While I was checking out the Abe's Market Try for $2 page this morning, I came across these Sustain condoms that I thought might be of interest to some of you. After all, Valentine's Day is coming up, and it seems like it might be a good idea to have some fair trade, vegan condoms on hand in case you get lucky!

Sustain condoms are fair trade, vegan, sustainably made, fragrance free, dye free, nitrosamines free (I don't even know what that is, but it sounds like we should be glad they aren't in there) and delivered to you in recycled packaging. That sounds pretty darn responsible for a company helping you be responsible!

Oh -- and did I mention that 10% of the profits are dedicated to helping women access reproductive care?

So if you are in the type of relationship (or could have a super-short, one-night type of relationship) that requires condoms, you should definitely look into this opportunity to try Sustain condoms for just $2.00!

The Try for $2 program let's us try smaller versions of products before splurging on the full-size version. I'm totally digging it and definitely recommend signing up on their email list to get get notifications when new stuff is added.

Meatless Soy Chorizo Sausage by El Burrito Mexican Food Products

Soyrizo is a vegan meatless chorizo product made by El Burrito Mexican Food Products, Inc. Made from non-GMO soybeans, Soyrizo has 60% less fat than traditional chorizo and no cholesterol or preservatives. 

This tasty alternative to the traditional Mexican chorizo sausage cooks up easily in a frying pan and is a spicy addition to breakfast, or any meal. As with most off the shelf products, it has a nice spice to it, but not enough for my taste. When I cook Soyrizo I generally add garlic, jalapenos or other spices to liven it up a bit. However, even without my doctoring, it is one of the tastiest meat alternatives out there.

Soyrizo: Nutrition Information

Each serving of Soyrizo has 90 calories, 4 grams of fat (.5g saturated fat), 2 grams of fiber, 450mg sodium, and 6 grams of protein. It also contains 15% of the daily value of vitamin A, 2% of vitamin C, 4% of calcium and 8% of iron. The fat and sodium content are a bit higher than I would like, but if you keep the fat and sodium content for the rest of the meal to a minimum, Soyrizo is a very tasty source of protein and iron.

Soyrizo: Serving Suggestions

I usually mix Soyrizo with scrambled tofu and serve it in the same manner that you would serve chorizo and eggs; however, there are lots of other options for this great tasting meat substitute. It is great served with rice or beans and is also just fine on its own cooked with peppers and onion. It can be used as a spicy alternative to vegan ground burger crumbles in most dishes and is particularly delicious in vegan chili.

Also, the texture and consistency is similar enough to chorizo made from beef or pork that anyone interested in transforming their favorite chorizo dishes to healthier, vegan or vegetarian meals should have no problem doing so.

Soyrizo: Overall Review

I love Soyrizo. It’s a bit higher in fat and sodium than I prefer, so I don’t serve it quite as often as our taste buds would like, but the nutritional value is such that it can certainly be incorporated into meal planning every week if you wish. I like the taste and the texture and appreciate the versatility of the product.

This is a tasty addition to any plant-strong, vegan or vegetarian diet and a great way for flexitarians and meat-eaters to incorporate non-meat protein sources into their meals without losing flavor.

In my opinion, commercial glass cleaners are one of the biggest schemes out there. Advertisements over the last 50 years seem to have convinced us that we need to put out our hard-earned dollars to buy chemical-laden cleaning products to get streak-free, sparkling, clean windows. Further, we seem to have collectively forgotten that our grandmothers, great-grandmothers and those who came before managed to keep their windows (and the rest of their homes) spotless with all-natural, DIY cleaning products that took seconds to make and cost only pennies.

I’ve been using DIY glass cleaner for years, and my windows look just as good as all of my neighbors that don’t use a homemade window cleaner recipe. Plus, when you use homemade DIY cleaning products that are all natural, you aren’t introducing additional toxic chemicals into your home.

Saving money and cleaning without chemicals are good enough reasons to start making your own DIY glass cleaner, right?

Here’s how easy it is…

DIY Glass Cleaner Recipe

What you need:
A spray bottle
Distilled white vinegar
Water

What you do:

1. Pour a ½ cup of distilled white vinegar into the spray bottle.
2. Fill the spray bottle with water.
3. Shake it up, and get to cleaning those windows!

If you have been using commercial glass cleaners up to this point, you will want to add a few drops of liquid dish soap or Dr. Bronner’s to this mix the first time you clean your windows with your DIY glass cleaner. Conventional window cleaners can leave a residue on the glass, so you will get a streaky finish if you switch to a vinegar-water mix without adding liquid soap to remove the residue.

Once you have cleaned your windows with the vinegar-water-liquid soap mix once or twice, you’ll get sparkling, clean windows with just the vinegar-water mix from there on out.

Do you have a favorite DIY glass cleaner recipe? If so, let us know in the comments!

Have you ever noticed how many neckties are for sale at thrift stores and yard sales? Once I realized how cheap used neckties were, I started picking them up whenever I had the chance and using them as purse straps on some the handbags I make. Some are made from silk or wool, so they aren’t all appropriate for vegans, but if you sift through the piles, you are sure to find plenty of usable used ties to repurpose into clothing, accessories or home décor.

Recycling neckties and giving them new life is a fun project for crafty folks, but even if you are not that crafty, you will find that the projects below take very little skill…particularly because I’ve linked to a step-by-step tutorial for almost all of them!

How to Repurpose Neckties (as they are)

Neckties are kind of cool just as they are, which makes them easy to repurpose for other uses without the need to cut, sew or otherwise change them. For example, you can use a necktie as a headband or a belt by simply looping them around your head or waist and tying them.

Sewing Projects with Thrift Store Neckties

If you have a sewing machine, or know someone who does, there is almost no end to what you can do with a few repurposed neckties.

Here are just a few examples of how you can upcycle neckties into clothing, accessories or home décor:

1. Make a necktie skirt. Long or short, skirts made from neckties are pretty cute, and they couldn’t be easier to make. Check out this tutorial to learn how to make your own necktie skirt. If you don’t want to have to take your skirt to the dry cleaner, make sure you use washable ties!

2. Make necktie placemats and napkin rings. Again, you will probably want to use washable neckties for this project, since it is awfully nice to be able to wash your placemats every once in a while. Check out this tutorial for step-by-step instructions for making necktie placemats and necktie napkin rings.

3. Repurpose neckties as purse handles or backpack straps. I have personally done this one many times, and my little purses with necktie straps always seem to be popular at the craft fairs. If you aren’t really the handbag type, you can also use thrift store neckties to make backpack straps, as shown in this tutorial.

4. Make a necktie purse, shopping tote or school bag. If you are feeling particularly crafty, you can even make an entire purse, shopping tote or school bag from neckties you pick up at a thrift store or yard sales. This necktie school bag tutorial will show you how it’s done.

5. Make a memorial quilt (or just a regular ol’ quilt). Are you a quilter? If so, you might consider seeking out some neckties to add to your fabric stash. If you lost someone who loved to wear ties, you can make a memorial quilt – like this one – that will keep his or her memory close at hand, or you can simply pick up some used neckties and incorporate them into your favorite quilt pattern.

6. Create artwork to hang on the wall. Mini quilts, framed quilts, neckties attached to a backing and framed – wherever your creativity takes you, used neckties are a great medium for hanging artwork.

7. Sew up some necktie throw pillows or pillow covers. Making necktie pillows is incredibly simple and can be accomplished by either making necktie placemats (using the tutorial above), and then a plain fabric backing, or by making mini tie quilts to use as the front of the pillows.

8. Make a smartphone or music player pouch. Need a new case for your smartphone or MP3 player? Why not whip one up from an old necktie? This tutorial shows how to make a necktie iPhone pouch, which should also work (either as is or slightly modified) for other phones and music players.

Do you have other ideas for cool ways to use old neckties? If so, share them in the comments!

In my opinion, commercial glass cleaners are one of the biggest schemes out there. Advertisements over the last 50 years seem to have convinced us that we need to put out our hard-earned dollars to buy chemical-laden cleaning products to get streak-free, sparkling, clean windows. Further, we seem to have collectively forgotten that our grandmothers, great-grandmothers and those who came before managed to keep their windows (and the rest of their homes) spotless with all-natural, DIY cleaning products that took seconds to make and cost only pennies.

I’ve been using DIY glass cleaner for years, and my windows look just as good as all of my neighbors that don’t use a homemade window cleaner recipe. Plus, when you use homemade DIY cleaning products that are all natural, you aren’t introducing additional toxic chemicals into your home.

Saving money and cleaning without chemicals are good enough reasons to start making your own DIY glass cleaner, right?

Here’s how easy it is…

DIY Glass Cleaner Recipe

What you need:

A spray bottle
Distilled white vinegar
Water

What you do:

1. Pour a ½ cup of distilled white vinegar into the spray bottle.
2. Fill the spray bottle with water.
3. Shake it up, and get to cleaning those windows!

If you have been using commercial glass cleaners up to this point, you will want to add a few drops of liquid dish soap or Dr. Bronner’s to this mix the first time you clean your windows with your DIY glass cleaner. Conventional window cleaners can leave a residue on the glass, so you will get a streaky finish if you switch to a vinegar-water mix without adding liquid soap to remove the residue.

Once you have cleaned your windows with the vinegar-water-liquid soap mix once or twice, you’ll get sparkling, clean windows with just the vinegar-water mix from there on out.

Do you have a favorite DIY glass cleaner recipe? If so, let us know in the comments!

Shopping for local, in-season produce is even easier with this free app available in both the Android Market and the iPhone App Store.

Locavore helps you find local farms and farmers' markets selling produce that is in season in your area. This free local food app covers all 50 states, includes over 200 produce items and even hooks you up with seasonal recipes to inspire you with new ways to use all that local food goodness.

Learn more at the Locavore website, or go to your phone's app store to download it free.

One of the current sales events going on at Zulily is for violet + moss, an organic clothing company offering fair trade fashion for kids and babies by eco designer, Kate Quinn.

This sales event ends May 7 at 6:00am PST, so you will want to get over there quickly if you are interested in saving around 50% on organic clothing for the little ones!

Membership is free, so head over to Zulily and check out these deals, as well as lots of other sales events currently going on over there.

If you are a mom, will soon be a parent or know anyone who has kids, you really need to check out the daily sales events at zulily. I'm not a parent and zulily is not an online store that sells only vegan baby goods or organic clothing, so it took me a little longer than most to initially get excited about this daily deals site. However, every time I drove by their corporate headquarters while in the area of my guy's work, I made a mental note to check them out more. I ended up signing up for their e-newsletter about a year ago so that I could keep an eye on the types of deals they have. This is why I can now safely say that there are plenty of organic, all-natural and vegan finds on zulily, making it well worth signing up as a member.

Membership is required to get zulily's awesome deals, but signing up is easy, and membership is free. Once you are a member, you can take advantage of the sales events, which last 72 hours, and you will find new deals to be had on zulily every day.

Now, don't go thinking this is a moms-only daily deals site: There's plenty of awesomeness for every member of the family. While lots of the deals are for clothing for moms, moms-to-be, kids and babies, there's a ton of other stuff on there as well. You will find lots of baby products, such as strollers, diaper bags, toys and more, as well as kitchen stuff, pregnancy pillows and bedding. I almost always see deals for women's shoes and clothes that have nothing to do with being pregnant or breastfeeding, so it is safe to say that anyone who wears clothing or shoes typically thought of women's wear can find some great deals on this site -- not just moms!

Remember -- Not everything is organic, all-natural or vegan, but enough of the deals fall into one of those categories to make a free zulily membership totally worth it.

I plan to post some of the better zulily deals that I see for vegan, all-natural or organic products, but you might also want to sign up for their e-newsletter to make sure you are among the first to know about new deals!

Right along with most vegans, and good green girls and guys, I do my best to steer clear of single-use items. Now this doesn't mean that I never use single-use products (toilet paper and tampons come to mind), but aside from not yet being able to convince myself to switch to family cloth (reusable bathroom cloths) and Diva Cups, I don't generally go in for disposable products. So when my guy and I were staying with his father and stepmom a few years ago, and I discovered that their kitchen was decidedly bare of just about anything you would need for cooking, a disposable baking sheet was not the first thing that came to mind.

After coming to terms with the fact that they were actually serious when they said that they never cook, I stopped mid-meal prep to run to the store to find something that would work. On my way to the nearest market, I was griping about how I was sure we were going to have to buy some icky non-stick metal baking sheet, since that is typically what grocery stores have in stock. I calmed myself with a reminder that I would only be using it during our stay, and then I could give it away to one of our neighbors who uses non-stick metal pans or donate it or something.

It ended up that the store didn't have regular baking sheets at all -- just those flimsy, disposable ones that are meant to be used once, and then thrown away or recycled (in the areas that will recycle them).

With a deep breath and a cringe, I rationalized the purchase by promising Mama Earth that I would find a way to reuse the pan as many times as I could, and then would go to whatever lengths necessary to find a place that would recycle it. Before I even had it in the oven upon our return, I was already working on coming up with ways to repurpose the foil baking sheet under a planter or on my crafting table or in some other way.

When we left, the baking sheet came home with us so that I could figure out how to atone for my eco sin as best I could. I stashed it in the cupboard with the rest of my pots and pans, since I figured I might as well use it as many times as possible for its original purpose before determining what its next life would be.

Turns out -- four years later -- that flimsy, single-use baking sheet is a little worse for the wear but still works perfectly. In fact, I even prefer it to my other baking sheets in some cases. For example, when the oven is already pretty full, I can bend up the sides on this foil cookie sheet and make it fit just fine.

Have a look for yourself; it might not be pretty, but it gets the job done!

Kitchen equipment is one of the things that this cheap vegan chick would recommend never cheaping out on, but this definitely shows that you can still get quite a bit out of some cheap, single-use items. That doesn't mean that you should run out and buy one, but it does work as an example of how even some "disposable" products can have a lot of life in them -- if we are determined to keep them out of the landfill.

I use this baking sheet at least once each week, which means that it has been used a minimum of 200 times in the last four years. It has a small tear and always needs to be flattened and bent back into shape before every use, but the point is that it still works.

Single use, my ass!