Update

Will you forgive me?

Hey everyone-

Just wanted to let you know.... I am still getting used to this whole blogging thing. So I, uh, a little while ago I sort of accidentally disabled the commenting option for you readers. But don't fear! I just fixed it! Now you can leave your comments!

Also, I haven't posted anything interesting (at least I think so) in a while. This is pretty much due the fact that in the past two and a half weeks I a have been sick. Twice. first with a mild flu, a week or more feeling better, then the one I got Saturday, which we think was swine flu. But I'm taking my last day "off" today, feeling almost normal, just to be safe, then back to busy life tomorrow.

And lastly, some good gluten-free vegan, mostly sugar-free and low-fat baked good recipes are coming your way. I'm on the brink with a couple, so stay tuned.

Thanks for understanding-
VEGirl

Nana's Nummy Cookies

Imagine a cookie- that is vegan, free of both wheat and gluten, contained only natural fruit sweeteners, no GMO foods (genetically modifies organisms) and also was dense, moist, and mouthwatering-ly delicious. Well, wake up, 'cause now it's a reality.



I cannot say enough about Nana's gluten free cookies, made by Nana's cookie company. Not all their products are gluten-free, but every baked good is vegan, GMO free, and contains no refined sugars. And they taste
DELICIOUS.
HEAVENLY.
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

Yeah, I think you get it now. I have tried both the chocolate crunch and lemon cookies (because that was the gluten free ones that were available at my Co-op), but there are others, like ginger and plain chocolate, plus cookies bars and cookie bites. The chocolate crunch cookie had a wonderful cocoa flavor, that wasn't clouded by sugar, and then a nice little crunch from the puffed rice in it. The lemon is absolutely fantastic, with a tangy lemon scent and flavor, but not overly sweet. That is another great thing about them, you aren't left with that horrible taste in your mouth, that refined sugar gives you.

The cookies come individually wrapped in plastic, and are a bit spendy, so I don't get them often, just as an occasional treat. We used them for our Easter basket this past Easter.

I encourage you to try them, they are so yummy. They will give you a brand new view on healthy gluten-free vegan treats.

Happy munching,

VEGirl

Soy Whip

OMG I discovered the most delicious thing in my life.

Yes, it's Soy Whip from Soyatoo!®


This is straight from their website:

Soyatoo!® Soy Whip™:

• is 100 % vegan & free of cholesterol

• contains 40 % less fat than classic whipped cream

• is gluten free

• contains 0% trans fat and is heart-healthy

• is perfect with fruit, desserts & beverages

• has incredible flavor and texture and no soy bean taste

• comes in a practical spray can

YAY! And in addition to ALL that, it tastes fantastic. We had it on a chocolate zucchini cake that I made (gluten-free vegan, obviously!), and then the next day, in a homemade mocha. Just heavenly. It practically tastes like dairy whipped cream! No soy aftertaste, if you know what I mean. It was so good I did what my Grandpa used to do before I went vegan- I sprayed the stuff straight into my mouth. Please don't gross out and leave. It was delicious! I can't wait to use it for Thanksgiving....

Signing out-

VEGirl

Degutopia!

About three months ago, the family adopted three degus from River's Wish Animal Sanctuary in Spokane, WA. They were, I believe, rescued from a rodent breeding facility. These degus are about 7 years old (I think), and absolutely hilarious. They have come a long way since they got here. I hope you enjoy these photos!

This is the cage we built for them (they are on the top three floors, and the rats are on the bottom two floors. The two rodent groups are separated, of course). It's not as big as the cage they were in at the sanctuary, but they get out to play in Degu Disneyland (way below).



I think this picture was taken shortly after they arived at their new home. Their names are Cesar (boy), Jesse (boy), and Artemis (the only girl). Naaawwwww......



We have a tin of mixed seeds (from our garden, such as parsley seeds) that we sprinkle around their cage for a delicious challenge! This degu is foraging for his (or her, it's hard to tell) favorite seeds.



They just can't get enough!


*****


This is Degu Disneyland. There are containers underneath the fabric, holding it up so the degus can run under it. The basket, box, and hidey hole, all from their cage, are also fun features. The degus love to chew more holes in the fabric so they can have more entrances and exits!





*****


For Degu Disney Land, all the stuff that isn't already found in their cage, is displayed here....



.... And packed into this multi-use bucket for easy storage! The bucket is something the degus like to crawl in. It's just a really old Lincoln Log bucet that has been painted.



"Hoped you enjoyed these pictures"


-Artemis, Cesar, Jesse, and VEGirl

First Ever Leafleting Experience!

Last Friday at a local festival, I went leafleting for the first time ever! I was handing out Why Vegan? booklets from Vegan Outreach. I was expecting to be there handing out booklets for at least an hour, but when I started with about 70 booklets, they were gone within half an hour! WOW! It was definitely not what I expected, which was lots of people grilling me for information and wondering why a 13-year-old was concerning herself with animals. But no! Yippee! The leafleting was surprisingly easy, all I did was say "Brochure for animals?" while holding out a leaflet right in front of the person passing, and they either said "Sure" or "No thanks." And to my pleasure, no rude comments!



So anyway, I wanted to give some tips for those teens and children who want to leaflet. Don't be afraid! Just do it!

PREPARATION:

• Wear nice looking, presentable, clean cloths. Have your hair looking nice, and if your wearing makeup, have it be very light and friendly. You don't want to look like a raccoon (no offense to raccoons! But physical features should stay true to the animal!), and you want to look professional so people will take you seriously.

• When choosing the place to leaflet, choose a place or event that will have lots of people, yet where your not in the way too much.

• Choose how many booklets to order depending on the crowd or foot traffic of people who will be offered the booklet. A lot goes in a short amount of time. Be prepared!

• Before leafleting, remember what your intentions are. For me, it's to raise awareness about the animals suffering, and to provide information for a solution-- veganism. If you have your intentions straight, you will answer vegan related questions with ease.

DURING THE LEAFLETING:

• Always be polite, kind, and SMILE SMILE SMILE. :)

• If someone refuses the booklet, just say something like: "Okay, well, have a nice day!"

• If someone says something like: "I like meat" you can say something back like: "This booklet is for people who like meat" or: "Well then you'll like this, it has plenty pictures of meat in it."

• If someone asks a question be brief and polite. And if they ask something that really doesn't have to do with the topic, just be polite and always bring it back to what is relevant. So if someone says: "What about the insects killed in the growing of vegetables, don't you care about them?" You can politely say back: "Yes insects are killed in the process of vegetable growing, but insects are also killed in the growing of way more crops for animals raised and killed for human consumption. The fact is insects, humans, and farm animals are dying because of factory farms, and the suffering of them can be put to a stop." (Hope that didn't sound too corny)

• When offering someone a booklet, try holding it in front of his/her stomach, or putting it out before they are right in front of you. This lets them take a leaflet with little effort, so you don't seem like a nuisance.

• Always have a stack of leaflets in your hands, and keep more easily accessible, such as in a bag right behind you, or a bag slung around your shoulders.

• Smile, smile, smile

• SMILE (OK I think you get it now)

AFTER THE LEAFLETING:

• Relax, you helped the animals and now treat yourself to a break!
  

As an extra, I want to credit the book-- "Striking at the Roots A practical guide to animal activism" -By Mark Hawthorne that I got a lot of my leafleting tips from. The book is all about ways to be an efficient animal activist. If you've ever said or thought: "I want to help animals but I don't know how," then this the book for you! I have a link on the sidebar under Recommended Readings that will take you the book at Amazon.

Hope this helps for all of those who want to leaflet.

For the animals-
-VEGirl

Sorry Everyone!

I would like to apologize to anyone who has noticed that the template and layout of the blog keeps changing, over and over...and over! I'm trying to find one I like, which involves scouting around the internet and testing different ones. I hope it will settle soon. This one right now (called Meet the Chef) is from the most adorable website, that has the most adorable and awesome templates, for free! Check it out here.

**UPDATE** 9/13/09= changed the template again. Sorry! Again!

Thanks for you understanding!
-VEGirl

rat friendly phrases

OK. Now, if you know me (though you probably don't since this is only my second post), you may know I absolutely love rats. I have two pet rats who were rescued from a shelter, Vi (Violet Caterwaul. Not my idea, blame it on my sister. But still, I do think it's cute. Oh, and 'caterwaul' just as a cutsey name, not like the real definition) and PJ (Pepper Junior, named after one of my first rats, Pepper. PJ looks and acts surprisingly like Pepper did!).

Upper left: Violet in some wrapping paper. Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of her face, so this is the best I've got.

Lower left: PJ steals some trail mix and enjoys herself


But more about that another time, right now I want to bring to your attention the violent quips we make at rats in our everyday speech. We unfortunately do this to other animals in our speech, Look at the 'compassionate cliches' podcast at Compassionate Cooks. (A podcast is like a pre-produced radio show. Sorta.) ANYWHO: I knew a few, but did a google search and marveled at, OK well about 20 rat phrases, but still, some weren't so flattering. And I really don't think we need to add to the bad picture humans have made for the sensitive, intelligent, social, and totally wonderful creatures. I want to identify some of these harsh comments and offer alternatives for them.

Rat's!- OK, now I am going to take some of my words from the website I found (ratswhiskers.tripod.com/bioratphrases.html) cause it words this nicely. SO, Rat's!-- an exclamation of dismay. Why would we be dismayed, and hence cry "Rat's" when we really should be saying "Rat's!" in a happy, joyful voice. Rat's, in my opinion, don't symbolize sadness and misfortune. So, might we instead say "Shoot!" or "Dang!" or "OMG!" or SOMETHING. Jeez, for all I care, display your talent for colorful swearing, but let's not take our dismay out on rats.

ratted out- as in: "Ratted on his best friend to the police." Or some variation on this. Basically meaning: "they told on us!" Like I said before, rat's shouldn't symbolize misfortune, and they also shouldn't symbolize betrayal. So might we instead say something like...."They told on us!" "They tattle-taled!" or if your feeling dramatic- "They betrayed us!"

Rat faced- to have a face with a rat like appearance. Pointy nose, black looking eyes, prominent front teeth, and maybe some whiskers. I guess I don't really have a problem with that. Admittedly, rat's features wouldn't be too attractive on a human, but on a rat, it's flippin' adorable. So we'll that phrase stay.

To smell a rat- from the website again: "to suspect the involvement of a traitor in your midst." Honestly, rats DO NOT have that bad of a smell, and their cage won't even smell that bad if you use a type of grass hay. We just discovered this method and are loving it. You smell the lovely odor of hay until you next clean the cage. Yippee! Oh, right, rat friendly phrases. So, say- "I suspect a traitor" OH OH OH! I have one: "I smell a traitor." A human one, obviously, 'cause, you know, humans can stink and all.

ratty- to look all torn up and shabby. Rats have very good hygiene, and groom themselves until they look B-E-A-utiful! So we could look:"Shabby" or "grubby" or "dirty." You get my gist.

Pack rat- It's SOOOOOO CUTE when a rat drags food or an object into hiding, and hoards it in their cage. So I don't have a problem with this phrase, because this doesn't give a false impression of rats.

To look like a drowned rat- What I want to know is WHY was the rat drowned in the first place? Yeah, yeah he could have fallen into a lake but, I'm suspicious. And I don't want to walk around making references to the dead. So. To still say we have a roughed up appearance, we can say.... "you look like you've been dragged up mt. Everest and back" Or even "you look like a drowned human!"

OK, that's all for now. I know their are even more, like: Mall rat, gutter rat, rat tail, rat's nest, rat's arse, rat fink, rat trap, rat tail comb, rat pack, rat king. But, more of that another time.

-VEGirl

VEGirl's Fruit smoothies...yummy

Fruit smoothies are a wonderful way to start the day. Now, I used to never be a huge smoothie person... I had this idea in my head that fruit was too expensive (turns out it depends on the fruit), but Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's 'vegetarian food for thought podcast' changed that. And I now eat LOTS of vegetables and fruits. Smoothies are great in the summer, when you want a cold, fruity breakfast without spoiling your lunch. ANYWHO, I only have one recipe right now, because I used what was on hand at the time, but more recipes to follow! You should feel free to develop your own fruitylicious smoothies. Just keep in mind that you can use any kind of milk (not from animals, of course!), and that I looooove banana and use a lot of it, so feel free to cut down on the banana content. Also remember to leave the skin on the apple, so it's in the smoothie, because the skin contains most of the good nutrients on an apple, like potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

Apple and banana smoothie
serves 2

2 large bananas
1 large apple
pineapple (as much or little as you like)
2 Tablespoon or so of ground flaxseeds (for all the good 'stuff' in their, like alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which can be made into omega three fatty acids in the body)
almond milk (enough to achieve the desired consistency. You can even cut some of the almond milk with water)
4-6 ice cubes (to make the smoothie cold)

Instructions:
Cut all fruit into bite size pieces. Place all ingredients in blender. Liquefy. Grind in ice cubes. pour into glasses and serve. Enjoy!

-VEGirl