The problem with eggs

Since going vegan about a year ago, I've had a lot of different comments from my peers. I've obviously heard the generic "bUT HOW CAN YOU LIVE WITHOUT CHEESE??!!11" but I've also heard from some of my vegetarian friends "I understand giving up meat and dairy, but why eggs?" so the time has come for me to explain what exactly the problem with eggs is.

*queue the militant veganism*

A common misunderstanding regarding the egg industry is that it doesn't result in death like, obviously, the meat industry does. However, contrary to popular belief, the egg industry is intertwined with the meat industry - it still results in the mass death of animals. Only female chickens can produce eggs rendering male chickens as useless and they are either grinded up, or, even more sadistically, put into plastic bags and left to suffocate to death. They aren't even used for meat after this point because chicks don't have much muscle and it wouldn't be profitable to raise them as 'broilers' or 'fryers' so their lives are deemed useless right from the off and for this, they're killed. This is just the beginning.

Conditions in egg factory farms are abysmal. Chickens are kept in cages made of wire mesh which are layered on top of each other, which means faeces fall from the upper tiers to the chickens down below. This results in ill health for chickens. Secondly, chickens have to endure extremely uncomfortable conditions as the cages are usually very overcrowded - a cage which is roughly 16-18 inches has to hold up to 6 chickens which all have an average wingspan of 32 inches, go figure. This stresses them out to the point that the average super layer hen has an average laying span which is over 15 years shorter than hens that produce eggs naturally. When egg production slows down with hens in egg factorys, they're then slaughtered for meat. These hens are bred into a life of exhaustion, stress, and ill health and then murdered when they have nothing left to offer because their bodies have been exploited for human consumption. 

Some may argue that buying organic or free range eggs avoids these cruel methods of production, and this myth has been widespread because the industry capitalises on the guilt of the ordinary person. However, 'free range' is merely a marketing term. In order for a brand to be able to use the label 'free range' they need to allow their chickens to have access to outdoor areas but there is no specification of how long the chickens must spend outside or how much space the chickens should be given outside. Free range egg farms may be marginally better than factory farming, in the same way that a sh*t with a sprinkle on it is better than your bog standard sh*t, but at the end of the day it's still a sh*t. Hens in free range egg farms are often confined to mud-filled pens or crowded sheds, so there are still the issues of overcrowding and illness. The issue is still present, it's just been relocated so they can stamp 'free range' on their eggs and Middle Class Mary can feel good about herself. 

Eating vegan at Nandos

Okay, I know I said I wasn't going to do anymore series on my blog, this is not a series, this is not something I'll do often like I'm a student I don't eat out that much, but I know some people are interested in what vegans can actually eat besides 'rabbit food' (heck, don't get me started) so I thought if I ate out I would do a post on what I can eat, even if you're not vegan like if you want to go for the less fatty option or whatevs.

We went out for one of my housemates' birthday, she's not from the UK and her town doesn't have a Nandos so it was nice to share her first cheeky Nandos experience. So Nandos, a chicken restaurant, they don't specifically cater to vegans, it takes a bit of substitution. On this particular visit, I had to say 'no dairy' about 5 times to the server and explain what dairy was, no I'm not joking (wish I was, that was irritating), the guy serving me then asked if chilli sauce had dairy in it and I was just like bruh wyd but the message did get through and I got a veggie wrap sans yoghurt with peri peri chips which was delish. As far as I know, all of the Peri Peri sauces are vegans so you still get the peri peri sauce on the veggie wraps - I got a hot one because if you're going to Nandos, you've got to do it right, and I got Savanna Cider and water to go with it (vegan cider can be sometimes be hard to find in restaurants, so I like that Nandos do a vegan one).

Side note: all of the veggie meals in Nandos can be made vegan as long as you ask them to remove mayo/yoghurt/cheese - the key to eating vegan when you're in a restaurant is substitution.

What's your peri peri sauce of choice when you go to Nandos?

Vegan banana pancakes recipe

I don't think I've ever posted a recipe on my blog before, don't get me wrong, I looove to bake, but I've never really thought I was baking anything that was interesting enough to make a post on. However, I would like to post more vegan recipes because I know a lot of people think that being vegan makes life ridiculously hard and expensive which is quite far from the truth. Furthermore, I know a lot of people have gone vegan for Veganuary so I felt it was appropriate to post this now. I adapted this recipe from this one.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE 6 PANCAKES:

• One banana 
• 1/2 cup of plain flour
• 1/2 cup of porridge oats
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 cup of soy milk (or any dairy-free alternative of your choice, I for one am a big lover of oat drink and almond milk but soy milk tends to be cheaper)

HOW TO DO THE THING:

• Mash up the banana in a bowl until it's a lot more liquidy (the banana is basically replacing the egg so you need it to be a slightly thicker liquid than an egg)
• In a separate bowl, sieve in your flour (you don't have to do this but it means they'll be a lot lighter and fluffy), baking powder, and add your porridge oats
• Pour a cup of soy milk (or dairy-free milk alternative of your choice) into the bowl with the dry ingredients
• Stir until the dry ingredients and the milk are completely combined
• Add the mashed banana and mix until combined
• Heat a pan on a high heat and grease it or use a non-stick spray
• Put about 2 tablespoons of the batter onto the pan at a time for one pancake (this can change depending on how big or small you want your pancakes to be)
• Wait until the batter starts to bubble and slightly pull away at the sides (so you can see it solidifying at the sides basically)
• Flip the pancake and let the other side cook for about 1 minute
• Repeat this process until all the batter is finished, then have the pancakes with any topping of your choice - I sometimes have these with maple syrup but personally, I don't think they need anything else because of the banana taste

Let me know if you decide to try this recipe out, I find little need to be a militant vegan when you can lure people into veganism with tasty treats..

A review of 2015

2015 has, by far, been one of the biggest years of my life so far. I feel like a lot of things changed for me, and after reading and taking inspiration from Maddie's post, I thought I would do an extremely similar thing and do a lil summary of the past year.

COMPLETED GRADE 8 PIANO - I started playing piano when I was 4 years old and I did my Grade 1 in about 2005, and doing Grade 8 was one of my goals for quite a long time so to do it was one of the most surreal things because I no longer had anything to work for. It also felt like quite an accomplishment for myself and my teacher who took me from grade 3 onwards because she had said since about Grade 5 that she couldn't teach me any further but we kept tackling the next grade up, and I became her first student to ever do Grade 8 which is pretty rad.

GOT OUT OF A TOXIC FRIENDSHIP (frigging finally, lemme tell you) - This is something I had been trying to do for years and years, essentially the entirety of my high school life. Without going into too much detail, I was 'friends' with a very manipulative girl and I had had issues with this friendship for a long time but was always manipulated into maintaining the friendship, and then other people had a similar situation but we didn't manage to sort it out until this year, and it was possibly the most drama our sixth form has ever seen, but I'm glad that me and my friends got out of it and we became closer than ever as a result of it.

FINISHED MY A LEVELS - A Levels were probably the most stressful exams of my life, it was such a relief to have them over and done with. I do miss my sixth form though, we were so close and then all of a sudden we went our separate ways, but that's life I s'pose.

PLANNED AND PARTOOK IN A HOLIDAY - I used to find travelling quite anxiety-inducing if it hadn't been planned for me or I didn't know the area or if I thought I might be late, but when me and my friends decided we wanted to do something to celebrate the end of sixth form, and after we failed to plan a trip to Alton Towers, I suggested renting out a cottage/holiday home for a week, and it seemed to be a perfect idea. After losing a couple of houses, we managed to find one that could cater such a big group and one that was close to the beach, as well as being in our budget. It felt like such a massive accomplishment because we planned it all ourselves with a limited budget and so it fit in with all of our schedules (believe me, it was frigging hard as we only really had one week where everyone was free and our group was massive). It was such an awesome holiday and I have really fond memories of those 5 days in Lytham (probably not the biggest tourist area, but the weather was amazing and we had the beach to ourselves for most of the days).

BECAME A TREE HUGGING HIPPY (a.k.a I became vegan) - I went vegan for a month in the summer just to give it a go and I absolutely loved it, I felt so much healthier and energised and happier, and it was pretty awesome. Then I went back to being a meat-eater (for the Lytham holiday really) for a few weeks and was really unhappy, so eventually I went vegan again and I've been vegan since about mid-August, and it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made. I've tried hard not to be a preachy, militant vegan, but it feels good to have my ethics aligned with my nutritional lifestyle. Plus, being a vegan gave me a fun fact to say at those goddamn awful University icebreakers.

GOT INTO UNIVERSITY - This is a pretty big'un for me as well. The first University I looked at in Year 12 was Brighton and I immediately knew it would be a great area for me, outside of London so I'd get some independence and grow up a bit, but also close enough to home that I could visit pretty easily. It was my first choice when I sent off my UCAS form in Year 13 and I got a conditional offer. Although, me being pessimistic as always, after my exam results I was convinced I wouldn't get in and I had already looked at a bunch of Universities and different courses to apply to on Results Day. Then, interestingly enough, I actually got into Brighton onto the course I wanted (Psychology, if you're interested) and it's been one of the best things to happen to me this year. I adore my house mates, I love the big activist presence in Brighton, I love the town centre, and I love how popular veganism is there too!

STARTED FRESH ON YOUTUBE - This is the most recent one, yup my YouTube channel is no longer. All of my videos are unlisted (I left them unlisted as I didn't want to leave the vlogs I made and I didn't want to abandon a channel I worked hard on) but this isn't the end of YouTube for me, but rather a new beginning (ew, cringe). I've made a new channel, and I'm planning to upload the sorts of videos I really want to make. So there will still be beauty videos, but I want to do music and talk about the sorts of things that I'm really interested in. I know I'm going to have to start again subscriber wise because rebranding and all that jazz, but I'm really excited.

How was 2015 for you guys?

The beginnings of Christmas and activism

one.
We ordered an ironic Margaret Thatcher cardboard cutout for our Uni house Christmas tree and decorated her with tinsel and a hat that says 'Bah Humbug' on it - it's quite terrifying when you walk in the room and you just see Margaret grinning but it does add something to the room.

two.
I went out with a couple of my housemates to buy some Christmassy things for the house and we stopped by Brighton Pavilion for a little meal, and it was really cute - definitely started feeling a lot more like Christmas.

three.
I ended up watching Home Alone twice on two consecutive days because we watched it together and all fell asleep, so then we tried again the next day (and still fell asleep) - funnily enough, we didn't try a third time...

four.
I had my first tofu experience at a Japanese restaurant and it was really nice - veganism level up!

five.
I went ice skating with a couple of my housemates at Brighton Pavilion and then we got mulled wine/cider - I am not any good at ice skating, I never have been, but I had improved slightly since the last time I went (although that's not saying much)

six.
I went to a local protest against tuition fees and it was really nice to see so much solidarity between students and lecturers, nothing like a good protest!

seven.
Me and my housemates decided to binge watch Friends on the projector which was really cute, we did The One with Ross' Sandwich and The One with All the Thanksgivings which are two of my personal faves.

eight.
A couple of days later I went to Reclaim Brighton which was a march against sexual harassment and violence which was good, I'd never been on a march for anything that wasn't a direct screw you to the government so it was good to broaden my protesting horizons.

nine.
I've been able to finally open my Makeup Revolution Advent Calendar which my friends bought me for my birthday (which was last month) so that's been really exciting. I keep forgetting that it's there so when I remember I can have a new makeup bit everyday, it's always really nice.

ten.
I've come down with a cold and am hating life just a little bit (I rarely get sick, but when I do I literally hate everything and become the worst person to be with - even worse than usual believe it or not)

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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New album releases, the final meetups, and #JezWeDidIt

one.
It was my friend's 19th birthday so we all met up for some drinks and some bantz, it was really nice to see some people from my sixth form who I hadn't really met up with this summer (and obviously we'll all be separating very soon) - it was my first time playing Kings, if you haven't played it, you really should, it's a heck of a lot of fun.

two.
My friend Isabella was the first to go off to University so she threw a little leavers afternoon tea kinda dealy at her house before she left which was really cute, still hasn't quite sunk in that everyone's leaving and moving on!!

three.
Ben Folds' new album was put online and I think it's so so good, the album is split into two parts so you have like ordinary songs and then the second half is all instrumental with an orchestra. It makes me wonder why more musicians don't use orchestras. Ben Folds is one of my favourite musicians ever so I do pretty much love everything he does anyway, but I'm generally just a big fan of a lot of instrumentation in music so this album is a winner for me.

four.
Troye's new album's come out as well and I like it so much, it's got that same Troye music aesthetic chilled vibe kinda thing he had going on in the last album but it's all new songs so it's not like he's doing the same thing again . . . if that makes sense. Basically, he's done some really catchy shiz, and I love Troye's music - I like that his music is good in its own right and not just popular because he's a big YouTuber, and I'm not trying to throw shade at any body but I think it's good when a person's work can to an extent be separated from the celebrity around them.

five.
I met up with a few friends for a sleepover which was really cute, I'm really enjoying meeting up with groups of people before we all split off because you don't know when it's going to be possible again. We watched the One Direction This is Us film which was surprisingly pretty good (okay, lowkey I'm 1D af but let's pretend I had to be forced into this one), 10 Things I Hate About You (which is a classic) and lots of episodes of Friends - I'm pretty certain the only reason anyone hangs out with me is because I have a Friends DVD box set.

six.
I've finally gathered the motivation to start filming videos again, I'm not sure if anyone noticed but I haven't uploaded in a month because I just haven't been in the right mindset, but I filmed a few in a day and I'm starting to feel it again which is good.

seven.
It was my friend's 19th birthday so we went out for a meal at a pub which was fun - it was nice to hang out with a bunch of people who I might not see again at least for a while.

eight.
Okay, vegan discovery - vegetable and houmous sandwiches are the bomb diggity. I haven't tried any vegan butter alternatives so I don't really have sandwiches anymore, but my Mum picked me up one while we were out and yes, they were very good, 11/10 would recommend.

nine.
I'm overjoyed at the fact that Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership election, and with nearly 60% of the vote! This is the most optimistic I've been about politics since before the general election - bring on 2020!

ten.
Laci Green uploaded this video to the MTV Braless YouTube channel about celebrities being problematic and it got me thinking about how problematic everyone was, I knew before that no one was perfect but I think it's important to remember this when criticising others and it's probably something that I needed reminding of.



How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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Visiting Brighton, self-care, and being the annoying vegan friend

one.
After getting my results and finding out I'm getting into my first university choice in Brighton, me and my family decided to go away for a few days to check out the area a bit more and look at the accommodation sites (as they didn't come with me on the open day, although I ended up rejecting the accommodation I was offered) and I'm really looking forward to living there now, not that I wasn't before like I knew Brighton was a lovely place hence why it was my first choice but visiting it again knowing that I'm definitely going there sort of reinforced that. Also, there were quite a few record shops (#hipster) and a mahoosive guitar shop which me and my Dad spent a rather lengthy amount of time in.

two.
I went round to a friend's house to watch American Horror Story (although we watched one episode and then ended up watching Orange is the New Black because I still hadn't finished it, but I finished it now!!) and I established that I am crap with directions. Literally it took me an hour and a half bus journey to do a trip that should've been less than half that time, I knew I wasn't so good in directions on foot but I've honestly hit a new low . . . (Damon Albarn voice: this is a looooooooooow)

three.
I went to go see the Bad Education movie with a few friends and it was so funny, if you like the series you're going to love the movie and it's really nice way to end the series. We also went to Costa afterwards - I've gone vegan again so it took me a while to order (I had to go online and check what was vegan on the menu, yes I'm becoming the annoying vegan friend . . . )

four.
I was feeling really down so I decided to ignore my phone most of the day and play piano all day, I find it so therapeutic and ever since finishing grade 8 I've been majorly neglecting the piano, but it has such a positive effect on my mood I really should find more time for it - I feel like I'm being productive by learning new pieces and I just generally like playing the piano, so it's definitely one of my favourite forms of self care.

five.
I decided to watch Harold and Maude again as it's been a few years since I first watched it, and whilst I really enjoyed it the first time, I really really loved it the second time round. The whole film is about control and enjoying life, but not it's not at all cheesy like how you would expect a film which essentially expresses #YOLO to be. Definitely one of my favourite films and an exquisite, cult classic.

six.
I'm not sure if I've vocalised this many times but I am a massive Saved by the Bell fan. I used to watch it a lot when I was younger (I must've been really young and they must've been re-runs, but I do remember watching them with my older half-sister) and then I found them all online a while ago and watched the series a few times, then I was given the box set for Christmas one year and I return to them a couple of times a year and it's time - I've been speeding through it, I've watched quite a couple of series in a matter of days. I'm enjoying myself profusely, but it means Breaking Bad has taken a backseat once again.

seven.
I went to go visit my future home in Brighton and I'm looking forward to moving in now, it's nothing special like it is your average student house, but I really like Brighton and I think the change would be good for me.

eight.
I've become re-obsessed with Everybody Loves Raymond. This used to be one of my favourite shows when I was in primary school, right up there with Friends, because it used to be on about 7:30am and in primary school it didn't take so long to get ready in the morning so I had time to watch it, and I do actually own a series on DVD that I revisit quite a lot, but it had been a while I had watched it on TV and I've actually been recording them (TiVo wishlists are a Godsend), so I've been watching series 9 and it's become one of my favourite things to do everyday. Nothing better than starting your day with some porridge, a cup of tea, and a couple of episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond - I'm pretty certain I am Robert, like I'd love to think I'm Ray, but if I'm honest I'm Robert.

nine.
I got round to voting in the Labour Leadership election (as well as the one for mayor and a bunch of other ones that I didn't know I had to vote for) and I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I voted Jeremy Corbyn as leader - I've said it once and I'll say it again but Jeremy Corbyn has been the only thing keeping me optimistic regarding politics since the election, I'm really hoping he wins.

ten.
I went round to my friend Ma'Suma's house with Isabella for one last sleepover before we go off to University (well I don't really leave for another few weeks but Isabella leaves in a few days, she's a big leaver) which was cute. We watched a lot of Friends and A Hard Day's Night, if you haven't watched any of The Beatles' movies you really need to, even if you don't like The Beatles' music they're such funny boys with a dry sense of humour. I personally think Help! is their best film but I do love A Hard Day's Night, just avoid Magical Mystery Tour at all costs . . .

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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360 videos, Muse, protesting and the forest nymph

one.

Maeve from Thrift o' Clock gave me a mention in her YouTubers I love video and I just wanted to share her blog which I've loved for ages, and her YouTube channel is pretty great too - go check her out she said nice things about me I like her a lot!!

two.

I found this video on DIY sugaring wax and it's so strange, I've never even heard of people doing that before, but I'm really tempted to give it a go - anyone else tried it before?

three.

Anna and Johnathan uploaded a video in 360 degrees and it's mind boggling oh my gosh, it's insane that technology has come this far (I'm sounding a bit like my parents but it is!!)

four.

I'm having a major Muse moment recently. It started when I decided to finally sit down and give their new album Drones a listen, which led to me giving Origin of Symmetry a revisit, and now all I'm really listening to is Muse on shuffle on Spotify - I find it really good to revise to, is that weird?

five.

My half-sister visited us as all her exams are finished (she's doing a foundation year in University) and that was really nice, we enlightened my parents on the forest nymph vines - have you seen them?

six.

I've decided to go vegan up until I go on holiday (on the 29th June) so I will have been doing it for about 3 and a half weeks by that time, so far so good - I feel generally so much healthier! I was considering doing a post on it (it's in my drafts) which I might post if you're interested, I wasn't sure whether people would give a rat's arse about how I found going vegan though so I haven't posted it yet.

seven.

ALL MY EXAMS ARE FINISHED - HALLELUJAH! I have to say I feel some of them could've gone better but I'm just glad they're over now!!

eight.

I went round to my friend's house with a few other people and it was the first time in months that we were able to hang out without feeling like we should be revising, and we managed to prank one of our friends - yes we are all 18, but we're not past the point of pranking people.

nine.

I went to the Anti-Austerity march in London (vlog coming soon on my YouTube channel) and it was such a great experience, I'm amazed that 250,000 people turned up and the speakers were amazing as well - Caroline Lucas, Charlotte Church, Jeremy Corbyn, Russell Brand, and many more. I was a bit disappointed I missed Owen Jones but he wasn't speaking at the same time or place as the other speakers (think he was speaking at Bank at the very beginning) so I suppose it was destined for me never to see him. I can't really feel my legs and I'm pretty certain I caught something while I was out because I feel a bit ill, but it was so worth it.

ten.

My Uncle who lives in Germany is visiting for a few days, and he didn't know what Nandos was (I guess they don't have them in the part he lives in) and I said we should all go for a cheeky Nandos.. so that's a thing, but I don't think he recognised it as an internet meme, so I made myself just sound a little bit odd - thanks internet.

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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