Vegan And Veggie - This Title Is Catchy

A project by Veenna Nigha and Askor Rübk

As Veenna and I got the assignment to make a difference by doing a project, we instantly had the same idea: living vegetarian for as long as possible.
Then we faced the first problem. Veenna was already living vegetarian for basically his whole life, so we thought about something similar he could do and came up with the idea of him living vegan as long as possible.

For me, Askor, the first three or four days weren't as difficult as I had expected. I had thought that the most difficult thing would be to not eat sausage or any kind of meat on bread, but I didn't really have any kind of problem with that and I also discovered many kinds of toppings which I could not have imagined before, for example I discovered my love for tomatoes.

It was also not a big deal to not eat meat for dinner, because my mother is already vegetarian and we don't eat much meat anyway.
I actually managed to live fully vegetarian for two weeks straight but then I faced my first real problem. During the fall holidays, which I spent in Spain with my family, we often went out for dinner and there weren't really any good meals without meat, so I just said "forget it" and ate some chicken.
After the fall holidays, where I didn't manage to live vegetarian, I still tried it back in Germany and actually managed to do it again for two weeks.
For a few weeks now, I still haven't eaten meat on bread, but sometimes when I really want it, I eat meat for dinner.
I think all in all I was succesful in making at least a little difference.

---

I, Veenna, had a quite different experience from Askor's. Living vegan wasn't easy at all, and I already failed after the first five days due to a chocolate yogurt.
After that, I tried to live as vegan as possible, which was still incredibly hard.
Since I have been living as a vegetarian since I was five years old, my nutrition has been based on milk-products, from cereal in the morning, to Indian food with yogurt in the evening. In the past four days, I've managed to be vegan again, making it a total of 9 days of being vegan. Between those days, I of course continued being vegetarian.
In total, I'd say that my project was a failure since I could have managed a lot longer if I would have really committed to it.

To sum it up, Askor discovered that living vegetarian is actually not such a big deal and Veenna discovered that vegans are fly.


Links:                                                  
http://eatsmarter.de/
http://www.vegetarier.net/

Vegetarian for two weeks

Making a difference - Eat vegetarian

"Making a difference"!
This is a worldwide controversial topic. There are so many ways of making a difference.
We can help the homeless or refugees, we can donate our old clothes, we can raise money for a good cause and a do million other things.
In our school we did a project on the intricate topic "making a difference". So the two of us started eating vegetarian for two weeks. None of us had eaten vegetarian before and we wanted to find out whether it is hard or easy to change something in our everyday life, which is why we chose this topic for our project.
Another important reason was the knowledge that it is not really good to eat so much meat, especially if it isn´t from good farming, like the cruel factory farming, which unfortunately is widely used.
So we wanted to emphasize the bad treatment of animals as well.
For our project we wanted to find out which alternatives existed to eating meat and in which situations it was excessively hard for us to go without meat.

We will answer all of these aspects in the following point "experiences", and we will give some advice regarding vegetarian meals.


Our experiences

Sometimes it wasn´t easy for us to eat vegetarian, especially when our parents wanted to prepare our favorite meal with meat and we sadly had to say that we weren´t allowed to eat it.
Another problem was that our parents were a little bit annoyed by us because they had to buy  alternative food for us. It is also difficult when you are the only person in your family who eats vegetarian because you have to prepare your own food.

But on the other hand it was exciting to look for new recipes, to prepare and to cook them. We could create our own really pretty and nice looking meals.
It was also easy for us to not eat meat because we had so many other options.
We tried soy ground meat for a bolognese which tasted fantastic and we didn´t notice that there was no ground meat inside. You can also use tofu as an alternative to meat.
During the two weeks we ate a lot of vegetables and fruits.
We felt healthier and better and we gained some new experiences for ourselves. It also felt good that we weren´t supporting factory farming.
After our project weeks we stopped eating as much meat and when we buy meat now we look for good farming or organic meat.
We would recommend to start eating less meat and to buy higher quality meat to everybody who wants to live healthier and who wants to help the bad treatment of animals. We would also do it again and maybe we will go vegetarian forever or at least for a longer time.

Down below we have two recipes for you :)

We hope you enjoyed reading our post, thanks!


Recipes    

1. Soy bolognese

This is the recipe that we used for our soy bolognese. As we said it tasted fantastic, delicious and is very simple. It is a great alternative, you should try it!

Ingredients:

1-2 talbespoons of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 Zucchini, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons capers, optional
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2-3 tablespoons soy Sauce
1/2 soy meat package
1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste
1 pack of spaghetti

Directions:

1. Use about 1/2 smallish package of soya meat. Put in sufficient boiling water to moisten completely.
2. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add the chopped onions, the diced tomatoes, carrots, zucchinis and saute them for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
4. Add a pinch of salt and pepper flecks to taste. Don´t add too much!
5. Then add dry red pepper and capers, if wished.
6. Add minced garlic stir until fragrant.
7. Then add the soy sauce and the soy meat.
8. Let simmer for a Minute or two.
9. Next add your can of tomato paste, mix well and cook for a minute or two before adding the large can of crushed tomatoes.
10. Reduce heat to low, and simmer while you cook your pasta.
11. Cook a whole pack of pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water for 7-9 minutes, or until all done.
12. Drain pasta and place in large serving bowl.
13. Top with bolognese sauce, chopped fresh basil or parsley and serve. 

2. Red spicy lentil sweet potato dip

The second recipe is our favorite one because it taste incredible. It is perfect for cold cozy days at home and it is also a good dip for a picnic on summer days.
It has a nice balance and is really good for you because of its wholesome proteins and carbs. 
We often made it because it was perfect meal for school and it was really easy to do.
You will love it! Here is the recipe:


Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of red lentils (dry)
1 medium sweet potatoes
1 Cup of water
1 medium onion, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 Cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 tablespoon coriander
1/4 tablespoon red chili pepper flakes
Juice of 1/2 lemon
salt, as needed

Directions:

1. Peel and cut the potato into cubes.
2. Boil the red lentils and sweet potato together in one cup of water. Add a little water as needed. When they are soft and boiled, you want just a little water to remain, without the need for draining. Set aside.
3. Put the olive oil in a frying pain and add the cumin seeds. Cook, over medium heat for one minute.
4. Add the onion (not the green onion yet), cook until translucent.
5. Add the tomato paste, stir and cook for another minute.
6. Add the red lentil and sweet potato mixture.
7. Add the rest of the spices, add and adjust the salt.
8. Cook until the water evaporates, mashing the sweet potatoes while stirring, about 5 minutes.
9. Set aside to cool.
10. Add the green onions, parsley and the lemon juice.  

One Week of saving water, saving electricity and lowering emissions

For one week, we tried to save water and electricity. Often, there are a lot of lights burning while nobody is in the room, and computers consume a lot of energy in standby mode. Water is also a widely used resource and a lot of times, you leave the water running while doing something else. Another issue is the use of cars, which produce very many emissions. Therefore, we also tried to use cars less than usual during our project.

It was easy to travel by public transport and by bike. But we realized how huge the amount of water and electricity is which we use and waste every day. It was not easy to use less water, but we could easily save electricity by turning off electric devices which we were not using at that moment.
It was difficult to see our own difference because of our families: With a big family, the amount of used electricity and water is enormous and also hard to track. 
But we think that we saved a lot of energy in the last week and hopefully a good amount of water. We realized that the environment and the world would be a nicer place, especially for the next generations, if we all tried to save some water and electricity every day. 
It was not easy in some moments, to use as little as possible and less than usual, but we think that we got it. We could also imagine doing this for a longer time, because it is not that difficult but gives a lot to our future children. We did not make a big difference, but as B. Reese said: “if you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito”. Furthermore, if we all do something, it will have a big impact and with everyone joining, the difference will be bigger. 

Some Facts:

• In Germany, everybody uses an average of 130 litres of water every day
• A family with two children uses around 4430kwh (with this electricity, we could watch TV for 3,5 years or 31.010 hours)
• The amount of water used every day can be up to 500 litres in Dubai
• The United States have the biggest release of emissions

Sources:

http://www.stromerzeugung-stromverbrauch.de/Stromverbrauch/Stromverbrauch-Haushalt-Deutschland.html

http://www.hydrologie.uni-oldenburg.de/ein-bit/11686.html

http://www.verivox.de/themen/wasserverbrauch/

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattstunde

http://www.co2-emissionen-vergleichen.de/Klimabilanz/Laendervergleich/weltweite-co2-emissionen.html 

Vegan experiences give a lot of people a new awareness of life

1)What did you do for your project and why?

To make a difference, L. and I followed a vegan diet that consisted of only plant-derived foods for one week. The reasons for this decision were to prevent the exploitation of animals, to protect the environment and to improve our health. Well-planned vegan food is rich in protein, iron,calcium and other essential vitamins and minerals.
We asked ourselves what our bodies needed if we left out eggs, meat and dairy products.
Vitamin  B12 keeps the body's nerves and blood cells healthy, but it only occurs naturally in animal products, so we needed a Vitamin B12 supplement. Good vegan iron sources are for example sunflower seeds, raisins, and dark, leafy greens. Vitamin C-rich foods  (red peppers, citrus, and broccoli) aid iron absorption. 

 

2) What was easy?

The first day was easy, because I like fruits and vegetables. For breakfast I drank a fruit smoothie with bananas, pineapple and coconut. For lunch I ate a delicious veggie pizza with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and corn  (http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/specialdiets/vegan/#PMxs4gyMjBdhKEeE.97).  In the evening I made a salad consisting of lettuce, cucumber, corn, onions, red beans and leek.

 

3) What was difficult?

For me, the hardest thing was to live without milk and eggs. I like eating cheese, yogurt and drinking milk for breakfast. I don't eat many eggs, but I learned that they are hidden in other foods. For example eggs are sometimes ingredients in pasta, bread and cookies. Even gummi bears were not allowed, because the gelatin is of animal origin. Soy milk as a substitute is expensive.

 

4) What were the results of your project and what were your personal insights?

We enjoyed eating vegan food. It made us happy to protect animals and the environment. The colors of the ingredients are nice looking, but it was difficult for us to buy all of these things. I don`t like tofu and soy milk very much and they are rather expensive, so I will continue eating butter and milk. Vegan food certainly helps the animals, but you should also remember that many clothes as down jackets, shoes, handbags etc. are made from material derived from animals as well. If possible you should not use these materials either.

 

5) Would you do it again?

 

Yes, we would do it again, but only for some weeks.

 

6) Finally, how did it make a difference?

The project made me think. Before, I had not been aware that animal products were included almost everywhere. Now I'm more aware of what I eat and what I wear. I will think about it in the future..

 

Recipe: Wraps with fruit and vegetables

These are easy to make. A wrap encloses the food, so you can include more things than in a sandwich. Heat the tortilla in a pan, if you`d like it warm. Whatever tortilla you use, lay it on a plate or on a clean cutting board. Divide the wrap into three dough sheet parts. Place the fillings in the middle of each part and fold it to a "bag".

Fillings you can use:

vegetables:

• lettuce of all kinds

• spinach

• sprouts

• pepper

• broccoli

• tomatoes

• olives

• mushrooms

 fruits:

• bits of pear

• apples

• grapes

• raisins

• and anything else you like.

   

  

   

Salt and pepper are common choices, but don`t forget other fresh or dried herbs and spices, like basil, oregano, cinnamon or chili powder.

  For a restaurant look, slice the wrap in half diagonally.

 

                                                         Enjoy your meal                              

A vegan week - Eating vivid, eating variable, eating vegan

I have been a vegetarian for over one year now, but I had never eaten much meat in general. Apart from that I have always followed a healthy diet. So when the question came up of what project I could do to make a difference, I thought of leaving out animal products completely and eating vegan for one week. I read about it in some books, for example VEGAN FOR YOUTH by Attila Hildmann, or in blogs like “Healthy Happy Life“ (http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com) and it didn’t sound that complicated.

I wanted to do this project because you make a difference for yourself (you do your body a favor) and you do something for the environment and the animals. I watched some videos about this topic as well, and I couldn’t believe how unhealthy milk is and how (as everybody knows) the animals from which our breakfast eggs come from, are treated horribly. Moreover their meat is full of hormones.

It was important to me to eat vegan and healthy, because of course you have to make sure your body has enough vitamins and nutrients and you don’t have a deficiency. So during my vegan week I ate a lot of legumes like lentils, beans and chickpeas. I also tried a lot of unusual cereals like quinoa and millet and didn’t eat any wheat but spelt. I ate minced soy and tofu as well. Instead of having milk in my coffee I drank oat milk and I tried a lot of vegan spreads instead of having cheese and butter on my bread, for example with pepper, mushrooms or hummus. 

For me it wasn’t very difficult to eat vegan. I liked most dishes, e.g. pizza with potatoes (it’s been my absolute favorite pizza for many years) and I love oat milk in my Sunday morning coffee - I actually prefer it over soy milk. The only thing I really missed was a slice of bread with butter and salt, because after a few days the spreads became very annoying. :-)

My result is: I can’t imagine eating vegan all of the time, but I will do it once or twice a year to cleanse my body, because you do really feel fresher. And I would recommend a vegan week to anybody who wants to make a small difference, because as I said you change your way of living and do something good!

One of my favorite recipes: Self-made wraps with vegetables and chili con soy

8 wraps

320 g spelt flour

45 ml olive oil

a pinch of salt

150 ml warm water

Mix the flour, the salt and the olive oil and add some water to it. You should get a soft pastry. Then you have to put the pastry into the fridge for 30 minutes or longer. After this, you have to form eight balls and try to make eight round and very thin wraps out of it. In the end: fry the wraps without any more oil or butter in a pan. You have to wait until some bubbles are produced. Then turn it and fry from the other side.

Chili con soy

150 g minced soy

tomato sugo

2 onions

garlic

olive oil

thyme

pepper & salt

Steep the minced soy in hot water for 10 minutes and saute the garlic and the onions in the olive oil. Then roast the soy and add the tomato sugo. Put the thyme, the pepper and the salt into it. The whole sauce has to be cooked for 10 minutes. It’s a wonderful filling for the wraps.

During your waiting time you can prepare some salad, tomatoes, beans, peppers or whatever you like.

Have fun and enjoy your meal!

Emma Watson's UN speech on gender inequality

Hello everyone!
On Wednesday we watched Emma Watson's speech on gender inequality, which she gave in front of the United Nations last year, thereby launching the HeForShe campaign. If you are interested in more information, check out the official website at http://www.heforshe.org/ or follow them on twitter at https://twitter.com/heforshe/.

"Home" by Warsan Shire

Today we read a very moving poem called "Home" by Warsan Shire, which has now frequently been quoted in the course of the current refugee crisis. Born in Kenya in 1988, Warsan Shire emigrated to the United Kingdom at the age of 1, where she still lives and works as a poet, writer and educator. Here is the full version of the poem for you to re-read and share:

no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well

your neighbors running faster than you
breath bloody in their throats
the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory
is holding a gun bigger than his body
you only leave home
when home won’t let you stay.

no one leaves home unless home chases you
fire under feet
hot blood in your belly
it’s not something you ever thought of doing
until the blade burnt threats into
your neck
and even then you carried the anthem under
your breath
only tearing up your passport in an airport toilets
sobbing as each mouthful of paper
made it clear that you wouldn’t be going back.

you have to understand,
that no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land
no one burns their palms
under trains
beneath carriages
no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck
feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled
means something more than journey.
no one crawls under fences
no one wants to be beaten
pitied

no one chooses refugee camps
or strip searches where your
body is left aching
or prison,
because prison is safer
than a city of fire
and one prison guard
in the night
is better than a truckload
of men who look like your father
no one could take it
no one could stomach it
no one skin would be tough enough

the
go home blacks
refugees
dirty immigrants
asylum seekers
sucking our country dry
niggers with their hands out
they smell strange
savage
messed up their country and now they want
to mess ours up
how do the words
the dirty looks
roll off your backs
maybe because the blow is softer
than a limb torn off

or the words are more tender
than fourteen men between
your legs
or the insults are easier
to swallow
than rubble
than bone
than your child body
in pieces.
i want to go home,
but home is the mouth of a shark
home is the barrel of the gun
and no one would leave home
unless home chased you to the shore
unless home told you
to quicken your legs
leave your clothes behind
crawl through the desert
wade through the oceans
drown
save
be hunger
beg
forget pride
your survival is more important

no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear
saying-
leave,
run away from me now
i dont know what i’ve become
but i know that anywhere
is safer than here

image source: http://www.itv.com/news/2015-11-09/new-arrivals-in-the-past-week-of-the-refugee-crisis/