Where do tree hugging, vegetarian liberals belong in north Chicago? (Evanston: environment, health)

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by Anthera

My son reminded me today of a very very fun thing you can do with your kids in Evanston. On NU's campus, by the power plant, there is a pond filled with large carp. They are extremely tame and love breadcrumbs. My kids used to have a blast feeding them when we were at NU for kids stuff.

We'll do this for sure! We went to visit our best friends in Bend Oregon and we did this. It was exciting for the kids and I enjoyed it as well. Any activity that allows us to experience nature with our kids is a great idea to us. Can't help but wonder if the carp have gotten so large as a result of being near the power plant. You just never know....

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Wait till January... I know you were originally from Michigan, but it will still be a shock to your system after all of those warm California winters.

I know this to be true. That is why it was super important for me to get here in time to enjoy the summer and fall before facing old man winter. One thing about the winters here is that they make you appreciate the other seasons that much more. There is nothing sweeter than the first warm days after a long winter. You get Spring fever!

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by Calidreemer

Jay is Vegan - so that's a huge lifestyle committed to not using any animal derived products. Vegetarian is the umbrella under which Vegan's fall - there are different types of vegetarians - like semi - veg (limit some meats ect), ovo - lacto (eggs and dairy) Vegans and maybe some others. I'm no expert, but I think that's how it goes - please correct me if I am wrong. I fall under the semi - veg - chicken, turkey, some varieties of fish (about 5), and shrimp, cheese and that's about it - oh and occassionally honey.

We're strict vegan animal/human rights activists, but we're raising our kids lacto ovo vegetarian for now so we do allow them to have some ice cream on occasion. We don't do a lot of dairy for them and when we do it is free range organic eggs and organic cheese.

You are right Calidreemer. There are a bunch of subcategories if anyone is interested. It is my opinion that all of them are doing something great for animals and the planet:
Lacto Ovo Vegetarian
A lacto ovo vegetarian does not eat meat, fish or poultry, but eats eggs and milk. They eat eggs and products made with eggs in them, yogurt, cheese, milk and ice creams.
Lacto Vegetarian
A lacto vegetarian does not eat meat, fish, poultry or eggs, but includes dairy products in their diet. They will eat milk, ice cream (that does not include eggs), yogurt and cheese. They would avoid ice creams, baked goods, pancakes and veggie burgers that contain eggs.
Vegan
A vegan does not eat any fish, meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products or foods that contain any of these products. They also do not use any non-food items that contain products from animals, including wool from sheep, leather and silk. Vegans often do not eat honey, because bees may be killed while harvesting it.
According to many vegans, it is pronounced VEE-gun. A vegan diet consists of vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, fruits and seeds. This diet tends to be high in fiber and moderate in protein and fat. A vegan will not use margarine that has casein, a milk product, in it and they do not use shoes that are made from leather. Vegans do not eat white granulated sugar because it is often processed by using char derived from animal bones to whiten the sugar. They also do not use products that are tested on animals, as are many cosmetics.
Macrobiotics
A macrobiotic diet is mainly vegetarian, but macrobiotic diets often include seafood. In this diet all other meat products are excluded, as are eggs and dairy products. They also do not eat "nightshade vegetables" (potato, pepper and eggplant), refined sugar and tropical fruits. This diet contains many foods found in Asian countries such as miso soup, root vegetables (daikon and lotus) and sea vegetables (seaweed, kelp, arame).
It emphasizes eating locally grown foods that are in season. Meals consist of 50% to 60% grains, 25% locally grown produce, and the rest of the diet mainly consists of beans and soups. In lesser amounts fruits, nuts and seeds are eaten. This diet is based on the Chinese principles of yin and yang. Some people follow this diet as a philosophy of life and others follow it for health reasons.
Fruitarian
A fruitarian is a person who only eats fruits and vegetables that are actually classified as fruits such as avocados, nuts, seeds, eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes.
Raw or Living Food Diet
One who follows a raw food diet is a person who for the most part only eats raw foods that are not cooked. One who follows this type of diet believes that cooking changes food in a negative way and makes it less nutritious, diminishing the vitamin and mineral contents of the food. Most people who follow a raw-food diet only eat between 50% to 80% of their food raw. There is some logic to a raw food diet in the fact that cooking food destroys nutrients. But cooking food on the other hand makes foods easier to digest, which often offsets the anti-nutritional factors.

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by chiados

Since it's truly summer, you might enjoy Hartigan's on Central for ice cream/sherbet or Linz & Vail on Noyes for Gelato. Based on your food preferences, and until you make it to the farmers market, etc. you might also add Addis Abeba on Chicago Avenue and Reverence Cafe on Oak (haven't had a chance to try it yet, but it's organic and near your rental I believe) to your list of meal options.

We LOVE to get restaurant recommendations from the locals. Thank you!!!! Mexican food is our absolute favorite and we were pretty spoiled with vegan/vegetarian friendly places in California. Can anyone recommend any restaurants that have really good food and don't use lard in their beans or chicken stock in their rice? We also LOVE all ethnic foods since they usually have great vegan options; Brazilian, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Ethiopian, Pakistani, Greek, Italian, Japanese etc... so if anyone has any recommendations, bring em' on!

[Calidreemer]

Thanks for the Vegan explanation. I learned a lot. I think I could definitely do Lacto Ovo vegetarian as a next step (I would love to get away from all meat).

I have a friend I work with who is Vegan and she is always giving me tips. I am involved with a breed rescue and support horse rescues so it feels like a natural progression to completely remove meat from my diet.

Anyway - as for places to eat - here's a link that will give you some options.
Vegan Street Guide to Vegan Dining in Chicago

Here's a snipet from the website....

"While certainly not giving Santa Cruz a run for its money, vegan and vegetarian dining opportunities in Chicago definitely have flourished in volume and quality within the past decade." - Funny huh?

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by Calidreemer

"While certainly not giving Santa Cruz a run for its money, vegan and vegetarian dining opportunities in Chicago definitely have flourished in volume and quality within the past decade." - Funny huh?

Thanks Calidreemer. What is really funny about that is the fact that we didn't feel like Santa Cruz really had any great vegan options. We were always happy to drive through Los Angeles where our favorite vegan restaurant, Real Foods Daily, is. They are hands down the best place we've ever eaten as vegans. Their food is nothing short of delicious.

[Calidreemer]

I guess compared to Chicago anywhere in California has more Vegan options!LOL. Did you know the city just overturned the Foie Gras ban? It makes me sick. We had a team building lunch recently where one of the choices in LF served Fois Gras and I asked to exclude it because of it. They did, but sadly people didn't even know about Foie Gras - teaching moment.

BTW_ I love Farm Sanctuary too...Did you ever visit their California location?

Anyway - I better get back on track here or risk an edit.

Are you ready for your move tomorrow? I hope you have good weather.

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

I cant believe this thread is still going! lol

Yet more evidence that the Midwesterners truly are open, friendly, and straightforward as accused. You guys are all willing to help out a fellow human being you have never even met! That is what I love about the people here. That is something you always miss when you leave the Midwerst. It is funny how I seemed to gravitate toward other Midwest transplants living in California.

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by Calidreemer

I guess compared to Chicago anywhere in California has more Vegan options!LOL. Did you know the city just overturned the Foie Gras ban? It makes me sick. We had a team building lunch recently where one of the choices in LF served Fois Gras and I asked to exclude it because of it. They did, but sadly people didn't even know about Foie Gras - teaching moment.

BTW_ I love Farm Sanctuary too...Did you ever visit their California location?

Anyway - I better get back on track here or risk an edit.

Are you ready for your move tomorrow? I hope you have good weather.

Don't even get me started on the cruelty of Foie gras... I LOVE Farm Sanctuary. We've been there a few times. At one point they were considering another location in Chicago.

We aren't ready for the move actually. I reserved a UHAUL truck and they called me to give me the location to pick it up, but they said I had to have it back to Elgin by 2 pm the same day. There is no way we could do that. Elgin is where our POD is being stored and it is over an hour from Evanston. They were supposed to call me back with a new location that had a truck available, but I never heard from them. So we don't have a truck for tomorrow yet. I guess I just have to call in the morning and hope they can get me a truck as I already scheduled access to our POD. I can't wait to get all moved in. We're only getting the bare minimum out of storage in case we find an amazing house to buy that we can't pass up.

[Calidreemer]

Oh I am sorry to hear that about the tuck! That puts a little wrench in the plan. I am sure something will work out though - the good old Midwesterners will come through for you!

BTW I read from American Humane that Farm Sanctuary got about 54 pigs rescued in Iowa because of the flooding. The flood saved their lives.

Have a good night. I'm off to bed