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7 Easy Being Vegan Tips

January 23, 2012 by Christine

Another 2012 Vision Board Snapshot

Today I present seven more tips from my Facebook page. Shout it from your rooftop, tell everyone you know — It’s Easy Being Vegan! Or, just spread the word. It’s going to take an army to change the world. Be a part of it!

Tip #15: Make B12 Your BFF.

Take B12 regularly, either from a supplement or fortified foods.

Tip #16: Be pleased with yourself for going vegan –No matter what anyone says.

Becoming vegan isn’t just about what you eat. It’s about how you live, how you think, what you wear and what you eat. It’s a lifestyle that supports compassion and health. Be proud of yourself (yet humble). It’s something to feel good about.

“One day the absurdity of the almost universal human belief in the slavery of other animals will be palpable. We shall then have discovered our souls and become worthier of sharing this planet with them.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr. (Thanks, Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, for posting this quote on your Facebook page last week.)

Tip #17: That can’t be vegan!

Oh, yes, it can. Check out PETA’s “accidentally vegan” page online. Some foods may surprise you.

Tip #18: Check out the magazine for vegans.

Pick up a copy or subscribe to VegNews to learn about all-things vegan. It’s the pop-culture magazine for vegans.

Tip #19: Visit a farm animal sanctuary.

It’s fun to get up close to the animals we actively avoid eating. There are animal sanctuaries all over the world. In the US, check out this directory to find one near you.

Tip #20: Just say NO to animal testing.

Explore the Leaping Bunny website and learn which companies do and don’t test their products on animals. Check the database to see if your favorite products are tested on animal. Commit to buying only cruelty-free cosmetics and household products.

Tip #21: Give up perfection.

Do the best you can. When you do your best, you will feel great. On the other hand, don’t beat yourself up when you accidentally eat something not vegan. Just last night I confirmed myself a “dizzy blond.” I found a jar of chicken bouillon in the fridge. I bought it months ago thinking it was “chicken-flavored” vegetarian bouillon. When things like this happen (and they will), laugh it off, vow to read labels more carefully and move on. This isn’t the first time.

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Posted in Animal Sanctuaries, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

7 More Tips for Being Vegan

January 16, 2012 by Christine

Week 2 Snapshot of 2012 Vision Board

Last week I shared my vision for this year. In this week’s round-up of It’s Easy Being Vegan tips from Facebook, I share seven more ways to make the journey easier. “Like” my Facebook page to get tips daily. Help spread the word and share this post with everyone you know. Together we can change the world.

Tip #8: Remember why you are vegan.

When the going gets tough, watch Farm to Fridge to remind yourself why being vegan is worth it.

Tip #9: You CAN let go of dairy cheese.

Try a non-dairy cheese alternative this week, such as Daiya cheese or make a cashew cream. If you think you will miss cheese, see Tip #5. Daiya cheese is available at Whole Foods and health food stores. You can also order it online. You can buy raw cashes everywhere. There’s no reason not to try it!

Tip #10: Try new foods.

Don’t just shop by habit. Explore your grocery store. Pick a new food and try it this week. Google will help you find a recipe. Have you ever had kale? How about hominy? Take action: Snap a photo of the new food and post it on my Facebook wall.

Tip #11: Learn easy food substitutions.

You don’t need eggs for baking. Check out The Ultimate Vegan Baking Cheat Sheet from PETA to learn about egg substitutions. Take action: Bake something vegan this week. Experiment in the kitchen. It’s fun. Try this chocolate cake from the Post Punk Kitchen.

Tip #12: Give tofu a chance.

If you tried it once and didn’t like it, try it cooked another way. For ideas, read How can I be vegan if I think tofu is gross?. Personally, I’m a huge fan. Any way you cook it, I will eat it. Tofu scramble is my favorite. Try tofu today!

Tip #13: Watch the new documentary, Vegucated.

You can buy the DVD or rent the movie digitally online. It’s an honest and entertaining film that showcases the importance of a plant-based diet in a fun way.

Tip #14: Try adding a little black salt to your tofu scramble.

You will find it gives the tofu an “eggy” flavor. It’s the perfect addition if you are missing eggs or even if you’re not. (Hopefully, you’re not.) Black salt is actually pink and can be found at an Indian grocery store. Use google to learn more about black salt, then try the frittata over at FatFree Vegan Kitchen. It’s one of my favorite breakfast dishes.

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Posted in Animal Welfare, Cheese, Vegan | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Do You Cheat?

January 13, 2012 by Christine

“The commitment to morality, or non-harming, is a source of tremendous strength, because it helps free the mind from the remorse of having done unwholesome actions. Freedom from remorse leads to happiness. Happiness leads to concentration. Concentration brings wisdom. And wisdom is the source of peace and freedom in our lives.” ~Joseph Goldstein, A Heart Full of Peace

Hi Christine,

Do you ever deviate?  Do you have so much as a sprinkle of, say, parmesan cheese?  ;)

Thanks,
Denise, Naperville, IL

Hi Denise,

Nope, I don’t knowingly cheat on my vegan diet. I’m vegan for ethical reasons, mainly because I want to avoid animal cruelty. This makes it pretty hard to cheat and then feel good about my actions. When I behave in ways that make me feel good, I’m happy. I like being happy! I feel good about being vegan. In fact, it feels awesome.

But, it is NOT about being perfect. It’s about accepting where you are at any given time. It took me a long time to get here — 19 years. If I find out after I ate something that it isn’t vegan, I don’t beat myself up. I just avoid that particular dish in the future. I want to do my best and I hope by doing that, I inspire a few more folks to also give up animal products.

Thanks for the question, Denise!

Sincerely,
Christine

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Posted in Ethics, Vegan | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

10 Simple, Healthy Vegan Meals

January 12, 2012 by Christine

Mushroom Barley Soup

To all the naysayers who think eating vegan is too hard or expensive, I offer 10 simple and healthy vegan meal ideas:

  1. Spaghetti and red sauce. Add some mushrooms or broccoli to a jar of red sauce and voilà, a healthy meal.
  2. Big salad with toast smeared with Mexican butter (aka avocado). Add a whole grain, like quinoa or brown rice, to the salad to make it more filling.
  3. Soup/stew/chili: Make a batch on Sunday and eat it all week. I make a lot of soups in my slow cooker. My fiancé likes his pressure cooker. (What does that say about our relationship!)
  4. Stir fry veggies and tofu with brown rice. Keep frozen veggies on hand, and make a batch of brown rice on Sunday to use all week.
  5. PB & banana sandwich. Try almond or cashew butter for a change of pace.
  6. Veggie wraps. My personal go-to, quick meal.
  7. Oatmeal topped with almond milk, raisins and nuts. I prefer steel-cut oats but rolled oats cook faster.
  8. Beans and brown rice with fresh salsa.
  9. Bean burritos.
  10. Tofu scramble and veggies wrapped in a tortilla.

If you keep the following items on hand, you will always have the ingredients for a simple and healthy meal:

  • Cans of beans (Last time I checked, we had seven different kinds of beans in our pantry.)
  • Extra-firm tofu
  • Salad greens for salads, smoothies, sandwiches
  • Fresh and frozen veggies of your choice
  • Garlic and onions
  • Brown rice and quinoa or other grains
  • Oatmeal
  • Whole grain bread
  • Fresh fruit
  • Tortillas and/or wraps
  • Jars of tomato sauce
  • Cans of diced and crushed tomatoes
  • Pasta
  • Non-dairy milk
  • Assortment of nuts and seeds including cashews for cashew cream
  • Humus
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar

What is your favorite simple, vegan meal?

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Posted in Vegan | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments »

365 Vegan Tips

January 9, 2012 by Christine

A Snapshot of my Vegan Vision Board

Happy new year! Every year I create a vision board. This year’s theme is all about being vegan — that is, YOU, Me and everyone we know. In support of my vision, I am sharing one tip per day to make being vegan easy on my Facebook page. You can “like” my page to see them daily or check them out here in one weekly post.

Help me make my vision real and tell your mom, dad, sister, brother, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends. Well, just tell everyone you know. And, thank you. Here we go!

Tip #1: Change your mind.

It’s all in your attitude. Be positive and expect good things. (I bet you thought I was going to say something about food!)

Don’t just say “I think I can, I think I can.” Say, “I know I can, I know I can.”
Continue Reading »

Posted in Vegan, Vegan Tips | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments »

The Easiest Way to Beat the Winter Blues

January 4, 2012 by Christine

This post is a rerun from last February. I was reminded of it this morning when I started smiling during my meditation and I could feel an immediate mood lift. So before the February blues hit, let’s start combating them now.

Despite last week’s mild temperatures and sunshine, I’m battling the February blues in a bad way. This is quite common in Chicago, especially when day after day after day the sky is filled with clouds. Spring can’t come soon enough. I noticed I was feeling blah a few days ago and realized I had felt this way for at least three weeks. The blizzard did me in. I decided I needed to turn my frown upside down. Ironically, the best thing to do when feeling blah is to smile. Yep, it’s an immediate mood booster. When you smile, happy endorphins are released in the brain making you feel, well, happier. Go ahead. Try it. It feels good, right?
Continue Reading »

Posted in Vegan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Get Fit The Easy Way

December 29, 2011 by Christine

It’s that time of year when many people are setting new year’s resolutions. Time Magazine reports the most commonly broken resolution is to “lose weight and get fit.” If exercising more is one of your new year’s resolutions, watch this video. If you can walk, you can get fit and lose weight. Now that is easy.

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Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments »

Happy Holidays!

December 6, 2011 by Christine

Happy Holidays!

Dear Readers,

I’m just back from a vegan yoga retreat and can’t wait to tell you all about it. But first, I must pack up my belongings and move. I’ll be back in the new year with a brand new look for It’s Easy Being Vegan and even more vegan content.

Until then, check out my recent guest post on the Simply Bike blog.

Enjoy the holidays,
Christine

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Posted in Bicycle, Holidays, Vegan, Yoga | 4 Comments »

Vegan Yoga Instructors

November 25, 2011 by Christine

Hi Christine,

Thanks for your helpful website. Can you recommend some vegan yoga teachers on DVD? I would just like to follow and support someone in line with my perspective.

Thanks,
Mike in Arizona

Hi Mike,

Thanks for writing. This is a great question! As a fellow yogi, I understand why this would be important to you. I wrote about this several years ago in terms of why veganism goes hand-in-hand with yoga. Surprisingly there aren’t as many vegan yoga instructors as you would think.

Sharon Gannon and David Life of Jivamukti Yoga are dedicated vegans and master yoga teachers. A few years ago I attended a yoga retreat at Esalen where Sharon and David taught yoga and inspired yogis to eat compassionately. They have a yoga studio in New York City but  you can buy their yoga instruction DVD’s and CD’s at their online boutique to use at home. They also offer a teacher training program once a year and you can find certified Jivamukti instructors all over the world.

Sharon Gannon wrote Yoga and Vegetarianism and you can watch her give a talk on this subject here. Another book that may be of interest that I’m reading is The Inner Art of Vegetarianism by Carol Adams.

In the recent Food for Thought newsletter by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, she sent out a call for vegan wellness practitioners including yoga teachers. She will be building a list. This will make it easier to find instructors in your area, because there are vegan yoga instructors, who are not Jivamukti teachers, such as myself.

Lastly, for all the yogis out there, the World Peace and Yoga Jubilee combines veganism and yoga into a weekend festival. Although I haven’t attended (yet!), it sounds amazing and we are sure to find our tribe there

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Posted in Vegan, Yoga | Tagged | 4 Comments »

A Thanksgiving Haiku, Especially for You

November 23, 2011 by Christine

A gathering tribe
Spreading peas and joy worldwide
Glad be the vegans

Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks for reading,
Christine

Related articles

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Posted in Holidays, Vegan | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments »

The Holidays

November 21, 2011 by Christine

With the holiday season at our front door, I believe everyone can benefit from this post, originally published in 2009. Both publicly and privately, readers responded in favor of the vegan. (Of course you did.) Some of you thought I was too hard on myself and that the host should have been more willing to make their guests happy. I didn’t write this though to blame anyone (including myself).

When I reread this, what comes up for me is that we all need to communicate better. I know I don’t intentionally try to piss people off, and I believe that goes for others as well. Take time this holiday season to communicate with your family. Relationships are so important to our happiness, and yet it doesn’t mean turning your back on your values either.


Last year  around this time I read the following article, Vegetarians and the Challenge of Thanksgiving. The article was irritating and the comments infuriating. The first comment begins and I quote directly (typos included):

Factory farming….you find one or two cases of abuse and point your fingers and say that is how it is everywhere, Its all like that…

…Most animals are farm raised, at least around here. raised in pastures, coops and large pens. You can go there and talk to them and see how there feeling today. Since you feel they can talk or you can tell by looking at them how they “feel”.

Much misunderstanding and misinformation about vegetarianism. Mix this with family and the fun begins. Ha.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Holidays, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Good-bye Eggs, Hello Tofu!

November 20, 2011 by Christine

On Friday, Mercy For Animals released an undercover video from three Sparboe Egg Farms in Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado. Sparboe supplies eggs to McDonald’s. The video exposes egregious acts of animal cruelty. Watch for yourself.

Make the Connection

After the release of the video, McDonald’s announced it would stop using Sparboe as its egg supplier. OK, that’s nice but if anyone thinks this is the only egg farm committing these heinous acts of cruelty, they are madly mistaken. This certainly isn’t the first video of its kind, and it’s only a matter of time before MFA releases another undercover video from a different egg farm. The only way to stop this cruelty is to stop eating eggs and go vegan.

Tofu Scramble Rocks

Adjust your taste buds and eat tofu instead. Tofu scramble is an easy substitute for an egg breakfast. It’s easy to make and tastes great.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Animal Welfare, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Easy and Healthy Vegan Snacks

November 14, 2011 by Christine

Organic Honey Crisp

Recently I read a blog post about nine quick and healthy snacks to keep you going until dinner. Animal products made up five of the nine snacks. Not too healthy in my book.

My definition of healthy may be narrower than the average consumer, but it is based on science.* I came up with 12 vegan snacks (not nine but 12 because I love you!) to keep you going anytime of day. All are plant-based, whole foods and simple. Enjoy!
Continue Reading »

Posted in Food, Nutrition, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Super Easy Cheezy Casserole

November 11, 2011 by Christine

Mix, bake and eat!

For your cheezy pleasure, one of the easiest and tastiest dishes ever.

*YUM! YUM! YUM!

Cheezy Rice and Broccoli Casserole
Makes 4 servings

Continue Reading »

Posted in Cheese, cooking, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments »

A Very Vegan Thanksgiving

November 9, 2011 by Christine

How will you celebrate Thanksgiving this year? I plan to join some friends for a home-cooked vegan meal. Whether you enjoy cooking, eating out or carrying in, you have options for a very vegan Thanksgiving. But first, let’s watch a new Mercy for Animals commercial:

According to Mercy for Animals…

More than 300 million turkeys are killed in the U.S. every year – 40 million for Thanksgiving dinners alone. Most turkeys killed for food are raised in unnatural conditions, crammed by the thousands into windowless warehouses, where disease, smothering and heart attacks are common. Turkeys are drugged and bred to grow so large, so quickly that their legs are often unable to withstand their own weight. Countless birds slowly starve to death within inches of food after they become crippled and are unable to move.

Ideas for Celebrating Thanksgiving the Vegan Way

Continue Reading »

Posted in cooking, Factory Farming, Holidays, Vegan | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments »

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