracy. It's amazing.

To celebrate the premier of the third season (in the U.S.), my family and I made high tea. We're all vegetarian but to give this meal a little extra oomph, we made it vegan and healthy!

Vegan High Tea Menu:

dainty cucumber sandwiches

baked brussel sprouts

lentil soup

vegetable soup

jammy dodgers

and of course, tea!

Cucumber Sandwiches

Lightly toast cocktail bread slices if desired. Mix Ranch salad dressing with a container of Tofutti cream cheese. Slice tomatoes and cucumbers. Make dainty and delectable cucumber sandwiches by spreading cream cheese Ranch mix on a slice of bread and layer one slice of cucumber and one slice of tomato. These sandwiches have protein due to the tofutti, are low calorie AND use fresh produce. Props if you have organic tomatoes and cucumbers. 

Baked Brussel Sprouts
After cutting the brussel sprouts of the stem, make a crosswise slit into each. Toss the sprouts in a bit of olive oil, garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, basil, etc. whatever italian spices you like really. You could even sprinkle with a bit of nutritional yeast to get that parmesan taste. Or if you're making a vegetarian version, go ahead and sprinkle parmesan itself over the brussel sprouts. Bake for approximately 20 minutes in the oven set at 350.

Lentil Soup & Vegetable Soup

Funny story on this, we wanted to make a delicious carrot-ginger soup I had made for my family for Thanksgiving. Since my dad and sister had missed it, my mom and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for them to enjoy this particular soup. We went to four different stores and couldn't find ANY ginger anywhere! So, in defeat, my mom bought a family size minestrone soup packet but for some reason forgot to read the ingredients. Turns out there were both chicken and beef in the soup. We decided to go with Amy's soup cans instead. One lentil soup can served my dad and myself and one vegetable soup can served my mom and my sister. Amy's brand is great because they offer many vegetarian and vegan options, although I find that I generally have to add a bit of salt and some spices to most of their frozen food-but then again, that's what you get with frozen food.

"Jammy Dodgers" AKA Thumbprint Cookies

If you're wondering what the heck a "jammy dodger" is, don't worry, I was too when my sister saw what I was baking and excited started shouting (in a very bad British accent) "I LOVE JAMMY DODGERS!!!!" Turns out, they are what we Americans call thumbprint cookies. These were my favorite part. But then again, baked desserts generally are to my liking. I followed this recipe but edited it a bit to fit my family's requests for a sweeter dessert. I increased the maple syrup to 3/4 cup instead of a 1/2 cup to sweeten it up a bit and consequently baked the cookies an additional five minutes. I used two different types of jam for the middles: strawberry and sour cherry. I love trying new flavors and I thoroughly enjoyed both. They were beyond delicious! AND since they were so healthy, my family had multiple helpings of the dessert-a very rare phenomenon.

Ambiance & Setting the Table
To set a proper mood, we put a log in the fireplace and I set the coffee tea table with a nice rose patterned tablecloth and a nice set of teacups and teapot.

Am I forgetting something? Oh, YES! The TEA!! Well, actually we didn't drink any tea because it was evening time (AKA best time for acid reflux) and we try our best not to drink more than one cup of caffeine a day. 

XOXO,

MissEcoChic

2013 Texas VegFest

In about 3 months is the annual Texas VegFest! I am very excited about this event as I haven't been able to make it in the past few years due to school. I'm so excited in fact that I will be volunteering for the event and you should too!

[image via www.TexasVegFest.com]

This is a wonderful opportunity to explore vegetarian and vegan diets and lifestyles, whether you're a seasoned veteran veg*n (like me) or a relative newcomer (like my boyfriend.) 

Oh and have I mentioned the best part? 

IT'S FREE!!! 

There's a suggested donation of $5 but that's really cheap so it's all good.

The following exciting things will be included:

• Live Music & Dynamic Speakers

• Cooking Demonstrations

• Kids’ Activities

• Good Food & Cold Beer!

• Free Samples & Prizes

• Local & National Vendors

Yes, that's right there WILL BE alcohol there so there's really no excuse for not going. They even let you take two sealed water bottles in, providing they are not glass. 

Last year's event included speakers such as Vegan Chef (my idol) Isa Chandra Moskowitz of Post Punk Kitchen and Robert Cheeke of Vegan Body Building! I can't wait to see who the speakers for this year will be!

The festival will be held in Austin, Texas- ranked #8 in North America for most vegetarian-friendly cities. Also, Austin is the absolute best city in Texas (and possibly the world) so if you haven't visited before, this is a wonderful opportunity!

I'll keep y'all updated on the festival so get excited for the 2013 Texas VegFest!

XOXO,

MissEcoChic

Stay Tuned

It has been a week since I posted. Sorry for the long delay, I have been sick. I have a bunch of eco chic crafts to post soon though!

Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, here is some food for thought:

[image via Sustainable Man]

XOXO,
MissEcoChic

Good Clean Soap!

I found some good clean LOCALLY MADE soap from Austin Natural Soap! They are completely vegan and blended with ingredients like olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil, soybean, sunflower, jojoba oil, essential oils, vitamin E and the most interesting: ground dried loofah. While I initially thought loofah meant one of those fluffy scrubbing things you find at Walmart. This loofah actually refers to dried and ground up insides of a gourd! (Think squash.) Cool!

These are the two soaps I bought. The Padre Island Breeze reminds me of ocean and rain scented candles-but entirely natural. The Del Castillo soap is my favorite. Its aroma is very similar to the soap bars I use when in India. By the way, scents are wonderful memory triggers and are sometimes used for patients who have suffered from memory loss.

I also LOVE that the sale of this soap donates 10% of its proceeds to a local Austin band.

How Austin-y to add that the soaps are blended with peace and love... I love this hippie city. 

As I discussed in my last post, I considered making my own soap but the lye portion and pre-saponification of NaOH portions were just too toxic to make soap at home. These soaps were a great option instead. I loved the store also, it was a tiny little store near SOCO and the soap was made right there: Austin Natural Soap.  

Hope you too can find some locally made natural soap!

XOXO,

MissEcoChic

Soap: Cleaning with Dirty Ingredients

During a phone call with the boyfriend, we were discussing liquid soap vs. bar soap because he had been intrigued by some soap on a rope he saw at Stag which had the most interesting scents which were oddly pleasing in the olfactory sense. I thought to myself, what if I made him some nice vegan soap on a rope? Perhaps with a handmade soap holder loofah made of upcycled hand cloths using this idea I found on pinterest? I decided to do a bit of research on soap making, mostly because I was wary of the lye handling. Lye is very toxic before saponification, which according to Wikipedia it "involves base (usually caustic soda NaOH) hydrolysis of triglycerides, which are esters of fatty acids, to form the sodium salt of a carboxylate."  This then makes sense that it is toxic because NaOH is a very strong base which is very corrosive and can burn badly as well as irritate the respiratory tract if inhaled. After a bit of research, it turns out I was worried about the wrong things.

[Image via http://www.veganbeautyreview.com]

I am disgusted by what can commonly be found in most soaps: Phthalates which cause birth defects, carcinogenic parabens which also cause early onset of puberty in girls due to its ability to mimic estrogen, Sodium laurel sulfate (SLS) which is a common irritant and is often contaminated with carcinogenic dioxin.... and the MOST upsetting: glycerin which is often made with animal fats like rendered beef fat.

OMG. How could I be unknowingly using these products for over 20 years? Being a broke college student often means shopping at Dollar Tree and using products with all sorts of sketchy ingredients. Now that I am no longer a college student, I refuse to subject myself and the environment to these unnecessary ingredients. PETA provides this great list to Cruelty Free Bar Soaps. Why bar soap instead of those lovely liquid gel soaps you ask? Liquid soaps are not as environmentally friendly because of the containers which they come in. Oftentimes after a liquid soap bottle runs out, it is (God forbid) thrown away or at least recycled because is cannot be refilled. While recycling is great for those items we just cannot do without, it is much better to reduce consumption altogether. [My intelligent boyfriend figured this one out all on his own!] The energy used to manufacture the plastic bottles and then the energy used to recycle the bottles are not worth it if it is possible to do without the bottle and save all that energy.

I came upon this great deal from Kiss My Face for 24oz of bar soap for $8! I am sorely tempted to buy it right away, but I think it would be better if I found a local place to buy some eco-friendly, vegan soap instead. But for now, it is sitting in my cart on kissmyface.com waiting for me in case I can't find a local soap I like.

Similarly, I will be on the hunt for better shampoo, conditioner and make up to buy as well as I heard a nasty rumor that most lipsticks have fish scales in them...yuck. I'm thinking Urban Decay?

More on this later... I'm going to go put all my unused soaps in a bag for Goodwill.

XOXO,
MissEcoChic

Beaded necklace DIY

Today I made a hand beaded necklace inspired by my trip to the Pueblo Reservation near Taos, New Mexico.

I used old cream cheese containers to hold the beads while I strung them onto the thread. A threaded needle helped make this MUCH easier.

The pictures explain it all. Enjoy.

XOXO,
MissEcoChic

Whip it up Wednesday: Duct Tape Purses!

Duct tape purses are the best. Seriously. They can be customized to have exactly the amount of pockets needed and the card slots can be made to be perfectly tight (so ID cards and credit cards aren't lost).

I made this one below for my 3-year-old niece's Christmas present and she absolutely ADORES it. I even put real money in the coin purse and she bought herself some stickers with it. The check out lady at the counter was beyond surprised to see the little girl pull out her own purse and her own money to pay. This would make a great gift for anyone-not just little girls.

Materials Needed:

• scissors (sharp scissors)
• duct tape (the funkier the design, the better!)
• paper (use scrap paper/recycle some paper)
• creativity

Cover a sheet of paper with duct tape. Fold into thirds and tape bottom two portions together to form a pocket. The third portion will form the flap. Fold until it looks pretty and tape. Done.

Add a bit of tape to make the flap stick if desired.
Also, if the tape keeps sticking to the scissors and makes them too stick to cut straight, take a bit of nailpolish remover or rubbing alcohol on a cotton and swipe the blades with them to get the goo off.

For more complicated purses, you can make extra pockets or made custom sized card holder pockets, like this one I made a few years ago: 

                                      

Happy Crafting!

XOXO,
MissEcoChic

2013: New Beginnings

Five simple resolutions for YOU to GO GREEN in 2013:

1. Take shorter showers. Reduce your shower by 5 minutes and save 12.5 gallons on average. 
2. Take public transportation more often. Not only will this reduce some carbon emissions from your car, but you get exercise AND save a bit of gas money. Win-Win-Win.
3. Commit to buying more locally grown produce. More and more people are becoming "locavores" not only to support local economies and businesses, but to reduce transportation  and amount of pesticides used on goods. 
4. Use sustainable/reusable bags when making trips to the local grocery store. Keep a few in your car to make it easier to remember to use at the store. 
5. Get a recycling bin and use it. If you already have one, aim to minimize and produce less for your trashcan than your recycling bin. 



[image via http://hackcollege.com]

MissEcoChic's Personal Resolutions for 2013:

• be healthy
• exercise daily, stay within allotted calorie amounts
• no more soda/sugary drinks/junk food (except on very special occasions)
• less fatty dairy (AKA cheese) and more vegetables/fruits/protein
• become financially independent
• nonprofits are wonderful and fulfilling in every aspect...except the monetary
• update blog more often...hopefully everyday 
• craft at least once a week
• oh and of course... BECOME A LITTLE MORE GREEN. 

Best of luck going green in 2013.

XOXO,

MissEcoChic