I love these Tings!

Yes, I have been turned on to another great vegan snack! Thanks to our good friend Aurelia for having a recent potluck prior to veggie bowling night I was exposed to 'vegan cheetos'. They are Robert's American Gourmet "Tings". As a vegan, it's been quite some time since I've had Cheetos, so as you can see from this first picture, I was not quite sure how to use them.



But after I got the hang of the chewing part I found out these things are freakin' awesome and delicious. They use a mix of salt and nutritional yeast (which is a very nutritious ingredient packed with protein & B vitamins) atop the familiar crunchy corn stick to produce a highly addictive substance which likely should be controlled under the FDA pharmaceutical legislation.

As you can see from my zoned out look, and 'elbow deep in the bag' stance in the following picture, when my wife Dill brought a partial bag of these home I polished it off before I could put it down.



Our mutual friend Judson is also apparently hooked on these, but what he doesn't know is that after I demolished the bag he started (shown in the photos) I bought 2 more and took 1 to work, which is now gone, and have another bag sitting on my counter at home. I hope the infatuation passes before I myself turn into the asexual cartoon character on the front of the bag, who I've got to say, is no Chester.

(Robert's representative please contact me for promotional opportunities)

31 States Record Increases in Adult Obesity

Well as most of us know, the Standard American Diet (S.A.D) is contributing to expansion of wastelines (Yes I spelled that properly - putting waste into your body causes your waistline to transform into a "waste-line"). Adding fuel to the fire is the ever increasing marketing of unhealthy, trans-fat laden, preservative and sugar heavy foods being constantly crammed with every animal derivative you can think of. It's as if animal agriculture just keeps finding new ways to sell their by-products off to industry for all kinds of un-imaginable uses.

31 States Record Increases in Adult Obesity

Another article points out the obvious (which the media is so good at making seem like news) which is that excercise helps! A good quote from this article follows:

"After a fatty meal, arteries lose their ability to expand in response to an increase in blood flow. The effect peaks four to six hours after eating -- usually just in time for your next meal. So, four hours after a fatty meal, your arteries look like those of a person with heart disease, said.

This sets up a chain of events that eventually and commonly lead to obesity. You are consuming animal products, so eventually you begin to literally wear the animals fat. Picture that for a moment. There's a pig, he's cute and chubby. Let's eat the pig and see his chubby belly go into yours, then see your belly become chubby, but somehow, not so cute.

Another great tidbit: Next, Wallace hopes to study the effect of exercise before a high-fat meal.

Gee, I wonder how that will turn out??

I find it highly interesting that neither of these articles even contains the words "fruit" or "vegetable". Once again overlooking the most effective way to combat obesity and get gains from excercise - eating a plant based diet. So each time you eat animals, not only are you effectively paying someone else to oppress other living things before cruelly killing them, but you are clogging your system with toxins and, as the one article says, increasing your chance of death (but don't worry, it's just DEATH)

Sarasota Earthdance Dance Party

post edited: pics added

We just rolled in (it's 1am) from this great event held for the 3rd year here in
Sarasota - the EarthDance festival.

Dill, Raylon, Judson, Aurelia, Barry, Daniel, Chris, Kris, Shane and many others spent the day helping out and showing their activist colors talking all about VegSarasota and the vegetarian lifestyle, today at the Powel Crosley Mansion on the bay. The weather was great and very cooperative, with just a light shower early on and then beautiful skies all day long. In addition, the red tide held back so the breathing was easy. That is fortunate, as we spent the day talking to dozens and dozens of people about what it means to be conscious and live with compassion.

Here's Dill setting up the booth and Angelo our volunteer helping out.



We handed out starter kits, pamphlets, sold vegan cookbooks, displayed vegan grocery products, and collected e-mail addresses from many people interested in elevating the level of compassion in their lives. It was great to see people that haven't been able to come to recent events, and to meet new people as well. We met a whole group of 7 or 8 people who were all friends or related and vegan

This is Rita and Dill sharing a smile at this love-filled event!


The dance for peace was fantastic and so was the music all day and all night. I'll post some pictures on the blog tomorrow.

This is one of the shots of the dance for peace with the beautiful sunset over the bay. The photo doesn't do it justice.

Vegsarasota on the Radio & TV

That's right folks, in late-breaking news Dill will be on Sunny 1220 AM tonight, Tuesday September 12th in the 6pm-7pm hour talking with LeeAnne Hansard on her Radio show "The Butterfly Effect". LeeAnne is a great person and we're honored to have the opportunity to share the airwaves with her this evening.

Click HERE to Listen Live

Also, Raylon will be appearing tonight, Tuesday September 12th from 7-7:30pm on Blab TV -Sarasota Channel 21- for the show 'It's All About Health' hosted by Rochelle Herman of SuperValue Nutrition


Both Dill & Raylon will be talking all about VegSarasota and the upcoming EarthDance festival, which this Saturday 9/16 at the Powel Crosley Mansion across from the Sarasota Airport.

PLEASE Tune in if you can, either by radio, internet, or TV. And if given the chance, please call in, we'd love to hear from some of our friends in the community!

FDA Says Viruses Safe For Treating Meat

Source: Barbara Loe Fisher of National Vaccine Information Center.

"In yet another stunning demonstration of callous disregard for the health of American citizens, a pathetically weak and useless Food and Drug Administration has given the green light to industry microbe hunters to spray cold cuts, poultry and other meats with a mix of viruses that are supposed to eat bacteria contaminating the meat without hurting anyone in the process. Right.

And the best part? Meat producers won't have to tell consumers which meats have been bathed in the viruses so everyone gets a dose eating a hot dog at a baseball game or frying up some ham and eggs for breakfast - whether they want it or not. And when Uncle Leo in the Bronx drops dead from a mysterious infection after eating an italian sub at a neighborhood picnic, the story will be: it wasn't the virus infected sausage that did it, it was - A COINCIDENCE. (But if enough people drop dead after eating virus infected meat, an enterprising drug company will probably develop a food vaccine and convince the CDC to mandate it).

In America, apparently the only way consumers will be able to protect themselves from FDA-sponsored contaminated meat is to become a vegan or go organic. It's an expensive alternative but a small price to pay to keep viruses, chemicals and hormones that don't belong in the food we eat out of our bodies."

Read More

Encourage variety in teen vegan's diet

Find creative ways to add protein, other nutrients to menu

Question: My teenage daughter has become a vegan and won't eat any animal products, including meat, seafood, eggs and dairy. What strategies can I use to make sure she's getting the protein she needs?

Answer: Not to worry - it can be done, says Prudence Athearn Levy, a registered dietitian at Cherry Creek Nutrition.

"With a little extra work, a teen's protein needs are usually met even with very strict vegan diets," she says.

Depending on your daughter's age, weight, height and activity level, her minimum requirements for protein range from 46 to 56 grams, more if she's also an athlete.

Look for protein-rich foods such as soy milk, soy or almond cheese, beans, lentils, whole grains such as quinoa, cereals - especially high-protein cereals such as Kashi Go Lean - nuts and nut butters, seeds, soy or brown rice protein powder for smoothies, tofu, tempeh and textured vegetable protein.

"Encouraging variety is the best way to ensure she meets her protein needs," the dietitian says. "A great way to start is to visit a vegan or vegetarian restaurant and try some new dishes together."

Read more....

Fast-Food Ice Dirtier Than Toilet Water

And to think we've spent all this time worrying about how bad the "food" is for you at fast-food joints. Now it's the ice cubes we have to worry about too? I have a solution, don't eat at fast restaurants period. In a science project by a 7th grader it was concluded that ice cubes in self serve machines & drive-thru windows 70% of the time had more bacteria than the same restaurant's toilet water. Ewwww.

Read more.... ABC News

Drink Up!



Peace & Love
-Dill