Thursday, December 29, 2016

Look what happened!!!

This is the last blog post of this year! sniff sniff! But thankfully it's all good news!
 
When I look back at 2016, I am absolutely amazed at all we have accomplished in the good food movement. While this year has been full of surprises and a lot of turmoil – there is SO MUCH GOOD to reflect on! Everything from food companies finally listening to us, to a whirlwind book tour, to meeting so many of you... These are the experiences that I never want to forget, and which will continue to inspire me into the new year. I want you to feel inspired and motivated to take on 2017 too! There has been a lot of sadness in the world, but it is important to take the time each day to focus on the good in our lives.
 
 
Read this new post today, share it with your friends and family and ask them to join our movement. We need all hands on deck in the coming new year.
 
Sending much love to you all!
 
Xo,
Vani 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


P.O. Box 31521 Charlotte, NC 28231

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Tuesday, December 27, 2016

$20 in organic food? Yes, please!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend! There is nothing worse than being hungry after a big weekend of eating treats and opening up my pantry only to find it empty! Having a kitchen stocked up with all the right essentials is key to sticking to a healthy diet, so I do everything I can to make sure that I'm prepared by keeping my favorite staples on hand. But it can be tough during the holiday season when you are focused on so many other things!

That's one of the reasons I partnered with Thrive Market - an online shop that has organic groceries at a fraction of the price found at other stores. Their website allows me to quickly stock up on the grocery staples I love at drastically reduced prices (up to 25-50% off) with free shipping when I spend over $49. Even for someone like me, that lives in close proximity to several natural food stores, the convenience of having organic food delivered straight to my house makes me so happy - especially since it's way cheaper too!

Here are some of my favorite staples I get from Thrive Market (plus many more here)... 

  1. Simply Organic Cayenne Pepper - I use this organic cayenne pepper every morning for my daily lemon water habit. Cayenne is a little powerhouse that can boost metabolism, fight food cravings, and enhance blood circulation. It's vital to only use organic spices like this, to avoid those that have been treated with chemicals and are irradiated. All of the processing that non-organic spices go through diminishes their health benefits!

  1. Yellow Barn Pasta Sauce - I like to serve this over spaghetti squash or organic pasta. These sauces taste like homemade - plus they're organic, biodynamic and taste so good you could eat right out of the jar with the spoon!

  1. Tolerant Lentil Pasta - This tastes like pasta, but instead of using heavily processed flours, it's made entirely out of organic lentils and peas. It goes great with Yellow Barn's pasta sauce! This pasta is extremely high in protein and fiber and is super filling - so it's perfect for a meatless meal. Tolerant pastas can be a bit spendy in stores, but Thrive Market has an amazing price on these! 

  1. Kale Chips - It's no secret that I love kale, but even if you aren't a fan of kale these might change your mind! They make a fun and crunchy snack that is a much healthier alternative to fried chips. They're made with whole food ingredients and these kale chips are also dairy-free but taste cheesy! They come in little bags that are great for traveling or bringing to the office.

  1. Organic Nuts - It's straight-up shocking what some brands add to nuts... like hidden MSG, GMO oils, and preservatives. Nuts are healthy, but not when they are loaded up with ingredients like that! That's why I buy just plain organic nuts - usually raw and always without any preservatives or other nasty additives. I like to add these to oatmeal, make homemade nut milk, or just have them handy for a quick snack! It can be hard to find good quality organic nuts in some stores (especially organic pistachios and pecans!) and Thrive Market has a big selection that is super affordable (one 16 oz  bag will last a long time!)

Pick these favorites up at Thrive Market and see the rest of my favorite pantry staples here!

If you've never shopped at Thrive Market before, they'll give you $20 off your first order of $40 or more - and that's on top of their already awesome prices! No code needed to get $20 off, just go to this link and the coupon will automatically be applied once you've added $40 to your cart.

They'll also give you your first month free so you can try it out and see if you love it as much as I do. The way Thrive Market works is similar to Costco because you need to join to shop, but their membership fee is really reasonable (works out to about $5 month, for which you will be charged annually after your one month trial membership). This increases their buying power, and that is how they can offer these discounted prices. For every paid membership, they give a free membership to a low-income family - which is another reason that I love partnering with companies like this!

If someone just handed me a $20 coupon for Whole Foods I would immediately run to the store and stock up! Wouldn't you?

Use your $20 off Thrive Market coupon here ($40 minimum purchase required)

When it comes to buying organic food, Thrive Market has really become a lifesaver for me. I hope it helps you buy all of the organic goodies that you need to stock up your kitchen with the healthiest foods at a reasonable price. As Thrive Market is a partner of ours, your purchase also supports the work we do here at Food Babe, so thank you!

If any of your friends or family live far away from natural food stores, complain about organic food prices or just need to save time and money, please forward this email to them.

Xo,

Vani

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



P.O. Box 31521 Charlotte, NC 28231

If you would like to stop receiving free food investigations, recipes and healthy living tips, you can update your preferences here.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

The worst holiday drink I’ve ever seen.

When I received the ingredient list for Chick-fil-A's new holiday drink - I could not believe my eyes. There are so many controversial ingredients in there and the list is a mile long! It's insanity!

Of course I can't keep this information to myself, so I published the complete list for you. See the scandalous ingredient list here.

I'm not saying you shouldn't have festive treats for the holidays, but it just baffles me how food companies and restaurants fill their food with the WORST possible ingredients in the name of the holidays! The holidays shouldn't be an excuse to poison the public, and you can still enjoy delicious goodies without junky ingredients.

In my new post on the blog, I discuss why to avoid holiday death traps like this shake and give you a round-up of my favorite healthy holiday treats. Read it here.

If you know someone who is still eating at Chick-fil-A, please share this information with them and spread the word! Who knows… maybe someday restaurants like Chick-fil-A will start creating holiday treats that are actually made with real food!

Xo,

Vani

P.S. Don't forget to check out my favorite LAST MINUTE gift ideas - Including offers from my favorite companies that expire this week! See them all here - especially this water filter that is the gift that keeps giving!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



P.O. Box 31521 Charlotte, NC 28231

If you would like to stop receiving free food investigations, recipes and healthy living tips, you can update your preferences here.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Beware of this aisle at the grocery store...

If you do one thing this holiday season - avoid what I call "The Holiday Death Aisle" at the supermarket and discount drug stores. That aisle is filled with brightly colored JUNK made with bleached and heavily processed flour, artificial colors derived from petroleum, nasty preservatives, GMO refined white sugars and GMO oils, and conflict palm oil.

Just because it's the holidays, you don't need to subject your body to ingredients like this!

Years ago, I stopped buying packaged holiday candies and cookies and started the tradition of baking seasonal treats with real whole food organic ingredients instead - and I've never looked back!

My new holiday cookie recipe is sure to become a favorite around here, and there's no refined sugar! These Almond Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies look a little fancy, but only take about 15 minutes of your time to put together – quicker than it would take to run to the store! Get the step-by-step directions and recipe here.

Also, if you are in the baking mood like I am around here (nesting until the baby comes!)... Here are some other holiday treat recipes that are favorites of mine. I hope you make a few of these goodies for your friends and family this holiday season.

Feel free to share this list of recipes with your friends and family too! Let's help everyone make healthier treats this year and beyond.

Xo,

Vani

P.S. If you are still looking for last minute gift ideas, you've got to check out my Food Babe Favorites! Our partners have extended some amazing discounts just for you to get the perfect gift.

 

 

 

 



P.O. Box 31521 Charlotte, NC 28231

If you would like to stop receiving free food investigations, recipes and healthy living tips, you can update your preferences here.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

9 life changing books!

I've got a brand new post for you today with a round up of my favorite LAST MINUTE GIFT ideas - Including 9 books that have changed my life! Most of these books came out this year and I'm so excited to share them with you. 

See the list here

Your friends and family are going to love these!

Xo,

Vani 



P.O. Box 31521 Charlotte, NC 28231

If you would like to stop receiving free food investigations, recipes and healthy living tips, you can update your preferences here.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Food Babe Gift Alert! Get the toxic chemicals out of your meat.

Today is the VERY LAST DAY that my new partner Butcher Box will give you $25 off a box full of antibiotic and hormone free meat that was NEVER raised on a factory farm. Make sure to enter the code "foodbabe" to get this special offer!

Also when you get your Butcher Box, you can use the good meat to make new recipes like this new one I posted yesterday on the blog. It's an extremely satisfying meal and and you can do everything in just one pan! Get the new recipe here.

If you haven't made the commitment to stop buying factory farm meat, here's why you should:

  • Factory farm animals are crammed together in inhumane living conditions, subsisting on a diet of chemical-laden GMOs and antibiotics, while being pumped full of hormones and drugs to make them grow bigger.
  • Toxic chemicals accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals.
  • These animals are not healthy. And when we eat animals that are not healthy - we become unhealthy
  • Grass-fed and pastured meat is healthier for you - lower in total fat, while being higher in heart-healthy Omega 3's that help to reduce inflammation. It's also higher in some vitamins and minerals.
  • One of the best ways to stop factory farming is to vote with your dollars and support farmers who are doing the right thing - and Butcher Box is a great way to do that.

Get $25 off your first Butcher Box with the code "foodbabe" here - Ends today!

It's not easy to find grass fed and pastured meats that are raised in humane conditions on family farms at grocery stores - especially since labeling can be confusing. That's why I partnered with Butcher Box. They have done the work for you and found small family farms that hold quality and animal welfare as their core values.

How Butcher Box works (and why it's the perfect affordable and convenient solution):

  • Choose which box you prefer from their selection of 100% Grass-fed Beef, Organic/Pastured Chicken and/or Heritage Breed Pork. You can also include delicious add-ons like uncured sugar-free bacon and whole chickens.
  • Set it up so that you'll automatically get a new Butcher Box sent to your house every month, or every 2 months, or every 3 months.
  • Use the code "foodbabe" to get your $25 discount!
  • Butcher Box will ship your box to your house for free. All meats will arrive frozen solid with enough for about 20 individual meals!
  • You can change your schedule or cancel at anytime! No commitments.

There is no better gift than one that promotes health. This holiday season, I hope that you give yourself and your family this wonderful gift and see how much better you feel. It's truly life-changing!

Have a great weekend!

Xo,

Vani

P.S. Remember after today, the $25 off offer ends. Choose your Butcher Box here before midnight tonight, if you'd like to try the service!

 

 

 

 

 



P.O. Box 31521 Charlotte, NC 28231

If you would like to stop receiving free food investigations, recipes and healthy living tips, you can update your preferences here.

Monday, December 5, 2016

Revealing My Next Favorite Gift!!!

I hope you have put some of the tips I shared with you last week into action, and if you haven't - don't worry, I've got a solution for you today that will make avoiding factory farmed meat even EASIER!

When you stop buying meat raised on factory farms you will feel SO MUCH better! You'll no longer be eating meats with the accumulated toxins that come from living crammed together in inhumane living conditions, subsisting on a diet of chemical-laden GMOs and antibiotics, while being pumped full of hormones and drugs to make them grow bigger.

This is NOT how we should be raising animals for food, and I know you agree with me.

From the mountains of emails I've received, I see that many of you desperately want to stop buying meat from factory farms, and that's why I have a new partner here at FoodBabe.com that will help you (and everyone you know) do just that!

Butcher Box is a home delivery service that provides a convenient and affordable solution that will make it easy for you to kiss factory farmed meat goodbye FOR GOOD. You don't even need to leave your house!

Butcher Box's meats are 100% grass-fed and grass finished, antibiotic and hormone free, and NEVER raised on a factory farm. Not only is their beef, chicken, and pork better for you and the world we live in - but they will ship it directly to you!

Get a very EXCLUSIVE $25 off of any Butcher Box when you use the code "foodbabe"- this week only (expires Friday, 12/9/16)! This offer is not available anywhere else and is just for Food Babe email subscribers and your friends.

Get Your Butcher Box Here.

Not only am I now using this service, but I've got my team and some family members on board too! Here's why we love them:

  • They have done the work for you and found small family farms that hold quality and animal welfare as their core values, who never use hormones or antibiotics and grass-finish their cattle. No more scrutinizing labels at the store and searching high and low for farms that you can trust!
  • Each Butcher Box comes with your choice of dinner-ready 100% Grass-fed Beef, Organic/Pastured Chicken or Heritage Breed Pork, with enough for about 20 individual meals! If you need some inspiration, they include recipe cards with every box too.
  • You get to choose which type of meat you and your family prefer. For instance, if you don't eat beef you can choose their new chicken and pork box + delicious add-ons like uncured sugar-free bacon and whole chickens.
  • It's a flexible subscription service, depending on how much meat you and your family eat on a regular basis. You can set it up so that you'll automatically get a new Butcher Box sent to your house every month, or every 2 months, or every 3 months + you can change the schedule or cancel at anytime! No commitments.
  • The selection varies every month so you won't get stuck in a rut!
  • Choosing only grass-fed and pastured meat is extremely beneficial to your health. These meats are lower in total fat, while being higher in heart-healthy Omega 3's that help to reduce inflammation. They are also higher in some vitamins and minerals.
  • When we met the founders (Mike & Mike), we immediately saw that they share the same values in wanting to fix our broken food system. One of the best ways to make a difference is to vote with your dollars and support farmers who are doing the right thing and Butcher Box is a great way to do that.

Let's show the meat industry that we don't want to buy their factory farmed meat any longer!

Try Butcher Box now and get $25 off with code "foodbabe". This code expires this Friday, December 9th so don't delay!

This is also one of my Food Babe Favorite Gifts of the season that makes the perfect gift to your loved ones (and yourself). There is no better gift than one that promotes health. I hope that you give yourself and your family this wonderful gift and see how much better you feel. It's truly life-changing!

See The Butcher Box Gift Options Here.

Every purchase helps to support the work and investigations that we do here at Food Babe, so my team and I thank you very much for the support.

Xo,

Vani

P.S. If you know anyone who would love access to grass-fed and pastured meats, please forward this email to them! We're changing the way the industry produces our food together - and we need everyone on board!

 

 

 



P.O. Box 31521 Charlotte, NC 28231

If you would like to stop receiving free food investigations, recipes and healthy living tips, you can update your preferences here.

Friday, December 2, 2016

This should come with a warning label - but doesn’t!

Wow, what a response from my last email! It is clear that you are concerned about the meat you eat out in restaurants and buy to cook in your home. I received so many questions about how to identify factory farmed meat when shopping at the grocery store, what kind of labels to look for, which brands to avoid, etc.

These are ALL excellent questions and I want to share my favorite tips with you today!

Meat and dairy companies often use pictures of grassy farms and terms like "Natural", "Humanely Raised", and "Cage Free" on their packaging. Don't fall for it! Most of this is just marketing.

Below is a list of popular labels you'll find on meat and what they REALLY mean.

Even if you've been buying the same brands for years and think it's safe, check it again and really examine the labeling on the package to make sure you know what you're getting. They do try to trick you!

Meat with unverified labels like these could have been (and likely was) raised on a factory farm and is not usually the best choice:

  • Natural - No artificial ingredients or added color and it's only minimally processed. May still have been given hormones, antibiotics, drugs, and raised on GMOs in a factory farm. This label doesn't mean what it should and is essentially meaningless!
  • Humanely Raised or Raised in a Humane Environment – The term "humane" is not properly regulated and there are no USDA standards. Brands like Simple Truth and Harvestland brands – have been caught raising their chickens on factory farms although they were labeled this way.
  • No Added Hormones - No hormones were given during the animal's lifetime, but they may have still been given antibiotics or other growth promoting drugs. This is a common label on poultry and pork, but it means absolutely nothing because the USDA does not allow hormones to be administered to poultry or pork anyway! This is a shady way to mislead customers.
  • Raised Without Antibiotics - No antibiotics were given during the animal's lifetime. May have still been administered hormones (if not poultry or pork) or other growth-promoting drugs such as ractopamine in turkey, and may have been fed GMOs on a factory farm.
  • Vegetarian Fed - Not fed any animal products. May have been fed grains, GMOs, antibiotics, or given growth hormones.
  • Free Range - Animals had access to the outdoors, but it is possible that they never stepped outside. May have still been administered hormones, antibiotics, or other growth-promoting drugs such as ractopamine, and may have been fed GMOs on a factory farm.
  • "Cage Free" on poultry - This label on poultry is misleading because only chickens raised for eggs are typically caged.
  • Grass fed - Unless 3rd party certified (see below for more info), this term is not properly regulated and the USDA allows this term to be used on factory farmed meat. May have still been administered hormones, antibiotics, or other growth-promoting drugs such as ractopamine.

It sure would be nice if factory farmed meat had a big giant WARNING LABEL on it, but unfortunately it doesn't...

That's why I prefer to obtain meat directly from local farms or sources I trust where they are transparent about their practices. Knowing the source of my meat, gives me peace of mind that the animals truly had a "free-range" life and weren't kept in a crate and pumped with antibiotics in some Big Ag operation. Ideally, I want all the meat I buy to come from a healthy, contented animal that grazed on an open, green pasture its whole life.

One of the best ways to do this is to connect online with farmer's markets or use subscription-based Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) to purchase organic and grassfed meat.

Yes, this meat may cost more than what you find in an average supermarket. But rather than judge the value of food in terms of dollars, think of its value in terms of nutrition – and your health. Toxins accumulate in animal tissue - we want the meat we eat to be as healthy as possible!

When shopping for meat in the supermarket, there are a few labels out there that are meaningful and 3rd party certified which tell you quite a bit about how the livestock was raised. Take some time to remember what these various labels below mean, so that you'll recognize them when you see them!

Look for these labels to avoid factory farmed meat:

  • Animal Welfare Approved - This 3rd-party certified label ensures that the animals were raised on sustainable pasture-based family farms that treat their animals humanely.
  • American Grassfed Certified - A 3rd party certifying program that ensures meat and dairy comes only from animals that ate nothing but their mother's milk and grass their whole lives, and that they didn't come from a feedlot. No hormones or antibiotics are permitted.
  • Global Animal Partnership (Only steps 4, 5 and 5+) - A 5-step animal welfare rating program that outlines specifics on how animals are cared for and raised. Steps 4, 5, and 5+ require access to pasture.
  • USDA Certified Organic - This will help you avoid the worst factory-farmed meat, with exceptions. Sadly, organic meat may be raised in factory farm conditions and this label does not ensure they were raised much more humanely than conventional animals. Growth promoting drugs, hormones, antibiotics, and GMOs are prohibited from their food, and they are fed only organic food. They also must be given access to the outdoors.

When you're dining out, ask your server where the restaurant purchases its meat. If the answer is something like Smithfield, Tyson or Perdue (instead of a small local farm), that indicates the meat is probably processed to the hilt. That's why I often choose to eat vegan or vegetarian dishes at restaurants.

You will be more likely to find meat that wasn't raised on a factory farm in natural food markets like Whole Foods Market, Earth Fare, Sprouts, etc., but you still need to check labels and ask questions.

If you don't have access to grass-fed and pastured meats like this in your area or want access to be more convenient, I have a life-changing solution for you in my next Food Babe Favorite Gift coming out on Monday! I can't wait to share it with you!

Make sure to check Monday's email - you are going to love this!

Xo,

Vani

P.S. Whether you eat meat or not, please share these tips with your friends and family and ask them to subscribe to the Food Babe newsletter here. (Forward them this email!) We need everyone to know this life changing health information!

 

 

 

 

 

 



P.O. Box 31521 Charlotte, NC 28231

If you would like to stop receiving free food investigations, recipes and healthy living tips, you can update your preferences here.