102 Reasons Why I'm Vegan

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!

1. Vegans on average live up to 6 years longer than non-vegans.
2. Vegans on average are 10% lighter than non vegans.
3. 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.
4. It's always nice to know you haven't eaten a dead animal for breakfast.
5. Or lunch or dinner for that matter.
6. Leather is dead skin, something I use an exfoliator to get rid of.
7. Animals are cuter and softer when they are living and breathing, not in jackets or trim.
8. Because cows also feel pain.
9. Because a lobster doesn't have a shock system that inhibits extreme pain when it's cut in half or boiled alive.
10. Meat and dairy makes your farts smell worse.
11. Lettuce doesn't ooze blood when you cut it.
12. Cucumbers don't have faces.
13. I don't see anything different between eating my dog and eating a cow.
14. Because I have 9 pet chickens and they are so cute and lovable!
    
15. Because animals can't speak up and say they don't want to be eaten.
16. Because giving a damn is attractive.
17. It takes over 3000 gallons of water to feed an omnivore for a day, and less than 400 gallons to feed a vegan.
18. Because most of the deforestation in the Amazon is for increasing cattle grazing lands.
19. And the Amazon Rainforest has the most rare species than any other place in the world.
20. The man who made the word vegan, Donald Watson, lived to be 94
21. Dr. Atkins however, had severe heart disease and died at the age of 70.
    
22. A lot of rabbit fur used for jacket trim is actually mislabelled dog and cat fur.
23. Animals in China used for fur are killed by smashing their heads against brick walls.
24. Many pet dogs die each year by stumbling into fur traps in the woods.
25. Beavers are drowned to death by traps to use them for fur.
26. Fur smells like nasty chemicals.
27. Faux fur is cheaper anyways.
28. And leather is disgusting when it rips and you can see all the fibers of the skin of the animals it used to be.
29. Leather tanning is extremely harmful to the environment.
30. Fiber (found in veggies) helps keep you regular.
31. The casein protein in milk causes your bones to lose calcium in urine.
32. Countries that have low intake of dairy actually have less hip fractures, a sign of osteoporosis.
33. I have a lot more energy than I did before I went vegan.
34. Eating meat means you payed for the slaughter of an innocent animals.
35. On average, vegans save 90 lives per year.
36. Humans have characteristics that show they were meant to be herbivores.
37. Because I don't salivate when I see roadkill.
    
38. Milk is the breast milk of another species.
39. Have you ever seen a dog suckling from a giraffe?
40. And we drink it past infancy too, something that certainly isn't normal.
41. 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.
42. How would you like to be confined to a cage not much bigger than your bedroom for the rest of your life?
43. Because the only way to train circus animals to do unnatural tricks is by fear.
44. Elephants are beaten with electric prods to get them to perform.
45. Soy milk doesn't have pus (somatic cells) in it.
46. 98% of chicken contains a small piece of feces, aka SHIT.
47. That gives new meaning to the phrase "chickenshit."
48. I don't have to worry about cross-contamination between raw meat and vegetables.
49. If I under cook my food, it won't kill me.
50. A hamburger is a patty of ground of cow brains, meat, and tissue.
51. Under animal protection laws for slaughtering, birds don't count as animals.
52. Not that those laws are adhered to anyway.
    
53. Pigs have the mental ability of 3-year old children.
54. That little piggy is smarter than your dog.
55. Fish can concentrate toxins from its environment up to 9 MILLION times stronger in their flesh.
56. Shrimp has more cholesterol than beef.
57. Chickens and humans both have a tongue, 2 legs, a brain, a nose, and nails. And we both have hearts.
58. Eating something that died doesn't make you manly.
59. It shows you have disrespect for life.
60. 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.
61. 1 acre yields 165 lbs of beef or 20,000 lbs of potatoes.
62. It takes 2500 gallons to produce 1lb of meat; compared to:
    
63. 25 gallons of water to produce 1lb of wheat.
    
64. 49 gallons of water for 1 lb of apples.
65. 23 gallons of water for 1 lb of lettuce.
    
66. 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.
67. 70% of all grain grown is fed to animals, and that grain is fit for humans.
68. Calf leather comes from animals killed at just 2 weeks old.
69. Vegans have a 20% lower rate of mortality from all causes.
70. Omnivores have double the risk of Alzheimer's disease than vegans.
71. Chinese people (living mainly on a vegetarian diet) consume 20% more calories than Americans but Americans are 20% fatter.
72. The cling film used to wrap meat in supermarkets & butchers contains chemicals linked to falling sperm counts in men.
73. Because slaughterhouses are rarely regulated, many animals have their throats slit while fully conscious.
74. Meat packing is the most dangerous job to have.
75. 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.
76. In the land it requires to feed one meat eater, 20 vegans can be fed.
77. It takes 16lbs of soy protein to make 1 lb of beef.
78. 90% of cattle ranches created on cleared forest land go bankrupt in less than 8 years .
79. Which leaves that deserted, barren, and unusable because of nutrient loss.
80. Many of our rivers and streams are polluted because of animal runoff (poop)
81. To produce 1 calorie of energy from meat , it takes 60 calories of fuel.
82. Growing grains and beans to directly feed people produces 20 calories for every calorie of fuel used .
83. You do the math, veganism is 1200 times more effective in this respect.
84. Fish caught by nets die by suffocation.
85. 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.
86. And those foods can be made even healthier than their "real" counterparts.
87. Being vegan has opened my eyes to new foods that I never would have tried before.
88. Indian cuisine has some of the best vegan food ever, and most of it is healthy and cheap.
89. Because being vegan makes you learn to cook better.
90. 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!
91. 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.
92. Spent dairy cows (from overproduction) are turned into hamburger.
93. 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.
94. Almost all male calves born will become veal calves.
95. So there is a chunk of veal in every glass of milk.
96. That is why I made the switch to vegan from vegetarian, because everything is connected and the deadly cycle needs to be broken.
    
97. Countries with the highest meat and dairy consumptions have more brittle bones (osteoporosis.)
98. On average, a normal cow can live between 25-30 years, but dairy cows only live 3-5 years.
99. That is only ten percent of their natural life span!
100. 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!
101. 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.
     
102. And lastly, being vegan isn't hard, it's easy when you realize just how much you are helping animals, people, and the planet!
     

Broccoli Topped Quinoa

Sorry about being late posting this, I've been so busy with school, but here it is as I promised! The recipe is very yummy, and extremely easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen broccoli florets
1/2 cup quinoa (rinsed)
1 1/4 cup water
2 TBS EarthBalance (or other veg*n margarine)
1 TBS canola oil

1. Boil water in saucepan, add quinoa. Cover and cook on very low heat for 15 minutes.


2. Heat oil in skillet until hot.


3. Add broccoli florets and cook until heated through.


4. Lower heat, and add margarine. Stir until broccoli is coated in margarine. Turn heat off.


5. Remove quinoa from heat, put in dish.


6. Pour broccoli and margarine on quinoa and stir.

Now you have a balanced 1-dish meal! (fat=margarine, protein=quinoa, carb=quinoa, veg=brocolli)

Fake Fur Not So Fake

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has found out that most fake fur sold in stores isn't........ fake.
The HSUS bought coats from high-end stores that were labelled with "faux" or "fake" fur. After testing the fibers for protein sequences, they discovered that the fur was real, and that a lot of it came from domesticated dogs.
The brands that sold the coats included Tommy Hilfiger (a personal friend of Beyonce, another fur whore) and Andrew Marc.
Many of the retailers (including Nordstrom) are allowing buyers to return the vests and coats because they were mislabelled as fake. The HSUS is pleased with the reactions from the retailers.

Other retailers the Humane Society said sold mislabeled raccoon dog fur
included Lord & Taylor, BergdorfGoodman.com and Neiman Marcus.com. Designers
whose clothes were mismarked included Donna Karan’s DKNY and Michael Kors. A
coat from Oscar de la Renta advertised as raccoon had raccoon dog fur.
Neiman
Marcus, which owns Bergdorf Goodman, said it removed Bogner and Andrew Marc
coats from its Web sites. Michael Kors said it was investigating, and a DKNY
spokeswoman said the label was unaware that raccoon dog fur had been
used. (To read the full article on MSNBC.com, click here.)

This is absolutely disgusting. As if fur wasn't bad enough, regular people who are trying to make a difference by not wearing animals are wearing them without knowing. The only 100% accurate way to check if fur is real or not is to do protein analysis. And if you are in a store, that's not really possible. However, if you are a savvy consumer, there are other ways to make sure aren't wearing Fifi or Fido. (Personally I do not like fur, real OR fake)
Here is an eBay guide on how to tell the difference between faux and real fur, even though it is sort of guided towards those who wish to purchase real fur, it still will help you to tell the difference.
Sometimes though, it is hard to do some of those things to a garment you see in a store. Also, not everyone can be sure of checking a garment by how it looks if they are not very experienced. If that is the case, snip a tiny amount of fur from the item and go into the mall bathroom and burn it to check the scent if it is real or not. Real fur will smell like burning human hair when burned.

Another idea not mentioned in the guide is that real fur smells like formaldehyde and other chemicals used to preserve it. While faux fur is still synthetic chemicals, it will not smell like an embalmer's office!

The easiest way not to make a mistake? Don't buy real or fake fur! Even fake fur (though it may look chic) still sends the message that animal pelt is "cool", even if it is not real.

Quinoa

The quinoa turned out really yummy. I made it plain and topped it with brocolli sauteed in Smart Balance. Later on I will post a picture and the complete recipe for it.

Just got some quinoa

I just bought some quinoa... (pronounced keen-wa)

It looks like a grain, but its really from a spinach-related plant. It's gluten-free, and it happens to be a complete protein (contains essential amino acids). I've tried it once before, but I really don't remember how it tastes so tonight I will try to make some.

Chocolate Chip Drop Biscuits

Even omnivores will love these biscuits (I always get asked to make more!) These are similar to the Cowpies, but they taste a lot different. They are also extremely easy to make.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup soymilk
1 1/2 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 TBS Large grained sugar (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 450.
2) In a large bowl, add Bisquick and soymilk, stir til moistened and no clumps are present.
3) Fold in the chocolate chips. If dough is tough to stir, add a teaspoon of water at a time.
4) With a medium spoon, drop spoonfuls of dough onto an UNGREASED cookie sheet. Press the sugar crystals into the tops of the biscuits.
5) Bake at 450 for about 10. You should get between 6 and 13 biscuits, depending on their size.

These are delicious, why not make a double batch?

Vote For Your Favorite Chicken-Awareness Ad!

PETA recently teamed up with an Australian advertising agency to hold a contest—for the Young Guns International Advertising Award—for brilliant ad minds around the globe to design a pro-vegetarian ad focusing on chickens—inquisitive, interesting animals who are as intelligent as some mammals, including cats, dogs, and even primates. But the more than 9 billion chickens raised in factory farms each year in the U.S. never have the chance to do anything that is natural and important to them. Click here to learn more about chickens.
More than 700 entries were received from design students, advertising professionals, and artists around the world. The winning ad, titled “Your Parents Do It,” came from Jack Bagdadi and Billy Custer of Hallandale, Florida. The ad was part of a series called “Don’t Block It Out,” in which readers are led to think about things they otherwise might prefer to ignore—in this case, the way chickens are treated in factory farms. Read the full text of the ad and see the first, second and third place winners below.

See the Winners and VOTE for the finalists in the PETA contest!

If this sounds confusing, it is! I think that the YGIAA chose their top 3 winners, and now PETA is asking people to vote for their favorite ad.

Anyways, they are all funny and amazing so check them out!

Smarter Kids End Up Vegetarian

Intro: A new study in the British Medical Journal has stated that if you become vegetarian before age 30, you were most likely smarter when you were younger.
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The study showed that kids who became vegetarians later on in life were at least 5 IQ points ahead of other children their age (the children in the study were tested at age 10.) Children who became a vegetarian before the age of 16 (though after the age 10 IQ tests were given) had higher IQ's than non-vegetarian participants who would later become vegetarians.

Vegetarians were also found to more likely women, and to have higher education/vocational training than non-vegetarians. Vegetarians were more likely to be working in charitable organizations, local government, or education than non-vegetarians.

An interesting point however, was that vegans had lower IQ scores as children than vegetarians HOWEVER, only 9 out of 8,170 participants were vegan. The study states that this statistic is not fit to be used because so little of the participants were vegan.

Similar studies have shown that smarter kids turn out to be healthier adults, with lower levels of chronic diseases, including obesity and being overweight. Smarter kids (who turn into smarter adults) tend to pay more attention to their diet and health and are more likely to be involved in strenous activity and aerobic exercise.

Smarter people are also more likely to pay attention to ethics, a big reason why many young people turn to vegetarianism and veganism.

Fun fact: Both Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin were vegetarians.

*Click to read the entire study yourself posted by the BMJ*
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I certainly agree with this study. And I have good reason to. I just so happen to be #1 of 79 in the freshmen class rank of my high school (I have a 4.0 GPA and am enrolled in all advanced/higher level classes.) I also happen to be the only vegan, and one of very few (if any) vegetarians. I also am under the age of 16, and I am female. Of my friends who are vegetarian teens, they also seem to be very intelligent compared to most adolescents I know. Most of my friends who are in my advanced classes eat very little meat or less than most other kids do. (And only my smarter friends will even contemplate tasting some of my vegan lunches!)

Have any personal experience you'd like to share about this article? Leave a comment!




Other summaries of this study:
MSN Health & Fitness
Arizona Daily Star

Vegan Fast Food Options - UPDATED

I have finally finished updating the Vegan Fast Food Options! Now there is about 50% more new options on the list.

I've done my best to verify the veganity of the items on the list. I originally started out with PETA and other AR-minded organizations lists and then I recently added to them by going to company websites and getting additions by visiting other lists on other sites.

I think this is the most comprehensive list on the web for vegan fast food for national (and international) franchises. Other sites seems to be unorganized or are tailored to a specific region. Some of the franchises only cater to a particular region, but my hope is that if you are travelling somewhere and have a printout of the guide, you will be able to find somewhere to enjoy a meal.

So tell all your friends! Use the Email This Post button on the bottom of this post or the VFFO list post (its the picture of the letter) to send it to all your vegan peeps. Thanks, and soon vegans shall rule the planet MWUHAHAHA!!!

~ Peace ~
Allie

The BEST Vegan Hot Chocolate

It sure is cold! Right now I think it is about 10 degrees outside, I got minor frostbite from 20 minutes of shovelling the driveway. I just so happen to live in Central Vermont, in the "snow belt" of the state. The storm just brough about 2 or 2 1/2 feet of snow, so I didnt have school yesterday or today.

The best drink when it's like this is HOT CHOCOLATE! So here's the best vegan recipe I swear by, enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 TBS of Ghiradelli Hot Chocolate Mix (or do 3 1/2 TBS cocoa powder and sugar to your liking)

8 oz Silk Soymilk (other brands will work, Silk is the creamiest)

SoyWhip (optional)

1) Heat the soymilk in a small pan.

2) Stir in the hot chocolate mix with a wooden spoon.

3) As it heats, beat it with an eggwisk to keep it thick without being clumpy.
4) Turn off the heat once steam starts to rise, stir.

Stay warm!

Have A Happy Vegan Valentine's Day!

Just because you can't eat milk chocolate hearts or Sweethearts (they have gelatin), doesn't mean you have to miss out on Valentine's Day. Here are some vegan friendly ways to celebrate.

• Give (or eat!) vegan chocolates. Try dark chocolate/semi-sweet bars.
• Make a vegan chocolate recipe! Here are some of my suggestions, Chocolate Banana Chunks/Fondue, Vegan Truffles, Vegan Brownies, 2-Layer Chocolate Coconut Cake, Chocolate Cowpie Drop Biscuits, Happiness in a Cone, Tofu Chocolate Pie
• Give a shopping spree to your hunny with the Peta Mall Valentine's Day Specials!!!
• Send a cute Valentine's Day PETA E-card to all your friends and lovers!

If you happen to not have a human bunny in your life who you celebrate this, you can always open your heart to animals!

• Volunteer at your local humane society/animal shelter
• Distribute literature about animal rights (door hangers, cards, stickers, pamphlets, etc.)
• Bake/buy some cruelty-free biscuits for your furry friend or the humane society!
• Write letters to companies that test on animals asking them not to.
• Sign pro-animal rights petitions online!
• Help feed animals in shelters... online! (When you click, sponsors pay to help feed the animals! By the way, you can do this everyday to help even more!)

Hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day!

QUALITY Marinara Sauce Is Only A Click Away!

Marinara sauce. The perfect compliment to any pasta. Full of vine-ripened tomatoes, a handful of fresh herbs, garlic, and extra-virgin olive oil. You cant really go wrong with marinara. Its easy to store in the cupboard, goes with any pasta, and is always vegan (true marinara sauce doesn't have cheese, other styles do.)

But so many times I've gone to the store and picked up a jar of less-than-desirable marinara sauce. Shaw's. Bertolli. Escencia. Ragu. Prego. *sigh*. You get the point. They are all either too oily, too salty, too watery, too thick, or contain nasty colors, additives, or contain the new kid on the block, high fructose corn syrup (can't we just leave the corn to the Mexicans? Since when did corn grow alongside tomatoes in Italy? I didn't think so.)

So I'd like to inform you all of a GREAT marinara sauce that is PERFECT. It clings to any pasta, but doesn't cake. It's all natural, and is made with real fresh ingredients, and doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it. It's a bit salty, but not enough to make you pucker up in disgust.

It's called BOVE'S OF VERMONT. (click the link guys, it has ordering info and ingredients/nutritional info!) So yes, I'm also encouraging you to buy from my neck of the woods and support a great family company. The recipe originated from a restaurant in Burlington, Vermont (for those of you who don't know, B'ton is on Lake Champlain, which borders upstate New York.)

This marinara sauce is amazing! You must try it. There is also an organic version, which I have tried. The flavor is slightly different, but it is amazing. I can never decide which one to get, as they both are the best sauces I have ever tried!

If you live outside the area, it may be hard to find this brand (if in NE, try Shaw's Supermarkets with the WILD HARVEST section.) But if you live elsewhere, and have a credit card and 5 bucks to spare, I whole-heartedly suggest you click the links and order some by mail. Another good sauce (my #2 favorite after both the Bove's) is Victoria's Marinara. It is carried by all Shaw's Supermarkets, and has a unique flavor that deserves recognition.

So lets start the Sauce Revolution! Go up to your grocer and demand the quality sauces your spaghetti, penne, linguini, and cappellini deserve!

Here's a picture of my dinner tonight, Bove's Marinara with organic spaghetti:

(yes, it's a bit blurry but it's cause I was rushing it to my mouth 'cause its so darn good!)

Vegan Ranch Dressing!

While searching the bloggersphere, I came across a recipe for Vegan Ranch dressing. I've never been able to find it in stores (I've had it twice in vegan cafes), but here is the recipe!

I havent made it yet, but it seems similar the types I have had, which were very good.

Ingredients:
6 oz. Mori-Nu silken style tofu -- firm or extra firm
1/4 cup Soy Mayonnaise
1/4 cup green onion -- finely chopped
3 tablespoon water4 t. lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
1 tablespoon freshly chopped dill
1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce, or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic
1 dash cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to Taste

1) Blend all in a food processor until smooth and creamy!

Thanks to Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen for the recipe and Adventures of a Vegan Cyclist for blogging about it!

Chocolate Cowpie Drop Biscuits

After I baked these I noticed they certainly looked like cow pies. These have no refined sugars in them, just maple syrup (unless your soymilk contains refined sugars)

I made this recipe by hand, just using the drop biscuit recipe on the box as a guide, so you may need to add more or use less of an ingredient according to your tastes.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups Bisquick, plus more to add if dough is too soft
1 1/2 cup soymilk (you might not need it all)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup of chocolate chips (recommended but not neccesary)

1) Preheat oven to 450.
2)In a large bowl, add Bisquick and cocoa powder, stir til there are no clumps and they are mixed together.
3) Add 2/3 cup of the soymilk, and stir. If the dough is too dry, add more soymilk.
4) When dough is moist, add the syrup and fold in the chips.
5) If it is too dry (most likely), add soymilk gradually until the mixture is doughy (slightly sticky and keeps together, not runny like batter.) If you've added too much soymilk, add a small amount of Bisquick and stir in til it is smooth and doughy.
6) With a medium spoon, drop spoonfuls of dough onto an UNGREASED cookie sheet.
7) Bake at 450 for about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the biscuits.

Makes about 12 large biscuits or 20 small biscuits.

P.S. These taste awesome dipped in chocolate fondue, or as Timmy called it, diarrhea sauce! (blech!)

Beware: Amy's Products

This is just a warning to those of you who are vegans who eat Amy's.

The Soy Cheese Frozen Pizza is NOT vegan! But it says on the package that it is!
The cheese on their pizza has casein in it. Casein is a common ingredient found in many soy-based "cheeses". It is what makes it melt like real cheese. Have you ever noticed how VeganRella never really melts, just warps and gets wattery? That's because it does not contain casein.

Casein is a protein from milk that makes cheese melt. It is also added to soy cheeses to make them melt. BUT, casein is not vegan because it is a milk product. A soy cheese containing casein is still allowed to be called dairy-free, and it is indeed lactose free. But it is technically not vegan. When buying soy cheese (personally I dont like it), make sure it doesn't contain casein (Tofutti Slices are 100% vegan.)

Amy's Soy Cheese Pizza claims it is Vegan on the ingredients list, but it has casein on the list. There is not yet a vegan form of casein. The box even says that it is a milk protein, but they still label it as Vegan!

I do not know of any other Amy's products with this misinformation, but if you know any, please comment this post with them.

Also, many of Amy's products are milk-free (and always egg-free) but contain honey in them. Personally I think this is dumb because agave is just like honey is vegan, so they would be getting more business! But these products are NOT labelled vegan anyway, so dont worry I just thought it was interesting.

God Bless Tofutti

As some of you may know, I live in the complete middle of nowhere (a 5,000 pop town in Vermont.)

So since I had to get my braces tightened yesterday (ugh!) we ended up going food shopping in Berlin where they have the Shaw's with organic/natural section. AND OMG THEY HAD TOFUTTI!!!

Its been sooooooo long since I've had Tofutti stuff. People are always talking about it on forums and I'm wicked jealous because our co-op sucks and our Shaw's is tiny and overpriced. So yeah. And I got 2 boxes of Cuties (I ate 7 last night!!!) and the vegan-cheese pan pizza (tastes like Elios!) and Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese.

For those of you have missed out, Tofutti is a brand of dairy-product substitues, and they are all vegan (though they don't say it, they never use casein)
Tofutti Cuties are small "ice-cream"-sandwich bars, and that I know of they come in Chocolate, Vanilla, and Wild Berry flavors. THEY KICK ASS. My mother even likes them and she usually doesnt like "fake" stuff. Even before I was a vegan I got them once (as a mistake!) and I thought they were BETTER than regular ice cream bars. (Tofutti also makes assorted flavors of tub "ice cream")

I got the Herbs "cream cheese". It *sort of* tastes real. The texture is right, though its a bit melty on a hot bagel. Its got a little aftertaste, but it is still yummylicious (definition t-a-s-t-e-y tastay!)

The Pizza is really good, but a suggestion is to heat it HOT all the way through or else the "cheese" is yucky. If its hot it's yummy. Tofutti doesnt use casein (a milkbased protein) in they're products. This is good for vegans, but cheese doesnt melt without it. The Tofutti pizza is actually just thinly sliced vegan "cheese" that appears melted because heat *warps* it. (I will have a little thing on casein, next post)

I'll give 25 BE credits to anyone who comes up with a good "God Bless Tofutti" parody of "God Bless America"...

I hate ingredient changes!

Grr I just bought some organic BBQ chips today only to realize that they had honey in them! As of 3 months ago I KNOW that they were vegan because I checked when I first got them and I continually got them for about a month and then moved on to another variety.

So now I'm really mad. If companies want to change ingredients, they really should say "new formula" or something like that. Its like the McD's case where the fries were ADVERTISED as being gluten-free and then a month later a young girl nearly dies because she was gluten-intollerant. (These chips were never advertised as vegan however)

Its been a while... Big THANKYOU!

Wow I havent posted in a while. School's been very difficult lately. With all my classes, just getting on a computer is a very rare occurance.

Suprisingly, my views are still more than I could ever ask for, after all, I'm just a 14 year old girl in the middle of nowhere blogging about something though of society as "weird" and "radical".

It's been just about a year since I opened this website. Its provided me with a lot of joy, and a way to help promote a concept that is very close to my heart. Its always fun to check out my tracker and see people from every corner of the world visiting my site. The only continent that hasnt seen my site is Antarctica! Most teen bloggers probably couldnt say that, and I am very thankful that I can.

This weekend I should have some time on my hands to promote this site. I am always trying to get more views. Not for self-related issues, but because I think the message of veganism should be broadcasted as much as possible. If people know more, they less they feel alienated from it. Even if a heavy meat eater stumbles across this page, 5 years from now they might remember that it wasnt as weird as they thought, and that they may be interested in trying it. When I as little I always thought it was weird and difficult, but as I got older and learned more I found that it really wasnt.

So, spread the word! Make your own blog! (If you do, lets trade links!) Write stuff on dollar bills, sticker bathroom stalls, participate in demos, do leaflets and flyers! Theres so much you can do, so why not?

Love and Peace,
Allie

"Chicken" or "Steak" Fajitas

I hope I spelled the title right *blush*...

I made these last night, they turned out really well. I made this recipe all by myself, so if you're going to pass it on please give me credit :)
I used the steak version, but I think it would taste best with the "chicken" (however, the steak strips taste better than the chicken strips, so go figure...)
I used ingredients that I had lying around the house (this one of my "clean out the pantry" recipes), so feel free to substitute.

Ingredients:
1 bag of Morningstar Farms "steak" or "chicken" strips
1/4 cup of medium salsa
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
Canola Oil (for sauteing)
1/3 cup of hot (not boiling!) water
1/2 Tablespoon of brown miso (optional)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 Tablespoons of Southwestern Hickory Hot Sauce (any medium/mild hot sauce with hickory smoke will work. If hickory is unavailable, use something rich and flavorful)
Small Tortillas (a whole pack should do, the amount varies for how much you stuff them)
Soy Sour Cream and Guacamole (optional)

1) Saute bell pepper and onion in canola oil in a large skillet. In another pan, cook "meat" strips according to package directions.
2) Meanwhile, disolve miso in hot water.
3) When "meat" is done, add to the veggie pan once the onions are translucent. Add salsa, hot sauce, and red pepper flakes. Put on "low" and let simmer til most of the water is gone. (This helps the "meat" to absorb the flavors.)
4) Remove from heat. Let cool, and scoop onto tortillas and roll. Serve with guacamole and soy sour cream if desired.



The miso gives the fajitas a salty, wholesome taste without tasting like cheap Chinese food. If you dont use miso, make sure to add salt. I also suggest drinking soymilk with these as they can be quite spicy.

Enjoy!

Bathroom Stalls... and More Activism

I've been feeling very angsty lately, so here are some suggestions (old and new) for advocating!

I've found that one of the best places for AR advocating is..... a bathroom stall!

Whats better to do than read the wall when you're takin a pee? Next time you're in a mall, take along some permanent sharpies, stickers, pamphlets, and whatever else you can think of. Make the stall a haven for animals!

Sticker the walls, and write AR themed messages, and put a stack of pamphlets on the cover of the crapper. Carving stuff into the walls also doesnt hurt (when its painted over, the marks will still show!)

My favorite thing to write is 'Stop eating animals, NOW" and then including a link to MFA, PETA, or IDA, along with PETA2 stickers that say "I'm not a nugget!"

This is especially good to do when you can leave KFC flyers in stickers in there if the mall has or is near a KentuckyFriedCruelty joint.

Another one of my favorite types of activism is using currency as your medium of transportation! A single dollar bill reaches many hands before it is retired. Why not write on it?

On the margins, write "Meat is a dead carcass", "Fur is dead skin", or "Stop eating animals!" (or something else of the sort) Also include links to PETA, IDA, or MFA websites.

Dont forget traditional activism! Whenever you got to a public place (esp if its out of your hometown if you live in a small area, that way if you get caught, you wont face punishment/embarassment), bring along flyers, stickers, pamphlets, buttons etc! Stick flyers under windshield wipers, leave brocures and pamphlets in waiting rooms, and hand out buttons/stickers to kids! Dont forget big stickers (like CLOSED FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY) and others that you can put up on buildings! New fur store? Get some red spray paint and write "Fur is dead" over it (or put the big CLOSED sticker on the store, preferably over glass where its harder to get off)


While all these may not be legal or condonable, remember that most of the acts of vandalism are against coperations who are already rich enough and treat animals and their employees worse than shit. Nobody deserves to make money when it comes from cruelty.

! ! ! ! ! While most activism is fine, please remember that putting anythings INSIDE a mailbox OR A MAILSLOT is ILLEGAL and is a FEDERAL offense (under mail tampering) ! ! ! ! !