How It All Vegan!: Irresistible Recipes for an Animal-Free Diet (38 page)

CALENDULA BABY OIL

Calendula is healing and soothing to the skin. It is excellent for massaging your babies, but grown-ups can use this oil too!

1 cup of oil (olive, almond, apricot,
or
sunflower)

2½ tbsp calendula flowers

In a small pot, combine the oil and flowers. Simmer on low heat for about 4 hours to extract the beneficial properties of the calendula into the oil. Do not let the oil get too hot. Once done, remove from heat and allow the oil to cool. Strain into a clean, dry container, using a cheesecloth or sieve. Cap tightly.

RE-USABLE BABY WIPES

¼ cup water

¼ cup animal-friendly shampoo

1 tbsp vinegar

¼ cup aloe vera gel

1 tbsp
calendula oil

1 drop lavender essential oil

1 drop tea tree oil

In a clean, dry jar, combine the water, shampoo, vinegar, aloe, calendula, lavender, and tea tree oil. Cap tightly, and shake well. Store in the fridge. Use soft but sturdy towels for wipes (flannel, old towels, etc.). Cut them into squares or rectangles and place them in a container with a tight lid. Pour solution over wipes. After using wipe, rinse thoroughly and wash in hot water in the washing machine, dry, and re-saturate with wipe solution. If your baby has a really red, raw diaper rash you might not want to use these wipes, as vinegar may cause a burning sensation.

ANIMAL TREATS

These recipes are not for you, but for the ones who know you the best. They tolerate your tardiness, your mood swings, and your weird idiosyncrasies. They also love you no matter what you look like in the morning. Treat your animal friends well; they deserve only the best.

DOG & CAT BISCUITS

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp wheat germ

¼ cup bran flakes

¼ cup soy flour

1 tbsp molasses

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp kelp powder

1 tsp sage

1 tbsp brewer’s yeast

cup water

2 tbsp textured vegetable protein

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, wheat germ, bran flakes, soy flour, molasses, oil, kelp, sage, yeast, water, and TVP. Roll out and cut into shapes (for cats, roll out and cut into narrow strips or ribbons). Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 20-35 minutes. Watch the kitty strips, as they will bake faster than the larger shapes. Cats like these biscuits soft, but dogs like them crunchy, so if the biscuits are not hard enough, leave them in the oven with the heat turned off until they reach the desired hardness. Makes 12 large or 24 small biscuits.

CAROB CHIP-OATMEAL CRUNCHIES

½ cup oatmeal flour

¼ cup soy bean flour

1 cup rolled oat flakes

¼ cup carob (do not use chocolate, it is toxic to dogs)

2 tbsp textured vegetable protein

1 tbsp brewer’s yeast

4 tbsp oil

¼ cup water (if too dry, add a little more)

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, oats, carob, TVP, brewer’s yeast, oil, and water. Roll out and cut into shapes. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes. Makes 12 large or 24 small crunchies.

BAD BREATH DOG BISCUITS

For some reason, my niece Heidi loves to eat these biscuits. It’s so cute when she smiles and her teeth are green.

2 cups whole wheat flour

½ cup cornmeal

cup fresh mint, chopped

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp spirulina

2 tbsp textured vegetable protein

¾ cup water

6 tbsp oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, mint, parsley, spirulina, TVP, water, and oil. Roll out and cut into shapes. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes. Makes 12 large or 24 small biscuits.

CORNMEAL CRUNCHIES DOG BISCUITS

2 cups whole wheat flour

½ cup cornmeal

2 tbsp textured vegetable protein

1 tbsp brewer’s yeast

cup water

6 tbsp oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, TVP, yeast, water, and oil. Roll out and cut into shapes. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes. Makes 12 large or 24 small biscuits.

FLEA BUSTERS

Here are some ideas to prevent those nasty fleas:

Brewer’s yeast:
1 tsp or 1 tablet a day. Note: some animals are allergic to brewer’s yeast; watch for itchy patches. Consult your vet.

Garlic:
Most animals love garlic when mixed into food.

Calendula ointment or oil:
An excellent repellent that helps with itching.

Vinegar:
A ratio of 1 teaspoon of vinegar to 4 cups of water in their drinking water helps to keep your pets free of fleas and ticks.

FLEA HOUSE & PET SPRAY

Here is a natural way of eliminating fleas that is not harmful to humans or pets.

¼ tsp eucalyptus
or
wintergreen essential oil

1 cup water

Add oil to spray bottle filled with water. Spray your house with a fine mist-the carpet, furniture, car, pets’ beds – everywhere. Fleas hate the aroma and run for cover. Spraying your pet is also a great idea. Spray areas 3 times a week all year round, but especially during summer, the peak flea season.

APPENDIX

VEGAN NO-NOS, A TO Z

Trying to figure out what ingredients contain animal products can be a nightmare. We hope this A to Z listing of animal-product ingredients to avoid will help you on your journey to becoming a full-fledged vegan warrior. This list is used with the permission of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

A

Adrenaline.
Hormone from adrenal glands of hogs, cattle, and sheep. In medicine. Alternatives: synthetics.

Alanine.
(
See Amino Acids
.)

Albumen.
In eggs, milk, muscles, blood, and many vegetable tissues and fluids. In cosmetics, albumen is usually derived from egg whites and used as a coagulating agent. May cause allergic reaction. In cakes, cookies, candies, etc. Egg whites sometimes used in “clearing” wines. Derivative: Albumin.

Albumin.
(
See Albumen
.)

Alcloxa.
(
See Allantoin
.)

Aldioxa.
(
See Allantoin
.)

Aliphatic Alcohol.
(
See Lanolin
and
Vitamin A
.)

Allantoin.
Uric acid from cows, most mammals. Also in many plants (especially comfrey). In cosmetics (especially creams and lotions) and used in treatment of wounds and ulcers. Derivatives: Alcloxa, Aldioxa. Alternatives: extract of comfrey root, synthetics.

Alpha-Hydroxy Acids.
Any one of several acids used as an exfoliant and in anti-wrinkle products. Lactic acid may be animal-derived (
see Lactic Acid
). Alternatives: glycolic acid, citric acid, and salicylic acid are plant- or fruit-derived.

Ambergris.
From whale intestines. Used as a fixative in making perfumes and as a flavouring in foods and beverages. Alternatives: synthetic or vegetable fixatives.

Amino Acids.
The building blocks of protein in all animals and plants. In cosmetics, vitamins, supplements, shampoos, etc. Alternatives: synthetics, plant sources.

Aminosuccinate Acid.
(
See Aspartic Acid
.)

Animal Fats and Oils.
In foods, cosmetics, etc. Highly allergenic. Alternatives:olive oil, wheat germ oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, almond oil, safflower oil, etc.

Animal Hair.
In some blankets, mattresses, brushes, furniture, etc. Alternatives: vegetable and synthetic fibers.

Arachidonic Acid.
A liquid unsaturated fatty acid that is found in liver, brain, glands, and fat of animals and humans. Generally isolated from animal liver. Used in companion animal food for nutrition and in skin creams and lotions to soothe eczema and rashes. Alternatives: synthetics, aloe vera, tea tree oil, calendula ointment.

Arachidyl Proprionate.
A wax that can be from animal fat. Alternatives: peanut or vegetable oil.

Aspartic Acid.
Aminosuccinate Acid. Can be animal or plant source (e.g., molasses). Sometimes synthesized for commercial purposes.

B

Bee Pollen.
Microsporic grains in seed plants gathered by bees then collected from the legs of bees. Causes allergic reactions in some people. In nutritional supplements, shampoos, toothpaste’s, deodorants. Alternatives: synthetics, plant amino acids, pollen collected from plants.

Bee Products.
Produced by bees for their own use. Bees are selectively bred. Culled bees are killed. A cheap sugar is substituted for their stolen honey. Millions die as a result. Their legs are often torn off by pollen-collection trapdoors.

Beeswax.
Honeycomb. Wax obtained from melting honeycomb with boiling water, straining it, and cooling it. From virgin bees. Very cheap and widely used but harmful to the skin. In lipsticks and many other cosmetics (especially face creams, lotions, mascara, eye creams and shadows, face makeup’s, nail whiteners, lip balms, etc.). Derivatives: Cera Flava. Alternatives: paraffin, vegetable oils and fats. Ceresin aka ceresine aka earth wax. (Made from the mineral ozokerite. Replaces beeswax in cosmetics. Also used to wax paper, to make polishing cloths, in dentistry for taking wax impressions, and in candle-making.) Also, carnauba wax (from the Brazilian palm tree; used in many cosmetics, including lipstick; rarely causes allergic reactions). Candelilla wax (from candelilla plants; used in many cosmetics, including lipstick; also in the manufacture of rubber, phonograph records, in waterproofing and writing inks; no known toxicity). Japan wax (Vegetable wax. Japan tallow. Fat from the fruit of a tree grown in Japan and China.). Benzoic Acid. In almost all vertebrates and in berries. Used as a preservative in mouthwashes, deodorants, creams, aftershave lotions, etc. Alternatives: cranberries, gum benzoin (tincture) from the aromatic balsamic resin from trees grown in China, Sumatra, Thailand, and Cambodia.