Spotlight on Matter of Trust

I heard about this great environmental organization called Matter Of Trust via Alicia Silverstone's blog post on The Kind Life, and I wanted to share their fantastic solution to the oil spill situation in the Gulf Coast. As they explain in the video below, they use hair clippings mailed to them from individuals, hair salons and pet groomers and stuff them into old nylon stockings to create what they call 'hair booms.' These hair booms float in water and, as if by magic, soak up oil completely! They are currently mobilizing volunteers and have storage locations set up to receive hair & nylons.

Here's what they're saying about it on their website:

A huge International Natural Fiber Recycling mobilization is currently taking place to help get hair boom to the Gulf Coast Spill. We have 19 donated warehouses spread along Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida that are receiving hair from donors all over the US, Canada and beyond! There are thousands of volunteers signing up to have Stocking Stuffers and Bar B Q parties where they're making the boom. They're calling them Boom B Qs.

If you or your pet is getting a hair cut soon, definitely ask to keep the clippings so you can mail to Matter of Trust or have a Boom-B-Que with your friends! Also, why not ask your salon to send ALL their clippings, or volunteer to do it for them? In order to send in hair or nylons, or your completed boom, you need to:

1. Sign up with Excess Access via the Matter of Trust website... accessible HERE.
2. Click the Activation link that they email to you.
3. You will then receive an email with a location of where to send stuff. This is important and unique, as they are coordinating space in donated warehouses along the Gulf Coast to make sure distribution is efficient. (This may take a while, as they are sending emails out in waves once daily at 12pm PST.)
4. Once you have been emailed an address, get started with these instructions from MoT:
5. Set aside a designated box and line it with a plastic bag so hair (and fur, fleece & feathers) can't slip out.
6. Put all waste hair & natural fibers in the bag!
7. After you've filled it with hair, tie the top of the bag and tape the box shut.
8. Mark the boxes DEBRIS FREE HAIR (FUR, FLEECE, FEATHERS) or NYLONS.
9. Mail boxes in to the address(es) we provide you by email AFTER you sign up.

Hair specifications:

- ideally shampooed, but it doesn't have to be
- any length is fine
- every type of hair is fine but only HEAD hair, please!

-dread locks are OK to send, although we find they have fungus inside when cut open, so please separate in their own bag and mark "DREADS". They are handled separately.

- we also accept fur and other natural fibers like waste wool, alpaca fleece, horse hair, feathers

-please make sure hair and fibers are mainly free of garbage and other contaminants

- we also accept washed, used (even with runs) nylon stocking donations in a separate bag, please.

You can read more about the Gulf Coast project and Matter of Trust's other programs HERE. Here's a video about how to make your own boom... so easy!

Week 1: Friday Breakfast

Today was a sort of dismal breakfast - in a rush, and all I could grab was some toasted cinnamon raisin bread with orange marmalade. It tasted good, but not very filling or balanced. I also had some baby carrots in the car. Still, I've been on track so far this week; I think writing about my breakfast really helps me stay in tune to my eating habits. I've been eating vegan now for 6 days, and pretty healthy at that! (Not like a gummy bear-only diet).

I made a really excellent ginger tofu dish and a bok choy salad one night this week...check out the photos below. It took a while for the tofu to marinate and for the rice to cook, but overall, it was delicious! Really, I will make this again. I think the key to eating according to "the kind diet" is preparing in advance (so you don't have to wait an hour before your food is ready to eat) and taking the time to cook flavorful, interesting meals. If all I ate was rice and beans every night, I would hate eating! (Even though I love both rice and beans). Eating is supposed to be enjoyable, and I have to say, so far the times I've made one of Alicia Silverstone's recipes, I've been really happy with the results. (Check out her book The Kind Diet for the recipe). I'm ready for the weekend for some more food experimenting!

Alicia Silverstone Speaks About the Kind Diet

All I have to say about this is, I'm so excited and happy that there are people like Alicia in the world! I read Skinny Bitch a couple years ago, and finished Alicia's Kind Diet over the weekend, and her approach to veganism is so much more friendly, empowering and easy-going. Whereas Skinny Bitch is somewhat of a rant-expose, luring readers in with the promise of weight loss, and then completely getting in their faces about everything from sugar to beef, Alicia is so radiant with health and love that her lifestyle is naturally attractive, and I can't help but want to share it. So here you go...

Week 1: Sunday Breakfast

Today I made my first official breakfast on The Kind Diet, "Quick Date-Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal", taken from a recipe off Alicia Silverstone's vegan list. Technically, this was only Quick Apple-Cinnamon oatmeal as I didn't have any dates on hand. Now, I am a long-time lover of oatmeal, but this was particularly delicious and super easy to make. Usually I boil two cups water, add in a cup of oats, turn off the heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then I add in some cinnamon, and that's usually it. Since I've been staying away from milk lately, it hasn't had the douse of milk I used to add.

However, today's oatmeal was quicker and tastier, and Alicia-approved! Yay! I boiled some water in a saucepan, and meanwhile combined the following in a stainless steel mixing bowl:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (more like 1... I was at the bottle of the bottle)
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (I used a handful and broke them into pieces)
• 1/3 crisp apple, cut in cubes
• some ground up sea salt
• 3 shakes ground cinnamon
• a drizzle of flaxseed oil

Once I'd combined those, I got the pot of water, turned off the stove, and poured the water over the mixture so that the oats were just barely covered. I put a lid on the bowl, and let it sit for 2 minutes or so, and it was ready! It was sooo yummy and very filling. I have a nice warm feeling in my belly now, and I feel very relaxed.