I am on my way to Farm Sanctuary (click here).  This is a home for farmed animals that have been rescued from abuse and abandonment.  They are for the first time in their lives given the love and care that all living creatures deserve.  I am taking lots of tissue.  I know I am going to cry tears of sadness mixed with tears of hope and joy.

Happy eating!

I want to tell you a story about a girl whose strength and will overcame the worst suffering and brutal treatment imaginable.  Her name was Hilda.

She was destined to be nothing more than a slave and commodity.  Taken from her family at birth she lived a life where suffering and being treated as an object were the only two things she knew.  Once she was deemed unproductive Hilda was tossed out with the garbage.  Yes, they knew she was still alive when they quite literally threw her away.  And the garbage pile they tossed her onto was a pile of other dead.  There were no laws against treating her this way, in fact it is just standard procedure.  Left to die a painful lonely death, this is the rest of her story:

“Twenty-five years ago, while investigating the Lancaster Stockyards, I came upon a pile of dead animals. They were covered in feces and crawling with maggots. 

As I stepped back in horror, one sheep raised her head and looked at me.   

I lifted her off the pile of rotting carcasses and rushed her to a veterinarian. There was nothing seriously wrong with her — she had collapsed from the trauma of being transported to the stockyard in a packed and sweltering truck. Yet she had been thrown away like garbage. Within an hour she was up, drinking thirstily and nosing around for a little grass. 

I named her Hilda.  

And with her rescue, I knew I had to do something to stop the terrible mistreatment of animals on factory farms. That’s when Farm Sanctuary was born.” ~ Gene Baur -President and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary

Hilda lived for another ten years.  Her will to survive helped to create one of the greatest places on this planet, the Farm Sanctuary.  After what people did to her she never held a bitterness in her heart.  She was a happy girl who loved people unconditionally.  How many of us could be the same way?  My friends, there is something special about these animals and so much we can learn from them.  Please take a moment to remember Hilda and give praise to all living things who have the will to survive the harshest of the harsh and are yet able to keep strong their heart and love regardless.  Please, remember Hilda.

Rest in Peace Hilda – you will never be forgotten!

You can read more about Farm Sanctuary in my post “My Trip to Farm Sanctuary” here.

Farm Sanctuary has three locations and one happens to be less than two hours away from me in Watkins Glen, New York.

The People Barn and B&B at Farm Sanctuary in the distance

A glorious day at the Sanctuary

• To see the animals you must take a tour which lasts about one hour.  The cost is five dollars per person and the first tour begins at 11:00am.  You purchase your tickets in The People Barn.  Prior to the tour a short video will be shown.  You may preview the video here.

Start your Farm Sanctuary experience here

• There is a gift shop which offers many vegan snacks and drinks.  If you bring food with you, it must not contain animals or insects or their products, such as eggs or dairy, out of respect to the animals.
• Do not wear shoes that you like.  You might step in poop. 

Lots of room to roam and eat a natural diet

Now that’s what I call HAPPY!

• Hand sanitizer and clean bathrooms are available

• This is family friendly so bring the kids.  Before bringing them please let them know that this is not a petting zoo or a farm.  This is a sanctuary.  Sanctuary means ‘sacred place’ or ‘safe haven’.  These animals are now safe and need to be made to feel safe at all times.  They have survived the abuses of the food industry. We are visitors in their home.

Goats can remember up to 50 faces. One may remember you the next time you visit. They actually get sad when the tour group leaves. At first they are nervous but quickly crowd around as they want to be your friend.

• You can bring companion animals (dogs) but they are not allowed on the tour and they do not want you to leave them unattended or in your hot car.  In other words find someone nice to let your dog out for the day!

Turkeys are not meant to be this color or grow as rapidly as we make them grow. As a result they can barely walk.

A lovely Tom who also can barely walk due both to his size and having his toes cut off. This is done without anesthesia while the Tom is still very young.

Toes are cut back to the first knuckle with scissors and no anesthesia.

To learn more about the treatment of turkeys click here.

Did you know pigs love to eat grass and root for insects? They are bred to be white and as a result will burn in the sun without sunblock.

Pigs are friendly and loving and smart. They are as smart as dogs and know their own names.

Pigs are inquisitive!

Pigs love to wallow in mud not because they are dirty but because they have very few sweat glands. It helps to keep them cool. Thus the phrase’ Sweatin’ like a pig’ should be changed to ‘Sweatin’ like a human’ unless you’re trying to say you don’t sweat much. . .or that you have just covered yourself in mud.

To learn more about the treatment of pigs, click here

These lovely ladies have endured hardships and horrors beyond what I could ever imagine. And yet this girl allows me the privilege and honor of touching her and she even gives me a smile.

To read more about dairy cattle and animal treatment in general, click here.

• Located within an hour or so you can visit the Corning Museum of Glass where all kids ages 19 and under get in for free or make your way to Watkins Glen and hike the Gorge or have a picnic at Havana Glen Falls.  The wonderful woman in the Watkins Glen Visitor’s Center will tell you all you need to know about the Gorge, Havana falls and anything else to do in the area.  She’s great!

Hiking the Gorge!

• If you hike the Gorge it is located right in the village of Watkins Glen.  It is walking distance from the Harbor Hotel, just 11 blocks away.  The path is well maintained with a ton of stairs and goes straight up about 50% of the time for 1.5 miles.  You will pass around 30 water falls so it’s worth it!  You can take the Indian trail back if you don’t want to walk back down all those stairs or if you want to avoid all the crowds of people.  You can take a shuttle up and walk down or walk up and take a shuttle back.  The best time to go is in the morning before the trail gets packed with people.  Also the best time of year is in Spring when all of the waterfalls are flowing.  They dry up as the season progresses. Depending on crowds, someone of average health can do the hike both up and down in under two hours easily.  If you are in good shape it will take less than one hour but all of the people may block your way and affect your pace.

• If you want to picnic at Havana Falls just drive on the 14 until you get to Havana Glen Park – about a 15 minute drive from Watkins Glen – and turn into the campground.  It’s two dollars to park.  It’s a two minute walk to the falls.  There is a pool at the bottom you can swim in at your own risk.  The area is small so I fear it could get pretty packed with people on a hot weekend.  When we were there we practically had it all to ourselves.

• Watkins Glen caters well to folks who don’t eat animals or their products
  

• The bakery offers vegan breads, cookies and bars.  I highly recommend the peanut butter cookies, the oat bars, and the amazing hearty white bread!  It is walking distance from the Harbor Hotel.

Glen Mountain Bakery and Market

• The Glen Harbor hotel has a red pepper hummus with fresh baked bread and veggies for 12 dollars and a homemade veggie burger and fries for 10 dollars.  I highly recommend this hotel if you want romance – the views of the harbor are beautiful, the pool and jacuzzi clean and warm, the rooms beautifully appointed with the most comfortable beds and linens in the world!  They offer turn-down service, environmentally friendly toiletries and will bring the coffee bar up to each floor so you needn’t get dressed and go to the lobby in order to wake up – just throw on the luxurious white robe they offer.  But don’t keep it or you will see an extra 75 dollars per robe on your final tab!

The beautiful Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel

Morning twilight – view from our fourth floor room

• The Wildflower Cafe, also walking distance from the Harbor Hotel, has vegan ribs called Moonrose rib $9.95, a portabello mushroom burger $10.95 , black bean burger $8.95 and an eggplant panini $8.95 as well as amazing french fries, sweet potato fries and onion strings. They also serve a veggie penne with asparagus, roasted tomatoes, garlic and spinach for $15.95  They try to use as many local products as possible and coffee is fairly traded and organic.

The Wildflower Cafe

• The Good Food Grocery located on 4rth street a few blocks down from the main street is a natural food market

• The Great Escape ice cream shop has vegan soft serve vanilla with tons of vegan toppings and 24 vegan swirl-in flavors

  The Great Escape located walking distance from the Gorge – just go right, it will be within one block. Great way to cool down after a good hike!

I dedicate this blog to two very brave beings.  I dedicate this blog to Hilda, the little sheep who started it all (Farm Sanctuary).  Hilda may you rest in peace and I am so sad I never got to meet you.

I also dedicate this blog to my fiance, a brave man who knows that strength is kindness and is not afraid to be kind always.

“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” ~Raymond Lindquist

My courageous partner!

Kevin at Farm Sanctuary

~Peace

First of all, obviously I cannot count.  You might notice this is post 151 after posts 152 and 154 hahahahaha!  Oh well, this is not a blog about counting!

Second of all today is the day I have finally arrived, at least in my kitchen.  I went through every nook and cranny looking for semblances of my former life.  Here is what I found:

“Peace begins in the kitchen”

My timeline to a vegan kitchen (except for the clams ugh):

2 – 3 years ago started noticing things on the web or on the news and saw a few documentaries.  Became curious and highly disturbed

1 year ago decided I wanted to eat ‘cruelty free’ but did not even know what that would mean at the time

8 months ago began studying, researching, and replacing old products with new ones for example mayonnaise with veganaise

4 months ago realized with horror that cruelty free eating could not possibly include eating ‘humanely raised and slaughtered’ animals or dairy.  Could not put the phrase ‘cruelty free’ in the same sentence as ‘slaughter’.  Had a huge epiphany – in order to be cruelty free I had to be vegan.  Ugh I never saw that coming!

Tried to find some loopholes, thought cage free eggs was one but alas it isn’t.  Researched vitamin B12 and mollusks and felt that would be the last thing I would hang onto and not sure if I would give up.  I don’t even like clams.  But I don’t believe in supplements and vitamin B12 is necessary.  Also still struggling with line caught fish.  Continuing to replace old products in my kitchen with new ones.

Today – tada!  Everything except the clams . . .

I have a 14 year old son and although I am not making him vegan I am also not giving him access to non-vegan food while in my home.  (Bye bye mac and cheese spirals made with water and vegan margarine haha!)  It’s taken me a while to come around on honey but I can use maple syrup so why not give it up?  And as far as eggs are concerned I really did not think I could live without them.  Until I realized they are totally unnecessary in baking.  If you leave them out it all still comes out basically the same or just use egg replacer if it’s like a pancake or something.  Cakes do not even need eggs in them – I know because I made one without eggs and there was no difference.  Go figure!

The last bit of my former life left in my kitchen are a few cans of clams.

I studied mollusks and some of them have no central nervous system and research suggests they feel no pain of any kind whether physical, mental or emotional.  They do not have families or cry or scream.   Someone told me, I guess they were hardcore vegan, that eating a clam is like shooting someone who is in a coma in the head.

Well, maybe.  But then again I don’t think it is quite the same.  Other clams do not feel pain or weep for other clams.  But if someone is in a coma and another person shoots them, their friends and family will weep and feel pain.  And for me, that is the difference.

I keep the clams because I do not believe in supplements and am trying to live a natural life.  There is little vitamin B12 in vegan food (I stopped washing my mushrooms but studies suggest there is no way to know if I would ever derive enough B12 this way).  The whole B12 conundrum is why I call myself an omnivore with a conscience and not an herbivore.  Ironically clams have just about the highest B12 of anything you could ever eat so it just feels like it’s meant to be.  I also know that in the natural world if I were the only person alive I would probably be near water and would probably naturally eat them as part of my diet.  No need for a weapon or a farm or a slaughterhouse or any other disrespectful downright unnecessary means.

Any thoughts or studies or comments on vitamin B12, clams or other similar mollusks welcome.  I am also struggling with line caught fish.  I feel this is something I would naturally do.  Is a fishing pole a weapon?

Thank you and as always, happy eating!

“Victims are prodded into the killing stall with a high voltage electric prod. According to a visitor to a slaughterhouse, the cows are fully aware of what lies ahead. The physical symptoms of terror were painfully evident on the faces of every animal. During the 40 seconds to a minute that each animal had to wait in the killing stall before losing consciousness, the terror became visibly more intense. The animal could smell the blood, and see his or her former companions in various stages of dismemberment”. Cows too sick or injured to stand are known as downers. They may be dragged with chains to the killing floor, or left to die without food or water.”
~By law, cows must be stunned before slaughter by having their skulls smashed with a metal bolt. But the procedure is imprecise and workers are under constant pressure to keep up the speed of the production line. As a result, many cows are still conscious when they are hoisted by a hind leg, breaking bones and tearing ligaments in the process, and their throats are cut and dismemberment begins. In the words of a former slaughterhouse worker; “On bad days, dozens of animals reached my station clearly alive and conscious. Some would survive as far as the tail cutter, the belly ripper, the hide puller. “They die piece by piece.”  ~ C A L F

Please stop eating cows.  It isn’t just good for the cow.  It is good for you too.  Red meat is not healthy.  There is no reason for humans to eat it.

Happy eating!

Anyone who sees this movie or reads these books will probably (hopefully) be appalled by any society that could get to the point where watching children kill each other for adult entertainment is acceptable.  Not only acceptable but part of the cultural norm to the point of tradition looked upon with as much anticipation as we would Thanksgiving or Christmas.

How does any society get to this point?  It isn’t anything new.  You will find similar ‘shows’ in history such as the bloody battles that took place in the Roman Colosseum.   This was all very normal for people to watch one man kill another for entertainment and pleasure.  It was accepted because it was fun to watch and those Romans were bored.  They needed something to do on a Friday night dammit!

Which leads my mind to the very obvious connection of food, pleasure and cultural norms.

No one needs to watch children killing each other for entertainment or to watch one man kill another just because they find it pleasurable.  There are other better forms of entertainment and pleasure.

And so it is with food.  No animal needs to live a life confined from birth to death by humans filled with terror and abuse and have it end in slaughter merely because we find pleasure in eating them.  There is pleasure to be had in other foods. There are other ways to entertain our friends for a dinner party.

There is not much difference between the Hunger Games, the Roman Colosseum and driving through McDonald’s or serving up a meatloaf or chicken breast or bacon at home.  Well, there is just one.  Animals cannot tell you with words how much they are suffering right now.  But I can tell you this – they know.  They feel.  They weep.  They suffer.  They scream and they cry and they moan.  They die a slow horrible death from the moment they are born.  Why?  For our pleasure. . . .

But not for mine.

If you don’t believe me just go on youTube and search animal cruelty.  This is the real deal.  This is where most of our ‘meat’ (I like to call them animals) comes from.  And even when they don’t come from these hells on earth they still suffer.  Torn from their mothers at birth, denied their own mother’s milk, sent to their deaths decades before they would die naturally and even on organic farms these animals when sent to their deaths are piled on death trains in sweltering conditions stuffed in such that they arrive half dead already, bones broken, dehydrated.  They are pulled out as if they are already carcasses and thrown and tossed around like . . meat.  But I am here to tell you that they are no more ‘meat’ than you or I are.  No more than your dog or cat.  They are as intelligent as your dog.  And as loving.  Is this any way for any living thinking breathing feeling loving creature to be treated?

I really do hope anyone would know the answer to that question.

Some would call this bacon. I call it pigs, who if you ever get to know one are so loving and playful and as intelligent as a dog, who are being abused. They have no room and this is the least of their suffering. What do you call these animals?

These are dairy cows. Some call this milk. I call this the worst kind of stealing. Stealing the milk of one species for ourselves and denying every single baby cow its own milk. Did you know that? Well we can’t let the baby cows have it because we want it! I call this a crime. And the abuses suffered by dairy cows are horrific. Look it up. What do you call this?

Happy eating!

What’s good to eat?

Kid friendly snacks:

Pretzel Time soft pretzels (frozen section)
Vegan potstickers (frozen organic section )
PB and J
chips and hummus or salsa
Frozen banana or grapes
Tofuttu cuties ice cream sandwiches (organic section)
Cliff bars (organic section)
Cherry kitchen cake or cookie mix (organic section)
Oetkers chocolate frosting (organic section)
Bagels toasted with dairy free margarine
Shaved ice or icees
Cereal with dairy free milk
Oreos are vegan
Dairy free dark chocolate
Dried fruits and nuts
Dairy free crackers and jam
French fries

Etc

Not all of those snacks are healthy but they are a small sampling of how many kid friendly easy to have on hand snacks there are.

Happy eating!

Since my last post six months ago I have taken two classes- Contemporary Nutrition and Sports and Exercise Nutrition – at Rochester Institute of Technology. I also audited a medical pathophysiology course which focused primarily on diseases of the heart and cancers with relation to food and genetics and the like.  I have sat in on numerous other health lectures that were not presented in a vegan setting as well as those that were.  And most recently I attended a talk given by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Between the three classes and my own research and study, with regard to nutrition, I have finally been able to come up with what I have learned thus far is a healthy diet.  This isn’t the diet ‘I think’ is healthy. This isn’t the diet myPlate.gov thinks is healthy.  It isn’t what the media, fads, vegans, vegetarians, health gurus, juicers and labels tell me is healthy.  It’s just what is, thus far, my findings.  Here you go:

Part One:  What not to eat:

#1  For now do not purchase any food that came from a GMO source

At present time the list is as follows:  corn, beets, canola, soy, cottonseed, sugar, any sugar ingredient that ends in an ose.

Unless the above ingredients are labeled as organic or, in the case of sugar is labeled specifically as ‘cane sugar’ in all likelihood these ingredients have come from GMO sources.  Because the above ingredients may be listed on labels under a multitude of names that sound nothing like their source there are three ways to be 100% sure you have removed GMO’s from your diet:  only buy organic* for every single thing you buy and for every ingredient on the list (not very practical), look up each of the above ingredients on a website for persons who have allergies to these foods where you will find a list a mile long for each one of ingredients to avoid (cumbersome), eat whole unprocessed foods.

*remember that the criteria for organic in the United States is that only a percentage of ingredients need to be organic.  You can almost always bet the ingredients used from non-organic sources are GMO because those are the most economical.  The label must say 100% organic or else it is less than that.

#2 Limit or stop eating rice

Rice has now been associated with levels of arsenic.  I am still reading articles about that, and I am still eating rice because I have a lot left to eat.  But thus far it seems the best option is to replace it with another grain for now or, if you do buy rice purchase white rice.  As well rice from certain areas contains more arsenic than others.  You can read the consumer report here published last month:

Consumer Report on Rice

#3  Limit your exposure to aflatoxin

Know your carcinogens.  Aflatoxin is one of them as I learned in pathophysiology.  Aflatoxin is and I quote “. . .toxic and among the most carcinogenic substances known.”  Aflatoxin is primarily found in corn, cottonseed oil and nuts with peanuts at high risk for developing this fungus due to being grown low to the ground where moisture may collect.  Aflatoxin has also been found in dairy because cows are now fed corn (GMO by the way) and this comes from huge stockpiles where this fungus is able to breed abundantly before being fed to the cows.  The best way to avoid aflatoxin is by eating nuts immediately and not storing them.  Do not buy nuts in bulk.  Limit eating peanut butter that comes from moist climates.  Peanuts grown in hot dry climates like New Mexico are best and a nut butter from that region is available called Amaranth peanut butter but it is expensive.  I recommend a switch to other nuts if possible, limiting exposure to peanuts, corn and cottonseed oil.  Cottonseed oil is often found on the ingredients label in cans of nuts.  Finally, do not consume dairy for this and a host of other reasons.

#4  Know your carcinogens:  the most recent government report is below but I will list and explain important ones

Known carcinogenic substances

#5 Limit exposure to acrylamide

Acrylimide is formed when certain foods are cooked at high temperatures or are browned.  Foods which contain high amounts are coffee (because the beans have been roasted brown), any bread products that have been browned or toasted such as cold cereal, toast – the darker the more acrylamide forms, and in particular the french fry and the baked potato.  How to avoid acrylamide?  Try not toasting your bread or only toasting it lightly.  Make your own cereal or limit cereal or eat hot cereal instead such as oatmeal.  Cut the crusts off – a nice throw back to when we were kids.  Finally never eat or limit eating a potato that has been cooked above 248 degrees.  Potatoes are not off the menu because you can still boil them or steam them or eat them a soup.  Makes me feel like LOTR “Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew” but in all actuality it is very good advice!

Here is a link to more on acrylamide:

Acrylamide

#6 Never eat a french fry

Or at least limit your eating of french fries and all fried foods.  I learned in my pathophysiology class that the heating and reheating of oil is carcinogenic.  I have not found research to completely back this up so I would be open to opinions on this. But combine this with the fact that a french fry is already a high fat food that also contains high levels of acrylamide I don’t need to confirm this as true in order to take them off my menu.  Just don’t eat fried food for the reasons we know not to already.

#7 Do not drink alchohol

Or if you do, never drink more than one drink.  A research study took non-drinkers who had never drank and had them consume just 2 alcoholic beverage servings per day.  In less than one week tests showed they were already showing signs of fat in their liver that was not there before.  I learned this in my pathophysiology class.  I don’t have the study on hand and would love to find it.  The truth is that you can drink more and be fine, a lot more.  But liver disease can creep up with no warning meaning you can lose close to 90% of your liver function before you feel sick or have any signs or symptoms.  In other words by the time you sense something is wrong, it is too late.  Liver disease may be reversible but not if it has gone this far.  There are many other health reasons for not drinking alcohol that we are already aware of.

#8 Do not take supplements

Supplements are not regulated by the FDA.  Anyone can bottle a pill and sell it.  The FDA does not step in until after injury or death has occurred.  These companies self regulate and the ingredients are not checked for validity or potency.

Supplements are not needed.  If you need a supplement due to a medical or health reason then that is outside the realm on the subject of a healthy diet and I am not speaking of medical concerns here.  If you are taking a supplement because you think you are low in something, which you are probably not, then the appropriate course of action is to eat the food containing that nutrient.  Studies show that nutrients packaged in food are safer and more bioavailable than those packaged in a pill.  As well they contain substances vital to the nutrients not packaged in the pill.  Natural whole foods contain the nutrients in the proper dosage.  Most supplements boast an amount hundreds or thousands of times more than what is recommended.  The results of this will be negative.  Your body will have to get rid of it thus taxing your system.  If it is fat soluble you could actually poison yourself.  And if you have cancer the excess nutrients may be diverted to the cancer which has obvious negative implications.  I learned this last fact in pathophysiology.

# 9 Limit exposure to fats

In particular any fat that is solid or semi solid at room temperature.  These include animal fats therefore the eating of any ‘meat’ except for certain marine life, margarine, coconut oil, and hydrogenated oils.  When buying nut butters only buy the kind that has the oil sitting in liquid form on the top.  If that isn’t there then they have most likely used a hydrogenated oil which is solid at room temperature.  These fats contribute to LDL cholesterol and atherosclerosis.  When buying oils remember that these are highly processed.  Try to only buy oils that are minimally processed such as extra virgin olive oil.  Olive oils may be mixed with other oils and are not obliged to tell you this.  Buy from a reputable source.  I only buy California Ranch Olive Oil, the first press.  I also buy organic sunflower oil.

# 10 Do not eat simple sugars

Eat complex carbohydrates instead.  Simple sugars may cause tissues to become insulin resistant.  This is how adult type II diabetes forms.  Opt for whole grains as often as possible and avoid sugary treats.  When sugar is mandatory choose a natural unprocessed sugar.  Local maple syrup is a good choice.  It contains vitamins and minerals and the only processing from tree to bottle is boiling.

#11 Do not foods that contain toxins such as mercury as well as antibiotics, steroids, growth hormone and feces

Foods that contain these are fish with regard to toxins and farmed animals with regard to the rest.

Here is the quick list:

Do not eat or limit consumption of:

Corn, soy, canola, cottonseed oil, beets, sugar, ‘ose’ ingredients unless those ingredients are labeled organic

Rice – white is ok in moderation from certain areas

Old nuts and corn

Peanuts – unless grown in dry climate

Dairy

Cold store bought cereals, toast (the lighter the better), crust, coffee, potatoes unless boiled or steamed

Alcohol

Supplements

Processed fats (all oils except virgin pressed)

Fats that are solid at room temperature (butter, margarine, peanut butter with hydrogenated oil, coconut oil, meat, mayonnaise)

Simple sugars/white processed sugars

Fish

Animals

Next post is about what TO eat and ideas for recipes, dining out, holidays etc.

Finally the second part to my healthy eating posts.  I wrote the whole thing out the other night and . . . crash.  Lost the whole post when my computer crashed and of course, I had not saved the draft yet.  So, here we go again!

I will post this in three parts and I will start with breakfast!  If you see asterisks*** it means you will find the recipe below.  Enjoy!

Yes – this is tofu!

Quick breakfasts:

1.  Whole grain cereal with milk – prefer homemade cereal*** as homemade will have less possibility of acrylamide. Also prefer plain soy milk or homemade milk***

Prefer plain organic soy milk but there are lots of plant based milks on the market.  Unlike dairy which contains growth hormone, aflatoxin, antibiotics and pus these plant based milks do not contain those things.  I try to avoid rice milk because of the arsenic and I try to avoid milks with carrageenan because that is a questionable ingredient – you can research that for yourself.  And of course the almond milks may contain some aflatoxin – I don’t know that those have ever been tested.  Good old straight up unsweetened soy where the label says soy and water seems the best bet.  But I do drink all the others as well.  I just prefer the soy milk because it seems the best option with regard to my own health.  Let me know if you have information about plant milks that I am not aware of – learning is a process that works best when you have other people to help you!  You can also make your own milk.***  

Note:  Children love the chocolate almond milk – I admit it is delish!  So is the Very Vanilla Soy!  Not the healthiest options but at least it does not contain the questionable hormones, antibiotics or pus.

2. Fresh fruit

3. Organic vegan granola bars

4. Fresh fruit smoothies***

5. Granola to go***

6. Bagels or other breads- prefer whole grain and untoasted or very lightly toasted with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a tiny bit of sea salt - real sea salt - click on that for my post about salt versus REAL unprocessed salt.  Oh the things they do to salt!!!!  Prefer oil to margarine – fats that are solid at room temperature contribute to atherosclerosis.  Think of it this way – liquid oil flows, solid oil does not and can clog something up.  There is more to it than that but I think it helps to understand why solid fat is not good for your vascular system.

7. Hot oatmeal – I just make it with water and drizzle real maple syrup on top.  Delish!  Don’t go for quick cooking – I find that regular oats cook just as fast and contain more nutrition!  Your oatmeal will not be as gloopy either!

8. Orange Juice or any fresh squeezed or whole fruit juice – WHOLE!
Try to limit to four ounces – kids love it when served in a fancy glass with a fresh fruit garnish!  Add ice and water or bubbly water to fill an 8 ounce glass!

Weekend Breakfast

Tofu Scramble***

Omelet no Omelet***

RECIPES***

Homemade cereal / Homemade granola:  30 minutes start to finish

2 cups whole oats

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup organic sunflower oil – loaded with vitamin E!

1/4 cup real maple syrup – contains calcium, iron and potassium unlike white sugar which contains . . . nothing!

You can also add some black strap molasses – loaded with potassium and also contains calcium, iron and other minerals!  If making for children add extra sweetener to entice them!  Add a quarter cup of this on top of the maple syrup for a sweet treat!

Add as many fresh preferably raw (not roasted in cottonseed oil) nuts as you like!  You can add them whole, halved, diced, slivered, or even powdered from a coffee grinder if you have a child that does not like nuts, they will never know they are in there!  You may also add any nut butter you like – about a half cup.

Bake on oiled cookie sheet (I use Misto – click here to learn about Misto opposed to Pam) in thin layer at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.  After cooled add any dried fruit you like in any amount you like.  For the kids you can add dark chocolate chips!  That does not pair well with milk for cereal so you may want to leave the chips out of some of it so you can have it for breakfast with milk.  Store it in the oatmeal container – use within one week.  You can eat this raw and it’s wonderfully delicious that way but you can’t store it that way so you have to cook it.  It’s kinda like eating the cookie dough as you bake cookies!

Homemade milk or cream:  Two to four hours but so easy to make!
Easy to make but takes time to soak the nuts

2 cups or so raw cashews

Soak the fresh nuts in boiling water that has just been taken off the stove for 2 to 4 hours or until the cashews have a lavender hue.

Drain off water and place in blender with fresh water.  The more water you add, the more milk like the final product will be.  The less water, the more cream like for use in recipes.  Blend water with nuts, adding water to achieve your desired consistency.  You will now have a white liquid.  Pour through strainer to remove nut pieces.  Use these in your next batch of fresh homemade granola cereal!  Store milk in refrigerator.  If making cream you can store that in the freezer.  I have not tried this with other nuts but why not try it!!!

Fresh Fruit Smoothies: 5 minutes start to finish

Whole fresh frozen or store bought frozen fruit – if using bananas peel them before freezing

Fresh whole fruit, peeled and seeded

Place any fruit you like, at least some of it frozen, into blender

Add liquid and blend to desired consistency – more liquid for spoon style and less for drinking style smoothie

Liquids I use are coconut water, water, orange juice and soy milk.  Use any liquid you like!  Sometimes I squeeze in fresh citrus fruit.

My favorite fruit combination is fresh banana, frozen blueberry, and frozen mango with coconut water, orange juice and soy milk.

You can also add kale, spinach and/or broccoli or anything else you can think of.  It will turn it green.  But the taste will still be the same, nice and sweet.  If not sweet enough for kids add some real maple syrup!

Tofu Scramble:  20 minutes start to finish

Extra firm tofu cut into tiny dice cubes

Extra virgin olive oil or organic sunflower oil

Garlic, onions, fresh spinach, diced tomatoes or peppers or any other vegetables you like

Put tofu into pan with oil and saute until just turning yellow, not quite brown.  If adding onions throw onions in before it yellows.  If adding garlic throw that in once it yellows.  Garlic burns if sauteed for too long.  If adding tomatoes, peppers or other vegetables, throw those in at any point in time depending on how soft you want them.  Add the spinach one or two minutes before done cooking if adding spinach.  It wilts quikly.  Tada – tofu scramble! Top with sea salt or olive oil drizzle if desired.  Serve with Omelet no omelet – YUM~

Omelet no Omelet – Up to 30 minutes depending on if the potatoes are fresh steamed or from frozen (thaw them first overnight in fridge)

Steam potatoes in any shape you like – takes about 20 minutes – or use frozen potatoes that you have thawed.

Throw potatoes in pan and use the same recipe as above for tofu scramble.  Add any veggies you like.  Top this with salsa at the end – delicious!

Beautiful salt of the earth, the way nature intended, untouched by man.

Even if your salt says sea salt – if it is white then it has been processed and no longer contains the 80 plus trace minerals unprocessed salt contains.  True sea salt will be gray and it will appear clumpy and somewhat stuck together, or moist.  This is the salt of the oceans, unprocessed.  Our bodies need these trace minerals and our bodies and the earth do not need the chemical processing used to make salt white and to keep it from caking.  Do yourself and the earth a favor and choose natural salts.  I use Celtic Sea Salt – click here to learn more!  It’s healthier, it’s fun, and makes a great dinner conversation when you have guests over.  If you don’t like the rocky clumpiness invest in a beautiful salt grinder for a great table centerpiece.  Enjoy!

I also run a Facebook page where I have written many of my personal philosophies about veganism.  I have decided to rebirth them here so that they do not get lost in the posts of Facebook past.

Vegan Seeds

Seeds can only grow if they are planted.

I have come to look at it this way: Those who are more open minded – wonderful! Those who are not . . . they need you the most. They need you to exemplify what being vegan really means. It means love, compassion, and empathy. It means not picking and choosing who we feel these things for because we have come to realize that some animals treated as pets while others are treated as food is simply not right. By trying to understand where people who just don’t get it are coming from, understanding why it is hard for them to grasp the truth, and loving them whether they choose to see it or not, in doing this you will have planted a seed. The seed may grow, it may not. But it will never grow if never planted. Love, compassion, empathy – these are the seeds vegans plant wherever they go. Plant them in cement. You never know what may come of it.

November 24, 2012

Anthropocentrism is the idea that human beings are the most superior in nature. The trouble with anthropocentrism is that this feeling of superiority rarely stops at plants or animals. Most people feel at least somewhat superior to other groups of people who are not like themselves. This violates the human supremacy argument. In order to keep the argument of human supremacy valid,  anthropocentrism must allow for dehumanization of others less like ourselves.  People take their own socioeconomic class, religious and political affiliation, heterosexuality, level of education and/or their nationality to be superior to other class levels or associations on at least a small level. This translates to those others as being less valuable and therefore deserving fewer rights which can lead to the idea that therefore they are less human.

Have you ever felt less or no sorrow for others simply because they were part of a group that was different from your own?  As a result you may feel justified in the claim that they therefore have less or no rights.

Here is one American example:

“If you don’t speak the language, get out of the country”

This is a common American saying.

Labeling someone as an immigrant, and not a person the same as yourself, may cause you to feel superior to that person.  You may not care about their situation simply because you are a ‘tax payer’.  But we are all citizens of this world.  For most people the only reason someone is an American citizen is simply because they were born here. No one can help where they are born.

It is extremely important to remember that the above phrase about not speaking the language leaves out the fact that the original language(s) in the United States is the Native American language, not English.  Modern day American citizens have no more right to be here than anyone else.  Click here to watch The Canary Effect to learn more about the genocide of the Native Americans by American colonists.  The genocide of the Native Americans is but a blip in American history books. Please research the truth as I know everyone that values freedom also values knowing the truth.

The feeling of superiority on any level may carry with it a lack of empathy for living things from plants, to animals with the potential to apply a lack of value and rights to certain groups of human beings as well. Since it seems to be the case that most people are at least somewhat anthropocentric, then it would follow that crimes against humanity would hardly disappear so long as the devaluation of a life not human is currently standard. Devaluation of any life at all carries with it the potential to devalue human life.  This devaluation is a seed of genocide.  It allows us to view some living being’s deaths as a ‘casualty’ or a ‘meat’.  If it were your own child you would not refer to their death as a  casualty.  If it were your own dog you would not refer to him/her as ‘meat’ after death.  Click here to learn more about the word meat and to learn more about speciesism which is very much like racism. (Coming soon)

Why are we anthropocentric?  Why are we indifferent?  We all believe we are good people who are against violence and other terrible things.  Except that in some cases we are completely ok with it, such as the case of eating an animal that you know came from a factory farm.  Why?  And how are we able to live with two values that are completely opposite and still feel good about ourselves?  There is a reason:

There are many facets to human psychology.  We can allow these facets to control the way we think.  Or we can override them and take control of how we think.  I do believe this is the next step human beings must take in evolution – an evolution as to how we think collectively to override these tendencies we all seem to be born with.

Cognitive dissonance and confirmational bias:  the first is how uncomfortable you feel when watching violent or abusive videos of farmed animals.  Because you know it is wrong and goes against your belief system.  Most people will resolve their discomfort with confirmational bias.  This is when you amend your belief system to justify your actions because no one can stand to feel uncomfortable for very long.  And also, no one likes to be wrong so instead of being wrong and then having to change, it is much easier to amend our belief system to leave out certain animals or certain people from our beliefs of non-violence, abuse, etc.  It goes something like this:

I don’t believe in abuse.  But it’s not me doing the actual abuse.  There isn’t anything I can do to stop it anyway.  And besides, those videos might just be isolated circumstances.  It’s ok for me to eat ‘meat’.  They’re only animals.

That is confirmational bias.  This is amending your beliefs (I love animals.  I do not believe in abuse.)  so that you can continue to believe that you are not ok with animal abuse while continuing to eat the very animals that come from these abusive circumstances.

When your beliefs do not need any amendment to justify your actions you have finally harmonized who you believe you are with who you really are.

Until then, you are not who you think you are.  Your actions are who you are, not your beliefs. What do your actions say about you?  Are actions more important than how you feel?  Maybe not to you, but that is only because right now you are not the one in the cage.  If you were, you would know for a fact that actions are more important than feelings.  Do not wait to be in a cage to find your empathy.  For any one of us can potentially be victim to indifference – slaves, Jews, Armenians, etc – you are right now in a group that is different to another group of people.  Which means to them, you are different.  Which means they may be indifferent to you as well.  And indifference breeds more atrocities.  To fight this we must have compassion for all because believe it or not, compassion breeds more compassion.  Try it – read here about kindness and action, experiment with it, and see if you agree.

So who are you?  I am not asking you what you believe.  I am asking you what you do.  Because what you do is who you are, not your beliefs or your feelings.  Beliefs benefit only you.  They are inside.  They make us feel good.  But they only make US feel good.  They are of no benefit to anyone else.  When you act on those beliefs is when they come to life and are of benefit to someone other than yourself.

Be who you believe you are without amendment.  I guarantee you this great potential for love, compassion and understanding is a gift that you have inside of you.  But you must actively take it out and unwrap it each day.  It will be the greatest gift you will ever open and the greatest gift you could ever give to another person, to the whole world.  When we unwrap this gift, we put away our anthropocentrism, and we meet our own human potential for peace on earth.

Our next evolution as a species needs to be from mankind to man = kind.  Peace <3

Peace <3

I have found that people mistake kindness for weakness.  Why?

Perhaps it is a cultural thing:  fighting, revenge, war are all equated with toughness and strength.  But I would like to show you that these things are easy compared to being kind.  It is much harder to be kind than to be cruel.  Kindness is not for the weak.  Kindness in the face of adversity requires a strength 1000 times greater than throwing a punch back.  Read on and you will see what I mean:

We must want for all what we want for ourselves.  What do you want for yourself?  Love?  Peace?  A world without violence?  You shall not have it if you do not give it.  No one ever returns hate with love, anger with peace, cruelty with kindness.  But what would happen if someone did?  What would happen if YOU did?  Could it cause a shift in human consciousness?

Yes

Why don’t people return anger with peace or hate with love?

Two reasons:

First, it is a basic human instinct or knee-jerk reaction to be angry or hateful back to those who are rude or hateful etc to us.  The moment someone is extremely rude or out of line we feel this instant ‘screw you’ feeling and we feel justified in giving it right back to them and we tell ourselves they deserve it.  I am sure most people have felt this way, myself included.  And this instinct is what we act on.

The second is because we forget that we have a choice.  This need to get ‘even’ requires for us to become the very person we want to get even with.  A rude or angry or out of line person.  We walk away saying to ourselves “I am a good person.  They are the bad person.  They started it.” and pat ourselves on the back for putting that person in their place.  But really, what has this accomplished?  What good has this done?  And does this line up with the belief that you are a good person?

“I defeat my enemies when I make them my friends.” Wise words from Abraham Lincoln.  “Let no man pull you so low as to hate him” MLK

Enter a new way of reacting to hate, anger, rudeness:  Active Kindness

Active kindness is the act of practicing kindness every moment of every day regardless of how others treat us.  It is choosing to react to our own inner kindness, making the active decision to do so thus overriding our instinct to meet hate with hate, anger with anger, rudeness with rudeness.   We react to our inner kindness instead of reacting to the hate, anger or rudeness before us.  Instead of being a mirror for what is ugly in the world, active kindness is a reflection of what is beautiful about you.

I know there are those who will say but what if someone is killing you (insert any criminal or violent act).  When our lives are threatened or the lives of those we love, another instinct kicks in along with adrenaline – the fight or flight instinct.  Use it to protect yourself and those you love.  Do the least harm possible to save yourself or your loved ones.  Doing the least harm possible is an element of active kindness.  If you do not have to kill, don’t.  If fleeing is a viable choice over fighting, flee.  In these circumstances you can hardly help what you do and that is ok.  Active kindness is something that we can use when we are not in a life/death situation.  It is something we can use when we absolutely do have a choice.  And these are the circumstances I am speaking of in this blog post – not the ones where you are about to be destroyed or someone you love is about to be.

A perfect place to practice kindness in action is while driving.  But you can practice it any time someone makes you mad.  You will see that it is so much harder to maintain kindness and understanding towards someone who is rude, angry or otherwise than it is to just say ‘screw you’ or whatever your preferred method is.

Next time someone flips you off while driving try this:  Smile and wave genuinely and give them the kindest look they may have ever seen.  Keep doing it until they lower their finger.  Some fingers take longer to go down than others.  But I promise you, it will go down.  This is called love in action / reaction. No one likes to be an asshole by themselves.  And if they can drag you down to their level you have just satisfied them.  But why not do the opposite and raise them up?  Have them satisfy your need for love and kindness instead?  Why not make their day instead of letting them ruin yours?  Do you see what I mean?  And if you’ve ever flipped someone else off while driving then hey, you owe this experiment of kindness to someone :-)

You will see the being kind under adverse circumstances is anything but passive and certainly not weak.  You will have to fight your inner knee jerk reaction that wants you to sink yourself down to their level.  It is so much harder to raise someone up who is trying to pull you down than it is to just sink down with them.

Practicing kindness is much more difficult to practice than hate or anger.  Try not to let your emotions or your instinct control you.  Kindness is a tool.  It is always easier to say the first thing that comes to mind when in a heated discussion and to let instinct and emotions be the guide.  Unfortunately those things are one of the root causes of all of our problems as human beings.

It is only when we think more deeply that we can evolve past our human instinct to meet hate with hate, anger with anger, and actually make a choice to override that part of our humanness that we separate ourselves out completely from the problems which have gotten us here in the first place.  Until then in some ways our toes are still dipped in it.  And you really can’t be in a river and out of a river at the same time.  Don’t be part of the problems of the world anymore. Be the solution!

After 35 years of research and study and taking a number of courses in terrorism, genocide, war history and psychology as well as working directly with survivors of modern day genocide I have come to realize that the potentiality to commit or be a part of atrocities exist in all of us – some of us to a much lesser degree of course, but it is there in me and you.  The Stanford Prison experiment is but one of several examples of how every day people – you, me – are capable of participating in the worst of cruelties.  The Milgram Experiment is another.

We will never be rid of the horrible things that people do until we realize how these atrocities are possible and that each one of us carries with us at least a piece of this human psychological disease that allows these things to happen.  It manifests when someone who is vegan hopes that an animal eater suffers like the animals.  Or when you feel hate and then act on that hate. This is a part of the disease.

We are all the same both in our potential for ugliness but the key is we all have a potential for great beauty, for great kindness.  It’s a choice.

Repeat after me: smile and wave smile and wave smile and wave

…..until then, smile at people flipping you off.  Then go from there.  It’s hard.  But the results will warm your heart.  Wait and see.

And now the rest of this blog is for my already vegan friends.  If you’re not vegan you don’t need to read this and I thank you for reading this far!

Someone who is vegan should be kind to everyone, no matter what they eat:

Many people have mistaken my kindness activism for repression of truth. Is it possible to tell someone the truth and still be kind? And is it also possible that being kind is living proof of the truth?

That truth being the world is a better place when we are kind to all others.

Be the change. Deliver truths the way you know someone can best receive them, the way you would want to have received them. Kindness is not a suppression of truth. In fact it is the exact opposite. When you deliver truth in a way that it is better received then you have actually made good your delivery – for it was received versus rejected. And this is how kindness and truth walk perfectly hand in hand.

I have been told that the peaceful and kind approach to all living beings, be they animal eater or not, is a do nothing approach.  I have been told it will not help the animals.   It may take a while for me to explain, thus the length of this blog, but trust me the peaceful and kind approach is anything but a ‘do nothing’ approach.

Just a few questions to ponder before I go into detail about how I believe this approach will help the animals, and not just the animals, but all of humankind as well.

Does war ever truly result in lasting peace?  For who?  What is peace?

If we want animals to be treated with kindness can this be achieved by treating some people without kindness?  How so?

If you are vegan, were you always a vegan?  There is 99.9% chance that at some point in your life you ate animals and/or their products.

And now for a little experiment:

Online or in person tell someone who eats animals how terrible they are for doing so.  What is the result? Have you been able to bring another vegan into the fold with this or another similar method?

Online or in person tell someone who eats animals that they are important in this world.  That they are a miracle and they are capable of great things.  That regardless of where they are at in their journey they are valuable and have many great things inside of them.  (Choose your own words)What is the result?  Did you bring another vegan into the fold?

My guess is that neither method worked – or so you think.

What were the results of experiment number one?  In my experience my guess is that the person became angry and defensive.  When someone is placed into a defensive situation they will not back down.  In fact, I learned in my psychology classes that placing someone in a defensive situation will not only distance them further from your way of thinking, but it will actually cause them to plant their feet even more firmly than ever before into their own way of thinking, even if their way of thinking is illogical and even if that person 100% realizes their own thinking is illogical, it is human nature to defend when being attacked. One of our biggest defenses is called cognitive bias, a natural predisposition that all humans possess which causes us to validate our ideas and behaviors at any cost and especially when we feel attacked.  Because unfortunately another part of our human nature is that humans do not like to be wrong.  Ever.

So if I behave in a way that causes those who would eat animals to become even more firm in their beliefs about eating animals what have I done?  Have I helped the animals?  Or have I actually made the situation worse by creating a more devout animal eater?

Why do these animal eaters matter?

Well, in my opinion, animal eaters are the most important people on the planet.  Every one of them is a potential vegan. 

And the more potential vegans who become vegan the closer human beings will get to collectively restoring animals to their rightful places here on earth.  For as long as there are people who would eat animals, there will be animals who will be eaten.  It is imperative to find a way to make veganism look more attractive than carnism.  To inspire someone to cross over.  If our words and actions cause someone to plant their feet even more firmly in their own beliefs, there will not be any crossing over.  And we have just made carnism stronger in another person, and this is the exact opposite of what we should do.

Let’s revisit experiment number two – online or offline have a conversation with someone who would eat animals.  This time, practice only love, peace and kindness no matter what they throw at you.  You will probably be met by the end of the conversation with one of two responses from that person:  I think it’s admirable what you stand for.  or (nothing)

The nothing is something.  It means they realize that it takes two to fight, two to engage in war.  And you have proven that you are what you stand for: peace, love and kindness to all living beings, even to the one who would eat animals who is not being nice to you.  You have now given them living proof, tangible and undeniable proof of what veganism is:  kindness whenever possible as much as possible. And this is vital.

The most important person to a vegan is the person who is not vegan. Chasing away non-vegans from vegan Facebook pages, using foul language and calling them names will actually add more harm.  If only vegans visited vegan sites then what?

People often live up to what is expected of them. Do you expect an animal eater to be a jerk?  I promise you, they will deliver on that.  But whose fault is it?  Are you at all to blame for someone being a jerk?  Did you help them to raise that part of themselves to the top?  If you do then you are contracting with those who would eat animals to bring the worst out of them.  A worst that exists in all of us.  Less than desirable traits are not unique to anyone and if you conspire to bring them out of someone are you as much to blame?

Vegans often tell me ‘but animal eaters are angry too’.

Point:  If they were not angry before you started talking to them, but were angry after, who is to blame?  Is it the animal eater?  Or did you help them to get there and if so, how is that helping anything?

Expect everyone to be a great person in their own time, at their own pace, and within their own ideologies and they will become the greatest person they can be. All you have to do is love what is good in every single person. Of course people say things that are designed to make us upset. What if we put our emotions aside? What if we reached out to every person with a friendly smile and brightened their day even if their goal was to darken ours? Why allow them their goal? Why not assert our own goal – to make the world a brighter and happier place? What good can come from a fight? What good can come from not fighting and instead making a friend? Which is the better choice?

I understand how hard it is to live the vegan lifestyle in this world. It is as if we walk parallel to an evil only we can see. It is a kind of Brave New World where only we are enlightened to the culture of impersonal consumption and death. A trip to a grocery store, a 30 minute television viewing, a drive down the road, a visit to a friend’s house, every single moment of our lives we are confronted with a horror others do not see. The others are not completely blind.

They do see one thing: YOU.

They take and make their opinion about veganism and the plight of the animals based on you. Are you loving, forgiving, patient, kind, empathetic, peaceful and compassionate to all living beings? We can hate and feel vengeful towards those that just don’t see what we see. But never forget, they are watching you. Not the animals or their plight. You. They are looking to you for their definition of veganism. You are their definition. How will you fulfill this very important role? ♥

In closing, being kind and loving to everyone, even to those who would eat animals and are being unkind to us, is anything but passive.  And it is so much more than doing ‘nothing’.  Try it.  It is not easy to be kind always.  It takes enormous strength.  This is because kindness is strength.  I hope you will find your strength – it is a gift inside of you waiting for you to open it every moment of every day.

<3 Peace

Cheese is basically dairy, salt and rennet.  Rennet is usually not vegan and it is a terribly horrible thing but you can look that up for yourself if you want.  I just want to talk about cheese for now.

If you make a fat free cheese without salt you will have . . . . a rubber ball.  You can bounce it, roll it, throw it but I guarantee that you will not want to eat it after the first bite.  It tastes awful, like eating, well . . . a rubber ball.  And yet, this is the dairy portion of your cheese.

In other words you like the salt and the fat of the cheese but not the dairy part.  If you do not like that part then why eat it?

When you separate out what you really like, the salt and the fat, you not only have something that is healthier for you, but healthier for the environment and certainly healthier for the cow and her babies, at least some day when everyone comes around on this.

Available at Wegmans. You will find these next to the other cooking oils. They range in price from 7.99 to 9.99.

From now on think of cheese as your favorite oil and your favorite salt.  Not all oils are created the same.  This is one time when you give yourself permission to buy the highest quality best tasting oil as well as REAL sea salt (if it’s not gray it’s not really sea salt) and a pretty grinder.  That bottle of oil, I prefer California Olive Ranch EVOO, will last you way longer than any brick of cheese so the cost is not more than all the cheese or cheese products you already buy.  You can use this in place of cheese for almost every single thing you ever used to put cheese on.

Here are some examples that I have tried and not only do I love it, so do my kids.  At first do not limit yourself as to how much liquid gold you pour on.  One change at a time is all anyone can handle, and giving up cheese is overwhelming enough:

Order a pizza but order it without cheese (and of course without bits of animal on it).  Now pour on your favorite delicious high quality  olive oil and sprinkle with your favorite gourmet salt – there are so many different salts did you know?  I like to pour the oil near the crust of my slice and then tip the slice so the olive oil runs down and coats the whole thing evenly, then sprinkle salt.  Hey there is definitely a finesse to this new way of eating :-)

Make a lasagna – when I first did this I thought there is no way in HELL I will even like this.  I substituted tofu (not firm or extra firm, just ordinary tofu) for the Ricotta and used olive oil and sea salt in place of the cheese.  Not too much.  If it doesn’t seem enough you can always drizzle more oil over at serving time.  Can I tell you it was amazing?

Grilled cheese sandwich – Unless you want to try vegan cheese, your grilled cheese is now really good bread with really yummy oil toasted in a pan sprinkled with salt.  Crustini – it’s pretty good!

Macaroni and cheese – again, this is now pasta with yummy oil, salt, and any herbs or veggies you want to sautee and throw in.  You can try vegan cheeses and cashew creams too.  There are some good recipes for vegan mac and cheese.  But simply and inexpensively just make pasta a’olio, sea salt and veggies.

Veggie Burgers – hold the cheese please!  Go for sauteed mushrooms, onions, barbeque sauce!

Bean and veggie tacos and burritos – just hold the cheese.  Yes you can drizzle olive oil on these it is amazing!

Remember, fat that is liquid at room temperature is better for you.  Solid fats tend to stay solid in your system thus clogging up veins and arteries.  Liquid fat stays liquid.  That is way too simple of an explanation for how it really works, but visually I think it gets the point across.

I hope you will try some of these ideas and find new ones that work for you.  I never really used a recipe book.  I just made the simple substitution of one kind of fat and salt for another.  And it has been wonderful!

Enjoy!

When we extend freedom and rights to all living beings, we extend freedom and rights to all living beings. When we extend freedom and rights to only some living beings, we extend them to none.

Horses are becoming a concern because they are ending up in the food supply- because we have created rules that only apply to a few.

When we make exceptions to the rules (we don’t eat cats and dogs except that we do eat cows and pigs) we open the rules up to be excepted. It just takes one person to say ‘well, we eat cows and pigs so why not horses’ for horse flesh to appear on the menu. The only way to prevent what is beloved to you from appearing as an entree is by preventing what is not beloved to you from appearing as an entree. Otherwise you open the rules up to exceptions and when it comes to ourselves and the beings we love, we would never want to be the exception. We want ourselves and the beings we love to be the rule.

Therefore we need to want the rule to apply to all or else it opens it up to the possibility that someday the rule will not apply to ourselves or to the beings we love. If you never want to be the exception, then do not tolerate any living being as the exception. And trust me, you never want to be the exception. (Slavery, genocide, forced labor camps, segregation, racism, etc.)

As a rule rights and freedoms are extended to all or else they can not be guaranteed to be extended to anyone.

This is why I am a Living Rights Activist and Vegan.  The value and protection of all life is the only way to protect the lives of those you love.  You must be the change you wish to see in the world or you will never see it.  You will be a part of the problem.

Be the change.  Not the problem.  Do this for the ones you love for their protection, for their very lives.  Peace.

I would like to open a shop so that people who cannot give up dairy or cheese can still have it with no worries whatsoever as to the health value since human milk is designed specifically for human health and growth, and especially they will not have to worry about abuses that occur in the dairy industry.  I will hire women who want the job and they will be paid and treated the same as they would had they taken any other job.  This is the perfect solution!

If it does not seem appetizing . . . ask yourself why.

I think it’s an important question.

Why do people in general find the eating and drinking of human breast milk unappetizing?

Why do people in general find the eating and drinking of cow breast milk appetizing?

Is there something odd going on here?

And where do these feelings about human milk and cow milk come from . . .

Peace <3

Chipotle recently announced they are going to expand their vegan menu options to other locations, possibly across the country.

Here is my opinion about patronizing fast food places:

Are we supporting animal use if we patronize fast food restaurants that serve vegan options?  In my opinion no and here is why:

If people continually order the tofu/vegan option the restaurant needs to restock this option and you can consider the money you spent there as going to restock this item.

Fast food businesses have one objective:  sell mass quantities of whatever people are buying.  The more that people buy of something, the more they will want to sell it.  If so many people order the vegan option it will cause the fast food restaurant to consider adding another vegan option.  Next thing you know, you’ve got a whole separate vegan menu, complete with V’s and everything!

And you know what?  Do you know how many people patronize fast food restaurants but have never heard of vegan, or they have but don’t know what it is?  Think of how many people will now be exposed to the V-word that may not have otherwise!

But they won’t if we don’t buy the vegan option in order to keep it on the menu in order for the sales people to realize they need to expand on their vegan options in order for people driving through fast food chains to be exposed to the word vegan and then wonder what it is and then try it, love it, and order it.

In short – it’s not just a good thing.  It’s great.  Fast food chains sell what sells.  It’s up to us, the buyers, to buy what it is we want them to sell.

I do believe I see a 100% vegan fast food chain on the horizon.  And I believe it can whip the pants off of McDonalds the moment people realize that vegan is just as fast, friendly, delicious, affordable AND ultimately more nutritious, not to mention ethical. I also believe places without a true labeled as vegan option on the menu will get one – or two or three – because they want to sell what sells to stay competitive.  That’s all they care about.

We care about animals.  Let’s show fast food chains what we care about – buy the labeled as vegan option.  Let’s show them what to sell.  Let’s keep that V-word on the menu to expose as many people as we can in any way that we can.

If you don’t eat fast food at all that’s great!  But if you do and are not sure how you feel about patronizing these businesses I hope you will feel better about ordering the vegan option.  It’s really like free advertising for what is the most important issue in the whole word:  non-discrimination, freedom and kindness to every single thing that lives.  And a fast food menu just might help this transformation to enlightenment happen.  #ActiveKindness

Peace <3

I attended a talk by Doctor Melanie Joy.  She is the author of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows.  At the end of her presentation we had the opportunity for questions and answers.  An audience member asked for advice on how to share mealtimes with family members or friends without compromising our own values or our relationships.

I have always wondered how to do this myself.  Here is my take on the advice Doctor Joy gave:

Make it not about the animal and more about yourself.  The reason is that friends and family care about you in a way that they do not yet realize they care about the animal.

Tell them how you feel.  Ask them for their help.  Collaborate with them on a solution. Here is an example:

I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving and seeing everyone.  But I am really struggling with something and I was hoping you could help me with it.  I am distressed about having to see the turkey and see it being eaten now that I am aware of how these birds suffer.  It causes me tremendous emotional pain and sadness now that I know the truth.  I’m not sure I can take seeing the turkey being served. Can you help me?  I don’t know what to do.

By putting it this way, by making your family or friends aware of your own suffering which will be visible and undeniable, you are now collaborating with them for a solution.  Asking for a change in menu, asking people not to order the animal at a restaurant or to not eat an animal in front of you is usually perceived as pushing your belief onto someone else.  Instead, try collaborating with them by asking them for help – by asking them to come up with the acceptable solution.  You already know the solution.  They have most likely never given it a serious thought.  But now they will be forced to think more deeply about veganism in a way that is meaningful to them: the suffering of their own family member or friend, and potentially their part in that.

While they may still serve the animal at the meal, at minimum they will now truly be aware of your own suffering as a result.  In this way you are not compromising your values or your relationships.

If the person becomes offended or is rude to you or angry with you as a result, then there are issues that already exist within the relationship with that person or that family that have nothing to do with your veganism.  Otherwise they will most likely show you empathy and respect.  They will now and forever be aware that their menu choices cause you pain, even if they are not aware of the pain with regard to the animal, they are aware with regard to you.

In this way both you and your hosts have acknowledged the issue and will continue to actively seek a way to minimize the pain that mealtimes cause both the animals being served and the vegan at the table.

In conclusion, the response of my family has been to invite me over for dessert only.  We never even talked about it.  This was their way of avoiding the discomfort they must feel around me, not the animal.  But that, at least, is something.  For such a thing should never be wholly comfortable.

Peace

Filed under: Journal Tagged: animal, animal abuse, animal practices, cage free eggs, cheese, chicken, cost of eating organic, cow, cruelty, cruelty free, cruelty free eating, dairy, dairy farmers, Dr. Joy, Dr. Melanie Joy, eggs, enslavement, environment, farm, fish, food, GMO, happy cow, health, humane, humane animal, love, Melanie Joy, milk, nutrition, organic, protein, sentient beings, slaughter, slaughterhouse, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving how to for vegans, vegan, Vegan Thanksgiving, Vegan Thanksgiving conundrum, Vegan Thanksgiving problem, Why we love dogs eat pigs wear cows

Do chickens mourn the loss of their eggs?

Even under the best of circumstances a mother hen still suffers.

Read the story of the lavender chicken here

It is easy for humans to live without eggs, but not so for a mommy chicken.  Here are some great replacer ideas for you to try!

Alternatives to eggs:

Baking:

Chia Seeds:

Chia seeds are highly gelatinous when mixed with water, and some say they produce higher-rising baked goods than flaxseeds. Chia seeds are my personal favorite egg replacer for baking. To replace a large egg, soak 1 Tbs. chia seeds in 3 Tbs. water for 5 minutes until the mixture has the texture of a raw egg. Your baked good will look like it contains poppy seeds.  The chia seeds are flavorless and will not affect the flavor, only the appearance and they do have a slight texture but I like it.

Puréed Fruit or Vegetables:

Applesauce, mashed banana, even puréed acorn squash can replace eggs in baked goods: To replace one egg, use 3 Tbs. or ¼ cup fruit or vegetable purée and add roughly ½ tsp. more baking powder to compensate for the egg’s leavening effect. You may also need to reduce the sweetener used in the recipe, depending on the sweetness of the purée. I tried done this many times.  The baked goods will be more dense than you are used to since things will not rise as much and the final product ends up more crumbly and will stick to your pan or cupcake foil.

Lemon Juice and Baking Soda:

I have not tried this yet but heard it works really well because it causes baked goods to rise well.  Combining an acidic substance, such a lemon juice (or vinegar), with baking soda, which is alkaline, produces leavening action in baked goods. For a cake or sweet bread, try 2 Tbs. lemon juice mixed in the liquid cake ingredients, and 1 tsp. baking soda mixed with the dry ingredients. When you whisk the liquid and dry ingredients together, mix quickly, and pop into the oven to get a baked good that rises without the eggs.

Commercial Egg Replacer:

I have tried this and it never worked for me.  The most common brand is Energ-G Egg Replacer.  It is made from potato and tapioca starch with leavening agents, it mimics what eggs do when mixed with water, helping make baked goods light and fluffy.

Ground Flaxseed Mixed in Water:

I have not tried this yet.  To replace one large egg, mix 1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds and 3 Tbs. hot water and let stand 5 minutes, until an egg- like consistency is reached. Or, blend whole flaxseeds in a blender to a fine meal, add warm water, and blend again.

Scrambled Eggs

Buy a brick of firm tofu – NOT extra firm.  Drain off water.  Cut into cubes smaller than dice.  Fry in a pan with a little oil and turmeric (for color – as yellow as you want them) until most of the water is cooked off until as brown (or not brown at all) as you desire.  The end result will look like scrambled eggs.  I don’t even notice that they are not scrambled eggs anymore.

I serve mine with hash browns, caramelized peppers and onions and a sprinkle of sea salt.  It is absolutely delicious!

I have finally made the switch to a whole foods diet!

Here is one of the many colorful responses I have received from people when they find out:

“How’s that whole vegan thing going for you?”

“I’m going on a whole foods diet, still vegan of course.  Actually I like to call it a real food diet.”

“Really?  What’s that?”

Are you asking me what real food is?

“You know, it’s unprocessed food.  Like eating an apple.”

“Cool, can you share the recipes?”

Um, you want the recipe for an apple??

Peace