The next time you are getting take-out or picking up a to-go order, just say no to bags (bring your own!), utensils, plates, napkins, straws (you don't really need them, do you?)... any of that!  Unless, of course you are totally desperate. Most places don't ask you if you need them, they just throw them in your bag...and it's usually soooo much stuff that ends up getting thrown out, so you need to go out of your way to say thank you, but no thank you.  We need to boycott to-go stuff.  So much paper and plastic is wasted this way. 

This is my official “Just Say No” campaign to boycott to-go stuff! Tell all your favorite restaurants you order from that it would mean the world to you if they would start asking people if they need utensils, etc. instead of just tossing them in.  And yes, some places already do this (like Real Food Daily!!!) and that's awesome. Restaurants would save money on supplies too!  I mean, all the soy sauce and chop sticks you get when you pick-up Chinese food?! It's out of control!      

Just think next time, if you are eating your food at home, you can use your own silverware, napkins, and condiments. I think we are so used to eating with plastic from the take-out bag that even if we are home and can use our regular silverware, we use the plastic stuff from the bag anyhow!!! What is that?!

If you are grabbing food and won't be eating at home, check out these cute reusable to-go utensil sets (pictured above)! They come with forks, spoons, knives, and chopsticks. These guys have been around the world with me... They’re very helpful.

What are your thoughts on this??!

Leisha’s birthday came before I left for Detroit to shoot Vamps, so we had some nice quality time before I took off! Six of us went to Elf Cafe for dinner, which was so good . We had such a nice dinner at one of our favorite places in LA.

Yum Elf!

Waitress at Elf

Waiter at Elf

 Waiter and Chef at Elf - the staff all own the restaurant together!

Elf is run and owned by the nicest, grooviest people....so sweet and beautiful with such kind energy. It has the best vibe in LA! You can bring your own booze, and the food is delicious. My favorites that night were the pickles, the oyster mushrooms, the kale salad, the cabbage salad, the flatbreads with dip on the table, the olives infused with orange, the water that is cucumber-infused, the fennel, and the beet carpaccio.....oh, it's all soooo good!

More food from Elf

We went there for my birthday almost 2 years ago now, and it was so nice to go for Leisha's birthday. Leisha, Nina, Christopher and I all had our first date there too...after we first met. You must run to Elf, it's such a sexy, great place, and so comfy.

Frankie

We often run into friends there, as we did that night - our friend Frankie, whose daughter Sonny we were playing with at Laura and Woody's just that morning! I also met a Kind Lifer from Texas, Nicole Stewart, with her husband - what a nice young woman! It was so great to meet them.

After Elf, we went to the Observatory, sat at picnic benches and ate ice cream that Nina and Leisha brought from Kind Kreme. We tried 5 flavors: the Salted Caramel, the Superfoods and the Mint Chip were all faves, but the biggest winner was the Salted Caramel.

What a great night! It was so sweet to see my friends and celebrate Leisha's birthday. I left a week after that for Detroit, which is where I am until the end of September - so it was nice to spend sweet time together before I left. Happy birthday, Leisha!

I'm sharing our last few social dates with you because they all included guess what? Food!

Christopher and I spent the 4th of July with Leisha and Nina. We saw a movie and brought our own popcorn! We had a mellow day, and it was very nice. To be honest, I don't like the 4th of July very much - the fireworks bum me out (they’re noisy, I worry for the animals, and they don’t seem very Earth conscious...seems wasteful and silly to me and not very pretty...I guess I'm a scrooge!). So we had fun our own way, minus fireworks! Leisha's popcorn was delicious - here is her recipe:

Leisha's Popcorn

Ingredients

• organic popcorn kernels
• your favorite kind of oil
• soy butter (optional)
• salt
• used paper bag

Here's what Leisha says about her popcorn:

"This is how my Dad made popcorn when we were kids. Put a layer of popcorn kernels so it just covers the bottom of the pot - don't pile them, just a thin layer. Then take your oil and pour enough so it covers the bottom half of the kernels. Put a lid on your pot and turn your burner on high, and keep shaking the pan back and forth slowly over the fire. Soon you'll hear it popping. Keep shaking! Then the lid will start lifting. Have a used paper grocery bag ready (it's a fun way to reuse one!) and dump the popcorn in it. Turn the stove off. The pan will still be very hot. Take your favorite soy butter or olive oil and put it in the pan until it melts - roll it around so it doesn't burn. Then slowly pour it over the popcorn and salt at the same time. Close the bag and shake it up, then repeat! Roll the bag up so it stays warm and head to the movies. When you're in your seat, roll the sides of the bag down till it's in the shape of a bowl and go to town!"

Leisha and Nina also had a whole spread of farmer’s market treats for us – it looked so pretty and was so good!

The following Saturday my husband and I went to one of our favorite places in LA, Inaka. It's awesome! You must go. I had a half miso/half kabocha squash soup that was sooo good. Then we had deep-fried mochi with grated daikon, (I know, deep-fried! The horror! When it is cooked correctly it isn't bad for you. And the daikon cuts it...I find it very nourishing, delicious, and energizing). After that I had stewed daikon and stewed kabocha, along with some pickled cabbage. Christopher had udon noodle and vegetable soup. It was all so good! Then we went to see a film called I Am Love. We brought our own popcorn with us, but my batch wasn't as good as Leisha's! I used my air popper....lame compared to Leisha's! I'm doing hers from now on!

This is the bag of popcorn we snuck into the theater

That Sunday we went to watch the World Cup final at our friends Woody and Laura's house. It was so sweet to see them and their whole family, all 3 beautiful girls. They are like family, we love them! There was such great food at their house. Justin Boa brought "cheese" from a new raw place called Mooi, and Laura made a great noodle dish with lotus root, burdock, and some amazing kale that she got from Mollie's garden. Mollie is the gal who makes the raw vegan ice cream at Kind Kreme in Studio City. All the food was delicious! After the soccer match, I went home and did some work and took a 15 minute nap. Then it was time for Leisha’s birthday - I'll post my blog about those festivities tomorrow!

June 6th was my mom’s birthday, so Christopher and I drove to see her for a surprise visit and birthday meal! I did all of the cooking and we had a great time hanging out with my parents and their dogs.

My cheesecake from The Kind Diet...yum! My mom loves cheesecake and she actually loved this one too! She is a tough critic when it comes to tea and dessert

My mom had made the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups from my book and had a huge stash in her fridge that she makes without the chocolate  

Christopher dancing with mom's new rescue dog

Here’s the meal I made:

Lunch

• Quinoa with Basil and Pine Nuts (p. 224 in The Kind Diet)
• Warm Potato, Soybean, and Cucumber Salad (p. 178 in The Kind Diet)
• Sugar Snap Peas, Radishes, and Edamame with Lemon Butter (p. 167 in The Kind Diet)
• Arame Turnovers (p.260 in The Kind Diet)

Sugar snap peas, radishes, and edamame

This is a picture of me soaking the beats to get the dirt off...instead of running water, which is wasteful

Beet salad

Dinner

• Watercress, Beet, and Heirloom Tomato Salad (p. 173 in The Kind Diet)
  *For this salad, we soaked the beets in water to clean them. This is a great way to wash them and save water!
• Radicchio Pizza with Truffle Oil (p. 144 in The Kind Diet)
• Mixed Berry Cheesecake (pictured above; p. 192 in The Kind Diet)

The radicchio pizza

Me with my dad

Mom and Christopher picking lemons

My mom's birthday was really sweet and nice!

I just got an email from Olivia Wilde that made me sooo happy!  She is currently in Santa Fe working on the film Cowboys and Aliens... Here is what she wrote me:
 
"The catering chef on set here in Santa Fe has been using your book to cook for me...I've been hardcore vegan the whole time without having to compromise due to lack of food. For a snack today he made me your Fried Mochi. To die for. For dessert? Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups! Heaven. Sam Rockwell has been ordering what he calls the "vegan surprise" every day, along with many of the crew. So cool. Yesterday Jason the chef made your rice crispy treats!"

This makes me so happy I can't even stand it!!!!!
 
Laura Linney, who was my costar in Time Stands Still on Broadway, is doing the same thing on the set of her new show, The Big C. She is having the catering people make a whole section of vegan options, using recipes from my book!

I love these women!!!!!

Doug Evans (pictured below) is this super cool guy who I met when I was having dinner at Pure Food and Wine by myself. Doug came over to my table and asked if I would like to join him and his friend at their table. I was loving my date by myself, but he was so nice that I went and joined them for dessert. I’m happy that I did, because he’s a great guy who is doing great things in this world!

Organic Avenue is his place that specializes in raw and vegan essentials as well as detoxes and cleanses. Denise Mari is the founder and shepherd of the brand, and Doug is the CEO. The mission of Organic Avenue is to spread love. Love, Organic, Vegan, Experience. They spread the love by offering detox cleanses, superfoods, prepared raw meals, and yummy juices. And they hold organic workshops to help others transition to a sustainable lifestyle.

The store is super cute and a really great place to meet up with friends. It's got such a good vibe - the location on Suffolk street is called The Space of Love. The Space of Love was designed to be environmentally sustainable with bamboo flooring, non-toxic paint, and custom-built air and water purification systems. It's a beautiful place to be.

When I was in New York this winter and I felt like a little green juice, I would head over there and get my favorite juice, Green Love. Green Love has a bunch of stuff in it; kale, cucumber, spinach, romaine, Swiss chard, collard greens, apple, lemon, and parsley. I would go about a few time a week. It was wonderful to walk by Organic Avenue and pick up some Green Love whenever I wanted it. Especially cause the West Village store is so quaint and cute!

When I was in Shreveport shooting Butter (which I loved!!!), it was a challenge to find greens and vegetables, so I asked Doug if he could send me some delicious juice. It was definitely a desperate measure, but I was so happy to have some Green Love.. and the coconut water he sent me was a fantastic dessert treat. It felt so decadent, and I felt so spoiled...and I loved it.

Organic Avenue delivers all around New York City and for those outside of the New York area there is a website with various items that can be shipped to you.

I’m not into raw foods myself...as I tell the story in my book, I’ve kinda been there, done that (I’ll blog more about this in the future). Being macro/superhero works way better for me!! But I love what Doug is doing. And I love a green juice every once in a while, or even a few times a week! And coconut water is a dream luxury treat! I just want you to know that if you like a green juice, Organic Avenue has the best!  And if you like nice vibes, good people and a happy world, this is the place to go.

Thank you Doug, and thank you to the whole staff at Organic Avenue who are all so groovy and sweet, and play great music!

Growing dandelion is super cheap and is so good for you! Try it in summer salads or stir-fries! When you buy it from a farmer’s market or the store it costs something like $2, and it goes bad if you don’t eat it in a week. But when you grow it yourself, it grows constantly, like a weed. It doesn’t go bad in the ground, so there is no pressure to use it up, and you can get the exact amount you want. Plus it looks pretty and it is soooooo good for you!
 
If you haven’t eaten dandelion before, here are a couple of ways to try it:

• Put 4 or 5 leaves (chopped or cut in large pieces) into a salad
• Stir-fry it with other greens and serve warm

Have fun experimenting, and let me know if you invent any yummy new dandelion dishes along the way!