Vegetarian Star

Lea Michele "Women's Health"

Lea Michele is on the cover of the June 2010 issue of Women’s Health.

The Glee actress says she used to curl up with a block of cheese for a good time, until she learned more about the deleterious effects of dairy on people and animals.

“My idea of heaven used to be relaxing at home with a cheese plate and champagne… I’m a foodie, but I think it’s much more fun to find things on the menu that are good for me,’ Michele says.

Reading the best selling book Skinny Bitch gave her what she called a slap “in the face.”

The vegan diet book contains an entire chapter titled, “The Dairy Disaster.”

Having Italian heritage on one side of her family, leaving cheese off the pasta and sauce dishes wasn’t the easiest transition.

“Coming from an Italian family, you can imagine [they] couldn’t understand. But they respected my decision.”

And she has learned to veganize some of her mother’s favorite recipes.

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Octomom PETA

The Octomom, Nadya Suleman, will unveil the PETA banner encouraging pet owners to spay and neuter their animals tomorrow at her home in La Habra, California, at 11 AM.

Suleman accepted the offer from the animal rights organization to post the sign in her yard in March, in exchange for $5,000 and a month’s supplies of vegetarian faux meats.

Are any of those children even eating solid foods now?

The message is pretty simple, as the sign reads, “Don’t Let Your Dog or Cat Become an ‘Octomom’: Always Spay and Neuter.”

A spokesperson for PETA told X17Online, “Too many dogs and cats are ‘octomoms’ and while there’s a lot of controversy regarding Ms. Suleman’s decision to use in vitro fertilization, there’s no question that the breeding of cats and dogs is killing cats and dogs.”

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Tonight Animal Planet airs a documentary on its investigation into one of the largest pet shops in the United States, Petland.

The company is both a target and defendant of the Humane Society of the United States due to its involvement with puppy mills.

Puppy mills often churn out animals with health and behavioral problems, after housing them in cramped conditions where they are designed to do nothing for humans but breed.

The video above documents an investigation where the White County Sheriff’s Department in Tennessee called the Humane Society to rescue over 200 dogs at a mill in Sparta.

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All this week, Alicia Silverstone‘s website has the opportunity for you to win a free, vegan, eco-friendly handbag from one of The Kind Life‘s sponsors, Susan Nichole.

We are excited about Thursday’s choice, The Candice.

Susan Nichole Onofrey, co-owner and head of design at Susan Nichole described her motivation to create the handbags on the company’s website.

“As long as I can remember, I have adored accessories – shoes, jewelry, handbags – everything. As an animal lover and vegetarian, I wanted to adopt a more proactive approach to my actions and choices. I initiated my quest to create animal friendly bags that are beautiful, timeless and have the elegance for which I have longed; bags that women will love to carry and feel fabulous doing so.”

The Candice by Susan Nichole

To be eligible to win in the random drawing, visit the Susan Nichole Facebook page and click “Fan” or “I Like” after you’ve logged into your Facebook account.

Drawings take place at 10PM EST/7PM PT and winners will be announced on the Susan Nichole Facebook page.

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Colorado representative Jared Polis revealed his suggestions to put more vegetarian and non-dairy options in school lunches could cost around $50 million a year, but insists the benefits would outweigh the costs in health care savings.

Polis was in Denver, Colorado recently promoting his bill, The Healthy School Meals Act.

“One of the things I’ve always been dismayed by is the nutritional value of the meals schools serve,” Polis said.

He also emphasized the importance of offering non dairy options to the 10-20% of children who are lactose intolerant.

Although the National School Lunch Program requires schools to always offer cow’s milk, a 2004 reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and National School Lunch Act allowed schools to offer non dairy alternatives as long as they were equal to nutrition in milk.

However, the USDA does not cover any additional price difference, and as a result, schools aren’t able to offer alternatives like soy or rice milk.

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Jillian Michaels told Monster and Critics she often goes easy on the butter when making baked goods, substituting it for plant based alternatives like vegetable oil.

“My brownies had, you know, applesauce, yogurt and olive oil and like unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder instead of, you know, white sugar, white flour, tons and tons of butter,” Michaels said.

Although non dairy and vegan butters exist, there are plenty of non oil substitutes to use in baked recipes, which can cut even more fat from the finished product.

Fruit spreads, fruit purees and even baby food can add moisture to brownies.

A registered dietitian at Calorie Count recommends for every 1/2 cup of fruit puree, add 1-4 tablespoons of olive and cut back on sugar.

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Rachael Ray spoke with Joy Behar about the lack of access to quality food on The Joy Behar Show on HLN.

Ray explained how she’s trying to get more kids educated about growing their own food and starting community and school gardens.

“It not only makes them healthier, it keeps them more alert in school. You end up with brighter, more well balanced graduates,” Ray said.

She also gave KFC’s new Double Down sandwich, an artery clogging, factory farmed meat of a meal with two fillets of chicken, two pieces of bacon and two slices of Monterrey Jack and Pepper Jack cheese, the thumbs down, calling it the “double bypass.”

“I just don’t see a need for it,” Ray says. “It’s like handing people a gun.”

For those interested in the animal-free version of the Double Down, it has been created, featuring Gardein faux chicken breasts, Lightlife Smart Bacon and Follow Your Heart vegan cheese.

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Vegetarian Daryl Hannah says that children have Nature Deficient Disorder–where they spend their time playing video games or watching television instead of getting outside and learning about the Earth.

That’s why she’s throwing her support behind the UN’s International Day of Diversity on May 22, designed to teach children about looking after the planet.

According to Contact Music, Hannah told Britain’s Live from Studio Five, “We are in the midst of the biggest extinction crisis in human history. We’re losing 150 to 200 species every 24 hours and it’s all human caused. The UN and the CBD – the Convention for Biological Diversity – are trying to figure out ways to get kids engaged because they’re our future champions of the planet.”

Hannah then offered suggestions to get children involved, such as land cleanup or looking after local wildlife.

“You want as much diversity as possible and to encourage that with (children planting) seeds is a great way. Another great way to encourage kids is to put up a bird’s nest or to go out and be little scientists and track what’s in their neighborhood, and clean up their neighborhood – a park or a river.”

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