July 4th means stuffing ice pops and veggie hot dogs in your mouth while staring drunk, sweaty, and dazed at the fireworks… why not go all the way with some Independence Day themed garb?

Though you may not love everything our Country stands for, we have certainly come a long way. Wikipedia tells us; “The Fourth of July is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.”

A pretty sundress will take you from picnics during the daylight hours to sloppy make out sessions to “Born in the USA” as the sun sets.

Strapless Ruffle Dove Dress from Voom,$178 available @ edressme.com

Throw on these cute sneakers (we suggest sticking to all white laces) with a pair of cut off shorts and a boy-beater tank top to show a lil’ pride.

Airwalks @ Payless, $22.

This multiple large link gold anondized aluminum recycled necklace with bright red resin links, is adjustable, so you can wear it long over your basic white tee, or high and danglin’ into your cleavage.

Kuo Ting Jewelry Red Resin and Brass Necklace, $110 @ nimli.com

Throw this pretty tunic on with a pair of white pants for a totally comfy look.

“Sophia” embroidered tunic (in plus sizes only), $29 @ onestopplus.com

Nothing says chic like a nautical pant. This clever, cute and lightweight pant is 100% organic cotton platinum twill.

stewart & brown lakeside pant, $224.

These totally eco-friendly (and vegan) OlsenHaus shoes will match your entire summer wardrobe.  You’ll be blown away by how incredibly comfortable they are.

Olsen Haus "Grace," $175.

Keep it sexy in this long, easy organic halter dress.

Perfectly Imperfect Long Twist Halter, $154 @ KaightShop.com

Shield your peepers from the sun in these Lolita-inspired shades;

Gelato Sunglasses, $11.99 @ Modcloth.com

Then pay for your Slurpie with cash out of this precious vegan-friendly wallet.

Sailboat Vinyl Wallet, $25 @ Etsy.com

Stella McCartney Canvas waist belt, $495 @ Netaporter.com

Now that you look sufficiently glamorous; grab a bowl of blueberries, an attractive pool boy/ girl, and enjoy the long weekend!!!

It’s hot as Hades, your thong is sticking to your tramp stamp tattoo, and you want to chow down at a BBQ sans the flesh of tortured, factory farmed animals… what to make?  Vegan Chef and GirlieGirl Army Loyalist, Ella Nemcova of The Regal Vegan (a fabulous catering service for healthy and gourmet eats in the NYC Areola) shares her favorite summer recipe below.  Don’t worry Raw peeps, you have a version too below.  We’d never leave you out! Happy Summering!

Grilled Summer Vegetable Terrine

From The Regal Vegan, Serves 6-9.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 red peppers
• 4 zucchinis
• 1 small eggplant, peeled
• 1 lb of baby arugula (or 2 bunches regular arugula)
• 1 lb of cremini mushrooms
• 1 bunch of basil
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 1 hour in hot water
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt & Fresh Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 450˚ . Place the peppers on a tray and roast for 30 minutes. Slice the zucchinis length-wise on a mandoline till they are 1/8 inch thick and place in single layers in oiled trays (save clean up by using parchment paper to line pans). Sprinkle with salt and roast for 20 minutes till golden then flip. Roast for another 10. Slice eggplants into rounds almost 1/2″ thick and brush with a mixture of olive oil and 1 clove of crushed garlic on both sides. Sprinkle with salt. Place in tray and bake for 20 minutes on each side. Slice the mushrooms and add them to a heated pan with TBS of olive oil. Cook over medium heat till they release their juices and reabsorb them. Sprinkle with a dash of salt. Meanwhile, wash the basil in 3 changes of water and take the leaves off the stem. Add the soaked cashews, the basil, 2 TBS of lemon juice and ½ tsp of salt to a food processor and process till creamy. When the peppers are done place them in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the other vegetables cool. After 15 minutes remove the skins from the peppers and scrape out the seeds. Line a 9X9 deep dish with plastic wrap. Spread out the mushrooms in the bottom of the pan. Spread on a thin layer of basil cashew spread. Sprinkle with a little salt and a crack of pepper. Layer on alternating rows of vegetables and cashew spread. Alternate colors, and be sure to spread the arugula out in between a few layers. When finished, cover with plastic wrap and weigh down with something that fits in the pan, like a cutting board and some plates. Refrigerate for a at least one hour. When solid, flip upside down, remove plastic wrap and slice. Enjoy goddesses!

ALTERNATE RAW VERSION:
To make this terrine totally raw, do not roast the vegetables, or saute the mushrooms. Soak the cashews for a longer time in room temperature water. Chop the peppers finely. Soak 5 sundried tomatoes and process with a clove of garlic. Do not use raw eggplants. Instead, Substitute for very fine slices of different varieties of summer squash. When ready to prepare, follow the same steps as above but use the sundried tomato spread in the middle. Be sure to alternate directions of zucchini slices, and weigh down in the fridge at the end. Elaborate, but worth it.

Fabulous Chef Ella

Ella Nemcova is a vegan chef who has trained at The Natural Gourmet Institute, The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, The Institute of Culinary Education and under the tutelage of Chef Josh Sharkey of Café Grey. She spent a year traveling the world, taking in cooking classes and cuisines as far away as Thailand so she could bring creativity and global flavors to the healthy kitchen. Ella is also the founder of Regal Vegan Inc, a gourmet dinner delivery service that prepares natural, whole foods that satisfy the health and flavor conscious folks of New York City. At Regal Vegan, all the food is made with Love, so that it can love you back. It’s made with respect not only for the enlightened eater or the picky gourmand, but for the animals, and our one wild, precious planet.  For more info, check outwww.RegalVegan.com .

Just in time for the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, author of numerous award-winning cookbooks demystifies what “vegan baking” really is!

Back to the World Vegan Bake Sale for a second!  Why participate?  It’s a fun way to introduce people to the joy and tastiness of vegan foods.  You can raise money for your cause, and be part of an event that will publicize the many benefits of an animal-free diet.

Participate by letting the Vegan Bake Sale Posse (and the world) know by using their handy signup form.

There are only two rules:

1. Goods sold must be vegan. For baking, most importantly this means no dairy or eggs.
2. Don’t sell or distribute anything during the bake sale (books, brochures, etc.) that contributes to the intentional harming of animals.

It’s an easy and enjoyable way to raise funds, and to raise awareness about food that is delicious and satisfying but does not involve exploiting or mass-killing animals. (Note that animals are slaughtered in huge numbers, and at all ages starting at newborn, in the dairy and egg industries). In addition, many people are allergic to dairy or eggs, and holding a vegan bake sale shows that you can make super-tasty versions of cakes, pies, cookies, and other desserts without these animal-based ingredients.

The Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale is sponsored by Compassion for Animals (CfA), a Washington, DC-area grassroots group that “works to reduce human-caused harm to animals, primarily through educating people on animal-friendly lifestyles and cultivating empathy and respect for the nonhumans with whom we share the earth.”  They’ve put together a list of tips for successful bake sales here.

New to Vegan Baking?

It’s easier than you think, dollface. In most cases, you make a couple of substitutions and create brownies, cookies, cupcakes, and other delectables-even cheesecakes-that are as tasty as you’ve ever had. We’ve got tons of tips, recipes, and links for vegan baking on the site, but you can always just rock some google. In any search engine, just enter “vegan recipe” followed by whatever you want to bake, such as “chocolate chip cookies”or “zucchini bread,” and you’ll get plenty of good recipes and cooking hints.

Here’s an easy, crowd-pleasing starter recipe for ya; from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s wonderful book The Joy of Vegan Baking.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Earth Balance*, softened (although Earth Balance is the best, you may use any other non-dairy butter/margarine)
• 3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Egg Replacer for 2 eggs**
• 2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

*Earth Balance can be found at Whole Foods, Lakeshore Natural Foods, and other natural health food stores.

**ENER-G Egg Replacer is a brand-name powder mixture of vegetable starches that simulates eggs in baking. It can be used in recipes calling for unbeaten eggs, egg whites beaten stiff, and egg yolks. It can be found at Whole Foods as well as natural health food stores.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add egg replacer one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Want a list of fabulous vegan bakers and bakeries in your neck of the woods? Here ya go, lovely.

Female Filmmakers, Writers, and Directors, and Producers have a notoriously hard time getting projects off the ground in Hollywood.  The good ‘ole boys club is still in full force in Tinsletown. Here a respected Filmmaker (and GirlieGirl Army loyalist,) Cami Delavigne, shares the struggle of getting a project off the ground, and seeks the assistance of our GirlieGirl Army Lieutenants to go to CHURCH.

I’ve woken up all week in ninth place. Out of ten. I’m going nuts.

Last month, Film Independent and Netflix chose CHURCH, my feature film script to be a semi-finalist in the Find Your Voice Film Competition. On June 5th, ten films started competing for five star votes in the Netflix Find Your Voice Contest and for the past week, I have been as nervous as I was in the fifth grade, trying out for cheer-leading against the perky Jill Harpenau and the sultry Casey Woodthorpe. The Netflix competition is just as fierce.

CHURCH is a script that I wrote for the dad of my soon-to-be baby, Ivan Hurzeler. We were mutually obsessed with Evangelicals in America, especially after having their ideology shoved down our throats by loyal Bushies. Ivan and I spent six months interviewing Christian pastors and noticed that, with some, there was a creepy thread of loneliness and fear. That was my inspiration for CHURCH, a thriller about a pastor with a secret (spoiler alert: he’s gay) who gets a vision to murder a very annoying “gay-curing” person. But there’s an exciting twist to which even my lama would approve.

But what do you do with a finished script? I’m the co-writer of BLUE VALENTINE, a romantic drama starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams that is currently shooting in NYC. Even though it won two million bucks in the Chrysler Film Competition and had insane talent attached, it still took seven years to get made.

Enter my good friend and killer producer Alexis Fish (SHORTBUS) who demanded that Ivan and I submit CHURCH to the Netflix Find Your Voice Film Competition. We did. We forgot about it. We got a call. We were in. Ten semi-finalist submit short work and “America decides” which five filmmakers move onto the finals. But really, the Girlie Girl Army decides. I mean, please.

Film Independent said we could a) make a trailer b) shoot a scene from the feature or c) make a stand alone short film with a similar theme. We chose the later. We were the only ones.

I quickly wrote a sexy little short called HATCHET MAN that shares a theme with CHURCH. I based HATCHET MAN on a real life story of a sex scandal at a New York ad agency (see Gawker article here.) Both HATCHET MAN and CHURCH are about lonely guys who always do the right thing, but find unexpected freedom when they do something bad for the first time in their lives. Not that I’m advocating badness, just breaking from habituation that makes one miserable.

You can watch the short below, but please go and vote online as soon as you are done.  It takes less time than skimming Perez Hilton, and is a guilt-free way to help an independent female filmmaker.  Sisterhood in effect!

Alexis was on board as a producer. So was Julian Katz, a terrific commercial producer and Ivan’s college buddy. We needed a leading man. I called my friend Daniela Sea of “The L Word.” I had just completed writing her debut feature called HETEROPHOBIA. She was having a reading of it in LA and really excited about the cast. She told me who was reading for the roles. Wha-wha-what? Matt Boren is going to be there? MOMMA’S MAN Matt Boren? Girlie Girl Army Founder Chloé Jo’s BFF Matt Boren?  Love Matt Boren.

Cut to two weeks later. We’ve shot HATCHET MAN with Matt and Billy Warlock of “Baywatch” fame, followed the Netflix rules to letter and submitted our film. Now, for one month, we have to get as many five star votes as possible to make the top five to get a shot at a $350,000 production budget.

We are stuck at ninth place in the competition. (Update: we just jumped to #8!) We obviously are competing against filmmakers who employee underage children to vote with stolen emails. Actually, there is a ton of talent. And if we stay in 8th, then at least it’s better than 9th. Oh, bad karma. If we stay in 8th, I will still feel lucky to be a part of this crazy dance.

So please support me, I promise the chick karma will come back around twelvefold.

This is Cami.

Cami Delavigne co-wrote BLUE VALENTINE, a feature in production and starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. Her newest screenplay called HETEROPHOBIA stars Daniela Sea (”The L Word”) and is produced by Alexis Fish (SHORTBUS) and Heather Rae (FROZEN RIVER). She is also the co-creator ofwww.owoto.com, the first ever choose your own adventure sitcom.  Pretty please, Go to www.netflixfindyourvoice.com and click Ivan Hurzeler CHURCH.

Want to figure out one easy way to make school lunches healthier?  Healthy gourmet chef, certified health and nutrition counselor Alexandra Jamieson (who has been seen on Oprah, The Final Word, 30 Days, and Super Size Me, amongst a zillion other hot-shot appearances) puts on her Mommazon chapeau and speaks out against creepy styrofoam throwaways at schools.  Even the word “styrofoam” makes us shiver in our cute organic panties.

I live in New York City. It’s an amazing, maddening place to live. There are more health food stores and vegan-friendly restaurants per square mile than anywhere else on earth. Still, we have our health problems, especially in the public schools.

It’s bad enough that public schools offer high-fat, over-salted, artificially sweetened food to kids every day. Did you know they also serve that junk on single-use Styrofoam trays?

Howsabout some cancer with your kiddies lunch?

I have 2 major issues with using Styrofoam food trays for kids:

1. Health Impact: Styrofoam is known to leach polystyrene and BPA into food. Why does this matter? According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), styrene was reported as having a “possible carcinogenic effect to humans.” BPA is a controversial chemical linked to hormone disruption and cancer.

2. Environmental: According to the New York City public school system, 850,000 of these Styrofoam trays are thrown away every day - after being used for about 30 minutes!

Sign the petition to Mayor Mike Bloomberg (”the green mayor?”) and the City Counsel to request that this crazy system be changed for our kids and the planet’s health.

Because Styrofoam is cheap, lightweight and easy to use, the school systems began buying them en masse in the early 1990s. According to SOSnyc.org, or Styrofoam Out of Schools NYC, NYC Council Member, Bill DeBlasio, has introduced legislation to ban Styrofoam in NYC restaurants and city agencies (this bill does not cover NYC schools). They are working with his staff on planning a City Hall rally for the fall, 2009.

The alternatives at this point are:

1. An immediate reduction in Styrofoam tray use. Every kid gets a tray even if they’re only buying a wrapped sandwich and a carton of juice. Why is this necessary? High school kids could handle a plate without a tray, and younger kids don’t all need a tray.
2. Reusable, washable trays are the best solution. Kids need to learn that living in a throwaway society is no longer an option, and they need to understand the impact of their actions.
3. Compostable single-use trays are available.
   1. It is safer for the kids to eat off of Bagasse or sugar cane trays, which are available for an additional cost of about .03 each. However, if the trays are not composted, their disposal is similar to other single-use products. Sugar cane is a renewable resource. The fibers being used for the sugar cane trays would be burned, otherwise. Still, the Sunshine trays are shipped from Asia.
   2. Power Tray, LLC is working on a new tray systems that would be made from locally sourced fibers from New York State.

These suckas are biodegradable, totally safe for kiddies and you, & compostable. Obvs, in an ideal world - we would not use any disposables!

EDITORS NOTE: NYC peeps aren’t the only ones talking about this.  In Maryland and Wisconsin, Young activists are taking a stand on Styrofoam lunch trays. Take action in your own City/ Town/ State and let your voice be heard! Sometimes it can be as easy as presenting this blog to your school’s Principal!  Let your voices be heard - remember; “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

Alexandra Jamieson  has proven herself to be a wise and profound voice for holistic nutrition and healthy living. In her book, The Great American Detox Diet (Rodale, 2005), Alex offers remarkably sane - and tasty - advice on how to detox, live healthfully and feel fantastic. Her knowledge of nutrition has been artfully developed through years of both professional- and self-study. Check out her website at nutritionforempoweredwomen.com.

Veggie Vixen; Alex Jamieson and her book "The Great American Detox Diet." Chances are, you need to read her book asap.