One month vegan!

I started eating vegan just a bit over a month ago, but decided to post this only today, to make sure I don't count those few first days when I might have cheated by accident. What I mean by that, is that when you decide to go full vegan from hamburger-with-mayo-and-cheeese eater, you might not even realise how many products contain animals.. Those first days were hard, not only because I realised I had to stop eating a lot of great things, but also because I realised that by eating those products, I was hurting nature. You could call it a really bad case of cognitive dissonance: I reaaaally wanted some cheese, but I really did not at the same time.
Knowledge is power. I looked more deeply into things and day-by-day, that made it easier to make the right choice. I don't think I could eat cheese now. Definitely no meat.
Yesterday I was buying pasta and I realised that while most of them don't have eggs, there was no tagliatelle without eggs. As a beginner vegan, you do question your decision in such a moment. But this experience, it's all about being conscious. I held the tagliatelle for a while, realising more and more that I would probably couldn't enjoy it with a conscious mind, with awareness about the abuse a poor chicken goes through to lay that egg. Then I put it back and looked through the shelves. There are so many other options.

Really, there are so many options. People sometimes wonder what vegans eat. I also did. The first few days of being vegan was also more saying no to bad things and eating very little for me. Simply because I didn't have the right options at hand. Again, as I did my research (and as my hunger grew) I found so many amazing, delicious dishes! I still keep finding new things everything I go to the store. And if you think you will miss meat and cheese, yes you will. But there is plant-based "cheese" and "meat". In all the forms your heart desires: hotdog, hamburger, mozzarella, you name it. I was really happy when I found out about those things, but that happiness wasn't really true. Those things do taste maybe even more like chicken than real chicken, but when you look at the ingredients, even if it's all plant based, it's not the healthiest out there.. So, I'm trying to eat plant-based meat as little as possible (it's really not hard if you are eating conscious and think about all the bad stuff that's in that piece of "meat").
So what do I eat? Whole foods. Those are food with which they didn't temper before putting them on the shelves. They didn't go to a big factory and get mixed up a few times to make them look better and taste better. I have to be honest, I'm still working on finding out what is really good and what's not. But one thing I know: nature is giving us so many great things, which taste already amazing, we just have to take a moment and realise that we don't need extra sugar and fat and salt. It is good as it is.

Here is a selection of what I've been eating this past month. :) 

first time out!

This post is about going to restaurants. In the past, I would go to McDonalds at least once a month. On other occasions we would go to a fancier place, but usually, as a student I would cook at home. Actually, at one point I got so comfortable at the Mac, that I would go alone and just sit there, eat like 5 hamburgers.. Or a happy meal!

But, that's all behind me. I was a bit scared of going out to a restaurant as a vegan, because I don't want to be that pain in the ass, sitting there and asking questions and having all kind of special requests.. So I have to admit, the first time I went to a restaurant, I went to McDonalds. They have a vegan veggie burger (not everywhere tho!). In this case, I just ordered something from the menu, it tasted like McDonalds, addictive and everything.. So you know, this doesn't really count.

Then, it was my sister's birthday and she really wanted to go to Very Italian Pizza. I did my online research: no vegan options on the menu. I panicked. I love going to restaurants, get something amazing cooked for me, but now it was no fun.. I decided to call them and ask if they could make a pizza without the cheese, then I could eat a veggie pizza! They were really kind, so I was looking forward to eating out again. We got there, I told them I wanted the veggie pizza without the cheese and... no problem! I was also a bit questioning what a pizza would be without the cheese, but it was amazing! I had no troubles with melting, hot cheese, haha. Or you know, when the cheese takes all the toppings along and you're left with an empty pizza. None of that! So it's actually even practical.

My advice for scary bunnies: do your online research, if that doesn't work: call. If it goes wrong, you can always hang up! (I seriously had that thought).

Honestly, I'm a scary bunny again, because I'm going to an even fancier restaurant this weekend, where they have "traditional" meaty options.. and I couldn't get a hold of them on the phone yet. So, we'll see..

Movie review: okja

This okja thing appeared on Netflix and it looked so childish. Then, all of a sudden I got a positive buzz from my vegan friends on facebook: you have to see okja, it's a beautiful movie! Oh well, why not?

Let me say this first: I cried for 30 minutes after this movie. It is so moving. It is so true and sad.

If you haven't seen it yet, you also might not get what the whole buzz is about, so let me explain. Okja is a movie about a super pig, who grows up in the mountains with this cute little girl. That's how the movie starts off. You still don't get why this movie is great or cool, right? I didn't get it either. I thought it was about the great pictures. Until sh*t gets real. The true story that this movie wants to tell you is about the food industry. How animals are handled before they end up on your plate. And also, where they really come from. It gets so real, even though it is about a super pig in super unreal circumstances that it just hits you: people are horrible creatures and they are capable of doing unimaginable things to other creatures. Okja might not be real, but cows on steroids are very much existing.

I think the great thing about this movie is that you don't even see it coming. My sister walked in my room asking if there was any violence in the movie, because she doesn't like that and I told her: "No, this is about a funny super pig!". Then, after the end I went to her room, crying and told her that she should skip this one if she doesn't like the truth. Some people might truly not get the point of this movie, but a lot of us will. And they will be touched.

Would I recommend this movie? Yes. But I'm giving you a warning: it will leave you thinking and very, very sad.

Super easy vegan chocolate chip cookies!

Most recipes contain dozens of ingredients and I can imagine that vegans do have those at home, as a newbie, I don't. Also, as a student, I don't. But, because I really wanted to make some cookies, I decided to simplify the recipe and make chocolate chip cookies with what I have.
The result? Everyone loved it and it was all gone in no time!

Here is my recipe:

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Start with:
- 1 tablespoon ground flax & 3 tablespoons water (let this rest for a bit so it takes up the water a bit)
- 60 gr vegan butter (most recipes have some specific butter, I'd say anything will do. Use whatever you have, as long as it's healthy :) )
- 150 gr sugar (here you can again go fancy and use brown sugar or whatever, I used plain sugar..)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix these with a mixer.
And then add one by one, in this order the following:
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cacao powder
- 180 gr flour
- 100 gr chocolate (I used dark vegan chocolate)
The original recipe said you can add almond milk if the mix is falling apart, but I didn't need that. This should be just fine. Make cookies and place them on a baking plate. Bake them for 12-13 minutes at 180 C. They will feel really soft, but if you take them out and let them dry a bit, they become perfect.

Enjoy! :)

Dad & DM

My dad went to Hungary for a week and he came home with these wonderful things! As you can see, all bio & vegan! I haven't eaten everything yet, but I'll post reviews of all of them, to share my experiences. :) 

But where did he get all these? Funny thing, the dm sells these bio and vegan products. It has a whole row filled with them! How do I know if I wasn't there? I've been to the dm in Germany. They sell really great vegan products, so if your country has a dm, check it out! 

Here you can find their website (in German) with all the bio products: https://www.dm.de/dm-marken/dmbio/ 

Listen to your body, understand what it wants

I want to tell you more about my healthy eating habits. At the moment, I'm trying to go full plant-based (vegan) and it's going pretty well! If you have seen any documentary about animal abuse, the food industry or just the vegan life-style, you know what I'm talking about. If not, don't stop reading just yet, I'm going to talk about McDonalds and chocolate first!

We eat for a lot of reasons these days, not just because our body needs energy. Usually we eat in front of the tv, or while catching up with family and friends. We also don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen anymore, because we have no time for fancy meals, dirty dishes and all that stuff. So we go to the McDonalds, get a few burgers and get on with our day. Or we warm up something, quickly eat it while scrolling on Facebook and then watch some tv. While watching tv, we also eat some snacks, maybe just to chew on something, or because we are bored. I used to eat a lot of chocolate because I was stressed (there is research showing that eating chocolate can lower stress levels!). However, eating this way leaves no room for the body to react to whatever you are filling it with. Sometimes food might make you sick, which you will consider just annoying, but won't really care about why it happened or if it will happen again. Or you will just simply laugh about how much you ate and how delicious it was. 

I used to go to the McDonalds probably every week. It's cheap, it tastes okay and I liked the way it was so fast and efficient. Naively, I never thought it could actually be poisoning my body. They are selling them everywhere, no one is dying because of the food, so it can't be that bad... right? Boy, I was so wrong. 

Once I stopped eating meat for two weeks, because I just couldn't do it. It was after the movie "Earthlings", which is listed as a horror documentary. If you want to see the real deal about the industries using animals, and you also want to stop eating meat, I would recommend it. 

More recently, I watched "What the health" and while watching, I thought: well, if everything is so bad for me, what on earth am I supposed to eat? I know that more people think like that after reading news about "Meat is bad for you". "Milk is bad for you". The media probably covered every possible food as bad at least once. But then, as a future researcher, I checked the sources. A vegan, plant-based life-style seems to work! I'm not going into details why or why not, everyone can look that up or ask me, if interested. You know, you should do it in your own time, not because I say so. :)

Now about that listening to the body.. Just for once, try to turn off everything and just focus on your food. And please, let that not be a McChicken menu, but something that you made yourself and healthy. To get a great vegan experience, try chocolate chip cookies. Or a nice pasta. It might sound horrific to some people, but yes, just sit there, in silence and eat your food. Nom-nom. Maybe cookies were a bad example, because while eating, I want you to listen to your body. Not the whale sounds your belly makes.. More that feeling of getting full. Or that voice in your head saying that it's enough. It's all there, we just never hear it! 

You might say, well, I do have cravings and my body is screaming ice-cream for example.. That could be. My body used to scream McDonalds every time I walked past one.. But as a rational being, do you think your body really wants it, or is it something else? Maybe you are bored. Maybe you are thirsty! Maybe your body really is craving some type of food, but is there a healthier way to get it? There is definitely a healthier option than McDonalds.. So it's not only about listening, but also about understanding. Once you learn to listen and understand, you will feel a lot better about eating and about eating healthy. 

I wanted to add a picture to this post, but I laughed so hard.. You have to google this and see all the happy people eating salads! Maybe this is you, trying to eat in silence for the first time? :) Salads do sound pretty hilarious. Just kidding. Enjoy your food! :)

Eating and Laughing