Benefits of a Major Lifestyle Change

What have I gained from this major lifestyle change?

Health. Happiness. Confidence. Passion. Compassion. Understanding. Respect. Interest. The list is endless. Since becoming vegan, I have made major life discoveries, and it would be so selfish of me not to share them because I, truly and genuinely, believe anyone and everyone should have the privilege to experience all of these benefits. 

Now, firstly, there are many different reasons to go vegan and each one is completely valid and makes, only, positive differences in the world, and yourself. Whether you are a junk-food vegan, a plant-based vegan, a high-carb low-fat vegan, you are still VEGAN and save so many lives, so many resources that are becoming so scarce to the environment, and are opposing to hypocrisy that is of the meat-dairy-egg industry. 

By abstaining from all animal products and by-products, you emerge yourself in a world of compassion, love, and not to mention, good food. 

Personally, I have adopted a lifestyle of a more health-conscious vegan. Nonetheless, the driving force for my decisions has always been, and will always be because of my love for nature and the animals. An innate part of me has always been so paranoid about each and every aspect of possible health repercussions, just living in the world we do today. Since becoming vegan, and notably, a health-conscious one, I know, that my health will never be subject to so many of the major killers of, particularly, the Western World, diabetes, heart disease and even some cancers. So, in that, I have gained confidence in my health, something that had troubled me for so long, notably after some readings I got back from a blood-test a few years back. I had been diagnosed with a thyroid conditions. From that moment, I would not allow myself to succumb to declining health and I had reversed an possibility of that succumbs-ion with diet and nutrition. 

Now, I'm not talking 'diet'. I'm talking a nutritious lifestyle change that, I believe, is NECESSARY to us all, if we want to make a difference. By eliminating processed foods, animal products and any other harmful things you could put into your body, I had not only reversed HYPO-thyroidism, but I had brought back my health above and beyond what it ever was. Replacing any toxic foods and things with whole-plant foods, I have conquered my body and had complete control of my health.

Now, those benefits are so so notable, but the largest benefit, in my opinion, was my perspective on life in general, and my appreciation for everything. I immersed myself in research on the topic. Study after study, recipe after recipe, blog after blog, vlog after vlog, article after article, I had become an insider to the movement, transitioning from my spectator past. 

With that, I have brought others with me and they, too, find these same benefits. 

There is nothing more nourishing than whole, healthy, plants...

 Sunshine...

And knowledge to the world in which we live that is so corrupted by the hypocrisy of the dominating, slaughter housing industries that we can all stand up against and become that voice of indifference. 

Everyone has their own story who comes to this movement whether your benefits are reducing acne, losing/gaining weight whatever need be, gaining health and happiness, opening your eyes, discovering a passion for compassion, getting fit, staying alive, beating illness...

But each story needs some influence, which is why I encourage everyone to BECOME a student to life's lessons and teachings and educate yourself on the world and what is our future. We can make a difference.

Visit

http://www.forksoverknives.com/

http://www.nationearth.com/

https://www.vegansociety.com/

http://www.cowspiracy.com/

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Easy As 1 2 3

People often have the misconception that veganism is oh so hard. No choices, so limited, deprived, nutrient scarce and difficult to accommodate. Sure some not-so-vegan-friendly restaurants can be that way, but there is always a way around only being able to order a salad with no dressing, no toppings, no anything, so basically a scanty plate of greens. Tasty but not nearly full-filling enough.

Through personal experiences, I've found that most restaurants WILL accommodate to a paying customer. To keep everyone happy would mean that their cafe or restaurant will have a positive reputation, thus keeping their site in business, successfully.

Most places will prepare something more substantial if you approach the server with your concerns honestly and genuinely. For example, I recently took a trip, East, and it was decided we would go to a sushi restaurant for lunch. You would think with sushi there would be endless options, but this place in particular was more lavish than a regular sushi bar. There were no vegan options so I mentioned my concerns and preferences to the server and with that, I had a hearty, steamed vegetable dish. In places like this, I often also ask for sides of steamed rice, as a lot of sauces may contain oyster sauce or another fish sauce, so to be safe, I mention that I have an allergy to fish and every time I have received an allergy-friendly, vegan option.

Other options include, of course, salads, but also some pastas, rice dishes, veggies, soups, sandwiches omitting animal products and even pizza without, again, any animal products.

So, yes, being vegan, I am straying away from many things, but not in a sense of deprivation. How can one be deprived when so many lives are saved? How can one be deprived when the fact that the planet will be salvaged for the better? How can one be deprived when so much natural energy can be produced to perform do many rewarding activities?

So yes, I live without carcass and tortured animals, but I live and thrive off living foods, and continue to indulge in my favourite, tasty foods such as sweet potato fries, ice cream, gelato, burgers, sushi, cookies, the list is truly endless.

In closing, just continue scrolling if you want to see some drool-worthy, healthy, indulgent cruelty-free food...

 A mint chocolate chip oreo ice cream I had for my birthday.

 My favourite food in the world.

 Drooling yet? A sweet potato-coconut soup from Kensington Market's Hibiscus Cafe.

 VEGAN CHOCOLATE. YOU MAY WANT TO GRAB A BUCKET OR YOUR DROOL...

 Raspberry, lemon gelato.

THE MOST INCREDIBLE SWEET POTATO FRIES ON THE PLANET. 

THANK YOU FRESH.

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Summer Begins: Vegans Take Kensington Market Pt I

"A life without love is like a year without summer"

My absolute favourite time of the year has arrived: Summer. That means sunshine, beach days, luxuriating in nature, less stress, and most importantly in Canada, a better supply of fresh produce. Fruit, fruit, and oh, more fruit! There's nothing more satisfying and replenishing to my body than a fresh source of fructose fuelling me through the many summer activities, mostly spent outdoors for that extra hit of vitamin D. Now, I'm a very active person and always have been. Exercise and moving my body is the best stress-release, personally. Nonetheless, some days are better spent exploring the surroundings of home with good friends and good food.

So as per most mornings, I treated myself to some sugary goodness to hydrate and fuel my body for the upcoming day spent at Kensington Market.

After contemplating for so long on what to get, I was set on a melon, unfortunately, there were none! I was in shock! After wandering for some time, while my vegan fellow, Lisa (plvntbuilt), carried her goods consisting of papaya and mangos, I settled on a salad and soup from one of my favourite restaurants in the area, Hibiscus Cafe.

The salad contains 42 ingredients, including delicious sweet potato, kelp noodles, beans, lentils, greens, broccoli, some seeds and MULBERRIES. I've recently become addicted to mulberries... And when I say addicted, I mean SERIOUSLY addicted.

 The salad came with a side 'raw' cracker made of zucchini, apples, flax seeds and more goodness.

I have never had a tastier cracker in my life.

This beauty of a soup was sweet potato - coconut and I devoured it so so quickly. Alongside another cracker because those things are seriously the most addicting things, aside from mulberries of course.

In closing, I was, at first, disappointed that I could not satisfy my initial craving for fruit, more specifically, melon, but I was very pleasantly surprised by a comforting, treat of a meal at this delicious and quaint cafe.

The rest of the menu includes many other vegan and vegetarian options, not all the items, however, are 100% cruelty-free but the salad and soup that I enjoyed were completely vegan-friendly. The other options are all crepes with options ranging from sweet crepes made with vegan buckwheat batter, as well as savoury crepes made with the same batter but served with a side of greens, zucchini and avocado.

The best part, in my opinion, of the menu is the beautifully radiant selection of vegan treats and desserts. I didn't end up getting any of these but I have had the privilege to try most of the vegan yummies such as their brownie or ice cream, which I very highly recommend.

Though I follow a high-carb lifestyle and try to keep fats on the DL, I don't feel sick or heavy after eating here and the food is comforting, and yes, does have some HEALTHY fats, but I would much rather go for this over many other options as it is tasty and I know in my mind that my body enjoys it almost as much as my mind does.

All in all, always remember,

Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.

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Give My Body LIFE

 Give. My. Body. LIFE.

That's the best way I can express how I feel about eating whole, unprocessed, nourishing, colourful, rad, beautiful, healthy, beneficial, and diverse foods. Think about it, it's often referred that, WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. 

Who wouldn't want to be fresh, fun, colourful, beautiful, clean, pure, healthy, refreshing, SWEET, and did I say FRESH?

Stop making your body a graveyard if you haven't already begun to nourish it with healthy, LIVING foods, and start now. Veganism is NOT hard, expensive, or extreme. What IS extreme is murder, abuse, decay, rot, everything involved in the inhumane mistreatment exhibited in major meat, dairy and egg corporations.

Two of the things I love above all other things (other than my family and friends and their well-being) is health, animals, life, and the planet. Not only does being vegan help the animals, but it also helps the environment.

• Humans eat twice as much meat as we did 30 years ago, primarily of chickens, cows, pigs and sheep
• All of the above animals require an IMMENSE amount of water, feed as they produce GREAT amounts of waste and methane gases
• The climate change emissions of the combined animals exceeds those of all forms of transportations
• The unnecessary industry DESTROYS and steals land
• This land could be used as crops to feed the hungry
• Not to mention, the land involved to grow feed for the ANIMALS could be used, as well, to feed the hungry
• Water is WASTED
• DEFORESTATION
• The air, water and land is poisoned by the by products of meat factories
• The natural resources of the earth are being DRAINED 

IT TAKES 20,000 LBS OF WATER TO PRODUCE ONE POUND OF BEEF WHILE IT ONLY TAKES 60-130 LBS OF WATER TO PRODUCE A POUND OF POTATOES, RICE OR ANY OTHER GRAIN

Not only all that, but it is deemed that a plant based diet is half the cost of a meat-centred diet.

I would say sorry to get preachy here, but I won't because it is something seriously frightening. It affects the human race, the animals, the EARTH and something must be done.

For more information here are some excellent websites:

https://www.vegansociety.com/try-vegan/why-go-vegan

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-frazier/vegan-diet_b_3996646.html --> For newbies

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/reasons-to-try-veganism#.htVJ73xWB4 --> For humours

http://www.rd.com/slideshows/going-vegan/#slideshow=slide5

"MY BODY WILL NOT BE A TOMB FOR OTHER CREATURES" 

~ Da Vinci 

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The Carb Myth

CARBS MAKE YOU FAT! 

~ A lie told to you by the dieting industry disguised as health professionals, only to rip you off of your money, happiness, and health.

As a species, not only do we thrive off of carbohydrates, but we, biologically need them. Evolution has allowed us to come so far, only as a result of our carb-based diet. Carbohydrates are often misunderstood. When someone exclaims they are on 'a diet', one typically would think that involves calorie restriction, limited carbohydrates, sugars, and fats. Another ever-popular idea is the insane increase of protein, notably, animal product protein. The saddest part of it all, aside from acquiring all the protein from genetically modified, mass produced, and poisoned meat and dairy, is that the entire effort may as well be useless for long-term aspects. If you limit the amount of carbohydrates taken in, the protein is actually rendered USELESS. 

Carbohydrates are the fundamental part of the muscle building process. They fuel the cells to do the work you are stressing on them, and if you cut out carbohydrates, the protein you consume is only used as that fuel, or stored as body fat. By consuming excess protein, you will not see result as the rate that protein can be synthesized is limited, thus, it will be either used as fuel or stored as fat.

Another important concept is that carbohydrates are usually nutrient-rich foods, giving you sufficient calories to fuel your body's cells to FUNCTION. If carbs are cut and calories are restricted, the body goes into starvation mode. In starvation mode, it is nearly impossible to build muscle, as your body grasps anything it can to feed itself: its own muscle.

THAT IS AS UNAPPEALING AS IT SOUNDS.

Not only that, but the brain does not function properly without sufficient energy supplied, especially since our bodies were meant to run on glucose. 

Glucose is the body's main energy source, it is a sugar that is mechanizable for energy purposes, either on demand, or for later. Without it, we cannot function AT ALL.

Glucose stores in the body as glycogen and is used to power the brain as well as the muscles. The glycogen relationship to performance is collaborative; the more glycogen, the more energy for the performance activity. That goes hand-in-hand with glucose, meaning, the more CARBOHYDRATES put in = the more energy. In an evolutionary and survival standpoint, the more energy the better.

Unfortunately, nowadays, people waste away on the couch, hour upon hour and never see the outside world or the potential energy they can use. Not everyone is an athlete, but the human species, like many other species, was biologically made to MOVE. To optimize this, carbohydrates are available and ideal. 

Back to glucose, glycogen not only stores in the muscle, but also in the liver. This glycogen is known as the 'brain food'. The brain works quite differently than regular muscles, as it cannot store glycogen or use the excess fat as fuel. If inadequate glucose is provided, this can lead to many downfalls such as fogginess, lightheadedness, inability to concentrate, depression, anxiety, and many other mental health problems. Not only do low-carb diets result in muscle loss, but they result in a number of brain-related adverse effects. For example, when someone depletes their carbs, cohesively, depleting calories, the amount of glucose is shortened, meaning the amount of glycogen is limited. If this is so, the brain begins to tell the body it needs quick energy. Rash decisions are made as cravings heighten. Deprivation leads to bad decisions and binges occur. This sends the brain false information that the body is being nourished, as it was that desperate for sufficient energy. 

This is the perfect downward spiral and cycle for dieting companies. 

In short, listen to what your body needs and do not deprive yourself. By nourishing the body, the mind is also calmed and nourished, leading to a happy, healthy, whole life. Carbohydrates do not make a person fat, it is the deprivation or the poor judgement in food choices that lead to obesity and dissatisfaction, the secret formula of the dieting industry. Everyone deserves to be happy with their body, and since the beginning of human existence, carbohydrates have been the key to living a healthy life. It is so crucial to replenish the cells that have worked so hard to aid in daily tasks, and by living a nourishing lifestyle, with a diet of rich, abundant, earthy, natural, wholesome foods in balance with activity, the only outcome includes positive results.

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Oil-free Crispy Sweet Potato Baked Fries

Finally, it's summer! The best time to have a delicious side (or meal) of sweet potato fries. Personally, ever since I was a young tot, I much preferred these sweet treats as opposed to the standard potato fries and especially over poutine! Shocker, a Canadian who dislikes poutine! Mind you, growing up my taste buds have developed a lot, nonetheless, I highly detest even the idea of poutine. For health, crucially, but it just seems so unfair to treat my stomach that way, exposing it to highly saturated fats, grease, oils, and god knows what else.

So if you're like me and want the delicious taste, alongside many health benefits, try these fool-proof fries! Trust me, you won't stop after just a few, and you won't have to feel guilty about it!

You will need:
1 Sweet potato
Fresh Rosemary
Ground Cinnamon
Freshly Ground Pepper

Baking sheets

So the first step is to find a sweet potato. I'm not gonna lie, I always would opt for the organic option, however, sometimes it can be very expensive, and if you are on a tighter budget, the inexpensive deal is always the winner in most cases. If you do purchase inorganically, just make sure to rinse THOROUGHLY, or better yet, peel the skin off to avoid unwanted toxins and chemicals. The skin though, does contain vital minerals and antioxidants, so I like to leave the skin on for added benefits.

Once you have found yourself a nice potato, cut it into fry-like strips about the size of a slender finger. This way, they will be more crispy and fry-like. Authentic.
Put the slices into a baking sheet and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

 For added spice and flavour, I have been really liking this combination. I add fresh rosemary, cinnamon, and top it all off with some freshly ground pepper.
Alongside being a High-carb Low-Fat Vegan, I also like to keep the sodium levels DOWN. In this day in age, so many cases of obesity, diabetes, heart conditions, high-blood pressure, and even some cancers are related to poor choices in diet, such as an overdose on salt. Sparingly salt is fine, Himalayan if you wish to add some more flavour, but even so, natural foods will provide the essential minerals needed to keep our blood pumping in a healthy manner.

 So, back to the recipe...
Rinse the rosemary and sprinkle is all over the fries.

 Feel free to add lemon zest as well, then sprinkle on the cinnamon and pepper.

 Meanwhile, I also made a salad to go with my crispy chippies. I simply grated some carrot, put it on a bed of spinach, kale, added some red kidney beans, and some hemp hearts.

Once the fries crisp up, which should be in a half hour to about forty-five minutes, depending on the power of your oven, serve alongside a salad or just have them alone.

Can you say, yum?

INGREDIENTS
1 Sweet potato
Fresh Rosemary
Ground Cinnamon
Freshly Ground Pepper

Baking sheets

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Set oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Thoroughly rinse the sweet potato under hot water and dry off.
3. Slice into 'fry-like' wedges, about a slender finger's form. Place uniformly into pan, not overlapping as overlapping them will not allow them to bake right through, evenly.
4. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary, ground cinnamon, and freshly ground pepper.
5. Pop in the oven for 30-45 mins (depending on the power of your oven)
6. ENJOY 

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Living your life right, awake and asleep - sleep, exercise, food

Whoever you are, you have no doubt woken up one morning, probably after a long night with hardly any sleep or had a restless sleep, with a cough, a headache or, my favourite, a groggy throat accompanied by muscle soreness. Although we should aim for at least eight consecutive hours of undisturbed sleep each night, sometimes that late night tea or eager discussion can keep us wired or can affect our sleep cycle. The key to having a restful, pleasant sleep is to abstain from the thing that will have our brains on a constant run, aka, smart phones, tablets, laptops, any screens, and even books. In some cases, a book can put you to sleep because your eyes are so tired and heavy, while other times the plot only escalades, intriguing you more.

The most relaxing thing for me before bed is to reflect on my day and, in a stressless way, think about the next day. Growing up with obsessive-compulsive thoughts, I was constantly wired. Making checklist after checklist, anxiety running through the roof as I recount different scenarios. It wasn't until recently I have been able to manage my hyper-active mind. I find with meditation and deep breathing, the entire body, as well as the mind has the chance to relax and live in the moment.

Alongside that, I often practice yoga to maintain balance and power in myself. Calming, soothing, and stress-relieving, it is something I recommend we all take part in. 

To add on, another key component to a healthy, soothed mind, is a healthy body. What better way to treat your body than with the right fuel and exercise. 

I cannot stress enough how crucial it is to be active, and while living an active life, to be present, including when you nourish yourself. 

So many people slave for hours at the gym on a machine, practically in a dungeon. Getting cardio in is fantastic, but there's more to exercise than trudging on a harsh surface continually, going, literally, nowhere. Don't get me wrong, I do go to the gym daily, or when I can, but I also take into consideration that life is happening OUTDOORS. Even walking with your best friend, your dog, your mom, your dad, sibling, or running along the lakeshore, cycling through the city, and exploring your surroundings releases endorphins, maintaining happiness while keeping your body healthy and fit. 

Finally, nutrition is the most important aspect of living a balance life. Again, many unsatisfied people will slave hours at the gym, but return to their comfort, or what they believe to be it. Fast food or processed junk. Many people are, sadly, unaware of how damaging this food really is, no matter if you work it off or not. You can always differentiate someone who nourishes their body with what works for them with whole, organic health foods, from someone who just ordered a Big Mac with an extra order of fries or a ready-made frozen meal out of a package. People GLOW when they are nourished right. Through their skin, eyes, hair, body, physicality, body language, nails, the list goes on. Their vitality is so rich and luminous. 

Since being vegan, my skin has cleared up, I am hardly sick, my hair is softer and thicker, my skin softer, and my overall well being and energy is thriving. I have never felt so good in my life. So many foods nowadays are jam-packed with unnecessary hormones, sodium, fat, processed sugar, and toxins to the body. Veganism isn't a restricting diet, it's a life-prolonging and enhancing lifestyle. For so many reasons, ethically, and health-wise, living a plant-based lifestyle is a win.

In closing, by staying healthy, you will be happy no matter what, I promise. 

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