Animal Rights

This post is for everyone who became vegan to help animals. I'm sure most of you have heard of Peta, People for Ethical Treatment of animals. You probably have gone to their teen site Peta2 and seen their animal abuse videos. I know I have. Now you want to do something to help animals more. But angry protests and bloody chicken pics aren't always the best way. I read an article the other day and this woman went college where a lot of angry vegans were. The anger and blood splattered signs made her angry and pushed her away from veganism. Later on in life she was able to research on her own and decided to become vegan. See, protests and things like that have their place and time. Know your audience. Invite friends to dinner where you are going to cook vegan, tell people the good parts of being vegan. Suggest vegan books and recipes. I don't hate Peta. In fact I love Peta, they have many great resources! But, make sure you don't get so angry that you push everyone away. Also,let's say you have a friend who doesn't have a lot of decision opportunities. Her/His mom or dad pick their clothes,shoes,and.....FOOD! If they can't stop their parents from driving through McDonalds don't make them feel guilty. If they feel guilty they're bound to get angry and push it away. If you have any more questions just comment, don't worry your questions can be on anything and I'll be sure to respond!

Yummy Cheesy, Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip!

Sounds yummy right? Wait, I know what your thinking "I thought you were vegan? What's with the cheesy part?" Don't worry, I mean vegan cheese of course! This dip will be a great way to kill your nacho craving. Plus, no one will be able to tell it's vegan so it's perfect for those picky eaters.

Ingredient,

1 (16-ounce)can of refried beans (make sure to check if the kind your getting has lard in it because lard is animal fat.)

3 large avocados

3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice

2 (8-ounce) containers of non-dairy sour cream

I packet of Bearitos Organic taco seasoning (or combine chili powder,ground cumin, onion powder,hot paprika or cayenne, and salt.)

1/2 cup diced mild chilies, drained (I prefer green chilies.)

1/2 cup sliced black olives(or more if your a olive lover)

5 tomatoes,chopped

2 cups of vegan cheddar cheese

Directions,

Preheat oven to 350

Spread a layer of refried beans in the bottom of an 8" by 8"quart glass baking dish. Pit and peel the avocados, and place in a bowl. Mash avocados together with lime juice, and spread on top of beans. Stir together sour cream and taco seasoning, and spread over avocado.

Sprinkle chilies over the sour cream, and top with a layer of olives.( if you don't like olives you can skip this part.) Add tomatoes and sprinkle with cheese. Heat dip for 15 to 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Serve warm or room temperature.

This yummy dip is great for parties. I thank The Kind Diet for giving me this Recipe.

Camp

Last week I went to a camp and I was so surprised at how many vegetarians and vegans there were. It made me really happy because I was expecting it to be a ton of carnivores. It gives me hope that someday most of us can make the switch.

If any of you have a questions or requests that you want me to discuss on my blog Please just leave me a comment.

Getting Involved!

Do you want to be a vegan but one person in your family (or more) is against it? I myself had a bit of trouble getting my Dad to give up Easter Ham and milk. Let me tell you a secret....it's not impossible to change their minds! All you have to do is cook yummy vegan food for them, But don't tell them it's vegan. especially if their set against vegan foods or veggies. Once they have finished the food and told you how awesome it was like forty times, break the news! If you surprise them like that a lot they might make the change. Also tell them your reasons for becoming vegan. Whether it's for the animals or health (for me it's both) use some serious persuasion skills. If you show them how strongly you feel about it they'll have to think about it.

One really yummy recipe they'll love is Alicia Silverstones Mixed Berry Cheese cake recipe. Warning: this super yummy cake is more like a custard pie. So don't expect it to be like the cheese cakes your expecting.

ingredients,

3/4 cup of earth balance butter (vegan butter)

2 cups of graham cracker crumbs

1 (12 oz) pkg of silken tofu

1 cup of nondairy cream cheese

1 T of safflower oil

1/4 cup maple syrup (for fruit topping use 1-2 teas if using fresh fruit)

1/4 cup soy milk

2 teas arrowroot(a kind of starch)

2 teas vanilla extract

1/ teas lemon or orange extract

fresh or frozen mixed berries for topping (or just what ever berries you have once I just used strawberries alone it it was really yummy!)

Directions,

Pre-heat oven to 350

melt butter then add graham crumbs and mix

press graham cracker mixture on bottom and sides of a oiled spring foam pan

bake for five minutes then set to cool

add remaining ingredients (not berries) into blender or food processor. poor mixture on top of crust. Use spatula to smooth the top of the mixture.

Bake for 45 min to an hour. let Cheese cake (or custard pie) cool to room temp. toss berries with 1-2 teas of maple syrup. top cheese cake with berries and chill to serve.

This recipe usually feeds 8 people. It's a great dessert you should totally try it!

I thought this pic was super funny!

First Post!!!!

Hi everyone this is my very first post for a teen-aged vegan. I started this blog because I haven't seen any Teen vegan sites so I thought I'd start my own. I'll be talking about ways teens can get involved with cooking, shopping, and living in a sustainable vegan way. I became vegan all thanks to Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet. Her site http://www.thekindlife.com/ Is awesome, and has a lot of helpful advice. Sometimes It's just too hard to be vegan when you go out. Especially if you live in a tiny town like I do. So what my Family does is when we go out we eat vegetarian, and vegan whenever it's possible. Do you ever find yourself craving forbidden foods? The answer to that is...stop thinking of them as forbidden food! If you just make super yummy vegan food you'll loose your craving for the forbidden food. If you just have to have that food and there is absolutely no alternative near by, you can have a little bit. I was really craving a Hershey bar so I had one and got really sick afterwards because I'm so healthy that I can't take too much junk food. On my journey down the vegan road I found there were a lot of foods that you thought would be vegan or at least vegetarian and wasn't. Like a lot of people think Gummy Bears and Jello are safe.... But really they aren't! They have a special ingredient that gives them that gummy texture, Gelatin. Gelatin Is made by boiling animal bones. A residue comes of the bone and that is what goes into your strawberry Jello. Yum Doesn't that sound completely disgusting? Not just Jello and gummy bears, but also Marshmallows. More sneaky Items are Toothpaste Which has Glycerol which is made from animal fat, Cashmere is a fabric made from animal materials, Chewing gum also contains Glycerol, Felt is made from wool or fur. Beware of these sneaky road blocks.