A little vegan, a little craft

So it's me again. I decided to finally make another post. I have been really REALLY busy.School, work, and crafting is what my days have been consumed of. Mostly craft. XD So let's do a bit of talking.

1)Food.

I haven't been cooking much. Period. It really sucks, and I am running on unhealthy things like tater tots. BBQ chips, and every vegan's favorite processed cookie; the Oreo. When I am in the mood for food that will fill me up I have been eating PBJ sandwiches  Thank the Lord for PBJ because I am always running late and those babies are so quick to make. Plus PB is the most yummy thing on the planet. But I do wanna talk about one thing that I had eaten that I had never had before;

Soy yogurt! I was kinda scared to try it at first, but I finally caved in while at Trader Joes. I am very pleased to say that it was YUMM-O! It did have a slight "soy" twang to it, but it wasn't really noticeable  Of course, the one I had was peach. It was really good. I am happy to say I will now be able to incorporate yogurt back into my life! :)

2) Crafts

So I know I haven't mentioned that I am planning on opening an awesomely cool online shop to help pay for my unhealthy crafting habit (and expensive!) and I am centering it around being vegan! I have come up with some really nerdy but cute designs, so now I am in the process of stenciling em out and putting them on shirts. I also plan on having vegan purses, and let me tell you, i have some really fun animal and cruelty free pleather! It looks nice and is pretty amazing! But enough of my jabber, here is a preview pic of my shirts to come.

Super nerdy right?! I plan on making more shirts  a few more nerdy ones, and a few not so nerdy. :) I am working on making some cutesy pamphlets too, just to go with the shirts and such. :) I really enjoy having a crafty outlet, and I hope you guys appreciate the stuff I make too!!

Well, this has been a very long winded post, and I am really exhausted. (been up since 5 AM, GASP) 

I shall write more later. 

The Weightloss Hypothesis

Hey there, it's me again. My last two days have been pure BUSY! Since I am a college student, I have a part time job. This job happens to be at Enterprise rent-a-car where I wash cars by hand. Sounds easy enough, but it is WAY more physically demanding than people give me credit for. (AND I WANT MY CREDIT!) So, I worked nonstop Friday, 7:30 am-6:30 pm, just to wake up early this morning and go to work again. Only for a few hours on Saturday, but sleep deprivation really hit me hard! Hehehe I digress, that's enough background story! So I had received a comment today that I hadn't heard in a month (when I first told people I was going vegan) I had gotten into a conversation with a customer about food somehow where I nonchalantly mentioned I am vegan. (I actually throw that around a lot because I am PROUD! XD) She raised her eyebrow at me and asked, "Is that some diet you are trying?"  I don't know why this bothers me as much as it does, especially since this is not the first time I have heard it. In fact, I was asked that by five different people in one day when I first announced to that I had chosen to become vegan. My favorite was my boss, "You know there are other ways to lose weight that allow you to keep meat in your diet, in fact they may be healthier." <-- no lie. Just because I said "No thanks, (to the cake) I have decided to go vegan recently."Why is it that as soon as you mention a change in diet that people assume it is for weight reasons? I feel that a lot of people are blinded by the diet hypes and fads to realize that there is more to what you eat than just calories and weight shifting. I feel that as a society that we have kind of lost the focus on what it means to eat and to nourish or bodies. There are bigger issues here folks! I suppose I am on this soap box because I am tired of people assuming that I am doing this because I want to alter my body somehow. I want people to hear that there are more important things to your food choices, such as the lives of poor animals! I never really know how to answer when I receive this kind of response when mentioning I am vegan. Of course I was kind and was actually able to say my bit, (and look like a hell of a good person too!) but sometimes the question is thrown in such a way that I am automatically taken aback. So I suppose my question to yall is this; Have you experienced this kind of reaction? What are yall's feeling on this sort of answer? Maybe I can get some light shed upon why people do respond that way. 

Kombucha!!!!

I want to start off by saying that I realize I haven't really posted much about food yet... or anything. Honestly, i plan on it, but I've been in such a busy week mode i haven't really cooked. :( I feel more like a junkitarian at the moment living off of delish over processed foods like fried tofu and oreos. :( I suppose this week is a bad example of being healthy! XD (Hey i did eat green beans with my tofu, that counts right?) so that's my story on the lack of posts on food. I do plan on attempting chili tomorrow, lets see if that follows through! ;)

Anyway, today i did encounter a product i have never had before, and that would be kombucha. Apparently I don't get out much because this isn't new. It is a type of fermented  tea beverage with live cultures in it. Here is a quote about what it has to offer; "There are a plethora of other reported benefits associated with kombucha consumption including: Weight loss, improved immunity, anti-inflammatory effects, enhanced digestion, regularity of bowels, appetite suppressant, improves body alkalinity, improved/restored skin/hair, helps stabilize blood sugar, lowered cholesterol and blood pressure, and improved circulation.* Kombucha is not a drug or supplement. It is just a amazingly healthy food that helps your body achieve balance. Just as a complete diet and exercise help a healthy lifestyle, kombucha supports wellness. Simply put, kombucha gives your body what it needs to promote health. * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease"
Sounded neat enough. But you know what really drew me in? I found a local company whom had their stuff at Whole Foods. They are Kickin Kombucha! They make flavored kombucha. I REALLY REALLY try to do local as much as possible, plus their name IS AMAZING! ;)

So, i have no other kombucha to compare it to, but let me tell ya, this stuff was really good! I  got the berry hibiscus flavored one, and it was Yum! So maybe this is the alcoholic in me speaking, but it tasted mildly like a strawberry daiquiri. It is fuzzy going down and left me in a pleasant mood. Perhaps that was just due to the perceived alcoholic content XD  If you like the taste of beer then you would enjoy this! I will for sure buy this again and support local H town businesses! :) So, have y'all had a form of kombucha before? What are your thoughts on the health claims?

Later Space Cowboy!

School and allergies! Ack!

So, another day and another post. Last week was my first week back to college and i am excited to say that it seems  like it'll be a great! I'm really excited because it seems like this semester is going to be challenging, but in a good way!! I have two senior level classes on my plate, and I'm really nervous about them. They meet once a week and I have to read about...60 pages plus case studies. As a HUGE procrastinator, this sounds horrible! But, i have found myself eagerly reading through my Community Nutrition book. It's really odd! XD Now if i could only find the same enthusiasm for math :( I really hope to bust this procrastination streak i had last semester! My poor grades can't handle it! As i progress through the course i look forward to sharing info! :) I can already tell i have a great post about SNAP (Food stamps) in the making!

I had a great weekend, went to a baby shower and everything, until IT happened. I don't know what it was, but i came into contact that my body HATED! I ended up having a severe allergic reaction which put me in the hospital. Mind you this was my first ever hospital visit as an adult. XD Three hours later, I finally had a nurse bring the goods to relieve the pain. Quick side note to those who haven't experienced this, my body broke out in a rash and my face and throat swelled horridly. It is pure HELL! Anyway, the nurse gave me a cup of pills and told me I had to take a shot ( no, not the alcoholic type :( ) So i proceeded to take my jacket off. Now i like to think i am this brutally awesome tough chick, but the nurse informed me that the shot was to be administered to my "hip" which means your butt apparently. I was so scared! I was so hesitant, and the nurse was persistent and said the hip was the only way. So i laid on my back and cringed as the nurse pulled my waistband down to pierce my upper butt cheek. I lucked out, it wasn't painful. So i decided that if i freaked out this much whilst getting a shot to the bum then i probably shouldn't have children.

So basically i had a pretty good week, minus the swelling grossness that happened. Not much more happened, it was rather slow. I also ate bunch of junk, easily prepared BS this week, nothing to write about. Well I plan on cooking tom, we shall see how that goes! That's pretty much it, the roids that the Doc gave me make me tired. :( Until next time...

Later Space Cowboy!

Another cool intro!

I'd like to start by saying I'm not very good at intro posts. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE talking about myself , it's my favorite. I just never know what of relevance to put. I have tried to maintain a blog many times but to no avail. :( This is my newest attempt, because of two factors; 1) I made a new years resolution to create a "blog presence" and 2) I'm a new vegan! So with this being said, i started the blog!

So? Why a blog? Well, I've always wanted to. I don't know why, it's just that weird thing i wanna do. So why the subject? Well, i am a new vegan (Three weeks to be exact) and felt the topic was a good one. I feel the topic is fun, i get to talk about food and my experiences based on these choices. This isn't to bash meat eater. Period. I'm engaged to a firm meat eater! ( If it looks veganish he wont touch it! ;) ) So everything i say is MY beliefs. :) I also like to think of it as a fun place to just talk about stuff. Fun, right? I know, you are so excited!

So, you kinda see the why to what I'm doing. So i suppose this is the about me section. So, here we go. I'm Amanda. I'm 22 years old and I'm a college student. Not only am i a college student I'm a NUTRITION student. Its probably the coolest major ever. I love food. i love science. I am a junior, and i am ready to be done! XD I am still unsure what i will be doing after college, but i have two ideas: I either want to be a high school teacher or start out in WIC to get community experience. The internship process to become a dietitian is expensive and timely, so my plan is to first save money! :) Just a glance of m schedule, i am taking nutritional assessment and planing, public policy in nutrition, community nutrition, and nutritional pathophysiology.bI know, it's super awesome! A clean cars for Enterprise rent a car as my glorious minimum wage college job. I love to sew and craft. Uhm..I think that's it.

I plan on sharing what i learn in class when it is of relevance. :) I look forward to seeing where this journey takes me! Weellll i think this is plenty for one post. XD Until next time!

Later space cowboy