Veggie Bits
Compassionate Living Festival in North Carolina October 1-3
The Nineteenth Annual International Compassionate Living Festival will be held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center in Research Triangle Park, near Durham, NC. The dates for the conference are Friday, October 1, through Sunday, October 3, 2004. Hosted by the Institute for Animals & Society and the Culture and Animals Foundation, the theme for this year's conference is Empty Cages, based upon Tom Regan's new book of the same name.
For more information about this conference, contact the Institute for Animals & Society at (410) 675-4566 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Their website is www.animalsandsociety.org. Contact the Culture and Animals Foundation at (919) 782-3739 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Their website is www.cultureandanimals.org.
Cruelty-Free Contact Solutions
Clear Conscience offers a Multi-Purpose Solution for cleaning, disinfecting, and storing soft (hydrophilic) contact lenses and a Multi-Action Solution for the rigid, gas-permeable variety. Both of these products are cruelty-free, sterilized without radiation, and packaged in recyclable plastic bottles with spill-proof tops.
Contact Clear Conscience at P.O. Box 17855, Arlington, VA 22216, or at (800) 595-9592. You may also visit their website at www.clearconscience.com for ordering information or a list of retailers near you.
World Vegetarian Congress Meets in Brazil this November
The 2004 World Vegetarian Congress will take place at the Costão de Santinho Resort & Spa in Florianópolis, Brazil, from November 8-14, 2004. This world meeting of vegetarians is sponsored by the International Vegetarian Union, www.ivu.org, together with the Brazilian Vegetarian Society, www.svb.org.br. The event will offer conferences and workshops, cooking classes, a cruelty-free fashion show, a vegan luau, and tours of the surrounding area. All are welcome!
Information about accomodations and registration for the Congress is now available on the IVU website at www.ivu.org/congress/2004/index.html.
A Cure for Your Snack Attacks, Even When You're on the Go
It's always tempting to get a scoopful of nuts or dried fruit when you pass those bulk bins at the local market. Now, Eden Foods has introduced six varieties of such snacks in convenient, portable, and resealable 4-ounce packages. Among the choices are Organic Tamari Roasted Almonds, Organic Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, and Dried Montmorency Tart Cherries. If you can't decide, there's always All Mixed Up, which is dry roasted and lightly salted organic pumpkin seeds, organic almonds, dried Montmorency tart cherries, and organic raisins. Or try All Mixed Up Too, which includes many of the ingredients in the original, as well as organic sunflower seeds.
You may contact Eden Foods, Inc., at 701 Tecumseh Road, Clinton, MI 49236, or call (800) 248-0320. Their website is www.edenfoods.com.
Tired of the Same Veggies in Your Mexican Dishes?
Then, try using cacti, which taste similar to green beans with a tart citrus flavor. Edible cacti are a staple in raw foods diets, but they also work well in soups, salads, salsas, and even burritos.
Rivenrock Gardens offers a variety of certified organic spined and spineless edible catci. For ordering information, contact them at Rivenrock Gardens, P.O. Box 196, Nipomo, CA 93444, or at info@rivenrock. com. Their website is www.rivenrock.com.
VegDining.com Announces Top Restaurants for 2003
VegDining.com has announced the winners of its first annual Vegetarian Restaurants of the Year Awards. The nominees, selected by the on-line vegetarian restaurant directory's visitors, included all-veggie establishments from across North America. Among the 2003 honorees are Grasshopper in Boston; Chicago Diner and Karyn's Fresh Corner in Chicago; Watercourse in Denver; Sublime in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Native Foods and Real Food Daily in Los Angeles; Candle Café in New York City; Millennium in San Francisco; Roxanne's in the San Francisco Bay Area; Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant and The Vegetable Garden in Washington, D.C.; Fressen in Toronto; and Bo Kong in Vancouver. Voting for the 2004 Awards will begin in the fall.
Plum Tomatoes All Year Round
Muir Glen is adding to its already extensive line of organic tomatoes, sauces, and salsas with the introduction of Organic Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes in 28-ounce cans. These tomatoes contain less water than other varieties and therefore add thickness to homemade sauces, long after their peak season ends.
Contact Small Planet Foods, Muir Glen's parent company, at 719 Metcalf Street, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284-2011. You may also call (800) 832-6345 or visit www.muirglen.com.
Single-Serve Soymilks for Back to School!
Are your kids bored with juice drinks in their lunch boxes? Silk now offers its Vanilla Shake and Chocolate flavor soymilks in shelf-stable, portable, individual servings. These 8.25-ounce prisma packs' come with a detachable straw and an ergonomic shape that makes them easy for little hands to hold.
Contact Silk's parent company, White Wave, at 1990 North 57th Court, Boulder, CO 80301, or at (800) 488-9283. Or visit www.silkissoy.com.
Step into Liquid
Liquid toothpastes have become popular since they are said to have the same breath-freshening abilities as mouthwash. Tom's of Maine now offers three cruelty-free liquid toothpastes that will leave your mouth tingling hours after you brush. Their Natural Anti-Plaque plus Whitening comes in spearmint, cinnamint, and fennel, while their Natural Anti-Plaque Tartar Control plus Whitening is available in spearmint and peppermint varieties. The Natural Children's Non-Fluoride provides a naturally sweetened Goofy-Grape flavor that will make kids actually want to brush.
Contact Tom's of Maine at 302 Lafayette Center, P.O. Box 710, Kennebunk, ME 04043, or at (207) 985-2011. Visit their website at www.tomsofmaine.com.
Wheat-Free Breads and Pasta and Flourless Tortillas
Food for Life, a small, family-owned natural foods bakery, produces hearty wheat- and gluten-free breads in White Rice, Brown Rice, Rice Almond, Rice Pecan, and Raisin Pecan varieties. They also offer Rice Elbow Pasta made from only brown rice flour.
In addition, Food for Life makes organic, flour- less New Mexican Style Sprouted Grain Tortillas. The recipe for this product was inspired by the biblical verse Ezekiel 4:9, which suggests a combination of grains and legumes that created this truly heavenly bread.
Look for these products in natural foods and specialty stores. Or write to Food for Life Baking Com- pany, Inc., at 2991 East Doherty Street, Corona, CA 92879. You may also call them at (800) 797-5090 or visit http://www.foodforlife.com/ for more information.
Solidly Sold on These Sodas
Even the pickiest soft drink connoisseur will fall in love with Steaz, a fantastic line of microbrewed green tea sodas. These lightly carbonated beverages come in Key Lime, Lemon Dew, Raspberry, Orange, Root Beer, and an absolutely fabulous Cola flavor. If the variety isn't tempting enough, this may also the first line of soft drinks in the United States to be certified organic.
Look for Steaz at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Safeway, and other stores that carry natural products. Or contact The Healthy Beverage Company at MB #356, 2865 South Eagle Road, Newtown, PA 18940, or at (800) 295-2011. Their website is https://steaz.com/.
Get Away from the Grill!
Lightlife, already known for its organic seitans and tempehs, now offers Organic Tempeh Grilles in Lemon and Tamari flavors. These satisfying soy-rice creations are easy to heat and serve whole as a sandwich patty or in cubes on toothpicks as appetizers.
Look for Lightlife products in natural foods stores and supermarkets nationwide. Contact the company at 153 Industrial Boulevard, Turners Falls, MA 01376, or at (877) 769-3279. Or visit www.lightlife.com.
Perhaps Peter Piper Prefers to Pick a Peck of These...
Sunshine Farms is believed to be the first in North America to offer certified organic pickles, including bread & butter and baby, quarter, and whole dills. They also offer organic pickled beans, organic pickled garlic, and organic pickled garlic scapes. All of their products are certified kosher.
Write Sunshine Farms at 30043 Jane Road, RR#5, Thamesville, ON, Canada N0P 2K0. You may also contact them at (519) 692-4416 or through e-mail at [email protected].
Announcing the Birth of an Organic Linens Line
For more than a decade, Ecobaby Organics, Inc., has offered a range of natural products for babies and children, including organic cotton clothes, diapers, toys, and linens. Now, the company has created a subsidiary named Pure-Rest to bring adult customers their own line of great organic cotton, chemical-free items. These include sheets with up to a 350-thread count in a variety of sizes, colors, and prints; mattress pads; comforters; duvets; towels; and sherpa bathrobes.
To learn more, contact Pure-Rest at 332 Coogan Way, El Cajon, CA 92020, or at (619) 851-8236. Information is also available through their website at www.purerest.com.
