Cruelty-Free: A Taste of Autumn

You can take the girl out of New York, but you can’t take the New York out of the girl! While I root for the Yanks tonight, as I’m sure they’re on their way to another World Series, I’m admittedly feeling a little homesick here in the land of perpetual sunshine and saguaros. Autumn is my favorite season — it always has been — and so it’s during this time of year that I am most likely to come down with a mild case of the blues. While in Portland last weekend for the Animal Law conference, I was soaking up the autumn vibe — the red and gold leaves, the gentle rain, the crisp air. After a glorious weekend, I came home to the cacti and the roadrunners and the coyotes… and a thoughtful partner who had taken it upon himself to fix me up some squash soup, a seasonal treat that brought a little of the fall to the desert. Vegan and cruelty-free, this soup is about to become a family tradition! To try the recipe for yourself, check out:

Vegan Butternut Squash Soup

So the home team just won the game against the Angels… Let’s Go Yankees!

Cruelty-Free: Halloween Treats

Getting ready for all those trick-or-treaters who will be knocking on your door soon?  There are lots of great treat ideas that also are cruelty-free! I’ve been exploring the store shelves and the internet, looking into the best options.  Most exciting, I’ve found Yummy Earth Lollipops.  Yummy Earth not only refrains from animal testing, but it also avoids nasty ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors.  And their certified organic, vegan lollipops are more likely to be enjoyed by all the kids in the neighborhood, including those with allergies and diet restrictions – the pops are gluten-free, wheat-free, peanut-free and soy-free.  Fabulous!  www.yummyearth.com

So how about the more traditional treats?  Some suggestions, taken from PetaKids.com:

Candy Treats:

·         Airheads Taffy

·         Blow Pops

·         Dots

·         Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews

·         Jolly Ranchers

·         Mary Janes

·         Now and Laters

·         Pez

·         Sour Patch Kids

·         Lemonheads

·         Sweet Tarts (my childhood Halloween fave)

·         Twizzlers

Chocolate Treats:
For cruelty-free chocolate, please see my July 6th blog entry.  I have yet to find some bite-size or “fun-size” organic chocolate treats, but there are some chocolate products you may want to avoid supporting with your consumer dollars until they change their animal-testing practices.

A new twist on “sticky and sweet”!
I have a friend who gives out stickers (cut out from a larger sheet) instead of candy.  They may not be edible, but kids seem to enjoy them just as much!