The NFL couldn’t have picked a BETTER musician to sing the most beautiful song on the planet for Superbowl 2010.

The delicious Carrie Underwood who donned an all white pant suit was given the honor, but some are saying her rendition of the National Anthem was flat. Listen to the video yourself and see. I don’t find it flat at all, it was PERFECT.

And hearty congrats! to the New Orleans Saints for an exciting and awesome Superbowl win.

via This Dish is Vegetarian

In today’s meat-obsessed world, it’s not easy eating plants but a newly released book from Life Tips, Inc can help. So often seasoned vegetarians settle into an eating routine that may not be satisfying all of their needs… enter Staci Marquez-Nichols to the rescue.

Her book “101 Vegetarian Eating & Living Tips” provides info and insights veteran and newbie vegetarians alike can use to enjoy a smart and healthy vegetarian lifestyle – including ammunition you can use against veggie naysayers.

There are a ton of vegetarian cookbooks and books criticizing the meat industry available, says author Staci, but surprisingly few resources on how to make a meat-free diet work. This is what makes ‘101 Vegetarian Eating & Living Tips’ so indispensable. There are a lot of long-term vegetarians who don’t know what a complete protein is or how to combine their foods to form them. There are a lot of veteran vegetarians who don’t know that processed soy–i.e. fake meat–is really bad for you. I explore all of these things in my book.

“101 Vegetarian Eating & Living Tips” provides readers with humorous, real-world and engaging insights every vegetarian can use.

Tips and trivia include:

• Detailed vegetarian food groups (It’s more than nuts and berries!)
• The body’s vitamin and nutrient requirements and how to meet them
• The environmental impact of a vegetarian diet vs. the Standard American Diet
• How to deal with meat cravings
• Veggie-friendly fast food finds
• A list of famous vegetarians and vegans
• Thought-provoking quotes on vegetarianism from everyone from Albert Einstein to Leonardo da Vinci
• Specific chapters for vegetarian athletes, vegetarian kids, pregnant vegetarians, traveling vegetarians, and more

“101 Vegetarian Eating & Living Tips” is available from Amazon.com (where it has already earned a 5-star rating) for less than $10.

You can also check out Staci’s website, VegetarianTips.net.

crazy who dat fans

Who’s watching the Superbowl game this Sunday? This year promises quite the match, with Who Dat! Saints and Mississippi Boy “Peyton Manning” dueling it out for football supremacy.

My money is on The Saints, but only because the [Chicago Bears] are nowhere to be found. lol. I think everyone else has their money on Peyton and “The Colts”, because he’s so damn good. But i’ll be rooting for the underdog here. And they do have a pretty good chance, since they want it BADLY.

This is the first time the “New Orleans Saints” and Drew Bree’s have made it to the Superbowl, so a fight to the bitter end is guaranteed. And rightly so.

Who are you rooting for? Who will win the BIG GAME, and if you’re a COLTS fan – get out of my blog. Now!!!!!

p.s. Check out these great healthy vegetarian snack recipe ideas.

The Kind Diet Book By Alicia Silverstone

The top cookbooks of the last DECADE have been picked by PCRM (a committee of doctors) and you might be surprised at the results. Or maybe not!

In no particular order, below is a sampling of the cookbooks deemed as most healthy and lest healthy. By certified doctors!

Best Cookbooks – Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen, The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone, Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry.

Worst Cookbooks – Kitchen Classics by Paula Deen, Atkins The Complete Cookbook by Atkins, “Kill It And Grill” It by Ted Nugent.

It should come as no surprise on the Paula Deen book. I would go a step further and say ANY Paula Deen cookbook should be treated as heart-attack inducing material. lol. We all know this, but she is entertaining. Just wished she wouldn’t peddle such malarkey.

I don’t have Alicia’s book, but its definitely on my “must have” list. If you have it, weigh in below on what recipes you like?

via This Dish is Vegetarian (visit, then follow this cool blog via twitter or RSS)

Weekend link goes to: ChickandFit.com

http://chickandfit.com/10-reasons-to-eat-apples-dieting-motivation

Great article on the many health benefits of APPLES. I was surprised (but delighted) to read #8.

Apples prevent tooth decay, as the juice can kill around 80% of bacteria in the mouth.

via ChickandFit.com

Wanna be featured here next weekend? Send me your link. Must be veg related. (of course!)

image via The Hot Potato

Below are some cool Sunflower seed fun facts.

1. Sunflower seeds belong to that rare class of foods that are as healthy as they are delish. Due to no cholesterol content and cholesterol-fighting (phytosterols) they’re really good for the heart. In addition to that, they’re rich in fiber, minerals like zinc and calcium, iron for blood and also magnesium, selenium. Oh! and they have very high levels of Vitamins B and E. In fact, sunflower seeds are particularly a GREAT SOURCE OF VITAMIN E.
2. Phytosterol from sunflower seeds is known to make the immune system more robust, flush out toxins and reduce the risk of cancer, while also regulating the level of cholesterol in the blood stream thereby reducing chances of cardiac stroke.
3. The mineral selenium on the other hand acts as a catalyst in apoptosis – the self destructing mechanism of the body that sheds cancerous and abnormal cells growth. It also helps in DNA replication in various body repair mechanisms. Selenium isn’t abundantly available in common food types and the normal human intake of selenium is usually low. Having sunflower seeds, however, provides the body with ample selenium.
4. The scientific name of sunflowers is Helianthus annuus, latin for flower of the sun. Scientifically, sunflower seeds aren’t actually seeds, they belong to the set achenes – edible fruits of flowers in the shape of seeds where the fruit inside does not adhere to the outer covering.
5. Sunflowers grow throughout the year. Each sunflower consists of about 1000 to 2000 seeds and it takes about 3 months for a sunflower to mature. There are three kinds of sunflower seeds – black oil, striped and white. White seeds have not found much commercial use as yet.
6. If you like variety in your snacks then you can choose from a wide range of sunflower seeds – roasted, unroasted, salted, unsalted, with the kernel or without it, spiced, chocolate covered, mint covered, barbecued, honey roasted or sprouted! This healthy delicacy of a snack can be served up in innumerable ways.
7. You can also use sunflower seeds to garnish your salads and main courses, it gels with all kinds of food, bitter, sour, sweet, and salted. Sunflower seeds are also used to make sunflower seed butter, much like peanut better except its a lot more healthier.
8. Most South East Asian countries use sunflower oil to cook (as most of their food is made in oil) because it is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and has a very low risk of cardiac strokes even when used daily. Lots of other countries are following suit these days. Processed sunflower oil is made into margarine’s and used instead of butter. The residual content once the oil is squeezed from the seeds is used as feed for livestock.
9. Speaking of which, birds love sunflower seeds! Planting a few in your garden/farm is the easiest way to attract birds. Sunflower seeds make for good feed for livestock too.

Hope you enjoyed our sunflower seed fun facts, but feel free to share your own in the comment area. Cheers!

On to the giveaway winner. I won’t keep you guessing anymore, as I know you all want to know who WON the awesome I Heart Veggie’s t-shirt from Alternative Outfitters. So keep reading to find out.

First, let me say a thing or three about AO, they’re a really cool online shop with loads of funky, hip, classic vegetarian/vegan/eco friendly stuff. Everything from clothes to shoes, soaps, wallets, you name it. They have it.

So if you have a minute, do CHECK THEM OUT!!!

Ok. On to the winner. The contestant who won the I Heart Veggie’s t-shirt is…CASEY!!!

Casey runs and blogs at Beautiful Let Down.net and you can follow her on Twitter, @cberbs

Congrats to Casey!

p.s. An email goes out to her and she has 48 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen. Cheers! to all who entered.

If you’ve been aching to subscribe to VT, now is a great time. The deal is for a 1 year subscription and with each issue at news stands going for about $5, that’s a heck of a BIG savings.

But hurry, because the Amazon.com offer is only available till January 9th. And feel free to spread the word to your peeps, as this is a really great deal. Cheers!

I’m short on time, as I’m off to visit my family in Chicago, so I’m gonna keep this short and sweet. Because Alternative Outfitters completely and totally rocks, i’m going to giveaway one of their master creations.

Nice, huh?

The I Heart Veggies T-Shirt.

This cute vegetarian t-shirt is an American Apparel 100% baby rib cotton and is fitted, so it’s recommended that the winner (maybe YOU!) pick the next size up. These tee’s run small!

Ok. To enter to win this baby, do any of the following:

1. Leave a comment below and tell me: What you’re doing for Christmas this year? If you don’t celebrate it, that’s cool. Tell me what you’re doing anyway.

2. Tweet about the giveaway, and dude! please use the hashtag #groovyvegetarian

That’s it. Tell your friends and get your entry in.

T-shirt giveaway ends on Wednesday, December 30th  at midnight. Winner announced a few days later here, via email and Twitter. ***RULES: Open to US residents only older then 18 with a valid email address and winner has 48 hours to respond. Prize will be given in the form of an Alternative Outfitters or Amazon gift card.

Good luck!

***from the Tofurky site. (product description)

Try a vegetarian Tofurky Roast or Tofurky Feast

Since 1995 the vegetarian Tofurky Roast has been a delicious centerpiece at many meatless meals. The Tofurky Roast is filled with wild rice stuffing. Baste and surround with vegetables for a filling, festive meal. Leftovers make an awesome sandwich. Our completely vegan roast is made with organic tofu, expeller pressed non GMO canola oil, organic brown and wild rice and other fine ingredients.

To grab your very own Tofurky coupon, visit Jolinda at the Vegetarian About page.