VEGAN BLUEBERRY MUFFINS, OH MY!

Hey there everyone. I'm so sorry I haven't posted in just one day over a month, I believe. Well i've decided to come back with a little present. Happy St. Patricks day. Sorry no green muffins here....well they are wonderful for the environment. We all know that being vegan is a better lifestyle for the planet, yourselves and most importantly for the animals. These are completely vegan blueberry muffins However, their not gluten free.  I would make gluten free muffins but I didn't have gluten free baking flour on hand. oops. So instead I made them regular. :)

Here's a few shots of them. Sorry if they're not wonderful shots, I just did what I could! :)

When I bake, I really have a lot of trouble doing so. I'm never good at being precise but this time I think it was a success. :) 

I found a recipe online and I barely followed it and instead my sister and I came up with something even better than the recipe. ;)

I never like to follow bland recipes. A little sugar here, a little vegetable oil there, a little flour yadi yadi yada. I really like to change things up a lot and so does my sister<3 

NOTE; I give very A detailed explanation for one reason. NO ONE EVER FEELS THE NEED TO DESCRIBE anything when it comes to baking and it really irks me. :/ Examples; No one ever explains why you shouldn't use frozen blueberries (it bleeds into the batter and the muffins come out purple and soggy) People never explain what the consistency of the batter should look like (so you know you're mixing everything right) shit like that! Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of everything as we baked so next time, we will! PROMISE! :) 

Here's our recipe. :D

This recipe serves 12.

Get bowls or paper plates to set aside each ingredient so everything is organized and you understand how much you've used on each ingredient. (My fellow A.D.D. friends. pay attention to that ;p)

Make sure you have a teaspoon AND a tablespoon and of course don't forget a measuring cup.

Preheat your oven to 350!

Spread vegan butter across the paper cups you'll use to put the muffins in. Use VERY LITTLE soy butter in the cups because the soy butter can burn the bottom of the muffins if you use too much! 

1/4 cup of soy margarine (I use Earth Balance)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (I use Trader Joe's brand)

1 cup of Agave Nectar. 

1/2 cup of chai tea OR chai gel.  (Tazo vegan chai tea is what I used) (remember, some chai gels have gelatin so get one without it!) I used chai tea.

1 tablespoon of organic orange marmalade

1 pinch of cinnamon

1 cup of cane sugar (raw turbinado sugar is vegan) REMEMBER Granulated sugar and most commercial brand sugars are NOT veg friendly. Always buy organic sugar)

2 cups of all-purpose flour (I use Trader Joe's old fashioned flour)

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract

11/2 cup of  un- salted walnuts

1/2 cup of soymilk (you can use almond milk also I just love Silk's very vanilla with this)

2 cups of fresh blueberries. (try to get organic)

Simple instructions;

When mixing do the following. Put every ingredient in it's own bowl. OR in it's own section on a plate. Except for the wet ingredients, they should be in a bowl.

Mix all dry ingredients together when you know you're ready to add the wet ingredients. Then mix ALL of it together at once. 

 Don't let the liquid ingredients settle into the dry. Remember to add wet ingredients when you're ready to start mixing everything together.

 Mix thoroughly. ADD THE BLUEBERRIES LAST. While you're mixing, slowly add the nuts and blueberries AFTER you've mixed all other ingredients thoroughly. That's very important. You don't want them to bleed into your batter. It'll do it on it's own in the oven. :)

After spooning the batter into the cups (just eyeball it) add the crushed nuts on top of the batter in the cups for presentation and of course for taste :)

BAKE FOR 30-35 MINUTES. Every oven is different so keep a close eye on the muffins. Cook til golden brown on top. :)

Let cool for roughly 20 minutes :)

I hope you love them!!!!

M

THANK YOU HEATHER FOR THE HELP<3

Heather Rhapsody on Facebook (if you'd like to add her)

Her twitter account is Twitter.com/HeatherRhapsody

LIVE VEGAN!

A simple quick vegan dish! One is gluten-free and the other is not.

Hey you guys!

The other day I put together a quick dinner. This is usually what I eat on my gluten-free diet. But I also made one of the plates with vegan soy chick'n strips by MorningStar. Everything you see in the image is 1,000,000% vegan! :)(obviously!) In the bowl, is the gluten free semi-mexi bowl! And then on the plate is the vegan chick'n strips mexi plate. Now usually when I make mexican food I just loveee to spice it up extremely hot (i'm addicted to heat for some odd reason, it's like heroin.....lol) But this was toned down so that everyone in my family could eat it without dying from a
spicy-f*ckin-hot overdose! Just a quick note; I will be posting my usual spanish recipes that i've made completely vegan style. This is just a quick one I made with things we had in our kitchen at the moment.

Here is what is listed in the Gluten Free dish.
1. White jasmine rice seasoned with- curry powder, garlic powder, small amount of chili powder, pepper, salt. (Btw, I never measure anything. I'm not into that. hah! Just eyeball it!)

2. Drained pinto beans that contain no animal fat of course!!!

3. Zucchini! (my favorite!!) seasoned with- Curry powder, garlic powder, pepper and brianna's poppyseed dressing) it's pretty kick-ass.

4. Organic sugar plum tomatoes from Trader Joe's.

5. Emerald Valley salsa. (LOVE)

6. Red Bell Pepper and purple onion seasoned with the same powders listed above. You can use fresh but I have powder so that's what I use lol!

The Soy Chick'n vegan dish:

Everything is exactly the same as the gluten free dish except for the soy chick'n. On the soy Chick'n I add curry powder, onion, garlic powder and pepper.
:D

On the side you can have avocado! THAT is my absolute favorite thing. I love avocado so much I could survive on it for the rest of my life.
Have any questions? ASK! :)
bye guys!

On Monday, February 14, 2011 (A message to animals from a vegan)

I ask you all to light a candle for the animals who are abandoned, abused, slaughtered, killed, tortured, neglected, hurt, lonely, experimented on, exploited, skinned and burned.  They are the true heroes because they are the one's who are living this everyday. It may be a short amount of time that they are on this earth because of the way humans rule over them, but they are; 
never EVER forgotten. 


WE MISS YOU.

I know that animals are not able to read this, but if they could this is what I would say to them.

I know you are being hurt and you are being tortured for no necessary reason. I I know that you are supposed to be alive with your family and living in a beautiful environment, but humans have ruined this fait for you. Humans have taken your lives and claimed you as a piece of property.  They have tagged you with numbers and given you no name and no rights. Humans have taken your family from you. Humans have taken everything from you and a lot of us are aware of it. Just know that there are people out in this cold world that DO care about you and LOVE you. We haven't even met but that's what makes you so special, we know you're innocent and we know you are NOT something to profit off of, NOT something to eat, NOT something to wear, NOT something to abuse, NOT something to experiment on. YOU deserve to be on this planet more than half the population of humans on the planet. I AM SORRY THAT I COULD NOT SAVE YOU. I am trying to the best of my abilities to SAVE YOU. The one's who CARE about you are trying our hardest to help advocate for you and save you from the misery that our kind forces upon you. You are the most important thing to me in this world and I pray for the day that you will no longer be subjected to the awful abuse that you have experienced on this earth. I am in mourning everyday, for you.

I WILL NEVER STOP FIGHTING FOR YOU. I WILL NEVER GIVE UP. 

R.I.P. all animals 

-Ana of PROJECT ANIMAL PEACE 

(LIVE VEGAN)

A few problems that vegan's like myself, run into occasionally.

P.s. it's a long post but I ask of you to please read it all<3 thank you, in advance.


Sometimes, vegan's run into issues like this. Issues involving make-up, soap, lotion, hygiene items etc.


I have been finding that a lot of make-up and other products that we are lead to believe is vegan, (mineral line usually indicates something will be vegan-friendly, not always, but sometimes) isn't exactly okay for us vegans. Some items from places that claim to sell vegan make up along with non-vegan make up have been missing the points. I personally love physicians formula! I have bought items from them over the years and have learned there's small traces of animal derived ingredients. Which is not exactly cruelty-free OR vegan. Physicians formula is not tested on animals. Plus, there is no third-party animal testing involved either.    (Thankfully)


However, a lot of items from various make-up companies do have animal derived ingredients in their products.  

Ana 2009 Physicians Formula

Here is a picture of me from 2009 where I was wearing only physicians formula on my entire face. 


The gloss, the eyeshadow and mineral powder. I was wearing the mineral line mascara, mineral line powder, mineral line pallet (i believe that's what it was called) I recently learned that not everything in the mineral line is 100% vegan. It's about 90% vegan. Which, believe it or not; Isn't acceptable. I can't remember exactly at the moment what the name of the ingredient was, but I learned it was definitely not vegan. I have only recently found this out. 


YES, I'M OBVIOUSLY STILL A VEGAN. It's just a minor mistake was made because I had reason to believe it was safe for a vegan to use. No, i'm not blaming physicians formula at all. I just wish I had more understanding of what a mineral make-up line meant, back then. Now, I have become much more aware.


Some of you may be thinking "what the hell are you talking about, just because a company comes out with a mineral line doesn't mean it's vegan" Yes, i'm aware of that but, sometimes it can mean just that! It depends who the company is and what their ingredients list. I have recently found the most amazing list that I am using religiously!  


Here is the link to the website! I use this list about 20 times a day, now! 


The list


Why am I using this list so much? Because i've decided to no longer be in the dark about what make-up I believe is vegan or not. I am a vegan so therefore, I only use vegan make-up. But I am obviously not perfect, so there will always be mistakes in the make-up department for me. I am at the 99.7% rating in my vegan lifestyle. BECAUSE OF THIRD PARTY TESTING and small traces of animal derived ingredients, in make-up. :( DAMN IT, I'M ANGRY! (trust me, it tears me up inside) Third party testing is not just involved in make-up. It's many more items than that. 


It's not because of the food I eat or the clothing I wear. (which is always vegan)  It's the make-up that I have been in the dark about, and the lotion, toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant. I have always been very good at spotting the non-vegan ingredients in shampoo and deodorant and toothpaste. I used tom's deodorant and toothpaste. (which contained no animal ingredients, but has recently sold out to a parent company that TESTS ON ANIMALS.) Which is obviously not vegan.   (Colgate Palmolive) Don't worry, I've switched! I use Kiss My Face deodorant and toothpaste, plus I use Nature's Gate Shampoo (the vegan products) (expect my video about these products within the next week)


I mentioned "lotion" earlier. Yes, I use lotion so much because I live in a very, very dry climate. 2% humidity to be exact. I have always bought ST.IVES lotion. (The no animal ingredient products only) Plus the no animal ingredient "timeless skin" facial scrub. Some of their lotions contain animal ingredients and some of the facial cleansers do as well. Here's the names of the one's I would use.  The reason I know this is because I was on LeapingBunny.org and I clicked their FAQ after I saw St. Ives was not listed on their website. 


*SOOTHING OATMEAL SHEA (link to the product details) Click


*INTENSIVE HEALING (link to product details) Click


*REPLENISHING MINERAL THERAPY (link to product details) Click


As you can imagine, I am extremely angry to know that my most favorite animal-free lotion  takes part in CRUEL animal testing. Not the immediate finished product, but what about the ingredient process? Here is a quick definition I found about Third-party testing and the lies behind not tested on animals. REMEMBER not everyone uses third party testing. Only some companies do. P.S. I will finish using the lotion I already own (It contains no animal ingredients) If it did contain animal ingredients I obviously would not continue using it. But I will not ever go back to get it again until they've changed.


Information from: http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Animal_testing

There has been a great deal of contemporary controversy over animal testing to determine the safety of cosmetic products to human consumers. Many people feel it is immoral to cause harm or death to animals for the sake of human vanity and it is unethical to sell commercial vanity products based on the harm of animals.

"Cosmetic testing on animals" includes all of these practices:

• Testing a finished cosmetic product (e.g. lipstick) on animals (see below for examples of toxicity tests);
• Testing individual ingredients of cosmetic products on animals;
• Testing any combination of ingredients on animals;
• Contracting a third-party company to perform any of the above tests;
• Using a subsidiary or third-party company to perform any of the above tests in countries where animal testing is not banned.

Some cosmetics companies claim that their products are not tested on animals, despite using one or more of the aforementioned practices.

Sad, but true.

I usually know exactly what to look for and end up scoring well! However, I recently learned about third-party testing so that has shocked me into researching even more than ever before, and trust me, I research like there's no tomorrow! LITERALLY!

I have been using LeapingBunny.org A LOT more often. I am however running into walls about why their lists actually have a name for a company on it but doesn't have the bunny next to it. For example; I use KISS MY FACE deodorant and toothpaste now (which is vegan!) But there is no leaping bunny next to it...Someone want to help me?


UPDATE- As I was writing this blog I decided to dig a little deeper and this is what leaping bunny says! (straight from their website)


 "All Leaping Bunny companies must comply with the same Standard. Obtaining the Leaping Bunny Logo is an optional step that some companies choose for marketing purposes. At any point, a Leaping Bunny company may purchase the Logo for a nominal fee; however, there is no cost for companies to apply, get approved, and be listed in our online and printed shopping guides and marketing materials. Those who choose to use the logo are marked online with a ."


Click this to get the link to where I found this info; FAQ


I am still confused as to why TOM'S OF MAINE is still on their list because I learned on a few different websites that TOM'S has recently been sold to Colgate Palmolive WHICH IS A COMPANY THAT TESTS ON ANIMALS. Here is what someone said on a TOM'S forum


"I just saw that Tom`s of Maine has been bought buy Colgate Palmolive. Our money now goes to pay animal testings. Tom`s has been corrupted."


Whoever this person is, their right. Tom's has officially been corrupted. We cannot trust them anymore and I hope that Leaping Bunny will remove TOM'S from their cruelty-free list.


I I will be making a video based on all of the products my mom recently bought for me. I'll describe what their like and how amazing they are compared to Tom's! 


The point to this entire blog post is, I have decided to make my own personal favorites list of products  that ARE vegan; meaning NO animal ingredients and NO animal testing in any way shape or form. Yes, it will take some time to do this but I have been researching like crazy so that I can have this list not only for me, but for all of you vegans out there who feel you can't find something for you. I will have a job soon so I will be buying things to try them out. Of course I will try and find the best stuff for good prices and occasionally the expensive stuff. (only if it's worth it!!!) I will be also making a video about this to explain in more detail. 


Thank you SO much for reading! I know it was a lot to read! If you got through it, AWESOME! 
 Remember, if you ever screw up on accident it does NOT mean you aren't a vegan. It just means it was a mistake that you were completely un-aware of. You can be angry about it, of course but just don't lose focus! You can fix it! Just find the alternative and learn not to make the same mistake again. That's what I'm doing. Don't lose faith. The animals are counting on us and it's our responsibility to save them, no matter what.


Twitter.com/PAPcampaign
youtube.com/AnimalPeaceProject
LIVE VEGAN!

Here's what I ate for lunch today! Vegan food is fuuuun.

Hola!

Some of you may know, I have a gluten/flour allergy and I have been trying to stop eating it. I've known for about three years that I have this allergy, but like most people I ignore it. Not no more! I have a weird obsession with carbohydrates and I've ditched them for a few months. Well, almost all of them. The carbohydrates i've been consuming are the A-OKAY one's! 

Natural carbohydrates can do a body good but if you have a gluten allergy, you know that it can really mess up your system. If you have Celiac's disease (gluten, wheat allergy) you know that it can mess up your mood, your appetite, your weight loss, or can even cause weight gain RAPIDLY without you realizing it! You could be on a diet of just green beans and soy protein and then occasionally have a veggie burger with wheat in it and it'll be as if you ate 10 loaf's of bread every day. YES, That is true!

 I wanted to share this picture because this is usually what i've been eating for lunch almost everyday. I sometimes don't eat it everyday because I run out of the veggie burgers I use or the tomatoes are 100% ripe OR I'll use different vegetables. These one's are called "Asian Medley" by SteamFresh. They are vegan! They taste phenomenal. I usually just steam them in the microwave. If I'm having green beans or something, i'll fry it in a pan with olive oil, garlic powder and curry powder. Yum. 

Here's what I ate! (I cook this quite often)

Dr. Praeger's veggie burgers! This is the one I used. California Veggie Burgers. They are so kick-ass.

Here's a link to Dr. Praeger's veggie products!  http://www.drpraegers.com/

(Not everything by this company is vegan, but this product is!) It's always vegetarian but not always vegan! Keep that in mind! 

The ingredients are listed in the center of the page next to the picture.

I eat this veggie burger with NO BUN! You can find a gluten free/wheat free bun, no problem! However, for me I am trying my hardest to consume the least amount of it possible.... :(

Plus I put shredded avocado on top of the veggie burger for of course the flavor but also for the good healthy fats that are naturally from an avocado. The antioxidants in them are crazy insane awesome as well!

Next, I use either sugar plum tomatoes OR cherry tomatoes. I eat it raw!

You can cook it with some green beans and it will taste fabulous.

I also use mediterranean hummus! Only if I have some on hand. If you don't just use briana's poppyseed dressing! It's vegan! 

I get the hummus from Trader Joes! It's a Trader Joes product. :D

Here's a picture of Brianna's dressing! Not all over Brianna's dressings are completely vegan but this one is! Watch the intake on this stuff! It can be quite addicting.

 Here's a link to the website http://www.briannassaladdressing.com/

That's just my simple little lunch I've been eating everyday. If I was cooking according to my usual diet in which I consume gluten, flour and wheat, I would post my normal food, Which I will post very soon!!!

Hope you liked this!

Bye!

The first ever post on PROJECT ANIMAL PEACE!

Welcome to Project Animal Peace! FOR ALL ANIMALS!

This is the first ever blog for P.A.P. well, actually that's not true. I've made about five different blogs and I have forgotten each and every login...Yes, blame the A.D.D. which by the way is not a cop-out. It's a fact! See, i'm already getting off topic! Anyway, this is the official blog for Project Animal Peace A.K.A. 

animal peace project (on youtube)! Just to start things off on this post, I would like to post a beautiful picture of these animals together. (Safe on a farm the way it was meant to be)

Those tags on their ears do not belong there. They are not numbers. They are living angels.

Project Animal Peace was created to advocate for animal rights. I am a VEGAN and I'm an advocate for animals. I run this campaign on my own but I have outstanding support from my friends on twitter, youtube and facebook! Now hopefully it will follow to here. :) I want to thank everyone for helping me out and supporting my animal rights campaign and most importantly  ANIMALS. They are the only reason that I started this campaign. WE are the voice for them. WE (humans) ARE THEIR ONLY HOPE AND THEIR BIGGEST ENEMY. Which one are you? I choose to be the hope for them. I choose to live a vegan lifestyle so that I know I am helping animals by not consuming, wearing, abusing, killing and harming them in any way. It feels wonderful to be a vegan and I hope you already feel this way OR my campaign could help you feel it too. Here's a bit of what you should be expecting on here!

What I'll be Posting On This Blog! 

 (I will always be adding to this!)

Every time I upload a new video, i'll post it here. Everytime I'm thinking about at topic for a video or suggestions for one, i'll ask it here!

*RECIPES (for vegan food)

*VEGAN TUTORIALS (i'll explain in detail in a video)

*VEGAN WEBSITES that are my absolute favorite

*ACTIVISM petitions

*VEGAN literature

*VEGAN facts and statistics

*ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

*SHOPPING AS A VEGAN (Series blog post!)

*VEGAN FAVORITES (i'll explain more in a video)

HOW TO BECOME A VEGAN  (i'll be explaining more in a video)

LINKS!

Youtube.com/AnimalPeaceProject

Twitter.com/PAPcampaign

Facebook.com-Anastasia Briana (Official PAP facebook)


Send me an E-MAIL! Ask me anything! 
animalpeaceproject@yahoo.com

LIVE VEGAN!

That's a question I ask myself everyday. Why do they have to die because people desire to eat them? IT'S WRONG.