Petit Vour: Calling all Cruelty-Free Beauty Fans

Petit-Vour-box

That’s all of you, right?! (None of you are evil, ya?) Excellent.

Petit Vour is a luxury vegan beauty box: each month, they send subscribers four to five sample-size and full-size beauty products that are free from parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde and sulfates. Most importantly to the Petit Vour brand: products are always vegan and cruelty-free…never tested on animals.

After enjoying the June box (which included some gorgeous NCLA light blue nail polish, EVOLVh shampoo and conditioner, TAY rosehip cleanser and a sample of MUN brightening youth serum), I was SO stoked to receive the July box which is chock full of amazing products I otherwise may not have discovered. The real beauty of this box (I’m too groggy for a better pun, sorry) is that it exposes you to boutique brands and products that use vegan and (mostly) natural ingredients and have solid ethics. Note that if you’re a clean beauty purist, as we try our darndest to be, you’ll want to check labels as not all of the products are 100% natural. Some of the June samples were a bit too small for me to get a clear impression of the products, but the box as a whole is still a smorgasbord of loveliness!

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30 Days of Eatin’ Vegan: Mission Complete

It’s been A FULL MONTH since I decided to try out eating vegan for 30 days (check our my first post on the topic for more background!).

Vegan recipes

Phew, that went fast! I gotta say, I may or may not be in the majority here, but this truly has not been that hard – or not nearly as hard as I had imagined. The most encouraging thing I have learned from this experiment is I don’t miss cheese (thought I would). Not even a little! I MAY have cheated and had a few eggs here and there…so that’s been the main block for me. But the most important outcome of this experiment has been how I FEEL. And that’s been amazing. I have energy, I feel vibrant and I haven’t felt hungry or unsatisfied. I’ve tried to keep a good balance of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. And while I may not always eat 100% vegan going forward (someday, maybe!), I will definitely continue to enjoy vegan meals and principles. It’s a great, healthy feeling.

With some help from my vegan and vegetarian friends, lots of inspiration from online recipes and a little willpower, I have had SO much fun making meals! Here are my favorite vegan meals: filling, flavorful, and fast!

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30 Days of Eatin’ Vegan: First Bites

Eating vegan

Friends, I have been feeling a bit…saturated these days. After some soul searching and some experimentation, I have decided to try out eating fully vegan for 30 days.

I have dabbled with vegetarianism, and during my days when I worked at a farmers’ market, I didn’t even so much as look at meat. I didn’t miss it. I didn’t crave beef burgers or chicken wings, and I felt really good: slim, clear headed. Because the vendors at the farmers’ market had a trade deal agreement, I’d trade the cheese I was selling for bunches of organic greens, peppers, squash…even veggies that I couldn’t identify (!). It was SO much fun to come home with my bounty and look up unique recipes online.

My overall feeling of healthiness has been waning this past year. I’ve gained some “happiness” weight with my fiancé, I’m tired a lot, and I don’t have the resolve to say “no” like I used to. (Cupcakes have been happening…too much.) I’m getting married in less than four months, and aside from just losing a few pounds, I want to feel more vibrant. I want to bounce off the walls with energy. I want to simplify my diet. No more flip flopping. I need to make a change. Also, as I enter into my marriage, I want to start establishing habits that are good for both me and my soon-to-be husband. I’m going to be 30 this year, and while I don’t know if a fully vegan lifestyle is for me for all the years to come, I want to try it in effort to see the difference it makes in my existence overall. It’s a step in the right direction, at least. If anything, I will learn new recipes and will hopefully feel a little better by following a regimen that omits dairy and meat. Choices will be easier knowing what I can’t have.

SO: I am calling on myself to take a one month vegan challenge. Thirty days of vegan eating that is inspired and deliberate. I will chronicle my experience on Unsullied: the next post will be about my favorite new vegan recipes and then I will follow up with my results of the challenge! We will see how a dairy-eating, salami-loving gal like myself does trying to make a healthy, plant-based change.

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5 Ways to Beat Breakouts, Naturally

Natural Acne Remedies

My complexion and I are officially frenemies.

I give it nothin’ but love: all-natural treatments and masks a-plenty, clean make-up and green juices. But my skin is rebellious. Ungrateful! It will break out with a vengeance, on occasion.

Lucky for me, the enlightened, glorious green beauty community came to my rescue recently when I turned to Twitter for help. Within just a few hours, I received a slew of helpful recommendations for warding off my breakout using natural remedies (thank you, guys!). I’ve been employing these tactics for two weeks with amazing results.

So, behold, five recommendations from the green beauty community to ward off acne…for real. (!)

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Holiday Baking: Coconut Macaroons

Vegan Coconut Macaroons

Time to get your holiday bake on!

So, this is easily my favorite baking recipe of all time. It’s a soft, chewy, DELICIOUS cookie. I can only make these when I know I am bringing them somewhere…otherwise I can’t be trusted with them. The good news is that this recipe is vegan, and utilizes my good ol’ favorite: agave, so no refined white sugar here! Follow the recipe and you’ll have the best dessert at the par-tay! (or on your couch, alone, watching the PBS special on Liza Minnelli. No judgement here, people!)

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Slow Cooker Cherry Vanilla…Snack

Vegan cherry tart

Ready for a completely last-minute Thanksgiving recipe that will do you right tomorrow? Or any day this winter?

Well, here it is. We don’t really know what this is. We started off calling it a tart, and then we called it oatmeal…ultimately, “snack” just fits the best. What’s so cool about this recipe is that it will not only last you a few days, but it can be used as an early morning breakfast, or an after-dinner treat, depending on how you serve it. It’s low cal, low fat, and packed with nutrients. Specifically, buy “tart” dried cherries, if you can – they are not only a lovely, tasty compliment to the oats and brown sugar, but they are a super fruit! We hear this term a lot, don’t we? In this case, without a doubt, it is true. Tart dried cherries are high in disease fighting antioxidants, beta carotene, and they also carry anti- inflammatory benefits. Nutritionists actually recommend tart cherries to help reduce post- exercise muscle and joint pain! What…? I just like the way they taste. Bonus! (did you know they also help prevent the effects of jet lag, too?) This recipe also contains a lot of natural fiber… so, ya know, thank me tomorrow or whatever!

Here is the recipe I used, with some room for substitutions, based on what you have in your cabinet at the moment.

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Vegan Baking: Because Why Not?

vegan baking
Photo credit: massdistraction

I should be clear: I am not a vegan. I have plenty of vegan friends, and I enjoy vegan cuisine on a regular, if not daily basis…but I am not a vegan. Or a vegetarian. I enjoy meats occasionally (there, I said it). A few times a month, I will eat chicken breast without hormones, or have a few slices of uncured turkey bacon with breakfast. I enjoy a good STEAK (and maybe some dairy from time to time). It’s not excessive, but it’s there. Although I have contemplated going entirely vegan one day…today is not that day! So, let me get to my point: vegan baking.

Living in LA, I have friends from all walks of life: cancer survivors, artists of all kinds, yoga teachers, photographers, mothers, fathers, and people of all ages. Film people, music people. People that have many, and I do mean MANY dietary preferences and restrictions. So, as you can imagine, bringing my mother’s triple-layer, dairy-rich dessert bars to a party is not the best choice for everyone (oh, but they are delicious…). So, I started a rule for myself to follow. As someone who enjoys a cookie or a cake for special occasions, I decided that on said special occasions, I would only bake with vegan ingredients. You never know who will be at a party or event you’re attending, and I really hate excluding people from glorious confections.

Vegan baking is actually really easy, too, and I DARE you to miss the eggs, butter and whatever else you may be using in your baked goods. I have found that often times, the frostings, the toppings, the cakey parts – they are even better than what I was doing before I decided to be an all-vegan baker. I love a challenge, and I enjoy knowing that what I am making is…well, maybe not GOOD for me (let’s be honest, if you’re gonna eat the whole damn pan of vegan brownies, you’re still not doing your ass any favors)…but better for me than the buttery, dairy-rich alternatives (butter…drool).

Here are some simple vegan conversions you can use the next time you need to make muffins for your co-workers, cookies for your kids, or cake for your friend’s baby shower. Stay tuned for some fun vegan recipes coming up!

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