Lebanon Democrat

2011 = Year of the Superfoods

January 6th, 2011 by Hilary Trenda

They’ve been getting a ton of hype. Superfoods: Foods found in nature that are low in calories yet dense in nutrition. With many still feeling high from their New Year’s resolution for health and weight loss (or those already feeling their resolution waning), now seems like a good time get cooking. In honor of our [...]

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Feeling it

December 21st, 2010 by Hilary Trenda

So the week before Christmas is several things all at once. Yes, it may be kind of slow as far as news, but it’s also an abbreviated work week. Only a few days left to get gifts all put together and wrapped; (I loathe you, gift wrapping!) get together with friends and travel to see [...]

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Let there be dirt…

December 17th, 2010 by Hilary Trenda

So while I’m never a fan of animal testing, this report raises some interesting questions about the benefits of playing outside. Can dirt make you smarter? In an age of disinfectant sprays and readily-available hand sanitizer, it begs to be asked whether our obsession with being germ-free has an impact on the immune system. But [...]

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Paper or plastic?

December 17th, 2010 by Hilary Trenda

I will never not be tickled by the fact that he was elected. When the Governator took office in California I was astounded and entirely entertained. And while yes, the state has its own mess of issues to deal with, I’m glad to see Arnold –despite the terrifying amounts of plastic surgery – has affected [...]

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Spicy Thursday: On the gravy train

December 16th, 2010 by Hilary Trenda

For me, gravy is like glitter. A weird statement, I know, but essentially it means I’m inexplicably and unavoidably drawn to it. And with the holiday season going full-tilt, gravy is everywhere. Since becoming a veggie almost five years ago, gravy is one item I desperately missed. It seems to even be considered gravy, chicken [...]

Posted in Spicy Thursdays, Unexpected veggie deliciousness | 3 Comments »

Itsy Bitsy Bums

December 10th, 2010 by Hilary Trenda

So what’s one of the most prevalent environmental culprits outside of plastic bags? Disposable diapers. No, Husband and I don’t have kids. And in theory, I can see how the ease and convenience of the petro and chemical-laden diapers would be oh, so appealing. (This is where I could launch into a huge schpeel about [...]

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Cleanliness is next to…exhaustion

November 8th, 2010 by Hilary Trenda

Another insight into one of my former lives: I used to do house keeping for Holiday Inn and clean mega-mansions in Telluride, CO. It was a long time ago and I came away from those experiences unafraid of back-breaking/mind-numbing manual labor and with the knowledge of how to get things CLEAN. While all that chemical [...]

Posted in The bigger picture... | 4 Comments »

Using your oven for storage no more: Vegan MoFo!

November 8th, 2010 by Hilary Trenda

I’m not entirely sure what happened. I went from using my oven as a storage unit for random household miscellanea (like phone books) to firing that beast up almost daily. While it used to pose a huge safety risk for my eyelashes and brows to even attempt to boil water, somewhere along the path of [...]

Posted in The bigger picture..., Unexpected veggie deliciousness, Unrelated (but fun!) | 3 Comments »

NFL going solar?

October 11th, 2010 by Hilary Trenda

Seems appropriate given that they’ll be facing Favre and the Vikings tonight… While I’ll never be a Jets fan, I do certainly applaud their green initiative. Not just their jersey colors, the Jets are moving toward becoming the greenest team in the NFL. At the end of September they completed the solar overhaul of their [...]