How's life been?
Has it been crazy so far? It's only been a week of summer and I've done so much already!
I've gone hiking with quality people (whom I very much adore)
And I plan to go with friends tons of more times. By the way, the girl riding her beach cruiser with us in the second pic is http://madiriye.blogspot.com. She is just fab I tell you.
I've been seeing lots of friends lately and I'm so grateful for the lovely hiking opportunities I can experience here in Utah. I guess I've really never appreciated my huge mountain view from my window until now. I love it.
RawTill4 was created by the amazing Freelee the Banana Girl, and veganism should be highly spread around the whole entire world. Every year in June, from the 1-21, there is a fruitarian festival that celebrates veganism in Chiang Mai, Thailand, held by Freelee and Harley Johnstone. I plan to attend this beautiful festival in at least two years when I've saved up enough money to stay in Thailand for a month tops.
I am vegan for the animals, the world, world peace, my health, and for the quality of living. It is not cheesy (no pun intended). I am a vegan because I want to heal myself and the world at the same time. It is my goal to spread the vegan message.
Many people are uneducated about veganism and health. So many of my dear acquaintances ask me what can I possibly eat? And why would I do this to my body? How do I get in enough vitamins and nutrients that will sustain me over the years?
My response: You can eat anything without an arse. To put it quite frankly.
I live a lifestyle of abundance. I eat when I am hungry and stop when I am full. Not to mention that I am a very very active teen. My skin is glowing and I don't have much acne (which comes from a poor diet). I have amazing blood test results and am glowing within. I get my vitamins and nutrients from plants. Humans aren't built to eat meat. We are not tigers or bears, we are humans. Our bodies thrive off of plant based diets and sustain us for years and years.
The consumption of meat over the past century has surely and noticeably increased very shockingly. So many people are overweight and kids are becoming obese. The U.S. is one of the fattest countries in the whole world. Also, you better count how many diseases have been popping up along with the meaty demand. People die every day because of heart disease and all that terrible stuff, and it can all stop with a healthy diet.
I'm not telling you that I'm better than anyone because I'm vegan. That would make me a narcissistic boob. All I want is for us to treasure the land we live on. Think about it. If there were no humans at all on this planet, the animals would thrive. But if all bees went extinct, then the whole eco-system would shut down and crumble entirely. Humans are the most selfish creatures in the universe, and we are really quite useless. We humans butcher and slaughter the earth's gifts because we think that we can take and not give back.
So I'm starting by giving back to the planet. To the lovely planet I was born into.
And, no. I'm not "killing plants" and all that crap because plants have no nervous systems so therefore I'm not "hurting their feelings and causing them pain" by eating them.
We live in a time where eating animals is optional. Sure, the ice-age people ate meat- but because they had no other option! The cave men would starve if they didn't know how to hunt. But we live in a time where we have the option where we can either harvest strawberries or take young lives away.
If you wouldn't want to kill an animal, then why eat one? Baby piglets have their tails cut off. Baby chicks have their beaks sliced off as well. Do you think any of those workers take time to give them anesthesia? Heck no! And that's not even all.
I'm sure many people, after watching Vegucated, Forks Over Knives, Fed Up, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, and even Earthlings, would rethink how they eat.
But what do I eat, exactly? I eat tons of fruits during the day and try to stay as raw as possible to follow RawTill4. Of course, I have to be flexible and cannot eat RawTill4 every single day. Sometimes I crave oatmeal for breakfast or want some rice cakes and avocado with hummus for lunch. Traveling also forces you to be flexible as well, because not every vegetarian restaurant has a hearty raw meal for lunch.
I'll do a post on what I eat in a day, but for now, here's an example of what I'm having and what you can have as well for optimal digestion and a healthy mind. Inspirational people on YouTube: Freelee the Banana Girl, FullyRaw Kristina, Mango Island Mama, & Annie Jaffrey + tons more great people as well.
For breakfast, I usually start my day right with a liter of water. Sometimes I slice up some hydrating fruits [oranges, strawberries, blackberries] and mint and toss them in some water to sit overnight in the fridge. This way, my morning cup of Jo will already be prepared.
After comes breakfast.
Breakfast is usually a bowl of smoothie with some fruit and toppings. Go crazy with toppings. It makes you feel good inside and out. Or I'll skip the bowl and pour the smoothie all in a huge mason jar.
(Usually a workout is after breakfast)
For lunch, I'll either have a mono meal of fruits [oranges, apples and nut butter, bananas, thing of grapes/cherries], or a big bowl of banana ice cream. Being vegan, I have to eat much more because plants have such a high water content and will leave me not feeling satiated enough if I just have two bananas for a meal. Carb up, and work your way up to having six to eight bananas in your #NanaIceCream.
If I'm not having a raw meal for lunch, then I'll nourish myself with some whole wheat crackers and a whole avocado with tomatoes and hummus. Just an example.
After breakfast, dinner is my fave! I love making huge "Nourishing Buddha Bowls"! They're loaded and packed with nutrients that will leave you feeling satisfied and refueled so that you can take a slow cruise on your bike around the neighborhood after dinner. My buddha bowls are filled with macrobiotics. Inspiration through my Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jenngirlz/a-l-l-i/ (I use my mom's Pinterest and pin to my board because I got so confused how to actually make my own account through my Mac. Hehe)
Now what you've all been waiting for:
How To: the Perfect Smoothie Bowl [RawTill4/FullyRaw] (according to 3 cups worth)
1. Start with the basics: liquid. I encourage you to to try plant-based milk products, such as almond/hemp/oat/coconut/cashew/soy milk. Depending on how many cups you want your smoothie to be and how thick, milk should not take up that much space. I usually make 3 cup smoothies, so I usually do 8 oz. of milk. Do this step first so that the fruit can blend easier.
2. Another basic: frozen fruit. You want this closest to the blade of the blender so there's no chunks in the finished product. Frozen fruit makes your smoothie more smoothie-like, and it's great to freeze fruit so that none of those splotchy papayas on the counter go to waste.
Actually, you can generally freeze any fruit and vegetable, just do it right. For instance, don't freeze a whole frozen banana. Slice it up into chunks. The frozen fruit should take up about 1.5 cups of space in your high speed blender.
3. Fresh fruits and veg: this is where the fresh oranges and handfuls of kale come in! Add in as much as 2/3 of a cup. Also, take it easy on your blender and pour in some fresh cold water. As much as 1/3 C.
4. Anything else? Were you just dying to add in that amazing (and hella expensive) wheatgrass powder you picked up at WF for a green smoothie bowl? Add it in here. Add in any oats, dairy free yogurt, nuts, powders, agave, chia seeds, hemp hearts, cacao, you name it.
5. Pour into a bowl and top off with toppings! My favorite part. Top with coconut shreds, freshly sliced or freeze dried fruit, granola, hemp hearts, nuts, whatever the heck you want. Make it look like there's not a darn smoothie in that bowl, it's so full of toppings!
Still need help? Is this shiz all too complicated? Here's an example of my latest bowl from yesterday.
1. Almond milk
2. Frozen Fiji apple slices and mango and pineapple
3. 2 hoity toity organic spotty and dotty medium-sized bananas and a heaping handful of spinach
4. 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and some vegan protein powder
5. You have eyes, you can see the toppings
Thanks for reading,
Alli xxx
Other Inspirational people and tasty website that you can follow and learn from: Essena Oneill, Minimalist Baker, Bonny & Tim, Christine Salus, Angela Liddon, Orlin and Nikocado, and of course the very lovely and funny Thug Kitchen
For these babes ;D
