White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies

Ingredients:
*2.5 cups flour
*2/3 cup chopped white chocolate
*2/3 cup maple syrup
*2/3 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
*1/2 cup raw sugar
*1/2 cup oil

Method:
1.  Chop macadamias and white chocolate.
2.  Mix all ingredients together.
3.  Bake at 180C for about 10-12 minutes.

Makes:  16 huge cookies

Smoothie Muffins

These are called smoothie muffins because they were made out of my leftover smoothie ingredients; peaches and banana.

Ingredients:
*1 banana
*1/2 cup raw sugar
*3/4 cup non dairy milk
*2/3 tin peaches
*2 cups self raising flour

Method:
1.  Blend peaches and milk together.
2.  Add everything together and mix.
3.  Bake at 180C for 20-25 minutes.

Fact Sheet: Dairy Milk

Dairy milk.  We are told that we must have it or our bones will break; that there is no other good source of calcium; that it is the only 'real' milk.  It is the default substance that is put in our coffees, cereals and biscuits.  There are, in fact, many sources of calcium that do not require cows to be milked and their calves killed.

'Got milk?' by Mark J P

Like every female animal, female cows only produce milk for their babies, not for any other reason or any other species.  In order for them to continue to lactate, they are 'forcibly inseminated' to make them pregnant.  Once they have their calf, it is removed from them within 12-24 hours and kept to either become veal or another dairy cow.  Cows normally bond with their calves for up to 8 months.  700, 000 calves are sent off to slaughter each year in Australia.  They are legally allowed to be starved for up to 48 hours before being killed, in Australia.

'Calves on slatted floor' by Compassion in World Farming

19-50 year old men and women only require 1,000mg each day.  Two glasses of fortified soy milk can provide you with 750mg and two glasses of dairy milk can provide you with 600mg.  Obviously this changes with brands (and also between soy, rice, almond and oat milk), so check labels.  Not only this, but animal protein can cause the blood to become acidic and leach calcium from the bones.  It's a good thing then that calcium is not only found in dairy milk.  In order to absorb the calcium, you need to ensure you get vitamin D.

Other sources of calcium include:

• green leafy vegetables
• tofu
• soya mince
• white/brown bread
• orange juice
• tahini
• baked beans
• broccoli

There are a lot of alternate sources of calcium.  If you are interested in using some dairy free alternatives, there are lots of chocolates, icecreams, yoghurts, milks, butters and cheeses that are dairy free.

Gingerbread Cookies

Unfortunately I cannot remember where I got this recipe from, so if anyone knows, please tell me so I can credit the original creator!  Pretty sure it was somewhere on vegweb.com though.

Ingredients:
*1/3 cup oil
*3/4 cup raw sugar
*1/4 cup molasses
*1/4 cup non-dairy milk
*2 cups flour
*1/2 tsp each: baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon
*1.5 tsp ground ginger

Method:
1.  Mix all ingredients together.
2.  Wrap in plastic, refridgerate for 1 hour.
3.  Roll out flat and cut out shapes, or into balls and press flat.
4.  Bake at 180C for aprox. 8-10 minutes.

Makes: 16

Children's Books

I've recently been looking for children's books that teach respect for animals and have animal rights themes.  I am hoping to influence my little brother so that he learns about animals in a different light to what we are shown via meat sales in shops and cooking shows on the TV.

I'm also hoping to buy them through Better World Books as I love their ethics.  So far I've found the following that look good:

• That's Why We Don't Eat Animals
• Baa Humbug!
• Farmer Duck
• Hubert the Pudge
• The Magic Finger
• Souperchicken
• Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit-Juice

I am also looking forward to Steven the Vegan's debut.  It was finally fully funded by awesome people who wanted to see it published!  Amazing!

There is a HUGE LIST here thanks to vegbooks.  I've just listed the ones that I liked the sound of most.  Feel free to leave a comment about which book/s you like the best for your children/cousins/siblings :).

Raffle to Help the Philippines

Tragedy struck the Philippines in the form of a tropical storm, named 'Sendong' about a week ago.  There were massive floods, with buildings torn down and people swept away.

The death toll has exceeded one thousand with as many as four hundred people missing.  There are fears that the dead bodies will bring disease. There are currently half a million people affected by this disaster who need food, shelter and clean water.

It is because of this horrible disaster that I have put together a mini raffle with five prizes.  Tickets are only $1 each and all money will be going to help the Red Cross in the Philippines.  Please spare $1 to help people through this difficult time.

Read more in these news articles:

• Philstar.com
• BBC

"Egg" Salad

Ingredients:
*1/2 cup shallots (green onions)
*1/2 tsp turmeric
*2 tbsp parsley
*1 tsp pepper
*1 tsp salt
*1 tsp dill
*300grams tofu
*1/2 cup mayonnaise
*1/4 tsp paprika
*1/2 tsp garlic powder


Method:
1.  Drain tofu then crumble into a bowl.
2.  Chop up shallots.
3.  Add all ingredients to tofu and mix up.
4.  Taste test and adjust as required.

2011: The Year in Review

Thank you to all of you for your support, feedback and kind words this year.  I've had a lot of fun making things while studying and having a group of supportive people like you has really given me the inspiration I need to keep this all going.  I've had a couple of rough patches and sewing really helps me keep everything together, I really appreciate all your support.

I'm excited to declare that in 2011 we raised $2,506.24 for charities (and counting, still a couple of weeks to go)!  Here's the break down of where the money went:

• Animals Australia -26.00
• ARK - 587.00
• Bat Conservation & Rescue QLD Inc - 75.85
• Brisbane Valley Cat Rescue - 194.30
• Buy This Satellite - 87.90
• Nothing But Nets - 36.84
• Oxfam Australia - 1,060
• Peninsula Animal Aid - 292.80
• RSPCA - 105.75
• UPROAR! - 39.80

Amazing!  Here's hoping we can raise even more next year!  Have a charity that you love?  Email me about it!  I'll be working with Brisbane Valley Cat Rescue for semester one at uni next year in order to organise a fundraising event.  It's a rather scary looking task but I'm hoping that it'll go smoothly.  At worst, it will be a learning experience.  I hope that you'll be able to come along and support me with this too!

Some more highlights from this year gone past:

• I started posting a lot of vegan recipes
• I passed 8,000 blog views
• I passed 1,100 awesome fans on facebook
• I had 6 giveaways
• I held 3 auctions and 1 raffle
• Interviewed 9 artists/crafters

I'm looking forward to bringing you even more awesome things in the future!  This blog really inspires me to share and connect with people and is helping me reconnect with my love of writing and cooking.  I'll be doing regular raffles; one each two months, to raise money for different charities.  As always, I look forward to you being a part of these and sharing them around.

Movie Review: Food Matters

This documentary looks at health from the point of view of good nutrition and prevention.  It explores the failings of modern medicine, the control that pharmaceutical companies have over scientific publishing and regulators and the health benefits of vitamins and minerals.

They look into the age of food, soil quality, agriculture, genetic modification and many other issues that people should consider when buying things to eat.  They explore a few studies (not many unfortunately) where vitamins cured depression, alcoholism and cancer.  I think that they needed a bit more science in this video as well as hard facts but documentaries are always trying to push a certain view point.  That said, eat your vitamins!

Christmas Gift Ideas

Here is a short list of Christmas gifts that can help the environment, people living in poverty and animals.

 
Edgar's Mission Calendar or Christmas Cards, vegan recipe book, hat or shirt.

Cute bat Calendar from Bat Conservation and Rescue QLD, Inc.

$25 gift voucher for Kiva to loan money to an entrepreneur.

Donate to Animals Australia or adopt a sheep symbolically.

Buy a card through the RSPCA to help animals.

Buy a card through Oxfam to help people living in poverty.

Grab a bottle of wine from Goodwill Wines to help out a charity of your choice.

Sponsor a cat through Brisbane Valley Cat Rescue or Little Paws Kitten Rescue.

Adopt a tiger through WWF.

Adopt a koala through Save the Koala.

You can also try and check out op shops for awesome gifts that will have you recycling and getting something unique and helping a charity.

If any of you don't have family members who'd appreciate the gift, I sure would ;).  Haha!  Let me know if you give anything from this list.  I bought a card through Oxfam for a friend and I'm hoping to save up enough to do a donation to Animals Australia too.

Potato and Corn Patties

Cooked without oil, gummy.

Fried in oil, crispy.

Ingredients:
*1/2 onion, finely chopped  $0.27
*1 clove garlic
*1 tin corn kernels               $1.46
*parsley, salt, pepper, oregano, paprika
*4 potatoes                          $1.68
*1 tbsp flaxseed
*1/4 cup water
*1/2 cup plain flour            $0.05

Method:
1.  Fry onion and garlic.
2.  Boil potatoes and then mash.
3.  Mix all ingredients together, spoon into fry pan and cook.

Makes: 10

Note:  I don't think that I made them quite thin enough.  If you make them thinner they're more likely to cook nicely through to the middle.  I have not tried baking them but I'd be interested to hear if you do!

Total: $3.46 or $0.35 each.

Lentil Spaghetti

I was scrounging through the remains of my food and discovered that I had enough left to make me some awesome lentil spaghetti.  I had originally intended to make spaghetti and meatballs but I used all my tvp on pies!  I used this recipe and this one for inspiration, as well as a few others I looked at.

With tin of tomatoes

Without tin of tomatoes.

Ingredients:
*1 cup dry red lentils        $1.00
*1 onion, chopped            $0.54
*1 zucchini, grated           $0.84
*1 carrot, grated                $0.34
*2 garlic cloves, minced   $0.10
*2 cubes vegetable stock  $0.54
*basil, oregano, thyme
*handfull of spaghetti      $0.35
*1 can diced tomatoes      $0.80

Variations:  Add chopped celery, mushrooms, make some tvpballs.

Method:
1.  Prepare 2 cups of water with the veggie stock, boiling.
2.  Add the lentils, zucchini, carrot (and/or celery, mushrooms) and tomatoes.
3.  Fry onion and garlic in pan.
4.  Cook pasta.
5.  Add onion and garlic to lentil mix.
6.  Pour lentil mix onto drained pasta (add tvpballs if you made some).

Makes:  Two serves.

Total: $4.51 or $2.25 per serve.

Movie Review: Meat the Truth

This documentary takes a look at the meat industry from an environmental viewpoint.  A lot of people think that the major causes of greenhouse gases and environmental devastation are things like cars, airplanes, keeping the lights on, etc.  This documentary shows how meat consumption is a big (and easy to stop) problem.

"Farming places more strain on the enviroment than the entire transport system globally." - Meat the Truth.

If you would like to know more about the environmental issues surrounding the meat industry, click here.

Banana Pudding

This recipe is mainly based off another of Chooseveg.com's recipes.  It's a pretty healthy dessert, all things considered.

Ingredients:
*300g tofu                      $3.24
*2 tsp vanilla
*3 large ripe bananas      $1.08
*1/2 cup raw sugar         $0.29
*1/4 cup nondairy milk  $0.25

Optional: I reckon you could add banana chunks if you wanted to.  Want it chocolatey?   Add a few tbsps of cocoa.  You could add some cinnamon or maple syrup if you wanted to as well.

Method:
1.  Blend.
2.  Taste.
3.  Adjust.
4.  Chill.
5.  Eat.

Total: $4.86

Calories: 1206
Protein: 44.5 grams

Fact Sheet: B12

One of the things that you need to know how to get if you're vegan is B12.  There are not many known good non-animal sources of B12.  However, the B12 from animals is actually due to the bacteria that the animals consume when they eat grass or dirt.  That's right, B12 is made by bacteria.  Personally, I was displaying symptoms of B12 deficiency when I was an omnivore simply because I was not eating healthily, so B12 intake is not just an issue for veg*ns.

eating by davedehetre

B12 is important for cell division and blood formation (1).  It also is important to maintain the proper function of our nervous system (2).  Symptoms of B12 deficiency include heart palpitations, depression, fatigue, weak pulse, mentruation problems and memory problems (3).  If you haven't been taking a B12 supplement or keeping an eye on your intake, regardless of your diet, you should talk to your doctor about getting it checked.

Adults require 2.4mcg each day (4).  While we do store the B12 in our liver (2), you can become deficient over time if you are not replenishing the stock.  It also seems that the more you take, the less is absorbed in one go.  Therefore, a person should take5-10 micrograms per day or 2000 micrograms each week (1).  If you're taking an iron tablet, check out the label (for example this one has 50micrograms of B12 in it).  A lot of them have B12 in them.

nutritional yeast by daniellemakes

If you want to ensure that you are getting enough B12 each day, there are many multivitamins and supplements available.  The Vegan Store has this multivitamin which has 150 micrograms of B12 in it.  B12 is also found in fortified nondairy milks, fortified cereals and there is quite a lot of it in nutritional yeast (nicknamed 'nooch') (1).

Just a note: I am not a doctor, dietitian or anything like that, I am just providing this information for those of you who may not know or who have an interest.  If you want more info, check out my sources or use Google.

Sources
(1) http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.htm
(2) http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/vitaminb12
(3) http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=107
(4) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002403.htm

Pasta Bake

Ingredients:
*500g mix frozen broccoli and cauliflower  $2.66
*250g pasta  $0.50
*1 jar pasta sauce  $1.07
*basil
*white sauce: 4tbsp flour, 2.5 cups nondairy milk, 2 tbsp Nuttelex, 1 tsp paprika  ~$1.95

Method:
1.  Cook brocolli, cauliflower, basil and pasta in a pot.
2.  Make white sauce in another pot, stirring until thick.  Add in order: Nuttelex, milk, flour, paprika.
3.  Drain pasta mix.
4.  Combine all ingredients.
5.  Put in baking dish.  Bake at 180C for 20 minutes.

Makes:  Two serves.

Total:  $6.18 or $3.09 per serve.

Calories: 1297 or 648.5 per serve.
Protein: 61.9 or 30.95 per serve.

Fact Sheet: Pigs

Pigs by rajthesnapper

"[Pigs] have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated. Even more so than dogs and certainly three-year-olds." 

  - Professor Donald Broom of Cambridge University Veterinary School (2)

Cool Pig Facts:

• Pigs can live 9 - 15 years long (1)
• Pigs enjoy music (6)
• Pigs are as good at video games as primates (7)
• Their courtship ritual involves a song between the male and female (6)
• Mother pigs sing to their young to inform them that milk is flowing (2)
• Pigs are not dirty; they enjoy being clean (4)
• Pigs are the 4th most intelligent species of animal, after primates, dolphins and elephants (1)
• Pigs enjoy swimming over mud (2)

Swimming Pigs 2 by Nate Derrick

Pig Meat Industry

• Pigs are sent off at age 4-6 months to be killed for food (3)
• Female pigs are pinned down in stalls so that they cannot move around after giving birth (6)
• Pigs are not given the space to move around and root in soil, let alone swim (2)
• Up to 10% of breeding pigs are killed due to illness, lameness or not falling pregnant readily enough (2)
• A lot of pigs have their tails cut off (without anaesthetic) so that other pigs don't chew them off due to being so bored (5)
• Pigs are castrated without anaesthetic (5)

Pig biting a bar on its pen by Compassion in World Farming

Sources
(1) http://drbj.hubpages.com/hub/Pig-Facts
(2) http://www.savebabe.com/
(3) http://www.unleashed.org.au/animals/pigs.php
(4) http://www.thewonderpigs.com.au/facts.htm
(5) http://www.rspca.org.au/how-you-can-help/campaigns/pig-farming/
(6) http://www.worldanimalfoundation.net/f/Pigs.pdf
(7) http://chris-mclaughlin.suite101.com/the-intelligent-pig-a84448

Charity: Bat Conservation & Rescue QLD Inc

The charity that I have chosen for December is Bat Conservation & Rescue QLD Inc (BCRQ).  They are a group of dedicated volunteers who rescue bats, care for them and educate the public about them.

Did you know that flying foxes only have one baby each year?  And that they are important to help spread the seeds of trees around?  I didn't!

These people are doing amazing work looking after these adorable creatures but they cannot do it without the financial support of people like you.  Do you love bats?  Have a love of vampire fiction?  Head to their website and help out or leave a message of support on their facebook page.

If you'd like to support them, buy their calendar, shop on their store, grab a vegan cupcake from me at the markets or enter my raffle, $1 per ticket and ALL MONEY goes to this amazing charity.