I'm Hungry-- The most random blog post EVER

Today I didn't get a good lunch. My school cafeteria is definitely not vegan-friendly, so all i could get to eat was half a piece of bread with peanut butter spread on it and an apple. I've seen the teachers about making it more vegan/vegetarian friendly, but no one was really into the idea except the other two or three vegetarians in my class :(.

So, I don't really know what to write about now. All the stupid drama going on at school has nothing to do with being a vegan whatsoever, but it's annoying and I'm going to talk about it on my blog today.

>>A guy I barely know told me he loved me on Facebook. I wasn't supposed to see the message, but it got sent to me accidentally. And now I don't know what to do, because I DON'T like him back!! *Sigh*<<

>> This very sadly mislead girl I know keeps going around bragging about how smart she is and how "A B+ is good-- for you...." She actually said that to my friend!! The nerve of her!!<<

Done complaining now, I swear! But I have to start thinking about dinner soon, and I think I am going to eat vegan fried rice. here's the recipe if anyone actually reads this blog.

Here's the website i got it from:
http://ericglover.com/Vegetarian_Vegan_Fried_Rice_Recipe.html

Ingredients 2 1/2 cups cooked rice (cold is fine, but rice should be moist) 4 cloves garlic - finely chopped or minced (cooking tip: when chopping garlic, add some salt to your cutting board, it reduces sticking to your knife) 1 Medium Onion (1 1/2 small onions) - diced about 1 cup 3/4 cup diced carrots (about 8 baby carrots chopped) 2 Medium mushrooms - chopped (generic white mushrooms) 1 Cup frozen pettite peas (tip: I recommend organic or IPM - less pesticides) 1/4 cup Textured Vegtable Protein (TVP) - OR for non-vegans 2 medium eggs (tip: if you do use eggs, be sure to by only organic cage free) 5 TBSP Olive Oil Spices including: Tarragon, Thyme, Turmeric, Sage, Caynne and black pepper about 1/2 TSP salt about 4 TBSP Soy Sauce about 1/4 cup water

Directions: Be sure you have all of the ingredients ready - Rice should be cooked before you start If using TVP instead of eggs, take 1/4 dried TVP in a small dish add 1/4 cup water, 1 TSP Soy Sauce and a large pinch of Sage - TVP will soften up Cut up vegtables - mince/dice garlic, dice onions, chop carrots, chop mushrooms Put about 4 TBSP Olive oil in a 12" skillet - medium heat Add garlic and 1/4 tsp salt (unless you used salt when cutting the garlic) Let garlic soften, then add onions and carrots - fry for about 1 minute mix occasionally Add mushrooms and 2 TBSP Soy Sauce and continue to cook for about 2 minute until vegatables have softened and the onions begin to turn translucent Move vegatbles to one side of the skillet. If using eggs instead of TVP, fry two eggs on the empty half of the pan - when eggs are cooked using a soft spatula cut eggs into tiny pieces and mix in with vegtables, then again clear off one half of the skillet as shown on the lower right. If using TVP, add now and mix in with vegtables and then clear off one half of the skillet Add rice to empty part of the skillet. Add 1 TBSP soy sauce and 1 TBSP olive oil onto the rice. Flatten out rice to fill empty half of skillet and let fry. Add spices: about 1/2 tsp of Tarragon and 1/2 tsp of Thyme. A dash of turmeric, dash of caynne pepper and black pepper as desired Occasionally turn rice to ensure even cooking - don't let the vegtables burn. If needed add water to soften Add frozen peas and 1/4 cup water Toss until peas are done and water is absorbed Serving suggestion shown above - Makes about 4 servings as a side dish, or 2 as a mea

What to say?

What does one say when asked "Why?" constantly? On the one hand, an honest response might come off as self-righteous, crazy, hippie-ish, etc, but on the other hand, a lie like saying "It's for health reasons" would be hard to justify were it put under further inspection. Usually I try and avoid situations involving my eating habits, but every so often it happens that some helpful soul offers me ice cream or chocolate.

So my game plan is to say simply, "No thank you!" If I am offered non-vegan food.

If they ask why?

"Just because"

If they ask if I'm that crazy vegan girl?

"Yes, I am vegan. I know it's a little weird, but I have my reasons"

What are my reasons?

"Well, I don't want to gross you out or anything. Let's just say i saw a video about slaughterhouses and dairy farming and that made up my mind for me."

What do you eat?

"Lot's of things! Tofu, veggies, tempeh, beans, seeds, legumes, rice, pasta, fruit..."

It doesn't hurt the cow to get milk!

"Yes, it does. Unless the cow was hand milked. But honestly, my choices are my choices and your choices are your choices. It's that simple"

Don't you starve from lack of protein?

"Actually, vegans have higher levels of plant protein intake than meat-eaters on average and lower levels of that nasty cholesterol that's in eggs, dairy, and meat. And we have much lower levels of saturated fat intake, one of the major causes of obesity in America. So yea, we're pretty healthy."

Oh...

Why Am I Vegan?

It's a question I get a lot. A whole, WHOLE lot. Why am I vegan? Well, the first and last straw was when I saw the movie Earthlings, a documentary about the exploitation of animals that is currently accepted across the globe. 'Those images of abused dairy cows and slaughtered pigs squirming on the ground in a pool of their own blood made my stomach turn and absolutely disgusted me, so naturally the though of eating ice cream and pork after seeing the movie wasn't the first thing on my mind. In fact, the thought grossed me out almost as much as the movie did. So, yes, I was a pretty much 'overnight' vegan, going from carnivore to vegan in no time at all!

So that's my story. I thank the filmmakers for creating such an eye-opening piece, and though it was graphic and sickening, it was also art.

One can view the movie here:
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kHmS6onJH0

Follow the instructions from there to get to part 2 and 3.

My Blog

Hey everyone!

So I've decided to create a blog because there simply aren't enough good sources out there for a teen vegan like me. Living in an unconventional way in a world where most teens breathe conventionalism more than air is tough, but hopefully this blog and ones like it will make the journey just a bit easier for teens like me. If you think I'm crazy, self-righteous, idiotic, etc., good for you. I'm not telling anyone how to live and I would appreciate if you all would extend the same courtesy to me.