The Reading List

The internet is an ocean of information and knowledge. I come across interesting articles every week that teach me new things. And when I learn something new, I am eager to pass it on. So I want to start sharing some of the latest intriguing articles I’ve read, I’ll try to make this a standard recurring feature here on Banana Bloom.

7-Eleven Quietly Switch to Vegan Mayo 
I am an advocate for full disclosure when it comes to ingredients in food. I believe I have the right to know and decide what I put in my body. However, companies inadequately listing the ingredients in the food they distribute is nothing new. And, chances are, if you’re getting your grub from 7-Eleven, you’re not too concerned about what’s in your food anyway.

With that said, I still think it’s a great thing that 7-Eleven have switched to Hampton Creek’s “Just Mayo”, a vegan mayonnaise. It’s a change that will clearly do a lot of good – both for the health of 7-Eleven’s customers, and for the environment. Hampton Creek CEO and founder Josh Tetrick suggests that the swap “will save over 81 million gallons of water, preserve over 4 million square feet of land, and prevent 191 million grams of CO2 emission [each year]. For the body, 1.5 billion milligrams of sodium, 304 million milligram of cholesterol, and 30 million grams of saturated fat would be avoided annually.” [Ecorazzi]

30 Quick Vegan Dinners That Will Actually Fill You Up
While I’m a little bit irked by the title of this article – as if it’s unheard of that vegan food could actually fill you up – I’m going to go ahead and share this in hopes of it being an inspiration to those of you curious about introducing more plant based meals into your diet.

Why this chef is turning mushrooms into ‘bacon’ and tofu into ‘blue cheese’
When the vegetarian offer at a restaurant is a mixed greens salad, I assume the chef lacks imagination and competence. An experienced and skilled chef should be able to create a more inspired meal, even with certain ingredient constraints. This is especially notable when the rest of the dishes on the restaurant’s menu include some form of fresh vegetables, legumes, beans and grains, which could easily be used to make something more creative than a bowl of lettuce.

Todd Gray is a perfect example of what I mean; here’s a chef who – despite not being vegetarian or vegan himself – sees the creation of plant based dishes as an opportunity rather than sighing while piling lettuce onto a plate.

8 Smart Reasons to Go Vegan for Heart Health
My main objectives for going vegan were for my health and for the environment. Yes, I love animals too, but contrary to popular belief, not everyone goes vegan for that reason alone. I’ve read enough research (and there’s no shortage of it) to prove time and time again that a plant based diet is the ultimate diet for good health, with the added bonus that it has the least impact on the environment. This article is just another one of those cases in point.

How We Changed the Facebook Friends Icon
I love, love, love what designer Caitlin Winner did with the Facebook friends icon. It’s such a simple and subtle change but it truly has an enormous impact and influence on our perception of men versus women and our equal value.

Meet the man who flies around the world for free
Although I’m not impressed by Ben Schlappig’s carbon footprint, this article fascinated me. Who wouldn’t dream of traveling the world for a living, and for free no less. But can someone like Schlappig really claim to have seen the world when he’s rarely setting foot in the country before hopping on the next airplane out of it? I think when you find yourself as a real life Tom Hanks in The Terminal, you’re doing “traveling for a living” wrong.