I was kidnapped by Economics and it was terrifying.

I know, I know. It's literally been forever since I've posted. But I have valid reasons: I've been a busy bee and Macroeconomics kicked my butt all week long. But now I'm back and the only thing that's going to take me away like that again is another Economics test - so in about a month.

Last Saturday Batman and I traveled to New York City to see The Lion King, it was magical. Despite the smog, slight smell of old cheese and overpopulation, I absolutely love the Big Apple. As soon as I walked up the steps of Penn Station into the crisp New York air, I felt super happy. We started with a little shopping, we had some time to kill before the 2 o'clock show. I got this fabulous army green fall coat from H&M on sale for the low price of $25 - woo!
After some walking around and getting the feel of the city it was time for the the Lion King. It was AMAZING. I sat on the edge of my seat the whole show like a little kid, clapped too loudly and loved every second of it. Seriously, if you listen to anything I say, listen to this: go see The Lion King on broadway. It will change your life (much like becoming a vegetarian - LOL).
When the show ended we walked around the city a little more until stumbling across a Mazo Vegetarian - it's kind of like vegetarian fast food. They serve sweet potato fries and falafel pita sandwiches. Falafel is  small balls or patties made from ground chickpeas. Well unfortunately I did not get to stop and get anything :( because we were running late for the train ride back to good ol' Philly. But just seeing a vegetarian restaurant made me happy. Thank you, New York.

All in all the trip to NYC was a complete success, I just wish we were able to stay longer. But we had to return to the city of brotherly love so I could be a cupcake for the night - I know I promised a picture but I don't have any right now, I'll get back to ya. Anyways, being a cupcake was close to being a FAIL situation. Some people thought I was a flapper, some people thought I was being "cute" and others had no idea (there were a few who guessed correctly - thank goodness). But after revealing what I actually was, they understood and thought I made an adorable cupcake. Maybe I should have added more sprinkles.... oh well, there's always next year - or that random day when I feel like dressing as my favorite dessert.

All last week was spent studying for my economics exam. I'm like really, really bad at economics. I don't understand why, it seems simple enough and I like the subject but I guess the feelings aren't mutual. Why econ, why?? Anyways, I ended up getting a B after 5 whole days of studying and I'm pretty proud of myself. Go Krystin! It's just safe to say I'll never fully understand the subject and it will never love me back.

This past weekend was super fun. I got to see my best friend whom I haven't seen in what felt like years and it was wonderful. I also went to the Olive Garden with my family, proving yet again that you can still be a vegetarian and go out to eat. 3/5 people in my family are herbivores - well if you include my dog Domenic, which I probably should because he believes he's a 14-year-old girl then its 3 out of 6 - and that's still half the household. My brother and Dad hate the fact that my mom, sister and I don't eat meat and regularly make fun of us for it but hey, it's all in good fun. Okay, where was I? Right - dinner Friday night. I got mushroom raviolis and they were yummy. There were actually many options for us, and even if there aren't, you can always order a pasta dish or salad without the meat in it. So if not being able to go out to eat is on your list of "reasons not to become a healthy person, live longer, feel better and become a vegetarian" then cross it off peeps because its false!

On Saturday night me and my mom or Joanne as I usually refer to her as made fried tomatoes and asparagus. Delicious. And when we were at Target earlier that day (Joanne needed 2 new pillows because she just got a new bedroom set and it came with like a bagillion pillow shams - but she was trying to find $2 pillows, whose ever heard of $2 pillows LOL oh Joanne) we bought Morning Star meatless chick'n and sausage patties. We've never tried them before, we only eat the veggie burgers but we decided to step out of our box and the chick'n was delicious! - another meal to add to the list of endless possibilities. 

 I also made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing this weekend, and they were perfect and so cute! My baby sista and I tweaked the standard recipe and removed the addition of ginger and cloves and just doubled the cinnamon - I highly recommend it. I love baking. Wouldn't it be awesome if we lived in a world where everything was desert items (mostly cupcakes), like our houses and cars were just huge cupcakes and cupcakes on wheels? I guess I'm the only one. A girl can dream .....

..... my future house.

BYE!

dance party pink

I don't advocate vegetarianism through those images you see in the dreaded peta pamphlets or in the meat.org videos because they make me cry. Also because I believe people have a right to eat what they want, even if I don't approve and even if it too makes me cry. I'm a crybaby people, I think that's what I've come to learn of myself. But, this video is amazing - minus the sad pictures and disgusting statistics. It's message is powerful. Watch the video, let it speak to you.

Now that I have enriched your minds, my business here is done. JUST KIDDING. I'm here to stay. So, I was thinking yesterday while I was watching people eat in the cafeteria that #1 - people eat really grossly, #2 - sometimes when vegetarian food is not offered/not a priority/nobody cares, I end up eating really unhealthily - which is so NOT fair. Like take today for example; I went to the pizza place on campus hoping they'd offer a fun salad sans meat or like a white pizza with broccoli or something. HA! Was I wrong. There was nothing but plain pizza and cheese stuffed breadsticks and don't get me wrong, it was yummy but it wasn't the healthy meal I was yearning for. And actually to be honest, it wasn't even that yummy and it sat in my stomach all day long like a store mannequin - didn't move (okay that might have been a lame-o joke, blame the bad food I've been ingesting). It just makes me a little bit angry.
If your wondering why the title of this post is "dance party pink," I have a valid explanation - I'm in the process of painting my nails to match my cupcake costume and that's the name of the color. How cute is that?! Well I like it.

After hearing I'm a vegetarian sometimes people tell me that my not eating meat isn't doing anything for the world, that I'm not helping because I'm just one person and I can't change the world blah, blah, blah. First of all, shut up - you don't know what you are talking about, you are just trying to make yourself feel better. Second of all, I am being the change I want to see in the world, so leave me alone - please and thank you.

There's your daily dose of inspiration. Don't say I never gave you anything. And here are some pumpkin cupcakes, you're very welcome.

Until next time.

Pardon the short vacation but ... I turned 21.

I know I haven't posted in forever but I promise I have a really good reason - it was my birthday weekend and I turned 21! My birthday was on Friday and I will describe it to you in 5 words: BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE. I've never had so much fun, my family and close friends helped me celebrate and it was perfect. The day after was the opposite of perfect, if you know what I mean (insert description of the sickest you've ever felt here), but it was totally worth it. But enough about that, I know you're jealous so I'll drop it.
On Thursday night Batman and I went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. Hibachi was my restaurant of choice but I was a little nervous because it was my first time going there as a vegetarian. Well the experience was pleasant, as I expected, because they cook the food in front of you so you can see what's going on and what's being mixed with/touching what. I ordered the Hibachi vegetables (yum) and it came with fried rice. I watched that chef like a hawk as he prepared my vegetables. There was chicken, steak, shrimp and salmon also located on the grill/stove thing (I'm not really sure what they call it) but I made sure that those poor dead animals didn't come anywhere close to my veggies. I think the chef knew I was watching him a little to closely, I probably made him feel uncomfortable but hey, that meat was making me uncomfortable. All in all, the end product was a success - my veggies weren't contaminated and they were absolutely delicious. And as I was eating, they came out and sang Happy Birthday to me (Batman told them it was my birthday! - he's just the cutest), it was really nice - and we got a free ice cream sundae! Dinner was great, and you'd be surprised how full vegetables can make you feel. The most common misconception among people is that a meal needs meat to complete it. Try taking on a different mind set, don't build your meal around meat, make your meal and then add meat if needed, I bet you'll realize how unimportant meat actually is.

IMPORTANT Today I found out that McDonald's french fries contain beef extract (*&*^!?#@). I'm not a big fast food fan but I have no self-control over my cravings for the greasy, fried, salty french fries made under the golden arches. They're like heaven in a red container. BUT NOW they are added to my list of food-that-does-not-have-to-contain-meat-but-does-anyway, and I am extremely distressed about. Why oh why Mickey D's?! Why must your french fries contain "natural beef flavoring" ? It's the weirdest thing I have ever heard. They will be hearing from me. Watch out McDonald's, I'm comin' for ya - Morgan Spurlock style. 
UPDATE 10 MINUTES LATER I just googled McDonald's french fry ingredients as of October 2010 and McDonald's posted new list of ingredients on Oct. 23 and "natural beef flavoring" was NOT included (*&^%$!!#@!!) Hip Hip Hooooraaay !! Now those golden delicious strips of fried potato can remain on my list of guilty pleasures. Thank you McDonald's for coming to your senses, but I'm still coming for you - until you add a veggie burger to your menu. Please and thank you.

I also found out another interesting fact today: orangutan boxing exists in this cruel world. It's bad enough that we the people find humans boxing to be a pleasurable spectator sport but now we have to involve helpless animals because that's just what we do. Not only are they pitted against each other sporting actual boxing gloves but of course people bet on them. Here's a link to a story posted in April 2010 about the "sport" orangutan boxing.
To continue to express my obsession with food and more specifically cupcakes, I have decided to be a cupcake for Halloween. I dislike spending money on costumes and making them yourself is so much more fun so I googled "how to make a cupcake costume" and after what felt like hours I finally stumbled across a blog where the author posted an ingenious idea. I will not elaborate but I will post pictures after Saturday night, promise.

One last thing that has nothing to do with anything but I'm excited about it anyway: I entered to win tickets for Perez Hilton's "One Night in Jersey" party in Atlantic City a couple of weeks ago and today I got an email telling me I won!!!! I've never won anything, ever and I won tickets to a party at the House of Blues. I'm excited about it, leave me alone.
Well thanks all I have to say today, until tomorrow. peace&cupcakes.

Today's cupcake ... I mean update.

Yesterday was National Chocolate cupcake day, and I missed it. You have no idea how devastated I am - I love anything cupcake. I'm going to open a bakery someday called "Tiny's" where everything is miniature and cupcakes will be my speciality. Oh and I also sometimes fantasize about being on Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. I'm weird.
Okay so I probably should have mentioned this before but October is Vegetarian Awareness Month! It's really exciting because October is also my birthday month (!!), which makes me think that maybe I was born to be a vegetarian - I'm gonna start telling people that when they ask me why I'm a herbivore. I follow "gardein" on twitter, gardein is "garden-protein," a meat-less protein option that is good for you and light on the environment. I'm advertising for it but I have never tried it but I really, really, really want to. Mainly because I need more protein in my diet (almonds just aren't cutting it - I have like zero muscles) and the recipes and products they supply look and sound scrumptious. For example, this is chick'n parmesan.

Looks like real chicken doesn't it? Looks real delicious too doesn't it? Yes and yes. Except no chickens were harmed or brutally murdered in the production of it! And word on the street is that it tastes like actual meat so for all yous who love the taste of meat products you can still become a vegetarian! How amazing is that?
I also read on their twitter that the state of Virginia just came out with a vegetarian license plate. I'm not sure if I would sport this on my car - mostly because I'm holding out for a Barbie one (my car's name is Barbz which is short for Barbie, obviously, she's a race car). Here's the link to the picture of the plate: Virginia goes veg.
So, I realized all I do is think about food. I am constantly looking up recipes and watching food shows, the Food Network is up there with my favorite networks, actually it's probably number 2 - number 1 is TeenNick, don't judge me. I always wanted to be a chef/pastry chef. Ask my mom, I asked for an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas at like age 5 and used it, and then a couple of years later I asked for cook books. I didn't want anything else, just cook books - yeah I know, I was a really weird child. I blame the haunted house I lived in until I was 18 - ghost stories, ghost encounters and supposed "possessions" (I had night terrors - my mom told me I was being possessed by the baby buried in our back yard) can't be good for a healthy upbringing. But yeah, I love anything food. So I was really excited when I went to the campus coffee shop today to feed my caffeine addiction and there were new chips sitting in a basket next to the register. I had just eaten lunch but the chips were calling out to me - they're called "popchips" and they are potato chips that are actually good for you. And the way they are made is the coolest part, they aren't fried or baked but made by heat and pressure and then pop! you have some chips. So cool and so deliciously natural. I feel like I'm advertising to you guys, actually I'm not really sure if anyone reads this but to all you (or no one) out there - I'm not advertising, I wish I was because then I would be getting paid but sadly, I'm a broke college girl, boo.
Today at the cafeteria on campus they had grilled tofu in the vegetarian section - my mouth hit the floor at the sight of it. And then my stomach lurched when I tasted it, one word - nasty. All my excitement built the tofu up in my head but I was beyond disappointed following the tasting. It had like this breadcrumb on it and it was really hard and cold on the inside. I think I'm a fan of softer, warmer tofu. Not grilled cold plastic. Nice try though Commons, it's the thought that counts I guess.
Now I'm off to indulge in some popcorn and later I'll probably dream about cupcakes but hey, that's pretty much what happens every night.

3 days until the big day !!

Weekends are my favorite

This was a lazy weekend for me which is why I didn't post. But on the bright side I'll have plenty to talk about today! Yay. Well first of all, it's meatless monday which means everyone should try and not eat meat today. Here's a link for an interesting recipe:three squash soup. Even if you don't participate, try apologizing to that dead animal on your plate or repeat this in your head - a meal is still a meal without meat.
Okay, so Friday I traveled with my boyfriend and another couple to mana-junk, philadelphia (it's really manayunk but it's funnier to say junk because the area is pretty junky - no offense to those who live there). But before leaving, my boyfriend (his name is Batman btw and sometimes I love him) got a haircut. He needed one forever and he finally got around to it. Well, let's just say he was better off not getting it. It is horrible. He looks like a 5-year-old, it's seriously a mushroom cut circa 4th grade. I desperately want to shave it off. I hate it - and I let Batman know every time I look at him. I even tried fixing it with sewing scissors (I couldn't find regular scissors and I was desperate) but that didn't work - partly because I was using sewing scissors and partly because I was having trouble channeling my inner hairdresser. Huge fail by all parties. Anyways, mana-junk was fun.
Fast forward to Saturday. My baby sista had a cross country race. She was racing against like 150 other girls. Cross country baffles me - the girls run on the grass, over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house they go, then over rocks and then they practically crawl up a nearly vertical hill - all the while the spectators are following them - yes, following, don't ask because I can't even fathom why. As the girls pass parents, coaches and friends are cheering for them but nope, not me. I stare in horror at their faces primarily because they resemble zombies. It's like a car accident, you know you shouldn't watch but you can't look away. It makes me want to cry - no scratch that - I actually do cry silently while everyone else is cheering. I don't understand how torturing yourself is fun/a sport but hey, it's America - the Jersey Shore is an actual TV show.

Soooo, I'm a huge baseball fan, mainly huge Philadelphia Phillies fan and mainly because I am absolutely obsessed with pitcher Ryan Madson aka my future husband. It's not creepy, I promise. I even have a customized jersey with his name and number on the back because it will someday be my name too <3 LOL. Well the Phillies are in the National League Championship against the San Francisco Giants and on Saturday they lost. But my reason for bringing this is up is because my mom and I made meat-free snacks to eat during the game. They consisted of:

• homemade garlic hummus (we just got a food processor and it's safe to say it's the coolest kitchen invention ever) 
• mozzarella balls
• bruschetta and toast
• spicy hot preztels

Baseball/all sports games can be fun to watch even without hot wings and pepperoni - AMAZING.

Another event worth mentioning is my cousin's baby turned one on Saturday and yesterday was her party. Pizza was made by my cousin Jeff (he works at a pizza place) and included among the choices was white pizza and veggie pizza because he was thinking of my sister and I (well he didn't know I was one - we clearly haven't talked in awhile). He gets the vegetarian honorable mention of the week award. Even though after he revealed his thoughtfulness he referred to himself as a "meatetarian."
All and all it was a solid weekend. Next weekend will be much better though because on Friday I turn 21, woo!

Rainy Day Ramblings

Tomorrow is a reading day at school so we don't have classes. Instead of staying up in the mountains for this glorious three day weekend, I decided to travel the two and a half hours home. Well there was a little problem with that decision, it was raining cats, dogs and goldfish and I had to wait for a certain someone to get done class at freaking 6:15. So not only did I have to drive along the pitch black highway, I had to do so in the pouring rain. Yeah, it was not very fun. My knuckles are still white.

Anyways I'm writing from my couch now and it seems I just can't seem to get the creative juices flowing. Maybe it's my goldendoodle Domenic -who swears he's a 14-year-old girl- staring at my bowl of mc-n-cheese or the fact that my favorite TV show is on right now (Grey's Anatomy - don't judge me).

I love being home, everything is more comfortable and worry free - oh and there's a fire blazing in the the living room so that's nice too.

Today I read an article on the 17 most vegan friendly colleges and it's safe to say my university didn't come close to making that list - they put bacon bits in the vegetarian section of the cafeteria and cook the "garden burgers" on the very same  grill where they cook those slaughtered slabs of cow. Anyways, it kind of made me jealous. I would like to go to a school where they serve 10 different kinds of veggie burgers made on their own grill and where tofu  is actually an option. But hey, when we're deciding on the rest of our life at 18 we usually don't think about the food. Oh well.

Yes, i know my brain is all over the place - it's either Sophie taking over or the can of Coke I just chugged, soda makes me weird. This post was short, I promise more depth tomorrow when the sun is shining. 

Keep smiling.

 

The arguments people attempt to have with you when they find out you're a vegetarian

When people find out you're a vegetarian I swear the first thing everyone says is "But plants have feelings too." Seriously people, I'm not even going to go there. That's just dumb so shut ya mouth. :) 
The next thing is "Well what do you eat if you don't eat meat," it's like everyone's brain turns off when the vegetarian topic comes up. HEEELLLOOO people, I eat everything but meat. DUH. It's like as soon as the topic is broached or someone finds out - you become an alien or people start acting like you have some infectious disease. Here's a sample first conversation between a vegetarian and a non-veg.
Veg: Hi, I'm a vegetarian.
Non: (takes a few steps back) Uh. Hi.
Veg: What's up?
Non: (a look of disgust spreads across their face) You don't eat meat?
Veg: Nope.
Non: (look of disgust still clearly visible) Why?
Veg: I don't believe in the cruelty/killing of animals for food.
Non: But you believe in killing plants?
Veg: Plants don't have feelings.
Non: (clearly pissed off) You don't know that! They can totally feel you cutting them.
Veg: You're an idiot.
Non: You're weird. I'm gonna get a cheeseburger.

I think the funniest conversation I've had with someone was when they claimed I was hurting the environment by "eating trees because trees give us oxygen." I'm not kidding, they said that. Okay, first of all: I don't eat trees. WHO EATS TREES?! Thats just weird. Second of all: People, lemme tell you something. YOU are hurting the environment. I'll share one statistic I came across earlier today, "If all Americans went meat-free just one day a week, it would save gas emissions equivalent to 46 million return flights from New York to Los Angeles." Just let that sink in for a little bit. 

Another funny argument I have come across was with a boy who said that he was healthier than me because he ate meat. Excuse me while I walk away from my computer for a few seconds because even recalling the conversation is getting me a little worked up. Okay, back. So, fact - people who choose plant based diets are not only more healthy but are also less at risk for life threatening diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Look it up, you'll see. 

A little advice for future vegetarians: laugh at people because it really is funny the things people think of to argue against you, you are clearly in the right - they just have too many hormones in them from all the meat they consume to have a rational conversation with you, take a whiff of the person you are talking to - if they are perspiring then they probably are giving off a meat like stench, smile - because you are going to live longer and because you probably weigh less. 

Okay friends, I'm going to leave ya with a link. Don't watch the video if you just ate/plan on eating ever again - just pause it and read the sidebar. And then think a little for me. 

http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/

**A little disclaimer - I don't hate people who don't partake in a vegetarian lifestyle. My dad, brother and boyfriend are all hardcore carnivores and I still love them. I just enjoy my life sans meat and also enjoy advocating for that lifestyle.**

First step to becoming a vegetarian: DO NOT PANIC. You will not starve.

Quitting meat cold turkey (ha-ha, I laugh but I never understood that phrase) was one word: weird. One day I'm living my life on top of the food chain as a carnivore, the next I'm eating plants. I remember my first meal after my transformation - I stood in front of my refrigerator for about 10 minutes (the timer thing to help you not eat the whole fridge kept beeping and it even turned the lights out on me, so rude) trying to think of something to eat - no such luck. Then I checked the freezer then the cabinets and pantry. All of a sudden I was freaking out because that annoying little voice in the back of my head (mine sounds like a 3-year-old sucking helium - yeah that bad - her name is Sophie) was telling me I was going to die of starvation.
Well, clearly the toddler who inhabits my brain was thinking irrationally. Because about 15 seconds after my mini panic attack I regained control of my brain from Sophie and realized my options were limitless.
Meat does NOT make the meal. Let me repeat this, meat does NOT NOT NOT make the meal. And it never should but that's how we Americans were raised  and look at all the good it's doing us - we're the fattest country on the planet! Go us! Maybe if we didn't go around eating food called "the double-down" or "the big-n-tasty," our average waist sizes would be slightly smaller. Maybe if people fed their kids more veggies instead of taking them to McDonald's three times a week or plopping them in front of the TV with a plate of dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets (and wait, why are they shaped like dinosaurs anyway? They should be shaped like chickens - maybe kids would be weirded out and not eat 'em), then we wouldn't have 350 pound 4-year-olds. End rant about American obesity. 

Anyways I realized as I progressed on my newly found vegetarian journey that there are so many different options when you remove the meat from a meal. There are meatless "meat" options from Morning Star and Boca. There really is more vegetables then meat options and vegetables aren't cute and fluffy so it's a win-win.
After about a week, I was not starving myself - I was actually able to eat more than before because I didn't have the heaviness or calories of meat in my body. I felt lighter and healthier and I honestly felt like a different person. I felt like who I should have always been.  I wanted to hug a tree but most of all I wanted to hug my sister because without her I would have never taken the next step to the rest of my life.






**On a smaller side note that I can't help but mentioning: today at the Cafeteria at school they were serving "london broil." They were cooking it on the huge grill they have and all you could see was red stuck to it. I'm assuming it was blood, it could have been barbeque sauce but it looked like blood. I originally traveled over that way because I saw they had tater tots and I love those, yum. But then the feeling I experienced in my tummy was so not yum, nausea can't even begin to describe it. All I could think about was those poor little cows just burning there on the grill. It may sound crazy but I was half tempted to jump on over there and rescue burning Bessie. But that would be irrational. So I pictured it happening, smiled to myself, closed my eyes and half-blindedly got my tots (which btw, weren't that good).

Last May I returned home after a year of living wildly in the mountains, a.k.a college in rural Pennsylvania, to find that my 16-year-old flower child sister was a hardcore, full fledge, tree hugging vegetarian. For my first dinner back, I laughed as I chowed down on a juicy steak and she happily consumed a veggie burger. I didn't understand why she was a vegetarian, I often made jokes about her decision and didn't listen when she talked about vegetarian related topics.
After three weeks at home with my wild haired, free spirited vegetarian sister (Angel is her name by the way, but don't let it fool you, seriously don't), the wheels in my brain began turning. The facts she recited like a BINGO proctor were finally starting sinking in. When my mom made cheeseburgers for dinner I could hear the meat moo-ing "Please don't eat me Krystin." When she whipped up a family favorite- Chicken Parmesan- I could literally see feathers in my meal. It was really starting to freak a girl out.
But my official "turning point" was mid-June when in a frantic hurry to find a shirt to wear I stumbled into my sister's bedroom (which, let me tell you, is twice the size of mine and she has a walk-in closet-my parents don't play favorites at all), and instead of finding a shirt I found a PETA pamphlet -play haunted house soundtrack here- I know, the HORROR! My stomach was telling me not to open it but the baby pigs on the cover were just too cute to resist. Well, let's just say I was immediately turned. I'll spare you the gruesome details that'll make ya loose your lunch but I read every horrifying word of that pamphlet and gaped at every picture. I stood there in my sister's room, half-clothed, mouth wide open, late for my date, questioning every meal I ever ate.
As I neared the end of the pamphlet and my feelings of self-loathing reached a record high, I noticed a picture of a baby pig and read the caption underneath. To put it nicely, the caption said something like "This little piggy did not go to the market, he did not go home, he got sick, threw up and died in it and then he was served to you and your family on Easter." Yum.
And that's when the water works came. I don't think I cried that much since I realized that no member of N'Sync, the Backstreet Boys or even 98 degrees (you remember them, don't lie) was going to ask for my hand in marriage, ever. Yeah i know, it was that crush-your-dreams, life-as-you-know-it-is-now-over bad.
After about 15 minutes of crying over Mr.Piggy and his farm friends, I prayed to God and all baby animals everywhere that I would never eat meat or anything made with meat by-products ever again.