Vegucated

I finally took the time to watch Vegucated on Saturday with my husband, oldest daughter, and my mom.  It is yet another documentary discussing the benefits of a Vegan lifestyle.  It follows three people for six weeks while they explore a Vegan lifestyle.  Watching it just reaffirms all the reasons I have chosen this lifestyle...for my health, the environment, and animal welfare.

After watching this show, my oldest daughter wrote a post on her blog stating that she was going to eliminate dairy from her diet.  To read about her decision, and the reasons for it, made me tear up because I saw, once again, what a compassionate child she is. 

My husband has even decided that it is time for him to eliminate dairy as well.  

I am not exactly sure how my mom felt about this movie, but I do know that she is making great strides to improve her health with a more plant based diet.  Thanks, mom, for letting me accompany you on your journey to improved health!  I love you and want you to stick around for awhile!

I hope you will take some time and watch this documentary, too. (You can find it on Netflix and Amazon).  It's time to get Vegucated!!

Welcome to 2013!

Welcome to the new year!  2012 was a great year for me and my family.  We were happy, healthy, and made many memories. 

Just curious...do any of you make new year's resolutions?  I don't really make resolutions, per se.  I like to recount the previous year, learning from my mistakes and opportunities, which helps me focus on the year ahead. 

This year, I would like to focus on time management.  My new job has made exercise, household chores, and running the girls around much more challenging.  Keeping up with household chores is manageable when I utilize a cleaning/laundry schedule, and also when I delegate chores.  Getting the girls to activities, practices, school, and appointments has been made possible thanks to my dear husband stepping in and helping out A LOT.  So, that leaves exercise, which I desperately need to make a priority again.  I will achieve this by utilizing an exercise schedule which includes 2 days of cycling, at least 3 days of running, and 3-4 days of strength training and ab work.

So, what are your goals?  How will you achieve them?  Follow my blog and let's help each other make 2013 a healthy, productive year! 

Watermelon Cake

I made both of these watermelon cakes for birthdays over the summer.  They are a great alternative to the traditional birthday cake, especially for summer birthdays.  It just takes some patience and creativity to put one together.  They are fun to make and kids will love to help!

All you need is:

Watermelon

Berries

Kiwis

Mango

Grapes

Any variety of fruit you would like to use

Cake picks and dowels

Cookie cutters

Platter

Animal Dissection: Yay or Nay? ***Updated***

picture from www.sheep101.info

I say Nay, for sure!  My 11 year old daughter came home from school today and told me that they had to dissect sheeps' eyes in her 6th grade science class.  She was upset and sad all at the same time.  I do not understand how the school requires a parent to sign a permission slip to allow your son/daughter to take the puberty class and certain surveys at school, but neglects to request permission for dissecting an innocent animal's eyeball. 

It saddens me, that with today's technology, schools still choose to make children participate in this barbaric act.  I understand that when you are in medical school, or something along those lines, the time will come when you need to perform dissection.  However, that dissection can take place on a human cadaver (unless you are in vet school, in which case, dissecting an animal would be acceptable).  I should clarify:  this would be acceptable given that the human/animal died a natural death, in other words, was not murdered for the pure intent to dissect.

Unfortunately, my daughter did not speak up and say anything because she was worried about the consequences of doing so.  Therefore, I took this opportunity to talk with her and encourage her to stand up for her beliefs and told her that she is not any less entitled to her beliefs than anyone else, even if they are different from everyone else around her.  I told her, instead of getting upset and frustrated, that we need to use this as a teachable moment to help those around us understand that there is a way to live more compassionately. 

I see some activism in our future:  no more dissection!

It is time we start teaching our children and the people around us to live compassionately and love deeply for the sake of ourselves, our planet, and the animals.

***UPDATE***

So I feel as though some clarifications need to be made after all the comments I have received regarding this post.  First, let me just reiterate that I do not fundamentally disagree with all dissections, just dissections of murdered innocent, docile animals.  When I was in school I had to participate in dissection.  Dissection of frogs and other animals raised for this sole purpose is what bothers me.  Dissecting a cat, calf, or some other animal brought in by a rancher due to a natural death (not meaning it was necessarily old, but meaning that it had not been killed for the sole purpose of being dissected) does not bother me. 

In no way am I saying that I don't want kids to learn.  I am simply suggesting that there are other ways to learn. 

Also, of course I contacted my daughter's teacher right away, before I even typed this post last night.  We have an agreement now that if she is not comfortable with dissections, she does not need to participate, so no more dissection for her.  And, yes, if she would have known about this dissection prior to yesterday, this entire situation would have been avoided. 

To those of you so quick to make rash comments to me, remember this:  you do not even know me.  If you did, as I believe my friends and family would attest to, I would never force any of my beliefs on anyone.  I am simply trying to raise awareness and educate others about another lifestyle.  You can take it or leave it.  I accept and respect that there are many perspectives and opinions about EVERYTHING.  So the last thing I would ever do is intentionally offend someone.  It is not in my nature to be rude, aggressive, or insulting, and in turn I expect the same from others.

To those of you who love, respect, and support me, even if you don't agree with me on everything, thank you!

I would like to leave you with this quote from Mahatma Gandhi, "To my mind, the life of a lamb is  no less precious than the life of a human being.  I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body.  I hold that, the more helpless the creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man."  I realize that this is not a view held by everyone, but it is fitting for me.

Making the Switch

This my Veg family!  Love them so much!

This post is aimed at helping you and your family make the switch from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to a Vegan diet.  This is in no way a one-size fits all plan, but it is what has worked for me and my family.  Remember, in order to make a change, you must be open-minded and willing to learn new things.  You also have to be motivated to change or it is easy to lose focus on why you wanted to change in the first place.  This post was prompted by all of the interest I have had from friends and family saying they would like to change their lifestyle but have no idea where to start. 

It is difficult to know where to start when trying to eat a veg diet. There is so much information and misinformation to sift through. I will let you know what has worked for us.

First of all, start following my blog http:onewyomingvegan.blogspot.com where I post recipes and other information, and I will be there with you on every step of your journey to a new lifestyle.

Also, if you have Netflix or any other way of watching the Food Inc video, I would highly recommend it.  Watch this video with your family. This was the first video relating to where food comes from that my girls ever watched. They were 9 and 11. Ever since seeing that video 2 years ago, they have both been vegetarian by choice. The Meat Video that is posted on my blog is a very graphic look at the meat industry and very difficult to watch. However, for some reason we have learned to separate ourselves from our food and live in denial about where it comes from. So, even though it is taboo to discuss and look at these things, it is an integral part of the process to changing your lifestyle. A majority of people would not eat meat by choice if they had to kill it, or understood how it ends up on their plates. It is so important to educate yourself and your children when it comes to understanding food sources. 

Other good movies to watch to help educate yourselves about the benefits of a plant based diet are Food Matters, Forks Over Knives, and The Beautiful Truth.

After you and your children have been educated about the importance of a veg diet, you will most likely be motivated to make a change. Some people make the switch full speed ahead without ever looking back, and for others it is a gradual change. Some people may start out with Meatless Mondays and gradually work themselves into a veg diet. The speed of the change is not what's important, it is the fact that you are willing to make a positive change that matters.

After watching Food Inc. my girls and my husband were very motivated to eat vegetarian and I decided I was going to go all the way Vegan. So I took advantage of this momentum and checked out every book I could from the library on these topics (they were mainly cookbooks). One book that still stands out in my mind was Being Vegan by Joanne Stepinak

A really fun cookbook for kids, and one of the first I got, was Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Chandra Moskowitz. Kids always seem to be excited about cookies and this book helps them realize that eating Vegan tastes great.

Another fun thing for kids to know is who all the celebrity Vegans/vegetarians are. Let them do a search for famous Vegans; they may be surprised how many celebrities are vegetarian/Vegan!

www.vegweb.com is the main website I use for recipes. They have all the recipes broke down into different categories and there is a "kid friendly" category.

www.chooseveg.com has a ton of information on making the switch to a veg diet. They also have recipes. Definitely check this site out! It will probably help you and your family in every way possible.

http://www.mercyforanimals.org/vegan-starter-kit.aspx from this link you can order a free vegetarian starter kit (not sure what's in it, but I would assume lots of brochures, etc)

www.peta.org and www.petakids.com also have lots of information

www.vegansociety.com has a wealth of information, too

Here are some pointers to make it fun to eat veggie for your kids:

Let them help choose a recipe and help prepare it (I know this seems like a lot of work, but they are more likely to eat what they make)

Don't try any really exotic recipes with strange ingredients right away

At first stick with pastas, pizzas, and other things they may already like (you can Veganize anything!)

There are also great meat alternatives to make the transition easier such as, Morningstar sausages, chik n nuggets, black bean burgers, prime burgers, etc. Tofuky makes lunch meat slices that have an uncanny resemblance to real turkey.

Remember that there are many good reasons to eat veg: saving the planet, saving the animals, and living a longer, healthier life, to name a few!

There is so much information out there, and once you start looking around you will have many questions answered and you will have more questions to ask! You are doing a great favor for yourself and your family by taking this first step and asking for information. I firmly believe this lifestyle change is one of the most valuable gifts you will ever give yourself and your children! 

Remember, I am here to support you along the way.  Please contact me with any comments, questions, suggestions, etc (contact info can be found under my contact tab).  Also, check out my resource and reference page.  There are many wonderful books and documentaries about Veganism; most can be found on amazon or in your local library.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. I will be here to help you in this journey any way I can.

Raising Compassionate Children

Last night Makenna, my 13 year old daughter, had a friend come over who informed us that she was going to be a vegetarian after watching a video posted on facebook.  I asked her what it was about and soon figured out it was the same one I had seen on a website earlier that day, www.meatvideo.com  She had Makenna watch it and pretty soon they were both out talking to me with tears in their eyes.  They were both sad and disgusted.  This was one of those moments that I knew I had raised a very compassionate child, and I am so proud of her!  To hear Makenna tell me stories day after day about being asked at school why she is vegetarian, even though annoyed, she has never fallen to peer pressure, brings tears to my eyes.  I am so proud that she is so strong and confident in her convictions.

When Alanna, my 11 year old daughter, came out of her room this morning with tears running down her cheeks I asked her what was wrong?  She answered, "That video was so sad!  It makes me so mad; I can't believe they do that to animals!"  I hugged her and reassured her that she is doing her part to help alleviate animal suffering by choosing not to eat meat.  Then she replied, "I don't think I'm helping that much.  Everyone needs to quit eating meat and it makes me so mad to hear people say they could never live without it!"  This was another one of those moments that I knew I had raised a very compassionate child and I am so proud of Alanna!  Later today Alanna told me that she wants to be a Vegan and she doesn't even want to eat real cheese anymore.  She has been so dedicated to her vegetarian lifestyle over the past 22 months, that she has made her lunch for school everyday.  I am so proud that she has chosen to stand by her beliefs.

I have two of the most wonderful, compassionate, strong , confident , beautiful (inside and out) daughters and I could not be more proud to be their mom!  Together, I believe we can change the world! 

Let's all try showing more love and being more compassionate to all people, animals, and the environment.  We are guardians of this earth while we are here, and should have a deep, loving respect for all.