Meatless Monday: Taco Chili

It’s a rainy day here in eastern North Carolina<said in my best news anchor voice. A perfect day for chili! I'm really making my best efforts towards a vegetarian life so i took an old family favorite recipe and made it meatless.
Usually I would add two shredded chicken breasts to this chili but I'm running out of meat in the freezer and trying to not buy more. This chili is amazing and simple. Just throw it in the crock pot and forget about it.

Ingredients

1 can of black beans 15 oz drained
1 can of kidney beans 15 oz drained
1 can of corn drained
1 can of Rotel, I use mild
1 packet of taco seasoning, or make your own
1 can of tomato sauce 15 oz
1/2 of an onion diced
1 tablespoon of cumin, I prefer more because I love cumin

Mix together in your crock pot and cook on low. I usually start mine mid morning and just let it cook on low all day, you don’t have to cook it all day but I like to forget about things lol. This is a little spicy for me but I’m a whimp lol! You can also add some fresh cilantro, I just didn’t have any on hand today. I did top it with some shredded cheese. And it’s that easy! I didn’t even miss the chicken, it was so good! Hope you enjoy

Oh you must be one of those crazy PETA people

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that. The second you mention cruelty free or anything in that category people assume you are a PETA supporter. I am an animal rights supporter not a PETA supporter. There is a HUGE difference. I am against the killing of any living creature (which is why I’m working towards living a vegan life.)
Can you blame people for assuming this? No. PETA is a household name because of their antics. It’s the only “activist” group that most people know. But most people don’t do the research or even listen to PETA’s agenda. I’m sure many, many moons ago PETA started with good intentions but that is not the case today. Do your own research if you don’t know what I’m talking about an see for yourself.
But this post isn’t to expose PETA’s dirty secrets. It’s to inform people that there is a difference. Also to let people know if you are new and thinking of supporting them please take a trip to your local shelter and volunteer, donate a bag of dog food, or some toys. They are the real ones needing your support. We have rescued animals, my horse was a rescue, my ferret came out of a dumpster, and we took our pit home right before he ended up in the shelter. That is doing your part for animals.

May all beings be free from enmity;
May all beings be free from injury;
May all beings be free from suffering;
May all beings be happy.
Buddhist Prayer for Animals to be Free From Suffering.

**this anti PETA rant may piss some people off but these are my personal beliefs, to each it’s own.**

Get rid of acne the cruelty free way

Hello everyone! We are back from Florida and finally settled back in. Our oldest daughter started school the day after we got back so we have been busy!

I wanted to share with you all how I’ve finally started to get a handle on my acne. I’ve written about this acne mess before and shared with you an amazing cruelty free face wash I use every day. My breakouts were going away but I was still having some trouble. When we first arrived in Florida my break out was pretty bad. I’m blaming it on the stress of driving 14 hours with 2 kids, and that truck stop burger I was brave enough to eat! I didn’t really want to leave our beautiful condo but needed something extra. So I opened the fridge and grabbed the lemon juice. I have never tried lemon juice but O…M…G!! I washed my face, applied the lemon juice as a toner, let that dry then moisturized. The next morning I could already see results! Those nasty pimples were drying up, my skin was looking brighter, and after doing it for almost 2 weeks straight a big scar I had from acne is starting to fade! Why did I wait so long to try this? The only down side is it will burn the acne a little but most toners do that any ways. It’s fast, inexpensive, and you are staying cruelty free! What more could you ask for? I don’t have a picture to go along with this post so I’ll just leave you with this guy we saw at the zoo…enjoy:)

Clean Cleaning

Today I’ve gone full OCD on my house. I had a break between grooming and running around with the kids and I noticed…my house was disgusting! I’m kind of crazy when it comes to my house, I vacuum at least once a day, I clean the base boards regularly, and I obsess about hand prints on the walls. Yeah, I know I need a life!
Up until now, I’ve used pretty harsh chemicals to clean my house. I always thought the “natural” cleaners weren’t strong enough to clean my house. What do I live in a dumpster?? I mean, seriously, what was I thinking?
Target had their Method products on sale 3 for $8.00, I picked up the all purpose cleaner in lavender, and another in lime. I also bought the antibacterial bathroom cleaner in spearmint and the daily granite cleaner in apple orchard. They all smell amazing! These cleaners are non toxic, plant based and get the job done just as well as those harsh chemicals. Along with cleaning sprays they make, hand and body wash, laundry soap, dish soap and I’m sure much more that my local store don’t carry. The bottles are a great design and so cute! If you’ve been wondering about trying these out I would highly recommend them:)

My crazy thyroid story

Some of you may remember me talking about my weight loss problems last year. I went to the doctor, had blood work done and a thyroid ultrasound. I was told everything was fine and to diet and exercise. I went to another doctor and got a prescription for phentermine, that failed miserably you can read about that here.  I’ve been depressed and so confused.  I’m only 25 years old I shouldn’t have such a hard time trying to lose weight!

A couple of weeks ago I was having a horrible pain in my neck, jaw, and ear area.  It was excruciating and I couldn’t tell where exactly it was coming from.  I decided to go to the doctor.  This time I saw a different dr, a woman.  She couldn’t really tell what was going on but decided to prescribe me antibiotics.  Thankfully, I brought up the fact that I was STILL struggling with weight loss and a million other things.  She decided to pull up my blood work and thyroid ultrasound from last year and was shocked.  My insulin was twice as high as normal and my LH was SIX times higher than normal! She felt she could confidently diagnose me with PCOS.  Then she pulled out my thyroid ultrasound,  it clearly states that there is a mass that needed to be biopsied!  How was that looked over?!  How can that other male doctor tell me there is nothing wrong with me or my thyroid and that I just wasn’t doing enough dieting and exercising? She said this explains the pain I’m having. Upon further blood work she’s thinking I have an autoimmune disease, “Hashimoto’s” but I will know more after my biopsy and when I see a specialist.  So I have a biopsy scheduled and I’ll have to admit I’m terrified.

The whole reason I decided to share this with you all is to warn you.  Never put full faith into one health care professional. If you feel like there is something wrong don’t stop till you get the answers. I’m not saying all doctors are bad but you know your body, listen to it.  This honestly is what changed my outlook and made me make the switch to organic living.  If any of you live with this disease/disorder (I hate the word disease)  let me know I could always learn more about coping with the side effects.  🙂

 

 

My favorite Cruelty Free products

Hey everyone! My little bolg has been under construction lately. We have a new name, which I feel fits me so much better. With that being said lets jump into today’s post. I’m going to share my favorite Cruelty Free …