♡Why Are You Vegan?♡

I know it hasn't been very long but through the year and a bit that I've been Vegan many differnet people have had many different questions, some rude and some simply curious. When I was Vegetarian for four years previously many people were curious then too but it escalated when I made the switch.

If you yourself were wondering why I made the decision or were even thinking whether to make the plunge, here are some short questions and answers!

What do you eat?

This question for me, is the hardest to answer. Ask me my top 5 favourite movies and I'll forget every single movie I've watched! I can never remember those kinds of things when put on the spot. To firstly clarify, the things that I don't eat are fish, red meat, white meat, any meat, eggs, dairy, gelatin and anything else that has come from an animal! So many people I have met think that this means I just eat salad which couldn't be further from the truth! I eat burritos and tacos, simply without cheese and with lots of avocado instead, I eat curry, stir fry, pizza either with no cheese or a vegan alternative, pasta, veggie burgers, sushi, soup, falafels, salads and there are also many vegan alternatives these days such as vegan cupcakes and biscuits!

Why are you vegan?

There are many many reasons but the main one is that I am majorly concerned about the way animals are farmed and treated. I believe that it is completely uncessary to use and kill animals because we do not actually need animal products in order to live. I also believe it is wrong to take somethings life for ones own benefit.

Public awareness of what animals go through to be slaughtered or used for their products are becoming more known in the general public which means that it is becoming more difficult for people to deny that these horrible kinds of things are happening. These beautiful and intelligent animals (a baby pig is as smart as a three year old) are actually aware of what is going on around them and are often kept in cramped and filthy conditions where they are unable to move. Some animals even die 'naturally' during all of this because they are forced to grow or produce milk or eggs at a rate that their bodies can not physically handle as they are forced to do it at an unnatural rate. Ten billion animals are slaughtered for human consumption each year, while being vegan saves more than 100 animals a year. Also, no matter what an advertisement will tell you, farmed animals are not protected from cruelty under the law and these animals are fed a diet that is tainted with pesticides and antibiotics.

Being Vegan is also better for the environment, as you reduce your eco-footprint and Vegan diets produce less greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock industry is responsible for approximately 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions which is more than the whole transport sector. Plants also require way less land and water than what is needed to produce your typical Western diet. 

"Plant-based diets only require around one third of the land and water needed to produce a typical Western diet. Farmed animals consume much more protein, water and calories than they produce, so far greater quantities of crops and water are needed to produce animal ‘products’ to feed humans than are needed to feed people direct on a plant-based diet. With water and land becoming scarcer globally, world hunger increasing and the planet’s population rising, it is much more sustainable to eat plant foods direct than use up precious resources feeding farmed animals.

Farming animals and growing their feed also contributes to other environmental problems such as deforestation, water pollution and land degradation." - http://www.vegansociety.com/become-a-vegan/why.aspx

Where do you get your protein?

Firstly, I hate being asked this question personally. Most meat-eaters aren't measuring there consumption of protein and what food has what so why are they all of a sudden concerned about how much protein I get? In actual fact meat is not needed to have a protein rich diet and there are a lot more plants that have more protein in it than any given animal.

In developed countries getting enough protein is not a problem since many plant foods are high in protein such as beans, nuts, seeds and grains. This means that foods such as hummus, pasta, bread, tofu, lentil soup, peanut butter and nut milks all have an amazing amount of protein. I am a prime example of this, I don't eat meat and my protein levels are perfect.

Where do you get your calcium?

You actually get a ridiculously healthy amount of calcium from beans, tofu, soy milk and dark green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and kale.

Also, did you know that the countries that consume the most dairy have the most osteoporosis? The belief that we 'need' dairy makes me feel a bit... ill. Did you know that we didn't consume dairy through evolution? Did you know that humans are the only beings that consume dairy after weaning? Did you know we're the only animals that consume dairy from another animal? (Talk about gross!!).
Eating dairy is fairly new to our species. We've been evolving for millions of years but only consuming dairy for approximately 10,000 years.

Don't you miss eating (insert food here)?
My family are big cheese eaters, so I thought I would MAJORLY miss it. It didn't take long for my body to not want it simply because it didn't need it. Besides, there are vegan alternatives.
When it comes to missing other foods, I don't miss anything. This is either because, again there is a Vegan option or because the thought of consuming something that is the product of another creatures pain is simply not worth the taste on my taste buds.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask and here are some great sites with tons of info!!

http://www.britishmeat.com/49.htm

http://www.veganwolf.com/reasons_to_be_vegan.htm

xx

♡Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies♡

For a long time I've been trying to hunt down the perfect vegan cookie recipe but have failed time after time, instead finding recipes that don't taste like the non vegan versions that I used to eat.

Now, I am super happy to announce that I have found and adjusted the most delicious cookie recipe ever!! this is now my go to cookie recipe. It's chewy and gooey and mmmmmm.

Being the only Vegan in a household means that sometimes my family can be hard to please and convince when it comes to Vegan alternatives but they couldn't tell the difference at all! They certainly didn't last long in my house, I'm lucky I managed to get some pictures!

I put chocolate spread in the middle because I didn't have any chocolate at hand but you can do either or, of course!

I tend to make massive cookies so this made 14 huge ones, or you could make smaller cookies that would then make 28.

You'll need:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, softened
• 1/4 cup unsweetend coconut milk
• 1/4 pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter
• Your favourite chocolate spread or chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line baking trays with baking paper.

2. In a medium sized bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and once it's all combined, set it aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl beat together the sugar, coconut oil, coconut milk, maple syrup, peanut butter and vanilla. Beat until smooth. This mixture should look quite caramel in colour.

4. Add the flour mixture and mix until all combined. Drop heaped spoonfuls of cookie dough onto the prepared trays and make a small indent in the middle. Fill this with the chocolate spread or chocolate and cover with some more cookie dough.

5. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until just golden brown. Don't worry if they still look a bit delicate as once you place the cookies on a cooling rack and let them cool completely they should harden a bit more.

Obviously you can choose to omit the peanut butter and could include choc chips or any kind of nuts. Feel free to experiment and I hope you enjoy!!

xx

♡Lush Christmas♡

Lush is a company whose products are spoken about a lot by bloggers, everyone is in love with their products and why wouldn't you be?! Everything that they sell is amazing but I thought I would give you guys a little more of an understanding as to why they are such a great company to support.

Lush have said again and again that they don't support animal testing whatsoever and it's great to see a company practice what they preach:

“Not only is LUSH passionate about the animal testing policy, our passion also extends to the commitment we have to sourcing ingredients from suppliers that are congruent with our ethics and standards”.

All of their products are vegan as well, which ensures that no form of animal derived products were used and no animals were harmed in any part of the production process. Their products are made from ethically sourced ingredients, handmade fresh locally, their products help reduce landfill and they support grassroots charities!

They have had a countless amount of campaigns that show that they aren't afraid to make an impression as each campaign has been very 'in your face' and actually make an impact. An example of this is a campaign that they did a few years ago where they hired a female actor and in the window of their busiest store in London had someone treat her as if she was an animal undergoing animal testing. This received many positive and negative responses BUT at the end of the day it brought more attention to the issue and had  a lot more people signing petitions. They don't only have campaigns about issues relating to the use of animals in the beauty world but also for topics like marriage equality and asylum seekers. 

I absolutely love Lush and I always look forward to their Christmas range. Here are some of their Christmas range products that I recommend.

Sandy Santa Scrub

This limited edition sugar scrub scrubs away dry skin and exfoliates to leave your skin silky-smooth and smelling gorgeous. This year Lush have added coconut oil and butters, such as murumuru and organic shea butter, which makes it more beneficial for you skin. It is scented with a combination of orange, rosewood, and sandalwood oils that not only give it it's beautiful scent but also hydrates the skin as you scrub. I have really dry skin so am careful when it comes to scented products and exfoliators but this actually works really well for my skin!

Father Christmas Bath Ballistic

This is an zesty smelling bath bomb has mandarin oil, bergamot oil and orange blossom absolute in it which, like all Lush products is really relaxing and beneficial for your body. When you drop him into your bathtub he turns the water from a brilliant red to a deep green and is great for the skin!

Star Light, Star Bright Bath Melt

This bath melt contains cocoa butter, extra virgin coconut oil, Chinese ginger oil, Persian lime oil, lavender oil and a fondant shea butter centre, meaning it is a super moisturising product that is really amazing on the skin and, of course, smells amazing too. 

 When the star slowly melts it leaves a silvery lustre across the water in a magical trail of starlight through turquoise coloured water. This is definitely one of my favourites because it's so much fun but isn't necessarily practical as the glitter stays on your skin!

Best Wishes Gift

The Best Wishes Gift was first created a few years ago and is deemed a "Christmas classic" as it includes some of Lush's most iconic Christmas products.

It contains a Luxury Lush Pud  which has the same fragrance as their Twilight bath bomb (which I love). It's made with lavender oil which is known to calm the mind and help with getting a good nights sleep.

It also includes the Golden Wonder Bath Bomb which smells of lime and sweet orange oils.

Lastly, it also has a Snowcake Soap bar which smells of marzipan, which is absolutely delicious and is always so tempting to eat!

All of these products are really moisturisng and cleansing for the skin.

Christmas Candy Box

This box is one of my absolute favourites!! All of the products in it are sweet and candy scented so it really does feel like you're using lollies in the bath and shower, if you or the person you're buying for isn't a fan of sweet scents then this isn't the gift box to buy.

It includes their Rockstar Soap which is really creamy and smells distinctly of vanilla, it's so lovely.

The Candy Mountain Bubble Bar is very fragrant with its matching vanilla scent and creates very fluffy  bubbles in the bath.

Their Popcorn Lip Scrub is sweet and salty and does a really good job at exfoliating lips and helps hydrate lips with the coconut and jojoba oils that it has in it.

Snow Fairy Shower Gel is extra fruity and sparkly with, yet again, a sweet vanilla scent that I find really comforting. You can wash both your body and your hair with it and is very moisturising.

Last, but not least, their Snowman Bath Bomb! It is infused with cocoa butter to make sure that  your skin stays soft and hydrated and the aroma is a 'blissful vanilla'.

I'm sensing a theme in this box...

What is your favourite Lush product or what is the next product on your list?

xx