I switched to natural deodorant about two years ago when I first became aware of the dangers posed by parabens and other such chemicals that are typically added to preserve the shelf-life of beauty and hygiene products.

Since then, I have tried several brands of natural deodorant with varying levels of success.  Many of them are quite sticky, and while most seem to offer decent odor protection, I have found the majority to be lacking in how well they keep me dry.

However, I may have finally found my solution, because Schmidt’s is a really terrific deodorant.

First and foremost, Schmidt’s is completely free of parabens, and additionally contains no aluminum, propylene glycol, phthalates, or any of the other nasty chemicals found in conventional deodorants.  In fact, all of the ingredients are completely familiar and recognizable, which is something I haven’t always encountered, even with other natural deodorants.

Second, I found that this deodorant offers great wetness and odor protection (which is, after all, what we’re all looking for with a deodorant, right?!).  It goes on very smoothly (more about application below), doesn’t rub off on clothing at all, and lasts all day.  It also has the added bonus of moisturizing the skin under your arms, thanks to the inclusion of shea butter.

Finally, I loved the smells!  The Bergamot+Lime was my favorite (it smells like a margarita!), and I think the Cedarwood+Juniper would be a really great choice for gentlemen.  Each variety (except Fragrance-Free, of course) has a scent that is pleasant without being overwhelming upon opening the jar, and I found that the smell actually fades fairly quickly after application.  I would also note that the Fragrance-Free one is just as good as the others in blocking odor!

The one thing that I would say takes a little getting used to is the application.  You apply the deodorant by removing a “pea-sized” amount, using either the little scoop/spatula thingy it comes with, or your fingers.

Then, you roll the product between your fingers until it sort of “melts,” and then use your fingers to apply it to your underarms.   [And then, obviously, you wash your hands.]

As you may be able to tell from the photo, the stuff in the jar is pretty solid and definitely flakes a bit when you scoop it out, so it doesn’t quite come out “pea-sized.”  However, once it’s on your fingers it starts to soften almost instantaneously.

When you’re rubbing it between your fingers it actually feels a little grainy, but then, like magic, as soon as you go to rub it onto your armpit, it goes on silky smooth with no flakes whatsoever, and it instantly feels dried.  No creaminess or wetness that you have to allow to dry before you put your shirt on.

So yes, the application is a little different than what you may be used to.  It certainly was for me.  But I figured it out pretty quickly and have been loving using Schmidt’s as my go-to deodorant!

I highly recommend Schmidt’s Deodorant to anyone who wants to stop applying toxic chemicals to an area of skin as sensitive as the underarms!  Even if you have had mixed results with natural deodorants in the past, I believe this one might change your mind.

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Essentiel

This is Beurre’s line of shea butter body creams.  It comes in a variety of fragrances: Vanilla, Lavender, Sage, Lemongrass, and Unscented.  I had a chance to sample all of these (except for Unscented) and they are all great.  The scent is very light and pleasant, and not overpowering at all.  The vanilla was my favorite!

I was definitely impressed by the texture of the product.  It is somewhere between a paste and a cream, but spreads on super-smoothly and has a luxurious, silky feel on the skin.  While it does feel a little greasy at first, it soaks in within a few minutes, leaving only a smooth, soft feel.  I typically use it right after showering and then wait a few minutes before getting dressed, but one day I was in a rush and got dressed almost immediately, and was pleased to find that there were no ill effects to my clothes from doing so.

I have to say, this is a really great moisturizing cream for the body.  It has definitely been a great way to combat any and all dryness, and the moisturizing effect really lasts!  Even if I accidentally forget to use it for a day, my skin still feels smooth and hydrated.  It has also been an absolute godsend for treating the terrible winter-fueled alligator skin on my hands (even now that it’s April, the lingering cold where I live still has me reaching for this on a daily basis).  The relief is immediate, and after only 2-3 days, that scaly skin is completely gone!

Visage

I am in love with this and it was my favorite of all the products I tried.  It has a lighter texture than the body cream (a little more like a mousse), smells beautiful (my husband even commented on it!), and has completely changed the way the skin on my face feels.  Despite using a daily moisturizer, my skin had lately been feeling tight and sometimes dry and itchy.  Using Beurre face cream before bed has ended that.  In addition, unlike the body cream, it soaks in immediately with no greasiness, so it’s perfect as a night cream.  I’ve already ordered more through Beurre’s online shop.

Baume
Beurre’s shea butter lip balm comes in a convenient little canister.  It is in solid form inside, but converts easily into spreadable balm once you run your finger around it.  This is a very mild, unoffensive balm. It leaves the lips feeling covered and protected but avoids that greased-up feeling that lip balms can sometimes give.   It has no detectable fragrance or flavor, which I appreciate.  After using it for 4 or 5 days, my lips were noticeably softer.

One word of warning: this stuff WILL melt in a warm environment.  I had it in my purse during a recent 2-day trip to Florida (where the temperature was in the mid-80s) and it definitely liquefied.  However, it’s worth noting that there was no spillage whatsoever (meaning that the canister is very secure!).  Once summer hits here in the northeast, though, I will be keeping this in air-conditioned environments only.

Overall, I have been extremely impressed with the Beurre products and will definitely continue to use them, especially the Visage.  Their online shop is super-easy to use, the delivery time is quick, and the customer service is great too!  

The post Product Review: Beurre Shea Butter Skincare Products appeared first on Chic Vegan.

By now you may already be familiar with the wonders of coconut oil as a base for stir fries, sauteing, and baking. But did you know that it also has many uses as a natural beauty product?

First and foremost, coconut oil is an excellent moisturizer that can be used on both the face and body.  This stuff has been a godsend to me this winter, when my parched hands can’t seem to soak up enough of it!  I’ve also used it to soothe dry, itchy skin on my legs this winter.

Personally, I like it so much more than store-bought hand creams and body lotions.  Not only is it free from dyes and artificial parfums, it is also free from alcohol, a common ingredients in many products that purport to “moisturize.”  Seems a little counter-intuitive, doesn’t it?  In my mind, the natural approach makes much more sense.  Plus, it smells great!

Coconut oil can also be used as a deep conditioner for the hair.  All you do is massage the oil into your scalp while your hair is dry, leave on for a few minutes, and then rinse out in the shower, following your normal shampoo/conditioner routine.  This has been great for me personally because I sometimes struggle with dry/itchy scalp in the winter.  You can also use a dab as a spot treatment for frizzies/flyaways.

I have read that coconut oil can also be used as a makeup remover, although I haven’t tried this one yet (but that’s because I hardly ever wear makeup anymore).  Another thing I’m eager to try with it is a practice known as “oil pulling,” which involves swishing the oil around in your mouth for 10-15 minutes with the goal of removing bacteria and whitening teeth.  Apparently this technique has been used in Ayurvedic practice for over a thousand years!

For more information on coconut oil’s uses, check out these links:
67 Proven Uses for Coconut Oil from Ancestral Chef
9 Surprising Beauty Uses for Coconut Oil from Wellness Today

What other ways do you use coconut oil?
What are some other all-natural or DIY beauty products that you use?

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Enter The Perfect Football Party Pie.

This pie is so super-easy to make!  All you need to do is combine your favorite recipe for a vegan graham cracker crust and your favorite recipe for a vegan pumpkin pie filling.  I snagged both from this recipe for Pumpkin Pie Squares with Graham Cracker Crust from Angela Liddon’s blog, Oh She Glows.

Bake your pie filling on top of your crust, and after it has cooled and set (be warned that this likely will require it to be chilled overnight), carefully remove it from the pan and set it on top of a piece of parchment paper on a sturdy cutting board.

Next, slowly and carefully cut off two of the corners in sort of a rounded boomerang shape until you have a football! 

For the laces, you can use storebought vegan whipped topping, or make coconut whipped cream like I did, and just pipe it right on there! I followed the method described in this tutorial for Coconut Whipped Cream, also by Angela Liddon.

I can assure you, it’s worth the effort!  But if vegan whipped cream is not in the cards, I bet storebought vanilla frosting would also work.  I recommend serving any excess whipped cream in a bowl alongside the pie so that people can add more as desired to individual slices.

One note: I had trouble finding vegan graham crackers (i.e., ones made without honey) and didn’t feel like (or really have time for) making my own, so I actually ended up going with a vanilla cookie crust instead.

All I did was sub in Mi-Del Vanilla Snaps for the graham crackers in the recipe. The flavor and texture went perfectly with the filling! I bet chocolate or ginger cookies would taste great too.

This really is a dish that will be appreciated by a mixed crowd. I brought it to a tailgate for a playoff game last weekend and it was a huge hit with everyone, regardless of dietary preference.  So enjoy, and happy viewing!

The post The Perfect Football Party Pie appeared first on Chic Vegan.

To make the candies, all you need is chocolate plus add-ins for whatever flavors you desire!  A list of my favorite flavors is included below.

You’ll notice that each of the flavor variations includes a topping.  I did this because I was making a variety of candies to serve at a holiday party, and wanted it to be clear which flavors were which.  So, while the toppings are totally optional, they are definitely functional, and pretty too!

Holiday Candy Cups

Makes 8-10 candies

You need:
4-oz. vegan chocolate (any variety! I use Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate bars)
Mini cupcake liners
Mini cupcake pan
Add-ins of choice (see list below for suggestions) 

Directions: 
Use a double-boiler or a simply a microwave-safe glass dish to melt chocolate.  Stir in add-ins and spoon into cups (you may want to use a measuring spoon for this task to ensure the candies come out even sizes).  Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden.  That’s it!

Candy Varieties
Toasted almond: Stir in 15 finely chopped and toasted almonds and 1/4 tsp. almond extract.  Top with a sprinkle of sea salt and an almond chunk.

Mint chocolate cookie: Stir in 2 crushed-up mint sandwich cookies (such as Candy Cane Joe-Joes from Trader Joes) and 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract.  Top with crushed candy canes.

Sweet and salty: Stir in 20 crushed pretzel sticks and 2 tbsp. finely chopped cranberries.  Top with a sprinkle of sea salt and a little pretzel piece. **This one was the clear favorite for my husband and me!**

Coconut: Stir in 1/4 tsp. coconut extract and 1/2 tsp. unrefined coconut oil (optional).  Top with shredded coconut.

To gift these, I suggest presenting them in a tin or in a mug wrapped with cellophane.  I found attractive seasonal mugs at A.C. Moore for $1 a piece.  Festive and frugal!

The post Holiday Candy Cups appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Each year as Thanksgiving approaches, I find that my thoughts turn to turkeys. Animals so often overlooked and seemingly doomed to be relegated to a decorative serving platter in perpetuity.

Turkeys are actually intelligent, social creatures.  A wealth of scientific and anecdotal evidence exists to support this.  Seriously, try Googling “turkey intelligence” or “turkey personality” and see what comes up.  [Warning: if you’re a huge sap like me you might cry at some of the rescued pet turkey stories!]  There are even studies showing that turkeys may use up to 20 different vocalizations to communicate with one another.

While turkeys are not monogamous, the birds do have a recognizable family structure.  Baby turkeys (called “poults”) remain with their mothers for four or five months after birth.  Communication between hens and poults begins in the egg, helping them to learn each others’ voices even before birth.  (If you think this sounds like the bond a human mother can have with her fetus even before it is born, you’re not far off.)  Once her poults have hatched, their mother fiercely protects them from predators and other threats, and comforts them if they are distressed or cold.  Much like a human mother, she can recognize their individual voices and distinguish cries signaling hunger from those indicating fear, for example, and she attends to their needs accordingly.

I think this photograph of a mother turkey sheltering her brood under her wings speaks volumes about the family bonds cultivated by these birds.

Of course, turkeys raised for slaughter never even meet their mothers.  Within the first three hours of their birth they are heaved onto a conveyor belt where their toes and beaks are amputated with a hot blade, without anesthesia.

The rest of their short lives will be spent in misery, as they grow into freakish monstrosities that bear little to no resemblance to their wild turkey brothers and sisters.  This is because we humans have bred and genetically “enhanced” turkeys to grow so unnaturally fast and with such abnormally large breasts that their internal organs cannot keep up, often leading to respiratory or cardiac failure and painful degenerative joint diseases.  Their top-heaviness, combined with the fact that their toes were lopped off on their first day of life, means that many cannot walk or even stand; most cannot walk without pain.  To put this in perspective, I read one statistic that said that if a human baby grew at a similar rate, it would achieve a weight of 1500 lbs. by 18 months of age.  It’s pretty shocking, to say the least.

I won’t go any further into the details of the horrific treatment of turkeys raised for human consumption.  There are ample resources online that can do it far more effectively than I, such as PETA or MSPCA.

Instead, this Thanksgiving,  I invite you to celebrate the lives and spirits of turkeys. I created the appetizer below as a fun and easy way to spread this celebration to your loved ones this holiday season!

Gobble Your Veggies Platter

For the lentil mixture: 
1 medium yellow onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsp. vegan margarine
Generous pinch of salt
2-3 splashes of white wine (vegetable broth or water would also work)
1.5 cups cooked lentils
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped and lightly toasted
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
Dash of cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For serving:
1 large leaf of kale
Sliced vegetables of choice (I used carrots, yellow squash, and celery)…some will need to be sliced very thinly (see Recipe Notes)!
Two whole (non-pitted) kalamata olives

To Make the Lentils
First, caramelize your onions.  To do this, melt the margarine in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, then add the onions and salt.  Cook, stirring frequently, about 15-20 minutes until very soft and very brown.  They should look like this at the beginning:

And this at the end:

Next, deglaze the pan with wine or broth/water, then add your lentils to the skillet.  Use a potato masher or a sturdy fork to mash them a bit.  Don’t puree them though!  You should still have plenty of whole lentils remaining.  Finally, add the walnuts and spices and stir until well combined.  Allow to cool slightly.

Transfer the mixture to a small-medium bowl and pack it in fairly tightly. Place the kale leaf on a serving plate, then place the bowl upside-down on the leaf.  When you remove the bowl you should have a perfect little dome of lentil goodness.  You can serve it as is with crackers or sliced veggies, or continue with the directions below to make it into a turkey!

To make a turkey: Take a smaller bowl (like a spice bowl) and carefully press it into the front of the dome to create a smaller dome (the head).  Next, take some pieces of carrot and use a paring knife to carefully carve them into two feet and a beak.  Press the beak and feet into place.  Then, slice off the pointy ends of the olives and press them into the eye spots.  Finally, insert sliced veggies of choice toward the back of the mound to make the tailfeathers.  Serve with additional sliced veggies and enjoy!

Recipe Notes: The lentil mixture is extremely tasty and not dry at all in the mouth; however, its texture is a little “dry” and “crumbly” as far as sticking things into it goes.  One way to address this would possibly be to mash the lentils even more in the skillet before adding the walnuts and spices to the skillet.  Another option would be to add a tablespoon of tomato paste and maybe a tablespoon of vegetable broth to make the mixture more moist and sticky.  Otherwise, do like I did and employ a little finesse to get you where you want to go!

One special tip for the tailfeathers: it’s important to slice the veggies thinly enough that they can be inserted into the mound without making it fall apart, but not so thinly that they won’t stand up.  Trial and error is the name of the game.  And isn’t his cute, goofy little face worth it?

Have a very happy and peaceful Thanksgiving!

The post Celebrating Turkeys appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Who doesn’t love Halloween?  I mean, how often do adults actually have a chance to dress up, eat sweets, and act like kids for a day?  And, contrary to popular belief, Halloween is a very easy holiday to enjoy as a vegan!   Here are some tricks and treats to celebrate this holiday the vegan way.

For trick-or-treaters

To please those adorable imps at your door, you’re probably going to have to resort to some sort of commercially-prepared handout, as their parents are unlikely to accept your handmade vegan truffles (as delicious as they are!).

Unfortunately, the majority of supermarket and drugstore offerings this time of year always seem to center on  “fun-sized” sweets of the milk chocolate persuasion.  As a vegan, it’s a safe bet that you don’t want to subsidize the dairy industry by giving out these products to children who come to your door.

The good news is that there are a number of “accidentally vegan” commercial candies available!  These include classics like Smarties, Airheads taffy, Dots, Dum Dums, Jolly Ranchers, Now and Laters, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, and Twizzlers.  If you have a little extra cash you could even spring for vegan chocolate bars or Justin’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. (For a comprehensive list of commercial candies that are free of animal ingredients, check out this website.)

Trick-or-treaters might also appreciate other fun snack foods (like pretzels or chips) or sweet treats like mini-Oreo packs, Nutter Butter bites, Cracker Jacks, Teddy Grahams (the chocolate and cinnamon varieties are vegan), or Back to Nature chocolate chunk cookies, or even healthier fare like Luna bars or Clif bars.  Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.  They’re just happy to be getting free sweets!

For Halloween parties

Cupcakes and cookies are always a welcome addition to any bash, so if you are hosting or attending a Halloween party, this is where you can get a little creative!  The Internet  (especially Pinterest!) is absolutely packed with ingenious and adorable ideas, but here’s one you can start with:

Spooky Skull Cakes

Start by mixing up a batch of your favorite vegan vanilla cupcake recipe.  I chose Golden Vanilla Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (recipe printed here).

To make the skull shape, place cupcake liners in the tin as usual.  Fill each liner with a small amount of batter (less than 1/4 full) in order to weight it down a little.  Then, use small dried beans (such as navy beans, shown) to push in each side of the lower half of the cupcake liner, like so:

You probably don’t need more than 5-6 beans per side.  Also, be careful not to drop any dried beans into the batter!

Once shaped, fill the liners the rest of the way with batter and bake as usual.  After the cupcakes are completely cooled, frost them with your favorite vegan icing (homemade or storebought).  I made Fluffy Buttercream Frosting, also from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

Make the faces out of whatever your heart desires!  I used pretzels and chocolate chips for the eyes and nose, but nuts, dried fruits, or other vegan candies would also do the trick.  To make the mouths, I just mixed a teaspoon of pomegranate juice with 2 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar and piped it right on.

Super-simple, and delicious too!  These went over great at the office and I am confident that they’d be a hit at a Halloween bash as well.

Happy Vegan Halloween!

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