Taking It Mainstream: Meet Your Match Through A Vegan Social Network Site

Taking It Mainstream: Meet Your Match Through A Vegan Social Network Site
Unless you’re the star of some hot new Rom-Com with Katherine Heigl and some muscly man with a pronounced jaw-line, meeting someone you really connect with can be difficult. And, if you’re looking around for a vegan mate, you’re probably fed up with trolling the vegan cooking section of Barnes and Noble looking for a [...]

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Unless you’re the star of some hot new Rom-Com with Katherine Heigl and some muscly man with a pronounced jaw-line, meeting someone you really connect with can be difficult. And, if you’re looking around for a vegan mate, you’re probably fed up with trolling the vegan cooking section of Barnes and Noble looking for a cutie sans wedding band browsing the latest Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Or maybe you’re in a relationship but on the lookout for some new veg-minded friends.

Well, in this digital age, there are tons of new ways you can meet someone—although they all extend outside the more traditional way of meeting someone. A plethora of vegan dating and social networking websites are available, making it easier for you to connect with someone in the virtual world. Here are a handful of the most popular:

Vegan Dating Service. This free dating site claims it’s for “both strict and dietary vegan singles.” By the Featured Vegan Singles bar, it looks to me like it’s mostly women! Get in there, men!

Vegan Passions. This vegan social networking site has a unique twist; not only can you meet non-meat eaters, but you can “share your passions.” Having a bit of a dirty mind, I immediately assumed they meant uhm, bedroom passions, but actually they are talking about interests, hobbies and causes you support. Whoops! Vegan Passions is connected with 200 other community interest sites that you can add to your network once you’ve joined, like many other social networking sites offer. This makes it easier to find members who share your interests, so you can make new friends or find someone special. Membership is free, and an added bonus is that the site lets you try it out before joining! (Pssst, Ladies! I noticed more men on this site than some of the others!)

Veggie Date- Winner of a 2010 VegNews Veggie Awards, this social networking site is not vegan exclusive but does have a good deal of vegan members. It also has a feature that allows you to search by lifestyle belief. You can sign up for a free 2-week trial, and after that the site remains free but you have the option to pay for a personal ad.

Planet Earth Singles  – This site is for the health minded and holistic, “created by environmentalists, for environmentalists!” And if you’re not interested in spending hours on the internet looking for a compatible partner, no worries. The site claims it sends like-minded match suggestions your way via email. The membership is free, but only by paying to upgrade your membership can you initiate e-mails, instant messages and video chats with other members. The basic membership allows you to indicate “interest” (sort of like a wink) in other members, as well as send a “hello.”

Veggie Fishing- This vegan and vegetarian site boasts being 100 percent free, and a great place to “Find a date that thinks — and eats — the way you do!” Included in the membership is over 19 different websites tailored to specific interests or qualities, like religion, ethnicity, or sexual preference. They even have sites for single parents, those looking for casual sex only “get some fin here!”, or individuals in the military.

Tomorrow, watch for a post from Ken Greer, who started Veggie Connection, another popular Vegan Networking Site. Ken writes about the pros and cons of meeting someone online, as well as some tips for success!

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The Loving Vegan [illustration]

The Loving Vegan [illustration]
This week on the Vegan Mainstream blog we are talking about VEGAN LOVE. It’s Valentine’s Week after all! This afternoon we will heat things up with a podcast on Vegan Sex from Dallas and Ryan of Midwest Vegan Radio, so be sure to tune in. Watch for articles this week on vegan social networks, putting [...]

This week on the Vegan Mainstream blog we are talking about VEGAN LOVE. It’s Valentine’s Week after all! This afternoon we will heat things up with a podcast on Vegan Sex from Dallas and Ryan of Midwest Vegan Radio, so be sure to tune in. Watch for articles this week on vegan social networks, putting the passion in compassion, and on Friday, a feature interview that will be good for your heart (and with some inspiration for that special meal you might make for your honey next weekend) – our recent talk with Vegan Chef Bryanna Clark Grogan! Happy Valentines Day!

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Feature Interview: NO Whey! Chocolates Veganize Indulgence

Feature Interview: NO Whey! Chocolates Veganize Indulgence
Stacie Wernick’s journey to create NO Whey! Chocolates began with a little family challenge. Stacie’s brother Ron, a typical meat-lover, became a vegan after reading Mad Cowboy, inspiring Stacie’s mother to create a vegan form of milk chocolate that would satiate Ron’s craving. This helped push Stacie from vegetarianism into full-on veganism, and together the family [...]

Photo courtesy Stacie Wernick

Stacie Wernick’s journey to create NO Whey! Chocolates began with a little family challenge. Stacie’s brother Ron, a typical meat-lover, became a vegan after reading Mad Cowboy, inspiring Stacie’s mother to create a vegan form of milk chocolate that would satiate Ron’s craving. This helped push Stacie from vegetarianism into full-on veganism, and together the family launched NO Whey! We had a chance to sit down for a delicious discussion with Stacie recently…

Vegan Mainstream: So, I’m excited to hear about your company. It makes me want chocolate for breakfast! How long has NO Whey! been in existence? 

Stacie Wernick: We’ve been in business about 4 years. We’ve had a website for two years and have mostly been selling locally to farmer’s markets. We like to appear at festivals and fairs promoting something different, so there’s another choice besides stuff with trans fats.

VM: Where are you based out of?

SW: Cleveland.

VM: What made your mother and you begin a vegan chocolate company?

Photo courtesy Stacie Wernick

SW: Well, I have a brother [Ron]. He thought I was weird because I was vegetarian, but one day he read the Mad Cowboy book and he went straight into being vegan. He was somebody who would always order extra meat, extra sausage on his pizza, that was him. He told my mom he could eat this way forever, but he missed the taste of milk chocolate. She’s a Jewish mother, always trying to please her children and afraid he would starve this way. So she went to work and created a vegan substitute for milk chocolate. He’s a very particular person, so if he didn’t like it, he would tell her. She went through a trial and error period, and he loved [the final product], so he said we should give it to the world. We were interested in having a vegan restaurant, but we started out with the candy and enjoyed doing it, so we just kept on doing that.

VM: Did you have any people or companies you used as a model?

SW: We didn’t. And we didn’t really know what the heck we were doing. We started out marketing strongly towards vegan and people wouldn’t even try it. They were very scared of that word and they would think of sprouts and health food. They didn’t want to have anything to do with it. So, we hated to do this, but we took the word vegan out of the equation at first and marketed it just as chocolate. We got a lot of people to try it that way. A few years ago I decided I really didn’t care if people knew if it was vegan. I want them to know because it’s totally more healthy, and people seem to have opened their minds a little more.

VM: Are you still only selling at farmer’s markets?

SW: Farmer’s markets, festivals, Etsy. There are a few vegan cafés we sell to close-by. We were working out of our house and then we started in the church kitchen to get a commercial license. We’re looking for a commercial kitchen to work out of and we want to expand and do a lot of wholesaling. Our goal is to get into Whole Foods and things like that. But we’re just in the middle of trying to find a place where we can do the manufacturing.

Check out NO Whey’s Etsy site.

VM: Is it still just you, your mother and your brother or do you have helpers now?

SW: We had help for the holidays and we are slowly getting help and having other people help us permanently. We’re just trying to grow and use other people when needed, but my mom’s getting a little older and she’ll need help. She works 8- or 11-hour days. She’s great, but I want her to get help because it’s hard on her.

VM: What changes have you seen in the last 3 or 4 years since you started?

SW: We’ve gotten bigger every year, we’re reaching more people and our sales have grown every year. When we first started, we really weren’t aware of other people doing [vegan] milk chocolate, but now we are seeing there are other people. We feel ours is better! We’ve started making things like caramel and things that are scarce. We feel we’ve perfected a wonderful caramel! At the farmer’s markets, people would come, my regular customers, that weren’t vegan, but loved the caramel. As we’ve stayed in business, we’ve expanded and added more gourmet stuff. At first we were just wanting to satisfy people’s sweet tooth, and let them know that when they’re vegan they can have good stuff. Then we expanded to things that are much harder to make.

VM: Did anyone in your family have cooking experience? Some of the designs are quite intricate.

SW: No, my mom was never a chocolatier, but she became one. I’ve been creative my whole life, but my passion was not chocolate, but now it seems like there is so much to do and there are so many avenues you can take with it. There are so many ways to be passionate. My mom had business experience and had owned several stores, but it was never like this. We wanted to be restauranteurs, but we ended up just doing the chocolate and loving it because we can be creative in so many ways.

VM: Do you find it hard to get all the ingredients you need?

SW: It is a little hard, but we would like to get them more local. Some things we can,  and we support vegan stores for the most part. We aren’t big enough to get things wholesale. You’d have to order pallets at a time and we can’t. We’d love to be all organic and be considered a healthier food. As it is, it’s healthier than mainstream [chocolate] would be. We’d love to have more health food things, and more raw.

VM: What are some of the more popular items you sell?

SW: People love the cranberry cashew bark. From the very start, I had this idea about giant peanut butter cups. They do take off, but not like in my dreams. Doesn’t everybody need a giant peanut butter cup? Another one is our caramels with sea salt. We even make espresso caramel and we find people just love the caramel. In the summer, we make frozen bananas and caramel apples. Those are big sellers. We were surprised with the frozen bananas. And these people aren’t all vegan. When people aren’t all vegan, we know we have something. That’s what we consider the taste test.

VM: Do you have any fun things coming up for Valentine’s Day?

SW: We usually do some of the Bizarre Bazaars in the area, which is marketed as “Not Your Granny’s Craft Fair.” We love to do those and we do have some farmer’s markets coming up that we’re excited about. I just started on Twitter. There are so many wonderful vegan organizations and I’d like to get the word out. I’m trying. We’d like to be followed on Twitter. It’s so heartening when someone says, Oh we’re your friend on Twitter.

Find NO Whey! Vegan Chocolates on Facebook.

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Stretch Mark Removal

Are you considering which stretch mark removal option to pursue?

Stretch marks on your skin is obviously going to affect your appearance. A majority of women with these similar skin flaws think that it is among the most difficult skin imperfections to treat. They appear on your body such as belly, buttocks, thighs, and breasts. Getting rid of is usually done through creams, dermabrasion, chemical peels, dermaroller, laser therapy, and tummy tuck. Unfortunately, not one treatment can completely remove these scars. The good news is that you can try other effective methods to reduce their appearances.

Removing badges of honor is going to be difficult because scars are considered permanent. This implies that you can't reverse the effect. Mind you, removal of stretch mark does take time if you want to see desired results.

To learn various ways to remove stretch marks, you need to read the whole post at What You Need To Know About Stretch Mark Removal.

African American Rhinoplasty: Retaining Ethnic Features Is Key to Natural Results and an "Ethno-sensitive" Approach

African American Rhinoplasty: Retaining Ethnic Features Is Key to Natural Results and an "Ethno-sensitive" Approach

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Advances in anatomical understanding, coupled with refinement of techniques over time, have revolutionized the field of modern rhinoplasty. Plastic surgeons who specialize in rhinoplasty are able to provide significant alterations – without creating an "over-operated" or artificial appearance. It is unfortunate that a few excessive and unnatural "celebrity nose jobs" have so unfairly stigmatized this procedure as a whole, since there are accomplished plastic surgeons who perform ethnic rhinoplasty in Los Angeles with consistently elegant and more subtle results.  In particular, the African-American community has been hesitant to undergo rhinoplasty for fear of looking odd, facially imbalanced, and losing their ancestral features. Now more than ever, surgeons who perform ethnic rhinoplasty are dedicating themselves to preserving the distinct ethnic heritage that is such an integral aspect of a patient's facial triangle of beauty. Successful African American rhinoplasty offers natural facial harmony that complements the patient's own ethnic features.

There is significant variability when it comes to the naso-facial features of people with African heritage. Nevertheless, while rhinoplasty experts like Dr. Ashkan Ghavami caution that each patient is unique and requires a tailored approach, there are some commonly found features in people of African descent that differ from those found with Caucasian patients. These may include, but are not limited to the following:

• A nasal bridge that is wider and flatter, or more depressed
• Wider, flaring nostrils that flare more with smiling
• A  bulbous and flat nasal tip that contains excess soft tissue and weak cartilage framwork
• A shorter columella (that fleshy external end of the septum)
• Too much "nostril show" on front view
• Thicker, more inelastic, and more sebaceous skin
• Weaker, flatter, and softer nasal cartilage
• Flatter and shorter nasal bones

Each of the above features can be re-shaped or modified without being excessive.  This is the approach taken by Dr. Ashkan Ghavami, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who frequently gives lectures on the topic.  Dr. Ghavami uses addition of specialized cartilage grafts in unique configurations to strengthen, shape, and augment the framework of the ethnic nose. The combination of adding shaping grafts to the tip and flat bridge, along with meticulous and conservative nostril reduction sets the foundation for a natural "ethno-sensitive" result. His natural results have motivated many patients to travel from all over the world to seek his sound ethnic nasal techniques. 

Dr. Ghavami is a board certified cosmetic plastic surgeon and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. He serves as Voluntary Assistant Clinical Professor at the David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine, Co-Chair of the Hawaii Plastic Surgery Symposium and as regular faculty for the Annual Dallas Rhinoplasty Symposium. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, textbook chapters, and is a frequent lecturer at national and international aesthetic plastic surgery conferences. 

To learn more about all the Beverly Hills plastic surgery procedures offered by Dr. Ghavami, please visit online at www.Ghavamiplasticsurgery.com.

PR submitted by www.Cyberset.com

SOURCE Ghavami Plastic Surgery

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The Apothecary Shops Reaches Agreement with Pfizer to Distribute Inlyta™

The Apothecary Shops Reaches Agreement with Pfizer to Distribute Inlyta™

PHOENIX, Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- The Apothecary Shops Specialty Pharmacies has received distribution rights from pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer for its new drug Inlyta™ (axitinib), and will begin to provide this new drug to patients immediately.

On January 27, 2012, Inlyta™ (axitinib) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after failure of one systemic therapy, and throughout its development was recognized as one of Pfizer's most important experimental medicines. An oral drug, Inlyta™ inhibits certain receptors that can influence tumor growth and progression of kidney cancer.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee panel noted last December that the oral drug was at least as safe and effective as several previously approved treatments for the disease, but with an improved toxicity profile. At that time, the Food and Drug Administration Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 13-0 that Inlyta™ had a favorable benefit-risk profile for patients with allergic or adverse side effects from previously prescribed medications.

"The Apothecary Shops is excited to be included in the limited network of pharmacies managing Inlyta™," said Keith Cook, RPh., President of The Apothecary Shops. "We have a first class oncology team, and this announcement certainly reinforces our strong position in the oncology market."

Since opening its first location in Arizona in 1996, The Apothecary Shops has focused on specific areas of disease states, including oncology, and has extensive experience in providing medications for patients with cancer-related illnesses and diseases. To best serve their oncology patients, The Apothecary Shops have a dedicated oncology team that includes clinical pharmacists, Patient Care Coordinators, Financial Assistance and Prior Authorizations Specialists, and Regional Oncology Account Managers.

"The approval of Inlyta™ provides clinicians an additional option for managing patients with advanced disease that progressed despite first-line agents," said Eric Sredzinski, Pharm.D., AAHIVE, Vice President, Clinical Affairs for The Apothecary Shops. "The fifth oral agent approved for renal cell carcinoma, Inlyta™, has a different toxicity profile which may be beneficial compared to other tyrosine kinase inhibitors."

According to the most recent study by the American Cancer Society, kidney cancer is among the ten most common cancers in both men and women; the overall lifetime risk for developing kidney cancer is about 1 in 67 (1.49%). The American Cancer Society recently estimated that approximately 64,770 new cases of kidney cancer (40,250 in men and 24,520 in women) will occur this year, and approximately 13,570 people (8,650 men and 4,920 women) will die from this disease in 2012. (Source: American Cancer Society 2012 Estimates)

CONTACTS:

Jackie Wright (c – 480-274-7811)

Jeff Hecht (c – 602-703-9901)

Rainmaker Integrated

PR@theapothecaryshop.com

PHOENIX, AZ, February 8, 2012 – About The Apothecary Shops

The Apothecary Shops has provided individualized care and support to patients since 1996.  Specialties include ophthalmology, oncology, infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, fertility, pain management, women's health, and transplant-related medicines.  The Apothecary Shops' clinical pharmacists and staff members are experts in managing complex disease states and providing compassionate care. The Apothecary Shops offer a nationwide specialty national distribution service to complement 16 physical locations. For more information, visit: www.theapothecaryshop.com.

Media Contact:

Jackie Wright Rainmaker Integrated, 480-361-4348, jackie@rmimpr.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

SOURCE Rainmaker Integrated

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Health Insurance Outlet: Understanding Your Health Insurance Plan

Health Insurance Outlet: Understanding Your Health Insurance Plan

You can apply directly online at www.healthinsuranceoutlet.com

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Navali & Company, insurance agency and parent company of Health Insurance Outlet, educates consumers on what to look for when buying individual health insurance.  Through our website, www.healthinsuranceoutlet.com, consumers can click on "Understanding Your Plan" on the home page and learn more about what to look for when researching California health insurance. 

There are many types of California health insurance plans out there.  When doing your research, make sure you understand these important elements:

Deductibles and Out-Of-Pocket Maximums

• The deductible is the amount that must be met before the insurance company starts to cover expenses.  For many routine visits like seeing a doctor, the deductible is waived. 
• The out-of-pocket maximum is the most you will have to pay per year.  Once you meet this maximum, the plan covers 100% of all bills for the rest of the year. 

In-Network vs. Out-of-Network

• Depending on the type of plan you select, your coverage for in vs. out-of-network will vary.  For instance, if you have a managed care plan, such as a PPO or POS, then you have more flexibility to use different doctors and hospitals depending on what you select. 

Coinsurance

• This is the amount you are obligated to pay for covered medical services after you have satisfied any co-payment or deductible requirements on your plan. 

Prescription Drugs

• Not all plans cover drug benefits.  Additionally, there are different types of coverage such as generic, brand, and non-formulary.  Make sure you check out the prescription benefits and coverage amounts when looking at the different plans.

Emergency, Hospital and Outpatient Care

• Hospital and Emergency Care:  Depending on which plan you choose, you might be responsible for a copayment or coinsurance for being admitted to the hospital or even an emergency room visit. 
• Outpatient surgery is any surgical procedure where you do not need to stay overnight. 

HealthInsuranceOutlet.com Makes It Easy To Compare And Save On Health Insurance:

• Information About Plans, Benefits, Limitations, Prescription Drugs and more
• Shop for Individual, Family, Child-Only, Short Term, Dental and Small Business Health Insurance Plans
• Compare health insurance plans side-by-side to see which plan is best
• Interactive Blog to keep consumers up-to-date on everything about health insurance

Please visit www.healthinsuranceoutlet.com for all your health insurance needs.  Or simply bookmark us so you will have a resource in the future.  We provide health insurance plans from all the major carriers in California. 

About Navali & Company:

Navali & Company is a full service insurance agency working with individuals and small businesses across California.  The company offers health insurance plans from all the major insurance carriers in California and has been saving money for consumers and small businesses for many years.  Please visit www.navalicompany.com for more information.  

SOURCE Navali & Company

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http://www.healthinsuranceoutlet.com
http://www.navalicompany.com

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