Today's Quote

“I don't understand why asking people to eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet is considered drastic, while it is medically conservative to cut people open and put them on cholesterol lowering drugs for the rest of their lives.”
― Dean Ornish

4 years Vegan!!

Nikki Pig and yours truly

I was sitting down the other day, thinking about the upcoming Veggie Pride Parade (June 1st in Grant Park!!!). About how much fun I will have meeting new people, spending time with friends and family, and celebrating my veganism. Of course that lead me to reminisce about when I first became vegan at the Farm Sanctuary....wait for it...4 years ago June 1st!!

Holy CRAP!!!! I have been a vegan for 4 years (vegetarian for 6 years in August). I can not believe it. I remember when I first decided that I would take the jump to become a vegan. I had thought about it for a long time (just like before I became vegetarian) and when I was accepted in the Farm Sanctuary internship program I knew that this would be the time for me to make the change. Who knew that 4 years later I would be so involved in the vegan community. Who knew that I would be a vegan mentor to so many people? Who knew that my eating/lifestyle habits would become a catalyst for people to examine their own relationship to animals used for food?  Who knew that I could give up nachos at the movies?

I am so happy and proud of that decision that I made years ago. Life is a little but clearer when you begin to live your life aligned with your beliefs and my moral objection to using animals for food, clothes, etc. always has and always will be my reason for my veganism.

I am so excited about the next 4, 10, 20 and more years of my vegan journey. I have a son who I look forward to educating about this important aspect of my life. I plan to instill in him compassion for himself, other people, animals and the planet.

 I look forward to growing my vegan army. Living my life in a manner that influences people to adopt this lifestyle as a means to better their health, protect our environment, and save lives.

I look forward to aligning myself with the Farm Sanctuary. This organization has made a such HUGE impact on me Gene Baur (co-founder and President) has no idea. The Farm is my happy place. When I am having a bad day I just think of the beautiful landscape with 100s of animals and it makes me smile. I look forward to taking my son there and having him get chased by roosters. I do not know how this will happen, but I am into speaking things into existence.

I also look forward to writing an article(s) for VegNews Magazine. Same as above I do not know how but I speak it with the faith that the opportunity will arise.

Most importantly, I look forward to continuing to save the life of hundreds of farm animals every year by choosing to eat with compassion.

Thank you for continuing to follow me on my journey. I hope that you are enjoying the ride as much as I am.

-LeoLin

2013 Chicago Veggie Pride Parade is almost Here!!!

My two favorite men!

 

Its that time of year again for the second annual Chicago Veggie Pride Parade. This years parade will be held on June 1, 2013 in Grant Park in the wonderful city of Chicago!!!

I am so excited about this year, because the planning committee has really worked on reaching out to the whole community and educating people on the various benefits of a veggie lifestyle.

If you are in the Chicago area we would love for you to join us for this event. For more information visit: Chicago.veggiepride.com

My three favorite Words: Vegan Candy Bars

 

Recently I became a member of the VegNews Magazine Street Team for 2013. Besides the benefits of helping to spread the vegan message and increasing the brand awareness of VegNews, another benefit is being able to win some really cool swag.

Last week (which will now be referred to as the best day of my life!!--after the birth of my son of course) I won a contest in which the prize was one of each of the very tasty  Go Max vegan candy bars!!!  For those of you who don't know, Go Max makes vegan version of very popular candy bars.
They come in Jokerz (Snickers), Buccaneer (3 Musketeers), Twilight (Milky Way), Cleos (Reece's Peanut Butter Cups), Mahalo (Almond Joy), Snap (Nestle's Crunch), Thumbs Up (Butterfingers) and they taste as good as the non-vegan candy bars.

If you have not tried them you can buy then at your local veg* friendly store or at the Go Max website.

Your sweet tooth will thank you.

Disclaimer-I was not paid to give this review, but will gladly accept payment in the form of Jokerz and Thumbs Up candy bars.

Vegan Potlucks

Recently I have starting attending vegan potlucks and I am wondering why I have not been attending these wonders of nature sooner! If you do not know what a potluck is it's simple...you get a group of people together, everyone brings a vegan dish (and even the recipe to share), and you eat, drink, and be merry.

This is a great way to try new dishes and spend time with your vegan buddies (and/or even meet new people). Every time I have attended one, I always leave over stuffed and high off of good conversation. The bonus...its probably cheaper than going out and since you only have to make one dish it's takes less time than cooking at home.

Meetup is a great place to get connected to vegan potlucks in your neighborhood, but you could just get your friends together one night, share some recipes, and exchange lots of laughs!

Happy Eating :-)

Things I wish weren't Vegan: Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Almonds

There comes a time in every vegan's life when one is faced with an item so YUMMY, so decadent, so tempting that you pray that it is not vegan. You read the label hoping to see milk or eggs listed as an ingredient so you wont have to rely on your will power to keep you from devouring the food before you make it to the checkout line. You read and re-read the ingredient list and when you realize that yes this item is VEGAN you began to do the "I found a new awesome vegan goodie" dance in the store!!

Well my friends, Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Almonds with Sea Salt and Turbinado Sugar is the food for me. I was in Trader Joe's one day looking for some vegan chocolaty goodness when I came across these babies. Sweet, salty, and crunchy they are the perfect treat when I am looking to satisfy my sweet tooth.

The downside: I can not just eat one. Sure I have good intentions. I open up the package saying to myself, "Leolin I know that last time we ate this entire container before we reached home so you would not have to share it, but this time it will be different. This time I will eat 4 and then I am done for the day. Well make it 5 because it has to be a solid number. Ok just 7...ok 3 more won't hurt". By the time I finish having this internal dialogue with myself, I look down and realize that I have AGAIN eaten the entire container.

Why Trader Joe's WHY must you do this to me!?!? The only thing that has kept me safe from this sugary goodness is the fact that there were no Trader Joe's close to me. Having to travel atleast 30 minutes to the closest one, saved me from many chocolate tummy aches, but as they break ground on a new Trader Joe's in my neighborhood I realize that I am no longer safe.

Vegan family pray for me...

Regrets

“Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

"Shouldda,couldda, wouldda. I wish I did, I wish didn't, I wish I did more of. If I knew, I can't believe I did"...Yada Yada Yada...all words of regrets.

I have had a lot of time this past year to reflect on the choices that I have made in my life. I am fully aware and fully believe that my current state of affairs are a result of all the choices that I have made. Sure some things have "happened" to me, some things that I could not control, but at the end of of the day I am where I am because of what I have done.

Now because I believe that, it would be easy for my to slip into a darkened state of regret. Crying over all the mistakes that I have made and all the opportunities that I have missed. Even hating myself for not being in a position that I always felt that I would be by this age. Looking in envy at my friends from high school thinking, "that could have been me".

In reality though, because I believe that I have control over my life, it gives me a sense of power to change my future, to change the path that I am on and to move in a different direction. Mistakes have been made and will continue to be made, and all that you can do is learn from them. Learn from the bad decisions and the less than desired outcomes. Don't judge yourself and do not  beat yourself up, because there are enough people out there who are willing to do that to do that for you. Use your regret not as a crutch, but as a tool to evaluate your next course of action.

If you regret a not having a close relationship with a friend or family member call them and start one...
If you regret all the credit card you have, make a plan/budget and stick to it...
If you regret the weight you have gained..get that ice cream out the house and become a vegan ( ;-))

It might not be easy...hell it might even be a little painful...but you know what is the most painful thing....being old on your death bed saying, "I wish I could have".

My son is currently 3 and kids his age do not have regrets. They are not sitting up at night thinking, "I wish that I did not say no to my mommy " or " I wish that I did not throw a tantrum when I was out with daddy", they just learn from their mistakes and move on. And look how happy they are!

Whatever it is make a change... decide today that you will no longer regret that past. Make a decision to do something different...Make a decision to step outside who you "were" and move into who you "are".....Make a choice...apologize to yourself and others, for any pain you have caused, and begin to move into the direction that you would like to go.....5 years from now think about how awesome your life could be if you made a decision to no longer live in regret!

“No such thing as time travel, he'd rumbled patiently, once. Only live with what you've done, and try in the future to do what you're happy to live with.”
― Richard K. Morgan