2013/12/30

Course #2 of our Christmas Eve Dinner

I made a tomato soup. I had to improvise quite a lot and don't really remember what I put into it, so I share my normal recipe today :) You could serve it with rice or some fresh bread like ciabatta or baguette!

For 4 portions you need:
  • a big can of peeled tomatoes (800ml to 1 litre)
  • 2-4 carrots
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 small onion or 1 shallot/scallion
  • 1-2 garlic cloves
  • olive oil
  • salt, pepper, hot paprika/chili to taste
  • basil pesto to taste
  • pesto arrabiata to taste
  • fresh basil for decoration
  • optional: water and/or tomato purée depending on your  desired consistency
how to make it:
  1. dice the onion, zucchini and carrots and steam them in a bit of olive oil until golden in a medium sized pot
  2. pour the peeled tomatoes into the pot and cook on medium heat
  3. once the carrots are soft enough purrée everything to get a thick smooth consistency
  4. season the soup with spices, pestos and add the finely chopped garlic
  5. pour in another tablespoon of olive oil and let the soup simmer for 5-10 minutes
  6. If you don't like the consistency add a bit of water or tomato purée.
  7. add chopped fresh basil before serving and decorate the bowl with a few whole basil leaves (If you don't have any fresh basil you can use dried basil instead but add it with the other spices!)
This recipe is pretty easy and very quick to make! It's warming, nourishing, delicious and a perfect fall/ winter recipe :) you can easily add other vegetables like zucchini (puréed or diced), peppers (diced), aubergine (diced) and much more to make the soup more interesting. :)

Let me know which other vegetables or herbs you added! :)

Hope you enjoyed this yummy soup!

Julia
xoxo

2013/12/25

Merry Christmas!!!

My dear readers, I wish you a very merry Christmas with your loved ones!

We had our first completely vegan Christmas Eve Dinner!! I obviously had vegan food during the last 3 years as well, but this year I cooked for my whole family and everyone loved it! (At least they said so!)
I made a four-course-dinner and tonight I want to share my first recipe:
The first course was a warm salad:

You need (for 4 portions):
500g frozen green beans
500g small tomatoes (choose different colours to reach for that certain je ne sais quoi)
salt, pepper, olive oil and fresh garlic (optional, I didn't use any) to taste
  1. steam the beans according to instructions on package
  2. cut tomatoes in quarters
  3. marinade tomatoes with salt, pepper, oil (and garlic)
  4. mix marinaded tomatoes with beans
  5. serve warm!
You can add a little bit of fresh lemon juice and/or fresh basil, but I wanted to keep it rather simple!

Let me know how you like the salad and if you added anything else :)

Merry Christmas,
Julia
xoxo

2013/11/16

my secret top 6 spices / ingredients

Today I want to tell you about my top 6 secret spices / ingredients which add the certain je ne sais quoi to your dishes and desserts!

  1. tahini / sesame paste. I absolutely don't like the taste of it on its own, but adding a good teaspoon of it to your salad as a dressing or mixing it into your homemade humus gives it a full taste.
  2. cinnamon. You can add it to pretty much everything that contains apples and also add a pinch of it to your pancakes and everybody will love them!
  3. grated orange peels. You can use fresh organic oranges for that or buy it in the grocery store (find it in the baking aisle). You can add it to every chocolate-y and/or nutty cake, cupcake, muffin and what not. Use it thrifty and it'll add a little freshness to your oh-so-yummy-desserts :)
  4. nutmeg. Get the whole nutmegs and a grater. Yes, they are a little more expensive than the dried and grated stuff, but they taste WAY better! You can add it to pretty much anything with potatos, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, cream-sauces (for pasta). Again, use it thrifty!
  5. fresh basil leaves. I love them in salads, tomato soups and sauces (anything tomato, to be honest), on bread with almost any vegan spread or cheese. You can even put a few into a green smoothie, if you like them. If you cannot grow basil in your garden/ on your balcony, buy the pot plant and not the 'fresh' leaves you can get in most grocery stores. The plants are not only cheaper but taste better as well. (btw basil goes great with.. oh the story of how to make awesome bruschetta is a different one.. ;) )
  6. garlic. (this one is for you mum - and Rita, who was the cooking lady at my nursery school and put garlic into everything except for rice pudding :D ) Pretty much every savoury dish tastes better with garlic! Use fresh one in small amounts. Goes with anything with tomatos, potatos, pasta, chick-peas, rice and a whole lot more!
 These are my 6 little secret ingredients you will always - under all circumstances - find in my kitchen and very often in my recipes. I hope, you'll find a few ways to use these and enjoy them as much as I do!

Julia
xoxo

2013/11/11

a vegan trade fair - die VeganFach in Hamburg

a few first impressions
On November 2nd, 2013 the third vegan trade fair VeganFach took place at the intl. Airport in Hamburg/Germany.
Many restaurants, a few vegan food shops and companies, a raw vegan hotel, book stores and many more offered their goods.
The trade fair was quite busy and when I arrived there around lunch-time, many people waited in line to get in. But the trade fair seemed to be pretty well organised, so no-one had to wait too long. 
Additional to the offered goods and the delicious food (I had a Döner for lunch and a lahmacun (Turkish pizza) for dinner - I had both for the first time ever and they were really great! *yum*!), seminars and show cookings were held. 
For further info check the website! 
a few first impressions
show cooking
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By the way: the veganfach is a yearly trade fair, on the first Saturday in November to celebrate the world vegan day (1st of November) and is held in a different city every year. The last two VeganFach trade fairs were held in Berlin and Essen.

I hope to see you there next year on world vegan day 2014!

Julia 
xoxo 
Döner
 


raspberrie cream cake

2013/11/03

vegan travelogue: Hannover ~ the Loving Hut

Last weekend we travelled to Hannover, where we visited the Loving Hut Restaurant.
It's a small vegan restaurant close to the inner city. They offer mostly chinese dishes but have a few other fast-food-like dishes on the menu as well. We wanted to try as many of them as possible so we shared the dishes we ordered.
For starters we had the spring rolls and they were pretty good.
The next course was fried noodles with vegetables. These were really good. We both enjoyed them quite a lot!
Next was the burger with french fries, ketchup and mayonaise. The burger was ok, not our personal favourite. The french fries were pretty good, the ketchup as well, but we didn't like the mayonaise at all.
For dessert we had a piece of chocolatecake and a piece of carrot-walnut-cake. These were amazing! The highlight of our dinner! Both came with a delicious cream frosting.
I had a mango-lassi with dinner, which was pretty good as well!
The staff was nice.
So all in all we'd recommend the Loving Hut, but it's not my favourite restaurant. I'm sure, we'll go there again though!

Sorry, this post is so short and without photos.. Maybe I'll update it someday :)
Btw, Loving Hut is a restaurant-chain, which you'll find in Hamburg and other cities as well!

When travelling anywhere, always check Happy Cow for vegetarian and vegan restaurants and shops in the area!

Have a great Sunday,
Julia
xoxo

2013/10/18

Lentil-Soup

Today's recipe is my favourite lentil-soup. I got the recipe from my mum, but she puts meat in her soup, so I changed a few things about it to have a delicious vegan alternative.

super-yummy best lentil-soup ever ~ thanks to mum!

You need (again, for 4 hungry people):
2-3 chopped shallots / 1 red or white onion
3-4 thinly sliced carrots
4-5 diced potatoes
1-2 litres of hot water
1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup brown lentils
1 cup chopped leek
1/2 cup green peas
olive oil
salt, black pepper and nutmeg to taste
lemon juice

1 big pot

Cooking Instructions:
Warm the olive oil in the pot on medium heat and add the shallots/onion. Stir-fry them until golden.
Add the sliced carrots and diced potatoes and roast them gently.
Pour in the hot water and stir everything gently. Add the lentils (red and brown) and stir again.
Add the chopped leek and the green peas (if you chose frozen vegetables, let them thaw for a bit before adding them to the soup).
Bring the soup to a boil and let it simmer for 30-45 minutes on low heat. Add more water if you need to and stir regularly (every 5-10 minutes is enough).
Season with salt, black pepper and nutmeg (freshly grated if possible) and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
Before serving the soup add a little lemon juice on the plate! Do NOT add it to the pot, as it will make leftovers to go off sooner!

You could serve some kind of bread with it, but I personally love it, just the way it is!

I hope you enjoy the soup as much as I do, because it's healthy, super delicious, nourishing and the perfect dinner on a cold fall or winter night!

~ Julia
xoxo

2013/10/14

my favourite recipe ever: Ratatouille

Today I want to share my favourite recipe ever! It's awesome during the summer and even better during all the colder months! It's delicious, filling, healthy, full of nutrients and everbody loves it! I make it a lot, when friends and family visit and I don't know anyone who doesn't like it.. so give it a go ;)

Ratatouille served with couscous :) *yumm*!
You need (for 4 hungry people) 
olive oil
1 red onion
a little fresh garlic
5 medium potatoes
2-4 carrots
1 big zucchini
1 big red bell pepper
1 big yellow bell pepper
1 big orange bell pepper
8-10 tomatos (preferably a little overripe)
1/2 cup of strong vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tomato purée
2 cups hot water
1 tablespoon of mixed italian herbs
salt and black pepper to taste
a knife
a chopping board
a big pan or pot with lid
 
how to prepare it: 
cut onion, garlic and vegetables
fry onion and garlic until 'golden' in olive oil
add carrots and potatos
add zucchini
add bell peppers
fry (sauté) until everything is a little 'golden'
add tomatos and let everything simmer for about 10-15 minutes
prepare vegetable broth in a cup, mix with herbs, spices and the tomato purée (add it to the vegetables)
add the 2 cups of hot water
stir well
put the lid on the pan and let it simmer on low heat for 30-45 minutes

serve with ciabatta bread, baguette, couscous, (wholegrain)-rice or pasta  and garnish with fresh basil (optional)

I really hope you will enjoy this wonderful meal as much as I do!

~ Julia
xoxo

2013/08/28

my 25th Birthday menu

So .. last week I celebrated my 25th birthday :) And since my sister was about to go abroad for one semester we had a big party together with lots of great friends! My sister is vegetarian and a lot of our friends are too, so we had a mostly vegan, completely vegetarian menu. Today I want to share our recipes. At least the vegan ones, because I don't have the other 2 recipes .. so here we go:

Hummus:
  • 2 cans drained chickpeas (puréed)
  • minced garlic (1 clove)
  • 1 tablespoon tahini (sesame "butter")
  • water
  • lemon juice to taste
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • a little splash of olive oil
purée everything together, add as much water as you need to get a consistency you like!
Keeps fresh in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Guacamole
  • 2 fresh avocados
  • minced garlic (1 clove)
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • lemon juice to taste
mash everything together or purée as well!
Keeps fresh in the fridge for about 1 day. Make sure you'll store it in an air-tight container to prevent the guacamole from browning (if it gets a little brown, stir well!)

We offered turkish bread with both creams!

Couscous-salad
  • iceberg-lettuce
  • romaine lettuce
  • tomatoes
  • cucumber
  • sweet corn
  • couscous (prepare as instructions say)
  • olive oil, salt, black pepper,..

cut the vegetables, mix in the readily prepared and cooled couscous. Season with olive oil, salt, black pepper and whatever you desire. Chives and spring onions would taste great in it as well!

Green salad
we used the same vegetables as in the couscous-salad to simplify things.
For the dressing we used:
  • olive oil
  • balsamic vinegar
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • chives
  • a tiny splash of lemon juice


Onto the good stuff ;) :

we made chocolate muffins, lemon muffins and a cherry-mousse-au-chocolat- gateau
the dough was a normal cake mixture made of: (this is enough for the gateau-base and about 40 muffins)
  • 1kg flour
  • ~ 500grams sugar
  • 2 packs of baking powder
  • 4 packs of vanilla sugar
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • approx. 1 - 1.2liters water/soymilk (whichever you prefer. I usually use half'n'half)
once that was mixed together we took about 1/3 of it and added lemon flavour and a bit of lemon juice to it.

The lemon muffins were topped with lemon icing (icing sugar and lemon juice) and a vegan gummi bear in the middle. (obviously top the muffins with the icing when they've cooled a bit!)

The other 2/3 were mixed with approx. 125grams of baking cacao-powder (the unsweetend kind)
use half of this for the gateau. Mix the other half with chocolate chips and chopped walnuts for the chocolate muffins.

muffins and gateau-base take about 20-30minutes in the oven. Bake on the middle rack on 180°C

 once the gateau-base is cooled, top with cherrys (jared) or fresh strawberries, blueberries or any other fruit that appeals to you! on top of that you'll put the mousse-au-chocolat

for the mousse-au-chocolat you need:
  • 800grams of silken tofu (puréed)
  • 200grams of dark chocolate (melted)
  • approx. 125grams icing sugar
purée the silken tofu while melting the chocolate on low heat on the stove. Once the chocolate is completely melted pour it into the silken tofu. Keep purée-ing the mixture. pour in the icing sugar. once you have a fluffed up creamy consitency put the mousse-au-chocolat into the fridge. Keep it the as long as you can! I recommend preparing it 1 day ahead. When you've put the mousse-au-chocolate onto the gateau-base keep it in the fridge until you'll serve it!

We also offered a vegetarian pasta-salad and a vegetarian-only gateau with a cream-cheese / yoghurt filling with mandarin oranges as well.

Unfortunately I forgot to take photos! :(

From now on I will write my blog due to time-issues in english only. I hope you will still keep reading!

Let me know if you have any questions about the recipes and if you've used one of them, let me know how it turned out! ;)

Love,
Julia
xxx

2013/08/21

being vegan on the go - Highfield-Festival 2013

Being vegan while at a festival? Is that even possible? People barbeque everywhere, a lot of fastfood is offered and isn't 'being vegan at a festival' extremly inconvenient?
1. Yes, it is possible!                 and
2. No, it is actually way easier than you might think!

I visited the first festival (Deichbrand 2012) with 3 omnivore friends and even that was pretty easy. For the BBQ I brought some tinfoil and tofu sausages and vegetables. And even the fastfood-booths offered quite a lot of different vegan foods: falafel, indian rice-vegetable-stir-fry, fried asian noodles with vegetables and a lot more. If you travel with omnivores, take care of the food-shopping! If you visit the festival for the first time you could take a back-up pack of couscous with you to make sure you'll definetely have enough to eat if you plan to have fastfood there.

This year it was even easier for me. The 3 girls I travelled with are all vegetarians so I didn't really have to take care of the food-shopping. We ate mostly bread, but had spitted vegetables and corncobs for the BBQ, apples and salad. The offered vegan fastfood was barely existing, but there was one booth where they offered delicious falafel, pakora and dal (lentil soup)! If you love indian food as much as I do, THIS was the place to go, but, as far as I know, unfortunately no other vegan foods were offered.

So to sum it up in one sentence: Being vegan on a festival is almost as easy as being vegan at home!

More vegan travelogues will follow! :)
~ Julia
xoxo

vegan unterwegs - Highfield-Festival 2013

Vegan beim Festival? Geht das überhaupt? Überall wird ständig gegrillt, Fastfood wird auch überall angeboten und wäre das nicht schrecklich unpraktisch und aufwendig?
1. Ja, es geht!                        und
2. Nein, es ist sogar viel einfacher, als man sich das vielleicht vorstellt!

Bei meinem ersten Festival (Deichbrand 2012) war ich mit 3 Fleischessern unterwegs und selbst das hat erstaunlich gut geklappt! Für das gemeinsame Grillen habe ich einfach etwas Alufolie zum drunter legen und Tofuwürstchen und Gemüse mitgenommen. Zu meiner Überraschung gab es sogar das eine oder andere Fastfood-Angebot, das vegan war! So konnte ich dort Falafel, eine indische Reis-Gemüse-Pfanne, asiatische Bratnudeln mit Gemüse und einiges mehr finden.
Wer mit Fleischessern unterwegs ist, sollte sich vorher mit um den Einkauf kümmern, sodass man genug zu essen hat. Wenn man zum ersten Mal zu dem Festival fährt, kann man als Backup z.B. zusätzlich eine Packung Couscous mitnehmen, sodass man auf jeden Fall genug zu essen hat, falls es dort tatsächlich nichts veganes gibt und man das Fastfood-Angebot mit einplant.

In diesem Jahr war das ganze irgendwie noch leichter für mich. Wir waren beim Highfield und die 3 Mädels, mit denen ich dort war, sind alle Vegetarier, sodass ich mir nicht so die Gedanken um's Essen gemacht hab. Ich musste mich nicht mal mit um den Einkauf kümmern. Wir haben hauptsächlich Brot gegessen, beim Grillen haben wir Gemüsespieße und Maiskolben gegessen und einmal gab's Salat.. Das vegane Fastfood-Angebot war im Prinzip kaum vorhanden und bestand praktisch aus einem Stand, da wurden dafür aber unglaublich leckere Falafel, Pakora und Dal angeboten! Wer indisches Essen mag, war dort genau richtig. Etwas anderes wurde, soweit ich weiss, leider nicht angeboten.


Also um's in einem Satz zusammenzufassen: Vegan geht beim Festival genauso leicht wie zu Hause!

Weitere vegane Reiseberichte werden folgen :)
~ Julia

2013/08/14

favourite restaurants in Berlin (Germany)

Today I want to share my favourite restaurants in Berlin (Germany):

my absolute favourite: the indian restaurant Satyam (www.mysatyam.de). You will find it in the Goethestraße 5 in Charlottenburg. The menu is ovo-lacto-vegetarian, but offers a lot of vegan choices and a lot of meals, that can be made vegan.
On Sundays they offer a great buffet. The buffet-menu changes every week, so make sure you check the website to find out whether you would like it. On Sunday afternoons the restaurant can get quite busy, so you would want to be there around lunch-time. They also offer a special lunch-menu, which is different every week as well. The restaurant itself is smaller, but pretty cozy! So if you like indian food and happen to be in Berlin, you should definetely go there! Service is always nice, they offer a big menu and prices are low to moderate. Also I'm sure non-veg*ns will find something appealing! (This restaurant is a great choice to convice non-veg*ns, that veg*n food is delicious!!)

Need a quick fix on the go, while you are in the inner city? Go to Dolores (www.dolores-online.de) and try their Burritos, Salads, Quesadillas, Tacos and more! They also offer meat, but vegan foods are declared. They have two branches. #1 is near Kurfürstendamm (Wittenbergplatz) and #2 is near Alexanderplatz. It's usually pretty crowded, especially around lunch-time, so if you are in a rush, call them for a take-away ;) I highly recommend the burrito "Vegan Friend"! Prices are low to moderate.

Looking for cakes, cupcakes, bagels and other snacks? Visit the Café Vux in Neukölln (www.vux-berlin.com)! They offer delicious baked goods for take-away and enjoying there! Prices are moderate but worth it!

Want to go on a vegan shopping-spree? Visit the Veganz (www.veganz.de). Prices are higher, but you will find only vegan foods here and they come from all over the world. So if you need special vegan foods, like "cheese", "milk" and "cream" you have a great choice there! They also have a little bakery in each of the two supermarkets.

Want to go out for brunch? The Café Morgenrot (www.cafe-morgenrot.de) offers awesome vegetarian- vegan brunch-buffets fridays through sundays. Prices are low (you pay 6 to 10€, depending on your own judgement!). The café is usually pretty busy and crowded, so you want to be there early or you might have to wait for a table, but even if you have to wait it is worth it!

So these are my absolut must-eat-at-restaurants in Berlin..comment below if you have questions or recommendations and enjoy checking out these restaurants! :)

Julia
xoxo

Berliner Lieblingsrestaurants

Heute möchte ich euch kurz meine Lieblingsrestaurants in Berlin vorstellen:

das indische Restaurant Satyam (www.mysatyam.de) findet ihr in der Goethestraße 5 in Charlottenburg. Das Satyam ist ein Ovo-Lacto-vegetarisches Restaurant und bietet eine Vielfalt an veganen und "vegan-möglich" deklarierten Speisen an. Sonntags gibt es immer ein tolles Buffet. Das Menü dafür wechselt jede Woche, es lohnt sich also, vorher auf die Webseite zu gehen und zu überlegen, ob einen das Menü wirklich anspricht. Da das Buffet offenbar ziemlich beliebt ist, sollte man schon mittags dort sein, da es ab nachmittags relativ voll werden kann. Die Bedienung ist in diesem kleinen, sehr gemütlichen Restaurant immer nett. Ich war schon sehr oft dort, da es bisher mein absolutes Lieblingsrestaurant ist. Wer indisches Essen mag und in Berlin ist, sollte dort auf jeden Fall mal vorbei schauen! Auch Non-Veg*ns finden hier sicherlich was. Die Auswahl ist groß, die Speisen sind gut gewürzt und bisher immer Lecker :) Preislich liegt es im günstigen bis moderaten Bereich.

Wer's lieber schnell unterwegs mag und in der Innenstadt unterwegs ist, sollte mal die Burritos bei Dolores (http://www.dolores-online.de/) probieren. Es gibt 2 Filialen, eine am Wittenbergplatz (am Ku-Damm) und die 2. ist in der Nähe vom Alexanderplatz. Die Auswahl ist nicht besonders groß, aber man kann zwischen Burritos, Tacos, Quesadillas und Salaten wählen. Außerdem werden Suppen und Kuchen angeboten, diese sind meines Wissens aber nie vegan. Wer mit Non-Veg*ns unterwegs ist: hier gibt's auch Fleisch! Die veganen Gerichte sind deklariert. Man kann zwischen Standard-Gerichten und individuell zusammengestellten Speisen wählen. Die Filiale in Mitte ist ziemlich klein und war extrem überfüllt, als ich einmal dort war. Die Filiale am Wittenbergplatz ist viel größer. Auch hier muss man meist kurz anstehen, aber wer es eilig hat, kann auch telefonisch vorbestellen und das dann einfach abholen. (meine persönliche Empfehlung ist der Burrito "Vegan Friend"!) Gutes Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis für alle die es eilig haben!

Etwas Süßes und leckere Snacks gibt's im Café Vux in Neukölln. (www.vux-berlin.com) Das Café bietet ausschließlich vegane Speisen an. Das Menü ist eher schlicht gehalten, aber es gibt diverse Kuchen, Cupcakes, Bagels und andere belegte Brötchen, sowie Tee, Kaffee und weitere Getränke zur Auswahl. Vorbeischauen lohnt sich! Man kann die Speisen auch mitnehmen und, soweit ich weiss, sogar ganze Kuchen vorbestellen. Moderate Preise, dafür aber sehr leckere Kuchen & Cupcakes!

Wer in Berlin sorgenfrei vegan einkaufen gehen möchte, sollte im Veganz vorbeischauen. (www.veganz.de) Dies ist ein veganer Supermarkt. Beide Filialen haben eine (selbstverständlich vegane) Bäckerei drin, in der es im Sommer auch Eis und frozen yoghurt gibt. Preislich befinden wir uns hier eher auf Bioladen-Niveau, wer aber vegane Spezialitäten sucht, der wird hier mit Sicherheit fündig! Lohnt sich, wenn man was bestimmtes sucht. Die Auswahl an veganem Käse ist riesig!

Brunch gefällig? Dann bist du im Café Morgenrot (www.cafe-morgenrot.de) in der Kastanienallee 85 genau richtig! Das vegan-vegetarische Brunch-Buffet wird freitags bis sonntags angeboten. Hier ist es immer ziemlich voll und auch etwas hektisch, aber es lohnt sich! Der Preis für das Buffet liegt, nach eigenem Ermessen, zwischen 6 und 10€.

So.. das sind meine Lieblingsrestaurants in Berlin..weitere Tipps könnt ihr gerne in die Kommentare schreiben! :) Viel Spaß und Guten Appetit, bei den Restaurantbesuchen,

Julia
xoxo

2013/08/07

the day I went vegan..

My name is Julia, I am 24 years old and I study Business Administration. Since 3 years I live a vegan lifestyle. How did I get there? Well - it was the Summer of 2010 and my holidays must've been a little too long, because one morning I woke up thinking "why would anyone possibly want to be a vegetarian??" I have to admit I know quite a few people who are vegetarians, but I was always one of the people who kind of admired it, but never thought I could do it myself. Also I did feel sorry for the animals, but somehow not enough to stop eating them. I never really thought about it and I probably didn't really want to know up until then. So I started researching and thanks to google I found a lot of articles and videos about being veg*n. I read a lot, watched quite a few videos, including "Earthlings", which is a 1.5hours long documentation about how animals are used and abused in our society. You can watch it for free on google videos. I took me months to watch it, because I couldn't watch more than 10-15minutes at a time. My eyes were filled with tears and my stomach felt like it was turned upside down, everytime I watched any of these videos.

So after doing my research for about half a day I decided, that it couldn't be that hard to try this vegetarian-thing. Only for a week, to see how it goes and if I missed anything - apparantly I didn't!
So I did more research on milk and finally realised, that cow's milk is breastmilk for a babycow. Just like human's breastmilk is for human babies. Sounds completely logical, but I never thought about it. So why is the human the only mammalian, that drinks another animal's breastmilk until we grow old? Every breastfeeding mother and most probably pretty much everyone else as well, has heard about swollen, sore, inflamed nipples - and did you know, that the cow's udder is, just like a woman's nipples - can be swollen, sore and inflamed? But cows still have to keep giving milk, but not to their babies (they are taken away after birth) but to a machine which kind of pulls the milk out of the udder. So due to that extrem suction of these machines the inflamed udder starts bleeding. So often blood and pus are in the raw milk, but don't worry, they filter and boil the milk, so there shouldn't be many germs left. Sounds disgusting, right? That was the main reason for me to stop eating milk and milk products.
So anyways.. I wanted to try this veg*n-thing and it took me the first 2 days to getting used to it, but after that I felt great! I felt healthier, my stomach wasn't bloated after meals, which was the case after every meal prior to going veg*n and overall I felt calmer and de-stressed.
And now? I had my 3 year vegan anniversary on July 14th, 2013 and I can't imagine ever eating anything non-vegan ever again!
A lot of people actually say that they feel more calm and de-stressed after going veg*n and there are theories, that you consume the animal's stresshormones when you eat meat, but I'm not sure if this is actually true or the reason for feeling de-stressed is a lifestyle-change in general.

and btw, July 14th is my mother's birthday, we were out for a picknick that day and she brought chicken wings for everyone (not for me, I told her I'd try this vegetarian-thing for a few days).
But the moment everyone else started eating their chicken wings, I felt so disgusted, that I said to myself "this is it - I'm going vegan! Forever!" - So far it went pretty good I think :)

So what's your story? Are you living veg*n? Do you want to try it, but don't know how? Leave me a comment :)

Julia
xoxo

Der Tag, an dem ich vegan wurde..

Ich heiße Julia, bin 24 Jahre alt und studiere Betriebswirtschaft. Außerdem lebe ich seit gut 3 Jahren vegan. Wie es dazu kam? Das erzähle ich euch jetzt.. im Sommer 2010 hatte ich offenbar zu lange Urlaub, denn eines morgens bin ich mit folgendem Gedanken aufgewacht: "Wie kommt man eigentlich auf die bescheuerte Idee Vegetarier oder so'n Quatsch zu werden??" Ich muss schon zugeben, ich kenne viele Menschen, die Vegetarier sind und ich gehörte eben eher zu den Leuten, die gesagt haben, dass sie das ja irgendwie schon toll finden, das aber selbst nie könnten.
Aussagen wie "Doch, klar tun mir die Tiere leid, aber eben auch nicht genug irgendwie.." und "Ich werde niemals Vegetarier, weil mir die kleinen Tofus so leid tun.." wurden von mir auch des Öfteren kundgetan. Ich hätte mich also keineswegs als "vegetariergefährdet" eingestuft. Little did I know.. das muss ich schon zugeben. Also zurück zu meinem Gedanken, wie kommt man eigentlich auf sowas absurdes und macht essen dann überhaupt noch Spaß?
Google sei Dank, hatte ich jede Menge, mehr oder weniger professionelle, Literatur und Filme zur Auswahl. Ich las also eine ganze Menge, über die Auswirkungen der Fleischproduktion auf die Landwirtschaft, den Welthunger, Verletzung der Menschenrechte durch den Futtermittelanbau und Ausbeutung der Arbeitskräfte in dritte-Weltländern. Außerdem habe ich mir Videos angeguckt..und zwar eine ganze Menge. Bei google kann man "Earthlings" gucken (eine 90-minütige Doku darüber wie Tiere in unserer Gesellschaft benutzt und verwendet werden) und YouTube gibt auch jede Menge her. Die meisten Videos zeigen mehr Gewalt, als mich in jedem Mainstream- Film hätte berühren können. Ich habe Monate gebraucht, um Earthlings einmal zu gucken. Länger als 10-15 Minuten konnte ich mir das nicht angucken. Und auch in dieser kurzen Zeit, standen mir die Tränen in den Augen. Nach einem halben Tag intensiver Recherche war ich also davon überzeugt, dass der ganze Quatsch ja nun nicht so schwer zu bewältigen sein könnte und das ich es doch wenigstens mal ausprobieren würde. Nur eine Woche, nur mal gucken, ob ich irgendwas vermissen würde und auch nur vegetarisch. Von vegan war keine Rede! Allerdings hab ich dann darüber gelesen, dass Kuhmilch ja eigentlich nur Muttermilch für das Kalb ist. Klingt logisch, hab ich nur früher nie drüber nachgedacht! Der Mensch ist also das einzige Säugetier, das bis ins hohe Alter Muttermilch trinkt, aber nicht von der eigenen Mutter, sondern von einer Fremden.. Klingt irgendwie seltsam.. So weit so gut.. wer schonmal in einem Eltern- Forum für stillende Mütter unterwegs war, oder selbst ein Kind gestillt hat, hat auch schonmal von entzündeten Brustwarzen gehört - Glaubt ihr, das ist bei Kühen anders?? Wenn die Rohmilch abgemolken wird, sind da durch die permanente Entzündung Blut und Eiter drin, aber keine Sorge, das wird rausgefiltert und dann abgekocht, da sollten die meisten Keime abgestorben sein.
Ok, zugegeben, das war jetzt echt eklig und für den einen oder anderen sicherlich auch mehr Information, als er haben wollte, aber das war für mich der Hauptgrund, auf Milch und Milchprodukte zu verzichten.
Ich wollte es also versuchen. Die ersten 2 Tage waren gewöhnungsbedürftig, aber ich hab mich irgendwie besser gefühlt. Und danach? Na da hab ich mich super gefühlt, ist doch klar! :)
Ich habe mich tatsächlich sehr schnell sehr viel gesünder gefühlt und auch der ungeliebte Blähbauch blieb nach dem Essen aus. Offenbar hat mir so einiges nicht gut getan. Und jetzt? Am 14.7.2013 hatte ich mein 3-jähriges veganes Jubiläum. Essen macht noch viel mehr Spaß als früher und ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, jemals freiwillig wieder irgendwas tierisches zu essen, ich bin insgesamt gesünder und fühle mich besser und irgendwie leichter und ruhiger. Es gibt Menschen, die behaupten, man würde die Stresshormone, die bei der Schlachtung im Körper des Tieres ausgeschüttet werden, aufnehmen, wenn man Fleisch ist. Einen wissenschaftlichen Beweis dafür habe ich nicht, aber wenn das nicht stimmt, warum fühlen sich dann so viele Menschen innerlich ruhiger und weniger gestresst, nachdem sie Vegetarier o.ä. geworden sind? Und ich persönlich habe diese Erfahrung auch gemacht.

Der 14.7. ist übrigens der Geburtstag meiner Mutter und wir haben ein Picknick gemacht und sie hatte Hähnchenschenkel im Ofen vorbereitet. Ich hatte schon im Vorfeld dankend abgelehnt, aber der Moment, indem meine Familie um mich herum saß, die Hähnchenschenkel in der Hand.. als dann alle hungrig in ihre Keulen gebissen haben .. das war für mich der Moment in dem ich dachte: "Ok, jetzt reicht es mir! Ab heute vegan - für immer!" - Ich finde, bisher habe ich mich ganz gut geschlagen :)

Und wie ist deine Geschichte? Lebst du auch vegetarisch oder vegan? Würdest du gerne damit anfangen, weisst aber nicht wie? Unten ist genug Platz für Kommentare :)

Julia
xoxo

2013/08/06

Hello everyone - and what's all this about anyways?

Since this is my first post, I will tell you what this blog will be about:
I want to share my thoughts about a vegan lifestyle, including reviews for restaurants and my favourite recipes, with you.
Additionally I want to talk about eco / green alternatives for everyday living and how living green is compatible with my busy life as a full-time student, a job and social-life.
 I want to share a few of my Do-it-Yourself- projects, including instructions and photos, so you could make your own.

I will write my posts in German and English, so everything is posted twice here ;) (my YouTube- Videos are in English)

From time to time I might have a guest-blogger, so if YOU want to write an article just let me know and we can figure something out. And if there is a certain topic regarding green living, you always wanted to read about, please let me know and I will write about that as soon as possible!

I will try to post once a week :)

and last but not least: I hope you enjoy reading my blog, so stay tuned for the upcoming posts :)

Love,
Julia x

Hallo zusammen - und worum geht's eigentlich?!

Da dies mein erster Bericht ist, werde ich euch erstmal erzählen, worum es hier gehen soll:
Ich möchte hier ein paar Gedanken zum veganen Leben, inklusive Restaurant- Empfehlungen und meinen Lieblingsrezepten, mit euch teilen.
Außerdem möchte ich auch andere Möglichkeiten, den Alltag etwas grüner und ökologischer zu gestalten, vorstellen und darüber berichten, wie das alles mit meinem Studentenleben, einem Nebenjob und dem nichtzuvernachlässigendem social-life überhaupt zu vereinbaren ist.
Ich werde außerdem ein paar meiner Do-it-Yourself- Projekte, mitsamt Anleitungen und Fotos zum Nachmachen veröffentlichen.

Ich werde die Berichte jeweils auf Deutsch und Englisch schreiben, also wundert euch nicht darüber, dass hier alles doppelt steht ;) Ich werde sicherlich auch einige meiner YouTube-Videos einbinden, diese sind aber nur auf Englisch.


Ab und zu wird sich hier vielleicht der eine oder andere Gast-Blogger einschleichen, also wenn DU ein Thema hast, worüber DU gerne mal einen Artikel schreiben möchtest, dann schreib mir doch einfach! Und wenn du gerne mehr zu einem Thema wüsstest, aber nicht selber schreiben willst, dann schreib mir auch das und ich versuche, so schnell wie möglich einen Bericht dazu zu schreiben.

Ich werde versuchen, jede Woche mindestens einen Artikel zu veröffentlichen.

So und nun zu guter Letzt: Viel Spaß beim Lesen und ich freue mich auf eure Kommentare!

Liebe Grüße,
Julia