February 20, 2007
· Filed under vegan
I’m thinking about going completely vegan. It’s hard though because I love cheese so much (vegetarian cheese of course) and I don’t think vegan cheese is readily available in my area. I tried going vegan when I was about 14, but it didn’t work out very well as I was living with my family who are all highly carnivorous. They hated me being vegetarian, vegan was like a million times worse. Being vegetarian worked out ok though, 9 years later I’m still a veggie. I think I might write a little guide to telling your parents you want to be a vegetarian when I next have some time to think about it.
I’ve found a few yummy vegan recipes to try, and I had some good chocolate soy milk the other day when i was craving nippys chocolate milk so I think going vegan is possible. I might try slowly replacing dairy with soy/other alternatives at every opportunity possible, and avoiding it if possible as well as a start to becoming vegan. I think this will work out better than cutting everything out and going ‘cold turkey’ because it will be a gradual lifestyle change/habit-making process which I’ll be more likely to stick to and won’t feel so guilty if I slip up and ‘accidentally’ eat some pizza or something in the first few weeks. Then next I might tackle eggs. Wish me luck!
xoxo
miss V
February 15, 2007
· Filed under vegan, vegetarian, websites
I just found out about this super cute new site called veglovers. It’s a site where veggies and vegans can go to sign up and meet. It can be used as like a veggie dating service I guess but I think it’s supposed to be a ‘find other veggie friends in your area’ type thing it looks cute I’m going to sign up now, go check it out!
xoxo
February 15, 2007
· Filed under freegans, vegan
So there was this vegan at my old place of work, I knew that he was vegan but forgot and offered him some chocolate treats that I had with me. Surprisingly he took one and started munching on it in all its dairy goodness. I remembered then that he was vegan and said something along the lines of, ‘wait a minute, aren’t you vegan??’ and he said, ‘yes, but I’m a freegan.’ and I was like umm..what??? what’s a freegan? and he said that a freegan is ‘a vegan who will eat something non-vegan if it is free because this doesn’t exploit the animal since it was going to go to waste anyway/was given freely’ which I found a little strange but interesting, so I had a look on wikipedia, and they define freegan like this:
Freeganism is a lifestyle based around the belief that almost all work and monetary exchanges within a capitalist economy contribute to myriad forms of exploitation – worker abuse, animal exploitation, hunger, ecological destruction, mass incarceration, war, inequitable distribution of resources, commodification of women – almost all issues addressed by social, ecological, and animal rights advocacy groups.
Freegan”, a portmanteau of “free” and “vegan”, is derived from the observation that even a vegan lifestyle is not free of exploitation.
Many freegans get free food by pulling it out of the trash, a practice commonly nicknamed dumpster diving in North America or skipping in the UK. Freegans find food in the garbage of restaurants, grocery stores, and other food-related industries, and this allows them to avoid spending money on products that exploit the world’s resources, contribute to urban sprawl, treat workers unfairly, or disregard animal rights. By foraging, they prevent edible food from adding to landfills and sometimes feed people and animals who might otherwise go hungry. Many freegans claim that they are able to eat very well, and even avoid paying for food altogether, due to this practice. Many vegan dumpster divers come to embrace freeganism in order to utilize more of the thrown-out food they find, which would otherwise be wasted.
hmm that is just a little excerpt from wikipedia’s definition. I was thinking about freeganism the other day when it for some reason came up in conversation, and I wish I still knew that guy so I could ask him a bunch of questions! I would really like to learn more about freeganism and think I will do a bit of research. So if there are any freegans out there…feel free to comment because I’d like to know how it all works and why you do it!
xoxo miss v
February 14, 2007
· Filed under Recipes, avocado, vegan
This is the delicious meal/snack I have often and in fact had for dinner last night. It’s a variation on the traditional avocado and tomato on toast and is ridiculously easy. As you can probably tell I have a big thing for avocado! This recipe is completely vegan provided the bread and cooking margarine etc you use contain no dairy or other surprises. Enjoy !
Avo, tomato, and onions on toast
What you will need:
1 avocado – soft rather than hard but not too soft
1-2 tomatoes
1 onion
Salt
Pepper
Soy sauce
Mixed herbs
Cooking spray/oil/butter/margarine etc
A few slices of wholegrain bread (I love ploughmans)
Put 2 slices of bread in the toaster, repeating as necessary (I would generally say 2-3 slices for each person). While that is toasting, slice the onion up into rings or dice into small pieces. Fry them up in a pan with the cooking spray or oil etc. Add a little soy sauce and mixed herbs or any herbs you enjoy. When cooked through remove from heat and set aside.
Slice the tomatoes thinly. Take the avocado and cut in half, using a butter knife spread the avocado over each piece of toast as if it were butter. Place 2-3 slices of tomato on top of each piece of toast. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pile the set aside onions on top et voila you’re done! Many variations can be made to this recipe, including substituting mushrooms for onions. It’s quick, cheap and easy and makes a tasty little snack any vegan, veggie or carnivore alike can enjoy 
I’ll try post a photo of this for you soon
xo xo
Miss V 
