Raw vegan Thanksgiving dessert!

Don't forget the raw vegan "pumpkin" pie!

The crust is nut based, and the filling is sweet potatoes, agave nectar, and cashews!


A dessert that the whole family will love, and it's raw vegan! Awesome! :)

Raw Vegan Thanksgiving :)

Here is what I had for Thanksgiving dinner.
It is possible to have a completely animal-free, raw vegan thanksgiving!!! :)

Starting at the left and going clockwise:
raw vegan faux tofurkey
green beans
faux mashed potatoes (made out of turnips)
raw vegan stuffing
raw vegan mushroom gravy
cranberry sauce

Benefit walk hosted by SAFARI

SAFARI

I am so excited for the first meeting of SAFARI. That is the animal rights club that I started at UMaine! I am ready to inform more people about the injustices that go along with using animals for food and clothing production.

I am against anything that harms animals. So naturally, I would like to help them.

Our first meeting is next Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
I can't wait to share information with all of the excited members! :)
I have been collaborating with the Bangor Humane society, so hopefully we have some volunteer opportunities soon!

Animals have feelings too.

Veganism is love and I'm a lover.<3

Ignorance

It seriously annoys me when meat eaters refuse to watch films, videos, or short clips of what animals endure during the meat or clothing production process. You are paying for this to happen! Open your eyes, you immature idiot.

Meat eaters are disgusting! How can people eat the bloody flesh of murdered animals? Do you have no compassion?

People need to open their eyes and look at what is happening behind closed doors. Would you work at a slaughter house? Probably not. So why are you willing to pay for somebody else to murder for you? When you pay for meat, you are in fact directly contributing to the murder of innocent lives.

Animals can feel pain. Meat is murder. Open your eyes.

Don't refuse to see with your eyes what animals endure with their bodies.

Salad with flavor

I made a delicious salad today!
I started with lettuce and then added:

• a carrot based pate, with dill weed and lemon juice for flavor...yum!
• sprouted radishes, lentils, and broccoli
• wheat grass
• fresh picked peas and green beans

Being healthy tastes good! :)

Julia Child and vegetarianism

Julia Child is known as a great chef and inspiration to many chefs today. She clearly did not understand vegetarian lifestyles.

From the magazine People, August 2009:
"We didn’t know many vegetarians years ago. Not eating meat became the thing to do some places in the ’60s, but the movement is much bigger in the ’90s. Personally, I don’t think pure vegetarianism is a healthy lifestyle. It’s more fear of food—that whole thing that red meat is bad for you. And then there are people who don’t eat meat because it’s against their morals. Well, there’s nothing you can do with people like that. I’ve often wondered to myself: Does a vegetarian look forward to dinner, ever?"

Wow! How times have changed! It is common knowledge that vegetarians and vegans have lower cholesterol, fewer heart problems, better skin, and live longer than meat eaters!

Although it seems that vegetarianism is a phase or a cool diet of today, vegetarianism has been around for a long time.

From this history of vegetarianism (http://www.dfwnetmall.com/veg/historyvegetarianism.htm):
"The word vegetarian is derived from the Latin vegetus which means whole, sound, fresh, lively. The first instance of its use was not found until 1842. On September 30, 1847, a group in England had the inaugural meeting of the Vegetarian Society. This original group of 140 free-thinking individuals publicly supported meatless eating. Their publication, Vegetarian Messenger, urged people to live and let live."

More people should adopt the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. While vegetarianism is often a diet, VEGANism is a lifestyle.
I am vegan because I love animals and believe that humans do not have the right to mistreat or abuse animals for their sake. Whether it be for food, clothing, or entertainment. Animals have the right to live on Earth as much as any humans do!

If you want to find out more about veganism/vegetarianism, or need some convincing to turn a new leaf; check out this great movie! You can watch it for free on the website!

http://www.earthlings.com/

Why vegan?

To me veganism is compassion. I care about animals and eating them is paying for their murder.
The question is not if animals can communicate their pain to us. It is: Do they suffer? YES! Animals suffer, and they most definitely feel pain. Anybody that says other wise is refusing the hear the truth.

If you eat meat, you are a murderer. All animals have the right to live, just as much as humans do.

If you are an animal lover, go vegan! Do it for your health, do it for the animals, do it for the earth.

RAW food

A typical dinner for me:

Spinach, cabbage, nut based pate, carrot, green beans, and a nori wrap with a raw pate and veggies.

Meals like this make me feel full and good! :)






Dessert is required too!
This was a fruity frozen treat.
Made by processing a banana, peach, lemon, lime, and spinach (for iron).

With frozen banana and peach slices on top! :)

Raw<3

I just found out that Lara Bar's are raw vegan! I don't know if they are good since I have never had one. But I have seem them in several stores and it got me excited that raw vegan energy bars are available in many places.
I'm sure that a lot of non-raw foodists have tried these bars not knowing that they are raw. A lot of people are scared of raw food because it is different than what they are used to.

A lot of people I know eat a lot of junk food, and disgusting meat. They do not know how to react to my raw food recipes. These people often do not want to try my food. That is sad.

I wish more people were open to raw foods, or veganism. Being vegan is what makes me who I am.

If I needed three words to describe myself they would be: happy, active, (raw) vegan.

Raw vegan desserts I made

Raw vegan chocolate brownie with chocolate mousse and banana! Delicious :)

Raw vegan almond butter cookies....I will have to make them less sweet next time. But still good :)

Some Raw vegan food I have made recently

"Not tuna" pate wrap with spinach, broccoli, green pepper, and red pepper, in an organic untoasted Nori sheet.
They turned out pretty good.
It was the first time I made them. This was what they looked like unrolled. I am not quite sure of the proper way to roll Nori sheets, so I just rolled it into a long log and then cut it in half.








I also made the same thing into small sushi like sample sizes. To give to my meat-eater parents. They liked the recipe!
:)

Childhood obesity can be solved with veganism

Children in the U.S. are getting progressively larger. This leads to diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, and heart issues. Many of these problems can be solved with a vegan or vegetarian diet.
Some people think that animal free diets are not healthy for kids. Actually this type of diet is much better. Your kids could be free of toxins, processed meat, and of course, cruelty.

I hope that more parents and teachers become aware of healthier ways of eating and living.

There are some great books and online resources available for parents. A great source comes from the author of The Vegan Lunchbox. A great book for parents that want to make vegan lunches for their children. This site is a great source for parents, teachers, and everyone involved in the lives of children.

Veganism is a great way to keep your family healthy.
The love of animals can be incorporated into your everyday lives.

I will leave you with a quote that has been popping up online in my recent searches:
"Meat is murder, dairy is rape." (and I added. honey is stealing).

Raw veganism

I have decided to give raw veganism a try. After much thought and consideration...why not?

Raw vegans are a bit more extreme than the strict vegan diet I was already following.

Raw vegans do not consume food cooked above 110 degrees F.

I think it is a really cool concept to be that close to the earth, and to eat foods in their natural state.

I am going to get some cook books and other books, and see how it goes.

I'm hoping I will be happy! :)

Vegan restaurants

It's pretty hard finding a place to eat vegan in Maine.

There are a few restaurants that I have tried that are pretty good...

The Green Elephant, in Portland Maine.

Silly's, in Portland Maine.

Are there any more that other people know about?

Vegan pregnancy

People often ask me if I plan to be vegan when (in the future) I am pregnant!

Of course! Why would I want my baby to develop with the toxins and chemicals in animal products. I do not want my children to develop abnormally because of unnatural foods.

A vegan pregnancy is just as safe as a pregnancy of a meat eater, if not better! Vegan food is healthier!

There are pre-natal vitamins for vegans.

Yes, a vegan pregnancy is safe!

I think it's better. Check it out...

http://living.peta.org/2009/nutrients-for-a-vegan-pregnancy

Why vegans do NOT buy wool products.

Want to know what you're wearing? Or how about who you are killing to wear that itchy sweater?

"Helpless lambs are forced onto their backs, and chunks of skin and flesh are hacked from their rumps with gardening-type shears—often without the use of anything whatsoever to numb the pain. This crude, barbaric practice is called "mulesing." This practice is intended to stop flies from laying eggs in the sheep's wrinkled skin (although there are lots of humane ways to do so) but leaves the animals with open, bloody wounds that often become infested with maggots. 

The cruelty doesn't stop there. Once some poor sheep are unable to produce enough volumes of wool to satisfy the farmers, they are shipped to slaughterhouses in the Middle East and North Africa. Each year, millions of sheep are crammed so tightly onto boats that animals who are ill or injured often collapse and are trampled to death. Some suffer exposure to the elements, including storms at sea and must stand amid their own accumulating excrement. For many, the journey is fatal. The terrified survivors are dragged from the ships and thrown into the back of trucks and cars or loaded into trucks in the heat and taken to crude slaughterhouses—only to have their throats cut while conscious." -PETA

This is the reason I do not buy wool. People think that sheep and lambs are getting their excess fluff off for the warmer months. This is not true, these animals are subjected to abuse at all times of the year.

Not only are these animals used and abused, but after humans are done harming them for their own greedy purposes...they send them off to be killed.

People that buy wool must be misinformed about this industry. (I hope.) But I know that people do not care about animals, and will abuse them for their own uses. 

Why not wear wool?

Many people do not understand the "extremes" of veganism. Many people ask "why not wear wool?" or "why not eat eggs, they don't kill the chickens". Well the point of veganism is to love animals, and that means not using them for anything...clothing included. Vegans believe that people do not have the right to use animals for anything, any form of animal use is considered exploitation. Exploitation means selfish or unnecessary use, and that is often how people use animals.

It is important to me to not abuse animals, just because they are here does not mean that we can use any parts of their body.

To some wool is different than leather because the animals are not killed. But would you wear a sweater made of human hair? It's pretty gross. Also lambs that are raised to be used for wool are castrated and have their tails cut off without any form of pain killers.

If more people were conscious of their buying habits it would save a lot more lives.

And no, if animals are not abused I still will not use parts of their bodies for food or clothing, it is disgusting and extremely unnecessary.

Animal lovers don't use animals, they save them.