Election '08

I'm still on my "blogging hiatus," but will return and update this site when I have the time! I do miss blogging! I have been looking at your blogs though and peeking in!

I did have to post regarding the election though and say YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm very happy to be part of such a huge change for our country. I can't say enough about how exciting this is. :) A united Unites States? It is possible, and a change this big gives proof and further hope. One point stands out to me regarding this election:

Personal Responsibility

PS - Congrats to us in MA for protecting the grey hounds!!!! :)

Marine Parks

When I was little, I thought my dream job would be to work at SeaWorld. I thought it would be fun to be around dolphins, seals, and whales and train them. I even began college studying Marine Affairs to pursue this "goal." As I found out more and researched more, it was not so easy to see the good side of aquariums.

My dream to work at SeaWorld has died over the years as I researched how the animals were obtained and how the industry promotes cruelty and dominance over animals that should be free. I suppose I always knew, I just wanted to believe the shows were doing some good. I wanted to believe in what we were told; it is all for education. What a bunch of shit that is.

Orcas have become my favorite animal of all, and I have my collection of stuffed orcas and posters from the Whale Museum on the San Juan Island in Washington state, and various other places I've visited that help whales and educate in a healthy way. When I recently saw the movie, "Lolita, Slave to Entertainment," I knew I had to buy it and blog about it.



Lolita was captured in 1970 when 10 of her family members were taken from the Puget Sound in Washington State. Some of the captured adults and young whales drowned trying to swim through the holding nets to reunite with their family. As par for the course in the industry, the dead bodies were hidden from the public by sinking them. The dead whales were sliced down the middle and filled with rocks, and their tails wrapped with rope and anchored. (The public would not know of this, had they not washed up on shore.) The survivors of the capture were sold all over the world in the name of entertainment. Some went to Japan, Texas, the UK, Australia, etc... While her other captured family members have since died in captivity, Lolita went to Florida and remains there today in a tank as the sole remaining whale from that Puget Sound Round-Up.

"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." ~ Albert Einstein




I've been to the birthplace of Lolita many times. I have even seen her pod swimming free in the Puget Sound. The photo above was taken where Lolita should be living right now. Her mother is still alive there, and her family pod is together. Lolita's return to the wild would be an important step in changing how we educate people, and would be a possible feat for Lolita and her pod.

Please look into this movie if you still support Aquariums like SeaWorld or Seaquarium. The industry just as ridiculously full of lies as is the dairy industry promoting cow's milk for our health. Our new way of educating could be much more advanced, fair, and respectful if we used computer generated scenes and exhibits, Imax shows, and wildlife cameras of actual footage. Seeing a whale in a tank is not studying whales at all. It's teaching the audience that dominance over others is acceptable and makes money. What a horrible message to send out.

If you would like to read more about Lolita or join the campaign to rescue her, visit one of the websites below:

www.SlavetoEntertainment.com

www.miamiseaprison.com

www.rattlethecage.org

The biggest way to beat this industry so they will stop capturing and killing animals, is simply to not support them. Do not give them your money. Do not buy a ticket. Stop the demand for the capturing and killing.

Here is a link to other ways to help:

How to Help

Eat to Live!

On Week 4 of Eat to Live, and it's going very well. We've been eating so many veggies and fruits, lots of raw ones too, and getting our Omega's from raw nuts instead of the oils that I previously over-used in cooking! I love all the fruits, nuts, beans, grains, and veggies we've been having. Right now, I am simmering a pot of 17 bean and barley *no-salt* soup. (Trader Joe's! Bagged beans, and a no-salt vegan bouillon from Whole Foods.)

Anyhow, here's a glimpse into my kitchen on E2L...

Double steamer with red cabbage in one tray, and sweet potato in the other. My fruit and veggie bowls on the side are usually always refilled with fresh stuff now and it doesn't go bad like in the days before E2L! ;)


I have to be careful not to eat more than 1 ounce of raw nuts and seeds per day because of the fats, but I do like to get at least half an ounce. I measure it now, and here is a mixture of raw pumpkin seeds and raw sunflower seeds at exactly 1 ounce. (no salted ones on E2L!)


Lastly, my favorite breakfast "cereals." It's so simple since we just grab some oats, barley, spelt, or rye flakes. Sometimes we will do a mixture of them all. It doesn't take a lot to fill up on these, and it's great with unsweetened soy milk!


Anyhow, it has been going very well, and I am noticing how badly I had previously been eating. Being vegan does not mean you naturally eat well and will be in perfect shape. Oh no... you can certainly make horrible food choices being vegan too. It's easy to be over-weight and be vegan, and I'm seeing how much I still have to learn to find a way of eating that works best for me and makes me feel the best I can. I think we're getting there though!

Hope you are all having a great summer!

Eat to Live Again

Most of you have already heard of the book Eat to Live by Dr. Fhurman. I've owned the book for some time now, and even gave Jamie a copy because I thought the information was so important. He and I have recently revisited this book, but with a new motivation. We had previously been drinking coffee (me!) and soda (Jamie!) and eating out lots. It just wasn't working out, and we realized that we needed to be more serious about our health. No more French Fries/Chips!

ETL is a book that needs to be read completely for the information, as it is not a "diet." Jamie and I are reading it and are in our second week of "detox" on the six week plan. We are very happy with the results so far!

So, with no added salt, sugar, empty calories, oils (aside from whole nuts)... we've been creating dishes that are full of vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, and all the foods that we actually like, but forgot we liked!

It's not hard to follow this style of eating, you just have to re-learn what to eat. (Just like when I went vegan.) It's easier with a partner though, and Jamie and I are lucky that neither of us is still eating chips and soda.

Tonight's dinner was a mixture of adzuki beans, mushrooms and onions cooked in a bit of water, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. (no salt or oil!) On top was some quinoa cooked in low-salt veggie broth and water. All served on a bed of arugula.



Using FitDay as a guide, I see this dinner had a low fat/calorie ratio, but also had 40 grams of protein!



I'm happy with all the fruits and veggies we are eating, and also all the raw meals we've had. The way our bodies are responding to this way of eating is letting us know that it's right for us! Congrats to Jamie on a super successful week 1, and also for initiating the six week detox!

Bad New Addiction

Hi! I'm back from a few trips, the biggest one was a two week U.K. trip with Jamie. :) My blog has suffered because I'm never home now, but just in case anyone ever reads it still, I'll post my latest food addiction.

I had been making pancakes for Jamie lots, and I'm now becoming addicted to them myself! I was never one to eat a big breakfast of heavy pancakes... but I've (sadly) changes my ways! I love editing the recipe for the plain pancakes in Vegan with a Vengeance. I add different extracts or fruit or different flours. My latest pancake craze had me waking up the next day wanting more: Pigs in Blankets!



I never liked non-vegan pigs in blankets, but these are great! I used Tofurky breakfast sausages shown below in the orange box:


With the VwaV pancake recipe and lots of 100% pure maple syrup... I'm addicted to this sugary, sodium-filled, heavy, and really yummy breakfast!

Vegan Cat Food

Help!

Does anyone out there feed their cat a vegan diet? If so, which cat food do you buy? I'd love to switch my 2 cats over so the entire family will then be vegan, but I've only seen unaffordable vegan cat food on the Web, then you have to also pay for shipping. I'm also wondering if your cat(s) are still healthy on the vegan food? I've not heard any successful stories of converting cats to a vegan diet, so I'm looking for more information. I'd love to be a vegan family, all the way down to the kitties!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!! Tia and Mittens thank you too! :)

2008 Begins!

Yes, I'm a month behind on the "New Year" thing, but I'm trying! I have just begun the resolutions, but this is better than last year when I never quite got around to any of them. I hope you are all sticking to yours, if you made them! It's a great idea to write down your goals and read them daily, then you know where you want to go and you will get there faster with them in your mind!

One of my goals was to add more raw food into my diet. I say this all the time, but with help of a new "cookbook," it's easier than ever.

This new raw "cookbook" is more than just a recipe book. Ani talks about a way living healthy and discusses water, vitamins, sunlight, recycling, etc... which makes the book more interesting. We probably know all these facts already, but it's nice to be reminded! Here is the book cover and link to Amazon where you can peek inside the book or order it:



There's lots and lots and lots of photos of Ani in this book, but once you get over that fact, it's a nice addition to any vegan cookbook collection!

My first recipe from this book was a raw "egg" salad. Made with different types of nuts, I thought this was easy to make and very good! (Just be careful you are not eating too much fat other than this since this is packed with nuts/fat!) I added a scoopful onto some napa cabbage. The salad dressing was just an apple cider vinegar, oil, and some spices.



I have lots more to blog about, but I'm running out of "Internet" time! Work calls! (oh, and the treadmill.) :( Some of my next post will talk about the great package I recently got in the mail from my order from the infamous vegan online boutique called Viva Granola! Oh my goodness. Have you tried Sheese yet? You *must!* Viva Granola carries many flavors of it, and I'd like them all!

Lastly, guess what I started up again?! Wheatgrass!!!! If you read my blog awhile back, I used to grow and juice it. Small apartment life killed that fun, and it was all put on hold. I had been using the frozen cubes of it, but it was not the same. Finally, I began growing it again and had my first batch this week!!!! I can't say enough about it, and while I admit it's time consuming...it's so worth it to me. Here are some links to my previous posts about my fascination with wheatgrass, including how to grow it and (of course) photos:

Wheatgrass Posts

Off to work I go, but I hope you are all having a great 2008! I have been gone all of January and wonder if I've lost my readers? :( I will try to get you all back!! :P

Thanks for stopping by!! Happy February!