At my birthday party we had a delicious meal too! We served hummus from Beverly Falafel - a must go-to in LA for great falafel sandwiches or for the falafel plate. I always get the falafel plate minus the falafel - it's so good! We also had field roast sausages (the smoked ones), and people were freaking out over them! This is the perfect "wow a meat-eater" food. Sooo good!

For beverages, we bought a keg of Fat Tire beer (I love a keg! It feels very environmentally friendly if you also use eco cups). Fat Tire is vegan but not organic - but it is a great microbrewery. We also had my favorite vegan beers Samuel Smith, Pinkus, and a Samuel Smith alcoholic cider from Merchant Du Vin. For the kids, we served Dr. Hansen's, Whole Foods-brand 365 sodas, and apple juices. We also served filtered water from our home in big apple juice jugs that we'd saved.

We rounded out the spread with Kind Kreme and the Crispy Peanut Butter with Chocolate Chips Treats from my book. Here's a quick tip: if you make these, be sure your measurements are exact! Too little rice syrup will make them hard, and some natural peanut butters have a lot of oil separation, so make sure you stir it up really really well so you end up with oil evenly distributed. If not, you could end up with lumpy dry peanut butter at the bottom of the jar and that will make for harder treats.

We made sure to use all compostable or biodegradable plates and cups, and our very thoughtful friend who is a florist Annika created some beautiful, organic flower arrangements to accompany everything - I'll blog about this soon! Instead of gifts, I asked that people make donations to Animal Acres.

It was a lovely day!

If you live in LA and have never been to Animal Acres, you must run there...at least to make out with Cowboy before he grows up! And bring all of your friends - have a kids birthday party or adult party there! It's the best! Please get everyone you know to Animal Acres. It brings out the best in people, and it's truly heart-opening.

Animal Acres offers awesome Sunday tours that are free to the public. And if you're interested in volunteering there, you can do so any day of the week!