My Life As A RAW Vegan

2011-03-21T09:34:00.000-04:00

So far my raw diet is going pretty well, though I have decided I'm going to eat a few cooked convenience foods as I am transitioning. Last night I had a 6inch veggie sub from subway and some chips because I really needed to eat and couldn't go home.
My main problem at this point is that my parents are trying to sell the house so I'm not allowed to use the kitchen 24 hours before a showing because its all been cleaned. This means no smoothies, no dehydration, nada. The biggest thing I can really do is grow sprouts, and those seem to be doing very well! About half my seeds have sprouted so far. Hopefully my mom will help me take care of them because I'm going to Vermont tomorrow night and I doubt that they will be ready then. In Vermont I'll probably have to eat less raw since I will be at a friend's house but I think I will make do alright.

I have some sprouts!

2011-03-20T21:51:00.002-04:00

A few of my seeds have germinated (despite my not watering for 24 hours, oooops!)

2011-03-20T08:25:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately I never had the chance to either buy or make raw bread last night. I got asked to work early this morning so I didn't want to be up all night then have to wake up at 8am.

I did get to do a lovely food shopping though! I got cantaloupes, hummus, mangoes, rice milk (it was on sale and much cheaper than almond milk this week), raw sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, a case of clementines, turbinado sugar, apple cider vinegar, and Lara bars.

Unfortunately I fell a bit off the bandwagon last night because my lack of bread prompted me to eat hummus with Ritz crackers and then a bowl of chex with rice milk I wish I hadn't eaten it before bed because I woke up with sore spot in my stomach that I could pin down to cooked food. I'm not too upset though, I didnt have enough protein yesterday anyway because my sprouts haven't germinated yet.

Right now, the goal is to switch my tastes from processed and cooked foods to whole and raw foods. Right now I'm eating half a cantaloupe for breakfast and it is delicious. I forgot how much I love fruit (instead of baked sweets) and I'm trying to switch in fresh fruit for all the desserts and sweet snacks I used to eat. So far I think I'm doing pretty well!

Tonight's Plan

2011-03-19T13:47:00.000-04:00

Go to the grocery after work in Enfield (which has more natural foods than my town) and pick up some raw foods like nuts, seeds, flatbread (if available), avocadoes, fresh fruit, and agave nectar.
Make raw, dehydrated flatbread for the next few days (if I don't find it in stores). I'll probably have to do this in the main oven because my toaster oven is quite small
Water my sprouts :)

Sprouts have been planted!

2011-03-19T13:41:00.000-04:00

This is the sprouter that I have and I just finished planting and watering my first batch of seeds! Hopefully they will germinate, they're a year old but I think they will be okay.
I planted a mix bean variety, broccoli, and alfalfa sprouts. I am looking forward to sprout salads, peanut butter with sprouts on raw bread, and hummus with sprouts on raw crackers!

Taking Stock

2011-03-19T11:48:00.001-04:00

Because I am a poor college student, I don't have a lot of money to spend on raw food equipment or food. This is what I have and what I will need to cheat on in the future.

What I Have:

Sprouter and seeds - A gift to my mom but she never uses it. She says I can use it as long as she gets to eat the sprouts too. Fair enough!
Toaster Oven - This will be my makeshift dehydrator. It has a dial thermostat so I can set it to below 112F.
Blender
Food Processor
Two Raw cookbook/guidebooks

Concessions to be Made:

Pasteruized foods - I don't have a juicer and cannot afford one plus all the fresh fruit for it at this time so I will have to drink pasteurized juices as well as nut milks that have been heated until I can get a nut bag.
My current pantry - My mother will kill me if I don't finish off what I already have but I will try to spread it out over the course of the next month or so. Right now I have a lot of roasted nut butters, soy milk, and protein bars.
Steam-rolled oats - Right now I don't have the time or energy or money to use raw oats so I will have to use conventionally prepared oats.
Vinegar - For the sake of salad dressing, I will continue to eat balsamic vinegar. Although its not raw, vinegar isn't exactly a super food so I'm not too worried about this.

If after a few months or so I decide to stay raw, I will probably invest in a juicer and some other equipment, but for now this is what I will have to make do with.

I'm Going RAW!

2011-03-19T10:08:00.000-04:00

So after gaining tons of weight at college and falling off the vegan bandwagon, I have decided to try raw veganism! I'm not sure how long I will do it, but I feel that it is worth a try.
I definitely want to blog about my journey but I am not sure whether I want to blog about it on this blog, on another blogspot blog, or on Tumblr (where my other blogs are). I feel that Blogspot is more professional but Tumblr is a lot easier to use. Hmmm....

Any suggestions good people?

For all the hateful comments

2011-02-17T11:10:00.000-05:00

This blog is basically dead.

I did most of the writing when I was 14-15.

I'm 19 right now. I still make $100 every 2 yrs with my ads just by keeping this site up, that is why it's not taken down.

And for the people bashing my reasons to go vegan, etc, they are my personal reasons, not scientific or whatever. Stop picking on a English project a teenage girl started 5 years ago and get a life.

College and Being Vegan

2010-10-09T11:32:00.000-04:00

Being vegan at college has been kind of tough, not going to lie. There are no vegan desserts at the dining halls. The soups don't specify whether or not they are made with animal stock or not. Things are supposed to be labeled vegetarian and vegan but I've seen things that are obviously vegan (for example, lettuce) not labeled at all at certain stations. The french fries aren't labeled vegan but I know they are because I asked the chef. So whenever I get something that appears vegan I can never be entirely sure. And one day I saw the vegan meal of the day list "milk" as an allergen.

Of course, none of the servers speak English so when you ask them for help they just smile and nod or give you more food. I literally told one guy that I wanted "everything but the meat" and then he said I looked skinny and gave me the meat anyway saying it was good that day, then got mad when I demanded he give me a new plate after smothering all my veggies in carcass juice.

Its not that bad though, I guess. They have a really nice salad and sandwich bar. They have margarine and lots of non-milk beverages. Soymilk is a pain to get but its there if I need it. And they do sometimes have a tasty vegan meal of the day.

I think I might mosey down to downtown Troy today and check out the vegan bakery. I haven't gone yet because I've been busy but I dropped Organic Chem because it was too hard (and my new major doesnt need it) so now I have time. The hours are crazy but they're open on Saturdays :)

Almost 18 :)

2010-02-24T22:33:00.000-05:00

My 18th birthday is in one week (3/3)! I am BEYOND excited to be legal!!!!

To celebrate, I'm getting my belly button and sternum (vertical) pierced, and then going to Taco Bell for some delicious vegan tacos with my best friends. My mom is also going to bake me a vegan cake. I'm still trying to pick a flavor, but I'm strongly leaning toward the German Chocolate from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (my favorite cookbook in the universe!)

I already know one of my gifts. Its a 2-day vacation to Montréal with my mom to see Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown, and Sick Puppies at the Bell Centre, then clubbing (18 is the drinking age there) and shopping in Montréal. In case you didn't already know, Montréal has a 5 kilometer underground shopping center. I'm looking forward to picking up some of the latest fashions there (vegan, of course). Montréal is known for having lots of pleather in every color and style possible, so I hope to find some good things there. And the restaurants are fantastic there, so good vegan French food is a must!

I plan on taking pics from my birthday celebration(s) so I'll post them when I get the chance. Until then, ta-ta! ♥

Indoor Track is Almost Over :(

2010-02-11T16:05:00.001-05:00

On Monday night, I ran in the North Central Connecticut Conference Championship meet for Indoor Track and earned two medals!

My relay team got 4th place in the Sprint Medley Relay (I ran the 400m leg) and my other team finished 3rd in the 4x200m relay. I also got 13th out of 40+ girls in the 55m dash (8.1s F.A.T.)
This Saturday I'm back in New Haven for the Connecticut Class S State Meet, and I'll let you know how that goes (if it goes well). This will be my last Indoor meet ever, unless I do it at RPI. And I'm so excited for this meet, we might be stopping at either Taco Bell or Burger King afterward (my last fast food meal before I go on an insane health binge before Outdoor Track).

Speaking of getting healthy for the outdoor season, I've been working out a lot. In the past two weeks I've been able to get my max bench press at 90 pounds, which I think is pretty decent for a small girl like me. I also have been able to do 230 pounds on the incline leg press without a problem. So far I haven't even started using creatine or protein shakes, and in the next 5-6 weeks of offseason I plan on trying to bulk up. Hopefully I'll have my bench press up to 100 or more by the time Outdoor starts!

Any other vegan weight-lifters out there? Especially vegan female weightlifters? Most people I talk to are surprised that a girl, let alone a vegan, works out and can lift as much as I can (not being conceited, my school has weak and wimpy girls). Anyway, if you're out there, share a story!

Vegan Discoveries

2010-01-29T23:57:00.000-05:00

I love it when I find out that ostensibly non-vegan foods are actually vegan!

Just this week I discovered that Fruit by the Foot and World Classics Trading Co. Majestic Mint chocolate bars are vegan.

You would think that Fruit by the Foot would have gelatin because it is goey, but instead it gets its texture from pear concentrate and locust bean gum. I used to eat them like crazy when I was a kid, so now I am really excited that I can enjoy them again.

It was also really exciting to find a good vegan chocolate bar. My grocery store (Big Y) has a terrible selection of brands that specialize in natural foods. Natural food brands are great for finding vegan options because they generally try to keep the ingredients lists of their foods small, so they won't unnecessary extras like whey. World Classics isn't really a health food brand, but they aren't a General Mills / Nabisco company either.

What I like about this chocolate is that it is only 55% percent cacao. To get a vegan chocolate from a regular supermarket brand, you usually have to go to at least 70% cacao in order for there to be no milk in it (You can find chocolate chips at 65%, but many brands will add milk when it is in bar form). I dislike bitter chocolate because it makes me feel sick (don't know why, but super dark chocolate gives me a headache and a stomachache), so this is a great chocolate that is sweet and light enough yet still vegan. It's smooth and creamy, not grainy like many vegan chocolates. Plus it has crunchy mint pieces in it :) Score!

Enough with my chocogasmic ramblings...
Have you had any recent/groundbreaking vegan discoveries? Please share!

P.S. Wanna know favorite part about finding seemingly non-vegan foods? It's when I eat them in front of my omnivorous friends (and especially friends who are considering going vegan/vegetarian) and they say, "Hey, those are vegan? I guess you really don't just eat lettuce and carrot sticks!" This happens to me with Oreos a lot, people assume the cream is from milk (they're actually made from vegetable fat).

Vegan Staples For The Grocery Challenged

2010-01-22T15:00:00.001-05:00

I live in a small town (approx 12,000 people) with a grocery (Big Y) that has a terrible selection of vegan foods, and an even worse selection of healthy vegan food. Unlike nice stores like Shaw's and Stop & Shop that put all the health/alternative foods in a special place, the vegan foods are scattered around the store. I live far away from Shaw's, Stop & Shop, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or a real co-op, so I have little choice in where I buy my groceries. Luckily, I went vegan in a hippie Vermont town with a comprehensive co-op market where I learned what foods I liked and what was out there. Had I tried going vegan where I live now, I don't think I would have made it (I was 14 when I went vegan).
So, for those of you who live in an area where vegan foods are hard to come by, here are some staples that your local store *should* carry. If my store carries them, then I bet your store will too.

1. Boca Vegan Burgers - Probably the easiest vegan veggie burger to find out there.
2. Smart Deli (by Light Life) Vegan cold cuts - These come in ham, bologna, turkey, etc. My favorite is ham because it tastes the least fake plus if you fry it in oil it tastes like Canadian bacon!!!
3. Silk Soymilk - Best. Soy. Milk. Ever. Creamy, most realistic taste, and wind-powered. Silk also makes soy yogurt, which is available at most grocery stores (but not mine).
4. Tofutti Ice Cream Tubs- It may be hard to find other Tofutti products, but most stores carry the tubs at least. They come in a variety of flavors, including vanilla, chocolate, and "better" pecan.
5. Bolthouse Farms Beverages - Green Goddess and the fruit/veg blends are packed with nutrients, and the Vanilla Chai is a great protein boost.
6. World Classics Panko Breadcrumbs - Vegan breadcrumbs are hard to come by since most brands include whey. This brand's pank breadcrumbs are vegan and all-natural. 4C also carries a vegan variety.
7. Top Ramen, Oriental Flavor - Okay, so not the healthiest, but these are good for a quick meal (they are high in protein, as well as fat and sodium). Make sure you get the Top Ramen brand, Maruchan uses beef in their Oriental flavor.
8. Vermont Bread Company Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread - Again, many breads contain whey and/or honey, especially healthy whole wheat varieties. This bread is my absolute favorite, its whole wheat AND sourdough! Can it get much better? Ezekial also carries vegan whole wheat breads.
9. Simply Asia Noodle Bowls - These come in a variety of flavors, and taste delicious.
10. Morningstar Farms Hickory BBQ Riblets - Best rib replacement that I have found yet, the sauce is absolutely fantastic!

There Needs to Be More Vegan Guys!

2010-01-20T16:12:00.001-05:00

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the majority of vegans and vegetarians are female? Maybe some guys are afraid that caring for animals or the environment isn't manly. Well, here are 10 reasons why being vegan is HOT for guys.

Girls find it cute when a guy actually cares about something other than COD or football.
Knowing that a guy cares about and respects animals makes a girl believe that a guy will care for and respect her, too.
Being veg gives you a better chance with vegan and vegetarian girls, and everyone knows that veggie chicks are the cutest (click on female contestants to see more).
Subsequently, no cute veggie girl is gonna want to swap spit with you if you taste like a pepperoni pizza.
A diet high in cholesterol can cause impotence in men. Last time I checked that wasn't very manly.
Nor is being pudgy from a high-fat diet. Just saying...
Milk has been linked to aggravated acne outbreaks. That's uh, real sexy.(And no, this isn't just PETA bullshitting reasons. My skin got 10000x better after shunning dairy products.)
A balanced diet high in fruits and veggies make you less prone to getting sick. Doesn't sound like a big deal in the dating scene, but try making out with a runny nose and you'll see my point.
Its a turn off for girls when a guy takes himself so seriously that he refuses to be compassionate.
Generally, girls think animals are cute. So, by helping animals you get your name associated with "cute." Score for you!

If any guys who are considering going vegetarian/vegan are reading this, please know that a lot of girls find veggie men attractive, even if they aren't vegetarian themselves (think numbers 1, 2, 9, and especially 10!) I myself am back on the market, and although I don't date exclusively vegan, finding out that a guy is vegan or vegetarian is probably the biggest turn on possible!

Wish you were my cat Deuce's in this picture? Being vegan will definitely help you!

P.S. The hottie on the side is Tim McIlrath, the vegan lead singer of one my favorite bands, Rise Against.

I Qualified for States!

2010-01-18T13:51:00.002-05:00

Whenever I get the changce to point out that vegans are good athletes, I like to do so.
On Friday, I qualified for the Connecticut Class S State Championship Meet in the 55meter dash and the 4x200meter relay with my team.

In the 55m I qualified WITHOUT blocks, because the meet organizers wanted the meet to run faster so we couldn't use them for the trials.I ended up getting 7.9s, but with blocks I'm sure I will improve upon that time.

In the 4x200m relay, my team ran 1:98.2, which is really good considering the meet was poorly run and the third leg runners (lucky ol' me) were not told where to receive the baton until the second leg runners were on our heels. Either way, I'm happy just to have qualified with my girls!

I'm a little disappointed that they cut out the 300meter dash to speed up the meet, because I was only 0.2s away from qualifying the last time I ran it, and I cut 0.1s off my 55m from the previous meet! Oh well, there's always next time!

So, do you have any athletic accomplishments that you are proud of? Leave a comment and let everyone know that vegans kick butt :)

Winter Pet Safety Brochure

2010-01-13T20:33:00.001-05:00

As promised, I am sharing the Winter Pet Safety Brochure that my Students For Animal Advocacy club made. I'm really proud of my group and the brochures were pretty popular among the students in my school. The brochure didn't take too long to make, maybe like around an hour and a half or so. It also wasn't hard to make, we just found facts and added pictures.As an added touch, we put the phone numbers to local shelters and national hotlines on the brochure alongside the general information. To help increase credibility, we included our sources on the back (and also to cover our butts because the school administration doesn't like new student groups after last year's short-lived GSA pulled some pretty weird stuff.)

I'm mostly uploading this to show off my hard work, since much of it pertains to my town only. However, you are more than welcome to use it. The file is in Microsoft Office 2007 Publisher format. Since I don't have Publisher at home, I was not able to remove anything from the original document. Also, I wanted to show it as we presented it. So, if you want to use this, you will need to put in your own local phone numbers and club information. I do ask that you put the link to my website (http://aveganlife.blogspot.com) on it somewhere if you use it at all (put it anywhere you want, just somewhere please.)

The pictures and the text are all black and white because there are no color printers at my school, and this brochure will look good if you put it on colored paper (we were delegated to green paper by our admin.)

Whether you use this to help promote animal safety in your town or just want to see what I did, enjoy!!

Click here to download the file from MegaUpload.com

Post Holiday Post (Get it?)

2010-01-05T19:54:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, I know I sure did! (minus writing a 30-page paper on Joseph Heller's Picture This)

Since Christmas dinner was not at my house (and I didn't find out in enough time to make something), I was afraid that I'd have nothing to eat. Boy was I wrong! My family is Italian so we have pasta for Christmas instead of a giant slab of carcass. While everyone else had cheese and meet ravioli, I had three plates of spaghetti with homemade red mushroom sauce. There was also plenty of fruit, salad, and guacamole & chips. Instead of eating the regular dessert, I ate the vegan candies left over from the gingerbread houses (I still have some leftover LifeSavers in my purse)

I also got some pretty cool vegan gifts that I'd like to share :)

TONS of Swedish Fish. One of the few gummy foods that are vegan! Also, they are made with mostly real sugar, and no high-fructose corn syrup!
Hot Wasabi Coated Green Peas. One of my favorite snacks because they're hot, spicy, and crunchy. Plus you can't eat too many of them before your nose starts to burn up.
Pinapple dark chocolate bar. Can't recall the name because it's loooooong gone now, but it was vegan and tasty. My big problem with vegan dark chocolates is that they aren't smooth enough, but this one was very creamy and not too bitter!
Are you hungry yet? Well this one isn't food. With my Christmas money I ended up buying myself a lovely acrylic & nylon grey/black striped sweater from Target. It was on clearance for $12 and it feels softer than any wool or cashmere sweater I've felt. Best part is that since its not wool, I don't have to wash it by hand or line dry it. Can you say, "That was easy!"?

So, I want to hear from you! What did you eat for your holiday dinner? Also, did you receive any vegan/animal friendly gifts? Leave a comment so we all can be jealous :)

Winter Pet Safety

2009-12-12T11:20:00.005-05:00

This winter my Students For Animal Advocacy group will be making winter-pet safety brochures to pass around the school!

I am really excited for this, because our adviser, a vegan, has sort of steered us in the promoting veganism direction. As much as I like promoting veganism, I'm really afraid it has alienated us from people who like animals but aren't vegetarian.

Winter pet safety includes using nontoxic ice melts, storing antifreeze away from pets, banging on car hoods, and keeping dangerous plants away from pets.

Our plan is to pass out the brochures in the morning with people dressed as our school mascot (a bulldog) and as another dog costume we have. When the brochures are finished (on Wednesday) I will post the file so everyone else can use them!

EDIT 01/05/10: Sorry the file hasn't been posted yet! I wasn't able to get the file off the school computers before winter break and these past two days back have been super busy. I plan on getting it sometime this week when I have a free period, sorry again for the delay!

Easy Way to Be a Cruelty Free Shopper

2009-09-04T07:35:00.003-04:00

Thanks to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, now there is an easy way to see if the beauty and skin care products you buy are tested on animals. Peta2.com, the youth activism portion of PETA, had launched a page that makes finding which companies are cruelty free and which are not much easier than it used to be.

The page consists of three drop down menus. The first allows you to see the names of companies that DO test on animals, grouped by name.

The second lets you search for cruelty-free brands by product type. I absolutely love this menu, and it is very complete, it includes listings for items such as deodorant, bleaching cream, pregnancy care, healing salve, insect bite treatment, massage oil, Rosacea treatment, first aid, massage oil, feminine hygiene, and Ayurvedic supply, just to name a few.

The last drop-down menu is a list of cruelty-free companies, grouped by name.

Finally, in the product and brand listings, the letter "V" has been placed next to the name of any company that makes vegan-only products. (Though many of the companies that are not marked do offer some animal-free items as well).

Ready to really check everything you own? I know many vegans have put this off because of the daunting task it is to look at a giant list or search product-by-product on a search engine, so now you can stop procrastinating! Click here to begin!

Broccoli and Potato Curry on Quinoa

2009-06-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

This Indian-style curry can be adjusted to your tastes by tinkering with the spices. Cayenne/red pepper will increase the heat, while using more turmeric will make it more mild. Curries are generally very flexible, if you want to add more vegetables go right ahead. You could also replace some of the water for coconut milk to give it a sweet vibe (I ended up topping it with some shredded coconut).
I made this on quinoa, but you could make it on brown rice as well, they cook the same exact way.
This recipe will should serve about 3 people, or 2 hungry people, or 1 person who is very hungry and likes midnight snacks :) This recipe is one of my new favorites so enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 small onion, diced
2 TBS olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed/minced
1/2 red/green bell pepper, diced
1 medium or large potato, skinned and cut into half-inch cubes
1.5 cups broccoli, fresh or frozen
1 carrot (or a couple baby carrots)
1 cup water (for curry)

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water (for quinoa)

Spices:
Use as much or as little of each spice to suit your tastes. I used about a tablespoon of each (except for the salt and black pepper).
Cumin
Coriander
Red pepper flakes / Cayenne
Ground ginger
Curry Powder (Indian yellow)
Turmeric
Salt
Black Pepper

Quinoa:
1. Rinse quinoa if not already prerinsed, and then add to two cups of water in a small saucepan (preferably nonstick). Cover on low heat until all the water is absorbed (like rice).
2. The quinoa will probably be down around the same time as the curry if you start right away!

Curry:
1. Saute garlic, onion, and bell pepper in the oil on medium heat until onions are translucent.
2. Add water, potato, and spices. Cook on medium until potatoes are nearly tender.
3. Add broccoli and carrot and simmer until tender. You may need to add more water if too much has simmered away, and thus you may need more spices.

Voila, enjoy!

Ants On A Log!

2009-06-24T10:38:00.005-04:00

Ants On A Log were always my favorite preschool snack, and I still love them today! With only 3 ingredients, they're so easy to make. Just spread the peanut butter and sprinkle some raisins, voila!

They're actually not bad for you either. Peanut butter has healthy fats and protein, celery is low-calorie (actually negative calorie, it takes more energy to digest it than it provides), and raisins have concentrated nutrients.

On Monday my boyfriend and I were hungry at his house with hardly anything to eat, vegan or not. We were able to scrounge up the ingredients for these (he was going to eat some blood sausage but I threatened with no kisses for the rest of the day if he did. It was promptly returned to the fridge.) The picture is of him stuffing his face and holding part of our masterpiece.

What's your favorite childhood snack?

Vegetables? What are those?

2009-06-15T19:53:00.005-04:00

With all the processed and prepackaged foods out there, no wonder why it seems like everyone is gaining weight and becoming sickly. Many would think that vegetarians (and vegans) would be safe, with our healthy plant-based diets. However, after watching what my vegetarian friends eat, and analyzing my own diet, I have noticed that it is very easy to eat vegetarian without getting a lot of nutrients.Furthermore, it is quite possible to be a vegetarian and rarely touch a vegetable!

How can this be? Well, this concept has long been discussed in articles against teen vegetarianism, but most vegetarians brush it aside and say "That won't happen to me." After all, we've done our research, we bought that new avant-garde cookbook, and invested in foods we can hardly pronounce, like "tempeh" and "quinoa". Surely we're never going to be that vegetarian, who lives off cheese pizza and french fries. Heck, I don't even like fast food!

So maybe most of us are above pizza, fries, and cola, but I am willing to bet a lot of vegetarians aren't as healthy as they think they are. And yes, I am going to be honest, it was my own self who rudely awakened me to this predicament.

It wasn't all my fault that I wasn't eating great. I had finals to worry about, end of year projects and assessments to do, track and field was getting more and more competitive as the season went on, my animal rights group was doing a fundraiser, and I had about 5 different events for the National Honor Society. Plus my job, and my social life. My mom started working nights, which left me to make my own dinners (whereas when she was home there would always be some sort of vegetation as a side dish).

My diet wasn't exactly unhealthy, it just was missing things. I would eat a veggie burger at school most days for lunch, and if I was lucky I'd get a bit of iceberg salad on the side. If I had time to make lunch, I'd bring peanut butter and jelly (with wheat germ). Or if I was feeling ambitious, a faux ham and veggie sandwich (with a piece of lettuce, a slice each of tomato and onion, some mustard, and hots). For dinner, I'd make something quick. Quick meaning one dish, no sides. My main main always had to include protein (I need it for running), so it often focused around beans or pasta. I had carb-protein-fat down pat, but what about nutrients? And vitamins? And minerals? After a few weeks, I started to say "Hey, I'm a vegan, but I can hardly count on one hand how many vegetables I've eaten this week!"

And its not just me. At least I tried to make what I had healthy on its own for the most part. I have friends that get cheese pizza or a veggie burger with an ice pop and soda for lunch and eat oriental ramen noodles and mashed potatoes for dinner. Yay, no animals, but no nutrients either.

We are not safe from this obesity epidemic if we continue along this path. We cannot sit on this high horse if our bodies are being filled with the same crap of the people below (let's not break the horses back with out fat behinds, okay?)

Time is the big issue. Adults have it better off than students. Yes, they work, but we have school then sports and extra-curriculars (need em for college!), homework and projects. Oh and okay, Facebook & Myspace too, but still. Teenagers also have a hard time because we do not make a lot of money, and sometimes parents aren't the most helpful when it comes to eating healthily (and on top of that, veganly).

My summer goal is to get back on track. Tonight for dinner I made broccoli curry with quinoa. I wasn't left feeling tired and lethargic after eating (look how much I've written!) With the garden coming along, there will be fresh picked lettuce for salads, and tastier grilled veggie burgers and tofu pups (less fat then frying, plus if they taste better I'll ditch the white bread for whole wheat). Plus I'll have time to drive 30 minutes away to grocery stores with better vegan specialties (like quinoa, curry sauces, local vegetable specialties, etc).

Overall, I'm optimistic. I've identified my problem, the things that triggered it are gone, and I'm going to tackle it head on. Plus, this has only been a recent occurrence for me, I'm usually quite healthy. But I know not everyone who's fallen into this trap is going to be as lucky. Its a misconception that being vegetarian/vegan automatically equals healthy. I'd say about 7 out of 10 times it is, but especially for Generation Y and Generation Z, where a cardboard box or a can and a microwave are our best friends, it's not always so. Before we can tout that our diet is the best (besides for animal welfare), we need step back, take off our rose-colored glasses, and make sure it really is.

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And if you do happen to have a rockin' veg diet, keep up the good work! (and let us know how you stick to it when the times get tough!)

School Is Out!

2009-06-15T16:43:00.003-04:00

Well, just about. I have to marshal the graduation and then I'm done for a bit. Then I must go to a school-sponsored summer camp (27-2). But for the time being, I'm enjoying my freedom, despite the looming summer homework (read three books by Joseph Heller and "The Lively Art of Writing"and college searching.

I'm looking forward to having more time to experiment with vegan recipes, blog, and just help animals in general.

This school year, our Students For Animal Advocacy group was quite successful in its first year. We sponsored a school-wide Meat Out (over 100 people participated, around 1/5 of the school). We also did a coin-drive for our local animal control center, and we raised almost $200! I'm very excited about this and next year we should be able to do even more.

Soy Yogurt Substitution

2009-06-06T18:50:00.005-04:00

A lot of vegan recipes are calling for soy yogurt, which can be very hard to find in most supermarkets (and many people just don't like it plain). Here's a replacement for it, thanks to Celine from celineyum.blogspot.com who found it on the Post Punk Kitchen boards.

Ingredients:
6 oz. soymilk
1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
Splash of either lemon juice or vinegar

1. Add soymilk and cornstarch, microwave for 30 seconds.
2. Stir and microwave for 15-20 seconds.
3. Add lemon juice or vinegar, stir, and let sit for 3 minutes. Voila!

Now I can go make some vegan chocolate lava cakes!

Decadent Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-05-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

I'm usually not a fan of peanut butter cookies, but these cookies are phenomenal. They're chewy, buttery, and completely vegan! I made a double batch last night (one with chocolate and one without) for my step-dad so that he would change the oil in my car for me. They also brought my omnivorous boyfriend to his knees, even without the chocolate. A must try!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup vegan margarine (I like organic Smart Balance)
2/3 cup brown sugar (break apart all clumps or hard spots first).
1 1/2 teaspoon Ener-G Egg Subsitute
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons plain/vanilla soymilk
1 or 2 teaspoon(s) of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Handful of vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Note:If you do not have Ener-G, use 1 egg's worth of another substitute that you know works in cookies. The water in the recipe is the amount required to make the egg replacer, so omit if your replacement already has the same amount of liquid as an egg

1. Preheat oven to 375 F / 190 C.
2. In a small cup, mix the egg replacer and water.
3. Using an electric mixer/beater, cream together the peanut butter, sugar, and margarine until you have an even consistency. If your peanut butter is sugar free and you are not adding the chocolate chips, you may want to add an extra tablespoon of sugar.
4. Blend and mix in soymilk, prepared egg replacer, and vanilla extract.
5. Add flour, baking powder, and salt into the mixture and mix fully.
6. Fold in chocolate chips if desired.
7. Make dough into slightly squished balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. The cookies will expand a little so give them some room. Don't flatten the cookies too much, thin cookies end up dry and hard.
8. Bake for 8-12 minutes. When they are done the edges will be slightly browned. As with most veganized cookies, they will be soft and first but will harden as they cool.

This recipe should make around 20 cookies. The brown sugar is what gives these cookies an extra special boost.
Another tip: If your peanut butter is really oily (as a lot of organic and natural nut butters are), use a tablespoon less of margarine. Don't worry if the dough is really greasy, it won't be an issue once the cookies are fully baked.

12 Ways to Jazz Up A Salad

2009-05-15T18:32:00.000-04:00

I previously posted a similar article called 15 Ways to Jazz Up a Veggie Burger.

Salads are great. They're cool, crisp, and can encompass a wide variety of colors, flavors, and textures. They're also generally pretty healthy (especially vegan salads.) Sometimes though, salads can get boring, and they can get boring very easily if you are eating a lot of them in hopes of losing weight or becoming healthier. So, here are some ways to spice it up without killing your diet!

Try an interesting dressing. Okay, so I know this is really obvious, but sometimes your "favorite" just doesn't do the same magic that it used to. For traditionalist, try a raspberry vinaigrette, the sweet and sour blend is very different from the more conservative blends. Using your own custom blend of olive oil and balsamic/red wine vinegar is also a good bet. You can reduce the amount of oil to help save calories. One of my favorite homemade dressing is dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, oil, and minced garlic. My grandmother makes her own of garlic-infused EV olive oil with red wine vinegar. You can also use pickle juice or banana pepper vinegar straight from the jar for a mild no-calorie pick-me-up. At the store, Drew's line of salad dressing are my favorite. Try Kalamata Olive and Caper or Lemon Goddess Tahini if you're feeling adventurous.
Use an adventurous mix of greens. If you don't want to clean and wash 5 different types of greens, buy a bagged mix. If you find salads to be very bitter, or if you think that you have to add too much dressing in order to be able to taste it, add in lighter flavored lettuces, such as Iceberg. Iceberg isn't the healthiest (its less green), but a little goes a long way in making your salad taste that much better. Many store bought mixes incorporate Iceberg along with healthier greens such as Romaine, Arugula, and Baby Spinach.
Grow your own lettuce. Fresh picked lettuce is always the best tasting! My favorites are Romaine and Butter Crunch. Always pick the leaves before they get too big, they will be tenderer and you won't waste as much if the centers of the leaves are still green and soft. Baby Spinach is also easy to grow, and you can replant lettuces later in the season as well. Just make sure to read up on preventing it from bolting (going to seed)!
Add non-traditional and non-leafy ingredients to your salad. Try walnuts, apple slices, grapes, hot peppers (banana rings and pepperoncini) , grape tomatoes, thin sliced onions, olives of all kinds, vegan cheese, couscous, and avocados to name a few. Just be sure to pick a dressing that goes along with your choices. "Garlic Delight" might not be the best dressing for a salad with lots apples and grapes, whereas a raspberry vinaigrette would be a good pick.
Add meat-imitators to create mock "chicken" and "steak" salads. I like Boca Chik'n patties, just microwave them for a minute or two and slice 'em up! Morningstar Farms Steak Strips are also a good option, though they take more work to prepare then patties.
Wanna go Greek? And I mean without crazy frat parties and kegs of cheap non-vegan beer of course! Add kalamata olives, pepperoncini, vegan cheese (if available), and vegan Greek dressing (try Drew's Kalamata if you can't find a cheese-free Greek.)
Or go south of the border! Add vegan cheese (if available), microwaved refried pinto beans, black beans, salsa, guacamole/avocado and crushed up tortilla chips/taco shells to make a Mexican salad.
If you add vegan taco meat instead of or with the beans, its a Taco Salad.
Try croutons! You can either make your own croutons from old sliced bread or can look for vegan prepackaged ones.
If your local grocery doesn't carry any vegan croutons (like mine), I suggest taking a look for these Santa Fe Tortilla Strips by Fresh Gourmet (next to the croutons). They are absolutely fantastic! Add them to a Mexican/Taco Salad for a great treat that still is okay for your waistline.
Greens don't always have to be the star of the show, though for this guide I am mostly keeping it to traditional-type salads. However, mixing cooked and cooled penne pasta with spinach leaves, olives, onion, grape/cherry tomatoes and a Greek/Italian dressing is a sure winner, even better if you're lucky enough to have some vegan mozzerella on hand!
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. If life gives you salad, put it between some bread and make a sandwich. If you stack a veggie sandwich high with lettuce, spinach, onion, and tomatoes you basically have a salad between two slices of bread. Just be careful to use low-calorie bread if your intention is to lose weight. Subway and D'Angelo's are great places to get a quick, vegan sandwhich that is packed with healthy and fresh veggies.

First Dog Scandal?

2009-04-14T17:44:00.004-04:00

The Obamas finally have their new pet, Bo, a purebred Portuguese water dog. Though Mr. Obama would have preferred a mutt (because it would be like him), they needed to get a purebred because of Malia Obama's allergies. Throughout the campaign, the first family said that the wanted to adopt a shelter dog, which pleased many animal activists.

However, there is somewhat of a dispute over whether or not Bo is really a "rescued" dog. We do know that he came from a breeder. He was put into a home that did not work for him, and was given back to the breeder. Then he was adopted by the Obamas. The dispute lies in that Bo never spent time in a shelter or with a rescue group. He was still taken out of a poorly-fit home and given a new lease on life.

Bo's breeders also bred the Portuguese water dogs of Massachusetts Senator Kennedy. The Kennedys actually gave Bo to the Obamas as a present, knowing that they needed an allergen-free purebred dog, and that there was a dog in need of a good home.

So what do you think? Did the Obamas do the right thing or did they skimp on their campaign promise?

Personally, I 100% support what the Obamas did. It is hard to find an allergy-safe purebred in a shelter, especially one with good temperament (for living in the White House. If the presidential shelter dog ever bit someone, what would that do for the reputation rescued dog adoptions?) Second, Bo was a gift from the Kennedys. If someone gives you a gift, it's kind of rude to refuse it, especially when it (or he) is something that you are looking for. Third, the dog wasn't just bought from a breeder, it had been in a home that was not a good fit. They did not go to a puppy mill or high-end breeder specifically to get a brand spankin' new puppy.

Though they did not end up adopting a shelter dog, they still donated money to the places that they were looking at. My only concern is that Portuguese water dog puppy mills will increase "production" in hopes of fans wanting to purchase the same breed as the First Family. However, we no longer live in the era of idolization, such as 50 years ago when our society was enthralled with the DiMaggios, Monroes, Ruths, and FDRS, etc of the time.

I'd like to say congratulations to the Obama's on their new family member, and that I am very pleased that they took in a "quasi-rescued" dog, considering they had to make sure it would be okay for Malia.

Guilty As Charged

2009-03-15T09:16:00.002-04:00

So its been quite a while since I last posted, and I feel like I have made waaay too much of these "sorry for not being very active" posts. Here's the scoop of whats happened with me:

Got inducted into the National Honor Society. NHS does lots of things after school that take up much of my precious free time.
Got dumped by one boyfriend, now I have a new one who actually lives less than four miles away so I'm not spending a lot of time at home any more.
Bought my own car, 2001 Toyota Camry LE, so again, not staying at home much any more.
My A.P. classes (calculus and chemistry) are really cracking down since the A.P. examinations are ~~coming up~~ looming in the near future.
I'm taking all honors classes and the papers/projects/homework seems to never end.
I do a myriad of other things after school, like Prom Committee, track and field, tutoring, and work (car payments and insurance aren't cheap).
AND (best one), I'm the President/Founder of my school's Students For Animal Advocacy group. Which takes up a considerable amount of time. Currently we're doing a fundraiser for our local shelter and we also are organizing the Great American Meatout (this friday) at the school.

So that's why I haven't really posted in a while. I've had this blog for 3 years now, it's hard to come up with new ideas for posts as well as report on "my life" when my life consists of no free time to set down and write. If you have any suggestions or things you'd like me to do/write about, I'd be more than happy to hear them!

Much love,
Allie

Choose a Compassionate Thanksgiving

2008-11-16T17:42:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate with family and to be thankful for all that we have. Somehow, the murder of 300 million turkeys each year doesn't seem to fit in with that equation. Instead, have a compassionate Thanksgiving with all the veganized trimmings you want and a non-meat centerpiece.

Here are Gentlethanksgiving.org's top ten reasons to forgo the carcass at your celebration:

10. Your body will appreciate a holiday from saturated fat, cholesterol, and hormones.

9. You won’t sweat the environment and food resources devastation guilt trip.

8. You won’t spend a sleepless night wondering how the turkey lived and died.

7. Animal advocates will cherish you.

6. You won’t have to call the Poultry Hotline to keep your family alive.

5. Fruits and vegetables don’t have to carry government warning labels.

4. Commercial turkeys are too obese to breed. Won’t happen to you.

3. Your kids can tell their friends about their cool “tofurky.”

2. You are what you eat. Who wants to be a “butterball”?

1. You won’t fall asleep during the football game.

For a vegan Thanksgiving, try a Tofurky centerpiece with some of the following sides:

cranberry sauce (some are gelatin free)
mashed potatoes with roasted garlic
steamed green beans
maple-glazed carrots
mashed sweet potatoes
roasted potatoes
pasta salad
vegetable soup
butternut or acorn squash
fruit salad

For dessert, you can make vegan versions of:

pumpkin pie
"cheese"cake
chocolate cake
trifle
cookies
spice cake
bread pudding
pound cake
brownies
just about any other baked good

As you can see, ditching turkey and other animal products does not limit your options in any way, and there are plenty of delicious dishes to choose from!

So, please choose a compassionate Thanksgiving that leaves murder and cruelty out of the celebration. Your conscience and millions of turkeys will thank you.

15 Ways To Jazz Up A Veggie Burger

2008-11-08T18:30:00.001-05:00

Veggie burgers are a great, versatile choice for a simple meal. There are many different types, brands, and flavors, and they can be healthy (certainly healthier than a beef burger!) Personally, my favorite brand is Gardenburger, but many others are good too. However, after a while, veggie burgers can get pretty boring and basic if you don't know how to make them interesting. So, here are 15 ways to have a satisfying veggie burger!

Instead of microwaving your burger, try frying on the stove or better yet, putting it on the grill. The flavor will be much better and it will be crispy, not soggy.
Instead of using raw onions, trying browning them in the pan first. This makes them more palatable if they are too strong raw, and it adds a different flavor.
Try a patty other than a meat-mimicking flavor. Sometimes it is better to appreciate the thing for what it is, not what it is supposed to be. Switch your Boca Vegans for chili and bean, vegetable (Gardenburger Veggie Medley is great), extra garlic, or some other original flavor.
Make your own patty with pre-made meat substitute, and you can control the seasonings.
Ditch the bun! Use lettuce to wrap your burger (a wide leaf from a head variety works best, try Boston lettuce.) Let the burger cool slightly and try to blot as much oil as possible from the burger and toppings before piling up. The crunch of the cool lettuce around the burger is fantastic, but make sure you have extra napkins around!
Another novel way to wrap up is to use a pita pocket that is cut in half, or whole if it is the size of the burger!
To make a Middle-Eastern style burger, do #6 and top with hummus, tomato, onion, and cucumber.
To go all the way Middle Eastern, use a falafel burger instead of a regular patty. You can make them the same way you make regular falafel, just shape it into a patty.
Make it a BBQ! You don't have to grill it, but add pickled jalapeños, BBQ sauce, hot sauce (try a smoky flavor) and the basic lettuce, onion, and tomato.
For an alternative to a creamy sauce, top your patty with thinly sliced avocado. It reminds me of the sauce on a Big Mac, but it tastes much fresher!
If you still want to mimic fast food, use two patties (or slice a thick on in half) and make a double decker burger (with out without a middle piece of bread.)
Make a toasted panini if you have a press by putting the patty in between two slices of bread and adding some vegan "cheese."
For a ~~coronary inducing~~ not-so-healthy option (but delicious if its your thing,) deep-fry the burger in a deep fryer or saucepan with an inch of high-smoke-point oil.
So this may not really affect the taste too much, but try to make the burger look like it belongs on a McDonald's poster (aka photogenic). Use a bun, fluff the lettuce, and make it look neat. It may not use any different ingredients than what you normally have, but it has been proven that people think visually attractive food tastes better.
Top the burger with fried mushrooms (keep frying until they start to become crispy.) You can also add some fried mushrooms and vegan "cheese" to create a faux "mushroom and Swiss burger.")

Who Would The Animals Vote For?

2008-10-28T20:59:00.002-04:00

This may be somewhat of a reiteration of this post, however, with election day a little less than a week a way, I think it is important to bring it up again. With the upcoming election still pretty close (polls are known for misleading people), here is some information you need to know about the candidates so you can make a good decision if animals are important to you.

Sarah Palin an animal's worst nightmare. She supports aerial hunting of wolves (one of the most cruel forms of hunting), because she claims that wolves are eating moose and caribou. This of course, would be natural. However, since moose and caribou are favorites of Alaskan hunters, the wolves need to be killed so there are more moose and caribou to kill. In fact though, the wolves in that area eat mostly other small animals. Alaska is the only state to allow this.

Palin also wants to remove polar bears from the endangered species list (she even sued the national government for it.) This would make it easier to drill for oil in ANWR (Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.) She also claims that global warming is a farce. Global warming is one of the reasons WHY polar bears are on the endangered species list, because their habitat is melting away.

In addition, she promotes the Iditarod race, owns a commercial fishing business, and is an NRA member.

John McCain supports offshore drilling (which ruins habitats) and wants more nuclear power. Nuclear power has been known to harm animals. In an article I read for my current events class, in a particularly radioactive area, some asexual worms were reproducing sexually (though my class thought that was a good thing for the worms...)

Barack Obama has said he supports animal rights. He has proven this also with his record. In the Illinois Senate, he sponsored a bill that prevented horse slaughter, and he has been endorsed by the Human Society many times. Here is a from Obama:

I think how we treat our animals reflects how we treat each other. And it's very important that we have a president who is mindful of the cruelty that is perpetrated on animals.

Not to be biased here, but the Democratic party has always been a step ahead of the Republicans when it comes to animal issues. Read this blog to see how the lawmakers stack up against each other. If you go to the bottom, you will see that Joe Biden received one of the highest scores for protecting animals (John McCain, not so much.)

I know animals aren't everything that matter in this upcoming election, but regardless of your position, Barack is right in his quote that how we treat animals reflects how we treat ourselves. Obama and Biden have records showing that they respect animals and McCain and Palin certainly do not.

I Love Veggie Burgers

2008-10-11T17:31:00.004-04:00

Today for lunch I made a kick-butt veggie burger. My favorite brand of veggie burgers is Gardenburger. Today, I made the Veggie Medley burger (I also love the Vegan Grillers burger but they are harder to find.) The Veggie Medley is made from a base of brown rice, and has all sorts of veggie goodness in it.

To jazz it up, I made a lettuce-wrapped burger. Instead of using a bun or bread, I used some delicious Boston Lettuce (the leaves are light green, round and quite large) to wrap the burger in. On top, I put ketchup, white wine Dijon mustard, and some fried onions. The only onions I had were too strong to eat raw so I fried them in the left over canola oil. For extra jazz, I added some sliced avocado. The avocado sort of mimics mayonnaise, but it adds a unique creamy flavor (think of the selling points for the Big Mac or Whopper over a regular burger.)

I then topped it with another 2 pieces of lettuce and it was gone very quickly! It was a bit messy (I should have let the burger cool first and blotted off some of the grease from the onions are burgers) but none the less delicious. The picture shown is before I added the top pieces of lettuce, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to see anything! I apologize for the quality, I was hungry and didn't want to use my digital camera so I just snagged this with my cell (The avocado looks more yellow than green in this!)

And tonight I'm having another veggie burger for dinner because I am eating with my step-grandparents (my mom and step-dad are on their honeymoon) and since they are making homemade oven fries, (Mmm!) a burger seems like the perfect compliment.

102 Reasons Why I'm Vegan

2008-10-10T10:16:00.002-04:00

102 Reasons why I am and why I went vegan, and also why I remain vegan. Not all are about food, some deal with fur, leather, etc.
I'm sorry I don't have sources for these, it became too tedious!

Vegans on average live up to 6 years longer than non-vegans.
Vegans on average are 10% lighter than non vegans.
It's virtually impossible to get a heart attack if you are vegan because the lowest cholesterol level for a heart attack was 150 and on average a vegan's total cholesterol is 128.
It's always nice to know you haven't eaten a dead animal for breakfast.
Or lunch or dinner for that matter.
Leather is dead skin, something I use an exfoliator to get rid of.
Animals are cuter and softer when they are living and breathing, not in jackets or trim.
Because cows also feel pain.
Because a lobster doesn't have a shock system that inhibits extreme pain when it's cut in half or boiled alive.
Meat and dairy makes your farts smell worse.
Lettuce doesn't ooze blood when you cut it.
Cucumbers don't have faces.
I don't see anything different between eating my dog and eating a cow.
Because I have 9 pet chickens and they are so cute and lovable!
Because animals can't speak up and say they don't want to be eaten.
Because giving a damn is attractive.
It takes over 3000 gallons of water to feed an omnivore for a day, and less than 400 gallons to feed a vegan.
Because most of the deforestation in the Amazon is for increasing cattle grazing lands.
And the Amazon Rainforest has the most rare species than any other place in the world.
The man who made the word vegan, Donald Watson, lived to be 94
Dr. Atkins however, had severe heart disease and died at the age of 70.
A lot of rabbit fur used for jacket trim is actually mislabelled dog and cat fur.
Animals in China used for fur are killed by smashing their heads against brick walls.
Many pet dogs die each year by stumbling into fur traps in the woods.
Beavers are drowned to death by traps to use them for fur.
Fur smells like nasty chemicals.
Faux fur is cheaper anyways.
And leather is disgusting when it rips and you can see all the fibers of the skin of the animals it used to be.
Leather tanning is extremely harmful to the environment.
Fiber (found in veggies) helps keep you regular.
The casein protein in milk causes your bones to lose calcium in urine.
Countries that have low intake of dairy actually have less hip fractures, a sign of osteoporosis.
I have a lot more energy than I did before I went vegan.
Eating meat means you payed for the slaughter of an innocent animals.
On average, vegans save 90 lives per year.
Humans have characteristics that show they were meant to be herbivores.
Because I don't salivate when I see roadkill.
Milk is the breast milk of another species.
Have you ever seen a dog suckling from a giraffe?
And we drink it past infancy too, something that certainly isn't normal.
I don't go to zoos because there was a dolphin who attempted suicide from the stress of being watched 24/7 and being confined in a small tank.
How would you like to be confined to a cage not much bigger than your bedroom for the rest of your life?
Because the only way to train circus animals to do unnatural tricks is by fear.
Elephants are beaten with electric prods to get them to perform.
Soy milk doesn't have pus (somatic cells) in it.
98% of chicken contains a small piece of feces, aka SHIT.
That gives new meaning to the phrase "chickenshit."
I don't have to worry about cross-contamination between raw meat and vegetables.
If I under cook my food, it won't kill me.
A hamburger is a patty of ground of cow brains, meat, and tissue.
Under animal protection laws for slaughtering, birds don't count as animals.
Not that those laws are adhered to anyway.
Pigs have the mental ability of 3-year old children.
That little piggy is smarter than your dog.
Fish can concentrate toxins from its environment up to 9 MILLION times stronger in their flesh.
Shrimp has more cholesterol than beef.
Chickens and humans both have a tongue, 2 legs, a brain, a nose, and nails. And we both have hearts.
Eating something that died doesn't make you manly.
It shows you have disrespect for life.
Every year in the UK ALONE, livestock is fed enough food to feed 250,000,000 people while in the world 30,000,000 people die of starvation.
1 acre yields 165 lbs of beef or 20,000 lbs of potatoes.
It takes 2500 gallons to produce 1lb of meat; compared to:
25 gallons of water to produce 1lb of wheat.
49 gallons of water for 1 lb of apples.
23 gallons of water for 1 lb of lettuce.
The water used to produce 10 lbs of steak is equivalent to the average consumption of water for an entire household for an entire year.
70% of all grain grown is fed to animals, and that grain is fit for humans.
Calf leather comes from animals killed at just 2 weeks old.
Vegans have a 20% lower rate of mortality from all causes.
Omnivores have double the risk of Alzheimer's disease than vegans.
Chinese people (living mainly on a vegetarian diet) consume 20% more calories than Americans but Americans are 20% fatter.
The cling film used to wrap meat in supermarkets & butchers contains chemicals linked to falling sperm counts in men.
Because slaughterhouses are rarely regulated, many animals have their throats slit while fully conscious.
Meat packing is the most dangerous job to have.
If not for the animals, go vegetarian for the people who have no choice but to work in slaughterhouses and risk losing their lives and limbs.
In the land it requires to feed one meat eater, 20 vegans can be fed.
It takes 16lbs of soy protein to make 1 lb of beef.
90% of cattle ranches created on cleared forest land go bankrupt in less than 8 years .
Which leaves that deserted, barren, and unusable because of nutrient loss.
Many of our rivers and streams are polluted because of animal runoff (poop)
To produce 1 calorie of energy from meat , it takes 60 calories of fuel.
Growing grains and beans to directly feed people produces 20 calories for every calorie of fuel used .
You do the math, veganism is 1200 times more effective in this respect.
Fish caught by nets die by suffocation.
I can easily make/buy brownies, pancakes, pies, cakes, pizza, "ice cream", nachos, crepes, burgers, burritos, tacos, soups, "hot dogs", pasta, noodles, fajitas and much more without using animal products, so I can feel good about not contributing to animal torture.
And those foods can be made even healthier than their "real" counterparts.
Being vegan has opened my eyes to new foods that I never would have tried before.
Indian cuisine has some of the best vegan food ever, and most of it is healthy and cheap.
Because being vegan makes you learn to cook better.
I wont lie, you'll need to cook more than before as a vegan, but everyone knows home-cooked food is so much better for you!
Cows naturally produce 5 liters of milk per day for their calves , with factory and profit-driven farming they produce 25-40 liters per day.
Spent dairy cows (from overproduction) are turned into hamburger.
To make milk a cow must have a calf, so she will be impregnated numerous times over what is natural so she will have more milk.
Almost all male calves born will become veal calves.
So there is a chunk of veal in every glass of milk.
That is why I made the switch to vegan from vegetarian, because everything is connected and the deadly cycle needs to be broken.
Countries with the highest meat and dairy consumptions have more brittle bones (osteoporosis.)
On average, a normal cow can live between 25-30 years, but dairy cows only live 3-5 years.
That is only ten percent of their natural life span!
Free-range and organic milk, eggs, and meat are hardly differently than their non-organic and non-free-range counterparts because there are no guidelines to specify what free-range is, and organic only applies to what is fed to the animals, not how they are treated!
Free-range chicken can mean that the chickens were crammed together tightly on a cold, concrete floor where they can't even turn around, and will be trampled on as they try to reach the food trough. I don't see how this is any less cruel.
And lastly, being vegan isn't hard, it's easy when you realize just how much you are helping animals, people, and the planet!

Supplements for Vegans

2008-09-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

While a vegan diet can provide you with just about all the nutrients you need, sometimes we all need to take a supplement, to well, supplement what we get in our diet. A vegan diet is just about the healthiest out there compared to the standards of many other diets, but if you aren't the healthiest eater, you should consider taking a pill. It is recommended for most people (which includes omnivores) to take supplements. However, before deciding to take anything, you should have a good idea what you are already getting. If you are already getting what you need for a certain nutrient, do not exceed your DV. It can be harmful to have too much of certain vitamins and minerals. Now, here are some nutrients that vegans should consider supplementing if they are not getting them already.

Iodine: In the United States, China, and India (and other countries), table salt is already fortified for iodine. Iodine deficiency can lead to hypothyroidism, fatigue, skin problems, tingling sensations and elevated cholesterol. In Britain and Ireland, iodine is usually consumed in milk from iodine-fortified cattle feed. If you live outside the US, check to see if your salt has iodine in it. If not, try a kelp supplement or iodine supplement, or try kelp tablets, which are a source of iodine.

Calcium:Calcium is often consumed in milk, but the animal protein in milk is known to cause some calcium to be leached from the bones. Minerals like calcium help to make strong teeth and bones, but also work with the nervous system and muscular system. Most soy milks have calcium, and dark green vegetables do as well. However, if you don't think you are getting enough, try a supplement (perhaps only taking a half or third of a dose.) If you are an athlete, minerals help prevent cramps, so make sure you are getting enough. Many calcium pills come with magnesium, and a magnesium deficiency causes the worst cramps (the ones where your calf muscles tighten into a ball, often in the middle of the night.)

Iron: Iron is most commonly found in red meat. It is also in many fortified foods and in chocolate, grains, and greens. Iron from plant sources (non-heme) is less easily absorbed than meat sources (heme). However, it is easy to fulfill your iron requirement without a supplement by eating the aforementioned foods. On the other hand, if you are not getting enough (females also need more than men, for once, because of menstruation) a supplement is a responsible option. Truth be told, in many studies, vegans have had iron levels and hemoglobin levels similar to those in non-vegans, so its not just us who need the supplements. Iron absorption is aided by a healthy Vitamin C intake (something vegans usually get A LOT of, that non-vegans don't.) Iron supplements are easy to find in the grocery store, and you can always take just half a dose if you already get some from your food intake.

Vitamin B12: B12 is necessary for proper neurological functions. It is a byproduct of bacteria, and is not found reliably in plant sources. This is the ONLY nutrient that cannot be naturally consumed in a vegan diet. Long ago, before we washed every thing we ate, we took in enough by eating the dirt on the food (you need only a few micrograms.) Now, that is not the case since we wash everything thoroughly. Some seaweeds and other foods have been thought of to have B12, but since nobody is positive, it is best to take a supplement. Many fortified foods (soy milk, cereal, other supplements, and even Vitamin Water) have plenty of B12 in them, but if you aren't getting any, take a supplement or switch another supplement to one that also has this essential vitamin.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D is often found in dairy products, but can be easily found in many fortified foods. It also can synthesized with sun exposure (10 to 15 minutes daily on just the hands and arms.) Many people get this on just their morning commute to work. However, if you have dark skin and live up North where the winters are very dark, you may not synthesize enough during the winter months. If you aren't eating fortified foods then, consider a supplement. There are two main forms of Vitamin D, D2 and D3. D2 is found in mushrooms and fungi, whereas D3 is only made from animal products (fish oil or lanolin [wool fat.]) Some orange juice has D3 in it, so check labels. The body produces both forms from sunlight.

All of that may seem like a lot, but it really isn't. Chances are, as a vegan, you are getting most of that already, and may be only lacking one or two things if any. However, I put all the major things up there just to cover most people. If any meat-eaters are reading this and think vegans are unhealthy because I'm recommending supplements, you probably need a whole slew of things vegans get PLENTY of. Very few people eat 100% of everything unless they make a point to, so it is common sense for EVERYONE to at least consider a supplement to aid their bodies (the government recommends it in the US.)

Also, please note; I am not a dietitian nor a doctor, so it is best to check with you health care professional before starting any new habits. Of course, nobody pays attention to these warnings, have you every done a 48-hr test for new cosmetics or hair dye? But I'm saying this to cover my ass, even though I did get my information from reliable sources. Always be careful when adding supplements if you take prescribed or even OTC medications, as bad reactions can occur.

Sarah Palin = An Animal's Worst Nightmare

2008-09-13T20:46:00.005-04:00

Usually I try to keep politics out of my blog, but in this case I owe it to every animal in this country.

As the hotly contested election draws nearer, I am going to shed some light on America's favorite "pit bull with lipstick." We all have probably heard that she is a big hunter and wants to drill the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge for oil (which McCain actually opposes), but here is some more juicy, or shall we say, "bloody" information on Sarah Palin.

Palin supports "aerial hunting", where low flying planes shoot animals with no chance of escape.
She encouraged this monstrosity with a proposed bounty of $150 for each severed wolf foreleg, and also introduced legislature to make this hunting easier.
She promotes wolf hunting because wolves hunt caribou and moose, and those are the two favorite targets of Alaskan hunters. So by killing wolves, there would be more moose and caribou to kill.
Alaska is the ONLY state to allow aerial hunting of wolves.
She authorized $400,000 of Alaska funds to oppose a ballot initiative to end aerial hunting.

See this video, which was not produced by the Obama campaign, on what happens in aerial hunts (I cried). Thanks to vegan.com for posting this:

Alaska sued the federal government to keep polar bears off the endangered species list. Why? Because the bears were in the way of oil drilling!
She is a lifelong hunter and NRA member.
She owns a commercial fishing business with her husband.
She had no qualms about authorizing the killing of mother and cub bears in Alaska.
Her husband's favorite sport is dog sled racing, and she is a promoter the Iditarod race.
She has publicly declared global warming a "farce" that wasn't created by humans, and it is in Alaska where most of our country's animals will be paying the price for the climate change.

I know animals aren't everything in politics, but if this is who John McCain is picking as a vice-president, I have serious questions about his judgment. Do we want a cold-hearted savage in the White House?

And in case you're wondering about the other side, Biden has an excellent animal-rights record, and so does Obama. He has been endorsed by the Humane Society. Read this short article about Obama supporting animal rights.

Pasta Salad

2008-09-13T20:13:00.002-04:00

I love pasta salad. I'm eating it right now. I can't really post a recipe for it because its pretty self-explanatory, chilled pasta + Italian dressing. I probably eat way too much of it, but it's addictive!

I think the best dressing for it is Wishbone Italian, I don't know why, I just think it tastes the most "pasta salad-y." But I don't like it when the pasta is swimming in the dressing, I think a light covering is good enough, along with some black pepper. And what really makes it great for me is some diced onion and bell pepper, and even some black olive pieces. The one I'm eating right now also has some homegrown raw zucchini dices in it. Which makes it absolutely amazing.

What's your favorite way to prepare pasta salad?

Vegan Videos

2008-09-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

Every so often I like to check out videos on YouTube about veganism. Here are some good finds I think you may enjoy!

Farmer Man

Funny Vegetarian Quotes

Ten Stupid Things Vegans Hear On A Daily Basis

Vegan in Europe (specific to Ireland)

2008-09-09T12:00:00.001-04:00

This summer I went to Ireland for three weeks. Three weeks in a quintessential meat and potato land is quite a challenge (or so I thought it would be.) It actually wasn't that bad. So if you live in Ireland (or UK or other parts of Europe) and think being vegan won't work where you live, here are some tips. This guide is mostly to point out brands, and I wrote this specifically for what I could find in Ireland (I was in Clare, Waterford, and Carlow to be even more specific.)

In the U.S. the best soya* milk is said to Silk. I found that both Alpro (a soya company) and Tesco brand (aka supermarket brand) were about equal and even better than Silk. Alpro also makes some FABULOUS vegan chocolate pudding. Cadbury's hot chocolate powder can be made with soya milk for amazing results :) I brought home 3 tins of it!

If you look in the nutritional aisles of the grocery stores, you should be able to find some vegan products (often made for those with allergies.) In the butter section, you should be able to find Pure brand margarine made from soya oil. It tastes just like butter! Many breads are often vegan, if you're having a hard time finding any, look for French bread, it is not supposed to have any dairy or eggs in it. Irish Pride is vegan.

I found the most amazing soya ice cream to be made by HB. It was chocolate flavor, and nothing I've ever had in the States could ever compare. It had fudge swirls in it and tastes just like real dairy ice cream. Even my non-vegan cousins who've never tried vegan alternatives before said they couldn't tell the difference. I think it also came in strawberry, so look for that next to the normal ice cream in the freezer section.

Don't forget, fresh fruits and vegetables are always available. Pasta and red sauce is always a nutritious meal. Products made for those with allergies are often a good place to look. And don't be afraid to look at random items, (Doritos Chili Heatwave are vegan!) One last note, Guinness beer is processed with animal products :(

I hope this mini-guide is helpful, just comment if you have any specific questions, I may be able to help. Also if you are from Europe and have more country-specific tips or other general tips, please post them!

* In the US, we call what Europeans call soya just soy. They are both the same thing.

Layout Switcharoo - Ads

2008-09-07T10:50:00.005-04:00

I kind of changed the layout around a bit। I put the Google search bar on top where it is more accessible, and I put the disclaimer on the bottom of the page so it would stand out more. In case you haven't seen it before, it just says to give me credit if you use anything from this site.
I also rearranged the sidebar to make it a little more logical (important things coming first and more noticeable, making the ads easier to see.)

I didn't put any more ads up, but I put the Google search where you can see it now (I have no idea why I put it in a place nobody would look for it.) The search bar does generate revenue, so if you need to search for something please use it, it does the same thing as going to Google.com. My plan for the ad money is to do things to help animals and/or my college fund (I'm trying to find a career that will let me help animals.)

So legally I can't ask you to click on the ads, but I can say what the money will be used for. I'm not a person who is usually for ads, but college is expensive and my career or donations will help animals. And to be quite honest, some of the ads are actually really good, I just printed out a coupon for vegan cheese!

If you have any suggestions on the site layout or any gadgets I should add, please let me know I'd love to hear your suggestions.

Time??? What Time??

2008-09-06T20:25:00.000-04:00

Well I haven't posted in quite some time.. I feel extremely guilty about it. Lets see, here are my excuses. I worked about 30 hours every week once school ended and did driver's ed on top of that. Then right afterwards I went to Ireland for 3 weeks and never was able to get on a computer. Then immediately after I got home I went to soccer camp for a week, and then I had pre-season training.

And school just started two weeks ago and I am already royally sick of it. I'm taking 5 honors credits. 5 classes (Government, Euro History, English, French History, and French Literature) count as 16 credits for the University of Connecticut (they're transferable), and then I'm taking AP Calculus and AP Chemistry, along with Health and Gym. So even with my study hall, I have multiple papers due each week. Argh!

So I'm trying my best to blog. I love to do it, but I have other things I should probably be doing instead :( I'm going to try to write multiple posts at once and then have them be uploaded automatically at different dates so it looks like I'm posting content regularly. But no guarantees yet, I need to find the time to write them! I cant wait til I'm out of school!!!

Lemon Garlic and Mushroom Spaghetti

2008-06-20T12:52:00.003-04:00

This is very similar to Lemon Butter Pasta With Mushrooms & Tofettes. But this version is much better. The Tofettes are nice, I used them mostly for an extra protein source, but it tastes better sans Tofettes. Also, with a few ingredient changes, this recipe tastes much more grown-up and refined.

Ingredients:

1 box of spaghetti (cappellini and angel hair are also acceptable)
1/2 cup vegan margarine

2 cups sliced white mushrooms (or baby bella)

2 cloves garlic, crushed/diced/minced

1 small onion (or 1/2 of a large), chopped

2 TBS lemon juice

1/4 cup white wine (I used a white vermouth that was made for cooking)

Salt, to taste (my wine had salt added)

Dried parsley (garnish)

1. Boil pasta until al dente. Continue with the other steps. When pasta is done, drain it and put in a large bowl.

2. Melt margarine in a medium size frying pan.

3. Add garlic and onions, saute over medium until onions are mostly translucent.

4. Add mushrooms, and saute until they have lost some water. If the mushrooms absorb all of the margarine and the bottom of the pan is too dry to saute, add another tablespoon.

5. Add the white wine, stir, and allow most of the alcohol to simmer off. (Do a taste test, it should not taste too alcohol-y)

6. Add lemon juice, stir, and taste again. If it needs more lemon, you can add it. You shouldn't be able to taste anything more than a hint of alcohol, unless you prefer it that way. You should have a lot of liquid in the pan, because this is the sauce for the pasta.

7. Add the contents of the saucepan to the bowl of drained pasta, and stir. Garnish with a few flakes of parsley.

Veganism is HOT

2008-06-13T20:28:00.003-04:00

I just happened to come across this while surfing the web:

According to MSN.com, Veganism is a hot topic, nice!
With all these celebs being vegan, the status is certainly well merited. Here are just a few famous vegans:

Albert Einstein
Alicia Silverstone
Andre 3000 (rapper, of OutKast)
Elijah Wood (Frodo!)
Joaquin Phoenix
Natalie Portman
Tobey Maguire (Spiderman!)
Pat Thetic (drummer of Anti-Flag)
Tim McIlrath (personal hero, singer of Rise Against)
Weird Al Yankovic
Emily Deschanel (Bones!)

I'm actually wicked excited about this because I never knew Emily Deschanel was vegan, and I am completely OBSESSED with the show Bones. She is like my complete role model and t.v. twin. And she happened to play a minor part in Spiderman 2 with Tobey Maguire. With a (tv) scientist, Frodo, Spiderman, the best punk singer ever, and Weird Al, vegans are quite hot! (Tim McIlrath and Tobey Maguire are also quite the sexy beasts!)

Oh the wondrous useless facts that brighten my life that I find through blogging! :)

Ahhhh Exams!!!!

2008-06-11T20:08:00.002-04:00

I just finished my track season, the girls had a 7-6 record so we kept it above .500, which is good for a really small school. I also made varsity, and competed in the state meet, so I think I did pretty well. Vegan power!
But now that the fun is over exams are starting on Friday. Of course, I have two of the hardest on the first day, with French III and US History. Then on Monday I have the worst possible combination; Chemistry and World Literature. Then its not so bad on Tuesday because I have by itself (but the exam will be horrible, its cumulative) and on Wednesday I just have Spanish II and then I'm free!
This summer is already starting to look packed. I'm working a lot, doing driver's ed, going to soccer camp with the team, and then going to Ireland for 2 or 3 weeks to see my Dad and my cousins there. And every couple of weekends or so I'm going to Vermont to see my boyfriend. So I'm pretty excited, but it doesn't leave as much time for volunteering and reading as I'd have liked.

Stop blaming the models and put that doughnut down!

2008-05-02T17:58:00.002-04:00

I’m really sick of people bashing models and thin people for causing everyone else to have low self-esteem. These people claim that models and magazine pictures distort the idea of what beauty really is. To some degree, I agree. Magazines do Photoshop, edit, and airbrush their subjects to make them look skinnier, prettier, and generally more attractive. In this scenario, I do believe these images are detrimental to the minds and confidence of young women, and I think Spain was correct in banning models with low BMI’s (healthy is around 18.5-24, anorexic is 17.5.) But sometimes they go too far.
One well-known example is the Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty”; featuring “average” sized women who want beauty to mean more than size 0-2. These people (and supporters and other groups) claim that since the average pants size of an American woman is 14, there should be size 14 models, and that size 14 should be considered “sexy” and “hot”. But does beauty really have a number? Are we so materialistic that we define our beauty by numbers? And what does beauty really mean?
To most men, a woman’s beauty coincides with health. But oh no! Those anorexic models aren’t healthy! However, do you really think guys look at models? Most of the time they have those pert faces and no shapeliness. And have you ever heard guys say, “ ‘Man, that second girl on the Versace runway show last night was hot!’ ‘No way! I definitely think the headliner for Gucci was better’ ‘You guys are whack, that Donna Karan chick was soooo much hotter!’” Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen. The only model guys probably have even heard of/seen is Giselle Bundchen (Sunglass Hut) , or maybe Adriana Lima in a Maybelline ad on the back of his girlfriend’s Cosmo. Models are thin and tall because clothes look better; layers are easier to assemble when the person is taller and the CLOTHES (not the person, models model clothes not themselves) look better. Models are to designers as mannequins are to department stores. Have you ever seen a small mannequin? They are tall to show the clothes more prominently.
So, back to health’s relationship with beauty. What attributes do we as a society (and the men we try to impress) consider beautiful? Some would be: healthy skin, healthy nails and hair, toned muscles, curves (including le derrière and le décolletage), lean (not thin or skinny), and a positive attitude. Most guys don’t like stick-thin twigs, they like some t*ts and a** (T&A).
Now, back to the Dove campaign. Have you seen the women they advertise as being “normal”? I’m not trying to be offensive, but almost all of them are overweight, and it looks like they don’t take care of their bodies by eating healthily and vigorously exercising. You don’t have to be a size 0-2 to be healthy (or sexy!), but unless you are very tall, (the US average is 5’4”), a size 14 is most certainly overweight. If size 14 is average, and the average women is overweight (two-thirds of the US is), then what does that say? Simple math, hello! The last time I heard, the average woman was 5’4” and 145 pounds, and apparently, a size 14 (that’s what Dove says.) Size 14 and 5’4??? That’s CERTAINLY not healthy! I’m 5’4” and I am not anorexic. I am on the lower end of the healthy range for my height (the range is from 110 to 125), and I have an athletic/muscular build, not a twig build. I am between a 0 and a 2. Even if I expanded as I aged, I still can’t see myself being healthy and above a size 4. I’m 10 sizes below “average”, and am considered healthy. Somehow, if I gained 10 pants sizes (or even 5!) I doubt I would still be healthy.
I am sick of overweight, inactive girls criticizing me and people like me for being “too thin” (healthy) and making me out to be the cause of their low self-esteem. If they played 3 Varsity sports a year and ate healthily (vegan or not, though vegan is certainly very healthy), they wouldn’t have muffin tops and jelly rolls. While stick-thin, unhealthy, and anorexic models make being thin seem unattainable because they are soooo thin, people have to realize that most people don’t consider models hot, or even use them as comparisons!
So pretty much, there is a bunch of overweight women complaining that healthy and fit women are considered more attractive than they are. I’m just taking a wild guess, but I think the root of this is jealousy, because they don’t have the motivation to treat their bodies well.
I don’t blame overweight women for being upset that they aren’t as “hot” or “sexy” as their thinner counterparts. But they can’t try to overthrow the system and make everyone think that size 14 is attractive. Besides the fact that beauty should be on the inside (men look for personality, too!), if overweight is considered the new thin, people will be switching salad for ice cream because their weight won't matter to them anymore, and we’ll see an increase of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other horrible diseases that are already on the incline because of the unhealthy trends of this era.
Instead, these women should be trying to see that they are attractive, with their curves, attitudes, and personalities, and understand that they have a health issue. I see plenty of overweight women who are happily married. You don’t need to be the stereotype of “hot” and “sexy” to be attractive and lovable. If anything, these overweight/ “normal” girls are the most materialistic because they are judging themselves based on size. They should realize that by becoming healthy, they will no longer have the problem of being what they perceive as unattractive and will only be bettering their health.

Yaaaa, so here's the scoop

2008-05-02T17:43:00.003-04:00

So this past month has been pretty psycho. In chronological order:

I got some sort of flue/cold/strep thing and I was out from school for 4 days and missed a week and a half of track. Which set me really far behind and I'm just starting to improve for the season (I just qualified for the conference meet in the 200m, yay!)
I've been swamped with homework (as usual)
Kenny dumped me because of the distance last Saturday. Which made me really mad, then sad, and now I'm pretty good with it but it still is no fun.
And I had to write a 13 page term paper for history on Anarchy in the United States, which was about the Haymarket Riot of 1886. Pretty interesting stuff. But very long indeed.
I got 5 baby chicks! 3 are Australops, 2 are Buff Orpingtons. They're very cute. They're sold every spring at the place where I work and there were some extras left that needed a home so I took them in. They are all females and are layers, but I'm just going to sell the eggs or use them at Halloween and Easter, since there's no cruelty involved (we're building a coop in the barn and they'll get to walk all around our large yard.)
And now I have impending English and History projects due. Yuck!

So I've been pretty busy. Not a whole lot of cooking has been done. I made more marinara sauce, and it turned out really well, I still have some left in the fridge. And if I have any free time this weekend I will bake something but I have a feeling that will not happen :(

Marinara Sauce

2008-03-30T20:49:00.005-04:00

Food has been getting pretty pricey lately, probably from ever-increasing price of fuel. And the pasta sauce I like (I HATE sauce with sugar in it) is about $6 a jar when its not on sale. So unless I want to start paying for it I had to do something. So I decided to make my own sauce. Most traditional sauces take hours to cook, but this one is very quick and easy and takes 20 minutes. I wouldn't call it 5-star restaurant quality, but I think it is better than most 3-star restaurants and costs $1.25, excluding pantry staples.

Ingredients:

1 can (28-35oz) canned tomatoes (cut, crushed, diced, your preference)
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1/2 to 1 onion, sliced thinly (use as much as you want)

1 clove garlic (use more if you prefer, but this will be pretty strong)

Basil (if the tomatoes don't have them in already, use fresh or dried)

Oregano (as much as you want)

Salt, pepper (to taste, some tomatoes are already are salted)

1. In a 2QT saucepan, heat oil and sautee onions until tranlucent (don't let them burn!)

2. Add garlic and sautee until lightly browned.

3. Add tomatoes (including all the juice in the can), and add spices.
4. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 20 minutes.

It turned out really good! If you want to improve it further, you could use 1 can crushed, 1 can cut, and 1 whole onion and simmer for longer (until saucy texture).

To give fair credit, I got the basic recipe from the back of the tomato can but I adapted it quite a bit.

Wednesday Track Meet :/

2008-03-30T20:40:00.002-04:00

I'm a little nervous for Wednesday, I have my first track meet. I really hope I will do well, it's quite early in the season and I haven't really gotten into shape yet, but hopefully I'll do the 200m and a relay or two. I usually run 400's and 800's but I much rather do 200's because my body shape has totally changed from muscle-less and lanky to much stronger muscles and a lot of definition. No more 3200's for me :) When I get the results I'll post them (if they aren't horrible :P )

Craziness!

2008-03-22T20:48:00.003-04:00

My life just started to get even crazier because track started. So now I don't get home til around 4:30, which makes it hard to be able to cook anything anymore :( But I think in a few minutes I am going to make some chocolate cupcakes, so that will be good. Last night I slept over my friend Jessica's house, and we're pretty crazy. So since nothing totally vega-licious has happened in the last week, I'll just post some pics of my birthday party from last week!

Birthday 3-09-08

The awesome vegan birthday cake. Chocolate with vanilla frosting, in my favorite color.

My little half brother on the trampoline.

The FOOD!!! The yellow cake isn't vegan (that was for my mom) and everything else there was except for some turkey. There was salad, two kinds of pasta salad, stuffing, corn/bean salad and some other things. It was great!

How to Celebrate a Vegan St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-16T21:32:00.002-04:00

You don't have to eat corned beef to celebrate St. Patricks Day. Here are some ways to celebrate veganly!

Be Irish. Not that you'll be able to do this if you aren't Irish to begin with, but St. Patty's Day is always better when you're Irish (I'm 50%, which is how I know what to write here)
Wear green. Duh. Or else it will be my personal mission to pinch you.
Eat an Irish Breakfast.
And then an Irish Supper.
Paint a shamrock on your face using eyeliner, and wear green makeup.
Make some kind of dessert with green frosting.
Talk with a brogue. But make sure you know what it's supposed to sound like because if you go around with an English accent you will get slapped.
Don't wear orange (like my Grandpa does every year), unless it is part of an Irish flag, or a hurling/footie uniform (I'm wearing my Carlow county jersey tomorrow, which has some orange on it.)
Play hurling or gaelic football. Hurling is pretty much lacrosse+baseball on crack, and gaelic football is soccer with your hands and some crazy dribbling rules. Mad fun.
Kiss an Irish person.

I Got Tagged!

2008-03-11T20:01:00.002-04:00

I've been tagged by the lovely Paulina at Veggie Delight to reveal 5 things about myself... (yippee!)
1. I dont follow a specific stereotype. Lets see, I play soccer and track, skateboard and play drums, wear all black one day and the next day bright pink. When I wear all black I wear hot pink eyeliner and when I wear all pink all my makeup is black. My iPod playlist has Joan Jett, Christina Aguilera and Disturbed next to each other. My 3 favorite places to shop are Forever 21 (eclectic), Aeropostale (girlyish), and Hot Topic (punk/goth). I have 7 piercings and I also happen to be Valedictorian. Maybe I should see the psych.

2. I have an extremely acute sense of smell. If someone is wearing a certain fruit or floral smell (ie Bath and Body works) I can name the scent very quickly. And if I walk by someone I can know exactly what perfume they are wearing, even if I've only smelled it once. And when I cook with herbs I usually choose them from olfactory memory, not by names or loooks. And I always remember what someone smells like. Always.

3. I want to have a career in foreign languages. Currently I'm taking French 3 and Spanish 2, and in college I want to additionally take Italian, Russian, Finnish, and German.

4. I'm an athiest. I'm fine with people believing in whatever they want to believe, but I've had too many people approach me as though I'm a free agent for whatever they believe in, so I've gotten turned off from religion. Plus, people argue over it waaaaay too much. And I just don't buy the whole getting-swallowed-by-a-whale-and-hey-I'm-alive deal, but that's just my opinion.

5. I had severe depression for 4 years (therapists and very close to antidepressents) but I kept my grades up and very few people noticed (I'm alot better now) . And I can't stand when people blame their problems/depression for bad grades.I don't think that there are smart people and stupid people, but that there are people who recognize that they have the power to do well, and there are people who are more concerned with other things and blame their stupidity instead of willpower for their grades. But that's just me, it's alot harder to manage your grades when you have other issues (I'd know!), but it is not impossible.
So there you have it, 5 unique things about me.
I tag... Vko (Lifestyles of the Chic and Vegan), Gnewvegan (Invitation to my Vegan Journey) , VegBitch, Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit, The Urban Vegan!
Rules:Link to your tagger and post these rules.
Share 5 facts about yourself.
Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).

Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Vegan/Vegetarian/VegeQuarian Playlist

2008-03-07T20:43:00.003-05:00

Here's a playlist of veggie bans/singers. I can't guarantee the accuracy of all of them, and some bands have non-veg members in them. I also know than Alanis Morrisette is against eating meat but had to stop being vegetarian because she is severely allergic to soy, but I put here down anyway since she's sympathetic to the cause. So here's some good music, I tried to incorporate all different kinds into the playlist.

Vegan Survey Time!

2008-03-07T19:32:00.002-05:00

I love surveys! So fun! They make me feel like I'm important...
Anyway, I found this one on Pleasantly Plump Vegan, and apparently it's been cross-referenced a million times and I didn't feel like tracing it back to the original source, so if you want to find the original creator be my guest :)
It's a bit random, but that's how I like it ♥
Heeeeere we go!
1. If you have to choose between locally grown or organic, which do you usually choose?
Here where I live, we don't exactly get to choose. But in my old town we had a farmer's market where most things were local and organic, and that was really nice. But I guess I would choose local since it supports community farmers.
2. Favourite way to prepare potatoes:
EVERY WAY. I'm 50% Irish, and taters are one of my all-time favorite foods. I guess the top three would be: red skins roasted with onions, garlic, rosemary, olive oil and fire roasted peppers; Home fries with hot sauce and BBQ sauce; and a fry-up of diced taters with onions, diced red/green peppers, paprika, and salt.
3. Do you press your tofu before preparing/cooking it (if you eat soy)?
I'm not a huge 'fu-fan, actually. I eat mostly prepackaged stuff like Tofettes, which I think I already pressed. If I use it in desserts, I usually don't press it.
4. Name your favorite recipe that is a tradition in your family:
Boiled green cabbage with margarine and roast potatoes.
5. Any food allergies?
More like intolerances. Milk and eggs (makes veganism pretty easy). I used to always get mild stomach aches when I drank milk, and cooked eggs outside of baking always made me queasy.
6. When you want to go to a fancy dinner, where do you go?
Mostly my boyfriend and I eat at Burger King, lol. For fancy food, there's some nice vegan/vegetarian restaurants in Montpelier, Vt.
7. When you have a cold, what do you crave?
Oriental ramen noodles.
8. What kind of water do you drink? (Filtered, spring, tap, etc.)
Filtered water through the fridge. But I love Fiji water :)
9. Name a flavor of soda you'd love to see:
In PEI they have red cream soda. AMAZING. But if I had to make a made-up one, I'd say peppermint.
10. If the recipes you ate as a child were compiled into a cookbook, what would the title be?
Most of them weren't vegan. So if I had to start from when I became vegan, I'd say The Transformation.
11. If you were allowed to grow one food that can't grow in your climate, what would it be?
Cocoa beans.
12. Favorite type of mushroom?
There's so many to choose from, but I love portabella and white mushrooms.
13. Most frustrating part of your kitchen?
Glass-stop stoves and a TINY oven. I have a huge cookie sheet that I can't use here and no copper-bottom or cast-iron pans on the glass-top.
14. Last food you burned?
Cherry Pepperidge Farm turnover in the toaster oven.
15. Usual response to a veg*n's favorite question, "But where do you get your protein?":
Lots of foods, like beans, soy products, mushrooms, pasta, and bread.
16. If you were baking your own birthday cake today, what flavor would it be?
Chocolate cake with butter cream frosting.
17. Favourite brand of chocolate chips?
Ghirardelli semi-sweet
18. You have $200 of your tax return reserved for Williams Sonoma - What do you buy?
I'm not really a kitchen freak, I'm 16 but I guess I get a good orange peeler, apple corer, and those carrot shaving flower makers. And a good knife for dicing herbs and a sharp knife for tomatoes.
19. Do you plan your menus in advance? Any tips to share?
Once or twice a week I'll make an actual meal like burritos, tacos, lemon-butter pasta, etc. I get recipes off the web and in a few cookbooks I have. Sometimes I ask my mom for recipes that I can veganize, or she'll give me some of what she's prepared for me to do what I want with. A lot of times I'll just eat the veggies she makes and a veggie burger or pasta and salad.
20. You have 3 minutes before you have to leave the house and you're starving- What do you eat?
Heat up a frozen homemade burrito or a slice of rye bread with SmartBalance and horseradish and tomato.
21. If Martha Stewart, Paula Deen, and Rachel Ray got into a fight, who would win and how?
Ummm. I'd say Martha 'cause she's probably learned a few tricks in the can.
22. If you eat oatmeal, what do you add to it before serving?
Maple syrup or brown sugar and margarine.
23. If you got to travel to one country and learn all the traditional dishes there, where would you go (ignore commitments in your current place of residence.)
I'd definitely say India or Oriental, with no fish sauce and ghee.
24. Favourite late night snack?
Chocolate chips with Ritz crackers.
25. Favourite springtime food?
Pasta salad with olives, broccoli, peppers, and other veggies.
26. Favorite food-related magazine?
I'm not a big magazine person but I like Vegetarian Times.
27. Which do you prefer: shoyu, tamari, conventional soy sauce, or Bragg's Aminos?
It's a tie between shoyu and conventional soy sauce.
28. What vegetable or fruit do you dislike the most?
I used to hate asparagus, now I love it. Hmm, I don't really hate anything, maybe raw red peppers and overcooked broccoli.
29. Name a holiday food you look forward to all year long:
Bread pudding/
30. If you could convert anyone to veganism with your magic wand, who would you convert?
Well, I believe it's everyone's choice to do what they want to do. But it's a tie between my boyfriend Kenny, and my friend Cassie. My boyfriend can't cook but loves his meat so if we ever moved in that might be difficult. And my friend Cassie loves animals and really wants to go vegan but her parents wont let her so she doesn't bother to try.

It's My Birthday!

2008-03-03T19:00:00.002-05:00

Today is my birthday! Sweet Sixteen! Wow, it feels so weird to say I'm sixteen. I feel old! My family party is next Sunday, which is when I get my gifts from my family. But so far I've recieved some flowers from my mom and yesterday my boyfriend got me (well, we made it together) a Build-a-Bear. It's velvet and wears a brown "i love you" sash and rides a skateboard (because he skates). So we named it Kenny, after him, so I have him with me all the time.

Almost My Birthday!

2008-03-01T09:41:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited! Monday will be my 16th birthday! It won't be a good birthday school wise though, I have double chemistry lab (so I'll spend the night typing a report) and the next 2 weeks are standardized testing. Oh well. This weekend I'm pretty much going to just hang out with my boyfriend at the mall/movie theater, so that will be fun.
For my birthday I asked for a roman ab chair, a ride cymbal for my drum kit, and a wooden bass pedal for my drum kit, and most importantly DRIVER'S ED. I really need the ed, because I'm terrible at driving (at least reversing, going straight I'm all set). So hopefully I'll get that because I'd love to have my license before soccer season. Some vegan chocolate wouldn't be a bad gift either.

Good, Easy to Find Vegan Pastry

2008-02-22T18:31:00.004-05:00

The company Barry's Bakery was founded by Barry Yellen, who suffered a heart attack at 42. After being put on a no-sweet diet, he created a French Pastry Twist that had no cholesterol, butter, eggs, yeast, or dairy. They also happen to be vegan. The ingredients in the Original variety are: High gluten wheat flour, soy oil, palm oil, beet sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Each twist only has 60 calories. These twists are really good! Vegan pastries are hard to find, and Barry's Twists are available nationwide in most supermarkets (the site has a store locator if you havent seen them before). They are decently priced, and come in Original (cinnamon), Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Wild Raspberry, Maple French Toast, California Almond, Cafe Mocha, and Key Lime.

When I got my 2nd term report card with straight A's my mom bought me 4 bags! Surpringly, I haven't eaten them all!

A Good Way to Eat Swiss Chard

2008-02-21T20:07:00.005-05:00

My mum made the best swiss chard last night. It's too simple to really be a recipe but here's what you do:
- Let diced garlic sit in lots of extra virgin olive oil for at least 15 mins (a couple days is best)
- Saute cleaned swiss chard in oil and garlic until wilted and tender.

My grandmother cooks her spinach like this, which has been a tradition in our family, all the way from Italy. I like it with spinach more, since its milder and softer, but the swiss chard is definitely good.

This is the multicolored type of swiss chard, with red and yellow stems. Alongside it I had brown rice with sesame seeds on top (Halfway through dinenr I found a package of them in my pocket that I forgot to put on my Asian noodles from lunch.)

More Cupcakes and Other Stuff

2008-02-19T20:36:00.005-05:00

So I baked more cupcakes last night because they were so ~~damn~~ darn good. My fam wanted chocolate frosting and I wanted colors so I put chocolate underneath and rainbow on top of it. Anyways everyone thought they looked like Gay Pride cupcakes but they taste wicked good.

And then today for lunch I made a Gardenburger Veggetable Burger (the one with all the veggie bits in it) and I had it on a whole wheat burger roll with ketchup, mustard, pickles, and sauteed onions.

Oh yah, and with Cape Cod Potato Chips! The best chips in the whole wide world! So crisp! So crunchy! So pure (tater, oil, salt)!

Amazing Vegan Cupcakes!

2008-02-18T16:17:00.004-05:00

I made these on Friday, and they're already gone! I made them with buttercream frosting. I baked mine in a silicone pan, and the bottoms were nice and moist, but metal will also work.
Cupcake Ingredients:
1 cup plain/vanilla soymilk
1 cup white flour
1 tsp vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil (canola)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/4 cup plain/vanilla soymilk
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Food coloring, sprinkles, colored sugar, chocolate chips, etc (optional)
Cake Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350, and grease a 12-cup muffin tin (or use liners).
2. Mix soymilk and vinegar in a large bowl, and let sit for a few minutes to curdle.
3. Beat in sugar, oil, and extracts until foamy. Then continuously add in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir until all ingredients are combined and there are no lumps.
4. Pour batter into muffin tins and fill 3/4 of the way. Bake for about 18 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely, and start making frosting.

Frosting:
1. Beat (electric beater/mixer is a must unless you want your hand to fall off) shortening and margerine together until well combined (~ 5 to 7 minutes)
2. Add in sugar, and beat for 3 more minutes.
3. Add in vanilla and the soy milk, beat for another 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Add food coloring and chocolate chips if you are so inclined.

When cupcakes are cool, remove them from the tins and frost them (you can add sprinkles or sugar if you like)
< < The lone cupcake.

USDA Recalls 143 Million Pounds of Dead Cow

2008-02-17T16:18:00.004-05:00

Okay, the title of the article actually says beef, but I couln't resist.
Anyways, this is the LARGEST recall in U.S. history, by over 100,000,000 (100 million) pounds.
Apparently, it came from a Southern California slaughterhouse, and is sold under the name of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. Currently it "is being investigated for mistreating cattle" (AP)

Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer says his department has evidence that the slaughterhouse didn't contact a veterinarian when cows became non-ambulatory [unable to walk] after inspection.

"Because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspection, Food Safety and Inspection Service has determined them to be unfit for human food and the company is conducting a recall," said Schafer. (AP)

Under federal regulation, downed cows are not allowed in the food supply because they pose a higher risk of being contaminated with mad cow, E. Coli, and salmonella. This is because they usually wallow in their feces, and have weaker immune systems.
Operations at Westfield have been suspended, after an undercover video was released of sick animals being pushed by forklifts. On Friday, two former employees were charged with animal cruelty.
This meat is used in some major fast food chains, and more disturbingly, THE FEDERAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM.
It is estimated that 37 million pounds have already been sent to schools, and most has been eaten already. No reported cases of illnesses have surfaced.
See the AP article on MSNBC here.

I'm glad I'm vegan so I don't have to worry about this! But I'm praying for the innocent children who may end up eating this, especially since many of them probably only eat federal lunch because they can't afford not to. Yet another reason why to go vegan or vegetarian!

Cool New Website - PetaStudents.Org!

2008-02-16T21:07:00.003-05:00

There's a new website out there called PetaStudents.Org. Here's what they have to say:

The PETAstudents Project is an easy way for hopeful students young or old to contribute to the animal rights group PETA at no cost. We're working together with FastWeb (owned by popular job search engine Monster.com) to provide free information and scholarships for top-notch colleges in the United States, and for every person that provides non-invasive contact information to FastWeb's college and scholarship site, we'll be able to donate $1 to PETA.

You actually don't really do a whole lot with the original site, it's like a referral program. Once you click the "Sign Up" button on PetaStudents, you are directed to a sign up sheet for FastWeb. Since I was dubious at first (and since I get about 10 letters from colleges daily), I put in a fake address. The FastWeb site is very nice and has a lot of useful information and articles, even without the college/scholarship stuff. I presume that FastWeb pays the guys at PetaStudents for each referral, and in turn, they donate $1 to Peta. Which means for free, you and I can give money to Peta!

I think this site has a lot of potential to do well, so if you are high school or college age, please sign up!

Vegan Survey!

2008-02-16T16:31:00.003-05:00

Wow, I've been blogging a lot today. But I'm at work for 5 hours so what else is there to do?
I got this from http://foodsnobberyhobbery.blogspot.com/2007/11/veganmofo-survey.html
1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
Silk brand, chocolate is my favorite flavor but for cooking I use plain or unsweetened.
2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
1) Lemon Butter Pasta
2) More cupcakes
3) Pasta Salad
3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Organic Smart Balance (the org version is vegan). I make my own popcorn on the stovetop.
4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Oooh there's a couple. One is trying to use Ener-G in premade omni brownies, which doesn't work, they come out flat and liquidy after 3 hours in the oven at 450! And the others come from using the book Sinfully Vegan, which sucks for baking recipes (nothing cooks right), good for ideas.
5. Favorite pickled item?
Dill pickles, preferably Claussen brand.
6. How do you organize your recipes?
On this blog under my recipe archive post. If its not my recipe I either get it online or in a book.
7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
Trash, unfortunately. And my stepsister's guinea pig :) But when I have a garden in the summer I compost certain things.
8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?
1) Pasta Primavera
2) Tofutti Cuties in Berry
3) Penne Puttanesca (if you couldn't tell already, I LOVE PASTA!!)
9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Making holiday sugar cookies with my mom and (late) stepdad.
10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
TOFUTTI! In chocolate :)
11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
Electric mixer! Last night I used it for the first time for cupcakes and frosting. It was so easy! And it saved my hand because the frosting required mixing hard shortening and margarine.
12. Spice/herb you would die without?
3 way tie, garlic, rosemary, and oregano.
13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
The 5 Ingredient Vegetarian Gourmet by Nava Atlas, I got it 5 days before going vegetarian from my (late) aunt.
14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Strawberry preserves
15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Tofu Chocolate Pie or the cupcakes I made last night.
16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Honestly I dont like any of them unless its a premade product. But I'd have to say tofu because its good in miso soup.
17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Hehe, dessert! Okay, dinner.
18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
Nothing really, there's a cabinet above it with an icecream maker and some chips.
19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
1) Chocolate Tofutti (one bite left)
2) Vanilla Tofutti
3) Ice pops
There's also some chicken and beef, eww.
20. What's on your grocery list?
Simply Asia noodle bowls, lettuce, sprouts, garlic hummus, bread, juice boxes...
21. Favorite grocery store?
I love the Montpelier, VT co-op because they carry a lot of vegan stuff, but of chain stores it would be Shaws.
22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.
Crepes
23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
Yeah that Vegan Shit and Eat Air (and a bunch of others so dont feel left out, those two came to my mind first!)
24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
SWEDISH FISH!!!!!
25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
Pom Wonderful and Broccoli sprouts.
26. Make up your own question to put here (and answer it).
Who was the first person to bring your attention to veganism?
>> The artist P!nk, when she wrote a letter to Petco with PETA. I saw it on her website and I liked it an clicked the PETA link because I was interested. And then I went OMG.

AR Wear

2008-02-16T14:16:00.002-05:00

I love to shop, so I found myself bored at work and window shopping online. I found some pretty cool things on the PETA Catalog. Once I transfer my savings account to a checking account in March when I'm 16, I'll actually be able to use my credit/debit card to buy stuff from here online. Yay! (The [x]'s are the links to the catalog page)

[x] "Want Fries With That?" Designed by Ian Grushka of New Found Glory - $16

[x] "No, I Don't Have Any Spare Ribs!". This is a long-time fave of mine - $16
[x] This is much better alternative to those over-worn "Hollister" logo shirts - $20
[x] This Peta2 hoodie looks so warm! And ethical! - $41.95
[x] "Spay Today, Save A Life Tomorrow". This looks really cute! - $9.75
[x] PETA Bunny Necklace. How cute! I want this for next V-Day! - $20
[x] This reminds me of those ghetto name necklaces. Comes in gold and silver. - $20, gold is on sale for $10

[x] Your basic PETA shirt, in my favorite color of black - $16, White Youth Med $5
[x] 50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals by Ingrid E. Newkirkc - $12.99
[x] Frog Saving Lilypad! Helps frogs get out of swimming pools (over the ledge) so they don't drown! HOW INGENIOUS! Yay for PETA! - $15
[x] Humane Smart Mouse Trap - $11

[x] PRIMAL STRIPS!!!! Vegan Beef Jerky, these are sooo good! - $1.29 each, seitan teriyaki and soy bbq

They also have some pretty good sales, on this page.

Some (Crazy) Blog Stats

2008-02-16T13:37:00.004-05:00

Here are some facts about my blog and some interesting stuff I found out using my StatCounter.

Basic Facts:

First Blog Post: January 28, 2006

My age then: 13 (almost 14)

My age now: 15 (almost 16!)

First profile picture: click here

First recipe : Grilled Chreese and Butternut Squash Soup; January 28, 2006

Most Commented Post: Vegan Fast Food Options; 50 comments

5 Most Popular Posts (of last 100 hits):

Vegan Fast Food Options
Vegan Shopping List!
6 Vegan Myths
20 Reasons to Go Vegan
Best Vegan Tacos Ever

Most Used Search Engine: Google (95-100%)
Monitor Resolution of Most Viewers: 1024 x 768 (A close 2nd place is 1280 x 1024)
Two Most used Browsers by Viewers: Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla Firefox 2.0
Average Unique Visitors per Day: 131
Busiest Day for Visitors: Sunday
Busiest Months For Posts: February and March 2006, 33 posts each month

Every once in a while I like to check what keywords or search words people use on search engines to find my blog. Here are some good ones that have been in my last 100 hits:

Cakes that look like cow pies
Sexy vegan
Attractive vegans
Best tacos ever recipe
Breasts explode
XL Tv life

Goal for 2008: Get 30,000 unique visitors!

Cocoa!

2008-02-15T20:29:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures and videos of my step-grandparents new dog!
Feb 16 Edit:Added more pics and some vids!

Here's the new boy!

My stepsister playing with him.

Cocoa says, "Go Vegan!". Don't listen to what she says.

He's slipping on the ice!

Cupcakes, Maybe

2008-02-15T17:12:00.003-05:00

I might make cupcakes sometime tonight. I have a four-day weekend and not a lot of homework. Yay for cupcakes!

Snow Day!

2008-02-13T15:11:00.002-05:00

Today was a snow day! Which means I get to lounge around and do nothings. For breakfast I had a mix of POM Wonderful juice with seltzer and a Strawberries and Cream LUNA bar. Then for lunch I had guacamole and chips. I haven't been too hungry today, since I got up at 10:30 :)

Hot & Spicy Stir Fry for Dinner

2008-02-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

Tonight I had spicy stir fry for dinner. My mum did the veggies for me (she added chicken to hers). I think there were red bell peppers, baby corn, mushrooms, onion, and garlic. She also put a vegan spicy schezuan sauce on them. Then I added Hot & Spicy Tofettes to them (my latest craze, premarinated tofu with a firm texture). They did the trick, and it tasted like good chinese food! The stir fry was over white rice, with soy sauce and a few chinese dried lo mein noodles.

I love the texture of Tofettes, they're similar to the way tofu is prepared in a lot of Asian foods, it's firm and isn't jiggly/squishy at all.

Food Shopping!

2008-02-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

I went food shopping today. And I got some cool stuff. Among them were Hot & Spicy Tofettes, Pomegranate juice, hummus, and Brocco sprouts.

So for lunch today I made a delicious garlic hummus, onion, and brocco sprout sandwich on pita bread, along with all natural corn chips and guacamole.

Lemon Butter Pasta Again!

2008-02-09T21:35:00.001-05:00

For dinner tonight I made the Lemon Butter Pasta I posted about a little over a week ago, except I made it sans Tofettes since I was out. I'm buying more tomorrow!
It was really good, I used extra onion, mushrooms, and garlic. You should really try it, even without the Tofettes it's awesome!

New Dog!

2008-02-09T16:17:00.000-05:00

Well, not for me. But my step-grandparents down the road just got a 3-yr old chocolate lab called Cocoa. He's a cutie pie and is a little hyper. Apparently, he was abandoned on a country road in Lousiana, and was with a foster family in Texas, and he came home to CT today. If I can, I'll post some pics soon.

Super Bowl!

2008-02-03T18:09:00.000-05:00

So I never had time to write a new vegan SB guide (my mom's fiance had an operation this week and she hasn't been home a lot so I haven't been able to get online).
http://aveganlife.blogspot.com/2006/02/have-xl-super-bowl-party-or-just-have.html
That's the guide from 2006.
And did I mention:
GO PATRIOTS!!

Tonight's menu is:
UTZ hot chips
Raspberry Ginger Ale
Yellow Corn Chips
Guacamole
Raspberry Turnovers with Vanilla Tofutti

Lemon Butter Pasta With Mushrooms & Tofettes

2008-02-01T18:54:00.000-05:00

This is one of my own original I-made-it-up recipes. Its kind of adapted from something my mom makes with meat and I'm sure other people have done the same thing or similar, but anyways I'm taking credit for it lol. The tofu in this is Creative Chef Tofettes, which are easy to use, have a good texture and are very tasty. I found them in the produce section of Big Y.

Crappy picture taken with crappy cellphone camera but it was actually a lot prettier and tasted great (and thats considering I'm not a huge tofu fan)

Ingredients:
1 package of Creative Chef Tofettes Lemon Garlic Flavor, sliced in half or quarters
1 box of pasta (rotini and penne work well, I used penne)
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1 to 2 cups sliced mushrooms (white or 'bella, or both!)
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 small onion, diced (or half a medium/large onion)
2 TBS lemon juice (or more to taste)
Salt, dash (to taste)

1. Cook pasta as instructions indicate (do the rest of the recipe while the pasta is cooking!)
2. Melt the margarine in a hot skillet (make sure its large enough for the mushrooms and tofettes!)
3. Add the onions and garlic, sautee for 3 mins until onions start to turn translucent.
4. Add the mushrooms and lemon juice and sautee for 7-10 mins, add salt if you want.
5. Add tofettes and sautee until they are hot.
6. In a large bowl, mix drained pasta with the sauteed mushroom mixture!

One thing I noticed is if you use a non-stick pan and let the mushrooms sit without stirring them often or flipping them, they get a little "burned" and taste as though they were grilled!
Also, if you run out of butter in the pan before its time to put it on the pasta, you can add more but dont forget to add more lemon juice too!

Guacamole

2008-01-27T18:12:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago I made some guacamole. It was soooo good and I ended up eating it with a spoon instead of chips.

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados (with skin off and without pits)
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 medium jalapenos (or a handful of slices from a jar), diced
2 TBS lime juice (you can use less, I like a lot of lime!)
2TBS jalapeno hot sauce (optional, since fresh/jarred can be expensive if you use a lot)
Dash of salt (if not using hot sauce)

1. Put the avocados in a bowl and mash well with a fork. I prefer to use a fork instead of an electric mixer because I like some small pieces of avocado and it makes it heavier.
2. Add the onion, jalapenos, lime juice, and hot sauce/salt, mix in with the fork.

If you want, you can add chili powder, diced green chilies, diced tomato, and other things. You can also make this without any hot peppers at all. There are many different variations! You also could substitute lemon juice for lime, or leave it out. I've made this so many ways and its always good!! ♥

La La La Exams Are Over!

2008-01-26T16:47:00.000-05:00

My exams are finally over! I think I did well on all of them, maybe doing just alright in history and French. I got a 97 in Math Analysis, which is considered one of the hardest classes offered in the school (and only to seniors and juniors, I'm a sophy lol). So I'm really happy because my grade went up 13 points from the first term!
I just got back from Vermont less than an hour ago. While I was there, I got a portabello burger at Patrick's Place in Randolph with my best friend. And tonight I'm going to some restaurant with family.
Tomorrow I'm going to the mall for clothes and just for fun. I'll probably get some cool vegan clothes at Hot Topic, Aéropostale, and Forever 21. And I'm going to get a new vegan purse if I can (I currently have a canvas one from Hot Topic, I need something bigger (or with a bigger opening!) to hold all my makeup (that's a lot lol), iPod, digital camera, and everything else I manage to stuff in there.

Blogging for Bars

2008-01-20T21:34:00.000-05:00

I just recieved an email from a person working for a vegan energy bar company looking for bloggers to test 4 new flavors of energy bars! I'm really excited to try them (I asked them to send me more verification before I give them my address, of course)! But once I get them (which should be February), I will blog all about them! More info to come!

If you can't tell, I'm really happy about this, it's like being a mini-celebrity when someone asks you to try their product and write about it! :)

And a little off-topic here, but THE PATRIOTS WON!!! (My favorite team if you didn't already know). Which means we are going to the SuperBowl! So I'm going to make another SuperBowl party post for this year's bowl (red, white and blue themed, n'est pas?).

New Graphics Coming Soon

2008-01-19T21:48:00.000-05:00

I know a lot of people love graphics (mostly younger people but hey they're cool!). I've currently been making some on my other computer (without internet) and once I get a few I will publish them to deviantART.com. My username is Sexy Vegan Chick, I haven't uploaded anything yet so don't bother checking.
So far I have a blinkie and the starts of a few other things. I'll keep you guys posted on when I uploaded stuff.

And don't worry, all my stuff will be free to use for anything you want as long as you don't claim it as your own work!

Track!!!!

2008-01-19T20:57:00.001-05:00

I did really well in the meet today. First of all, my 4x400 relay team and I got 1st place in our heat, and 8th overall out of 17. We could have done even better if we were in a fast heat (we beat the seed time by 15 seconds). We ended up getting 4:45, which is 7 seconds away from making the State Tournament (and 2 seconds per person is pretty easy to manage). And I got a personal best in the race for 1:13 (I was already tired from the 300m).

In the 300m, I got 51.7, which is pretty decent. I came in 30th out of 54. If I had gotten a quarter-second faster I would have came in around 15th, which is how close the race was (9 heats!).

So overall it was a pretty fun day. But now I'm wicked tired!

Exams and Track Meets

2008-01-18T20:26:00.000-05:00

Track meet tomorrow at Hillhouse in New Haven, I'm pretty excited. It's an invitational so I'm only doing two events, the 300m and the 4x400m. Which happen to be my not-so-great events. I just hope I don't get the innermost lane for the 300 because I'm not great with the tight corners of an indoor track (outdoor no problem).

And starting Tuesday I have exams :(

Here's my schedule:

Tuesday - College U.S. History, then College Chemistry

Wednesday - Honors Math Analysis (aka PreCalc), then College World Literature 10

Thursday - French III

Friday - Spanish II

I'm really mad, 'cause the schedule is periods 7,1,5,6,2,4,3. Why couldn't they have gone in order??? Why do Chemistry and History (the two most comprehensive) have to be in the same day? And why do French and Spanish have to be at the end by themselves? They are soooo easy!

Oh well. No use complaining over something that won't change. At least the meet should be fun.

For those of you who don't know, indoor meets start at 10 and go to 4:30 or so. And since New Haven is pretty far, I have to be at school for the bus at 7:30 (we get there early to warm up) and we get home around 5:30 or 6, maybe later. It's an all day experience. So pretty much we athletes hang around in the hallways and set up blankets, eat food, fool around, play music on my iFlop monkey, and watch movies if someone brings a T.V. So we do that for about 7 hours, and actually do track for maybe an hour, if that.

So I'll be bringing a smorgasbord of food with me, which shall include:

Veggie sandwich

Pb&J sandwich

Ritz crackers

LUNA bars

Dry cereal in a big

BBQ soy crisps

and anything else I can find.

And of course, my iFlop monkey! It actually can sit up and when it plays the earphones it's wearing light up! (If you didn't know, its a stuffed animal that you can plug into an iPod and it will play music!)

Don't Support Murderboro, Krool, etc!!!

2008-01-16T19:43:00.000-05:00

Did you know that smoking cigarettes is not only extremely bad for your own health, but its cruel and horrific to animals? Here are a few experiments that are being done (qtd from Smokinganimals.com):

Cutting holes in beagles' throats through which the dogs are forced to breathe concentrated cigarette smoke for a year.
Inserting electrodes into dogs' penises to measure the effect of cigarette smoke on sexual performance.
Strapping masks to the faces of rats and monkeys and permanently restraining them to force them to breathe cigarette smoke constantly.
Forcing dogs to be on mechanical ventilators and chronically exposed to cigarette smoke.
Restraining Rhesus monkeys in chairs with head devices and exposing them to nicotine and caffeine to determine how caffeine and nicotine affect breathing.

Smoking is unvegan (because of animal testing) if you smoke any brand of cigarettes other than American Spirit (which stopped testing). I'm not suggesting you smoke at all though, if you do so you are contributing to the approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths of non-smokers!!!!!
However, if you do wish to continue the dirty habit, please switch to American Spirits, as they are considered the only "cruelty-free" brand, even though for years previous they have used animal testing.

SOURCES:
http://www.smokinganimals.com/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_American_Spirit
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Secondhand_Smoke-Clean_Indoor_Air.asp

Mum's Amazing Chili

2008-01-14T18:17:00.000-05:00

This is the recipe my Mum has been using since before I was born, and it's probably my favorite food.

Ingredients:

2 large onions, sliced

2 large bell peppers, sliced (1 red and 1 green)

1 can of whole tomatoes, broken in pieces, along with the juice

5-10 jalapenos, sliced (depending on taste)

1-2 cans of kidney beans (depending on how much you like)

1 can garbanzo beans

4 TBS chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 TBS vegetable oil

OPTIONALS:

1 package (12-16 oz) of soy ground meat (personally, I prefer it without)

Cayenne

Other hot peppers

1. In a very large, deep frying pan OR 4-quart saucepan, heat oil.
2. Saute onions and peppers (and soy meat if using) for 10 mins in oil.
3. Add other ingredients and simmer for 45 mins.

This should make around 8 servings.

That's it! This picture was taken just after the ingredients were added. It's in a small pan because tonight my mum is making a batch with meat in it.

Ideas for A Contest?

2008-01-14T14:42:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking about doing a new contest. The only snitch is that I don't know what it should be. But I know the prize(s) already, they would be BlogExplosion credits (between 25 and 250).

For those of you who dont know, BlogExplosion is a traffic exchange site that helps you get more traffic to your blog. Besides being easy to transfer, I also want to help support the online vegan blog community. So I guess the contest would only be open to bloggers (if you wanted the prize, and it could be any type of blog, not just vegan), but that means you could always make your own blog!

Maybe it could be a best blog contest? Or essay to be submitted to a newspaper? Or best vegan tutorial? Best vegan art? I'm still not exactly sure yet, so leave me some ideas!

Sweet Sixteen Coming Soon

2008-01-12T21:43:00.000-05:00

In almost a month and a half it will be my sweet sixteen! (3/3)
I havent actually had a real birthday party since I was 10, so I dont know exactly what to do. I'm thinking about having some friends over, maybe go to a movie and the mall, and going home to my house for some vegan cake. If you have any suggestions please tell me because I need ideas!

Clicks To Help Animals!

2008-01-05T20:55:00.000-05:00

Helping animals (besides being vegan) doesn't always have to take a lot of time or effort, or cost money. Here are some easy ways to help them without even leaving your computer chair, or even having to really think!

I'll be adding more sites whenever I find them!

PETA: Get Your FREE Vegetarian Starter Kit from PETA
If you aren't already a vegan/vegetarian, this booklet gives you easy recipes and interesting information on the subject.
PETA: Join P!nk in Signing petition to ban Horse-Drawn carriages in NYC
The Animal Rescue Site: Click to Give
When you click the button once per day, advertising sponsers donate .6 bowls of food to hungry animals in shelters
Care2.com: Race for Pets in Need
Each click helps vaccinate one animal. "100% of the donations generated go to The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Rural Area Veterinary Services"
Care2.com: Race for the Big Cats
Each click provides habitat for Jaguars, Tigers, and Snow Leopards!
Care 2.com: Race for the Primates
Each click provides an apple to a hungry primate!
Care2.com: Race to Save Baby Seals
Each click helps provide funding for a Public Service Announcement protesting the Canadian Seal Hunt!
Goodsearch.com: Use this Search Engine
Choose the charity you wish to donate to (PETA, In Defense of Animals, ASPCA, WSPA and Mercy For Animals are all good choices, maybe your local shelter will be on there!)
PETA: Send an E-card!
PETA E-cards send more than just a written message, and are so easy to send!

Cool Vegan Video

2008-01-02T18:44:00.000-05:00

I found this on YouTube, it's quite funny but also very factual.

2008 Proggy Awards

2008-01-02T18:22:00.001-05:00

PETA's annual Proggy awards (that go to animal friendly people/companies) are once again out!
Check them out here

To name a few:
Best Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Line - Urban Decay
Best Cruelty-Free Personal Care Product Line - White Rain
Most Progressive Chef - Wolfgang Puck
Most Improved National Food Chain - Burger King
Most Animal-Friendly Search Engine - Dogpile

See PETA's End of Year Video

2008-01-01T19:22:00.000-05:00

This video nicely sums up what People for the Ethical treatment of Animals (PETA) did in the year of 2007, showing some of their victories and some other events that happened. Check it out, it's very interesting.
http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=end_of_year_2007_petatv

Vegan New Year's Resolutions Anyone?

2007-12-31T16:49:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late doing this, but I'd like to share some tips and reasons (and other useful information you may need) for going vegan if you are interested in doing it as a New Year's Resolution (that's what I did two years ago, and still going strong!)

Here are some tips and pages that I've posted on my blog:
Tips For Going Vegan
20 Reasons to Go Vegan
How Did You Become A Vegetarian/Vegan
Being Vegan is SO EASY (I wrote this less than month after going vegan, it's really true!)
Exiled, But With A Rowboat. A Vegan's Guide to Desserts
Vegan Fat Sources
Tutorial for Vegetarianism/Veganism
Protein Snacks (these can be really useful)
Vegan Fast Food Options

And here are some from other sites:
Vegan Tips
Vegan Tips and Recipes
Vegan Cooking Tips with Ann Gentry

Busy Busy Busy Busy ARGH!

2007-12-31T16:40:00.000-05:00

OMG I'M SO SORRY!!! I've been doing soccer, track, and a plethora of homework these past two (almosy three) months! My new school is big on homework (though not on getting good teachers) so I've barely had time to eat or sleep. But don't worry, the blog is here to stay, I just might not be able to update so often.

I had a very nice Christmas and Thanksgiving, once again making the lovely Chocolate Bread Pudding from GoVeg.com, which was wonderful.
For Christmas, I recieved Sinfully Vegan by Lois Dieterly (the link will bring you to the Google Books page, where you can read the whole thing for free). There are tons of Boston Cream Pie recipes, which I'm excited to try.
In a few minutes I'll post a collection of tips for going vegan for those wishing to make the change for New Year's, enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2007-10-08T18:13:00.000-04:00

I made a batch of 12 of these muffins this morning... an hour later they were all gone!

Ingredients:
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2-3/4 tsp baking powder
2 TBS sugar (and more for topping)
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg's worth of Ener-G egg replacer, or other replacer
1-1/4 cups soymilk
4 TBS canola oil
1 12oz bag of Gharadelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips (or other vegan choc. chip)
Smart balance or Pam spray for the pan

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl.
3. Add the oil, soymilk, and egg replacer to the flour mix and stir until fully moistened.
4. Add the chocolate chips to the batter.
5. Grease or spray the muffin tin, and fill the muffin tins 1/2 to 2/3 full.
6. Top each muffin with sugar and bake for about 25 minutes.

Check the muffins after 20 minutes. My oven runs high by about 20 degrees and I only had to cook them for 18 minutes. When inserted with a fork, the batter shouldn't leave marks but it should still be moist.

Mum Photos

2007-10-07T19:08:00.000-04:00

Practicing some photography on the mums at Academy Farm, which is where I work (and I designed the website, check it out!) The selling season is almost through, but they should be alive until the first major frost.

Ooh La La!

^ This is my favorite shot ^

Free Time?? What's That??

2007-10-07T19:01:00.000-04:00

As some of you may know, I switched schools this year since I moved from Vt to Ct. The homework load here has been pretty intense (easier classes, worse teachers, more homework) so I havent posted anything since August :(
If I'm not in school or doing homework, I'm either doing soccer or working, so I've been pretty busy. I'm doing my best to keep this blog updated, but it's a miracle if I get to go online for 5 minutes twice a week!

REAL FOOD!

2007-08-10T20:46:00.000-04:00

I'm home from camp. They actually had a great selection of vegan food there, but it was all frozen and then deep-fried. So now I've been eating real foods made from actual once-living produce.

Visitor Map

2007-08-02T16:30:00.000-04:00

This is the map of where my visitors come from, pretty cool eh? If you click "View My Stats" underneath my statcounter you can get the interactive version (see ISP's, how they got to my site, country/state etc) I just took a screenshot and pasted it into Paint and cropped it to get this. I've made it more than halfway across the globe, without even leaving CT ♥

The Descent

2007-08-02T16:23:00.000-04:00

I just finished watching "The Descent". Anyways, from watching the extended features, I found out that all the dead animals/bones were prosthetic, yay! It's a great movie, if you like horror :)

Good Page About Why Milk is Not Natural

2007-07-29T15:25:00.001-04:00

This page gives a quick explanation why cows milk isn't for humans, and why it's unnecessary to humans. It's very basic, but if you know of a person who has no idea why you won't drink milk (like a parent), you can try the evolution-nutrition explanation instead of why-it's-cruel explanation (some people are too apathetic to understand the latter, like my father.)

http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=03milk

Pictures of My Veg*n Life

2007-07-29T13:58:00.000-04:00

I've been gone for a bit, we finally got the internet to work on both computers at the same time :)
So here are some pictures of my vegan life, they might kinda suck, I took them on my LG VX9800 camera phone, I'm too cheap to actually buy a digital camera.

--------- Plants-----------

These are the catnip seedlings that I'm growing for my kitty Deuce (pic later on, he's cute!)

This is the Coleus plant. I have three in my outdoor garden, and two on my windowsill garden.

Heres another Coleus!

These are the first seedlings from my pumpkin plants. I'm growing the ones that grow to 70+ lbs. They're actually a lot bigger now, this was taken about a week ago.

This is my window garden, three pots of catnip and two Coleus.

-----------Animals----------------

This is Deuce, sneaking into my shopping bag :)

This is Deuce again.

This is my mom's-boyfriend's-daughter's pygmy goat, her name is Peanut, she's a pygmy goat. Jen is actually making her own blog called Pygmy Goats, and it should be up in a little while, the url is:

http://allaboutpygmys.blogspot.com/

-------ME!!!----------

It's me! It looked a lot brighter on my phone, and I'm too lazy to lighten it in Photoshop, so make your moniter brighter if you want to see my stunning beauty =D

I bought this shirt for 25 cents in a thrift shop (I wasn't going to pay 15 bucks in JC Penney)

Here's my report card (PI is blanked/blurred out) I got another 4.0 yay! (That means all my grades were at or above a 95) Vegan power!

Thats it for now!

Food Shopping

2007-07-18T08:52:00.000-04:00

Since moving to Connecticut, most of the family food shopping has been at the Big Y (but try finding something organic or w/o additives, then it's Big Lie)

Finally, we went to Shaws yesterday. YAY SHAWS!
Most Shaw's have Natural Harvest sections. I found all sorts of Tofutti products (pizza, cuties, pints) and they actually have tofu with good dates on them! They have tons of pre-made meals from different cuisines (Indian, Japanese, items from the Moosewood Cookbook), and organic anything.

I'm not advertising for them, but if you have a hard time finding vegan specialty foods (they carry Ener-G egg replacer, I was almost out!), you should give Shaws a try. Most have the natural harvest section, if it's a smaller town they will usually only have a aisle labelled "Nutritional", which is still probably better than many other supermarkets.

I'm Back!

2007-07-18T08:41:00.000-04:00

I only expected to be gone for a week while I moved from VT to CT, but it turned out to be a month!
First, my internet satellite was knocked out by a thunderstorm, and we weren't about to pay $75 for someone to fix it when we had to cancel the service anyways a week later because we're moving.
And then once we moved, all we had was dial-up. I....hate....dial-up..... It makes me wish I was a monkey because then I could throw poo at people (legally).
So finally, we signed up for High-speed. And then we discovered that the Ethernet driver wasnt installed on the computer. So I had to go through tech support to use the USB connection to the modem (and we then found out that you cannot have both cords plugged in together.)

But I'm back now!

It's Not That Hard - Meal Log

2007-06-19T16:10:00.000-04:00

If you are thinking about going vegan or vegetarian, you may be wondering if it is as easy as people say. The answer is yes. Being vegan is actually quite easy, and you can do it without needing to buy very many "specialty" or "novelty" food items. However, many pre-made vegan food items can be found in the "all natural" section of your local supermarket (two thumbs up to Shaws' Wild Harvest section!) Many co-operative markets also have vegan foods. These stores often have soy ice creams, soy 'mayonnaise', vegan burgers, Luna/Clif Bars, Odwalla products, vegan baking mixes, products for people with allergies (often vegan), and Ener-G egg replacer.

Vegans can eat a lot of foods you may already eat now. This includes pasta, fresh vegetables, stir-fries, rice, beans, crackers, berries, almost all baked goods (with egg replacers), curries, soups, stews, Indian/Thai/Ethnic dishes, and many other foods. Many foods can be easily made vegan with soy/rice milk and egg replacers.

There are also vegan equivalents to meat items, like Boca Nuggets, Veggie Burgers, Faux deli slices, Tofutti (soy ice creams, cream cheese, sour cream, pizza, etc). There are many more.

Being vegan doesn't require any extra time (besides asking where the natural section of your grocery is), and cooking healthy vegan meals is so easy, a 15year old like me can do it!

Want proof? Here's a sample menu for what I ate today (I made all of this by myself)

Breakfast / Time - 15 mins
Bisquick pancakes (w/ soymilk and Ener-G egg replacer)
Fresh strawberries and lingonberry jam, maple syrup
Grapefruit juice and chocolate soymilk

Lunch / Time - 10 mins
Portobella burger with ketchup, mustard, and Nayonaise (vegan mayo)
Onion, tomato, pickles, multi grain bread
Small romaine salad with croutons and garlic Italian dressing
Water

Dinner / Time - ? mins
TBA

Orange Chocolate Swirl Cake

2007-06-14T13:30:00.000-04:00

I made this on Sunday night, it was gone by Tuesday morning. I made this recipe myself, using a basic guide to un-vegan cake batter (so some ingredients don't have exact amounts, instead I've listed the maximum I could have used)

The orange part of the cake actually tastes orange-y, and it blends very nicely with the chocolate swirls.
You can make your own homemade orange and chocolate frosting, but I used a premade one and added the flavoring.

Ingredients (Measured):
1 1/2 cups margarine (and some extra for the pan)
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 TBS baking soda
3 or 4 oz plain apple sauce (1 package)
2 eggs worth of Ener-G egg replacer or other powder replacer (mixed w/ water)
1/2 tsp salt

(Unmeasured):
Plain soymilk (not more than 1 cup)
Orange juice concentrate (not more than 1/2 cup)
Cocoa Powder (not more than 1/2 cup)
Premade frosting (I used Better Crocker "Cream Cheese" variety, though it was 100% vegan!)

Other things:
Spoons
Bundt pan
Electric Mixer
At least 2 or 3 large mixing bowls (I put this here because we are in the process of moving and I had a lot of trouble finding enough bowls)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Rub margarine on the bottom of a bundt pan.
2. Beat (with an electric mixer) the margarine, sugar, apple sauce, vanilla, and Ener-G together in a bowl until fluffy.
3. In a separate [large] bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the margarine mixture to the flour and stir in. Then add soymilk until you get a thick, but still flowing batter consistency.
5. Take 1/3 of the batter and put into a separate bowl (you could re-use the margarine mixture bowl.) Add a lot of cocoa powder to this batter and beat with a mixer. If if becomes too thick, add a little more soymilk. It should be very chocolate-y.
6. In the other 2/3 of plain batter, add orange juice concentrate. Be careful, it is very strong in flavor. Beat in using the mixer. The batter should taste very orange-y. (This is why you needed to have the original batter thick, so the liquid won't make this batter too runny).
7. Pour the orange batter into the greased pan. Then pour the chocolate batter on top of the orange batter. Using a butter knife, cut through [the batter] to the bottom of the pan and swirl the knife around. Do this in at least 3 or 4 places in the pan. This will create the swirl/marble affect.
8. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes, but do a fork test every 5 minutes starting at 40 minutes. (The basic [nonvegan] recipe I modelled this from said 50 to 60, mine was done in 46). Remove and let cool.

Frosting - You can either do this during the baking or while it is cooling. These instructions are for using premade frosting.
1. Put 1/2 the frosting in one cup, and the other 1/2 in another cup.
2. In one cup, add some orange juice concentrate and stir completely. It should taste very orange-y, but don't add to much or else it will burn your mouth (b/c it is concentrated.) Keep taste testing while you add the liquid.
3. In the other cup, add and mix in massive amounts of cocoa powder until the frosting is very chocolate-y. You may need to add a few drops of soymilk, but it still needs to be thick.

When the cake has cooled, cover it with the chocolate frosting, and then put the orange frosting on top (the chocolate is thicker and will stick better to the cake.) Put it in the fridge for a few minutes to let the frostings harden, and voila! While the process may seem lengthy, it really isn't. ENJOY