Little people do big things

Today i came across something rather extraordinary on Yahoo!. School lunches have always been the talk of disappointment within us kids, but these days, they are also impacting grown ups. Parents are starting to be more aware of what lunches their kids feast on during school hours, in other words, they are demanding better options in cafeteria food then ever before. Political stand outs such as First Lady Mitchell Obama and Jamie Oliver are just two of the key ring leaders pushing for healthier lunch options in schools. But within all this talk about what needs to be improved from good to better people tend to loose sight of who is getting impacted by the change.

What i love most about this Yahoo! article is that it focuses on a 9-year old talking about the same issues that plague grown ups today. It shows that kids too can make a difference and rise to a platform equal to what every adult in todays world constantly walks across. Critics of cafeteria foods in schools shouldn’t just be grown ups but kids them selves! It is from their helpful perspective that allows the big people to demand for change. Nine year old Martha Payne proved to do just that on her blog!

* Read the Yahoo! article about Martha Payne’s blog here!

* Link to Martha Payne’s Blog: NeverSeconds

The Vegan Diaries: Thats how the cookie crumbles

Dear Vegan Diary,

so tomorrow is Wednesday. I was really hoping tomorrow would be a day filled with enthusiastic “hoorays!” compliments to my week long binge of meat, dairy and anything that might come from an animal. However, it greatly saddens me to inform you that i have let you, my readers and myself down [commence sad, sympathetic music].  My vegan challenge lasted a measly 4 days but for someone who eats meat almost everyday, that was a big accomplishment! Looking back, i think it would have been better to not have jumped into this challenge so quickly. Planning out my meals was by far the most excruciating part of the challenge including finding “snacks” to contain my constant mid-day hunger pains.

Having a friend to do the challenge with me was very helpful, but even she could not stop the peer pressure i felt from all my other friends who were not part of the challenge. It was like a nightmare on elms street! Everyone chomping down on all the foods i had to abandon…self control, that’s what it comes down to really. You just have to roll with the punches (or avoid them as best as possible). While many vegan goers out there state that converting to veganism actually made them more happy and cheerful, i for once felt very irritated, hungry and annoyed. Again, this supports my stupidity in jumping into the challenge headfirst.

Although my week long vegan challenge wasn’t a complete success, i didn’t leave the games empty handed. For one thing, i really got to understand the importance of food and healthy eating. It was difficult, but very educational. Changing your dietary habits is never easy (especially when you relinquish yourself from everything you thought to be delicious and tasty!) but it can sure as hell teach you a lot about yourself. My short lived vegan journey taught me the importance of reading ingredients and  understanding fats and nutrition’s in my everyday foods. I got some awesome support from my fellow vegan Worpress bloggers out their (for which i am extremely grateful) and although their helpful suggestions of vegan meals to try out seemed limitless, i still felt the lack of dairy and poultry an impending issue in my diet. Nevertheless, i think i will surely use their recipe suggestions later in the future 🙂

Turing vegan for 4 days proved to be quite the dare. As a teenager always snacking on food, my intentions when first going on this challenge where “hmm, this shouldn’t be that bad,” to “holy crap i NEED food! I’m dying!!!” I should have known better. However, reading the ingredints on sodas and junk foods really helped me understand the artifical mystery foods i was consuming. I’m happy to say, i haven’t drank soda or ate any sort of processed junk food in more than a week! I hope i can keep the track record going…

For now, all i can really do is watch what i put into my mouth and control what i eat. Being able to recognize the good and bad in my foods is the first step to healthy eating. It may not be the “vegan way” but its a start. Maybe in the future, i’ll try to take on this challenge again and have a better success rate then i did my first time around. Until then, i think i will grub on some In-n-Out or maybe a yummy egg salad sandwich…

yours truly,

The Paintress

The Vegan Diaries: Day 1

Dear Vegan Diary,

today has been my first day of being a full on vegan. How exciting! Actually, it wasn’t as difficult as i thought it would be. However, i did run into numerous complications today. Let me vent to you all about them…

1. some of my friends were questioning by new found interest in being a vegan proclaiming it could be very unhealthy and that i was taking extreme measures in loosing weight. To this i replied, “shut up and let me eat my celery sticks!” Also, i clarified with my concerned girl friends about how i was being vegan simply to have a new approach on my food intake, NOT because i was desperate in loosing weight. It’s an important factor to consider but its not the only one 😉

2. Girls were selling Girl Scout cookies at this time of year! Oh the many delicious sweets i could buy for $4. But i resisted my temptation (also, i didn’t have $4 on me.

3. Post- valentine’s day candies are still a popular snack food among high school students and where ever  i went, i found people munching on sugary sweets. The horror the horror!

But i have plenty of good news as well! My friend and i are being vegan together, which makes going through this challenge a bit more easy. Today, she made both of us some chinese noodles (kinda like chow mein) but with vegan noodles! So no rules were broken. For breakfast i had edamame beans and strawberries and after school i ate some seaweed. I also discovered that Trader Joe’s is THE hot spot for organic, vegan munchies and stocked up on all sorts of goodies (organic tortilla chips, organic bread, organic grape jam, seaweed, fruits/veggies, etc.) For dinner i’ll probably whip me up some organic soup. The first day wasn’t all too bad and although i came across numerous challenges, i think i did pretty well in following the rules and to that i say, BRING IT ON!!!

yours truly,

The Paintress

PS: Thanks to some of you WordPress bloggers out there who gave me awesome words of encouragement and helpful tips on being a vegan. Really appreciate all the support from everyone! Thank You!!! 😀

The Vegan Diaries: Practice Day

Dear Vegan Diary,

today served as my practice day for what is to come being a vegan and all. So far it’s been difficult, and choosing to go vegan right before Valentines Day was a really stupid decision. I was doing really well today until one of my friends from school just handed me a cookie and i, without thinking twice replied, “oh, thanks so much!” and took a giant bite. I felt so guilty when i was chewing her delicious cookie! I broke the rules and i did it with out even thinking twice about my actions. However, something good did come out of being my vegan practice day: i gained a supporter of the vegan challenge and now, a friend and i are going vegan for 7 days TOGETHER! 😀 We will be swapping lunch ideas and helping each other out. Tomorrow, the official VEGAN CHALLENGE begins. This means no room for excuses and silly “oops, i wasn’t supposed to eat that” mistakes. Gotta get my head in the game for the next 7 days and sacrifice everything i know to be yummy, delicious and unhealthy. It all starts with determination, motivation and the kick ass theme song from Rocky! Wish me luck!!!

yours truly,

The Paintress

“Go Vegan or go home” challenge!

Tis my great pleasure in announcing that I, The Paintress’s, have indeed embarked on a new challenge: GOING VEGAN!!!

So if you haven’t read the previous post below, then you might not get the purpose as to why i’m challenging myself to be vegan all of a sudden. But just for your convenience, here is that reason in a nutshell: lately i’m not happy with the way im feeling inside and by the looks of my growing muffin top, i don’t seem to be doing my hot bombshell body any justice. I really want to cleans myself of all the crappy food i have been eating and start fresh…with veggies and fruits. DONE!

What does it mean to be vegan? 

Well for one thing,i won’t be eating anything that has a beating heart (animals, or any of their precious goods they provide for us humans). Meaning i will be restricted of milk, cheese, honey, eggs, meat, anything else that i can’t think of  at this very moment.This also means i can’t have anything artificial like junk food or soda.

What can you eat?

Well by the looks of it, carbs, veggies, fruits and water. So basically, i will be starving. 😦

Fact: To be a devoted vegan, one must also shy away from clothing, fabrics, or items made of animals. This is serious business here folks! Fortunately, i will only be controlling what gets put inside my body rather than what i wear on the outside.

* Check out this website for more information regarding what it means to be vegan and how you can get started.

MY CHALLENGE: I will only obey to the vegan rules of diet and food as stated above for a total of ONE WEEK. If i can handle it for 7 whole days (starting tomorrow) then i will continue being a vegan. If i can’t, well then, roast me a a pig asap! I can already tell this is going to be a bumpy ride considering i have a class party tomorrow including a birthday dinner on saturday. What have i gotten myself into!?

* I’ll keep ya’ll informed on my status, including the workout plan i have going for me on top of the vegan diet. Wish me luck!