Breakfast Soy butter + raspberry sandwich, fortified soy milk, kiwis
Snack Trail Mix bar | Nature Valley , mixed raw nuts
Lunch Cold buckwheat soba noodles + sweetcorn, green peas, carrot bits...
Snack Granny Smith apple
Dinner Red rice, vegetarian chicken, bean curd sheets, Chinese mushrooms, wood jelly, choy sum
Thoughts:
Sorry about this delayed post. After lunch, my mum and I went out to SHOP. But not the typical AwesomeFunMaterialistic kind of shopping - no, it was shopping for NEPAL TREK.
Every November, my school has a week-long break from classes for CAS Week; the students (and teachers who choose to participate) get to select one trip, anywhere in the world, to undertake some CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) work. There are options ranging from local Hong Kong to mainland China, to New Zealand, France, and even North Korea (cray right?)! Some are service-based (like teaching mainland kids English or cleaning beaches), some are creativity-based (like Cooking in Hong Kong or, ahem, 'cultural' *cough* 'shopping' trips in Japan... [Tip: don't waste your CAS trip on 'cultural' trips]), and some are action-based (like Dance Around The World, Team BMX or NEPAL TREK!). This year, I chose Nepal Trek, a 12-day trek - legit - round about in the Himalayas. Yes - CAS (the school renamed it "Quest" Week last year... cringe much) Week lasts only one week, so we're leaving almost a week in advance, which is particularly demanding for us year 13s. Anyway, TREKKING. ALTITUDE OF 4,727m. -5˚C to +40˚C. 9 DAYS NO SHOWERS. ... Basically, I needed stuff. Outerwear, namely. And certain bits of gear. So that was shopping. It was actually quite fun. And I got protein and energy bars and gels for cross country season. I need to up my training this year, but don't worry, I'm not going full-on gym rat shakes and bars and gels. LOL me?
Aaand... That run? The hot weather warning was up. I was so disappointed. When we got home from Nepal shopping, it was 8pm. I had dinner, then wasted (spent) time on my laptop *sonotaddicted*, then collapsed in bed. I KEEP PUTTING THIS RUN OFF AND I'M WORRYING ABOUT MONDAY - OUR FIRST TIME TAKING THE [sedan] CHAIR OUT [for a run] THIS YEAR. It is going to be exhausting, I just know it.
Oh gosh. Before I sign off, I just realised I FORGOT TO JANOUT ON YESTERDAY'S POST. AH. ON THE POST BEFORE THAT AS WELL. AH. JANOUT.
Sunday, 31 August 2014
Project Vegan | Day 5: Friday, 29 August 2014
Breakfast Soy butter + raspberry sandwich, fortified unsweetened soy milk, orange
Period 1: English Every Friday is Cake Day in English. It's kinda uplifting because, well, everyone loves cake. Our new teacher initiated this - it's legit, with a Google Doc to sign up for the weeks in which you're responsible for bringing cake. This was actually the very thing she talked about our first lesson with her. And apparently Cake Day will benefit us in the future: if you're a loner in uni, bake a cake; all the kids will come to you and you'll instantaneously propel to be a 'cool kid'. I love this teacher. Anyway, one of my classmates brought in an almond + olive oil chocolate cake. Fancy. I have no idea whether or not it was vegan, but... Come on. It tasted absolutely brilliant :D
Lunch Fresh salad: mesclun mix, grilled pumpkin, sweetcorn, carrot shavings, cucumber, tomato, beetroot, canned peach | Island School Salad Bar
Dinner Veggie Burger | Triple O's - Out with ze frenz~
Dinner was very early so uh Fruit bowl! Kiwi, Granny Smith apple, Trail Mix bar | Nature Valley
Thoughts:
Did I say something yesterday about a long run today? About that...
I'd planned to do it after school, after TimeOut. TimeOut?, you may ask. It's a student union-hosted after school party/hang-out for years 7 and 8 thrown fortnightly (yes - I'm in the group that planned, campaigned, won, and made change to the school :D Not to toot my own horn, but :D ). Back in my day (gosh I love saying that. I feel old and wise.), when I was a puny year 7, TimeOut was 5-8pm. But over the years, due to staff and security staying overtime, keeping TimeOut running this 'late' got pretty expensive. Sooo while I moved up the years, TimeOut got earlier and earlier... Until the allotted time now: 3:30-5:00.
(By the way, it was AWESOME. And I'm not overusing that word here! We changed our Heads of TimeOut and things actually worked out great - 93 kids showed! And paid! And had a blast! Asdfbghngfdsf wooo! We accidentally ordered half the amount of pizza we'd meant to, but that's beside the point :p A few of the guys and I ended up halving each slice behind the scenes, to make sure each kid was fed fairly. It definitely made the evening more... Memorable.)
Anyway, after TimeOut, instead of heading home (as I'd planned), I ended up at dinner with my friends. I didn't realise it was dinner until... uh, I ordered. I mean, it was 5:30! Who on earth has dinner at 5:30? Actually, dinner during my summer med course at UofT was 5:30. *Cough*
So there you go: dinner out, back home at 8 o'clock or so. Then I FINALLY got to catch up on So You Think You Can Dance. THE FINAL! NOT to be confused with the Finale episode, which is the coming week, but it's the final chance for viewers (sadly, only those in the U.S.) to VOTE FOR AMERICA'S FAVORITE DANCER! (Urgh favourite without a 'u' looks so gruesomely weird... Just sayin) Sooo I watched an hour and twenty minutes of that. Then I passed out.
Period 1: English Every Friday is Cake Day in English. It's kinda uplifting because, well, everyone loves cake. Our new teacher initiated this - it's legit, with a Google Doc to sign up for the weeks in which you're responsible for bringing cake. This was actually the very thing she talked about our first lesson with her. And apparently Cake Day will benefit us in the future: if you're a loner in uni, bake a cake; all the kids will come to you and you'll instantaneously propel to be a 'cool kid'. I love this teacher. Anyway, one of my classmates brought in an almond + olive oil chocolate cake. Fancy. I have no idea whether or not it was vegan, but... Come on. It tasted absolutely brilliant :D
Lunch Fresh salad: mesclun mix, grilled pumpkin, sweetcorn, carrot shavings, cucumber, tomato, beetroot, canned peach | Island School Salad Bar
Dinner Veggie Burger | Triple O's - Out with ze frenz~
Dinner was very early so uh Fruit bowl! Kiwi, Granny Smith apple, Trail Mix bar | Nature Valley
Thoughts:
Did I say something yesterday about a long run today? About that...
I'd planned to do it after school, after TimeOut. TimeOut?, you may ask. It's a student union-hosted after school party/hang-out for years 7 and 8 thrown fortnightly (yes - I'm in the group that planned, campaigned, won, and made change to the school :D Not to toot my own horn, but :D ). Back in my day (gosh I love saying that. I feel old and wise.), when I was a puny year 7, TimeOut was 5-8pm. But over the years, due to staff and security staying overtime, keeping TimeOut running this 'late' got pretty expensive. Sooo while I moved up the years, TimeOut got earlier and earlier... Until the allotted time now: 3:30-5:00.
(By the way, it was AWESOME. And I'm not overusing that word here! We changed our Heads of TimeOut and things actually worked out great - 93 kids showed! And paid! And had a blast! Asdfbghngfdsf wooo! We accidentally ordered half the amount of pizza we'd meant to, but that's beside the point :p A few of the guys and I ended up halving each slice behind the scenes, to make sure each kid was fed fairly. It definitely made the evening more... Memorable.)
Anyway, after TimeOut, instead of heading home (as I'd planned), I ended up at dinner with my friends. I didn't realise it was dinner until... uh, I ordered. I mean, it was 5:30! Who on earth has dinner at 5:30? Actually, dinner during my summer med course at UofT was 5:30. *Cough*
So there you go: dinner out, back home at 8 o'clock or so. Then I FINALLY got to catch up on So You Think You Can Dance. THE FINAL! NOT to be confused with the Finale episode, which is the coming week, but it's the final chance for viewers (sadly, only those in the U.S.) to VOTE FOR AMERICA'S FAVORITE DANCER! (Urgh favourite without a 'u' looks so gruesomely weird... Just sayin) Sooo I watched an hour and twenty minutes of that. Then I passed out.
Thursday, 28 August 2014
Project Vegan | Day 4: Thursday, 28 August 2014
The last thing I want is to bore you here. But I really need some sort of reassurance about this YouTube idea I've got. Read my last post if you don't know what I'm on about. I just want to put myself out there and see how the internet likes me. I fear that the response will be negative, if there is at all. Then again, how will I ever know if I never try? Hmmm
maybe I'll give it another day. Or the weekend. I'll do a tag video on Sunday night. Maybe. Anyway.
This morning during registration, I Scooped a few vegan articles on Scoop it! My new English teacher introduced it to us on Monday - it's like the Reading List feature on Safari, and you're able to make countless (is it?) topic folders to store web pages. I also looked into a few vegan athlete blogs last night, because I was getting concerned about the nutrients I was losing from this project. So far, they all seem to be saying the same things: vegan diets are brilliant for athletes because they're clean, more raw, blahdeeblah.
But they also mention how we're losing creatine, a nitrogenous organic acid that helps supply energy (in the form of ATP - sorry, Bio slipping in here) to all living cells in the body. We receive creatine only from meat (as the nutrient is present only in vertebrates), and insufficient amounts of it in our system may limit us during 'short bouts of intense exercise, like sprinting'. Also, the vitamin B12, found only in meat as well, is important for endurance athletes. B12 affects erythrocyte (red blood cell) production, and as we all know, the fewer erythrocytes, the less haemoglobin, the fewer haem groups, the fewer oxygen molecules bonding with the haem groups, the less oxygen in your system. The less oxygen, the less ATP is formed (due to limited aerobic respiration); with less energy, performance is not at its best. Whew. My point is, I will be performing short bouts of intense exercise, like sprinting for sedan tryouts, and cross-country will keep me doing endurance training. I seem to have a problem here... Does this mean I'm not performing to the best of my ability now? ... I'll get back to you on this.
Breakfast FIRST TIME MAKING JUICE WOOO Ok uh it was juice with Granny Smith apple, raspberries and blueberries. And water. 'Twas brilliant. Then I had a handful of raw mixed nuts :D
Long Break Quinoa + diced tomatoes
Lunch I originally had training, but today MY BIFFLE FROM ENGLAND VISITED - the last time she visited, I was at training - I had to give it up to see her! So. Pasta + mixed veggie tomato sauce. It was very carb-y. I think I'll take advantage of this and do a 6k tomorrow morning :D Yeah, make today a carb day, and see how I perform tomorrow! Exciting ~
Snack Fruit bowl! Kiwis, oranges - I know, same as yesterday, but it's only the second day it's been the same. I'll be okay. And fortified unsweetened soy milk.
Dinner Red rice, chili tofu stir-fry, yellow bean glass noodles + carrot, mushroom, wood jelly strips, choy sum
I got hungry... I feel like if I slept earlier, I would be able to eliminate this snack Red Delicious apple, trail mix bar | Nature Valley
Thoughts:
I've thought about it. An alternating diet, I mean. Remember in my Project Vegan post at the beginning of this journey, when I was considering having alternating dietary weeks? (Penultimate paragraph, line 5) September Week 1: Vegan; Week 2: Vegetarian; Week 3: Everything, including meat; Week 4: repeat. Something like that. This will in no way make me a full-on-farm-animal-rescuer, but it will help me regain lost nutrition, which I very much need for training. I'm so torn.
I don't want to be thinking too far ahead, anyway. I don't even know if I'll enjoy meat after a week or two living meatless. It may become a chore, which is the last thing I would ever want to happen. That, and boring y'all on Thoughts by jaaananannn :D See? I pay attention to what I'm writing! Back to the point, I'm don't even train that much; it's not like I do gym or crossfit (yet - maybe - more details in another post), so missing out on dairy, eggs and meat may not really do that much harm. Right?
maybe I'll give it another day. Or the weekend. I'll do a tag video on Sunday night. Maybe. Anyway.
This morning during registration, I Scooped a few vegan articles on Scoop it! My new English teacher introduced it to us on Monday - it's like the Reading List feature on Safari, and you're able to make countless (is it?) topic folders to store web pages. I also looked into a few vegan athlete blogs last night, because I was getting concerned about the nutrients I was losing from this project. So far, they all seem to be saying the same things: vegan diets are brilliant for athletes because they're clean, more raw, blahdeeblah.
But they also mention how we're losing creatine, a nitrogenous organic acid that helps supply energy (in the form of ATP - sorry, Bio slipping in here) to all living cells in the body. We receive creatine only from meat (as the nutrient is present only in vertebrates), and insufficient amounts of it in our system may limit us during 'short bouts of intense exercise, like sprinting'. Also, the vitamin B12, found only in meat as well, is important for endurance athletes. B12 affects erythrocyte (red blood cell) production, and as we all know, the fewer erythrocytes, the less haemoglobin, the fewer haem groups, the fewer oxygen molecules bonding with the haem groups, the less oxygen in your system. The less oxygen, the less ATP is formed (due to limited aerobic respiration); with less energy, performance is not at its best. Whew. My point is, I will be performing short bouts of intense exercise, like sprinting for sedan tryouts, and cross-country will keep me doing endurance training. I seem to have a problem here... Does this mean I'm not performing to the best of my ability now? ... I'll get back to you on this.
Breakfast FIRST TIME MAKING JUICE WOOO Ok uh it was juice with Granny Smith apple, raspberries and blueberries. And water. 'Twas brilliant. Then I had a handful of raw mixed nuts :D
Long Break Quinoa + diced tomatoes
Lunch I originally had training, but today MY BIFFLE FROM ENGLAND VISITED - the last time she visited, I was at training - I had to give it up to see her! So. Pasta + mixed veggie tomato sauce. It was very carb-y. I think I'll take advantage of this and do a 6k tomorrow morning :D Yeah, make today a carb day, and see how I perform tomorrow! Exciting ~
Snack Fruit bowl! Kiwis, oranges - I know, same as yesterday, but it's only the second day it's been the same. I'll be okay. And fortified unsweetened soy milk.
Dinner Red rice, chili tofu stir-fry, yellow bean glass noodles + carrot, mushroom, wood jelly strips, choy sum
I got hungry... I feel like if I slept earlier, I would be able to eliminate this snack Red Delicious apple, trail mix bar | Nature Valley
Thoughts:
I've thought about it. An alternating diet, I mean. Remember in my Project Vegan post at the beginning of this journey, when I was considering having alternating dietary weeks? (Penultimate paragraph, line 5) September Week 1: Vegan; Week 2: Vegetarian; Week 3: Everything, including meat; Week 4: repeat. Something like that. This will in no way make me a full-on-farm-animal-rescuer, but it will help me regain lost nutrition, which I very much need for training. I'm so torn.
I don't want to be thinking too far ahead, anyway. I don't even know if I'll enjoy meat after a week or two living meatless. It may become a chore, which is the last thing I would ever want to happen. That, and boring y'all on Thoughts by jaaananannn :D See? I pay attention to what I'm writing! Back to the point, I'm don't even train that much; it's not like I do gym or crossfit (yet - maybe - more details in another post), so missing out on dairy, eggs and meat may not really do that much harm. Right?
• • • • • •
Information in purple has been taken from this article by Gretchen Reynolds for NYTimes.com. Quotes are from Nancy Clark, a registered dietitian and board certified specialist in sports dietetics.
• • • • • •
Wednesday, 27 August 2014
Project Vegan | Day 3: Wednesday, 27 August 2014
Today, I endured
Basically, anything and everything I do in this period of my life either benefits or harms my opportunities in higher education.
This is not a rant blog because I don't believe many people out there care about feelings. Sooo... Let's get to #ProjectVegan!
Breakfast Toast + applesauce (so cold and refreshing ah), fortified (unsweetened) soy milk
Long Break Soy butter + banana sandwich
Lunch Er... Training :p
Snack Fruit bowl! Kiwis, orange
Dinner Red rice; carrot, celery, button mushroom, Chinese mushroom and wood jelly fry-up - what a mouthful; choy sum
I forgot to record this - I'm adding this snack on Day 4 A few raw mixed nuts + soy chocolate cookie
I'm writing this relatively early in the night (compared to my posts the previous two nights) sooo... Nothing. Let's hope I get 8 hours of Zs tonight :D
Thoughts:
I just realised that those were my thoughts. Um
I've been considering making YouTube videos. Thought I'd invest the energy I use to procrastinate to do something (seemingly) fun. Sports, art and all that are super duper fun, but I'm just so inspired. Caspar Lee ("Casper") and Joe Sugg ("ThatcherJoe") are by far my favourties (as of, well, now...) and their enthusiasm rubs off on you! It's inevitable! Watching YouTubers do their thing was what inspired me to start writing publicly (i.e. this blog!) so I mean, why not? Surely, it wouldn't hurt to upload a video or two of myself doing YouTube tags.
But then it will. It could hurt. It quite predictably will hurt - #hatersgonnahate and even if the intent was not to insult or patronise, comments received in text are likely to be misinterpreted. Am I worrying too much? I do that sometimes.
Another concern I have to do with videoing myself for the world to see if my real friends. Actually, my real friends I'm not so worried about. They'll accept my out-of-the-blue-ness for (trying) to get onto YouTube. It's my acquaintances I'm worried about... Then again, I shouldn't care about what people think. Should I? People are there to validate your existence, like it or not, because without people with whom you can communicate, you've only got yourself to rely on. How, then, do you know that you're actually there, here, living? #TimOBrienReference (Anyone read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien? Remember the chapter How to Tell a True War Story? If no one has heard your story, you've no one to back you up on your experiences; if no one knows, in a way, it never happened. I feel like I really need to stare into your souls to make sure y'all understand what I'm trying to get across. Go read The Things They Carried! It's not the most... Exciting... (I had to read it as Lit in English) but man is it deep. I promise you, it's not as mind-twistingly deep as LUCY (seen the movie, anyone?).
Omg I apologise for that accidental spin into TOK (for those unfamiliar with the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, look it up: TOK.) Let's not end talking about school. I have to shift Lunch to Long Break again tomorrow... Training calls :p After training, there's PE. Believe it or not, I'm soso pumped! I'm not the most well-rounded athlete, but I love moving. I'm excited to continue with #ProjectVegan tomorrow! I'm 3/7 of the way now! Jan out.
P.S. Idk why I started that hashtag #ProjectVegan... It's not like it's searchable on Blogger anyway... Um. I live in the age of social media references. There we go. #JanOut. ««« That is so awesome!
- Bio test. Affects predicted grade. Affects uni application.
- French IA. Affects predicted grade. Affects uni application.
- Maths re-sit Mock exam. Affects predicted grade. Affects uni application.
Basically, anything and everything I do in this period of my life either benefits or harms my opportunities in higher education.
This is not a rant blog because I don't believe many people out there care about feelings. Sooo... Let's get to #ProjectVegan!
Breakfast Toast + applesauce (so cold and refreshing ah), fortified (unsweetened) soy milk
Long Break Soy butter + banana sandwich
Lunch Er... Training :p
Snack Fruit bowl! Kiwis, orange
Dinner Red rice; carrot, celery, button mushroom, Chinese mushroom and wood jelly fry-up - what a mouthful; choy sum
I forgot to record this - I'm adding this snack on Day 4 A few raw mixed nuts + soy chocolate cookie
I'm writing this relatively early in the night (compared to my posts the previous two nights) sooo... Nothing. Let's hope I get 8 hours of Zs tonight :D
Thoughts:
I just realised that those were my thoughts. Um
I've been considering making YouTube videos. Thought I'd invest the energy I use to procrastinate to do something (seemingly) fun. Sports, art and all that are super duper fun, but I'm just so inspired. Caspar Lee ("Casper") and Joe Sugg ("ThatcherJoe") are by far my favourties (as of, well, now...) and their enthusiasm rubs off on you! It's inevitable! Watching YouTubers do their thing was what inspired me to start writing publicly (i.e. this blog!) so I mean, why not? Surely, it wouldn't hurt to upload a video or two of myself doing YouTube tags.
But then it will. It could hurt. It quite predictably will hurt - #hatersgonnahate and even if the intent was not to insult or patronise, comments received in text are likely to be misinterpreted. Am I worrying too much? I do that sometimes.
Another concern I have to do with videoing myself for the world to see if my real friends. Actually, my real friends I'm not so worried about. They'll accept my out-of-the-blue-ness for (trying) to get onto YouTube. It's my acquaintances I'm worried about... Then again, I shouldn't care about what people think. Should I? People are there to validate your existence, like it or not, because without people with whom you can communicate, you've only got yourself to rely on. How, then, do you know that you're actually there, here, living? #TimOBrienReference (Anyone read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien? Remember the chapter How to Tell a True War Story? If no one has heard your story, you've no one to back you up on your experiences; if no one knows, in a way, it never happened. I feel like I really need to stare into your souls to make sure y'all understand what I'm trying to get across. Go read The Things They Carried! It's not the most... Exciting... (I had to read it as Lit in English) but man is it deep. I promise you, it's not as mind-twistingly deep as LUCY (seen the movie, anyone?).
Omg I apologise for that accidental spin into TOK (for those unfamiliar with the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, look it up: TOK.) Let's not end talking about school. I have to shift Lunch to Long Break again tomorrow... Training calls :p After training, there's PE. Believe it or not, I'm soso pumped! I'm not the most well-rounded athlete, but I love moving. I'm excited to continue with #ProjectVegan tomorrow! I'm 3/7 of the way now! Jan out.
P.S. Idk why I started that hashtag #ProjectVegan... It's not like it's searchable on Blogger anyway... Um. I live in the age of social media references. There we go. #JanOut. ««« That is so awesome!
Project Vegan | Day 2: Tuesday, 26 August 2014
I was keen on writing today's post in chunks, bit by bit, while the day was unfolding. Buuuttt,
.
.
Well, I did start a document. The two sentences were along the lines of this post's opening sentence. Just up there ^^^^
.
Let's begin. May I kindly remind you again that this is not recorded obsessively; I remember quite naturally. I wish I could say the same with Maths...
Breakfast Oatmeal, fortified soy milk, raspberries, blueberries, mixed raw nuts
Lunch Soy butter + banana sandwich
Snack Red Delicious apple, soy chocolate cookie
Dinner Red rice, wood jelly fungus + Chinese zucchini, tofu, pak choy
er another late night... Fresh canteloupe, Trail mix bar | Nature Valley
Thoughts:
I've got to make this quick - I've got to sleep! It was no less fun than yesterday - even though there's not much exciting vegan food to look forward to (because no one knows / no one has realised yet that I'm doing this), I still somehow get really excited to hold back on the animals. I hope at least one other person reading this gets it :D
Anyhoo, I'm pumped for tomorrow! I'm a little anxious about what I'll have to pack / pick for Long Break tomorrow because I'll be downing a mini lunch then - there's a test-run for sedan happening at lunchtime, and I can't be full (can't run), I can't be hungry (can't run), and I can't feel weak (is this just a mental thing? I know my way round the whole sports-psychology-morphing-my-mind-into-a-chill-perfect-attitude before races, yet... Ok. It's all in the mind. I'm driving myself up the wall here. Jan out.
.
.
Well, I did start a document. The two sentences were along the lines of this post's opening sentence. Just up there ^^^^
.
Let's begin. May I kindly remind you again that this is not recorded obsessively; I remember quite naturally. I wish I could say the same with Maths...
Breakfast Oatmeal, fortified soy milk, raspberries, blueberries, mixed raw nuts
Lunch Soy butter + banana sandwich
Snack Red Delicious apple, soy chocolate cookie
Dinner Red rice, wood jelly fungus + Chinese zucchini, tofu, pak choy
er another late night... Fresh canteloupe, Trail mix bar | Nature Valley
Thoughts:
I've got to make this quick - I've got to sleep! It was no less fun than yesterday - even though there's not much exciting vegan food to look forward to (because no one knows / no one has realised yet that I'm doing this), I still somehow get really excited to hold back on the animals. I hope at least one other person reading this gets it :D
Anyhoo, I'm pumped for tomorrow! I'm a little anxious about what I'll have to pack / pick for Long Break tomorrow because I'll be downing a mini lunch then - there's a test-run for sedan happening at lunchtime, and I can't be full (can't run), I can't be hungry (can't run), and I can't feel weak (is this just a mental thing? I know my way round the whole sports-psychology-morphing-my-mind-into-a-chill-perfect-attitude before races, yet... Ok. It's all in the mind. I'm driving myself up the wall here. Jan out.
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Project Vegan | Day 1: Monday, 25 August 2014
Here's what I ate today. It's not obsessive, I'm only proud. And I feel so good! I feel so happy that I haven't (indirectly) harmed any animals today!
(By the way... There was a slight 'failure'... I'll explain when it comes up in the menu...)
Training before school, so...
Breakfast 5-Grain toast, unsweetened soy milk | EMXC (Early-morning Cross-country, for all ya new readers)
Long Break MUM. I'M ACTUALLY SO GRATEFUL. I FEEL SO LOVED. IT'S SO CUTE. For those of you who think I've gone cray... I mentioned to my mum last week my friend whose mum has been packing 'snack boxes' for her since year 7. It's so darn cute. She used to have a box of fruit, and a separate box of fruit + biscuits. After she got into a sh*tload of trouble with her mum, she was deprived of the box with fruit + biscuits. Aw shucks! Heh. Anyway. It's still cute that she gets the fruit box. Sooo, my mum made me this deli ham grain biscuit sandwich thingimajig! Plus blueberries :) Jeez it was adorable. Alright, I'm done fangirling over my mum's snack box. Anyway, I couldn't reject her effort. I had to eat the ham. I didn't feel too cruel though... Um.
Lunch Roasted veg + chickpea tagine, rice | Island School Deli
Snack Iced Coffee | Starbucks
Dinner Red rice, stir-fried gourd + onions (uh... kinda picked it out from a pork stir fry and pork chop dish, respectively), choy sum. Ok I feel kinda guilty for not eating up Lina's effort. I didn't even touch the fish... But I feel so happy as well. Because the animal-cruelty-free thing. Dilemmas!
Idk what to call this meal Fruit bowl! Kiwis, Granny Smith apple :) :) :) This is legit my fave 'dish'.
Thoughts:
I'm proud of myself. I really had no temptation to eat meat, eggs, cheese, milk... stuff. Dairy. Right. The ham thing was out of love... For my mum! :) :| :( Ah these problems tho
I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Jan out.
Project Vegan
After much influence from Kalel Cullen (WatchUsLiveAndStuff), my attitude towards animal and animal products consumption has shifted. I used to believe that humans are naturally omnivores, i.e. meat and veg eaters. I was also very aware of the biological requirements of meat in a human diet. After (accidentally, I swear) watching countless vegan preaches on the vlogging channel, as well as reading one of her super long blog posts (was it on her blog? I forgot.), my view upon humans ‘naturally’ needing meat (because Neanderthals ate meat - seriously, I used that reason shamelessly up till a week or two ago) changed.
One of my favourites of Kalel’s reasons for going vegan was that animal and animal products consumption was necessary back in the day, before we had the knowledge to eat legumes, before we had the technology to develop soy and nut-based products, and before we’d the creativity to come up with protein-rich recipes, all of which are meat, dairy and egg-free! And times have changed. Should we reallybe eating like cavemen? Because we sure don’t live like them anymore. Do we? Did cavemen have nutritious almond milk, tofu or chickpea salads? Of course. Not. I found this a successful point. I’ll have to read Kalel’s post again tomorrow to elaborate my thoughts upon this reason; I don’t feel like my explanation did it justice. Anyway.
I run. I like to cross-train. I want to be strong. I kinda am. Surely, eliminating meat, dairy and eggs from my diet would hugely impact my performance, would it not? I have to be honest: I am a little weary about becoming ‘weaker’ - after all, vegetarians are stereotyped to be pale, weak, lank... (the list goes on), let alone vegans. Not even the hearty egg, you may wonder. I love eggs. I love the double sunny egg + cheese breakfast sandwich I so professionally craft for myself. Milk, also, is goddamn good for strength. Cross-country season’s coming up. Sedan tryouts are, well, next week. Nepal training is just round the corner, including the countless Rainbow Trek hikes on which I’ll have to go. In short, I am worried about this vegan thing I’m actually starting to consider. I want to stay strong. I mean, obviously, vegans don’t get as much protein as meat-eaters.
So I’ve decided to give this vegan thing a go. A little go. A week-long go, to be precise. I call it: Project Vegan.
I’ve scribbled down a rough menu for the week, giving myself ideas on how on earth I’ll substitute my usual meats, milk, yoghurt, cheeses, eggs (ahh what if I weaken? I will! But it’s only for a week - then I’ll see what happens!). Basically, yeah, I’ve just written it in the brackets. It’s only for a week; afterwards, I’ll see what I can do. I also realise how clean going vegan will be. I might alternate between vegan, vegetarian, and meat-eater every week - who knows? Whooo knowwws? It’ll be fun. I’m actually quite excited to switch it up a bit, test my discipline in another way.
Anyhoo, I will sign off now. I realised I forgot to include this earlier (and I don’t wish to go back and re-type... so) - a large reason contributing to my change of view upon vegan-ism (?) is Kalel’s passion for the subject. She’s an animal-lover. Hell, she’s more than that. I just don’t know a word for it. It’s her enthusiasm and sincerity that drew my attention. Aaand, the farm cruelty thing? I feel like I’ll go on forever if I launch into animal cruelty. I’m really not an animal person (I’m a biologist - I knowww humans are animals. I think. But what else do I differentiate between non-human animals and humans? After all, I am composing this as a human...), but I do cringe when I have to eat big steaks and burgers, all those times I have given in due to parental nagging. This was even before I started watching the vlogs. Regardless, I simply wanted to include a bit of my animal-cruelty-consciousness. Industrial milking and egg farms are no less gruesome than slaughterhouses. The end.
To end on a positive note, I am truly pumped to kick-start PROJECT VEGAN! Thank you Kalel!
Welcome
This is a new blog.
Okay. Obvious.
Welcome! I'm a little scared about writing so publicly. All my forms of social media have been privacy-handled... This is a first. I'm trying to be heard, for once, by the public, whomever happens to stumble across this blog.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Jan. It's quite short. And boring. It's never accepted as usernames, nor is it particularly recognisable. Sooo the obvious solution was to re-name myself online... Now I'm Jaaananannn. Look carefully - it's not a random assortment on 'a's and 'n's. Got it?
Although it's my first time blogging, it's not my first time on Blogger. I've a private blog, titled Thoughts, on which I write diary-esque posts and rant. A lot. But I started writing un-rant-y things, and I wanted to share it with the world. That's pretty much why I created this new blog: for y'all to see my un-rant-y thoughts.
Thoughts also consists of many, many, many, many, many Polyvore sets. I kinda... Really like fashion. And drawing. Painting. All mediums. I've practised with plenty. If it weren't for my guilt that's lead me to aim for a future in Science, I would most. definitely. be. doing. Fine Arts. Fashion. Performance Arts. Living the Life. When I say guilt, I mean that somewhere along my education, I've been guided to believe that my career ought to give back to humanity, push the frontier of research, and optimise life on Earth. That's why I'm in a Science mindset right now. Don't get me wrong - my passion for Biology is on a par with my passion for All Things Art. Just... Career-wise, I can truly see myself doing Some Sort Of Art. Science... I'm... I will try.
To end this lil Welcome message, I invite you to check out my Instagram, Pinterest, and Polyvore profiles. They're fun! Should you wish to see me stalking TV shows (namely, my favourites: SYTYCD and DWTS), their respective cast members, and other respectable well-known people (*cough* Zendaya *cough*), check out me Twitter. Finally, my life is on Facebook. It's really the biggest thing in Hong Kong... Or at least amongst the ESF (English Schools Foundation, from the UK) community. All this social media... Stuff... Is in the sidebar.
Alright byeee! Thank you for starting this journey with me. Jan out.
Okay. Obvious.
Welcome! I'm a little scared about writing so publicly. All my forms of social media have been privacy-handled... This is a first. I'm trying to be heard, for once, by the public, whomever happens to stumble across this blog.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Jan. It's quite short. And boring. It's never accepted as usernames, nor is it particularly recognisable. Sooo the obvious solution was to re-name myself online... Now I'm Jaaananannn. Look carefully - it's not a random assortment on 'a's and 'n's. Got it?
Although it's my first time blogging, it's not my first time on Blogger. I've a private blog, titled Thoughts, on which I write diary-esque posts and rant. A lot. But I started writing un-rant-y things, and I wanted to share it with the world. That's pretty much why I created this new blog: for y'all to see my un-rant-y thoughts.
Thoughts also consists of many, many, many, many, many Polyvore sets. I kinda... Really like fashion. And drawing. Painting. All mediums. I've practised with plenty. If it weren't for my guilt that's lead me to aim for a future in Science, I would most. definitely. be. doing. Fine Arts. Fashion. Performance Arts. Living the Life. When I say guilt, I mean that somewhere along my education, I've been guided to believe that my career ought to give back to humanity, push the frontier of research, and optimise life on Earth. That's why I'm in a Science mindset right now. Don't get me wrong - my passion for Biology is on a par with my passion for All Things Art. Just... Career-wise, I can truly see myself doing Some Sort Of Art. Science... I'm... I will try.
To end this lil Welcome message, I invite you to check out my Instagram, Pinterest, and Polyvore profiles. They're fun! Should you wish to see me stalking TV shows (namely, my favourites: SYTYCD and DWTS), their respective cast members, and other respectable well-known people (*cough* Zendaya *cough*), check out me Twitter. Finally, my life is on Facebook. It's really the biggest thing in Hong Kong... Or at least amongst the ESF (English Schools Foundation, from the UK) community. All this social media... Stuff... Is in the sidebar.
Alright byeee! Thank you for starting this journey with me. Jan out.
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