What does it take to be a really, truly, textbook vegan?
When I started eating vegan, I was in college and had already eaten meat-free for most of my life. Cutting out eggs and dairy turned out to be pretty easy for me, so I labeled the transition from vegetarianism to veganism a success and didn’t think much more about it.
Apps and Ayurveda might seem like oxymorons and, at first glance, they probably don’t share much beyond their alliteration. However, several new iPhone and Android apps allow users to make their Ayurvedic lifestyle easier and more realistic.
S.C.O.B.Y., the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast needed to produce kombucha, is a necessary by-product of the fizzy, good-for-you fermented tea that’s grown in popularity over the last few years. It’s not pretty: most scoby are disc-shaped (they grow to fit their containers, usually a large glass jar), rubbery feeling, and slimy looking, with the occasional grayish-brown strands that can result from yeast blooms.
I have a complicated relationship with my Amazon Echo and Dot, the hands-free, voice-controlled devices Amazon developed as a user-interface for Alexa, their answer to Siri and other intelligent personal assistants. The Echo and Dot devices can be used as Bluetooth speakers, but their most well-known function is to allow users to interact with Alexa – you can search the web, buy stuff directly from Amazon (because, of course!), listen to music, get news briefings, and more – all by simply talking to the device.
Kitchens are supposed to be clean, hygienic and somewhat sunny in health and disposition. Is your kitchen matching up to this lovely picture or is it, in fact, harboring hidden and deadly bacteria and germs?
The kitchen has become more than just a space in which to prepare the next meal. Today (unlike in the past, when the kitchen was more functional than for entertaining), the kitchen is central to the home; a gathering place. And likewise, the kitchen is an expression of one’s style and values. Some folks love a sleek design, others a more country kitchen style.
I’ve always had a compulsion to rid my closet of excess materials–clothing that has never been worn, books that have never been read, and papers that don’t provide any value – emotional, informational, or otherwise. While friends and family continued to collect clutter, I remained baffled at how they could sleep at night with messy bedrooms, kitchen cupboards so full they couldn't close, and desk drawers stuffed with random gadgets and trinkets that would never be touched again. Over the years, I believed myself to be the odd one out, forever plagued with a compulsion to clean.
If you’re reading Basmati, chances are you care about your health.
Looking for more natural ways to wash those dirty clothes? Try organic soap nuts! Soap nuts, otherwise known as “soap berries," come from the Chinese Soapberry tree (Sapindus mukorossi). Although they look like nuts, they are actually dried fruit that is similar to lychee. Soap nuts are usually harvested after they drop from trees grown in the jungles of Indonesia or India. Soap nuts have various uses, and they can be used for cleaning more than just your laundry.
Snack time! You open the fridge and grab a tub of yogurt. Oh dear, you see that the “Best by” date was three days ago. Shucks! What do you do?
A. Toss it, obviously. Gross.
B. Who cares – get in my belly!
C. Look and smell for oddities, then eat it if it doesn’t seem off.
D. Close the fridge and grab an apple.
Correct answer: C.