love infinitely

There is no way this blog would be as awesome if it wasn’t for the beautiful girls who I am honored to call part of my team:

Each one of them changing the world around them.  I could not do this without them or their never-ending support!

Jessica

Jessica and I met while volunteering at one of our favorite local animal sanctuaries, Animal Acres.  We became fast friends and the rest as they say, is history.  I could go on and on about all the wonderful things Jessica does for others as an activist and volunteer but the list would be too long!  Just check out her blog Tree Kisser for all the details on her adventures in changing the world!  I will however happily gush on what an amazing friend she is to me and supporter of this project.  She even has the Love Infinitely symbol tattooed on her wrist!  I genuinely don’t know how this would be a reality or what I would do without her in my life.  I am blessed!

Jennifer

I have known Jen for 11 years and though she is not active on-line presence here, she is a very active member (and Board Member) of the Love Infinitely Project.  She was one of the first people to hear about my ‘brand new idea’ and has helped me with the development of it.  Not to mention an incredible supporter.  At the start of all this, she helped me with research and would send me links that helped shape the project.  A fellow high school dance teacher and kindred spirit, Jen is one of my greatest friends.

Ciara

If there is any one girl who I trust to single-handedly save the world it’s Ciara.  The first official intern of the Love Infinitely Project and will be handling much of the LIP workload while I’m off running around the globe.  Like I said, I completely trust her.  (Maybe because I’ve been one of her teachers since she was about 9 years old...)  Only a high school Senior, Ciara is already is in the works to create her own organization using the arts as activism.  She’s a brilliant girl and a wonderful friend!

Noelle

Noelle is another girl I trust to run the LIP!  My favorite thing about Noelle is that she always ready for and accepting of change.  She has a passion to help wherever needed and she has been an incredible help to me!  I’ve given her the official title, Director of Marketing and Development.  Without her, much of the cool features around this site would not exist.  We feed off each others creativity and she is already an invaluable member of the team!  To see how she is changing the world around her, check out Going Veg With Noelle.

Stephanie

Stephanie has one of the greatest adventurous spirits!  If you don’t already follow her blog, The Adventures of Soul Rebel, you should.  She recently gave up her old beach life for a huge cross-country trip ending with a Winter in Jackson Hole.  Documenting the trip along the way!  I believe that to change the world, we must begin with ourselves.  Stephanie is doing just that!  Spreading her joy and her passion for life is exactly what our world needs.  She’s lighting it on fire!

Liz, Ivy & Sydney

I know I always say this but I hope to someday be the incredible vegan mom that Liz is.  With her two beautiful girls, Ivy and Sydney, they are changing the way people (especially young people) perceive animals.  Activists in their community and beyond, they are working on a website that will tell teens and ‘tweens about animal rights issues.  The team of these three girls is going to change many minds and impact millions of lives!  I am so extremely proud to have all of them on my team!

Danielle

Danielle is another one of my “kids” (students) who I am so lucky to now call a friend.  I first met her when she assisted one of my classes as a HS Sophomore.  Interested in my veg lifestyle, she went vegetarian not too long after.  Not only that but her and her twin sister both decided to join the Sea Shepherd Educational Outreach Team with me.  Their mom was awesome enough to let them come with me to Sea Shepherd events and we all share a love for rescuing our oceans.  She is also the very first person I ever told about this project.  I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Halley

Halley is the newest member of the team!  She emailed me just about a week ago and I was impressed with all of her international volunteer experience!  On her first trip to the Dominican Republic she was involved in a re-forestation project, helped build 3 houses, and volunteered at a local orphanage teaching English for 3 months. Her second trip she organized a big clothing drive in her home town.  She was able to ship 10 refrigerator boxes full of clothes and shoes to her home in the DR and spent another 8 months living there, and distributing the clothes.  She also started free English classes at her home for the community. And there was a THIRD trip after that where she created “Project Cow” to help a local family in need!  She now works at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, NJ which is a rehabilitation center for injured or sick seals, dolphins, whales, and sea turtles.  She’s the education coördinator there.  Is your jaw on the floor yet?  And it gets better: she will be volunteering at the Elephant Nature Park this coming Fall.  Though she ends her service on Nov 13 and I begin mine on Nov 14 and won’t be at the sanctuary at the same time, we will get to hangout in Thailand together for a few days!  Synchronicity at it’s best no?

Talk about an awesome group of girls who are changing the world!  I am so incredibly lucky to have these amazing girls on my team.  I wouldn’t be able to do this without them.

I love them all!

♥∞

~B

  Follow B on Twitter: @iamsunshine78

**If you know a super rad girl that you would like to nominate for
our ‘Girls Who Are Changing the World’ feature, send them to us at: loveinfinitelyproject@gmail.com

Welcome to my first (documented) veg cooking adventure! This past Sunday I made stuffed mushrooms as a side dish for our family dinner. Everyone agreed that these little mushroom caps of cheese were delicious. I had them for dinner with mashed potatoes and green beans, but I think they would make great appetizers. After we ate, I surveyed my family for their opinion on the dish. Everyone really enjoyed it and had some great feedback: my Mom thought there was too much basil, but otherwise she really enjoyed them, my Dad thought they were too dry (this was because I left them in the oven too long), and Shane (my brother) and Bob (my sister’s boyfriend) thought they would taste better with bacon… I don’t think they got the veg memo. I hope you get a chance to try this recipe and leave any comments below.

I have a few notes before we dive into this recipe:

•This dish is not vegan, (sorry friends) but please let me know of a ricotta substitute* you can use.

•I’m not too good at measuring my ingredients, so I made this to taste and encourage you to do the same.

Ingredients:

Button mushrooms
Ricotta cheese – 8 ounces
Basil – 10 or so leaves, finely chopped
Parsley – few sprigs, finely chopped
Parmesan cheese – sprinkle
Lemon juice from half a lemon
Sea salt – sprinkle
Black pepper – to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425°

2. Clean mushrooms and remove stems. (I saved the stems to use in another dish.)

3. Spray a baking sheet lightly with oil and place the mushroom caps on it, open side up.

4. In a mixing bowl add the basil, parsley, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and ricotta cheese. Mix with a spoon.

5. Add lemon juice to the bowl and mix until smooth. You should be able to form balls with the cheese mixture.

6. Stuff each mushroom cap with the cheese mixture.

7. Bake mushrooms in the oven for 20 minutes.

8. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.

9. Viola! Your stuffed mushrooms are ready to be served!

–Noelle

  Follow Noelle on Twitter: @NoelleBobo

*Editor’s Note: A great substitute for ricotta is tofu ricotta.  Recipe here.  There are also many vegan parmesan cheeses as well!

“Elephants are wise and gentle, graceful and caring. They are everything I strive to
become.”

 –Kate Woolf

The Incredible Kate & ele-friend!

I met Kate a few weeks ago at the Animal Rights National Conference.  I had friends who had already met her and they urged me to go find her.  Sure enough, within a few minutes of talking with Kate I felt at ease as if I was talking to a friend I had known for ages!  We quickly bonded over the amazing similarities in our new life paths, leaving our old lives behind to begin changing the world through our non-profits.  We joked about being crazy and starting a support group for people like us and then she said something that has stayed with me.  She said, “no, we aren’t the crazy ones, we are the sane ones.”  I had a wonderful A-HA! moment right then.  Yes, we ARE the sane ones!

Kate was there raising funds for her Lotus Elephant Sanctuary that she will be building in Laos.  A sanctuary for abused, orphaned and elderly elephants.  We talked about this exciting new endeavor but we also talked a bit about her background; she is an honors graduate from the London School of Economics and Political Science.  She also studied international law at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.  Then when she realized “her heart wasn’t in law” she started practicing Zen Buddhism and began traveling around the world.  She decided to start an elephant sanctuary and traveled around Asia to see which country needed a sanctuary.  She chose Laos because the people are relaxed and friendly; the country is beautiful, undeveloped, and didn’t have an elephant sanctuary.  This will be a sanctuary different from all the others.

She shared stories with me about her travels and I told her about my upcoming trip.  I told her I want Love Infinitely Project volunteers to help build her sanctuary when the time comes.  (You’re all invited.)  And we bonded over our mutual love of animals and our passion for changing the world.

Along with the sanctuary, Kate also plans to create an environmental and animal rights group to deal with issues like the illegal animal trade and habitat destruction in Laos. Her long-term goal is to see crimes against animals punished at the international court level.  I remember asking her if I could come live at the sanctuary and she said, yeah!  We had a great bonding session, giggling like little girls and I kept thinking about how wonderful it was to meet such an amazing new friend.  So many kindred spirits in attendance that weekend and the magic of meeting (as Kate called them) ‘our tribe’ at the AR Conference.

I had made myself a very special, one-of-a-kind ‘until all are free’ necklace specifically for the event.  At the end of that day I knew that I had to give the necklace to Kate.  (It happens often when I thought I made something for myself only to find out it wasn’t for me at all.)  I went back to the Lotus Elephant Sanctuary booth and gave Kate the necklace.  She was touched and gave me a shirt!  Not two seconds later a nice lady came around handing out free ice cream.  Talk about instant karma!

I know I have made a friend for life with Kate and I am excited at the prospect of sending future volunteers of the Love Infinitely Project over to Laos to help her and the elephants.  I know we are both headed on the right path and can’t wait to share elephant stories with her.  I am completely inspired by Kate’s courage to leave the life she created to follow her heart and do something so unique and wonderful.  She also makes me feel like I am not alone.

Like Kate said, “we are the sane ones.”

Learn more about Kate’s sanctuary and background story

Support The Lotus Elephant Sanctuary

‘Like’ the sanctuary on Facebook

♥∞

~B

  Follow B on Twitter: @iamsunshine78

**If you know a super rad girl that you would like to nominate for our ‘Girls Who Are Changing the World’ feature, send them to us at: loveinfinitelyproject@gmail.com

As you all may know, I recently went veg and this far it’s been AMAZING! I’ve changed my entire lifestyle, and although challenging at times, it has inspired me to create more change in the world. I figured who better to start with than the people I’m closest with… my family!

One night I asked my family if they would let me cook a veg dinner once a week for everyone. To my surprise, and almost instantaneously, they all said yes. My omnivore family was going to let ME cook them a meatless meal once a week! For those of you who don’t know me personally, I live at home with both of my parents, a younger brother, and a younger sister. For dinner there are six people to feed because my brother’s girlfriend eats over most every night. With this new task at hand, I couldn’t just leave it at cooking dinner…

I told Brenda the news and asked if I could write about our weekly veg dinner for the blog. She told me to go for it, and now once a week (or every other week…I haven’t decided yet) I will post the recipe for the meal I cooked for my family as well as their reactions. I’m beyond excited to introduce them to veg meals/lifestyle and share it with all of you. I really hope that if you are on the fence about going veg this will motivate you to try a once a week meatless dinner in your home.

I’m also super interested in hearing from you! Try the recipes I post and let me know what you think. If you would like to share some veg dinner ideas please send them over! I would love to try your suggestions and post them on the blog. Thanks so much for going on this journey with me; we definitely have some fun stops ahead!

Send your suggestions to: loveinfinitelyproject@gmail.com

Much love and gratitude.

xxNoelle

  Follow Noelle on Twitter : @Noelle_Bobo