With my recent project on veganism (a magazine piece that I will link to or post when it’s published), a lot of people have been asking me if I am vegan. So here it is, my complicated explanation. 


I have been vegetarian for six years. My original reason for going vegetarian was because meat really freaks me out. I don’t see the difference between eating an animal and chewing on human flesh. I am also lactose intolerant, so I rarely, if ever, eat dairy. So why am I not vegan? Well, to a certain degree I am. I eat vegan for many meals, but if something was made with a slight bit of whey, milk, or other animal products, I will still eat it. I will also eat desserts or other items made with eggs.


I have recently been exploring vegan alternatives to many of these items, and although I have mostly cut out butter from my daily meals, as of right now I don’t see myself going completely vegan (although I do not use products tested on animals or buy things made out of animal products when I can avoid it). It is too frustrating to not be able to eat something because it has a small amount of an animal product in it, or make people feel horrible when you are a guest in their house and you can’t eat anything they made. It is already such a struggle for friends and family to be able to meet my dietary needs, and to add one more thing in would cause a lot of problems.


To all of the vegans out there, I completely admire you, and perhaps one day I will go completely vegan, but for now I am happy the way things are. I will continue to eat as little animal products as possible without sweating the small stuff. 

In honor of international women’s day I wanted to honor one of the many influential women in the global environmental movement. Wangari Muta Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work in Kenya with her Green Belt Movement to become the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai led the grassroots organization and the women in it to plant more than 20 million trees on farms, schools and church compounds. 

Maathai is internationally known and recognized for her work for human rights, democracy, environmental conservation and women’s rights. As the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Maathai not only encouraged women through her work, but paved the way for many more to follow through her personal achievements. Although she died in 2011, her legacy will live on to inspire women and men around the world to create lasting change.

I am absolutely in love with smoothies. I have had one every day since Saturday, and I have no plans of stopping any time soon. I started making these addicting smoothies to get an extra boost of protein and a few more servings of fruit all in one quick hit.

Simple, but healthy recipe:

– 1 carton soy yogurt (or dairy if you wish) for protein, to make it really flavorful I have been using flavored yogurt of the main fruit I am using (in other words peach for a peach and strawberry smoothie, berry for a berry smoothie)
– as much frozen fruit as you want (I usually use a cup or more)
– a splash of soy or flax milk to loosen up the mixture
– a tablespoon of chia seeds

One of the biggest problems standing in the way of drastic change to prevent climate change is the depression that comes with the increased knowledge and research on the severity of the problem. Around the world people are already seeing and feeling the effects of climate change. The reality that is facing our species (humans) and all other living organisms on the planet is dreary. And yet one of the worst things we can do is become apathetic or downtrodden in the face of our growing problem. 


I was in the newsroom one morning during parents weekend and a student’s father came in to talk to us. He wanted us to create an environmental column in the newspaper (which I have been dreaming about for at least a year), but he started off by saying “your generation is going to be the last humans here.” (not quite an exact quote, it was early and I didn’t want to be weird and write it down…) As much as my friends and I joke that I am a debbie downer, even this was too much for me (not to mention the scientific inaccuracies, unless he really believes in 2012 as the end of the world). 

So what do we do when it looks like the world is falling apart at the seams and we will be one of the many to go? Instead of giving in to apathy or doomsday predictions we need to ignite our passion and our drive that is so unique to humans and start making changes. Although we need large, drastic changes, we also need individuals to make small, lasting changes as well. We have the tools, we just need to start getting everyone to use them. 

With six people living in our apartment, especially since 4 are college athletes and 2 of us are just athletes, we go through a ridiculous amount of food. Yesterday I came home to two of my roommates screaming like they were being murdered and telling me that they were so hungry they were getting delusional. Perhaps we should have gone grocery shopping a little sooner.


Today three of us went out and bought bulk goods for everyone and groceries for ourselves. We bought bread, milk (for them), eggs, and snacks in bulk at a big box store to save on money and packaging. Earlier in the year we each bought our own bread, etc. and it not only took up a ridiculous amount of room (especially to have 4 cartons of eggs and milk in the fridge), but more often than not we couldn’t finish what we had bought and it would go to waste. By eating more like a typical family would (in other words sharing food), we are able to cut down on our food waste, have a more communal feel to our kitchen, and save some money! What more could college kids ask for?


What can you do?
1. Share food! Buy things in bulk, or even the regular size and split them with other people. If you don’t have a ton of roommates like I do, neighbors or friends are a great option too.


2. Be sure that you aren’t sacrificing quality or sustainability for money. Just because it’s 50 cents cheaper doesn’t mean it’s better than the product that is organic, local, and/or comes in better packaging.


3. Watch out for things you wouldn’t normally buy. It can be incredibly tempting to buy the biggest thing of jelly beans because if you are all going to split it it’s not that many right? Stick to your list and you will be fine.


4. Farmers markets are also a great place to buy produce in bulk and share the wealth. 


4. Don’t forget to bring your reusable bags!

It’s Nick’s 5th birthday, and he had to spend it with the rest of the newspaper staff working tonight. In honor of his birthday I made him a birthday crown to make sure that he got the 5th birthday he had always dreamed of. It may not be the most beautiful thing I have ever made, but it was made out of recycled paper and it put a smile on everyone’s face.

Happy birthday to all you Leap Day babies.

In my research for the project on veganism that I am currently working on I stumbled across an article that lists “75 reasons being vegan is awesome.” Although I am not a vegan myself (a topic for another day), I thought the article was interesting, if not slightly ridiculous. 


Here are my top 10 from the article:
1. Never having to wear leather pants (honestly, no one can pull these off)
2. Never having to eat spam (I have avoided this for 20 years so far, and I hope to make it my entire life. eew.)
3. Not contributing as much to global warming
4. No dead bodies in my refrigerator
5. Eating food that’s less prone to incubating bacteria
6. A lowered risk of osteoporosis
7. Better skin and fewer zits
8. Reducing the risk of acquiring many chronic diseases
9. Never having to cut and prepare blood-soaked food
10. Cheaper groceries


To see the other 65 reasons, go to VegNews.


What are the things that you think make being vegetarian or vegan so awesome?

Some days it’s the little things that matter. Today is one of those days for me. This is my 200th post : ) I hope you all have been enjoying reading my blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I am working on some new things, and I can’t wait to share them with you all.