you love yogurt & cheese?! this is a post for you!

happy tuesday!
can we talk about yogurt for a minute?
maybe you are thinking : diana, aren't you vegan?
yep. i am. i have been vegan for almost 4 years now. so, i dont eat yogurt. [actually, i am super intolerant to dairy & choose not to eat eggs // meat because of animal welfare issues]

i think vegans as a whole get a bad wrap, at times. people think we are preachy. rude. too in your face. douche-y, if you will. some people see vegans as paint-slinging, tree-hugging hippies that are out of touch.
if you know me in real life ; its true that i have a lot of opinions ; but i wouldn't say that i am a pretentious ass. ;)
actually, when it comes to topics like factory farming, i dont post much, because people [on both sides!] get so defensive & its not my place to judge what YOU [or anybody else] are consuming.
so listen, i am not writing this to judge you. or to call you names. or to guilt you into eating the way that i do.
my post today has one main theme : KNOW YOUR FARMER!

if you have been following me on twitter, you may have noticed that i have been going back & forth with a huge yogurt company for the past week. i am not trying to pick on anybody, i just want some answers about ethical practices.

i dont know how much you know about the factory farm dairy industry, but its worth doing a bit of research. i could tell you horrific stories & show you really awful images, but thats not really my style.

i will tell you that in most factory farm operations [we are talking large farms with thousands of cows!] ; the ethical standards are pretty low.
dairy cows [females] are treated pretty rough. they are kept pregnant [by artificial insemination] almost non-stop for a few years. [the only way a cow can produce milk, is if she has given birth] well, the dairy industry wants the milk, not the newborn calf. once that calf is born, it is taken from its mother, fed a crappy powder milk-substitute & is [more than likely!] sold for veal.

if a dairy cow is living a good life [grass, cow-friends, a place to roam], she can live for about 20+ years. most dairy cows on factory farms live less than 5 years [usually around 3-4 years]. their bodies are so damaged and broken from the constant strain of birthing and milking that they are sent to the slaughterhouse.

so, what am i saying here?
i am saying that it is SO important to demand answers from your favorite company. ask them a series of questions [i have some listed at the end of this post!] if they cant // wont answer, that is a red flag.

imagine your sister // best friend getting pregnant, so we can all benefit from her milk. once she gives birth, all she wants to do is bond with her baby, but we dont care about the baby. we are here for the milk! so, we rip the baby from her arms & pump your best friend until her body goes out. and once that  happens, we do it all again. and again. and again.
[its disgusting, right? its sick & heartbreaking]
cows bond with their calves the same way human mothers bond with their newborns. we both feel love, affection & fear.

here is the good news : there are farms that are doing it right! 
farms that are treating their cows like the intelligent beings that they are. they are giving them time to bond with their calves for 3-5 months. [and the calf is able to drink moms milk & stay with her]. letting them roam on large areas of land, eating organic grains and // or grass. giving them time between pregnancies.
if dairy is important to you [i am not judging!] ; there are ways to support the 'little guys' that are treating the animals well.

if you live in a large city, head to your local co-op, whole foods and/or farmers market. ask questions. dont take a BS stock answer ; you deserve an answer & a company worth supporting will give you that!
if you dont live in a large city, do a simple internet search for 'ethical dairy farms + your state'.
find a few & send them emails. tour the farms, if you can.

this is YOUR food! you have every right to know where it comes from!

great dairy farms in minnesota // iowa // wisconsin :
cedar summit // fruitful seasons // pastureland // zweber family farms // organic valley // castle rock farms

questions to ask : 
what are the cows fed?
how much time passes between pregnancies?
how long are the  calves with the mothers? what are the calves fed ; mothers milk or a powder substitute?
what happens to the calves once they are weaned from their mother?
what happens when the dairy cows stop producing milk?

id love to hear your opinions on this?
do you eat dairy? do you know where it comes from?
do you have a favorite farm? [if so, list it & i will add it to the post!]

cheers!

shopping with daphne : december bark box reveal : [another post for the dog lovers]

hey everybody!

this post is for the 'dog people' out there.

for the past few months now, we have been getting the barkbox.

what is it?

its a monthly mail subscription service. each month, your pup [you customize the package based on their size] gets a box in the mail with anything from treats, hygiene products & toys.

this is daphnes 4th box & i think its her favorite so far ;)

how do i know?

because i kept the bark box in the craft room ; waiting for enough daylight to take a photo.

we have been training daphne to be out of her cage during the day, while we are at work. she gets the living room & the kitchen. we close the hallway door & the doors to the craft room and the bedroom.

i came home the other day & not only had she OPENED the hallway door [hello, she doesnt have thumbs!], but she got into the craft room AND tore apart the bark box.

*sigh*

so, what was in the december bark box!?

this awesome shampoo ; smells so good.

this poor, destroyed monkey. really, he never stood a chance.. [he is made from organic cotton & SO soft] [we really love this company for everything they do!]

a box of red velvet cake mix [its wheat-free] GUYS! seriously, red velvet cake for dogs?! i love it!

and a bag of these dog treats. [no picture of the treats, because she ate the entire bag while we were gone]

interested? 

sign up here and get $5 off your first subscription. also, they donate 10% of all proceeds to local rescues & shelters.

so, the photos of this months box were a total bust, but the box itself was a total win for our [naughty] pup.

disclaimer : we purchased the barkbox with our own money. we love supporting small companies & spending tons of money on our dog, so she can destroy everything ;)

: wanna see whats in our csa box? : week 9 :

woo hoo!
the days we get to pick up the fruit AND veggies are my fave.
oh.my.goodness i love fruit!

sweet haul this week ; all the bright colors. love it!

veggies :

 we got : green kale, garlic, broccoli, red sweet peppers, jalapeno peppers, cherry tomatoes, round red tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini!

fruit :

we got another 25 peaches! we might need to can some this time ;)

what are you eating?

: wanna see whats in our csa box? : week 8 :

happy weekend!
[thanks for all the nice comments in the past few days ; i read everything and i appreciate all of it]
[annnnnd, i still have medium and small blog spaces available for september ; check it out here]

look at all the great stuff we got this week!

we got : cucumbers. tomatoes. onions. garlic. carrots. small tomatoes. zucchini. broccoli. herbs [i dont know what they are ; they taste like licorice and look like parsley..[help]]

and tomorrow ; i want to try and knock a few things off of this list.
annnnd, look at all the great movies we checked out from the library!
[anybody else love their library?!]
have you seen any of these?!?!

[what can i say?! we love political, religious and glbt documentaries!

: wanna see whats in our csa box? : week 7 :

hey-o!

last friday, we were on the road, so we had friends pick up our csa box.
this box = the best so far!

in our veggie box : 

we have : garlic. peppers. carrots. basil. tomatoes. cucumbers. beets. onions. tiny tomatoes. broccoli. zucchini. [ps : there are probably 10 more tomatoes that wouldnt fit in the photo!]




in our fruit box : 

peaches! 25 of them!!!! holy stone-fruit. they are amazing. and i am on the lookout for a great veg cobbler.

what are you eating?!
[also, 74 more twitter followers by the end of august = a sweet giveaway]
[@dianapantzmpls]

: wanna see whats in our csa box? : week 6 :

woo hoo!
i have got to tell you ; i get so stinkin' excited when i go to pick up our csa box each week!

this week :

in our fruit box : cherries! oranges. nectarines. champagne grapes. and a pluot.

in our veggie box : garlic. beets. carrots. broccoli. cucumbers. tons and tons of tomatoes. basil. zucchini.

look at all those fun colors!

what are you eating?

: wanna see whats in our csa box? : week 5 : and fun pictures of the farm! :

its almost monday!
i hope you had a great weekend.

i feel like we have spent so much of the weekend outside ; right now, i am laying on the floor watching law and order on netflix and getting my goals in order for this week!

i missed our csa box recap last week since we were in kansas city, but i am back today with our haul from last friday!

in this weeks box : 

we got : carrots, a HUGE head of garlic, swiss chard, lots of broccoli, spearmint, savory, super-huge cucumbers, baby tomatoes and three cute, read tomatoes.


also yesterday,  our co-op partnered with 11 local farms to host an 'open-house' of sorts. there were buffalo, dairy, organic veggie and beef farms. all over minnesota.

we wanted to head to 5 of them, but only got to three.

our fave?
gardens of eagan. they are an organic 100-acre farm right in the city! so cool.
for a $1, you went into the field, picked an ear of corn, and then they boiled it for you!
after that, we loaded onto a wagon and took an hour-long tractor ride around the farm.

we had so much fun!
it was super hot and we took a bunch of photos :

 this is alllllll garlic!

 my hair kinda looks purple..

we learned so much [more!] about organic farming ; it really made us proud of the food we put into our bodies!

bye!

: wanna see whats in our csa box? : week 3 :

oh my goodness.
sweet haul this week.

in the veggie box :

sugar snap peas. chives. green top baby beets. cucumber! red russian kale. dill leaf. green garlic. baby bok choi. and red oak lettuce.
i know its hard to see each veggie in the photo, but man, there is a lot of green in our box!


in the fruit box : 
[if you 'real-life' know me, you know that i can eat massive amounts of fruits without even thinking. i love fruit. love.it.]

grapes. blueberries. nectarines. oranges and PLUOTS! [do you know about pluots?!?! they are a hybrid of a plum and an apricot. i dont like plums OR apricots, but i can eat pluots like its my job. small. juicy. and so sweet!]


and are you wondering where my friday diy is?
[haha, so am i]
[honestly, i havent gotten it done yet ; hopefully, soon]

also, i bought THE SWEETEST fabric today!
really, its so great.
new bags and new bow ties coming soon!

what are you doing this weekend?

: wanna see whats in our csa box? : week 2 :

so, last week, i posted here what we got in our csa box.
[if you are new : blake and i belong to this rad csa]
[each week, we pick up a box a veggies and every other week, we get a box of fruit]

i decided that each week, i now want to post about the fun veggies we are getting each week.
[and if you ever have any great recipes PLEASE let me know]
[we love eating new things!!]

this weeks box  : 

we got : snap peas. garlic scapes. spinruts. fennel, asparagus. baby bok choi. lemon balm. lettuce mix.

also. 100 degree days + massive humidity =

[yikes]

bye.