Dr. Oz Puts Steak Loving Cowboy On 28 Day Vegan Challenge

Dr. Oz recently got a real deal cowboy to commit to a vegan diet to save his life. In addition to clearing up his plaque-ridden heart, Dr. Oz bet him that his diabetes would go away too! Check out the video and follow the story here.

Oh, and check out these vegan cowboy boots:

DBTV: Girlie Girl & The Brute at The Green Shows, Pt 3

This is the third part of our series on the Green Shows for Fashion Week in NYC. Featuring author, model, and activist Summer Rayne Oakes, designers Johanna Hofring & Tor Soderin of Ekovaruhuset (House of Organic), and John Masters of John Masters Organics.

Beefless-Tips Stuffed Collards with Eggplant & Shiitake

I recently got to try some of Gardein’s new frozen line, and I experimented with some recipes using their meatless “meats”. They are low-fat and high protein, and taste incredibly authentic. If you are into the taste and texture of meat but want to avoid the ethical, ecological, and social implications of eating animals, this is a pretty great product made from a combination of soy, wheat gluten, quinoa, amaranth, millet and kamut!

I think this recipe for Beefless-Tips Stuffed Collards with Eggplant and Shiitake is easy, delicious and full of nutrients. Enjoy!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED (serves 2):

• 1 small red onion
• 6 medium shiitake mushroom heads
• 1 cup chopped eggplant (about 1/4 of large Eggplant)
• 1/4 cup mixed olives including juice
• 1 tbs red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tbs olive oil, for sauteing
• 2 large collard green leaves
• 1/2 bag (about 2/3 cup) Gardein Beefless Tips
• salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash 2 large collard green leaves, and set aside on 2 plates.
2. Bring a large, oiled skillet ( I prefer cast iron) to medium head.
3. Chop the onion, mushrooms, and eggplant and place in the hot skillet. Add the olives and Gardein Beefless Tips.
4. Saute on medium heat for about 10-12 minutes, until the eggplant turn golden and begins to fall apart.
5. Add the red wine vinegar, and white wine and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes until the liquid cooks off.
6. Divide the contents of the skillet in half, and scoop each half onto a raw collard leaf.
7. Fold the leaf over, then flip so the midrib is on the outside and top:
8. Serve and enjoy!

TIP:

This would go great with some soup. Try my Savory Parsnip or Souper Easy Squash Soup

DBTV: Girlie Girl & The Brute at The Green Shows, Pt 2

This is part 2 of our series about The Green Shows at NYC Fashion week. In this installment we meet Tara St. James of Study, Suki Kramer of Suki, and Eric Dorfman, founder of The Green Shows. Look out for part 3, coming soon!

G-STAR, Mjolk, B.Son, RCVA

G-STAR is known for its urban, experimental approach to denim and it’s technical, decorative stitching and embellishments. The men’s collection features organic denim jackets, shirts and jeans. This organic vintage shirt does not disappoint, and would look fantastic on your walk for animals.

RVCA created a vegan studded pleather duffle bag that can carry all the anti-fur pamphlets you’ll hand out this autumn and winter, in style.

Sometimes Autumn weather can throw you for a loop. A short sleeve hoodie is a good compromise. These organic cotton hoodies from San Francisco’s B.Son can do the trick while apple-picking or partying with the turkeys at Thanksliving.

If you’ve gotta just roll up your sleeves and fight the good fight for wild horses, I love the wooden toggle-sleeve on this organic cotton shirt from the Australian line, Mjolk.

Drop-crotch seems to be coming up all over the place. People either love it or hate it, and it’s a pretty loud trend in Europe and Australia. Mjolk offers up these organic cotton jersey trousers. If slouch is not your thing, don’t worry. If you’re a risk-taker, dive in do some dancing in celebration of the 4.5 million animals recently saved from cruel experiments.

DBTV: Girlie Girl & The Brute at The Green Shows, Pt 1

The Green Shows were an extravaganza of sustainable designers showcased over two days during NYC’s Fashion Week just days ago! Check out part 1 of our series from The Green Shows, featuring yours truly, Chloe Jo Berman from Girlie Girl Army, and designers Bahar Shahpar and Lara Miller. Stay tuned for more!

DBTV: Tarkan Interview at NYC Fashion Week

Tarkan might not yet be a household name in the United States, but with his forthcoming album – star studded with collaborations featuring some of the hottest US artists, it soon will be unforgettable. In Europe, Russia, and especially Turkey, the press has compared his effect to that of Elvis’ on the US in the 1950s. Tarkan, famous for his spellbinding performances, is an award winning German-born, Turkish pop-singer known as the “prince of pop” by the media on the other side of the Atlantic. He has several multi-platinum selling records, with a total of over 15 million albums sold.

Check out my interview with Tarkan at the Emilie Humanitary fundraiser at Fashion Week in NYC where we discuss his humanitarian, environmental, and animal causes in addition to music such as his fighting of a controversial dam in Turkey and his collaboration with PETA to help animals like strays in Turkey and those typically used in the fur industry.

Tarkan was confronted by PETA in 2008 for wearing fur on the cover of his album. Once he learned of the plight of fur-bearing animals, he made an apology and has sworn it off. He also really enjoyed the Dr. Cow’s vegan cheese I gave him, and I hope to get the opportunity to prepare him a full vegan meal soon!

Raw Sweet-Pesto “Pasta”

The last recipe I did was a cooked, more traditional version of sweet pesto pasta – but for those of you who like it raw, I offer you my uncooked interpretation. Zucchini, squash (and even eggplant and carrots!) can be shredded into thin, linguine-like strips. If you suffer from gluten allergies, want to shrink your carb-footprint, or just want a lighter, healthier dish – check this cheap and easy (just like me!) recipe:

WHAT YOU’LL NEED (serves 2):

• 1 med-large zucchini
• 1.5 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 clove raw garlic
• 2 dried black mission figs
• 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbs nutritional yeast*
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

1. Using a vegetable peeler, shred the zucchini very thinly (using almost no pressure).
2. In a blender, combine the basil, cashews, avocado, water, garlic, figs, vinegar, nutritional yeast, salt, and Italian seasoning. Save the black pepper for putting on top!
3. Pour the pesto over the shredded “pasta”, mix, top with the pepper, and serve!

Q&A

*Sometimes when I include Nutritional Yeast in a raw recipe, readers ask, “Is Nutritional Yeast actually raw?”.

The answer is no, it’s not raw. However, you NEVER want to eat raw yeast! Nutritional Yeast it is a really valuable supplement with a rock-star nutritional profile. So if you’re religiously raw – skip it. If not, it’s crucial – and tastes like yummy, nutty, cheesy goodness! According to Sundance Natural Foods:

Raised On Molasses
Nutritional yeast is grown on mineral enriched molasses and used as a food supplement. At the end of the growth period, the culture is pasteurized to kill the yeast. You never want to use a live yeast (i.e. baking yeast) as a food supplement because the live yeast continues to grow in the intestine and actually uses up the vitamin B in the body instead of replenishing the supply. (Brewer’s yeast is nutritionally the same but as a by-product of the beer-brewing industry it has a characteristic bitter hops flavor.)

It’s Good For Ya’
Nutritional yeast contains 18 amino acids (forming the complete protein) and 15 minerals. Being rich in the B-complex vitamins, it is vital in many ways and particularly good for stress reduction. The B-complex vitamins help make nutritional yeast such a valuable supplement, especially to the vegetarian. It is one of the rare vegetarian sources of B12.
One element of yeast is the trace mineral chromium, also known as the Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF). This is necessary to regulate blood sugar and is important for diabetics and people with a tendency toward low blood sugar.

Hockey Heavy-Weight Georges Laraque Goes Vegan

Montreal Canadien enforcer Georges Laraque is down to a relatively svelte 245 pounds after adhering to a vegan diet this summer. Graham Hughes/THE CANADIAN PRESS

After watching the documentary, Earthlings narrated by Joaquin Phoenix – Montreal Canadiens Forward, Georges Laraque, committed himself to a vegan lifestlye. That’s right – no dairy, no poultry, no fish, no more leather shoes or animal byproducts for this hockey tough-guy. And it’s not for his health (although he is benefiting) – it’s for the animals.

“It’s unconscionable what’s happening to animals in this country and the way we treat animals we eat. … I realized I had to make some big changes…I’ve lost some weight, but I’ve been working with a really great nutritionist and I’ve never had this much energy,” - Georges Laraque

Read the FULL ARTICLE, and if you haven’t seen Earthlings yet, watch it now. Lives are depending on it.

April77 DIY Denim Party at OAK NYC

The April77 party at Oak was on the top-10 parties list (Refinery29)  for Fashion’s Night Out, kicking off fashion week. I met up with Tommy Über of April77 at OAK to chat and check out some denim customizing!

Concerning April77′s creator and designer, Brice Partouche being a long-time vegetarian and recent convert to vegan, and making a cruelty-free shoe line, Tommy Über had this to say:

We don’t make any leather... It’s important to see the vision of someone that really carries his personal causes into a clothing line… And that’s why people love April77 – because it’s engaged. – Tommy Über, APRIL77

The current April77 collection does have wool, but Brice personally ensured me that all future collections will be free from animal products.