Day 57

THOUGHTS- KANGAROO. So some environmentalists have decided that Kangaroos are a “greener” alternative to cattle. It’s very niave to think that the cattle industry will ever give way to this so if the kangaroo meat industry picks up we will just have both of them slaughtering animals. Needless to say who really wants to be eating one of our Aussie icons. I know I sure don’t. Nearly 7 million kangaroos will be brutally slaughtered this year with their joeys torn from their pouches and stomped on clubbed to death or just left to die from the cold and starvation. They are a useless by product of this industry.



Declaring that roos are pests and vermin are just a way for the industry to justify this killing. There are a number of species already bordering along the brink of being endangered. They have recommended changing 20% of your meat intake to kangaroo meat. There are only about 24 million kangaroos in Australia. Each roo produces 12kg of meat. Aussies eat 112kgs of meat every year. There are 20.1million Australians even ignoring the exported roos and just using that only 10% of our consumption is changed to roo meat we would as a country consume the entire population of roos in a year and three months. With none left to reproduce as the joeys are simply discarded so the next generation has no chance for survival. The late Steve Irwin said “it’s embarrassing for Australia that we eat our own wildlife… I’m here to tell you it’s not right… Simply do not buy, use or eat Kangaroo products.”



CHALLENGES- Not motivated enough to excercise

TRIUMPHS- Created a yummy lunch

WHAT I ATE-

BREAKFAST- Fried potato.
Mushrooms, with garlic and sage.

SNACK- Banana

LUNCH- Cazza's curry
1/2 avocado with lentil and mung bean sprouts



Stuffed mushrooms.

INGREDIENTS
4 mushrooms
Garlic clove
cherry tomato
Avocado

METHOD

1. Remove stems from mushrooms.
2. Cut garlic and tomato finely
3. Mix together with mashed avodado
4. Spoon into mushrooms
5. Cook under grill until golden brown.

1 corn cob

SNACK- Pineapple ring
Handful of macadamias

DINNER- Lentil and mungbean sprouts
1/2 avocado
Cherry tomatoes
Glass of organic soy milk

DESSERT- Raw Vegan ice cream
Organic popcorn

EXERCISE- Nil.

Day 56

THOUGHTS- MOTHERS DAY. So taday was mothers day. Which meant a family day. I worked in the morning and then went to mums and spent the day with her and we went and visited nanny and grandma as well. It makes me think about how lucky I am to have those mother figures in my life and how unfortunately alot of people don't have that luxury. It also makes me think about the mothers and expectant mothers in poorer countries who don't get the appropriate care that they need to bring children safely into this world and there is a massive number of children and mothers who die every day because of this. In Tanzinia alone 9000 women die every year from complications in child birth.

The UN are doing what they can to raise awareness and funds to help prevent the unessesary deaths occuring. There are a number of organizations that are helping out by raising awareness and funds.

Marie stopes is one- http://www.mariestopes.org.au/
I'm going to be organizing a dinner a bit later in the year to raise funds for this cause.

Wilsons centre is another one to check out- http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?event_id=394874&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&topic_id=116811

Also I am starting up my own group which hopefully will one day be big enough to help out as well- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1652078755&v=wall&story_fbid=1419453980330#!/group.php?gid=116668358372019&ref=ts

So if you still have your mother remember how luck you are. If for whatever reason you are not talking, mend that bridge. Mothers are amazing and should be reckognized. I'm glasd they have their own day.


CHALLENGES- Having dinner at mums on a special occasion always means take away food.

TRIUMPHS- Getting good take away fod that listened to what I could have.

WHAT I ATE-

BREAKFAST- Potato, mushrooms and garlic. Cooked in olive oil.
Mixed nuts

SNACK- Wintertime tea
1/2 avocado.
Mungbean and lentil sprouts
Cashews
Pineapple slices

LUNCH- Cazza's Curry

INGREDIENTS
Chickpeas
Fresh tumeric
Sage
Parsley
Potato
Carrot
Ginger
Garlic
Mushrooms
Chilli
Eggplant
Red onion
Green Capsicum
Soy Milk
Bay Leaves
Water
olive oil

METHOD
1. Heat small amount of oil in pot.
2. Chop all veggies into chunks.
3. Add onion, garlilc, capsicum and ginger to oil.
4. Cook til onion is translucent.
5. Add all other ingredients to pot.
6. Bring to boil.
7. Simmer down until liquid has reduced and all veggies are soft.
8. Remove Bay leaves and serve.

Cashews lots of them

DINNER- Tofu and Veg stir fry with coconut rice

DESSERT- Raw choc chip ice cream

Day 55

THOUGHTS- EGGS- “But I buy free range eggs,” is a phrase that I hear often. People try to justify that what they are doing is better than what other people are doing. “Free Range” still doesn’t mean much. The only legal requirement is that chickens have access to the outside. It can still mean that thousands of chickens are crammed in a small shed with maybe a foot of outside running down the side of the shed which is often a strip of mud and still just as crammed as inside. Some people think that by cutting out meat and still consuming eggs (and dairy seen in a previous post) that they are stopping the slaughter of animal. This is false. Factory farming has reached its worst that there are now legal requirements for bigger cages and more food. That still doesn’t mean that they don’t spend their whole life with six other chickens in that cage. And this law has only increased the area needed for each chicken to the size of an A4 piece of paper Male chicks are of no use to the egg industry and are often gassed, thrown into the bin to suffocate or thrown into the grinder alive. The female chicks then have their beaks seared off with a hot blade and put straight into a cage or an over crammed shed. After about 18 months their battered flesh is not fit for human consumption and they are ground down into pet food. There is no happy farm full of retired chickens. In natural circumstances a chicken will live for 10-12 years. Much like a dog. If dogs laid eggs they wouldn’t be treated in this way so what makes chickens so different. Did you know that a chicken can recognize 100 different faces? They have brains and a central nervous system just like we do and if faced with the option of pain or running away you will see that a chicken will run. They have the same desire to remain unharmed as we do. If you consume eggs you are contributing to their deaths. Also from a health perspective one egg has twice as much cholesterol as a hamburger. And eggs are up there with the leading causes of food borne illness. From an environmental perspective we are once again using a lot of water to produce these eggs. We water the grain (which we could just as easily eat.) We water the chickens. The lucky ones get their cages cleaned occasionally. The eggs then have to be washed before they are sent to the shops. By cutting out the middle section and just consuming the grain we could be saving our planet one of its most precious resources. Those are some of the reasons that a Vegan chooses to avoid eggs.



CHALLENGES-

TRIUMPHS-

WHAT I ATE-

BREAKFAST- Banana
Blueberries
Wintertime tea

SNACK- Cherry tomatoes, Carrot sticks, capsicum sticks, snowpeas.
Raw cashew cheese
Choc ball mix

LUNCH- Tempeh
Soy latte
Refresher juice- Pear, apple, celery

DINNER- 2 avocado sushi rolls
1 inari

DESSERT- Raw Vegan chocolate ice-cream
3 Cups of fair trade organic coffee with organic soy milk

LATE SNACK- Potato cooked in olive oil

EXERCISE- Performing a show.

Day 54

THOUGHTS- MILK.One of the most common reactions from people is that cows need to be milked. Yes I can see how most people see that but why are cows producing milk? Well when does a human produce milk? To feed their baby right. Well to keep up with the constant demand for the consumption of these products the farmers force breed the dairy cows so that they are pregnant every year. Then upon the birth of that calf, now that the milk is under production the calf is no longer needed. So every year after enduring the long preganancy and the agonizing labour they have their babies taken away. They bellow for their babies and the babies cry out to be with their mothers. But after only a short time together they will never see each other again. Male calfs are useless to the dairy industry they can’t produce milk. So they are sold off to become veal. The female calfs are only kept if it is time to “retire” one of the milk producing cows. By retire I mean time for slaughter. There is no big green happy paddock where all the dried up cows go to retire they are sold off as meat when they become not productive enough for the industry. They are often kept in overcrowded spaces or stalls where they can hardly turn. Some might say that the life of a dairy cow is harder than that of a beef cow. The beef cows have a short life and are slaughtered at the end. Dairy cows are crammed into small spaces, tortured, force bred, many babies taken away which breaks their heart each time and then after years of this treatment suffer the same fate as the beef cow anyway. So that bout covers the ethical side of why vegans chose not to have milk.

It’s also un-natural, humans are the only species that continue to suckle after being weaned. You wouldn’t drink your own mothers milk if she started producing it again would you? Yuk. So why drink the milk that is being created for an innocent calf. Also in the first year of your life your mothers breast milk contributed to the biggest growth spurt of your life and can be accounted for a 300% weight gain. Similarly a cows milk is designed to help a calf double it’s birth weight in 47 days and leave their four stomachs feeling full. Do you have four stomachs? I don’t. We are not designed to drink it. It is unhealthy and full of fat.

Dairy is also one of the top ten foods that cause allergic reactions in people. Mother nature didn’t design for adults to be sucking something out of a tit and therefore many people will react to it.

As for the health issue “Where will you get your calcium?” Sesame seeds, green leafy veggies, broccoli, nuts, tofu, figs, baked beans are all great sources of calcium. Animal proteins also acidify the body. Calcium then leeches from the bones to try and combat this and then causes bone loss. Also studies have found that countries with the highest intake of dairy have the highest rate of osteoporosis and many other diseases.

Also in dairy you might find traces of blood and puss from the teats of the cow that happens when a machine is attached to them for many hours of the day not only sucking out milk but rubbing and causing bleeding and sometime infections. There is also the antibiotics and hormones that the cows are pumped full of and you might even find some pesticides.

And in a time where water restrictions apply it seems silly to be using so much water for milk. The Dairy industry is the highest user of water. The crops need to be watered, to give the cows, the cows need to drink water as well, the lucky ones have water used to wash them and their stalls. When we could just as easily water the crop and eat them and cut out all the extra water usage. It takes 4000 glasses of water to produce 1 glass of milk. It only takes one glass of water to make one glass of water. Drink more water. It’s good for you.

And finally there is the environmental side. Cattle are the biggest producers of methane. If you would like to reduce your carbon footprint just cut back on products from cattle.

But I couldn’t live without chocolate/ice cream/ cheese/ milk/ yoghurt/ cheesecake… insert your own favourite dairy product here.” I also had this concern but ever year there are more and more alternative products on the moment and every time something new comes out it is better than the last. We don’t miss out or go without all our old favourites there are plenty of dairy alternative products out there. Just look and you will find.

So that’s why I personally don’t drink milk. I know there are many reasons that vegans chose the life they have.

CHALLENGES- No Challenges today.

TRIUMPHS- The fact that I had no challenges and did some actual excercise.

WHAT I ATE-

BREAKFAST- Flaxseed, banana, apple and cacao oatmeal. Topped with blueberries.

LUNCH- Lentil and tumeric veg.
Soy Latte
Raw sunflower cracker with raw cashew cheese.

DINNER- Soy slice
Soy flat white
Pecans
Soy Latte
Lentil and mung bean sprouts.

EXERCISE- 20 minutes aerobics

Day 53

THOUGHTS- Raw food. I know I have already done a blog on raw food. But I just find it so fascinating. I would like to be able to do an entire month on raw food. But at the moment I am just experimenting with as much raw food as I can. And I am finding it pretty easy. Though coming up to winter I don't know how well it's going to go. When I first heard about raw foodism I thought it was just a fad diet and that there wouldn't be many people doing it but there are so many people that do it. And there are so many premade raw foods available. Though part of the earth diet is trying to avoid anything packaged I am finding a lot of raw companies that are local and are very careful with their packaging and processing. Loving Earth and It's Rawsome are my two favourites at the moment but there are others that I want to try. I'd also love to get a dehydrator so I can make my own snack foods when I do decide to take on a full time raw diet.

There are also so many health benefits to eating raw. Did you know we are the only species that heats our food? Sure it's been happening since cave men period but how natural is it really. If every other species on the planet can survive on raw foods why don't we. Why must we complicate everything?

Admitedly I do enjoy a good cooked meal. But that is because that is the way society has taught us all that it should be. So try making some changes to your daily habits and you will not only notice a difference in your health but also in your electricity bill as well. Go on give it a go.

CHALLENGES- Not much time to make anything

TRIUMPHS- Still eating more raw than cooked foods.

WHAT I ATE-

BREAKFAST- Banana

Soy slice

SNACK- Raw sunflower crackers and raw sunflower cheese

LUNCH- Cazzas curry

SNACK- Cashews

2 glasses soy milk

1 glass chai

DINNER- Soy Slice

DESSERT- Raw vegan ice cream.

Raw choc wuth activated almonds and purple corn

Raw crackers with raw cashew cheese.

Day 52

THOUGHTS- I beleive that every person that enters your life comes into it because there is a reason for them. I am currently doing a show with some amazingly talented people and a group of people who are certainly here for a reason. They are always able to make me laugh and there is on who has a certain air about her. Whenever she talks to you it is like you are the most important and wonderful person that you have ever met. I love people like this. I always look forward to talking to her. She makes me feel special and interesting. She is interested in everything I do and is never without compliments. People like this remind me how good the human race can be sometimes.

If there were more people like her the world wouldn't be in such a terrible shape. She is a being that shines above so many others. Kind, generous, caring, talented, smart and beautiful. Some beings on this earth are just created perfect.

Talking to her has made me start looking more closely at myself and how I interact with others. I would love to be able to leave that happy glowing feeling with other people when I talk to them. It can leave you with a warm feeling to consider how the other person is feeling when you talk to them. So many of us just forget about the rest of the world and focus on our own problems. So next time you talk to someone try and make them feel like they are the most important person at the time.

CHALLENGES- Doing a show tonight and not having much time to get dinner.

TRIUMPHS- Eating more raw foods today.

WHAT I ATE-



BREAKFAST- Raw Choccy flaxseed oatmeal

INGREDIENTS
Flaxseeds
Banana
1/2 Apple
Tbsp Raw cacao powder
Blueberries

METHOD
1. Soak flaxseeds overnight
2. Blend ingredients together.
3. Top with blueberries.



SNACK- Beetroot, Carrot, celery and ginger juice.
Cacao, agave and flaxseed meal paste.


LUNCH-1/2 avocado


SNACK- 4 pecans
Iceblock- Pomegrante and Blueberry

DINNER- Brown Rice, Dhal, potato and pea curry, tofu and pea curry with cocunut.
Soy Latte

LATE NIGHT SNACK- Soy Slice

INGREDIENTS
Garlic
soy pulp
Capsicum
buckwheat flour
Cauliflour
Eggplant
Red Onion
Sage
Parsley
Chilli
Shoyu

METHOD
1. Cut all vegetables finely.
2. Mix ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Press into a lightly oiled baking tin.
4. Cook in a moderate oven until golden brown.



EXERCISE- Performance.

Day 51

THOUGHTS-“But you can still eat fish right?” A common question vegans are often asked by meat eaters. Well here is the answer: They feel pain too. Studies have shown that fish have well developed pain receptors in their brain. So when their mouths are pierced by hooks they feel it. Fish use their tongues and mouths as hands. Fish learn from each other and actually contrary to belief have excellent memories. And when studied can even learn complex tasks that even dogs can’t complete. You wouldn’t stab your dog or cat in the mouth so why think it’s ok for a fish. Most of us have seen Finding Nemo. “Fish are friends not food.” They watch each other and learn from each other and when a predator approaches they hide. They have a desire to stay alive. Fish who are caught and released suffer internal injuries, exhaustion and the loss of their protective coating. Studies say that 43% or the fish returned to the ocean will suffer a slow painful death. Germany has banned catch and release fishing altogether because of its cruelty. Tuna fish even comes with a warning on the label that it is not fit for consumption by preganant women because of the levels of mercury. Do you like having mercury in your system. It’s also just simply unsustainable. There are not enough fish in the world to feed 6.6 billion people. Whales, dolphins and sea birds are starving because we are taking away their food source. Also our means to capture fish with nets and lines and hooks also kills turtles, dolphins, whales and birds. There has been such an uproar about the Japanese whaling why not look a little closer to home and help out our other friends in the ocean.


CHALLENGES- Not having time to prepare anything between work and the theatre.

TRIUMPHS- Getting devine Indian food at a place that actually listened to what I can and can't eat.

WHAT I ATE-

BREAKFAST- Sip of juice. Mixed nuts. Quinoa. 1 banana.

LUNCH- 3 raw sunflower crackers with raw cashew cheese.
Soy Mocha
Lentil and mung bean sprouts.
Handful of blueberries

DINNER- Soy Latte
Chickpea curry with saffron rice.

DESSERT- Cacao, flaxseed and agave mix.

EXERCISE- Rehearsal.