Southern Comforts: Perfumes for vegans who don't want to smell like hippies

By Giselle Wedemire

As you may know, I've got a huge soft spot for perfume, and am constantly looking for fantastic vegan, cruelty-free perfumes to replace my chemical-soup favourites from my pre-green beauty days. I'm still working my way through my old, not-so-vegan favourites (because it'd be wasteful to just throw them away), but for the most part, I've been using this as an opportunity to broaden my horizons and scope out some solid vegan- and eco-friendly options.

Included in my collection right now are some tried and true favourites from Pacifica and Tulip, but I recently fell down the rabbit hole that is Etsy's vegan perfume marketplace. I found Southern Comforts' quirky shop by complete accident one day, and within a day, I was following them on Instagram. Within a week, I had taken the plunge and ordered their 5 Pretty Perfume Samples deal, which allows you to hand-pick any five 2 ml samples you'd like to test out. (I also tacked on two more sample vials because I am terrible at making decisions, and couldn't limit my sampling to just five scents.)

Since I'm a slut for spicy, complex perfumes that have a light touch of creaminess in their dry-down, I often gravitate towards incense- or amber-filled concoctions that have tinges of vanilla in the background, and it seemed like Southern Comforts had quite a few fragrances that ticked all of my perfume criteria boxes. So, after an excruciating amount of time spent narrowing down the scents I wanted to test-drive, I placed my order and waited with bated breath.

Within two weeks, my order had arrived on my doorstep, and with mounting excitement, I poured the package's contents out onto the kitchen table and stood in awe when I really should have been making dinner. But who can focus on cooking when they've got such a cute (and exciting!) package in their hands?

Not me!

Top five best vegan cookbooks for newbies

By Giselle Wedemire

Transitioning to a vegan lifestyle can seem daunting at first, especially if you take the leap of faith and immediately hoof it to the nearest bookstore in search of a vegan cookbook. With so many options blurring your vision – often brimming with recipes calling for mystery ingredients like TVP, nutritional yeast, and seitan – it’s easy to get discouraged.

Though there are many great cookbooks on the market – the numbers of which increase exponentially with every passing month – there are quite a few duds in the mix. To save you from heartache and a time-consuming trip to your local bookseller, here are my recommendations for the best user-friendly cookbooks ideal for the novice vegan (as well as some of the stand-out recipes you can find in each book).

A DIY solution to the cancelled CNF Stampede breakfast

By Giselle Wedemire

I love this city, but I have a hard time getting jazzed about Stampede. I mean, I’ve had some great fun at some of their concerts on the Coca Cola Stage (including seeing Rooney, The Dudes, k-os, and a chance sighting of Drake at the 2006 Nelly Furtado show), but other than that, Stampede really doesn’t matter to me.

But Stampede breakfasts? Now, that’s something I can get behind. Since going vegan five years ago, my favourite part of Stampede has been hitting up Community Natural Foods’ annual Stampede breakfast. Sure, I had to get up at the crack of dawn and be a complete zombie for the rest of the day, but there were free pancakes involved, so it was worth it!

This year, however, CNF has decided against putting on its annual breakfast. While this is definitely sad news, you can’t really blame ‘em, thanks to this not-so-hot economy of ours.

Screen shot via Community Natural Foods' Facebook

Summery iced teas to help you keep your cool

By Giselle Wedemire

Summer is here which, for some, means it's time for SPF, vacations, and sandy beaches. Or, if you're like me, you soak up the summer heat by donning your favourite/only oversized floppy sun hat, fixing yourself a cold drink,  and parking yourself on your porch for a bit of outdoor reading.

While some may reach for iced tea on hot days, I'm really more of an iced coffee kind of girl. (I like to mix my iced coffees with a splash of soy milk, a squeeze of agave nectar, and a handful of ice cubes, and then BAM, I've got myself a kickass porch-reading, sun-tanning drink!)

Shout-out to Brian K. Vaughan for the amazing-ness that is volume 1 of Paper Girls.
Not only is it super badass, it's also perfect for outdoor summer reading,
as pictured above with my amazing ice coffee and my hella cute pedicure.

But if you're of the iced tea persuasion, there a few new vegan options at DavidsTea you might want to scope out. At the time of writing, DavidsTea has two summery tea collections on offer: their Summer Collection and the Boardwalk Collection. 

Menses munchies: Faux Starbucks ginger molasses cookies

By Giselle Wedemire
 
Welcome back to Menses Munchies, a feature just for us girls where I regularly spotlight sweet, calorific vegan treats that I've found help me chase away my menstrual camps and make me feel less like an ogre that's set on destroying the nearest village.

For me, PMS is a sneaky bugger that creeps up on me gradually like a tip-toeing Scooby Doo villain until it's finally on my heels. Before I know it - BAM - I'm sobbing into a bowl of ice cream while watching Sister Act 2. It's not even a sad movie, and yet this has definitely happened to me in the days leading up to my very own shark week.

During these times, sweet and terrible-for-me treats are a godsend, and for a while, my favourite vegan treat for PMS times was the ginger molasses cookie at Starbucks. When I first went vegan years ago, I had looked high and low on Starbucks' website, scoured the internet, and chatted with baristas before I eventually came to the conclusion that those chewy and bakery-soft morsels of heaven were indeed cruelty-free, especially since my super sensitive tummy never flipped a switch whenever I indulged.

Then, last year the coffee chain revamped its line of bakery treats by advertising that they had switched over their recipes to include 100% real butter in every product. Boo-urns, no more cookies for this vegan hormone factory.

Believe it or not, these are not actually Starbucks ginger molasses cookies.
Even better, these are homemade!

Tips to make your trip to the Calgary Vegan Bake Sale a sweet success

By Giselle Wedemire

Bring on the sugar rushes and the food comas, because the Calgary Vegan Bake Sale is back for its seventh year this weekend. I couldn’t be more overjoyed because a) I love baking, and b) I love helping animals. And, being a regular volunteer baker for this bake sale, I get to combine both of these passions to create a truly satisfying weekend. It's a real win-win!*

If you’re new to the Calgary Vegan Bake Sale, here’s the scoop: every year, around May or June, the hardworking bake sale team sets up shop in the parking lot of the Community Natural Foods Chinook Market (202 61 Ave S.W.) to sell homemade vegan goodies of all shapes and sizes to benefit two great local animal charities. This year, we’ll be selling a variety of goodies and raffle tickets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., or until we completely sell out, and all proceeds will benefit Alberta Spay & Neuter Task Force and The Alice Sanctuary.

Whether this is your first vegan bake sale or your twentieth, here are some pointers on how to make the most of your bake sale experience:

Menses munchies: Mug brownies make everything better

By Giselle Wedemire

Welcome back to Menses Munchies, a feature just for us girls where I regularly spotlight sweet, calorific vegan treats that I've found help me chase away my menstrual camps and make me feel less like an ogre that's set on destroying the nearest village.

Real talk: periods are like Dementors, especially on the first day. Each time they roll around, they leave you feeling tired, listless, joyless, and completely miserable. Basically, for me, that time of the month is like having my own personal Dementor visit and suck the will to live right out of my body.

Only a slight exaggeration of how awful the first day feels.
Also, chocolate helps you feel better while cramping and after a Dementor attack; coincidence?!