Happy New Year! (And Taking Stock of the Past 12 Months)

December 31, 2021 / thevegancatlibrarian / Leave a comment

It’s New Year’s Eve, 2021 is coming to an end. We are still in this “global pandemic” and it doesn’t seem like we’re are really getting out of this situation at least for another while. Paraphrasing something that I’m hearing a lot recently: “A year has passed, but where did it go?”. Because at the same time we are all perceiving that yes, 12 months have surely come and gone, but also it doesn’t feel like it. I believe this whole situation is making us all feel a bit discombobulated.

So here we are, and we keep on going, trying our best to survive these crazy times, trying to maintain a sort of mental sanity, trying to find some bits of normality during a period that normal is not. And the year coming to an end is usually a source of melancholy because we’re coming to the very final part of these 12 months, and the end always brings up many feelings and emotions like sadness and anxiety, because of the thing that we’re leaving behind and the things that we wanted to do but we haven’t managed. It can quite distressing and it is not surprising that (coupled with the darkness of these months) many people get the “January blues” (you can read on my experience with Seasonal Affective Disorder, and while for me it works in reverse, the symptoms are the same and you might find useful my way of dealing with it).

But we’re usually forgetting that an end means a new beginning. The New Year brings another set of feelings and emotions because there is the hope of a new start with all the new opportunities and chances that that can bring. I am not one to say that if you had a shitty year, go ahead and make 50 “New Year Resolutions” that you’ll probably won’t manage to cope with and you’ll get overwhelmed and frustrated and your new year will result in just a big disappointment.

On Resolutions

In order to enjoy the new possibilities that the New Year can bring us and so that we can make the most of what we also can build for ourselves, we should build a sustainable lifestyle, without stressing over the resolutions and the “New Year-New Me” fads. Obviously, if you like creating resolutions and you believe that what you are resolving to do in the next 12 months is doable, by all means, go for it. But if you are going to create 50 resolutions that are all undoable, not achievable, then you’re just paving the path to failure and frustration which will affect your mental and physical health. What I am suggesting is that of those 50 resolutions, at least 30 are achievable with some effort and willpower, but without extreme requirements of energy and time; 15 will require a fairly moderate effort and for 5 you will have to use maximum levels of time and energy. This is probably an extreme example but is to give you an idea. And the levels of time, energy and effort are based on you and only you: comparing yourself to others can be constructive to give you ideas and see what others are doing, but we all have different sets of skills and experiences and as a quote that is around since 2004 circa

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
(maybe Albert Einstein, maybe not)

Therefore, my advice is:

if you like the idea of resolutions, go for it, but keep it sustainable;
if you would like this approach but are scared that things might get frustrating, look at them as goals, think of what you really would like to do, break it down into smaller bits and make these smaller bits your goals;
if you don’t like the idea of resolutions, but still would like some kind of structure to the New Year, then think of what you are aspiring to and what could be your intentions to get to such aspirations.

Now, lessons from 2021 for TVCL:

Look after your mental health, find what makes you feel good and dedicate some time for that at least once a week or at intervals that work for you. But make time for it!
Look after your physical health: eat well and sometimes give in to (not too) unhealthy foods, do a detox when you feel like you should, but don’t overdo it – measure is all! Also exercise: find a good balance – 10 minutes per day of anything is better than nothing.
Find time for reading – read anything, from classic books to comics, but read. If you are stuck, you can try a little challenge like this one to get you started.
Find some time for nature, as it has many benefits and once you start going for some walks in nearby parks and woods and lakes, you’ll find that a breath in the fresh air will reset your mindset (Nietsche said this as well!).
Clean and tidy up where you live: not only it will be clean and tidy, but the whole process is almost cathartic and when you finish you really will feel better (talking as an ex-almost-hoarder, the de-cluttering process makes me feel much freer).
Family and friends are important, so dedicate them time: if you are an introvert you might find that social interactions can take some energyfrom you, but when you come back home from that meeting or you finish that videocall you’ll feel more serene.
Social events (ceremonies, nights out, etc) are a good way to interact with people and expand your “social circle”, but as of now I can’t take them more than maybe once every few months because of all the mental preparation to get to the actual event (like mental prep to get dressed, meet people, etc).

Yes, I’d say this is what I am taking from 2021, from a year with a global pandemic still going strong, where people still want to get married and go out and have some kind of normality.

Food

In terms of food, for tonight I ordered a Chinese takeout (a little tradition of mine), salt&pepper tofu and rice vermicelli with mixed vegetables. In addition, I made lentils as that’s my family tradition (one big onion and 3 carrots sauteed, then add 1 1/2 cups dried green lentils and 3 cups of water. Cook until the lentils have absorbed all the water).

I hope you all have a fantastic New Year!

Wish you all the best, and as always, go vegan!

Recipe Sunday – Chocolate Yogurt Loaf

December 12, 2021 / thevegancatlibrarian / Leave a comment

Happy Sunday, folks! I hope you are well. I don’t know you, but as it is becoming colder and colder, getting closer to the Winter Solstice (21st December) I feel that I am craving chocolate-y food. So today I made this recipe by Chocolate Covered Katie: it is a delicious, easy and comfortable dessert that you can make quickly and requires minimal ingredients. This Chocolate Yogurt Loaf is so easy to make and the result is just amazing!

All you need is

1 1/2 cups spelt, white, or oat flour (180g)

1/4 cup cocoa powder2

1/2 tbsp dutch cocoa (or additional regular)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp each: baking soda and salt

2/3 cup sugar, unrefined if desired

3/4 cup yogurt (or see substitution note above)

2/3 cup milk of choice

1/4 cup oil, peanut butter, or additional yogurt

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (not optional)

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp instant coffee (optional)

While the oven is heating up to 350F, mix all the dry ingredients then all the other ingredients. Set in a loaf pan (previously greased). Bake until the centre of the loaf is cooked through (i.e. toothpick inserted come out clean)

You can make a chocolate glazing, but the loaf it’s already perfect this way!

Let me know if you try it and enjoyed it as much as I did.

Will be back soon!

TVCL xx

Veganism and the Environment

November 28, 2021 / thevegancatlibrarian / Leave a comment

Beautiful peeps! I hope you are all doing well. I have been having a very busy time these past weeks, as I was hinting in my last post and it is getting a bit busier with the approaching of Christmas (I will really need a break soon and hopefully I’ll manage to get some more writing!). This month saw COP26 happening in Glasgow and this brought a lot of extra attention to the environmental cause with much more discussion around the pros of a plant-based diet.

COP26 and The Environment

For those who don’t know, COP stands for “Conference Of the Parties” and it is the United Nations Climate Change Conference where heads of state meet to discuss the best ways to tackle climate change.

The good thing is that at least Climate Change is being acknowledged. The changes happening to our Earth are visible, from fast-melting glaciers to floods in many places (i.e. Belgium, Canada, etc.) and frequent monsoons and other calamities. While in the Middle East the temperatures are reaching record-highs.

However, despite the scientific knowledge that adopting a more plant-based diet would help with tackling climate change and the numerous peaceful protests calling for more attention to these issues, the whole conference didn’t end with concrete efforts to make serious changes to the countries’ environmental policies.

I won’t repeat myself because you can find much info here and here, but it is known that intensive farming is heavily contributing to dangerous gas emissions. Linked to this, multinational companies are also a relevant pollution factor especially in the “less developed countries”. We see that the “Big Brands” are doing greenwashing marketing to appear as if they are concerned with what is happening, but they are not changing their ways, exploiting people, animals and resources. Look what they are doing here. In addition to this, such big brands are spoiling the tax system to their advantage.

I would also like to point out that there seems to be a lot of confusion on the political front* with critiques that many multinationals are led by left-wing and “woke” people: they are not. If they are leading a multinational, they have very little genuine left-wing thought as the main interest is making money, not recognising human and animal rights, nor lobbying to implement environmentally friendly policies.

What You Can Do

All this seems pretty grimy, doesn’t it? And you might find yourself quite hopeless.

But don’t despair! There are solutions to this.

For example, following the thought of “Think Global, Act Local”. Think about what happens around the world, look outside your comfort place. And see how the other experiences can help you improve your community. Also, think about how your choices can have a global impact: look at where your pans are made or if your latest piece of clothing is coming from places known to exploit women.

If possible, get your groceries from co-ops or community-run enterprises and buy from shops that stock local businesses.

Avoid getting exotic animals, either from shops or from private: exotic animals are supposed to live in places where they are not considered “exotic”. And obviously don’t buy any pets! The shelters are overflowing with unwanted cats, dogs, rabbits, horses etc and the majority will have a policy of euthanising those animals who haven’t been adopted after a number of weeks.

To Conclude

Even if you don’t believe in climate change, you should acknowledge that some changes are happening to our Earth and there might be a chance that they are worsened by mankind, then why not do something, bring a little bit of change to your everyday life, that could help alleviate such alterations?

*Please note that I am not here to discuss politics as it is becoming increasingly messed up, nor do I prefer left or right wing as neither is accomplishing much (consider reading this article). I am a vegan, a feminist, an environmentalist and an activist for animal and human rights, and I am talking as such: I do the research on these issues and I am telling you the outcome but the process too, so that you are not happy with my findings you can do your own research and come to your conclusions.

Gunda – A Delicate, Yet Powerful Film

July 26, 2021July 25, 2021 / thevegancatlibrarian / Leave a comment

As my usual, I am coming late to the partay: I just found out these days that there is a new movie by film director Viktor Kossakovsky and the executive producer is (our beloved) Joaquin Phoenix: it is called Gunda, it has been presented at various Film Festivals around the globe and it was released on the 4th of June in the UK (16th April in the U.S.A.). Although, it was already presented at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020.

I just finished watching it and it is quite the vegan movie: it is heartbreakingly true and honest. It is delicate because it depicts the lives of farm animals in a fairly free environment; it is powerful because the film manages to show the animals in a fairly free environment and how they would behave if they were left alive. The black and white technique and absence of music make it possible to get a full immersion in the lives of these farm animals. But I don’t want to say too much in case you want to watch it.

From the official website, we read that

“Where his prior film, the acclaimed epic AQUARELA, was a reminder of the fragility of human tenure on earth, in GUNDA, master filmmaker Viktor Kossakovsky reminds us that we share our planet with billions of other animals. Through encounters with a mother sow (the eponymous Gunda), two ingenious cows, and a scene-stealing, one-legged chicken, Kossakovsky movingly recalibrates our moral universe, reminding us of the inherent value of life and the mystery of all animal consciousness, including our own.”
Gunda

And this is the trailer

Joaquin Phoenix and Victor Kossakovsky have partnered to make this film. Kossakovsky is vegan, and we know that Phoenix is a vegan and activist: with this, we can say that he shows how to use media to talk about the importance of going vegan. Read the interview with the two artists in the Los Angeles Times.

As we are already aware of how vocal is Joaquin about going vegan, I’ll share here the interview of Victor Kossakovsky for the New York Film Festival

Victor Kossakovsky on Gunda, Respecting Nature, and Filmmaking Ethics | NYFF58

Kossakovsky explains how Gunda is not vegan propaganda:

“filmmaking is a weapon a could make… I could make easily a monster of her and I can make angel. for example when she decided to kill her kid because she was not able…she knew he was weak that this kid was weak, she knew that this kid would not make it and as far as she didn’t have enough…how do you call it…nipples, right? she didn’t have enough milk so she suppose she knew she must make this decision. and if I were to make propaganda movie, “vegan propaganda” movie, I would cut it out, right, this episode, I will not show it because obvs it is controversial episode, right? Like, if you want to make people laugh here they probably will not show this, right? But I say I don’t do propaganda, I don’t do propaganda, this is… I’m not who I am to decide to… to judge her, I’m not there to judge.”

He also talks about human rights:

“We have been inventing horrible things [referring to nuclear weapons, torture, machine guns], we are like this. We are still not underst…we are still thinking, fighting about, we are still questioning like rights of people with god, we… what is this? we are still talking about it, we still not came to conclusion, we still talking about rights of women, rights of people with different sexual orientation. We still not decide at least we are not teaching a human.”

On the consciousness of killing animals:

“We will not make next step until we understand that to kill animal and to mistreat animal is the same as mistreat human and kill human, the same: it’s act of killing, nothing else. We allow ourselves to torture, to mistreat and to kill, we allow ourselves to do this. Doesn’t matter if it’s animal or human, we have to accept, we are able to do this, if we are able to do this then why are we surprised that there is still war, why are we surprised that they still fight in streets, why are we surprised. We… we know we are killing them, we know we are torturing them, we know we mistreat them and we do see and we play games that “we don’t know”: we eat every morning and we know it was just killed. we are killing three trillion fishes every year, we are killing one billion pigs every year, we are killing half-billion cows every year, billions, I’m talking. we are killing 50 billions chickens every year.”

On the criticisms of veganism because of religion or scientific reasons, he

“has bad news for both. If you believe in god, first of all, is written don’t kill and if you believe in god, you believe you have soul: in Gunda, you see she does have soul. But if you don’t believe in god, I also have bad news for you, because if you believe in evolution then evelution will not stop in human, then it will appear more cleaver creature more cleaver than human and might happen it will be more aggressive, might happen it will use our babies for Christmas parties to eat. just be careful. Let’s wake up, let’s respect nature.”

Kossakovsky also took the chance to point out the inequalities in the distribution of resources:

“Just let’s talk. and what we do: one billion people at the moment don’t have water, one billion people have no access to water at the same time we have one billion cows, which each of them needs 10 times more than human just to feed and to make produce for human. cows need more water than humans, we have one billion cows, but we have no water fr one billion people. And we have spent 10 times more water to produce meat.”

This film is really worth watching, so let me know if you have done it already or are you planning to.

Make the connection, go vegan.

Love!

Vegan vs Plant-based

July 21, 2021 / thevegancatlibrarian / 5 Comments

In this post, I am going to explain a bit more in-depth the difference between “Vegan” and “Plant-based”. Probably you think that these terms are synonyms but they are not: here I am telling you why, hopefully making your life a bit easier in identifying what is vegan and what is plant-based. I know it seems like I am repeating myself and it might be, but, you know, repetita iuvant (which translates literally to ‘repetition does good’).

Let’s give some sense to these words:

Vegan = Someone who doesn’t consume any product derived from animals, in all aspects of their lives from food to clothing, to make-up and beauty etc.: no animal products whatsoever. It is not only a diet but also a lifestyle and a philosophy. The idea behind it is that there is no need to exploit animals in order for us to live. But it doesn’t stop here: the abuse that a vegan doesn’t encourage for the animals applies to also people and the environment because, usually the industries like fish, meat, dairy are not famous for having good ethical practices. Just an example, the meat industry is a barbaric business that destroys the environment, creating pollution (from greenhouse gases to water pollution – for further reading click here and here) which affects the people.

Plant-based = A diet where a person eats food that is not derived from animals. It is a diet, it can be considered at a similar level of omnivore diet, vegetarian diet, Dukan diet, etc.

We have already seen – here and here – that there are certain brands (like Coca-Cola, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, etc.) holding an almost complete monopoly of the food industry, with their name products but also through the owning of parent companies. And we have ascertained that they are not vegan for the animals nor the environment or the people. For example, there is a new version of KitKat being advertised as vegan. But they are owned by Nestle which is definitely not vegan. So, they should actually be advertised as plant-based.

There are also many clothing brands that are advertising themselves, or some of their products, as vegan as they don’t use materials derived from animals. But, again, while these products don’t contain they come from brands that are not actually vegan and uses wool, leather, feathers etc in their other products. Examples are provided by the clothes and shoes produced by brands like Adidas and Nike: while some of their products might be made without the use of animal products, they both have issues on matter of ethical treatment of employees, animals and the environment (you can find information on Adidas and Nike here and here).

Similarly, on the matter of make-up and beauty products, we enter that universe controlled by L’Oreal, Yves Rocher, Maybelline, Pantene etc, all professing to make vegan products while testing on animals (making such products not cruelty-free: which is another thing to look out when buying vegan beauty products and there are lists of brands that are vegan and cruelty-free that you can find, for example, on the CrueltyFreeKitty and EthicalElephant websites).

Ethics

So we are getting to the main point, which is the ethics of the company producing vegan or plant-based products.

I know that now the vegans eating Oreos and washing their hair with some L’Oreal stuff are already fairly pissed at me. But I am only stating the facts: these products are not vegan because these big companies are not vegan, exploiting animals and workers and deforesting the Earth. True, their products might be slightly more affordable, but there is a price behind that and I don’t want to sound cheesy, but that price is ethics. Every time you buy some Heinz beans or mayonnaise or whatever, you are financing a system that is exploiting the exploitable. This is not a criticism, only something that should be taken into consideration. Especially if we want the end to animal suffering, better working conditions and a cleaner world: whenever you can, shop locally, look if there are food cooperatives that get their fruit&veg from the local farms, look up for those smaller online shops that are selling trusted vegan products. In the beginning, it will be difficult, but we are in 2021 and there really are so many options.

This has been since I started transitioning to my vegan lifestyle: it has been hard, but I hacked the best ways to get real vegan food. When I moved to the UK I had to start all over: while I was looking for jobs (but also while I was waiting tables or worked in a bar) I couldn’t afford to get to the farmers’ market, but I was still avoiding these big companies by going to the supermarket late in the evening to get food at very reduced prices, buying clothes at the charity shops (going to TK Maxx for a treat, but obviously being extra careful to all the label products). Only now that I am in a good job I can finally sit and look for alternatives to the supermarkets & Co. So it is possible, it takes time and some patience, but it is doable.

“White Veganism”

However, this point raises the issue of “white veganism”, one of the criticisms made to vegans/plant-based people: in short, this critique says that those that can afford to be vegan are mostly white people from the northern hemisphere and that veganism is linked to colonisation, making it difficult for BIPOC and people in the southern hemisphere to be vegan because either vegan products exploit immigrants and those living south of the Equator or because the prices of vegan products are inaccessible to BIPOCs.

I think it has already been made clear that if one is vegan (see above) they will have a care not only for the well-being of the animals but also of the environment which means people too. Here, I can quite agree with the critique of white veganism as a diet is a consequence of colonialism: the big multi-national companies that are deforesting the Amazon forest and exploit indigenous people to plant palm oil and to build intensive farms are indeed the fruit of colonisation (also if I were you, I would read this article). But these companies are not vegan. They have some products that are plant-based, but not vegan. So I would like to redirect the critique of white veganism to actually a “white plant-based movement”. The same movement that sponsors the consumption of Impossible Foods (see why Impossible Foods Ltc is not vegan), Beyond Meat and all those meat-alternative companies that advertise making ultra-processed plant-based food at such high prices, making it really Impossible for people on low income to buy them. A vegan can live with pasta, rice, legumes, fruit and vegetables and have a balanced, healthy and affordable diet. And you can make a lot of meat-alternatives by yourself (casually dropping some recipes for tofu and seitan to make at home)!

It should also be argued that those talking about white veganism never mention that the meat industry takes away a big chunk of subsidies and that actually a redistribution of resources would help in having good fruit&veg at cheaper prices while also being organic.

To Summarise

Behind veganism there is an idea that no sentient being, nor the environment, should be exploited: it is with this optic that we look at the practices of big companies and discern what is vegan and what is not. While what vegans eat is a plant-based diet, it is much more than this. Also, no one is perfect and we are all trying our best.

If you have any thoughts on this let me know in the comments down below.

See you for the next post!

The All-Vegan Easter Menu

April 3, 2021 / thevegancatlibrarian / 1 Comment

This menu for an all-vegan Easter is brought to you after carefully selecting the best springy recipes so that you can enjoy a tasty Easter without harming any animal nor the environment. What can you ask more?!

During these holidays there are many blogs that will give you 30+ recipes suitable for such events. Now, I don’t know about you, but I find it a bit overwhelming, especially if all the recipes look so good making it difficult to select the “right ones” (there obviously are not “right” recipes, but I mean it in the sense that are best for how you are feeling on the day, how much you want to cook, what do the Moon and the rest of the Cosmos suggesting, etc.). So, looking around, searching my favourite vegan blogs, I selected those course that I think would make a nice menu for Easter 2021.

Appetisers

I know I am repeating myself, but Sam’s Deviled Potatoes (ItDoesn’tTasteLikeChicken) are a must for this Easter: easy and delicious, just GO. FOR. THEM.

However, if you don’t feel like an egg-y dish, why not try the cutest Spinach Puffs by ConnoiseurusVeg?

Main

A lovely Minestrone by The Minimalist Baker, would be the perfect soup for Easter.

Then there would be the choice between a Vegan Pesto Risotto with Roasted Tomatoes (FromMyBowl) or a Creamy Pasta Al Limone (EatingByElaine).

Whatever your choice, after that go for the Vegan Hotpot With Lentils and Mushrooms (LazyCatKitchen): YUM!

Side

[I was going to suggest a potato salad – the Roast Potato Salad – YumVeganLunches – but I also understand that you might have had the Devied Potatoes as an appetiser so this recipe is only if you’re feeling extra (after all it’s holiday, so why not?)].

There is the option of a Cannellini Bean Salad With Olives and Cashew Cheese (LavenderAndMacarons) or a Kale Salad With Apple (VeganOnBoard).

Dessert

If you don’t already have an Easter Egg, then you could make one following the recipe for Peanut Butter Eggs by The Minimalist Baker.

However, there is the option for a Carrot Cake (recipe by VeganHuggs).

Whichever dessert you choose, I would definitely “pear” it with the Healthy Baked Pears (RunningOnRealFood).

Recipe Sunday – Deviled Potatoes

March 28, 2021 / thevegancatlibrarian / Leave a comment

For this Sunday recipe I bring to you something that is so tasty, quick and easy to make and will bring back so many memories of Spring lunches and pic-nics. Do you remember deviled eggs? Well, here we have the vegan version!

Perfect for a snack, lunch or pic-nic

I made it yesterday and really had to stop myself from eating them all in one go because they are way too good. And it will be perfect for your Easter lunch: it will be a hit with your family and friends (if you don’t have too many restrictions, pandemic-wise).

When I grew up, possibly like many of you, deviled eggs were something that would be brought to a pic-nic as tehy keep quite well and are easy to manage. But also they remind me of Easter lunch with my family, with quiches and dumpling soups as well as refreshing salads.

There are few versions around, but I tried this because it seemed the quickest and usually Sam’s recipes come out always great.

The recipe

Without further ado. The recipe is the one by Sam from ItDoesn’tTasteLikeChicken: you probably are already familiar with her recipes. If not, go and have a look at her website because you’ll see so many easy, quick and delicious recipes for all the occasions.

You just need small potatoes, vegan mayonnaise, a bit of kala malak (black salt – this is fundamental to give the egg taste), bit of apple cider vinegar and turmeric. Boil the potatoes, half them, scoop a bit of the centre of the potatoes. Use the scooped bits of the potatoes as filling with the mayo and spices. You won’t believe they are not deviled eggs!

Make them, you’ll thank me (but mosty Sam) later.

Go vegan!

Recipe Sunday – Chia Fresca

March 21, 2021 / thevegancatlibrarian / 1 Comment

Spring it’s here! After months of snow and cold, as nature intended, we are now officially into the new season: a time of rebirth, blossoming, the birds are chirping, the days are lighter and lighter and this is the time when we should do some detox to get ready to enter this new period. Hence, I am sharing this recipe with you, because it is packed with nutrients that will help you dealing with Springtime in an energising and refreshing way.

Now, I don’t know about you, but going from Winter to Spring for me it’s always devastating: it has been like this for more than 10 years (before I went vegan) and it’s the only change of season that brings with it, physical and mental issues: from brain fog to feeling physically depleted as well as gastrointestinal problems (I am going to talk about this Seasonal Affective Disorder soon because maybe there some of you who suffer from the same stuff and I can help you with the solutions that I am using for myself), leaving Winter is quite a challenge every year.

For this reason, I was absolutely delighted to read about a very quick and easy recipe for Chia Fresca by Choosing Chia. And it’s obviously vegan!

Let’s get down to business. The recipe wants:

1 1/2 cups filtered water

1 tbsp chia seeds

juice of 1/2 lemon

1–3 tsp maple syrup

pinch of cayenne (optional)

Mix all the ingredients in a glass or jar. Stir or shake it up to make sure the chia seeds don’t clump together.

Let sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before drinking.

It is easy, delicious, very quick. However, I have modified it a little bit: I have been using 1/2 cup of boiled water and 1 cup of cool water, no maple syrup nor cayenne. Instead, I have been adding 1 kiwi (peeled and sliced). I prepare this first thing in the morning, while I prepare breakfast and I drink it until lunchtime: it does provide a good kick and I have been able to focus a bit better at work while also calming my stomach.

But I would also like to show you the nutritional value of the ingredients used for this amazing recipe. And again, all this is vegan and superhealthy, so give it a try!

Chia Seeds

From Harvard T. H.. Chan School of Public Health: “Two tablespoons of chia seeds (1 ounce or 28 grams) contain about 140 calories, 4 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, 7 grams of unsaturated fat, 18% RDA for calcium, and trace minerals including zinc and copper. They are the richest plant source of omega-3 fatty acids. Chia seeds are a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids that cannot be made by the body.”

From Healthline.com we have another complete brakdown of all the nutrition facts of these little seeds. For example, what they might be lacking in vitamins, they’ll make up with minerals: Manganese, Phosphorus, Copper, Selenium, Iron, Magnesium and Calcium. They also contain many antioxidants (the good stuff that it’s supposed to be helping against cancer).

Lemon juice

This ingredient is very famous because is so rich in Vitamin C (an essential vitamin for the proper functioning of the immune system, and much more). But did you know that it has a good amount of Vitamin A? Another important vitamin for the immune system as well helping in maintaining healthy skin.

But lemon juice is not only a magnificent source of such vitamins: it is also your ally against kidney stones and anemia (amongst other benefits – read more here and here).

Kiwi

As I said, my version of the vegan Chia Fresca sees the use of kiwi. I have always been used to eating kiwis when I was little because my grandma loves them and this has been passed on to my mum. Now, I am not crazy about them like my grandma, but I like their taste: the combination of bitter and sweet and the juicy pulp, makes it a nice snack. Or also it can be used to take away a bit of the sweetness of some foods that sometimes are really too sweet, if you get what I mean. For example, I used to slice a kiwi to put in those yoghurts where cleary they used a bit too much sugar and/or sweetners. I am not trying to sell you some kiwis, but just to give you an idea one kiwi has

42 calories (cal)
215 milligrams (mg) of potassium, or 5 percent recommended daily value (DV)
1 g of dietary fiber, or 8 percent DV
8 g of protein, or 2 percent DV
23 mg of calcium, or 2 percent DV
64 mg of vitamin C, or 107 percent DV
2 g of sugar
1 mg of vitamin E, or 5 percent DV
8 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin K, or 35 percent DV
7 mg of magnesium, or 3 percent DV
60 international units (IU) of vitamin A, or 1 percent DV
17 mcg of folate
(from EverydayHealth.com)

which I think it’s already pretty amazing. And all this translates in many health advantages such as being beneficial for the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal system.

So, now you can go and try this delicious (and nutricious) beverage. Let me know if you’ll try it and if it gave you a boost of vitality.

Drink up!

A Speech on Veganism

March 21, 2021 / thevegancatlibrarian / Leave a comment

It is just over a year and a month now, that this speech was made. So why am I writing about this just today? Well, first of all, this blog was born like three months ago, and unless we have a time machine available it would have not been possible to write this at the time. Second: I didn’t think about this speech until a couple of days ago, and I actually don’t even remember why I thought about it. Third: I don’t believe this speech has gained that much consideration, even at the time it was made, a year ago, while it is absolutely still relevant (despite this fast-running, speed-racing machine that is the contemporary world, where things become obsolete after few months). Hence I feel like this should be made more widespread.

The speech I am talking about is the one that Joaquin Phoenix gave when he won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as Joker in the homonym movie (which is brilliant: if you haven’t watched it yet, do it, you won’t regret it! I leave you the trailer at the end).

So, Joaquin Phoenix is a long-time vegan (since he was a child) and he has publicly spoken many times as well as taking part in public protests for animal rights (you can read it here, here, here and what a recent interview here). If this wasn’t enough, he has also been arrested during a protest on climate change.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that he took such an important opportunity, such as the Oscar’s acceptance speech, to raise awareness of animals rights. But in these 5 minutes, he managed to include themes of social justice, the fight against racism, gender rights and LGBTQ+ rights. Few moments, with very powerful words.

You might remember that Leonardo DiCaprio did something similar when he won his first Oscar (whoo-hoo! Well done Leo, you should have gotten one much earlier, but better late than never!). He said that “making The Revenant [the movie for which he won the award] was about man’s relationship to the Natural World, a world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is real, it is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating, we need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people who will be most affected by this, for our children’s children and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed. I thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this Planet for granted, I do not take this night for granted.”

I find that Joaquin’s speech went beyond that: that through veganism people can not only live in a more compassionate way, but also that the vegan lifestyle can benefit non-humans and humans alike, helping in the fight against social injustice as well as for a better environment.

I leave you the video here (and the transcript below it):

“I’m full of so much gratitude right now. And I do not feel elevated above any of my fellow nominees or anyone in this room because we share the same love, the love of film and this form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life. I don’t know what I’d be without it. But I think the greatest gift that it’s given me and many of us in this room is the opportunity to use our voice for the voiceless. I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the distressing issues that we are facing collectively and I think at times that we feel, or were made to feel, that we champion different causes. But for me, I see commonality. I think whether we are talking about gender inequality, or racism, or queer rights, or indigenous rights, or animals rights, we are talking about the fight against injustice, we are talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender, or one species has the right to dominate, control, and use and exploit another with impunity.
(applause)
I think that we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world and many of us, what we are guilty of, is an egocentric worldview: the belief that we’re the centre of the universe; we go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources; we feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and when she gives birth, we steal her baby even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable and then we take her milk, that it’s intended for a calf, and we put it in our coffee and our cereal. And I think, we fear the idea of personal change because we think that we have to sacrifice something, to give something up: but human beings at our best, are so inventive, so creative and ingenious and I think that when we use love and compassion as our dieting principles we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and to the environment.
(cheers)
Now, I’ve been a scoundrel in my life, I’ve been selfish, I’ve been cruel at times, hard to work with, and ungrateful but so many of you in this room have given me a second chance, and I think that’s when we are at our best: when, when we support each other, not when we cancel each other out for past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow, when we educate each other, when we guide each other towards redemption. That is the best of humanity.
(applause)
When he was 17, my brother [River Phoenix] wrote these lyrics, he said ‘run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow’.
Thank you.”

Recipe Sunday – Vegan Babka

March 7, 2021 / thevegancatlibrarian / Leave a comment

It’s Sunday and despite being in March it is still quite cold. So it comes natural seeking some comfort food. And there is not comfort-er food than this vegan babka: a cake that will be perfect for your breakfast, but also for an afternoon snack (and why not, after dinner, while you’re watching your favourite TV show).

The first time I heard the word ‘babka’ was when a friend showed me the picture of a babka he made. Unfortunately, this was not vegan. But this was not a deterrent for me: the cake was way too beautiful and looked so darn tasty so I started researching for recipes of vegan babkas, that were reasonably doable without requiring the help of celestial being for overly complicated cooking and baking processes (something that happens when I see the list of ingredients for some recipes).

And there it was: after comparing some recipes, I found it! The Domestic Gothess shared the recipe for a beautiful Vegan Chocolate Babka and I didn’t hesitate to make it straight away (when I find something that I like I am like a dog with a bone). The ingredients are almost all vegan pantry-staples so you too can make this delicious treat right now. The process might seem lengthy, but trust me it is actually straightforward. Plus, you have the sensorial experience of working the vegan butter into the dough and I found it so fun! Very squishy and messy at the beginning, but I enjoyed it a lot. The only downside is that you have to be patient with the rising time because you’ll have to leave the dough to rise in the fridge overnight. But other than that, this recipe won’t take too long and all this work will be well worth the result: a luscious, delicious sweet treat for yourself (and all those that appreciate bread and chocolate).

Try it now!

The Vegan Cat Librarian

A blog full of rainbows, cats, libraries and other wonders (and information on vegan lifestyle)

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