Vegan Rant

I find it as a vegan very irritating that others feel the need to criticize my diet. I get it that there is this stereotype of a "preachy" vegan that sets everyone on edge with their views telling non-veg heads that their diet is wrong etc etc. I am not one of those by any means. I feel that if my diet is something that interests you then you will be naturally curious and ask me about it. For me my choice of food is about my life and philosophies not just simply what I choose to eat. I come at it from a very Buddhist point of view in terms of wanting to be compassionate, gentle and non-harming. I also feel that I do not have the right to decide that anything else's life is any less important then my own. Each creature has it's own purpose and agenda and I do not have the right to treat that as a commodity. I also feel that there are a lot of great thinkers, revolutionaries, athletes, spiritualists and artists that are vegan and that is something worth emulating. I want to evolve and leave as small of an imprint on the earth's consciousness as possible. I want to be a friend to all those I encounter, a gentle soul.
But that is just me. My personal views which I in no way push onto others. I have a bible of factoids in my head that I can spew on a dime about why we should invest in a plant based diet but again nothing turns people off faster. I don't bother wasting my time or trying to convert people.

Having said all that I am human. And as such there are times when I am not strictly vegan. There I said it. For me meat wasn't an issue to give up. It was dairy. I am a bonafide coffee addict: double double ( 2 creams, 2 sugars for you non-Canadian readers, or Timmie's fans.) For years I rationalized not being able to give up real cream, substitutions all sucked. I tried them all. But finally I was able to first kick the sugar and then slowly the cream. To me the dairy industry is one of the worst; and I noticed that perhaps due to the hormones I hit this plateau with my weight; my curves got curvier and there wasn't a thing I could do about the bloating. And after a few  months of giving up cream-13 pounds came off. But I am getting off track.. I will on occasion indulge in a piece of cheesecake or a piece of salmon or tuna. X-mas time there may be turkey. Again this is so few and far between say maybe 5x a year that I choose to consume meat. I am anemic and went through a period where my hair was breaking and falling out- so I thought maybe I should try animal protein. Now I simply know it is time to vary my diet and I haven't had that problem for a long time. But the point of this confession is the fact that I love how meat eaters feel the need to point out my lack of veganism at these times. Like I don't harp on a carnivore for the time they choose to eat a salad and tell them they are a bad hypocritical meat eater. Like for some reason this constitutes a failure of some sort. Never mind that the other 360 days a year I uphold my beliefs or diet. I once read this book by raw foodists saying that once you choose to go with a plant based diet you will notice that an invisible line will be drawn between you and carnivores. And there will be aggression towards you for your choices. Truth be told I have noticed this time and time again. As soon as I say I don't eat meat people's backs get stiff and they either feel the need to state well I ain't gonna become a vegetarian-it's not going to happen without me so much as bringing up idea at all. Or people justifying not being able to give up or survive without their protein or asking me stupid questions like how do I get my protein.

I really just wish people would just stop making such a big deal about the whole thing..

 

Shout out.

It is a mild balmy day in the Albertan foothills county - warm wind blows off the mountains and while I sit here sipping good strong coffee this feeling of gratitude washes over me. Gratitude to all of those out there who have been a source of inspiration to me; both artful and spiritual. Those who have made me want to be a better aspect of myself and have listened and in turn seen me as a source of inspiration. I need art and creativity like I need air, so thank you for the long talks on cooking, spirituality's, books, letters from Sweden, postcards from around the world and shared and exchanged artwork. I am blessed by your offerings and truly flattered that you in turn find me to be a source of inspiration as well as someone you can confide in.

~NAMASTE~ 

Yummy Vegan Men.

To me a man was always the concept of a protector. I found this video about a group of men who are vegan and out to dispel the myth about what a vegan body looks like. All of these men work out -outdoors without the use of a gym and only consume plant protein. Their athleticism is amazing and ohhhh the muscles. definitely worth the 6 minutes to watch the video.  http://youtu.be/hZv0milS6hE

Awesome T.

I grabbed this at Stitches for $10. I couldn't pass it up.

Peace Keepers

I just found out about this company. I keep seeing the same reviews of the same companies being touted for being vegan- which is great, but I want a variety of places to shop and options! So I like to keep digging for new things to get excited about and I am soooo excited about this company:

Peace Keepers
 They have a wide variety of vegan products and not only that but their company principles are based off of the yoga Sutras of  truthfulness and non-stealing. They believe in fair wages, and promoting slavery free work and are 100% cruelty free. Also if that isn't a sell they donate all of their after- tax profits to issues concerning women!  Their products all come with an full ingredient list that can been looked up on their web site and a specific toxicity report on each ingredient. They also have a specific listing as to which products are vegan and which are not.

This is a quote of their mission statement:

"Peacekeeper Cause-Metics is the first cosmetics line to give all of its after-tax, distributable profits to women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues. PeaceKeeper builds a bridge between extraordinary women in the land of plenty and extraordinary women who, by chance of birth, don’t have our resources or opportunities.
Here are the ideals that we pledge to uphold in our business practices: 



1) Slavery-free labor
2) Fair wages

PeaceKeeper is building a slave-labor free company, so if we believe there to be any  exploitation in hours, safety, or health-care and retirement benefits, we are out.

We are consulting with www.newstandards.com to monitor this.

PeaceKeeper makes sure that the companies we are working with, here and overseas, pay a fair wage to their employees.

3) Cruelty-free products 

PeaceKeeper does not use any products that have been tested on animals. We also provide 100% vegan products for animal lovers who do not use ingredients such as carmine.

PeaceKeeper strives every day to practice the ideals of truthfulness, non-stealing, and non-violence, as found in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, a text which outlines the ways in which a yogi can find ethical balance throughout their life.

When a yogi practices truthfulness, ultimately anything they say will come true.  If they practice not hoarding or stealing, people will feel so safe around them that they will reveal unimaginable treasures. When we truly practice non-violence, then no negative energy can harm us. Like the Buddhist monks who can safely walk through a battlefield, we can face each day unaffected by the negativity in the world. Now that's powerful!

As a company, PeaceKeeper strives to promote promote greater peace throughout the world by the practice of these traditional concepts. We hope that you can help us achieve success by practicing truthfulness, non-stealing, and non-violence in your own everyday lives! "http://www.iamapeacekeeper.com/products.htm?PriceCat=2&Lang=EN-US&SID=07b9ab82-ca6d-45e7-9449-3727b0c9c036

Tattoo!

Food for thought

Yesterday afternoon my husband and I visited a new cafe in downtown Kitchener called Pyrus. The place rocked! It was decorated with thrift store cast offs such as the typical plaid couch with wooden arms that is seen in so many cottages or grandparents basements. All the tables were mismatched, and there were bookshelves with books and board games. The food was all vegan, organic, and locally sourced and cheap! I got  a plate of coconut curry on basmati rice for $6- and it was a big plate. The place was rocking full of people I might add, which lead my husband and I to have a rather interesting debate.

The majority of the customer base were hippies or very "granola" looking. There were girls with long dreads, girls with their hair in bandanna's and basically what you would stereotype as being a "vegan". So it made my husband pose this question as to why it is that if you are a vegan you seem to end up looking or dressing this way. We thought that perhaps it had something to do with keeping it at a grass roots level or maybe had something to do with the anarchists and environmental activists that live mostly around the Seattle area. Then we also thought maybe there is also a cross over with the straight edge punk scene that could influence clothing and style since many of the customers also had manic panic hair, piercings and tattoos.

After all of this I pointed out that there are lots of vegans out there that don't want to look this way at all and feel that there is nothing out there for them, fashion wise. I think this gap is why there are now so many designers coming out with "haute couture" for vegans. But I said to me this new marketing spin is a ploy to market to rich bored housewives. I have seen non-wool winter coats selling for upwards of $600 and shoes for $300. And as much as I would love to support the entire vegan movement who has that sort of disposable income to be able to buy a $600 coat in this time of financial uncertainty?

I guess that is the entire reason I started this blog. It was because of this growing gap between what the stereotype is and  this new culture sprouting up. You have on one hand a person who would look at the hippies and say " I don't want to look like that" or you have a normal gal like me who looks at the couture and the pricey food stuffs and thinks " I can't afford that." So what's one to do especially if you are new to the movement and have no clue as to where to start? So again I reiterate; this was my purpose in beginning this blog. There are so many in-betweens in all areas be it clothing, beauty or food that is vegan and affordable in whatever expression you choose.

Having said that the debate with my husband ended with him agreeing on his own terms that too would become vegetarian. Up until this point I left it up to him and whatever meat he bought was purchased from a family member who owns a hobby farm with two cows that live well and are ethically killed to feed several families for a year. I am quite happy that he is coming to this decision and doing it on his own terms without doing it just to please me.

New Year Beginings.

Happy New Year my lovelies!  In with the new and out with the old as the saying goes. This year I plan on making a vow to be more conscientious to what I put into and onto my body, how I may inadvertently pollute my mind and soul and how I can reduce my polluting the earth I call home.

I have been reading a lot about sustainability and  reducing our toxic footprint both on the earth and inside our homes and bodies. For example did you know that 89% of the ingredients used in the majority of cosmetics have never been tested for safety! There is no governing body that forces cosmetic companies to adhere to a basic standard of health and safety.  Pretty scary when you think about it especially when you know that our skin is one big sponge that absorbs 50% of everything it comes in contact with.

I'm not going to get into a big diatribe of what to avoid and all that jazz, but I will point out companies that I use that are both vegan and truly natural and free of harmful chemicals. Trust me it takes a bit of patience and finesse to find both but the long term effect will be so worth it in the end!

For now here is an awesome book on sustainable fashion and beauty; I picked this book up at chapters for $6.99 and it is loaded with colour photos of all sorts of companies. http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Style-Naturally-Savvy-Shopping-Guide-OAKES-SUMMER-RAYNE/9780811865241-item.html?ikwid=oakes+summer+rayne&ikwsec=Books