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Vegan At Sea: My Top 10 Tips!
You know how to be vegan at home. You’ve learned what you like, found a local farmer’s market, frequent your favourite restaurants and have a routine. So what happens when everything gets shaken up? Maintaining a vegan diet in restrictive circumstances can be difficult, something I know all too well from working on cruise ships!
I have spent a cumulative 7 months at sea, and I can tell you it hasn’t always been easy. I hope that my top ten tips for maintaining a vegan diet at sea (or wherever you may find yourself) can help you on your journey. Let’s get started!
You know how to be vegan at home. You’ve learned what you like, found a local farmer’s market, frequent your favourite restaurants and have a routine. So what happens when everything gets shaken up? Maintaining a vegan diet in restrictive circumstances can be difficult, something I know all too well from working on cruise ships!
I have spent a cumulative 7 months at sea, and I can tell you it hasn’t always been easy. I hope that my top ten tips for maintaining a vegan diet at sea (or wherever you may find yourself) can help you on your journey. Let’s get started!
1. Take a deep breath. More damaging than all the eventualities you have begun imagining is the stress and anxiety that worry brings. You are vegan for a reason, and you have the fortitude to remain true to your values no matter the obstacle. The more you get centred, grounded, and believe in yourself the easier it will be! Try meditation. I am definitely no expert, but I find even a couple of minutes a day make a huge difference in my ability to handle stress and anxiety! (Headspace is a great introduction to meditation!)
2. Ease up. I understand that 100% vegan is the only way for you, it is for me as well. But is oil free just as important? Or high carb? You may need to take a step back from your ideal dietary habits when you’re away from home and focus on keeping it vegan. I’m not saying you should through nutrition and health out the window, but don’t hold yourself to such a high standard that everything falls apart!
3. Remember why you’re vegan. When times are tough, it’s important to keep your motivation in plain view. My favourite way to do that is to continue to work on my blog and to listen to vegan podcasts (check out my resources page to see my recommendations). Perhaps for you it’s bringing along your favourite book on veganism, loading up a hard drive with documentaries, or volunteering in your free time. Whatever it may be, keep your inspiration close! You could even make a page with all of your reasons and put it up where you’ll see it everyday. Here are my reasons as an example!
4. Take it back to the basics. The longer we’re vegan, the more our tastes evolve. We become more adventurous, try new ingredients and combinations, and get into the latest superfoods. When you don’t have access to these foods it may feel restrictive. I suggest you take this as an opportunity to go back to basics. Simple is definitely the way to go! When I’m on the ship I eat a lot of whole fruits and vegetables, both raw and steamed. A typical day would be lots of whole fruit for breakfast, a large salad with beans and some fruit at lunch, fruit for snacks, and rice and beans with vegetables and a salad for dinner. It may not be exciting, but it’s healthy, satisfying, simple, and nutritious. (Feel free to print out my vegan food pyramid to keep with you!)
5. Remember to practice self care. it can be difficult to be constantly surrounded with people consuming animal products, believe me, i know. Remember to be kind to yourself and take time for yourself to deal with the stress tat can bring. Be understanding and gentle with yourself, and try to focus on what you're doing to help rather than on the suffering on others’ plates. I love to maintain a daily yoga and meditation practice while living on the ship to feed my soul and find peace amongst many stressors. // I personally recommend Banana Blondie's yoga videos and Claire from Self Taught Yogis!
6. Take advantage of opportunities. Have a day off? Find a vegan or vegan-friendly restaurant and treat yourself to a great meal! Grab a smoothie or fresh juice on your break. While these may be costly and feel like a luxury, it’s important to treat yourself and reward your dedication!
7. Find like-minded individuals. There are more vegans, vegetarians, flexi-tarians, and dairy-free folks than it may seem. Focus on your similarities rather than your differences and engage in meaningful discussions about the things you’re passionate about! You never know when something you say in passing may plant a seed in someone’s mind or heart!
8. Eat enough! This one can be tough, but is so important! I don’t need to tell you that as a vegan you need to eat a higher volume of food than someone eating a standard omnivorous diet, but for some reason we forget when we’re dropped into a new environment (me included!) It can be almost embarrassing to eat far more than your peers at every meal, I completely get it. But it’s also kind of awesome! Not only can you eat far more than them consistently and maintain your weight (or even lose), you are promoting far greater health! Once again, you never know what kind of interest you may spark in someone else by eating huge quantities of fresh, healthy, delicious looking food and maintaining a slim figure and vibrance!
9. Be prepared. If you can, always carry fresh fruit or another whole-food plant based snack with you. It’s far better to be prepared than to end up hungry with no vegan options!
10. Keep it in perspective. For most of us, a change to our routine such as working on a cruise ship is not a permanent one. Remember that, while it may feel difficult in the beginning, slight inconvenience for you is nothing compared to the suffering you are preventing! Hold your head high and keep on making that difference!
And there you have it! My top ten tips for keeping veganism simple while in less-than-ideal circumstances. I encourage you to print the resources I created for this post to keep with you. You never know when they may come in handy!
I also ask that if you have any further questions that you leave a comment below or email me at plantbasedbride@gmail.com so I can help you out!
Until next time,
Is Honey Vegan?
Is honey vegan? That's a question I hear a lot from the veg-curious. I understand the confusion. Bees aren't animals, right? And they don't get hurt by humans taking their honey, right? I mean, bears do it. Why can't we?
Well, there are quite a few reasons why I (and many) avoid honey. Not the least of which is the 'ick' factor... honey is actually pretty gross when you think about it.
But is it vegan or isn't it?
Is honey vegan? That's a question I hear a lot from the veg-curious. I understand the confusion. Bees aren't animals, right? And they don't get hurt by humans taking their honey, right? I mean, bears do it. Why can't we?
Well, there are quite a few reasons why I (and many) avoid honey. Not the least of which is the 'ick' factor... honey is actually pretty gross when you think about it.
But is it vegan or isn't it?
Let's start out with the definition of veganism.
VEGANISM is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. - The Vegan Society
As you can see, there are two factors which need to be considered when determining if something is vegan or not:
- Does it come from an animal?
- Is the animal exploited or subjected to cruelty to obtain it?
So, are bees animals? The standard definition of an animal is:
ANIMAL, a living organism that feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli.
Under this, and many, if not all definitions, bees are very clearly animals. But are they subjected to cruelty or exploited in the process of making and taking their honey? Read on to learn eight reasons why no one should be eating honey, vegan or not:
ONE... Bees don't make honey for you.
Bees don't make honey for you, just like cows don't make milk for you and hens don't lay eggs for you.
You already know this, of course.
'The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men.' - Alice Walker
So why do we as a species continue to steal the fruits of their labour? Don't you think that perhaps, just perhaps, they make honey for a purpose completely separate from the uses we have made for it?
You might not know that bees work REALLY HARD to make honey.
- Each bee visits between 50 and 100 flowers to fill their crop (second stomach);
- To make 1 lb of honey the bees need to visit around 2 million flowers and fly over 55 thousand miles (that's more than the distance around the world. Times two!);
- Bees spend A LOT of time making honey. In fact, if bees made minimum wage, a jar of honey would cost $182,000.
- If you eat 2 tbsp of honey you are eating the entire life's work of over 36 bees.
Bees don't make honey for our benefit, and we have no right to it whatsoever.
TWO... Stealing is wrong.
No matter how you look at it, we all know that stealing is wrong.
For the religious among you, remember those pesky commandments? What was number 7 (or 8, depending on your religious affiliation) again? Oh yeah...
'Thou shalt not steal.'
Pretty straightforward, if you ask me.
What if you're not religious?
From the criminal code of Canada...
'322. (1) Every one commits theft who fraudulently and without colour of right takes, or fraudulently and without colour of right converts to his use or to the use of another person, anything, whether animate or inanimate, with intent
(a) to deprive, temporarily or absolutely, the owner of it, or a person who has a special property or interest in it, of the thing or of his property or interest in it;
(b) to pledge it or deposit it as security;
(c) to part with it under a condition with respect to its return that the person who parts with it may be unable to perform; or
(d) to deal with it in such a manner that it cannot be restored in the condition in which it was at the time it was taken or converted.'
Again, pretty straightforward (although slightly wordier).
Oh, and there's also just the whole common knowledge part of the equation, best said as a child would put it...
'Don't steal. It isn't nice.'
Seriously. It isn't nice. Stop doing it.
I can just hear you now... but they're just bees... why should we care?
Because bees are REALLY SMART.
How smart?
Bees' brains are only the size of a sesame seed, yet they have a remarkable ability to learn and remember information as well as make complex calculations.
They use 'swarm intelligence' to work together to make decisions based on a multitude of factors and are also able to communicate with each other by way of clear body language.
How? They do a 'waggle dance' in which they indicate the direction of a field of flowers, for example, to which they are hoping to encourage their bee counterparts to travel, and are able to communicate very accurate directions using vector calculus! See the video below for a more in depth explanation:
Pretty cool, huh?
There's also the matter of honeycomb, which the bees make using wax produced in their abdomens. Each cell of the honeycomb is a perfectly identical hexagon, the most efficient shape which uses the least amount of wax and yet holds the most honey, to all of the others with which it interlocks. The cells slope downward by a small degree to prevent loss of honey.
Perhaps bees deserve a little more respect and a little less pilfering.
THREE... Bees need honey to survive.
Bees need honey. Without it, they die.
Bees work hard to make honey during the warm months to store for enough nourishment through the winter.
Honey, pollen, and nectar are bees' sole nourishment. They provide all of the micro and macro nutrients the bees need to live out their entire lives.
How can we justify taking away the vital nourishment of living creatures, for which they work tirelessly?
FOUR... Bees are being enslaved for human benefit.
Using slavery in the context of non-human animals can be controversial, but it is in my opinion the most accurate representation of what the human race is inflicting on billions of sentient beings on this planet.
'Slavery... refer(s) to involuntary subjection to another or others'
Why must this definition be interpreted to apply solely to humans?
Bees are not able to leave. Their freedom is restricted. They belong to a human. This is slavery.
There are those who suggest that if the bees wanted to leave they could just fly away, but this is an oversimplification of a complicated issue. Bees cannot survive on their own. They must be a part of a hive. A single worker bee who leaves her group and attempts to join another will likely be killed by the new group.
The population could split in half and attempt to leave (called swarming), but beekeepers do all they can to prevent this from happening by ripping off the wings of the queen so that she cannot leave and then killing her and replacing her with a younger queen before she would reach the age common for this behaviour.
Why don't they all leave together? Also not likely. It would be very difficult for a bee to understand the big picture of what is happening to them. To correctly associate individual events such as the sudden disappearance and replacement of the queen, the missing honey, or half of the hive being removed, with humans would be almost impossible.
Bees demonstrate their unhappiness with individual events by stinging beekeepers. But overall? How are they to know this isn't the natural order of things?
If these points aren't enough, beekeepers often trap the bees in their hive over the winter requiring them to remove large piles of dead bees a couple of times per season.
Let me get this straight, trapped in a cage with the dead and dying with no escape? Forced to work without being allowed to receive the benefits? Sounds like slavery to me.
FIVE... Stolen honey is replaced with a cheap substitute which has almost no nutritional value for the bees.
Yes, it's true. The stolen honey is replaced with a substitute of sugar or corn syrup. But how does it compare to honey in quality of nourishment?
Pretty poorly.
Honey is vitamin and nutrient rich, high in carbohydrates, and contains protein - the perfect food for bees.
Corn syrup? It contains far lower concentrations of the necessary micronutrients bees need to survive and no protein. It is simple sugar and that's it.
Beekeepers are starving their bees of nutrition all winter long so that humans can enjoy honey on toast.
That doesn't sound ethical to me.
SIX... Bees are often roughly handled and many die at the hands of keepers.
Most would cite their belief that bees can't feel pain as the reason why they don't worry about bee welfare. Unfortunately, there's a problem with that reasoning.
Because bees DO feel pain.
They are animals with large nervous systems and very capable of transmitting pain signals. And if that isn't enough to way you, scientific study has indicated that bees do, in fact, feel pain.
So now that we know that bees can be hurt, let's look at how beekeepers hurt them:
- Queens will often have their wings ripped off to prevent them from leaving the hive, as the workers will not make honey without a queen;
- Queen bees are killed after a year although they can live up to five;
- Bees, especially queens, are regularly shipped in the mail during which time they can easily be over heated, frozen, left to desiccate, jostled around violently, or exposed to insecticides;
- Queen bees are artificially inseminated;
- Entire hives are regularly killed off for the winter for economic benefit;
- Bees are often crushed in frames or stepped on;
- Their legs are torn off by pollen-collection trapdoors;
- Warming rooms, where the honeycomb is heated to ease honey removal, often have electric grids in the windows to kill stray bees.
So, bees feel pain. And they are subjected to pain on a regular basis.
But it's 'normal' to keep bees, right?
'In fact, if one person is unkind to an animal it is considered to be cruelty, but where a lot of people are unkind to animals, especially in the name of commerce, the cruelty is condoned and, once large sums of money are at stake, defended to the last by otherwise intelligent people.' - Ruth Harrison, author of Animal Machines
'The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?' - Jeremy Bentha
SEVEN... If the bees continue to die out, HUMANS WILL DIE. There are no ifs ands or buts about it.
Just like empty oceans would be catastrophic to the ecosystems of our planet, the extinction of bees would effectively eliminate 70% of all fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds on earth.
That means that not only would herbivores (vegetarians and vegans) go hungry, but all of the omnivores too as crops such as alfalfa, used widely to feed animals farmed for human consumption, would disappear.
Simply put, you don't want to live in a world without bees. Perhaps we should stop trying to control them and kill them off when it pleases us?
EIGHT... Honey is bee vomit. Literally.
Wait, what?
How do bees actually make honey?
- A bee will find a flower and use its proboscis (kind of like a tongue) to suck nectar from it;
- They store the nectar in their crop as they fly back to their hive, allowing enzymes to mix with the nectar;
- Once they arrive, they regurgitate (vomit) the nectar into the mouth of another bee;
- They will repeat this process several times, vomiting back and forth, until it is ready to be spit up into a honeycomb;
- At this time the bees will speed up the evaporation process by fanning the honeycomb with their wings;
- When most of the water is evaporated, the bee with seal the honeycomb with liquid secreted from their abdomen;
- This substance will eventually harden into beeswax.
So by now I'm sure you, being a reasonable person, have been convinced to stop eating honey. But what can you eat instead?
Alternatives to honey...
Honey is just one of many foods made by way of animal exploitation.
The situation looks bleak, but there is good news.
YOU can make a difference! Share this infographic and spread the word - eating honey is not ethical in any way. Say no to honey and let's save the bees!
Until next time,
SOURCES & FURTHER READING/WATCHING
- Watch this GREAT video by Bite Size Vegan, awesome for kids!
- http://plantbasedbride.com/blog/ten-reasons-to-go-vegan
- http://www.livescience.com/37611-what-is-honey-honeybees.html
- https://ealingbees.wordpress.com/inside-the-hive/why-do-bees-make-honey/
- http://www.vegetus.org/honey/swarming.htm
- http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm
Happy Veganniversary to Me!
Today marks the beginning of my 4th year as a vegan!
1,095 days as a vegan has taught me a lot, and I thought I would take this opportunity to share my 4 top tips for living a purposeful and happy vegan life!
Today marks the beginning of my 4th year as a vegan!
1,095 days as a vegan has taught me a lot, and I thought I would take this opportunity to share my top 4 tips for living a purposeful and happy vegan life!
ONE... Sriracha and nutritional yeast are your friends.
Feel free to use liberally.
Feel no shame.
TWO... Don't let anyone steal your spark.
I mean this in both a specific and more broad be-your-own-majestic-unicorn sense.
Specifically, in relation to veganism, don't let anyone make you feel guilty for your choices. You are doing immeasurable good for the welfare of animals, your health, and the environment. Don't feel you ever have to apologize for that. People will try to tear you down. That's the unfortunate truth. But you're doing your best to leave a positive impact on the world, and if that makes other people feel bad, that's not your problem.
I understand that vegans tend to be sensitive people. Plants know, I am. But don't let the haters give you a heavy heart or make you a stereotype of 'the angry vegan'. Be proud of who you are, of what you're doing. Be passionate. You deserve to be!
THREE... Know your facts.
The more you know about the realities of animal agriculture, plant based nutrition, and ethics the easier your life as a vegan will be.
When someone criticizes or questions your way of life, the easiest way to diffuse the situation is to educate. If you really know your stuff, it becomes much harder to argue against.
Be kind and understanding but don't back down on the facts. Truth is truth, no matter how much people try to deny it. Eventually the facts will add up.
That's exactly why I started this blog, to simultaneously educate omnivores, vegetarians, and fellow vegans! I wanted a place to record the information I have been continuously learning over the past 3+ years where it could benefit more than just myself.
If you really don't know where to start, go to this page and download the vegan 101 booklet I created for just that - quick, easily digestible facts on the main facets of the vegan lifestyle. (It's free! Just scroll down a bit to the green box.) You can even print it out and carry it around with you for reference when you need it or save it to your phone!
Empower yourself and take charge of your interactions with others. As much as we might dislike the responsiblity, we may be the only vegan this person has ever met. You, at some time or another, will represent all vegans. So know your stuff!
FOUR... Have fun with it!
Being vegan isn't all about doom and gloom. Yes, the world is in a frightening state. Yes, there is much to be sad and angry about. Yes, change is coming far too slow.
But if you focus on these things too much, they will take over your life. And not in a good way. (Believe me, I know.)
Activism is important. Every kind of activism has its place. And there's no rule saying you have to stick to one kind of activism for your entire life.
Feeling particularly riled up? Go protest or participate in a demonstration! Yell until you lose your voice!
Feeling more grounded and at peace? Take time to connect with people about these issues one on one. Have deep, meaningful conversations.
Feeling inspired to cook glorious vegan foods? Do it - and share widely!
Veganism is about being compassionate to all sentient beings. And guess what... that includes you. Don't neglect to show yourself compassion. We need as many strong, happy, fulfilled vegans as possible to bring about the changes that are sorely needed.
Don't forget to be one of them.
How long have YOU been vegan, vegetarian, or veg-curious?
I want to know!
Until next time,
March Vegan Cuts Beauty Box Unboxing and Sephora Haul
It's that time again! I received my March VeganCuts Beauty box and thought I'd do another unboxing for you (along with some Sephora goodies I recently picked up)!
It's that time again! I received my March VeganCuts Beauty box and thought I'd do another unboxing for you (along with some Sephora goodies I recently picked up)!
Check out the video below!
Watch it on YouTube HERE!
PRODUCTS MENTIONED…
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara… https://www.toofaced.com/p/mascaras/better-than-sex-mascara/
Too Faced Primed & Powerless Pressed Powder… https://www.toofaced.com/p/face-powders/primed-poreless-pressed-powder/
Cover FX Blotting Powder… http://www.coverfx.com/blotting-powder.html
Too Faced Love Flush Blush in Your Love Is King (not all shades are vegan)… https://www.toofaced.com/p/blushes/love-flush-long-lasting-blush/your-love-is-king/
Kat Von D Lock It Foundation... http://www.katvondbeauty.com/complexion/foundation/lock-it-foundation/1398791.html
Cover FX BB Gel… http://www.coverfx.com/bb-gel.html
Too Faced Born This Way Foundation… https://www.toofaced.com/p/foundations/born-this-way-foundation/ivory-fair-with-neutral-to-golden-undertones/
Kat Von D Lock It Foundation… http://www.katvondbeauty.com/complexion/foundation/lock-it-foundation/20005.html?dwvar_20005_color=2068#start=2
Kat Von D Lock It Concealer… http://www.katvondbeauty.com/complexion/concealer/lock-it-concealer/20007.html
OCC Concealer… http://occmakeup.com/collections/skin/products/occ-skin-conceal
Studded Kiss Lipstick in Lolita… http://www.katvondbeauty.com/lip/lipstick/studded-kiss-lipstick/40003.html?dwvar_40003_color=4040#start=2
Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Mad Max Brown… http://www.katvondbeauty.com/eye/eyeliner/tattoo-liner/10016.html?dwvar_10016_color=1025#start=1
Elf Mad for Matte Palette… http://www.elfcosmetics.com/p/mad-for-matte-eyeshadow-palette
Vegan Cuts Beauty Box… http://caurl.co/r/kr2rv/g2r8
EarthLab Cosmetics Mineral Pencil… http://www.earthlab.ca/products/natural_eye_lip_liners.html
Shea Radiance Black Soap Body Cleanser… http://www.shearadiance.com/black-soap-antioxidant-body-wash-classic/
DermOrganic 8-Way Thermal Spray… http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod12871039
Pacifica Tunisian Jasmine Lime Perfume… http://www.pacificabeauty.com/perfume/you/spray-perfume/tunisian-jasmine-lime-spray-perfume?id=562
October Fields Chamomile and Clover Tea-lite Candle… http://www.octoberfields.com/store/soy-candles-wax-melts/container-candles/soy-tealight-candles-vegan-made-maine-usa/
Everclen Eye Cream… http://www.everclen.com/eye-cream-for-sensitive-skin/
LINKS TO THINGS I TALKED ABOUT...
The Realities of Animal Testing… http://plantbasedbride.com/blog/lets-help-canada-becrueltyfree
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Review… http://plantbasedbride.com/blog/review-too-faced-better-than-sex-mascara
List of Vegan Products from Too Faced… https://www.toofaced.com/faq/
Elf Mad for Matte Palette Review… http://plantbasedbride.com/blog/elf-mad-for-matte-review
February Vegan Cuts Unboxing + Giveaway [CLOSED]… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJpPu89TT64
Vegan Cuts Beauty Box… http://caurl.co/r/kr2rv/g2r8
Vegan Cuts Snack Box… http://caurl.co/r/kr2rv/gd1g
Vegan Cuts Marketplace… http://caurl.co/r/kr2rv/g6lg
Plant Based Bride… http://plantbasedbride.com/blog/
Thank you for watching my video!
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Until next time,
