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Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting, vegan

The Public Demand For Vegan Chocolate

April 22, 2013 at 10:50 pm , by 

2 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack,

A few weeks ago in “5 Reasons Your Facebook Friends Are Going Vegan,” I mentioned that you and Mommy were practicing recipes for cupcakes for my 32nd birthday.

The outcome: Mommy and I agree that my vegan cupcakes (the Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes With Almond Buttercream ones from the vegan recipe blog, Oh She Glows) were so good, they were actually better than those trendy “$4 cupcakes” that we used to buy.

We were able to enjoy all the physical and psychological thrills of eating chocolate cupcakes, but without the guilt hangover afterwards. (The fat in the cupcakes comes from almond milk and olive oil, not animal products or bi-products.)

They were so perfecto, we’re going to make them again this weekend. Lucky us!

(Yes, I meant to say perfecto.)

As a vegan, it is nearly impossible to find vegan chocolate.

It’s one thing to find chocolate that just so happens to not contain milk or eggs, or even honey, but that’s not good enough for most vegans like me.

I also will not accept high fructose corn syrup (Monsanto much?) nor food dyes derived from bugs (Carmine or Crimson Lake) or petroleum (Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6).

As I’ve mentioned before, 2.5 percent of the country  now identifies themselves as “vegan,” up from 1 percent in 2009.

In other words, the public’s demand for vegan chocolate, as well as chocolate treats and snacks, has more than doubled in the past 3 years; in theory, at least.

So even if I sound extreme in my search for vegan chocolate, I’m clearly not alone.

Annie’s Homegrown, an admirable brand that keeps finding its name randomly mentioned by me on a regularly basis, is clever enough they actually have a “Vegan Snacks” tab on their website, featuring my personal favorite: Chocolate Bunny Grahams.

I should point out that Annie’s Homegrown is the only affordable and easily obtainable vegan snack source I have been exposed to so far.

For example, for my birthday Mommy bought me these awesome coconut cocoa ball truffles from some fancy vegan company, but they probably cost as much as a couple of bald eagle heads.

In other words, affordable vegan chocolate is a rare find.

Even if the major food companies ever pick up on this growing demand, I doubt they will be able to make a product in which vegans approve.

It’s probably not worth it to them to market to the 3% of the population who (I assume, if they’re like me) generally distrusts food companies who use petroleum and bugs in their food designed for children to eat.

We’ll stick with the plant-based stuff; even if we have to make it ourselves.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

 

 

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That Silly Purple 1983 Chevy Silverado Lowrider Truck!

April 22, 2013 at 6:49 am , by 

2 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack,

While my flat tire was being replaced at WalMart on Thursday morning, I decided to let you pick out a toy car. I was willing to spend some of my blow money (that’s Dave Ramsey lingo) on you; as much as $10.

You had been saying for the past month, “I want a purple monster truck.” So I figured you’d finally get it.

As soon as we stepped up to the toy car aisle, we stood before a wall of coolMonster Jam monster trucks, with a tough-looking purple one right there in our sight. You grabbed it.

Unlike U2 in 1987, you had actually found what you were looking for.

I thought, “Well, that was easy. How do we kill another 45 minutes?”

Then you saw a black monster truck… then a red one… and a green one…

Whichever new truck you discovered every 18 seconds, it automatically became superior to the previous one.

The original purple monster truck was 4 bucks, but now you were dipping into basic 97 cent Hot Wheels. I actually wanted to spend more money on you, distracting you with “Rasta Carian” from Mater’s Tall Tales, a $9 item.

You weren’t impressed with the dreadlocked Jamaican monster truck. (Really?!)

“Okay Jack, it’s getting about time for them to call my name over the speaker and tell me my car is ready. Go ahead and decide which one you want to take home,” I explained.

My own expectations had now been properly lowered. I guess I was just confused that you didn’t want me to buy what clearly you had been talking about for weeks.

And there it was, a purple… 1983 Chevy Silverado lowrider with white and lime green flames.

That’s the one you just couldn’t let go of. So I spent 97 cents on you and you were completely happy.

I like spending money on you by buying you special gifts, but you don’t care how much money I spend on them. I mean, hey, I’m not complaining.

You just seem to like the adventure of obtaining and opening a new gift. Then you always trace that gift back to the event in which you got it.

Sure enough, you have been bragging to everyone you see about your new purple truck.

Not just any purple truck, but that silly purple 1983 Chevy Silverado lowrider that Daddy got you when his tire got a nail in it and had to be replaced… or as you say it, “Daddy, yours tire fell off?”

 

Love,

Daddy

 

 

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting

Is It Cheaper To Go Vegan/Vegetarian?

April 10, 2013 at 9:30 pm , by 

2 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

In theory, a family who buys no meat products should have a lower grocery bill each week. We don’t, though.

However, we still spend less money on food; it just depends on a person’s definition of groceries…

As you lifted up the “tailgate” (box flap) of your “pick-up truck” (Chobani yogurt box) and started to “drive it” (pinched the box with a pair of salad tongs) it somehow prompted me to discuss with Mommy how much our grocery bill has went up or down, compared to the days before we were aware of things like Yellow 5, sodium laurel sulfate, and Monsanto.

Our grocery bill is actually the same amount as it was when we were carnivores. This is because we make up for the cost of meat by buying higher quality (and more expensive) vegetables, fruits, and grains.

It’s not just about avoiding meat, it’s about avoiding toxic chemicals like artificial colors, flavors, MSG, and GMO’s.

Since our conversion, we have learned there are actually few food brands that we trust anymore. One of the few is Chobani.

While most brands try to disguise their ingredients, Chobani is very clear about what is and is not in their products.

They are one of the few exceptions we have found; as well as Annie’s Homegrown. We simply ignoremost other brands, because we don’t trust them.

We are paying for quality and it’s worth it, to us.

So even though our grocery bill is the same, what has definitely changed is the amount of money we spend on eating at restaurants. It used to be between $100 and $200 a month, now it’s basically zero.

It’s not a moral issue; instead, it just seems pointless by now. Mommy has, by default, become a vegan/vegetarian chef for our family; thanks in part to the Oh She Glows recipe website.

Making delicious healthy meals is now becoming a sacred (and fun) thing for our family. It is difficult for us to trust random strangers at restaurants who we have to assume may be cooking our food in or with mysterious chemicals. Not to mention, a restaurant meal typically doesn’t ensure leftovers for lunch the next day, the way a home-cooked meal easily does.

To answer the question of whether it’s cheaper to go vegan/vegetarian, the answer is ultimately yes. We now save between at least $100 to $200 a month by simply avoiding restaurants alone.

 

 

Love,

Daddy

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5 Reasons Your Facebook Friends Are Going Vegan

April 5, 2013 at 12:43 pm , by 

2 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

Two days ago on The Huffington Post, an article was published entitled “Interest In Vegan Diets On The Rise: Google Trends Notes Public’s Increased Curiosity In Veganism.”

The title intrigued me, as I have recently been noticing that several of my Facebook friends have been discussing the fact that their families have either began leaning towards being vegans or have recently officially converted.

Sure, maybe I’m more keen to notice, since my own conversion from vegetarianism to veganism a month ago. But after reading the article, I realized it wasn’t just in my head:

“A 2012 study commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group and undertaken by Harris Interactive found that the 2.5 percent of the country identified themselves as “vegan,” up from 1 percent in 2009. That may not seem like a drastic leap, but it is when you consider that the number of vegans has more than doubled in just three years.”

My own downward spiral began with a severe and “incurable” case of eczema which led me to going kosher and cutting out processed sugar, which encouraged me to start actually eating real fruit and veggies.

Then I stopped craving meat because I was eating more whole fruits and vegetables. Then the thought of cheese started grossing me out. Now all the food I eat comes from plants; no animals- no meat, no eggs, no dairy… I even avoid honey.

Now, it’s like I constantly feel a buzz; a buzz in which I am alert, my thoughts are clear and quick, and my sinus and allergy problems have all gone away.

What about the fact I can’t eat birthday cakes or doughnuts or ice cream anymore? I don’t miss those things. I don’t desire to have my mood or physical state of being lifted, because it’s already there.

I don’t want to mess with this buzz. That’s what will happen if I eat animal products again, so I’m not even tempted.

Not to mention, I’m staying plenty full off all the protein, fiber, and nutrients I’m getting from just fruits, vegetables, whole grain rice and pasta, beans, seeds, and plenty of water.

As for my 32nd birthday coming up in a couple weeks, you and Mommy are currently practicing recipes from the vegan recipe blog,Oh She Glows.

So why are vegan Facebook status updates showing up in news feeds? Here’s what I think:

1. More “normal” people are doing it now, not just expected stereotypes. (Am I considering myself as one of the normal ones?)

2. This may disprove the sentence before this one, but more celebrities are now vegan and that influences the rest of us sometimes more than we realize.

3. The majority of daily Facebook users are from “Generation Why,” as in, “Why am I eating mysterious ingredients that are linked to obesity, depression, hyperactivity, cancer, and diabetes?”

4. Netflix streaming, which was quite instrumental in my conversion, is providing us with information we didn’t have access to before; like about the treatment of the animals we eat, the relationship between eating animal proteins and cancer, and realizing that plants themselves provide all the nutrition we need to begin with.  I challenge anyone to watch all the following documentaries and keep from going vegan:

Supersize Me, Food Inc., Forks Over Knives, Vegucated, and Hungry For A Change.

5. The price of meat is rising, even with factory-farmed animals eating that infamous Monsanto corn.

Knowing that the number of vegans has more than doubled in the past three years alone, I wonder what will happen in the next three years… especially if seemingly normal people keep talking about it on Facebook.

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

A High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Food Dye Tour Of WalMart

What’s the easiest way to being able to spot junk food?

Fat? Cholesterol? Weird, unpronounceable chemicals?

Those are all good, but there’s an easier way than that…

A High Fructose Corn Syrup, Red 40 Food Dye Tour Of WalMart

Just look for high fructose corn syrup and/or artificial food dyes.

This is coming from a guy who over the course of several years, learned the cure to eczema (dyshidrosis) by experimenting with what I did and did not eat. The first step for me, 6 years ago, was discovering I had to eliminate high fructose corn syrup and/or artificial food dyes from my diet.

Why?

High fructose corn syrup is the most processed version of GMO sugar you can find. It’s the sweetest of the sweet, which teaches your body to “look for the rest of the food” it came from. In other words, high fructose corn syrup keeps you hungry; as explained in this article by scientificamerican.com.

A High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Food Dye Tour Of WalMart

Meanwhile, artificial food dyes have been linked to anxiety, migraines, and cancer; according to this respectable article on Forbes.com.

Today, I want to introduce you to the concept that WalMart’s vendors are very good at making sure WalMart’s customers are strategically surrounded by high fructose corn syrup and artificial food dyes.

It’s common knowledge to our generation that WalMart has this way of attracting a certain crowd worthy of their own website: peopleofwalmart.com. (I don’t endorse that site, by the way; it’s not “family friendly”.)

However, there’s a reason it’s so easy to relate to WalMart memes:

WalMart Memes

For example, over the weekend I overhead this phone conversation while I was there at WalMart: “I ain’t no snitch… I didn’t give the cops a first name. I wasn’t brought up that way…”.

In case you need a visual, he looked like a young version of Weird Al in his video for “All About The Pentiums.”

This past weekend while I was there to pick up my car after getting an oil change, I took a walk around the place.

I only had to walk past a few aisles to pick up on a marketing strategy: WalMart’s vendors strategically place “pillars of cheap junk food” around the outer perimeter of the store’s interior.

Vendors pay for that high-traffic real estate within the store, as explained by one of my coworkers, whose wife is a manager at WalMart.

junk food pillars WalMart

If I sound a little harsh regarding these strategically placed junk food pillars, let me give you some more quick background on me, because I feel it’s relevant to my passion behind this story.

I was one nervous little kid, from age 10 to age 12. I had anxiety issues, as well as constant digestion problems.

Fortunately, my own parents were open-minded enough to listen to good advice, and cut out red food dye (Red 40 and Carmine) from my diet.

What a lot of people here in America don’t realize about those petroleum and insect derived food dyes is that are banned in Europe.

A High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Food Dye Tour Of WalMart

So hopefully now it makes better sense why I am “outing” WalMart’s vendors for barricading the floor with junk food pillars.

See for yourself the next time you shop there.

I realize that other stores do this to, but I feel it’s taken to a whole new level at Walmart.

This is me inviting you to be in the know; just like I did back in 2009 when I pointed out the marketing scheme of fast food companies using the color combination of red and yellow in their logos to subconsciously control you like a traffic control light:

Yellow: “Slow down.”

Red: “Stop!”

https://familyfriendlydaddyblog.com/2009/12/19/red-and-yella-will-kill-a-fella-2/

What do you think? Do I know what I’m talking about here?

Is it safe to say that the vendors of many stores, WalMart serving as the epitome of them, surround the floor space with pillars of junk food, filled with high fructose corn syrup and artificially food dyes?

Tell me I’m not crazy. Most people say I am.