Your Daily Vegan

What? I'm not going?!

Spring is here and that means summer is right around the corner.  And with summer comes vacations, by air, sea and asphalt.  Here are some tips to keep you green and healthy whether you’re vegan, suffer from food allergies or just want to stay slim and trim despite the callings of convenience foods and lack of time!

General Travel

·      As vegans, the resources have become quite widespread when it comes to finding veggie friendly joints to eat virtually anywhere we are on the globe. But still there are certain countries and cities that can be quite difficult for us as well as those who follow gluten free diets, etc.  Most of you may know about the VeganPassport which is quite good, however, I prefer the Select Wisely Cards. I like to wing it and see what the locals eat and challenge myself in finding a meal for me as well as my travel mates.

·      These cards come in almost every language and come in varieties that cover every special diet from vegan & diabetic to kosher to specific food allergies. And what’s great is, they slip into your wallet so you don’t have to tote around a book and flip through it to get what you need to say to your server.  Get the cards for the languages of the countries you know you will be visiting and tuck them away in your wallet. Use as needed.  And the translations are spot on so there is no confusion. They also have illustrations for added insurance that you will be getting what you need.

·      WATER!! That’s all I have to say  – no matter the craft or when you get to your destination – drink water, always!

·      Get your greens!! My favorite is by To Go Brands – GO Greens – 6 servings of veggies per packet. Mix 1 pack into and 8oz glass of water and you are set. Like I mentioned, some countries aren’t big veggie eaters and it is imperitve that we keep up our immune system and energy while we travel so I have 1 of these a day no matter where I go.  Plus , you get your greens out of the way first thing so you can eat that freshly baked loaf of bread dipped in olive oil in Tuscany later without an ounce of guilt.  Ok, maybe a little ; )

·      Take walking or biking tours instead of bus or trolley tours whenever available. You also get a much better view of the places of interest as you can walk around, take your time as opposed to the “to your left is Big Ben” and the big headed guy in front of you blocks you till you’re over the bridge.

·      Wear comfy and supportive walking shoes.  I know for girls, we want to look cute but we won’t look so cute for hours later hunched over cause our lower back hurts and we have bleeding blisters. That will kill a romantic weekend in a sec.  Opt for stylish walking sneakers that give you proper alignment and support. And bring comfy slippers for planes, trains and road trips so you can give your dogs a break ; )

·      Always have snacks with you so you don’t run after the shaved ice and pretzel cart.  Never leave home, hotel or hostel without some bars, nuts, powders like vega or something to hold you over between meals

·      Know before you go. Again, plan ahead. It will save you time, money and give you a better idea of how much time to spend where. If you know you will be spending the day biking in Tuscany, look up the eateries and menu’s online and if that isn’t available, as your concierge or hostel manager what place they recommend in the area. Be resourceful or make friends in the area.  It’s also a good idea to plan before you even leave home so you can look forward to all the places you can eat like a king or queen and others where you need to bring your whole box of bars ; )

·      Reserve hotels or rent flats with a kitchen. It will save you a ton of money as you won’t be dining out at every meal and you have control of what you’re eating. You can keep left over’s in a fridge, etc.  Get to know your local markets and get fresh produce for snacks, nuts, bread and other accoutrment for quick and easy meal prep. You can also pack your lunches for the day so you don’t have to stop. Ok maybe for a treat every now and again but don’t over do it.

·      If you are going somewhere that requires innoculations and meds like malaria, make sure you contact the consulate/embassy of the country you will be visiting. They will give you the most detailed information on what is necessary to be admitted into their country and they will also process visas there instead of having to do it when you arrive. You can avoid quite a bit of trouble and time loss doing here in the good ol’ US of A. Plus they can give you info on their country like food customs and phrases to help get you around easier.

·      Pack a little first aid kit for any emergencies from band aids to pepto – you never know when and where you may fall ill and that’s the worst time to gamble with your well being.

·      Try to keep to your routine as much as possible. Stay active, eat balanced, get rest, take your supplements, etc as much as you can. It will make it much easier when you get home to get back on track

·      Make sure someone you trust has your itinerary and copies of all pertinent info like passports, credit cards, etc in the case that it is lost or stolen. There’s nothing like being stuck in a foreign country trying to get cash or prove your identity. Not cool!

·      Lastly, leave your home clean and organized so when you get back to your sanctuary you can relax and get back to your non-vacation life without a hitch.

The Healthy Voyager (Carolyn Scott) is an avid traveler but found it quite difficult to find vegan friendly restaurants abroad. Realizing she could find and/or manipulate any menu to create a meal that satisfied her as well as her dining partners, she created the Healthy Voyager to show people that your dietary restrictions should not ruin your trip. She knew that many people must endure the same problems no matter what their diet. Carolyn kept a log of every place she visited and the show was born! Now a full healthy and green lifestyle brand, The Healthy Voyager is the authority on all things vegan, healthy and green! You can check out her blog, web series, recipes & more at healthyvoyager.com

Did you know that all species of sea turtles are listed as threatened or endangered?  All.  Species. One of the most significant threats to sea turtles come from imprecise fishing methods.  According to a report published last Tuesday, millions of sea turtles have become the victims of the world’s fisheries.  Millions.

The study is the first of its kind, a global survey of sea turtle bycatch, and was conducted by Conservation International and Duke University in the US.  In it researchers suggest that the Mediterranean and the Eastern Pacific are locations where the marine turtle populations are in danger of collapse.  The report goes on to say that the increase in fishing gear (longlines, gillnets) is directly linked to the increase in accidental capture of sea turtles.

For those who may not know, bycatch is when you catch unintended marine life in with the fish you are trying to catch.  And, Sea Turtles aren’t the only species affected by bycatch either- sharks, dolphins, porpoises, whales, and albatrosses all suffer and perish at astonishingly high rates as well.

Dr. Bryan Wallace, Science Advisor for Conservation International’s Sea Turtle Flagship Program believes that bycatch is the most serious threat to sea turtle populations around the globe.

Why should you care, right?  I mean, how many of us have actually seen a sea turtle?  Well, sea turtles play an important role in two ecosystem types that are critical to themselves and humans- oceans and beaches/dunes.  I like oceans and beaches, that means I must like the sea turtles!  The sea turtles are one of the very few species of animal that eat the sea grass that grows on the sea floor.  (an underground law mower – that’s great!)  The sea grass must be kept short to stay healthy, which is essential in breeding (and development) areas for lots of different fish and marine life.  Without our underground lawn mowers, the populations of these animals will decline and/or die.  Which, for those who paid attention in biology, can negatively impact human life.  We are, after all,  connected.

Beaches and dunes are fragile ecosystems.  They depend on vegetation to protect them against erosion.  Eggs from sea turtles, hatched or unhatched, (and, aw, baby turtles that die on the journey to the ocean) are sources of nutrients for the vegetation.  Without the vegetation, there would be no beaches and dunes- they’d be blown right away.  Wind + Sand = Vanishing Sand.

Dr. Wallace explains why sea turtles are important saying:

Sea turtles are sentinel species of how oceans are functioning. The impacts that human activities have on them give us an idea as to how those same activities are affecting the oceans on which billions of people around the world depend for their own well-being.

See?  Like I said, we are all connected.  Wallace goes on to say:

Our hope is that this study gives governments and fisheries alike the impetus for bolstering on-going efforts to reduce sea turtle bycatch and to promote more sustainable fishing practices as soon as possible.

Part of the problem is that the researchers only hope this report will influence industries to bolster their efforts to reduce killing.  Why is it acceptable in any way, knowing what a large problem this is, to advocate for a reduction in killing?  The whole thing is absurd.  These researchers did research to find out how many other animals we are killing (bycatch) by killing animals (fishing)!

I could have saved Duke University and Conservation International a ton of loot and time.  Since humans do not need marine life to sustain their own lives, it’s unnecessary to continue to fish our oceans.  Stop the killing and go vegan.  That should solve the problem.

via cnn.com

I will preface this post by saying that I am a die hard iPhone lover.  Die.  Hard. I love my iPhone like other people love their kids.  And I’m not the slightest bit ashamed to say that I’d probably take my iPhone over a kid any day- not ashamed one bit.

There’s a brand spankin’ new iPhone App that scans ingredient lists for animal products so you can avoid any hidden yucky stuff.  Sweet!  All you do is take a picture of the ingredient list and it’s checked against a database of animal products.  You’re warned when an animal product is found.

I’m so excited I’m gonna pee my pants, I’m not even joking.  I have been saying that I wanted something like this for forever now, I’m super stoked that it came to my iPhone.  I can’t wait to use it.  Oh, right.  I can’t use it.  And neither can you unless you have an iPhone 3GS.  Which sigh, is something I do not have.  I have a 3G.  Ah, but there is a bit of good news- you can search the database even if you don’t have a iPhone 3GS.  So there’s that anyway.  I’m still excited to get the App and test it out.

Have you noticed it’s getting easier and easier to know what you are consuming?  The general public is learning to read labels and question ingredients.  More and more people are doing research before they purchase a product.  And, more and more people are choosing animal and cruelty-free products.  I’ll bet it scares the shit out of the ones who profit from killing animals.  There is a lot of power in education- we should use it whenever we can.

Learn about the real price animals pay for our goods at Commercial Street, once you’ve been you won’t be the same.  Then, join the vegan evolution.  Send your friends to Commercial Street, put a spiffy button on your page- anything that helps spread the word that we choose vegan.

UPDATE: Ha ha, I’m brainless today.  The name of the App is Vegetarian Scanner.  You can get more info about it at iTunes Preview.

I’m never surprised, although always shocked- as you should be, when I discover, yet another, exploitative use of animals.

Who knew people could confine cervids- deer, elk, moose, caribou, reindeer- in a domestic livestock setting (in order to kill them for their flesh and antlers), without them being completely FRIGHTENED and/or ESCAPING?!

High fences, I’m sure.

The Government of Alberta, in Canada, has the Directives and Procedures Manual for the Cervid industry.  It covers such topics as Escape Guidelines, and Harvesting Velvet Antlers.

Look at these assholes who sell antler dust to other assholes for selfish gain.  They claim,

The velvet antler is harvested annually without killing or harming the ranch-raised animals.

Do the people who buy antler dust really believe this?  Regardless of their “increased libido” claim, self-induced ignorance is sooo unattractive.

Are you a Vegan on a Budget, a VOAB?  I am.  I’m constantly searching for a better, easier, and- yes, cheaper way of doing things.  So how do I keep myself on a budget?  Glad you asked.  I’ve got a few tricks that may just save you time and money.  We’ll start out with my top three.

1.  Buy in Bulk. This one always makes budget lists all over the world for a reason- it’s true.  Take for instance rolled oatmeal.  It’s a staple in my house, even my dogs love warm oats on a cold morning.  A one pound bag of Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats is $2.19 at my local health food store.  I can purchase one pound of organic rolled oats in bulk for $0.99, saving me a cool $1.20!  I also buy my raw nuts, seeds, and dried fruits in bulk as well.  Why pay for the packaging?

Tip: Save jars from things like peanut butter and reuse them to store food items purchased in bulk.

2.  Buy dried goods. I buy dried beans and legumes over their canned counterparts and save a bundle in the process.  While the prices vary depending on bean (or legumes), you can easily find one pound of dried beans for around $2.00.  The same beans in a 16 ounce can would be around $2.00 – $3.00 (for organic, conventional would be cheaper).  Think about this, one pound of dried beans is equal to 6 cups of cooked beans.  Now that, my fellow VOAB’s, is some serious savings.

Tip: Since dried beans require soaking/cooking time to be usable, make the entire bag of beans at a time.  Once cooked and drained, portion them out (I use 1 cup measurements to make it easy on myself) and put them in freezer bags.  For maximum storage space in the freezer, lay the bags of beans flat until they are frozen- once they are you can stand them up to save space.  Make sure to add the date on the outside of the freezer bag so you can rotate your food accordingly.

3.  Skip the pre-packaged faux meat section and make your own. Faux meat products are popping up in refrigerated sections of stores all over.  And I’m not going to lie, I adore Gardein’s vegan line up of faux meats- but I don’t eat them often.  These faux meats offer up quick and easy preparation and a decent amount (usually) of plant protein- which can lure you into purchasing them.  But buyer beware, these quick cooking faux meats are hell on any budget.  A two to four serving package can cost anywhere from $4.00 – $6.00.  Instead, make your own.  Faux Meat Steam Sausages (think Italian Sausage Style) are easy peasy to make and taste super yummy.  Maybe you are more of a faux sausage crumble kind of vegan, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.  Me, I like these savory breakfast style sausages.  And there’s more, so many more recipes you can find just by doing a quick internet search.  There’s even some for vegan lunch meat recipes out there!  So, grab a recipe and experiment away.  You’ll save some some $$ in the process.

Tip:  Take the time now to save some time later.  Make double batches of the recipe at a time, portion out into freezer bags, and freeze for later use.

These are my favorite tricks to keeping my budget in line, but what about you?  What do you do to keep your vegan budget healthy?  Share it in the comments and lets all start saving some serious loot!

Let’s face it, being vegan isn’t always easy.  As a vegan you will face quite a few folks who really can’t understand why you won’t just “EAT SOME MEAT ALREADY” for goodness sake.  I’ve heard it a thousand times.  If I would sneeze at work, inevitably someone would blame my meatless diet for my reaction to dust.  If I would cough, stub my toe, get a paper cut, or accidentally slam my car door onto my hand (do you get the sense that I am accident prone?)- it was always due to a lack of hamburgers in my diet, not my poor sense or coordination.  One year I had to have my kidney removed (due to a birth defect) and even then, I was told I could have probably saved myself a surgery if I would just “stop the nonsense” and eat meat.  It never occurred to any of my coworkers that I hadn’t had a cold, or flu, or whatever the latest nasty virus that was going around the office was, in years- largely due to my vegan diet.  Generally speaking, I’ve never been healthier as a vegan.  And it baffles me when people think that I need meat to be healthy.  Baffles. Me.

One thing that I’ve always found to make my vegan life easier is to network with other vegans.  We might be in the minority now, but the number of vegans are growing every day.  I know it can be hard to find other vegans in your area, but they are out there.  I have found other vegans in my area simply by looking them up online.  Try VeganMeetup.com to find out if there is a local group in your area.

Hearing other vegans talk about their experiences has always made me feel less alone in this journey.  It’s nice to talk about how awesome my seitan dinner was and have people actually know what seitan is.  I know that these folks could have had people reduce their beliefs to nothing more than a joke at work- just like me, and that I can learn from them on how to deal with it.  It’s refreshing to meet these folks, and intoxicating to be around folks of a like mind.

I feel that way about YDV as well.  YDV is constantly evolving- and I’m not just talking about our new kick-ass layout.  I’m talking about community and education.  There is something to learn from every vegan, isn’t there?  Everyone has their own way of making veganism work for them.  And I think we can build a strong, caring community with that.  We’ve built the vegan stage at YDV, now  we want to hear from you.  Your voice, your passion for veganism, your hints, tips, tricks, recipes, product reviews, or events helps to make YDV a community that every vegan can learn from.  And isn’t that part of veganism?  Helping others to achieve it by education?  Sure is!

So, I invite you to share your experiences with the YDV community as a Guest Contributor.  Your voice will join us, and others around the globe talking about the plight of non-human animals.  The more voices that come together, the louder our message will be.  And, while at this time YDV does not pay for submissions, there are some pretty cool benefits from contributing.  Your post will be featured on the front page of YourDailyVegan.com- highlighted in one of our three blogs.  We will also promote your piece on our social networking profiles.  All of that, and you’ll be a part of the growing number of folks raising their voices against the violence towards non-humans.

We’re on a mission here at YDV- we want to bring unapologetic veganism to the masses and connect vegans with other vegan bad-asses.  But we can’t do it alone.  So, join the evolution and get your voice heard.  Be a guest contributor, chat in the forums, review a vegan product or promote a vegan event.  Help us help others to learn about how great veganism really is.  I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.

Hello, my name is Miss Lycia.  I am a vegan, and I live in the barbeque capital of the world.  GASP!  How is that possible, you ask?  Well, I have maintained this lifestyle successfully (and happily!) for years and have some survival tips to share.

1. Be Prepared: Every Thanksgiving, my family members say “We know you’re vegan, so we made some macaroni and cheese just for you.” Nooooo! Instead of sitting at the dinner table with an empty plate, I have learned to make items ahead of time for family gatherings—like zucchini lasagna or vegan pumpkin pie. Caveat: People are always curious about what the “vegan” is eating—be sure to bring enough to share!

2. Experiment: Most ethnic foods are very vegan-friendly.  Who needs greasy fried chicken when you can have Thai coconut curry or Japanese vegetable sushi?  Since becoming vegan, my taste buds have experienced culinary adventures from Sri Lankan to Ethiopian, Greek to Moroccan.  With these delightful cuisines, do I miss meat? Absolutely not!

3. Educate: Many people may not understand what it means to be a vegan and why you chose to adopt the lifestyle.  I try to use every opportunity as a teaching moment, without being condescending. (Thus, I do not advocate snatching cheeseburgers out of your friends’ hands.)  Share the truth about how animals are raised with the people around with you (Watch “Food, Inc.” or “Meet Your Meat” together) or recommend books that may be of interest (“Omnivore’s Dilemma” or “Fast Food Nation”).  Once my friends and family members understood my inspirations for becoming vegan, many of them became motivated to adopt a plant-based diet too.

4. Find Support: You may find it challenging if you are starting this journey alone. Identify sources of support, either online (such as Your Daily Vegan!) or locally.  My city has a vegetarian organization that organizes monthly potluck and animal awareness events.  We all know there is power in numbers.  When I realized that there was a network of like-minded individuals in my area, it strengthened my commitment to veganism.  If I can survive in a carnivore’s paradise, then you can too.  With these tips, you are ready to face the world without fear, “I am Vegan, Hear Me Roar!”