Well Christmas is almost here, Christmas eve tomorrow - if only I was as excited about it as I used to get when I was little - it just doesn't 'feel' like Christmas any more, and I don't think it's because I'm getting old, I've heard alot of other people say it too. Hmmm. I blame Cococola (for changing the adverts) and Woolworths, I'm not sure why the latter, I just do.
But yes, Christmas, normally means death and/or puss (milk based products) buttt, I treated myself to Redwood's 'Celebration Roast' which consists of a Turkey style roast thing and 4 pigs in blankets style things. I hope it's nice, it 'did' rob me just over a fiver (which I suppose isn't that bad, but still) I hope the Turkey stuff is better than rest of Redwood's products (most are exactly the same thing just with different flavourings... hmm).
Twigletts, I have Twiglettes... I've actually never had them before - but as I LOVE Marmite I thought I'd try them - not a fan, why do they 'hurt'?! Obviously the Celebrations and Roses are off the menu, but to be honest I wasn't exactly a fan before, I just kind of eated them for the sake of it, because it's Christmas - like Sherry?!
Nuts, nuts, lots of nuts - Yay... I've also roasted some Soybeans to snack on and my mum has very kindly bought me a fruit basket woohoo! So this could be the first Christmas I've ever had where I havn't put on 4 thousand stone!.... saying that, with the amount of alcohol I intend on consuming I probablly will. Meh.
OH, and I have VEGAN MAYO... I know that's not exactly exciting, but I could never actually justify spending £1.30 or whatever it on a little jar of mayo, which makes you fat anyway, but because it's Christmas and all that..
And I've decided that I'm making Christmas dinner for the family this year, because I don't trust people not to serve me pussy potatoes, so i'm making it and everyone is getting vegan mash. Yay.
Sadly, however, my step-dad got a crate of Foster's (not Vegan), though he also got bottles of Beck's (Vegan) but they're bottles, and go down too fast...... and apparently I'm an alcoholic.
Oh, and I received an email the other day, which I need to remember to reply to - asking if I'm interested in entering for Europe's Sexiest Vegetarian - haha, I don't think I'll bother enterting to be completely honest, I think I'll spare the embarrassment, but if anyone is interested in enterting head over to http://www.peta.org.uk/feat/Europes-sexiest-vegetarian-2009.asp?c=pukesv09 for more details..... does the American winner on that page have a very bazzar belly button, or is it just me?!
Anyway - I'll leave it at that, as I've had a few pre-christmas bevvies already and will probably end up typing crap (well, you know, ever crappier...)... so Merry Christmas to all reading - have a good en!
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a Happppy New Yeaaar!
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Peta2 promo stuff is here!
Woo woo! Okay, I got some Peta2 promo stuff today, finally - I ordered them weeks ago and finally got (some of) it today, I think there should be another batch aswell.
"Meat's Not Green" flyers which are pretty good... and also loads of stickers - "I'm Not A Nugget", "Meat's no treat for those you eat", "Fish are friends, not food!" and "Love Me Don't Eat Me"I've already had fun attacking the bacon in the fridge and also stuck the fish one on my mum's fish tank.. muuahaha.
I'll be having fun shifting them around town over the next few days too, woop... hmm, I was actually doing the exact same thing as a job for a nightclub this time last year, ha... flyering that is... not giving out PETA stuff at a nightclub.. that would be a little bit strage (but a good idea.. hmmm!)..
And look at this, I just saw it on the Fish and Chimps blog - it's so cute.. but sad =(
"Meat's Not Green" flyers which are pretty good... and also loads of stickers - "I'm Not A Nugget", "Meat's no treat for those you eat", "Fish are friends, not food!" and "Love Me Don't Eat Me"I've already had fun attacking the bacon in the fridge and also stuck the fish one on my mum's fish tank.. muuahaha.
I'll be having fun shifting them around town over the next few days too, woop... hmm, I was actually doing the exact same thing as a job for a nightclub this time last year, ha... flyering that is... not giving out PETA stuff at a nightclub.. that would be a little bit strage (but a good idea.. hmmm!)..
And look at this, I just saw it on the Fish and Chimps blog - it's so cute.. but sad =(
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Tofu and Vegan 'cheese'
I think I've finally sussed out how to make tofu not taste of rubber - freeze it!
I made some Marmite and soy sauce marinated tofu steaks with brown rice the other day and they were actually really nice. I froze it, and then defrosted it after reading that it gives a more 'meaty' texture - and it does! It was so much nicer, and didn't make my stomach feel like it was going to explode, which it normally does..... a result! weyhey!
Going back to a previous post about vegan 'cheese' I finally tried Redwood's melting Mozzarella which isn't bad at all. First I made pizza with it, which 'worked'... they weren't fantastic, and didn't feel have the same feel as cheese, but it was a pretty good substitute.... but then I grated some over noodles (the 8p instant kind) and that was pretty awesome. Gave that lovely gooey texture... but without the disgusting orange fatty slime that you get from 'proper' cheese.... so another result! weyhey!
Happy December by the way! I'm not looking forward to Christmas all that much because half of my family are going to Spain but still - I thought I'd get slightly festive and I've been making 'wintery' biscuits... Oats and vegan butter with ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and lots of sugar. Yum. I'm going to attempt to make some 100% from scratch vegan mince pies closer to the time, too.... another ploy to convince the rest of my meat-eating family that veganism is wonderful. =)))
In other news, I'm thinking of getting a tattoo saying 'vegan' of course, not yet - I've only been vegan for a mere 4 months so it could still all fall apart at any given time (although after dreaming I ate sausages last night and throwing up for about 2 hours after, It's not looking as thought it will)... but I will be waiting until I've been vegan for just over a year.
I've always said I'd never get a tattoo because I'd regret it in years to come... and I never really saw the point to be completely honest. I now kind of think it'll make a final commitment and say YEAH I'M ACTUALLY VEGAN and then I couldn't really be seen in KFC in 4 years when I've given in to a craving sporting 'VEGAN' on my wrist.
I just read on article, however, on the amount of tattoo inks that are actually vegan. Especially black, which is apparently made by burning down animal bones to charcoal...or something. There are some companies which produce vegan ink..but finding somewhere that does may be a little tricky. Especially as the people in those kinds of places look as though they would eat you if you blinked wrong.
Anyway, some designs that I'm thinking about.
There's just the plain block capital letters:
A little nicer than those though, and the other way around I think.
This could be cool also, but smaller, and on my wrist:
And I 'love' the font of this.... just it it were horizontal, and smaller. =)
Oooh, I really like this one which i just found - Just the Vegan Soc logo without the flower. I liiike.
Hmmm, I think I'll leave it at that, and ponder what design i'd like - I may have changed my mind in a year though.... probably, knowing me.
Have fun.
I made some Marmite and soy sauce marinated tofu steaks with brown rice the other day and they were actually really nice. I froze it, and then defrosted it after reading that it gives a more 'meaty' texture - and it does! It was so much nicer, and didn't make my stomach feel like it was going to explode, which it normally does..... a result! weyhey!
Going back to a previous post about vegan 'cheese' I finally tried Redwood's melting Mozzarella which isn't bad at all. First I made pizza with it, which 'worked'... they weren't fantastic, and didn't feel have the same feel as cheese, but it was a pretty good substitute.... but then I grated some over noodles (the 8p instant kind) and that was pretty awesome. Gave that lovely gooey texture... but without the disgusting orange fatty slime that you get from 'proper' cheese.... so another result! weyhey!
Happy December by the way! I'm not looking forward to Christmas all that much because half of my family are going to Spain but still - I thought I'd get slightly festive and I've been making 'wintery' biscuits... Oats and vegan butter with ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and lots of sugar. Yum. I'm going to attempt to make some 100% from scratch vegan mince pies closer to the time, too.... another ploy to convince the rest of my meat-eating family that veganism is wonderful. =)))
In other news, I'm thinking of getting a tattoo saying 'vegan' of course, not yet - I've only been vegan for a mere 4 months so it could still all fall apart at any given time (although after dreaming I ate sausages last night and throwing up for about 2 hours after, It's not looking as thought it will)... but I will be waiting until I've been vegan for just over a year.
I've always said I'd never get a tattoo because I'd regret it in years to come... and I never really saw the point to be completely honest. I now kind of think it'll make a final commitment and say YEAH I'M ACTUALLY VEGAN and then I couldn't really be seen in KFC in 4 years when I've given in to a craving sporting 'VEGAN' on my wrist.
I just read on article, however, on the amount of tattoo inks that are actually vegan. Especially black, which is apparently made by burning down animal bones to charcoal...or something. There are some companies which produce vegan ink..but finding somewhere that does may be a little tricky. Especially as the people in those kinds of places look as though they would eat you if you blinked wrong.
Anyway, some designs that I'm thinking about.
There's just the plain block capital letters:
A little nicer than those though, and the other way around I think.This could be cool also, but smaller, and on my wrist:
And I 'love' the font of this.... just it it were horizontal, and smaller. =)
Oooh, I really like this one which i just found - Just the Vegan Soc logo without the flower. I liiike.
Hmmm, I think I'll leave it at that, and ponder what design i'd like - I may have changed my mind in a year though.... probably, knowing me.
Have fun.
Saturday, 22 November 2008
Nescafé Espresso.
Just a quick blog, because I'm actually annoyed.
I just made myself a cup of Nescafé 'Collections' Espresso, which you'd assume vegan, right? As I poured the water in, I noticed a creamy layer forming - so I read the jar where it says it has a 'crema' layer. Hmmm, so i checked the ingredients - wait, there isn't any ingredients! Just that their beans are grown in africa in a mystical forest where pixies live giving it a rich taste of magic enfused pixie bean... or something like that. So I thought I'd check the website, surely they'll say what's in the crap that you're drinking there? Apparently not. It just says that it has a 'crema' layer - which is a 'vital component of the classic espresso' apparently. Now, am I being REALLY thick here? I wasn't aware that coffee beans made cream? If it's a 'component' doesn't that imply that it's something else? If it is, how do they get away with not stating the ingredients on the label?
I can only assume it doesn't contain milk, as I thought it was law to state it - but I think i'll leave it anyway. Fail.
I just made myself a cup of Nescafé 'Collections' Espresso, which you'd assume vegan, right? As I poured the water in, I noticed a creamy layer forming - so I read the jar where it says it has a 'crema' layer. Hmmm, so i checked the ingredients - wait, there isn't any ingredients! Just that their beans are grown in africa in a mystical forest where pixies live giving it a rich taste of magic enfused pixie bean... or something like that. So I thought I'd check the website, surely they'll say what's in the crap that you're drinking there? Apparently not. It just says that it has a 'crema' layer - which is a 'vital component of the classic espresso' apparently. Now, am I being REALLY thick here? I wasn't aware that coffee beans made cream? If it's a 'component' doesn't that imply that it's something else? If it is, how do they get away with not stating the ingredients on the label?
I can only assume it doesn't contain milk, as I thought it was law to state it - but I think i'll leave it anyway. Fail.
Friday, 21 November 2008
An ode to Original Source
Okay, not an ode - I'm not that clever, but at least a little bit of love!
This stuff is amazing, and it's cruelty free. I fell in love with it before I became Vegan, when I got the Lime 'flavoured' one - I say flavoured, because it practically IS. I found myself having 100% more showers just so I can use it, that's sad.
It is wonderful though, there's so many random flavours, I'm currently on Ginger and Orange - and it doesn't sound that good - but it is. I also have some Almond and somthing or other shampoo, which says on the bottle 'Probably more nutritious than what you ate for lunch' - it's probably right.
HOWEVER, I did have a really good soup for lunch today, Fennel and Garlic. Recipe here. I just added 4 cloves of garlic instead of one to make it Fennel and Garlic because I seem to love garlic. I also changed the spices, but I forgot what to, handy. It's kind of like a 'soup' that a Bulgarian friend of mine made me last year - still garlic and fennel, but raw and with fennel seeds, it was pretty good summer soup - just grated garlic, fennel seeds, salt and pepper, plain yoghurt and water. I think I may make that again next summer, vegan yoghurt though, obviously.
Which reminds me of the excellent Shopska salad too - Tomatoes, Cucumber, Onion diced, salted, vinegared, oiled - topped with feta(ish) cheese and sliced boiled egg. Shame about the topping, I wonder how I can vegan that up? I think I saw a feta style cheese, but what could I use for the egg? Maybe something with Tofu?? Scrambled Tofu? Any suggestions please leave as a comment!
Finally - a massive PLUG for peta2. This is great, I suppose it's like the 'youth wing' to PETA with an uber cool Street Team where you earn points, to get stuff. I'm going for the very cool 'Vegan' huddie. 25,000 points though, and I'm currently on 3,200..and something - so yeah, If you're not already registered, REGISTER and in the referer box, my email address is nothsa@hotmail.co.uk ;-). There's a cool forum on there too (which you get points for using!) but it does need some work, not the most user-friendly, or easy to navigate/read/find information - hopefully they'll get this sorted out soon.
Oh, oh - that's NOT all, I'm thinking I want to go and intern with PETA in America, but obviously, not until I turn 21 - obvious reasons. But it would be cool, living (for a while) in America, working for Peta and living in a vegan house - be super amazing at my job, come back to the UK and convince Peta Europe that they want to employ me.
Oh yeah, and I said in another post to try out that Indian if you're in the Stoke On Trent area - don't. After our last order (sending the wrong food, forgetting rice, charging us for 'free' extras, and then being VERY, VERY rude when we rang to say so) I don't think we'll be ordering again. Meh.
Right - I'm actually going now - have fun!
This stuff is amazing, and it's cruelty free. I fell in love with it before I became Vegan, when I got the Lime 'flavoured' one - I say flavoured, because it practically IS. I found myself having 100% more showers just so I can use it, that's sad.
It is wonderful though, there's so many random flavours, I'm currently on Ginger and Orange - and it doesn't sound that good - but it is. I also have some Almond and somthing or other shampoo, which says on the bottle 'Probably more nutritious than what you ate for lunch' - it's probably right.
HOWEVER, I did have a really good soup for lunch today, Fennel and Garlic. Recipe here. I just added 4 cloves of garlic instead of one to make it Fennel and Garlic because I seem to love garlic. I also changed the spices, but I forgot what to, handy. It's kind of like a 'soup' that a Bulgarian friend of mine made me last year - still garlic and fennel, but raw and with fennel seeds, it was pretty good summer soup - just grated garlic, fennel seeds, salt and pepper, plain yoghurt and water. I think I may make that again next summer, vegan yoghurt though, obviously.
Which reminds me of the excellent Shopska salad too - Tomatoes, Cucumber, Onion diced, salted, vinegared, oiled - topped with feta(ish) cheese and sliced boiled egg. Shame about the topping, I wonder how I can vegan that up? I think I saw a feta style cheese, but what could I use for the egg? Maybe something with Tofu?? Scrambled Tofu? Any suggestions please leave as a comment!
Finally - a massive PLUG for peta2. This is great, I suppose it's like the 'youth wing' to PETA with an uber cool Street Team where you earn points, to get stuff. I'm going for the very cool 'Vegan' huddie. 25,000 points though, and I'm currently on 3,200..and something - so yeah, If you're not already registered, REGISTER and in the referer box, my email address is nothsa@hotmail.co.uk ;-). There's a cool forum on there too (which you get points for using!) but it does need some work, not the most user-friendly, or easy to navigate/read/find information - hopefully they'll get this sorted out soon.
Oh, oh - that's NOT all, I'm thinking I want to go and intern with PETA in America, but obviously, not until I turn 21 - obvious reasons. But it would be cool, living (for a while) in America, working for Peta and living in a vegan house - be super amazing at my job, come back to the UK and convince Peta Europe that they want to employ me.
Oh yeah, and I said in another post to try out that Indian if you're in the Stoke On Trent area - don't. After our last order (sending the wrong food, forgetting rice, charging us for 'free' extras, and then being VERY, VERY rude when we rang to say so) I don't think we'll be ordering again. Meh.
Right - I'm actually going now - have fun!
Friday, 14 November 2008
U.H.T Milk!
Ok, so I figured out that the Soymilk on the shelves is infact U.H.T, but, in my defence, it doesn't exactly shout it out loud. On the Alpro Soya ones it's just in pretty small letters on the top of the carton on the left hand side. I feel slightly stupid, but there's nothing new there. I think I'll stick to 'fresh' in future, it tastes less like fatty flour water?
Moving on, as I said in my last post, I've really started to warm to PETA but I've since found out that apparently everyone on the vegan forum seems to hate them - although they don't actually bother to hold an argument as to why - just tell me to search the forums and there "are plently of arguments of why not to support them". In all honesty, if I felt that strongly about something, I'd write about it and explain it to that person, instead of telling them to go and search for why they shouldn't support something which they do. Hmmmm!
Oh, Oh - and the BEST snack in the world: Wholemeal bread toast + tomato pureé, yum!
That is all!
Moving on, as I said in my last post, I've really started to warm to PETA but I've since found out that apparently everyone on the vegan forum seems to hate them - although they don't actually bother to hold an argument as to why - just tell me to search the forums and there "are plently of arguments of why not to support them". In all honesty, if I felt that strongly about something, I'd write about it and explain it to that person, instead of telling them to go and search for why they shouldn't support something which they do. Hmmmm!
Oh, Oh - and the BEST snack in the world: Wholemeal bread toast + tomato pureé, yum!
That is all!
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Indian Takeaway
Ok, so I've been a bad blogger and it's actually been exactly a month since I've updated - but that's not out of character for me at all. I did, however, find an Indian Takeaway whose Vegetarian dishes are all vegan as they don't use any animal fats since the owners mother apparently had a stroke and he has now learned to cook of of his dishes 'healthily'. I probably wouldn't trust anywhere else, but these guys seem pretty decent.
They even have a live webcam stream from their kitchen - which is pretty awesome and if you order online, it gives you a count-down to how long your order and you'll soon be able to track your delivery! He's also developing the worlds hottest curry, and a fully automated Indian restaurant - if you're in the Stoke area you should definitely give them a go!
On another note, I've been trying some of these wierd and wonderful vegan products, the meat and dairy 'style' ones, none of which I've been all that impressed with Redwoods's 'bacon' was pretty pointless really, didn't taste/look/feel anything like bacon and didn't add anything to the meal. The Turkey 'style' slices wernt too bad though, they were pretty good on a sandwitch.
The 'Sheese' mature chedder was one of the worst things I've tasted in my life. It was just awful and smelled of feet.
I've heard nothing but good about Redwoods ‘Super Melting Cheezly’ though, so I'll have to give that a try!
Another thing I've noticed, Soya milk - there's SO much difference in the taste in this it's unbelievable. I've been trying loads of different brands, and mixing between the stuff you get in the fridges and the stuff you get on the normal shelves (what IS the difference between those?!) because all I've noticed the is the ones on the selves are alot cheeper and very disgusting! Best value I've found so far is Morrison's own brand (from the frdige) - I think it was around 88p /ltr and it was really nice!
One thing which has caught my attention in recent weeks is PETA, I'm growing pretty fond of these guys and the work that they do - especially after reading their blog. There's some pretty good reading on there. I think I may become a member when I get some spare cash, actually!
In the world of weight loss it's now starting to go pretty well, I've cut out 80-90% of the (bad) carbs I was having before - potatoes, white bread, white pasta, white rice etc and replaced them with wholegrain/meal/wheat/whatever and I think it's working pretty well! Woohoo!
I also rejoice in the fact that Bryan Adams has been vegan for 20 years. It almost makes me want to like his music! Try Youtubing him though, it's really strange!
They even have a live webcam stream from their kitchen - which is pretty awesome and if you order online, it gives you a count-down to how long your order and you'll soon be able to track your delivery! He's also developing the worlds hottest curry, and a fully automated Indian restaurant - if you're in the Stoke area you should definitely give them a go!
On another note, I've been trying some of these wierd and wonderful vegan products, the meat and dairy 'style' ones, none of which I've been all that impressed with Redwoods's 'bacon' was pretty pointless really, didn't taste/look/feel anything like bacon and didn't add anything to the meal. The Turkey 'style' slices wernt too bad though, they were pretty good on a sandwitch.
The 'Sheese' mature chedder was one of the worst things I've tasted in my life. It was just awful and smelled of feet.
I've heard nothing but good about Redwoods ‘Super Melting Cheezly’ though, so I'll have to give that a try!
Another thing I've noticed, Soya milk - there's SO much difference in the taste in this it's unbelievable. I've been trying loads of different brands, and mixing between the stuff you get in the fridges and the stuff you get on the normal shelves (what IS the difference between those?!) because all I've noticed the is the ones on the selves are alot cheeper and very disgusting! Best value I've found so far is Morrison's own brand (from the frdige) - I think it was around 88p /ltr and it was really nice!
One thing which has caught my attention in recent weeks is PETA, I'm growing pretty fond of these guys and the work that they do - especially after reading their blog. There's some pretty good reading on there. I think I may become a member when I get some spare cash, actually!
In the world of weight loss it's now starting to go pretty well, I've cut out 80-90% of the (bad) carbs I was having before - potatoes, white bread, white pasta, white rice etc and replaced them with wholegrain/meal/wheat/whatever and I think it's working pretty well! Woohoo!
I also rejoice in the fact that Bryan Adams has been vegan for 20 years. It almost makes me want to like his music! Try Youtubing him though, it's really strange!
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Curry wasn't good...
REALLY.. wasn't good!
Yeah, I made the curry - not good at all. The flavours and what not were pretty good, but it contained potato, and after cooking it for about 10-15 mins longer than the recipe said, they were still RAW, like, seriously raw. I ferked them all out, and popped them in the microwave for about 10 mins - then they just came out dry, and still raw. But still, I put them back into the curry, and attepted to eat it, then regreatting putting them back in.
I did, HOWEVER, make GREAT rice. I've always found it pretty impossible to make good brown rice, no idea why, it's either always raw, soggy or it goes into a mush... but i've mastered it. WOOOHOO!
I've also this second descovered a love for 'sweetend with apple juice' soymilk. I got some before and thought it was pretty disgusting, and then accidentally picked some up again from Asda tonight but I've just had a glass and it wasn't half bad!
I must say though, how impressed I am with me for sticking it for this long... and the funny thing is is that I actually havn't had ANY cravings at all - apart from when there was McDonalds Chicken Nougats wafting under my nose, but a quick reminder of what it actually is and it soon went away.
I used to ADORE cheese, but the other night my friend made "pizza toast" (basically cheese on toast but with tomato puree) and the smell of the cheese actually made me feel so sick, I was very impressed.
The only downside is I'm not losing as much weight as I'd like, although I suppose it's down to the amount of carbs I'm having, which is alot. I'm going to attempt to cut down a bit, but considering my new favorite snack is Marmite on toast it's very tricky! Hmmm!
Yeah, I made the curry - not good at all. The flavours and what not were pretty good, but it contained potato, and after cooking it for about 10-15 mins longer than the recipe said, they were still RAW, like, seriously raw. I ferked them all out, and popped them in the microwave for about 10 mins - then they just came out dry, and still raw. But still, I put them back into the curry, and attepted to eat it, then regreatting putting them back in.
I did, HOWEVER, make GREAT rice. I've always found it pretty impossible to make good brown rice, no idea why, it's either always raw, soggy or it goes into a mush... but i've mastered it. WOOOHOO!
I've also this second descovered a love for 'sweetend with apple juice' soymilk. I got some before and thought it was pretty disgusting, and then accidentally picked some up again from Asda tonight but I've just had a glass and it wasn't half bad!
I must say though, how impressed I am with me for sticking it for this long... and the funny thing is is that I actually havn't had ANY cravings at all - apart from when there was McDonalds Chicken Nougats wafting under my nose, but a quick reminder of what it actually is and it soon went away.
I used to ADORE cheese, but the other night my friend made "pizza toast" (basically cheese on toast but with tomato puree) and the smell of the cheese actually made me feel so sick, I was very impressed.
The only downside is I'm not losing as much weight as I'd like, although I suppose it's down to the amount of carbs I'm having, which is alot. I'm going to attempt to cut down a bit, but considering my new favorite snack is Marmite on toast it's very tricky! Hmmm!
Saturday, 4 October 2008
Liverpool
Okay, so I went to Liverpool for a couple of days earlier this week, which was pretty difficult - I was staying with a friend who's a student there so food was very limited. So I ended up eating 2 apples and two bananas over 48 hours. haha.
Although combined with walking around Liverpool about 14,000 times, it did help with losing some fat! haha, and I also saved money on feasting on KFC/Burger King/McDonalds like I would have done before - wooohoo!
I'm going to make a curry tomorrow, which I got the recipe for with some random spices which I got the other day - no idea what it's going to be like, but it's vegan so I'm going to give it a shot. Need to actually eat some food to get over Liverpool....... and need to learn to take more supplies with me.
Ooh, and I discovered a love for Marmite. Which I probably wouldn't have if I wasn't vegan, I'd tried to before.. but didn't really rate it much, although it was strange because I didn't LOVE it or HATE it, just thought it was alright, but that's typical me I guess, but now I'm actually loving i.
Anyway, I think that's all I have to say and someone is moaning at me because they want to ring me, so I better go.
Although combined with walking around Liverpool about 14,000 times, it did help with losing some fat! haha, and I also saved money on feasting on KFC/Burger King/McDonalds like I would have done before - wooohoo!
I'm going to make a curry tomorrow, which I got the recipe for with some random spices which I got the other day - no idea what it's going to be like, but it's vegan so I'm going to give it a shot. Need to actually eat some food to get over Liverpool....... and need to learn to take more supplies with me.
Ooh, and I discovered a love for Marmite. Which I probably wouldn't have if I wasn't vegan, I'd tried to before.. but didn't really rate it much, although it was strange because I didn't LOVE it or HATE it, just thought it was alright, but that's typical me I guess, but now I'm actually loving i.
Anyway, I think that's all I have to say and someone is moaning at me because they want to ring me, so I better go.
Thursday, 18 September 2008
The Vegan Food Blog
Okay, to go along side this blog - I've made 'The Vegan Food Blog', where I'll be logging my favorite recipes and adding anything from my cooking experiments as well as this I'll be adding thoughts and ideas on vegan food, restaurants, shops etc etc. If anyone is interested in helping out with this then please get in touch!
The Dreams
Well for the third night in a row now, I've dreamed about eating dairy. It's actually quite amusing.
It's been Muller Rice, Milk on cereal and custard, I've been half way through eating them and then realised "AAAH! I'm eating cow juice!" sort-of-thing.
Although I do have a theory as to why - I recently got to the point where I'm not checking the back of everything, because I'm kinda getting to know what I can and can't eat and I'm just getting the soya milk out of the fridge on auto-pilot and not having to consciously remember not to use diary milk - and sometimes, I'll be half way through some musli and have to think weather I used soya or dairy because I don't actually 'remember'.
I guess that's a good sign though - I'm not always thinking about what I can and can't eat, I'm starting to just 'know' and get on with it.
Also - my hands are starting to go pretty dry, which is strange. One of my friends said that someone she knows is vegan, and he said that it made his hands go dry - to which I thought was pretty weird and couldn't really be down to not eating animal products, but my hands have also gone quite dry. Strange.
Other than that my health is pretty spot on, considering I've been going to bed at stupid o'clock most nights and drinking obscene amount of alcohol! I havn't really had a hang-over since being vegan, and have had alot less of the 'meh' morning feel.
Not really losing any more weight though, probably due to this and the fact that I descovered certain buiscuits are vegan.... and some Walker's crips. *Makes a mental note to cut those out*
Speaking of unhealthy food, I made onion bhajis the other night, they were pretty good, although I only had one onion to spare and they needed much more spices and seasoning than the recipe says. I did attempt to make a second batch a few days after, with more onion and spices... only to find out that we don't have a chip pan any more - so the mixture is in the fridge until we get a deep fat fryer.... hopefully we'll get one before it starts to grow fur.
I'm getting annoyed with places that don't sell vegan lager too - Beck's Veir, at one point, was taking over the world and now it seems that nowhere sells it anymore. Wetherspoons have loads of lagers, none of which are vegan. grrr, but in their defence shorts are pretty reasonably priced, so whiskey and coke it is.
Downside to Beck's Veir is, it seems that the lines need to be cleaned more than most lagers otherwise it tates like crap - after the lines have been cleaned it's nice, sharp and crisp... but after a few days it tastes really thick and...generally not very good.
I've yet to actually eat out, everyone went to Taybarns the other day, it was hard enough eating there as a vegetarian, so I'm not even going to bother as a vegan, unless I plan to eat salad - but then it kind of takes away the value for money aspect.
It's been Muller Rice, Milk on cereal and custard, I've been half way through eating them and then realised "AAAH! I'm eating cow juice!" sort-of-thing.
Although I do have a theory as to why - I recently got to the point where I'm not checking the back of everything, because I'm kinda getting to know what I can and can't eat and I'm just getting the soya milk out of the fridge on auto-pilot and not having to consciously remember not to use diary milk - and sometimes, I'll be half way through some musli and have to think weather I used soya or dairy because I don't actually 'remember'.
I guess that's a good sign though - I'm not always thinking about what I can and can't eat, I'm starting to just 'know' and get on with it.
Also - my hands are starting to go pretty dry, which is strange. One of my friends said that someone she knows is vegan, and he said that it made his hands go dry - to which I thought was pretty weird and couldn't really be down to not eating animal products, but my hands have also gone quite dry. Strange.
Other than that my health is pretty spot on, considering I've been going to bed at stupid o'clock most nights and drinking obscene amount of alcohol! I havn't really had a hang-over since being vegan, and have had alot less of the 'meh' morning feel.
Not really losing any more weight though, probably due to this and the fact that I descovered certain buiscuits are vegan.... and some Walker's crips. *Makes a mental note to cut those out*
Speaking of unhealthy food, I made onion bhajis the other night, they were pretty good, although I only had one onion to spare and they needed much more spices and seasoning than the recipe says. I did attempt to make a second batch a few days after, with more onion and spices... only to find out that we don't have a chip pan any more - so the mixture is in the fridge until we get a deep fat fryer.... hopefully we'll get one before it starts to grow fur.
I'm getting annoyed with places that don't sell vegan lager too - Beck's Veir, at one point, was taking over the world and now it seems that nowhere sells it anymore. Wetherspoons have loads of lagers, none of which are vegan. grrr, but in their defence shorts are pretty reasonably priced, so whiskey and coke it is.
Downside to Beck's Veir is, it seems that the lines need to be cleaned more than most lagers otherwise it tates like crap - after the lines have been cleaned it's nice, sharp and crisp... but after a few days it tastes really thick and...generally not very good.
I've yet to actually eat out, everyone went to Taybarns the other day, it was hard enough eating there as a vegetarian, so I'm not even going to bother as a vegan, unless I plan to eat salad - but then it kind of takes away the value for money aspect.
Friday, 12 September 2008
Enter the Vegan
It's now around 2 weeks into my becoming vegan, and so far so good!
My cousin has been vegan for years now, and I always thought it was a little bit odd and a little bit 'too far' (compared to Vegetarians/Vegetarianism) - though now I've come to realise that was only down to ignorance. I first tried veganism probably about a year a go, and it lasted about 2 days, before I gave up and had cheese on toast, followed by a curry for tea!
Though after that, I did change my opinion of vegans, and even more so vegetarians - I realised that being Veggie was a complete waste of time, like deciding you're not going to drink alcohol, but still having spirits. Didn't really understand why someone would be vegetarian, but not vegan? But I still didn't have the will power to actually 'do' it.
This time around, I have to say I took it alot more seriously. Initially, dispite my dislike for it, I became a vegetarian, with the hope that I would lose a couple of lbs - and just happened to come across some stuff on Facebook about the cruelty with KFC, leading to PETA's website. I know PETA are about as respected as the cows they campaign about, but I thought I'd give them a fair chance to say what they're out to say.... and well, obviously it worked, or at least it stuck the idea of trying veganism again - and I signed the 'Veg Pledge', saying that I would 'explore' veganism for 30 days.
After that I did a fair lot of research, both on the effects of what is involved in the reering of animals for food, the salughter, preperation etc and also the pros and cons of cutting it from the diet, especially on the nutrition side. Endless websites, forums and groups later, I decided I was ready to make the change. I was no longer willing to put (any more, apart from cigarettes and alcohol) shit into my body they're engough, and at least they provide some enjoyment.
My first few days went pretty well actually, although I suppose I 'cheated' a little bit - as my cousin is an expert vegan so she gave me loads of hints on what to look out for, brands to get, where to get certain things from and a bunch of recipes to get me started with.
Alot of people say "but... what will you eat?!?" to which I've now started to say "well, nothing, that's the real downside to being vegan - there's no food which doesn't have animal products in it"... the amount of food out there is unbelievable, if you're just willing to go and have a look
Okay, granted, it's not for everyone - but right now i'm pretty much enjoying it, and havn't really craved any meat/dairy so far, the thought of it actually makes me feel slightly sick to the honest.
I generally feel alot better already, I've lost some weight, have more engergy and just feel better/healthier in myself.
Woohoo!
My cousin has been vegan for years now, and I always thought it was a little bit odd and a little bit 'too far' (compared to Vegetarians/Vegetarianism) - though now I've come to realise that was only down to ignorance. I first tried veganism probably about a year a go, and it lasted about 2 days, before I gave up and had cheese on toast, followed by a curry for tea!
Though after that, I did change my opinion of vegans, and even more so vegetarians - I realised that being Veggie was a complete waste of time, like deciding you're not going to drink alcohol, but still having spirits. Didn't really understand why someone would be vegetarian, but not vegan? But I still didn't have the will power to actually 'do' it.
This time around, I have to say I took it alot more seriously. Initially, dispite my dislike for it, I became a vegetarian, with the hope that I would lose a couple of lbs - and just happened to come across some stuff on Facebook about the cruelty with KFC, leading to PETA's website. I know PETA are about as respected as the cows they campaign about, but I thought I'd give them a fair chance to say what they're out to say.... and well, obviously it worked, or at least it stuck the idea of trying veganism again - and I signed the 'Veg Pledge', saying that I would 'explore' veganism for 30 days.
After that I did a fair lot of research, both on the effects of what is involved in the reering of animals for food, the salughter, preperation etc and also the pros and cons of cutting it from the diet, especially on the nutrition side. Endless websites, forums and groups later, I decided I was ready to make the change. I was no longer willing to put (any more, apart from cigarettes and alcohol) shit into my body they're engough, and at least they provide some enjoyment.
My first few days went pretty well actually, although I suppose I 'cheated' a little bit - as my cousin is an expert vegan so she gave me loads of hints on what to look out for, brands to get, where to get certain things from and a bunch of recipes to get me started with.
Alot of people say "but... what will you eat?!?" to which I've now started to say "well, nothing, that's the real downside to being vegan - there's no food which doesn't have animal products in it"... the amount of food out there is unbelievable, if you're just willing to go and have a look
Okay, granted, it's not for everyone - but right now i'm pretty much enjoying it, and havn't really craved any meat/dairy so far, the thought of it actually makes me feel slightly sick to the honest.
I generally feel alot better already, I've lost some weight, have more engergy and just feel better/healthier in myself.
Woohoo!
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