VEGAN PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS THAT MAY ALSO BE ECO-FRIENDLY

Man, it's getting damn near impossible to shop with confidence these days!  Am I friendly to the earth, friendly to animals, friendly to humans or am I saving one but killing another?

One name I trust is PETA.  The list will help you narrow down which Vegan products are ALSO eco-friendly.  Not all are, but the descriptions are brief.  You'll find the right ones easily.

Make someone else's day magical!
Mackenzie

#ECOFRIENDLY
#NATURAL
#VEGAN

PART TIME HALF ASSED VEGAN NOTES - Skin Care Products at LiveGreen

There's more to being vegan than eating plant based.  There's also the products in the bathroom.  My cousin's friend is an affiliate for LiveGreen, which is member-based online shopping for all-natural pantry, personal care, household and other products.

You can shop by standards, like vegan or gluten-free or Kosher, etc.

I did a little cross-checking on skincare products available on the LiveGreen site and found the following products get good marks from the Environmental Working Group.

PRODUCT TYPE	SKIN TYPE	BRAND	PRODUCT DESCRIPTION	EWG GRADE*
face wash	acne
overnight cream	acne	Andalou Naturals	Clear Overnight Recovery Cream	3
face wash	all	Blum Naturals	Daily Facial Wash Lavender	4
day cream	antiaging	Reviva Labs	InterCell Day Cream w/ Hyaluronic Acid	1
Eye cream	antiaging	Olivella	Olivella Contour Eye Cream	5**
face wash	antiaging	Avalon Organics	Wrinkle therapy cleansing oil	1
face wash	antiaging	Derma E	Vitamin C Micellar Cleansing Water	3
face wash	antiaging	Olivella	Face and Body Bar	1
Moisturizer	antiaging	Beauty without Cruelty	Vitamin C Renewal Moisturizer	3
face wash	dry	Beauty without Cruelty	Herbal Cream Facial Cleanser	3
face wash	dry	Desert Essence	Gentle Nourishing Organic Cleanser	1
Moisturizer	dry	Beauty without Cruelty	Daily Moisturizer	4
Eye cream	Eye and neck	Blum Naturals	Eye and Neck Cream	5**
face wash	normal	Beauty without Cruelty	Herbal Cream Facial Cleanser	3
Moisturizer	normal	Beauty without Cruelty	Daily Moisturizer	4
face wash	oily	Earth Science	Clarifying Facial Wash for Oily & Combination	4
Moisturizer	oily			3
Eye cream	puffy eyes	Alba Botanica	Fast Fix for Puffy Eyes	3
Eye gel	sensitive	Alba Botanica	Hawaiian Green Tea Eye Gel	2
face wash	sensitive	Burts Bees	Face Towelette - Sensitive	3
face wash	sensitive	Desert Essence	Gentle Nourishing Organic Cleanser	1
Moisturizer	sensitive
Eye cream	undereye circles	Alba Botanica	Fast Fix for Undereye Circles	3
face wash		Blum Naturals	Daily Cleansing and Make Up Remover	1
overnight cream		Alba Botanica	Natural Even Advanced Sea Plus Renewal Night Cream	5**

Join and shop at www.livegreen.life/peace

Annual membership is $99.  Shipping is always free.  They plant a tree for every new membership.  Households of 2 or more will save lots and lots of money, even compared to amazon.

* 1 low concern / 3 moderate concern / 5 moderate concern

** all ingredients low concern except for fragrance

#livegreen

#allnatural

#skincare

#treatyourselfdontcheatyourself

Make someone else's day magical!

Mackenzie

PART TIME HALF-ASSED VEGAN NOTES - 100% Vegan in Plantation PARLOUR BAKERY

I saw a Tweet about an elderly woman who attributes her fantastic health to being vegan and kind to animals.  Being half-assed, I wanted to make ONE SOLID attempt at eating a 100% vegan meal or snack, and I'm happy to report, I did just that.

Parlour Vegan Bakery in Plantation is 100% vegan and 1000% delicious.  This is not only my opinion.  Parlour's Butterbeer Cupcake was voted one of VegNews 50 best desserts in 2017.

Parlour Vegan Bakery
Photo: Mackenzie Littledale

PETA Vegan Starter Reference Guide
Pick up your copy at Parlour in Plantation or Boca Raton

Take note, my favorite meal is the broccoli and potato empanadas, but they're hard to get unless you arrive at opening.  The empanadas pretty much sell out straight from the oven.  The broccoli and potato empanadas come with a dipping sauce that I love.  I asked about it.  It's vegan, house-made ranch.  OMG!  So yummy, you'll want more than one empanada.  So don't just try one flavor.  The black bean and corn are a favorite too.  Also try the Buffalo Cauliflower with vegan bleu cheese sauce.  It's spicy and flavorful.  They're all tasty.

Parlour's empanadas
That potato and broccoli is MINE
These SELL OUT quickly!!

Maybe what you're looking to substitute is pizza.  They have awesome vegan pizza rolls, but I also enjoy the cheddar scallion rolls.  So many choices!  What's a half-assed vegan to do????

Pizza Rolls and Cheddar Scallion Rolls
Photo: Mackenzie Littledale

Refreshing beverages, too (in such pretty bottles).

Belvoir drinks
Elderflower and Cucumber Mint
Photo: Mackenzie Littledale

The desserts are works of art and I've never seen so many unique flavors of doughnuts and cupcakes!  The strawberry milk cupcakes are a pleasant treat that take me back to being a kid drinking Strawberry Qwik.

Cupcakes and Doughnuts at Parlour
Photo: Mackenzie Littledale

Mini Cupcakes at Parlour
Photo: Mackenzie Littledale

Cake Pops at Parlour
Photo: Mackenzie Littledale

I love the Napoleons, but honestly, you have to share. They are pretty big for one person.  When you try the guava pastelito, post a comment and let me know how good it is.

Guava Pastelito and Napoleon Pastelito
Photo: Mackenzie Littledale

For Oreo lovers, they have a cookies n cream pie in a cup that I really enjoy (maybe a little too much).  And I just saw a new item: Key Lime Pie in a cup.  $7.99 each.  Money well spent.  Vegan means you've spared a life.  Let me know which you prefer, Oreo or Key Lime.

Vegan Pie Cups at Parlour
Photo: Mackenzie Littledale

At the register, they also have snacks to go.

Plant-based snacks at Parlour
Photo: Mackenzie Littledale

Parlour Vegan Bakery

1487 S. University Drive / Plantation 33324 (btwn Peters Road and I-595)

954.533.7104

415 S. Federal Highway / Boca Raton 33432

561.617.7144

Don't just sit there - spare a life when you eat and go to Parlour.

#vegan

#foodies

#ParlourVeganBakery

#PlacesToEatPlantationFL

#PlacesToEatBocaRaton

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Twitter: @MackenzieLitt13

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Have a wicked awesome day!

Mackenzie

PART TIME HALF-ASSED VEGAN NOTES - I came so very close

I had every good intention of eating full on VEGAN for dinner tonight, but the Vegan Bowl at Bolay (opened May 2017) has tomatoes and tofu.  I will rarely say yes to raw tomatoes.  As for the tofu, I just wasn't feeling it.  Tofu doesn't have the right "mouth feel" for a protein.  Maybe it's just me, but I know damn well what meat is supposed to feel like, and I feel (rather strongly) that a meat substitute should feel like what it's substituting or it's not convincing.  If I'm not convinced, how could I possibly be satisfied?

Still being game and thinking I could improvise this vegan thing, I opted to build my own bowl.  I ordered a small bowl with cilantro noodles and quinoa (pronounced keen-WAH) with sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.  What I really wanted was their cauliflower because it's amazing.  It's so amazing that I wouldn't be surprised if a kid would ask for more, but cauliflower is no longer an option at Bolay.  I shed one tear and got over it.  The Brussels sprouts and sweet potato are out of this world, and I always LOVE the cilantro noodles!

Bolay makes ordering pretty easy.  Choose your size, choose your base, choose your veggies, choose your meats and then toppings.  On days when I allow myself the indulgence of protein, I really have to make a case for their shrimp.  It's plump and delicious and seasoned really well.

Then - and here's where I blew it and un-veganized my meal - I got the pesto sauce.  It contains dairy.  Diehard vegans will shake their heads disapprovingly, but I'm not even trying to go all out vegan.  I'm not even opting for all out vegetarian.  I just want to do it part time.  Half-assed.  Because I do love meat.  It's the chronic inflammation and cardiac arrest that I'd like to eliminate from my future.

Bolay is in Pembroke Pines at Hiatus Road and Pines Blvd. in the same plaza as Walgreen's, European Wax Center, Verizon, and Jared Jewelers.  For the guys, it's at the northeast corner of Hiatus and Pines.

Bo - Bowl
Olay - FUN!
Bolay!  Bolay all day!!

We start with quinoa and cilantro noodles

Quinoa, Cilantro Noodles, Kale, Baby Spinach
Bolay Pembroke Pines.
Photo by Mackenzie Littledale

Then add Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes

Finish with pesto sauce and Voila!  A half-assed vegan meal that tastes great!