plants Archives - Compassionate Women

Angelina National Forest & Historic Aldridge Sawmill

August 11, 2016 by Jillian 2 Comments

Angelina National Forest reminds me of the kinds of forests you read about in fairy tales. There’s just something magical about it 🔮 On my way to Nacogdoches, Texas I decided I was going to finally stop by this natural beauty and spend at least a couple of hours wandering around and hiking the nature trails. I ended up at Boykin Springs, located off the main highway, but only after getting lost and having to stop at a tiny local restaurant to ask for directions.

Just my luck, the main road leading to the trail was still closed off due to a ton of recent rain which resulted in flooding. Darn you Texas and your crazy weather! Despite that, this was my only chance to see Angelina National Forest and I wasn’t about to let a closed road stop me. I parked my car, got out, and walked about twenty minutes until I saw the entrance of Boykin Springs. Here are my favorite pictures from the day, including the historic Aldridge Sawmill at the end of the trail.

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Cheesy Broccolini & Brown Rice Patties

May 25, 2015 by Jillian Leave a Comment

It’s been raining nonstop here in Austin, Texas. The humidity has been off the chain and my hair is very unhappy. However, it’s been great for the greenery and all the lakes. I’m hoping it means this summer won’t be quite as scorching as usual. But that’s probably just a pipe dream…

On the plus side, broccolini popped in my brain the other day and I ran with it. Broccolini is one of those veggies that people tend to forget about, but it’s full of vitamins and nutrients, easy to prepare, and very yummy. I decided to create a recipe using this cruciferous vegetable and I came up with the idea of making cheesy brown rice patties and broccolini. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I had a feeling it would, and the end result was better than I expected.

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Cheesy Veggie Tofu Scramble

May 12, 2015 by Jillian Leave a Comment

I don’t know how you feel about breakfast, but for me, it’s verrrry important. Not only am I ravenous when I wake up in the morning, but I definitely notice a difference if I don’t eat anything. I’ll get light headed, have trouble focusing, hunger pains, headaches, procrastinate, and can be extremely agitated and grumpy. None of that is worth skipping breakfast!

That’s what I love about this recipe, other than the fact that it tastes super yummy, is that it’s full of nutrients to keep me going the rest of the day… or at least until lunchtime 🙂

This recipe makes 2 servings, unless you’re like me and you can easily eat it all by yourself.

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Veg Head in Vietnam – Part 1

February 21, 2015 by Jillian Leave a Comment

You know all those beautiful, tropical places you see in professional photos where the lounge chair is placed perfectly under the umbrella in the sand, with a view of a turquoise ocean that sparkles and a sun that never stops shining? That’s where I am right now. I never expected to find it in Vietnam, though. I had never given Vietnam much thought; it’s one of those overlooked destinations that stays under the radar and therefore less touched by tourists, which is exactly what I was looking for. As a teacher in Beijing, I get about two weeks off for the Chinese New Year holiday. I needed to get out of the city and to someplace warm! At first, Thailand was at the top of my list, but the flight prices were expensive and rapidly rising each day. A couple of friends had mentioned Vietnam to me and I decided to look into it. I eventually found Nha Trang, a little beach town on the southeastern coast of the country. I chose to stay there for two nights, and then make my way about one hour north to secluded Doc Let Beach. Let me take you on a magical ride through my vegetarian journey through Vietnam…

First off, the air in Vietnam smells so good! Maybe just where I traveled, but it smelled like a cross between salt water and incense, or sometimes flowers. Not bad, huh? Nha Trang is a busy little town, especially around this time of year. A lot of tourists from China come down for the holiday, and it’s a huge tourist destination for Russians and expats living nearby. Plus, it’s also Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, year of the goat. What I like is that there are just as many locals, so I felt like I got the full, cultural experience of Vietnam.

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Be Beautiful Inside and Out, Part 1

September 12, 2014 by Jillian Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about what humane beauty products are, why it’s important to choose them, and some ideas on how to go about that. I decided to do a three part series so I can go into a bit more detail about the everyday products that most of us use, include some homemade substitutes, and remind everyone how easy it is to make the switch over to humane. I mean, if it’s so easy, why wouldn’t you?!

Nail polish – I love to paint my nails. I’ve been doing my own nails since I was a small child and I always get compliments on them. However, I never stopped to think that toxic chemicals could be in my nail polish. But, oh, they are. The majority of nail polishes contain the following: toluene (which is neurotoxic), formaldehyde (cancer-causing preservative), & dibutyl phthalate (or DPT, which interferes with reproductive hormones). Yuck, right? And just like your skin, your nails absorb whatever is put on them. Plus, many nail polish brands test on animals. Yuck again. Check this link out for a list of vegan nail polishes, it contains a lot of well known, easy-to-find brands on it. However, it’s important to find out if any of the brands contain the toxic trio (I’m very happy to report that OPI does not, which is great news, because I love them!) Best way to find out? Do your research. It’s so easy these days to find information on the internet, just make sure it’s a legitimate resource. I wouldn’t necessarily go to a product’s website, because products that claim they are chemical free, actually are not. I would check out websites like EWG’s Skin Deep as well as search for studies that have been done on products outside of the company. Your nails can look fabulous without harming your health or harming animals!

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