Do It Gorgeously - Sophie Uliano at T Salon

Today I went to an event at the T Salon in West Hollywood. I have been to the cafe/store before and really enjoyed it - almost all of their desserts are vegan, the building is very eco-friendly, and their tea is fabulous (video review coming soon). I wasn't sure what the event was going to be like, but I was excited because there was going to be a demo on how to make organic skin care products. I was also intrigued after hearing rave reviews of the book Gorgeously Green, so I looked forward to learning about Do It Gorgeously. The event turned out to be fantastic!

Fresh organic ginger tea with lemon

I haven't been feeling well today - been kinda nauseous with a bit of an upset stomach. I hope I'm just detoxing from the big change in diet I'm going through (no gluten, soy, or refined sugar). I also had a ton of daikon radish last night, which is known for having cleansing properties. 

This ginger-lemon tea is incredibly soothing and easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon of organic ginger
• 1 teaspoon of organic lemon

Preparation:

1. Add water into pan
2. Shred ginger into water
3. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes
4. Taste to see it's strong enough. If necessary, continue simmering until it reaches desired strength
5. When ready, add lemon
6. Strain the tea and enjoy

Natural Products Expo West: Saturday, March 13, 2010

And I thought yesterday was fun...

Today I spent another 4 hours at the Expo and it was wonderful because I had a lot more free time - but it still wasn't enough! I realized I was walking around way too slow when I discovered how many companies were actually there! Next time I go I will have to stay at a nearby hotel and just go to it non-stop - that's the only way to make the most of it.

What I love most about the Expo is getting to meet the people behind the products. Though I've experienced that with small companies at other events, this event has much more draw and therefore all the big-wigs of the large companies are there. For example, I finally met the CEO of Daiya (Greg), which was incredible. I was even introduced to Heather Mills at her V-Bites/Cheezly booth (they were serving delicious pizza using crust from Cruzer, and the big news is that they're going to be doing frozen pizzas together!)! Then I ran into Bart and Joy from Candle 79 - so great to see them. And I spent my day walking around with my pal Heather Lounsbury, who is going to interview a bunch of the people we met on her radio show.

One of the my favorite moments was at the Daiya booth. While I was talking to Greg a woman walked up to thank him, because she was able to make macaroni and cheese for her autistic children for the first time, and she started to cry - Greg gave her a hug. It was so wonderful to witness a moment like that, and it shows that I'm not the only one who believes that Daiya is changing the world! Not to mention, they have retail packaging now and will be in all Whole Foods and hopefully other natural markets - finally!!!!

Here's a list of some of the delicious food I saw there:

• Bernod Spin City cotton candy
• Bragg Live Foods
• Buenatural vegetarian tamales
• Coconut Bliss
• Dr. Lucy's Cookies (Lucy herself was there!)
• Earth Balance Natural Spreads
• Ener-G Foods
• Humane Choice
• Mary's Gone Crackers (they have new vegan cookies, and Mary was there!)
• Moo Moo's Vegetarian Cuisine
• Mrs. May's Naturals
• Natural Life Pet Products
• Nicobella - vegan organic dark chocolate truffles
• Oogavé - The Original Agave Soda
• PetGuard
• Primal Spirit Foods vegan jerky
• Rising Moon Organics
• Sharkies
• Sjaak's Organic Chocolates (their new vegan milk chocolate hazelnut bites are out of this world!!!)
• Tandoor Chef
• Yogi tea

New vegan panini at Coral Tree Cafe in Brentwood

Today Coral Tree Cafe in Brentwood started selling a new vegan panini, which beat out non-vegan paninis in a contest they held a few weeks ago. You can find more information about Chole Coscarelli's win on QuarryGirl's site - congrats to you Chole! I tried the new panini and it was great - nice flavors and textures. The bread was perfect, the vegetables were crunchy and well seasoned, and it was slightly sweet - very reminiscent of an Indian meal.

This location recently re-opened after being closed for a year due to a fire, so I haven't been in a long time. They have a few vegan options, but not as many as I remember. They are open to having more vegan options if there is a demand, and they said that Chole's panini has been inspiring. I encourage them to at least offer a vegan dessert, so join me in supporting them and maybe they will!

I enjoyed:

• Mango Masala Panini
• Grilled Portabello Mushroom sandwich (without cheese or pesto)
• Vegetable soup
• Moroccan Mint soy latte

Taste: 7/10

Unique menu & flavors: no, except for new panini

My favorite dish: Panini

Organic: whenever available

Fairtrade & Shade-grown: yes, coffee is

Local: whenever available

Healthy: yes

Eco-Friendly: semi (they recycle and use some corn-based products)

Portion Sizes: medium

Price: Moderate (about $11 for an entree)

Customer service: very attentive and nice

Atmosphere: casual, comfortable, young crowd, patio with fire pit and heaters, free WiFi

Location: great part of Brentwood, close to freeways

Parking: valet or street (street is hard to find)

Dog friendly: yes (seating on sidewalk)

Y.O.G.A. for Youth: Gala Fundraiser at Marrakesh House

I had an incredible time at the Y.O.G.A. for Youth: Gala Fundraiser, which "I AM THE DREAM" campaign benefitted at-risk children throughout the United States. It was my first time visiting the Marrakesh House, and it was wonderful. The event had a great turnout and was attended by some amazing people; there was such a strong, loving energy there. The night was topped off with some delicious food, samples from various vendors, and several inspiring performances.

Most importantly, the gala was a fundraiser for Y.O.G.A. for Youth, which is a non-profit organization that brings yoga, meditation, breathing techniques, chanting, deep relaxation and stimulating discussions on the philosophy of yoga to urban youth.

Performances by:

• Galen and Gentry Gorg ~ breath-taking performance
• Aykanna ~ beautiful music
• Adoré ~ fun belly dancing
• Tom Freund ~ peaceful music
• Amore One & J Brave of the Luminaries ~ inspiring hip hop

My favorite vendors:

• Coconut Bliss ~ delicious, as always
• Bliss Bar ~ incredible vegan smoothies
• Yogi Tea ~ served many of their yummy organic teas
• Theo chocolate ~ fair-trade, organic chocolates (many are vegan)

People I chatted with:

• Tommy Rosen and Kia Miller (organizers)
• Chris Paine (host)
• Rachel Avalon
• Lauren Selman
• Kris Willey
• Christy Morgan

TeaLuxe, Boston

TeaLuxe

Sexy Serenity - Haute for the Holidays

Tonight I went to an eco event at Rob|B Salon, presented by Chill Out LA & Sirens Magazine.

Featuring:

• Natural High Lifestyle
• ONE Coconut Water
• Nicobella (amazing vegan chocolates!)
• Veggie Grill
• The Brunette Gourmette
• Naja Tea (delicious, try the Mix & Mingle)
• Pleasure Chest

Indonique tea: video review of 7 flavors

Indonique asked me to try seven of their loose leaf teas, so I brewed one flavor each morning in one week. They were each delicious, but check out the video to see what my favorites are.

1. Cherry Flavored Black Tea
2. Dragonwell Lung Ching #5 Green
3. Ginger Peach Orange Green Tea
4. Honey Bush Organically Grown Tea
5. Moroccan Mint
6. Rose Congou with Buds
7. Vanilla Chai (with Coconut Milk by So Delicious)

Microwaved water

I can be lazy sometimes. Often when I want tea I put water in a mug with a tea bag, and microwave them. It takes 2 minutes and I have a brewed cup of warm tea. But I always wondered, does it make a difference? Is the microwave changing the water or killing something in the tea? Probably...but how unhealthy is it?

I looked online and found this great study on what microwaved water does to plants.

Breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien (West Hollywood)

I had a great breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien in West Hollywood this morning.

Of course I got the Organic Matcha Green Tea Latte - my favorite, especially with agave.

Then I had my new favorite muffin - the Ginger Green Tea muffin. I tried some of the fruit spreads on them (Apricot, and 4 Red Fruits) and they were amazing!

Then I had the Organic Omega-3 Berry Boost Oatmeal - delicious. It was just the right size and was bursting with nutrition due to the flax seeds and oil. It wasn't sweet, aside from the berries, so I mixed in some agave and it was perfect.

Vegan discoveries this weekend

I had a great weekend showing my out-of-state dad all my favorite vegan places, and I discovered some new things.

- We had drinks at Windows Lounge at the Four Seasons, which was very pleasant. I was excited when they brought a trio of snacks, including the vegan Snapea Crisps (it's a small thing, but how many bars have free vegan snacks?!) I didn't touch the chips or nut mix because they looked suspiciously non-vegan. = )

- I finally went to Rahel's for the first time - it was very dark in there so I couldn't take a decent picture on my iPhone. We had the Millenium Special - very good and filling. I forgot to use the 15% coupon - bummer!

- We went to Le Pain Quotidien on Robertson and I had an AMAZING Matcha green tea latte. I can't stop thinking about it! They also had some new Vegan Ginger Green Tea muffins I wanted to try but didn't want to spoil my appetite for dinner at Vegan Glory (though they would have complimented my latte perfectly!)

- The next day we had breakfast (blueberry pancakes and a vegan benedict- yum!) at M Cafe on Melrose and their green tea latte was disappointing compared to Le Pain's.

- Mid-way through our tour of the Huntington Gardens, we stopped at the Chinese Garden Tea Shop to get snacks. We had some delicious hot tea (one jasmine, another oolong) and some inari sushi (wasn't very fresh, so it was mediocre).

- After my favorite burger and fries at Seed, we went to Urth Caffe where I had my third green tea latte of the weekend (they call it a Japanese latte) - this one was very good, probably tied with Le Pain's, plus they get extra points for the foam design!

Page-A-Day: February 20 - March 8

February 20 - www.notsobighouse.com

February 21 - Switch to loose tea in a reusable tea ball, or buy a pot with a strainer

February 22 - www.organicgardening.com

February 23 - Plants that are good in the office and suck up pollutants/humidify the air/improve your mood: Pothos, Aglaonema, Dracaena "Janet Craig/"Lisa", ZZ plant, parlor palm.

February 25 - Turn off the tap when you're brushing your teeth

February 27 - www.conservationfund.org/gozero; www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonoffset.html

March 3 - "In the end, we conserve what we love. We love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." (Senegalese poet Baba Dioum)

March 5 - Don't pour antifreeze or oil (or any other household chemicals) on the ground, into storm sewers, or down the drain. Recycle them instead.

March 7 - Opt for organic fabrics for clothing, and look for items that are non-dyed, "colorgrown", or tinted with nontoxic vegetable dyes. www.thegreenguide.com; www.sustainablecotton.org

March 8 - When making your own coffee: buy organic and shade-grown, brew it with filter tap water, use a reusable filter, and compost the grounds.

Delicious tea

I bought some great tea today from The Republic of Tea called Rose Petal Tea. It's a limited edition, so get it while you can. I got it from Pharmaca and it was half off.

Since this is loose tea, it is more eco-friendly because you can use a wire infuser instead of tea bags and all the packaging.

Product Spotlight: vegan chai tea

I'm sure most of you have tried, or at least heard of, Oregon Chai's products. Their most common item is their chai tea "Original" concentrate. I love chai tea and I was always sad that I couldn't use this product because it wasn't vegan...until I saw "Vegan Original" on a shelf at the CoOp! I was thrilled. Even though I feel a little guilty drinking it because it has lots of sugar and isn't organic, I'm enjoying it with my rice milk. = )

Coffee

I just came across a great blog entry on Siel's site on Starbucks coffee. Next time you buy coffee, try to buy fair trade & organic, which really isn't that hard to find these days. Here's another related article from Organic Consumers Association.

And, make sure you bring your own coffee cup/container - not only is it eco-friendly, but many coffee shops will give you a discount for doing so. 

I don't drink coffee, but my favorite cafe in Los Angeles is Urth Caffe. I also like Le Pain Quotidien, which has locations all over the world. And if you're in Boston or Providence (Rhode Island), Tea Luxe is awesome. 

GroundWork in Los Angeles is entirely organic and fair trade