Nut Butter, you rock.

One of the battles of being vegan is staying full. I have learned through trial and error that the more often I eat smaller meals the less hungry I am. Before this project, I used to eat about two times a day sometimes three if I got around responsibly in the morning. However, eating breakfast was never a priority, because I knew that I could always head over to the union or back home (if I had time) and grab a bite of whatever food I wanted. Well, this sort of non-planning is not practical for me anymore. I have become really good at packing my lunch and snacks every morning, and, except for a few occasions, I usually get up early enough to shower and eat breakfast. An example of a typical lunch and set of snacks that I pack would include a nut butter sandwich, veggies, and fruit.
I say nut butter, because during this experience I discovered almond and cashew butter! They are deliciously wonderful for multiple reasons! They are organic, comprised of a single ingredient which consists of whatever nut is being used, and taste really good. However, a jar of one of these nut butters costs about $5 at the organic section in Hy-Vee, and the jars are not very big. At first, I was appalled by the dramatic price increase. I mean lets be real: I am a poor college student who spends half my monthly income on rent alone not to mention my cell phone, internet, and grocery bills and supplies for studio. For my studio class, I average over a hundred dollars a month for supplies, which is equivalent to a sixth of my monthly income. Thus, $5 for a small jar of nut butter is kind of a big deal for me. However, I have to remember that the reason why the organic prices are so much higher is because the farmers who produce this product make more than $0.15 per dollar, which is the way it should be. Therefore, after this latest grocery shopping experience, I had to sit down with my fiance and create a monthly financial budget; my first one ever. Because of the increase in my grocery bill, I have had to draw a boundary between wants and needs. For instance, I have designated more money for grocery shopping instead of eating out. Eating out is an unnecessary want; whereas, having healthy, organic, vegan food is a need for my health. Moreover, an example of the types of fruits and vegetables that I bring to school for snacks include baby carrots, celery, broccoli, an orange, and/or an apple. I also try to take a granola bar if they are around the house.
Grains, Grains, GRAINS! They make me happy, because they keep me full for longer than just eating vegetables and fruit. I have a completely new appreciation for brown rice. I have never been a fan of just eating rice with meals, but brown rice is a gift. It is so good with just some boiled vegetables and salt. I am trying to find some good vegan recipes with rice, but like all vegan recipes it’s much easier said than done. Since I have more groceries again. I am excited to experiment with some new recipes, and I plan on posting them later this week. Until then

I am the Vegan MASTER

Okay, okay so my title may be a little cocky; however, I did just go to Cold Stone and order a completely vegan, completely delicious dessert. To me, that speaks volumes about the ability for someone with a vegan diet to be able to find ways around the carnivore dominant society without having to give up all scrumptious treats. So, how exactly was I able to accomplish this? Well, thanks to my handy dandy google search engine, it was easy. By checking out this website: http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/assets/pdf/nutrition/Ingredients_Ice_Cream_Sorbet_01_04_10.pdf ,one can easily access all the ingredients Cold Stone puts into their ice cream, sorbet, and yogurt, so I scanned this list and found that some, but not all, of the sorbets are made without the use of any animal products. BINGO.
STRAWBERRY MANGO
BANANA SORBET
SORBET BASE (Water, Sugar, Dextrose, Citric Acid, Mono & Diglycerides, Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Pectin), STRAWBERRIES, STRAWBERRY PUREE (Strawberries, Water, Sugar, Natural Flavors, Modified Food Starch, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Red 40), MANGO PUREE (Water, Mango Puree, Sugar, Natural Mango Flavor, Citric Acid, Malic Acid), BANANAS
Next, I needed to investigate my vegan mix-in options. Thanks to Heather’s previous blog about the vegan qualities of Oreo’s. I was happy to choose this as my mix-in, but just to be on the safe side, I still decided to look up the ingredients before I ruin what could potentially be the only dessert I have had since I started this project.
Regular Oreos Ingredients:
Sugar, flour, hydrogenated soybean oil, cocoa, high fructose corn syrup, whey, corn starch, baking soda, salt, soy lecithin, vanillin, chocolatehttp://www.vegsoc.org.au/product_list.asp?ProductID=55
So, to say the least, these discoveries meant business.
However, despite my latest and greatest vegan discovery, I have been able to create some quite tasty vegan meals at my house.
For instance: vegan sloppy joe’s.
Ingredients:
wheat hamburger buns not containing any animal products in the ingredients
1 bag of soy crumbles
1 can of manwhich
1/2 of a yellow onion
1/2 of a yellow pepper
1/2 of a green pepper
3-5 mushrooms (depending on size and how much you want them)
1/2 a zucchini
1 teaspoon of olive oil
First Step: cut up all the veggies into small, bite size bites
Second Step: place olive oil in a skillet on the stove to cook the veggies in it
(Helpful Hint: the veggies will not be done caramelizing until the onions are see through. When the onions are done, the rest of the veggies will be ready.)
Third Step: warm up the soy crumbles in a second skillet
Fourth Step: when the soy crumbles are done, add the manwhich
(Helpful hint: cook the manwhich and soy crumbles until the sauce bubbles.)
Fifth Step: put a the manwhich soy mix onto the bun and then on top of that apply the veggies.
Sixth Step: ENJOY

Also: vegan chicken parmesan for two
Ingredients:
1/2 of a yellow onion
1/2 of a green pepper
1/2 of a yellow pepper
3-5 mushrooms
1/2 of a zucchini
1/2 a can of pasta sauce
wheat noodles without any animal products
2 boca soy chicken patties
1 teaspoon of olive oil
First Step: boil water then add noodles
Second Step: chop up veggies into small, bite size pieces
Third Step: put olive oil and veggies into a skillet
(Helpful Hint: the veggies will not be done caramelizing until the onions are see through. When the onions are done, the rest of the veggies will be ready.)
Fourth Step: when the noodles and veggies are done, place the two soy chicken patties onto a plate in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Fifth Step: put the noodles on the bottom, sauce next, and then the chicken on top
Sixth Step: ENJOY

In addition: veggie lovers pizza for two
Ingredients:
1/2 of a yellow onion
1/2 of a green pepper
1/2 of a yellow pepper
3-5 mushrooms
1/2 of a zucchini
2 whole wheat tortillas containing no animal products
soy crumbles
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of olive oil
First Step: cut up all of the veggies into small, bite size pieces
(Helpful Hint: the veggies will not be done caramelizing until the onions are see through. When the onions are done, the rest of the veggies will be ready.)
Second Step: preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Third Step: cook soy crumbles in a separate skillet
Fourth Step: put just the tortillas onto a baking pan to warm up in the oven for five minutes
Fifth Step: place desired amount of tomato sauce onto the warm tortilla, then soy crumbles, then veggies
Sixth Step: place pizzas back into the oven for about ten minutes
Seventh Step: Enjoy

Bottom Line: I am not suffering being a vegan. Granted some of my blogs have been pessimistic, that was obvious by my tone, but I feel like after this last week I have gotten a grasp. I just needed to find new, creative ways to use vegetables in a creative way. I am a firm believer in left overs, so those three recipes were my dinner for all of last week. To say the least, I have a new appreciation for meals. Those recipes are really simple and only took about thirty minutes to make. Also, my fiance and I have started eating dinners together at our dinner table. That way, we actually pay attention to what food we are eating and we talk. What a concept, it’s so nice. In my previous blogs, I discussed my grown resentment for meals, but now I look forward to them. I love eating healthy and responsibly. No animals suffered to provide any of my meals. Now, for the rest of my project, my aim is to eat only organic foods. That way, I can use my consumer powers to make a stand against the dominant produce corporations who drench their crops with nasty chemicals. I plan on researching this type of food production, so I will have substantial facts for my next blog. I’m doing it! It’s working, and to top it off, I feel great! I feel so healthy and energized. I am literally making a difference with every bite I eat. .

Wild Mushroom Soup, anyone?

All of my life up until the last year or so I never, NEVER touched a mushroom let alone put one in my mouth to taste and chew. However, today I woke up late and decided that taking a shower was more significant than eating breakfast. Therefore, around 10:30 this morning after quite a few hours in studio, I was yet again starving, but this time I did not have a packed already made vegan proof lunch waiting for me in the front pocket of my back pack. Thus, I had to venture over to the Union food court in an attempt to find some food, well food not containing any animal products which is ROUGH. However, I have discovered over the past few weeks that I can find vegan foods that I like or new vegan foods to try as long as I attain a positive attitude of what to look for, instead of immediately looking at everything I cannot have, and remembering why I am choosing not to eat all of the other foods containing animal products. For me, an essential part of succeeding in this life change is remembering that not eating animal products is my choice. I have to acknowledge the fact that not consuming animal products is a decision I have made to better my life not to get a good grade. Therefore, when I am starving, I begin by looking for food that I choose to eat not looking for food that I have to eat. This may not seem like such a big deal, but to me, making this distinction is essential for having a positive attitude throughout this change. Having this mentality is crucial for me to succeed. Well, back to the topic, when I approached the Union Food Court today, keeping this mentality in mind, I was able to open myself up to some new, healthy, vegan choices. I ended up buying some wild mushroom soup which was absolutely delicious. If I ever see this soup on any menu, I will definitely order this if I am in the mood for a good soup. It was so tasty. The mushrooms seemed to act as a replacement for the meat in a typical soup. It tasted really good, and actually filled me up. In addition, I also got spinach humus and pita and a red apple. For the first time in awhile, I ate a meal that left me feeling full and satisfied. It was great.
However, not all of my food trials turned out to be great experiences. For instance, my girlfriend and I attempted vegan mac and cheese, which I bought from the Hy-Vee organic section. This mac and cheese was NASTY. It had an awful gritty texture and tasted like dirt. Literally. It was awful. The worst/best part was that after we discovered that this mac and cheese was not going to be part of our dinner, my girlfriend made regular mac and cheese. It looked and smelled so delicious I could almost taste its cheesiness, but while looking at it I contemplated a new observation that I guess I overlooked in the past. Has anyone ever noticed how orange mac and cheese is? Not like a cheddar orange, it was like a bright, vibrant, almost neon orange color. Despite how wonderful it smelled, after recognizing how orange it was all I could think about was imaging how many chemicals must be in this food. I kept imagining the Lost Boy’s food from the Peter Pan movie starring Robin Williams. In that movie, those kids ate food that looked like play-doh to me because the colors were so vibrant, so neon. The food was clearly fake, making me not want to eat the neon mac and cheese anymore.
This process, this project has completely altered my perception of food in the best way possible. Box mac and cheese used to be one of my favorite foods as well as hamburgers, and now I cannot imagine putting them in my mouth sort of like how I used to feel about mushrooms. I wish I could tell my Mom; I know she would be proud.

PANIC in the kitchen

Let me just begin this blog by stating that the purpose of this blog is solely to vent. I am on my third day of my second week of this project. Just to recap, during the first week I stopped eating meat, so now during the second week I have stopped consuming any sort of dairy product such as chocolate, ice cream, cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, ranch, milk, etc. I listed those foods specifically because those are all of the foods I really wanted to eat yesterday but could not, which put me in a bad mood. Okay, let’s take a few steps back to Tuesday, my first day without dairy.
When I woke up Tuesday morning, I made toast, like usual, but then after my bread was toasted I went to the fridge to grab the butter and jam only to realize that butter was a dairy product, thus I cannot eat it. My initial reaction was, “What? Toast with no butter? That can’t be good.” After I was done freaking out for a minute, I decided to just put some peanut butter on the toast and call it good. That tasted great but made me really thirsty, which led me to my next hurdle: no milk. I grew up drinking skim milk with every meal without any other options. Therefore, during a meal my natural reaction is to go drink a glass of milk; however, in preparation for this, all the milk has already been depleted leaving me with the options of: light vanilla soy milk or chocolate soy milk. Soy milk, as in liquid made out of soy beans, for a milk substitute? What?! For some reason, drinking liquified beans as a milk substitute does not register well for me. I do acknowledge that this is an unjustified prejudice, because until Tuesday I had never attempted to try drinking soy milk. However, one point of this project is to put myself into positions that force me to try new things like soy milk, for instance, so I poured a very small glass of the light vanilla soy milk and gave it a try. To my astonishment, drinking liquified beans wasn’t too bad. It even looked like milk minus the 1/4 in” froth lingering on top of the liquid, but other than that I would say I like drinking the light vanilla soy milk. After accepting this revelation, my girlfriend asked me to try the chocolate, which is her favorite. My reply was simply, “Negative. One glass of liquified beans is enough for one day.” I’m sure that bit of resonating prejudice annoyed her, but hey I didn’t learn to walk in one day either.
Okay, so moving on to lunch. I dreaded eating lunch on Tuesday. In fact, I chose to wait until the very last minute when I was certain that if I did not put food in my stomach my stomach’s digestive acids would begin digesting the lining of my stomach, so as I grudgingly made my way toward the fridge, I opened it only to focus on every food item I could no longer consume. Instantly, I began feeling overwhelmed, so I closed the fridge and for the first time in a long time thought about buying a pack of cigarettes. One great thing about smoking is that it fights hunger and over time depletes one’s appetite, which is why I think I started craving one so bad. However, instead of going out and buying a pack, I walked back to my bedroom and confessed to my girlfriend that I had no idea what to eat. She simply replied: fruit, vegetables, and grains, so I walked back to the kitchen and this time with a mindset of focusing on what I can have instead of everything I cannot I opened the fridge and noticed apples, oranges, red pears, and green peppers that I missed during my first visit. Therefore, for lunch on Tuesday I decided to eat an apple with cashew butter to dip it in and a green pepper with balsamic vinaigrette to dip it in. This may sound like a good amount of food but do not be deceived, because within just a few short hours I was starving again and resenting having to figure out what foods I could and could not eat.
This transition has been really tough, so tough at times I question my motives for putting myself in this position. However, similarly to when I quit smoking I constantly questioned why I was putting myself through this hell, and the answer is simple. It’s better for me in the long run. I have to cool my jets and remember that this hardship is only temporary not because this project is only a few weeks long, but because I am still in the learning process of discovering what foods are vegan and supplementing my missing proteins with food sources that will keep me full. Thus, despite every episode of panic in the kitchen I refuse to give in to all the temptation around me. I will get through this.

Horrific Truths Hidden Within Our Food

To help motivate me to quit eating meat, dairy, and soon all animal products, my girlfriend and I watched Food Inc., a documentary about food such as where it comes from, how farmers grow it, who the major corporations are that are in charge of the majority of the food market, about the costs and availability of healthy organic food compared to junk food, and about the growth of the organic food industry. While watching this, I had some awful realities exposed to me.
For instance, I learned that a lot of farms that raise chickens or turkeys for large corporations, like Tyson specifically, do not allow their chickens and/or turkeys to see light. That is, these chickens and turkeys grow up and die without ever seeing or feeling the warmth of sunlight. Can you imagine being trapped inside a small, enclosed space cut off from the ENTIRE outside world, including the sun? I cannot. I can only assume that such a life would be miserable and extremely depressing. Furthermore, those animals are in such a small space that they do not have the room to even walk around, so they are not getting any exercise. I grew up believing that when people ate meat they were eating the muscle of the animal they were consuming, so when the chickens/turkeys cannot move around to exercise, to build that muscle what are people eating? Moreover, in addition to not having the space to exercise, the chickens/turkeys are overfed so much that they cannot take more than a couple steps before they are completely worn out from moving. They are so obese they cannot support their own bodies enough to move, even if they had the space. Wow. Watching that and learning this awful truth has completely altered my perspective of food. For example, earlier this week my roommate and her girlfriend were baking these stuffed chicken breasts, which used to be one of my favorite meals; however, when I saw that enormous chicken breast that took up over half of her plate, all I could think about was what that life must have been like for that poor chicken. That poor chicken had to be chronically over fed in order to develop such large breasts. I know that when I have over ate before I felt horrible afterward. My stomach cramped and I felt nauseous for awhile, which to me are two of the worst feelings to endure, yet those same feelings are what consumed that chicken’s entire life until it was murdered for the consumption of my roommate. To say that that is awful is a drastic understatement; unfortunately, I cannot claim that I am over exaggerating. This is it: the sad life of a chicken. Knowing this truth, I can honestly say that I do not and will not miss eating chicken and turkey. I cannot allow myself to be another reason for such inhumane practices to continue. I can proudly say that I will never be a part of such an awful system like that anymore.
In addition to learning about such horrid farming practices, I also had the opportunity to hear the side of the farmer who carry out such practices. Only one farmer had the courage to show us the inside of her turkey barn, because she knew that something had to be done in order to change these awful farming practices. All of the others were afraid of losing their contracts with the large corporations if they did. These corporations have such a vice grip on these farmers that the corporations not only control the farmer’s debt and farming practices but they also limit and prohibit their freedom of speech. For instance, the farmers shown on the documentary recognized cons to their farming practices; however, if they refused to farm the way their sponsoring corporation required them to they would lose their contract, which would mean losing their entire income. Such requirements of these various corporations not only refuse to allow sunlight to enter the space of the chickens but they also control how much space the chickens can have to live in. Furthermore, they also require that these farmers only use certain equipment, and when these equipment upgrades are made the farmers must get the new and improved equipment, even if the equipment they were using is not broken or in need of an upgrade. This requirement puts the farmers further into debt thus increasing the farmers’ dependence upon the corporation at hand, forcing them to oblige the corporation’s requirements and demands in order to keep their contract, their income. With this sort of control, the only way such a cycle can end is if the consumers of the corporation’s products take a stand. The consumers must boycott buying these corporations‘ products until they begin to humanely raise their animals for consumption, that is, if you believe being a carnivore is an okay lifestyle to begin with.
Consumers have rights. I believe this is a purposely forgotten fact that we as the major faction in this system, the consumers, must utilize if we wish to end the corruption to protect the rights of ourselves as well as the farmers and animals involved.

Smoking Animals 1

For this project, I have decided to challenge myself to become a vegan. I knew this would be hard and some days even difficult, which is why I entitled this endeavor “Smoking Animals.” Nine months ago, I quit smoking cigarettes in about the same amount of time that I am going to quit eating and/or drinking any animal products including meat, dairy, and pretty much the majority of my favorite foods.
So, why? Why do this? Why refuse myself these simple, accessible food products? When I quit smoking, I had two types of responses from either my non-smoker friends and my smoker friends. The non-smokers congratulated me on taking control of this terrible vice. They supported me for making the choice to take better care of myself. However, on the other end, my smoker friends were not so supportive. They demanded an answer, a reason to quit something they deemed so enjoyable, and when I told them that I wanted to live a healthier life, they did not believe I could quit. They recognized that cigarettes had power over them, yet they were okay with that. Well, I am not. I am not okay with any object or any person ever having power over me. Therefore, for all you carnivores out there that need a reason to understand why I am doing this, I am quitting the consumption of animals to prove that these huge, corporate food companies do not control what I eat or the quality of my food. I am doing this to prove that even a broke college student can make a difference with every bite I chew.
To do this, all I need is the discipline and self power to say no and walk away. Well, I can already tell you that saying those words and following through with them are two completely different actions. The latter being much harder. For this first week, I am starting off slow and not eating any meat. Initially, I thought this first week would be a breeze compared to when I have to give up dairy products such as cheese, ice cream, milk, the list could go on for ever but I think you get the idea. However, on the first day, the FIRST day, of this challenge I discovered that my previous assumption was wrong.
Luckily for me, I was out of groceries and needed to make a trip to Hy-Vee at the same time that I also needed to start this project. I had so little groceries that my girlfriend and I decided to eat at the Hy-Vee buffet for dinner before we went grocery shopping. While standing in line and observing my pizza choices, I noticed all my favorite pizzas in front of me. With those being supreme, Hawaiian, and cheeseburger, I knew I was about to face my first hurdle. A large part of me was like, “why don’t I start this tomorrow when my choices are not limited by eating out?” The sad part is I actually considered that as a viable option, but then a small voice in my head realized this was part of the challenge. The temptation to eat meat is not going to go away just because I decided that I was no longer going to consume it. That is not how the world works. The world does not bend for the minority; the minority bends for the world.
In the end, I checked out with two slices of cheese pizza, and when I started eating them, I wondered what pizza would be like without cheese. Then, it actually hit me. By accepting this task as my project, I am not just simply changing my diet; I am changing my life. Once I quit smoking cigarettes, I never went back, so now I wonder if I will ever be a carnivore again. I hope not; after all, what would be the point of choosing this as my project. For me, this has become more than just earning a good grade. This is about changing my life for the better. Now, I just need to find the courage and strength to follow through with this. In my heart, I know I can; I was born to make a difference. This is just the beginning.