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Vegan can be stylish too!

So far, this hasn’t really gotten any easier – I have made some minor mistakes. Like when my sweet tooth craving hit during homecoming and I (drunkenly) ran to Dunkin Donuts for a chocolate glazed donut, but I’d say that’s been my worst slip up yet. What’s harder, though, is when I try so hard to resist a temptation for something non-vegan that I just end up ravenously chowing down on bread and crackers and anything vegan-friendly I can get my hands on. This has, unfortunately, been the norm lately. But I am trying to go easy on myself and not let this make me feel crappy: the name of the game is “meatless,” not necessarily “low-cal.” Suffice it to say, my body isn’t quite in Olivia Wilde shape just yet. Read More »

Okay, so this week was kind of hard. And I think I may have accidentally cheated. I went out over the weekend and have a tendency to eat when I’m drunk. On Friday, my friend and I stopped at McDonald’s (a forbidden land for vegans) and I actually was able to resist any burgers or nuggets. On Saturday, as the drunk munchies struck again, I got bread sticks from Pizza Hut. In my drunk, hungry state of mind, I was pretty sure these must be vegan, but on second thought they must have had butter, which, of course, is a no-no. Oops. To be fair, I really thought I was making the right choice (as opposed to, say, a personal pan pizza in all its cheesy glory).

My time at work wasn’t much easier. On Tuesday my manager brought in pints of Ben & Jerry’s, just for fun. Really? Like, REALLY? Just rub it in a bit more that I, the biggest ice cream lover of all time, can’t dig in to free Ben & Jerry’s (mint chocolate chip, no less). But I was actually able to stay focused and keep my eye on the prize. Read More »

Olivia Wilde. Carrie Underwood. Alicia Silverstone. Lea Michele. What do they all have in common? (Besides being really, really ridiculously good-looking?) They’re all vegans. That means they don’t eat any kind of food derived from an animal – meaning no meat, fish, eggs, or dairy. And lately, I feel like I’ve been hearing all about how absolutely stellar it makes them feel. I can’t help but think if it’s really possible for someone to feel so awesome and have a bangin’ bod by not eating any animal products. And so, even though I live for the perfect pepperoni slice, I vow to find out.

For the month of November, I challenge myself to not eat any food that comes from an animal – or foods containing animal derivatives – whatsoever. Yes, even on Thanksgiving, when I will be taunted by a big juicy turkey. And yes, even on my visit back to my undergraduate alma mater, University of Delaware, where drunk late-night cheese fries will be calling my name. I’m going to give it my best effort, and fill you all in on the highs and lows (and hopefully report that by the end I’m a spitting image of Olivia Wilde).

The main thing that interested me about this whole vegan idea was just as I said above – if celebs swear by it, why not test it out myself? But since then, I have actually tried to educate myself about what, exactly, are the health benefits of veggin’ out. Even though it’s going to take a lot more planning and preparing meals, many sources claims that if done right, a vegan diet can be healthier for you. First off, by not eating any meat vegans don’t consume any cholesterol, so they have much lower rates of heart disease. Also, vegans rely mostly on vegetables and grains, which are naturally lower in sodium and higher in fiber.

But this sort of diet can also be nutritionally tricky. Protein, iron, calcium, and vitamin B12 are all found mostly in animal products and meat, so part of my challenge is to maintain as balanced a diet as possible. (Fun fact – apparently Oreos are vegan… maybe I’ll survive this after all?)

Anyway, I feel surprisingly ready to face this challenge. We’ll see how I feel when the burger craving hits…

Follow Katherine on her one month challenge to see if she can make it. Could you?

Hello, doll! As you’re reading this, you’re probably shifting back and forth between Internet Explorer and iTunes as you queue up another power hour for you and the girls, as you get ready for this blessed day of most outlandish makeup and dress, Halloween. Anything goes tonight, so remember to take chances, make mistakes, and look really, really hot doing so.

However, tomorrow morning, reality will set in. It breaks my heart, but you will discover you are not actually Lady Gaga, and you do have a term paper due on Friday. And you probably will have a hangover. I don’t think I can help you with the first two crises, but I do have a comprehensive guide to putting that hangover to bed.

Do your morning-after woes make you curse the day you were born? Never fear, there’s a recipe for that, and it’s simple enough not to compound that throbbing headache. Whip up these recipes tonight before going out. Your aching body will thank you tomorrow.

Got a searing headache?
You’re probably dehydrated. All those shots and Four Lokos have a diuretic effect on the body, meaning you lose water. So think like an athlete and grab some electrolyte-replenishing sports drinks to clear up that fog!

The remedy: Buy a bottle of Gatorade and pour it into an ice cube tray. You can place popsicle sticks in the cubes for a treat in the morning (especially nice just to suck on if you’re feeling nauseous too), or use the cubes to make a slushie. Pour them into a blender with some fresh fruit (I like pineapple), and churn away!

Read More »

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. This month, Emmy's going 31 days without beef. Or chicken. Or turkey. Or....you get the idea. Last week's attempts at tofu didn't go so well, so how did she fare this week?]

Okay, so it’s been kind of a busy fall season so far, and I haven’t had a ton of time (read: any time where I wasn’t either studying or drinking) to call home (delinquent daughter… whoops!). Anyway, my family had no idea that I was going meatless for a month, and I just mentioned it in passing to my mom on the phone, and she laughed. She thought I was joking.

To be fair, my mom knows that I LOVE meat, and so she was really concerned that something was wrong because there was no other plausible explanation in her mind as to why else I would stop eating it. So after some intense mother calming (during which I was chowing down on some delicious hummus), and multiple reassurances that I was still getting plenty of protein and not about to pass out at any moment, my mom finally let up on the whole issue. Read More »

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. This month, Emmy's going 31 days without beef. Or chicken. Or turkey. Or....you get the idea.]

I can’t believe that I have made it through two weeks as a vegetarian! Honestly, I am a little surprised – I haven’t cheated at all! Not a single piece of meat. Not even chicken broth, because I was worried that would count.

Not that’s it’s been a total breeze…

By far the most difficult vegetarian moment for me this week was when one of the clubs I’m in had a group dinner… at Chipotle. Now, I know a lot of people like Chipotle, but I love Chipotle. LOVE. Their meat is one of my FAVORITE things in the whole wide world. I don’t even need a burrito; I could be totally content just eating their meat plain… straight out of those silver serving buckets.

So to say it was a wee bit challenging to go in there and not get my favorite Steak Burrito doesn’t really do my feelings justice. I thought about getting a vegetarian burrito, but I’m not a big fan of their beans and  thought it would be too empty without meat. So I went with a veggie quesadilla instead. Not exactly the world’s healthiest option, but it kept me perfectly satisfied while everyone else chowed down on their delicious and meaty burritos.

Point: Emmy.
And things only got better from there. Read More »

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. This month, Emmy's going 31 days without beef. Or chicken. Or turkey. Or....you get the idea.]

So, I’ve successfully made it through my first week without meat… and it hasn’t been too bad!

I’ve really liked that not eating things with meat has really forced me to try different foods and eat a more balanced diet, which is exactly what I was hoping would happen through this experiment. I’ve discovered that my school’s market actually has AMAZING hummus and vegetable plates that I’d never tried before. Like really, I don’t know what they put in the hummus, but it is madly addicting! I’ve also found a great vegetarian pad thai, a yummy Mediterranean veggie salad, and an amazing pesto tortellini all in just one of the campus markets! Who knew veggies could taste so good?

But I’m not taking any of this for granted. I’m lucky that my university offers so many Vegan/Vegetarian options and I know that not every school is quite as accommodating. If I had to exist on salads and plain noodles all month, I think I’d go crazy. Thank god I’ve got a variety of interesting and tasty options to choose from. Read More »

Nom nom nom.

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month we followed Meredith on her quest to give up junk food. This month, Emmy's going 31 days without beef. Or chicken. Or turkey. Or....you get the idea.]

Let me start off by saying that I love meat. Like a lot. If I could eat a steak for every meal, I would. And if it weren’t gross to bathe in burger meat, I’d probably do that too. (Don’t judge.)

So why on earth would I give it up for a month? Surprisingly, I have loads of reasons. First, I was inspired by the Vegan/Vegetarian club here at Loyola and their participation in Meatless Mondays, the idea being that we can all improve our health by just giving up meat one day a week. That got me thinking: if I could get healthier by trading out meat just once a week, imagine what I could do if I cut back even more? And seeing that it might not be that hard, I thought I’d go full throttle.

I want to go meatless to see what it’s like, how it makes me feel, and how it makes me look. I am also hoping it will inspire me to stop eating ice cream and chips for meals and actually do some real cooking.

For me, going meatless for a month is a drastic change, but one that I’m excited to try.

The benefits of not eating meat seem to be endless, not to mention that the less animal products you eat, the more the health benefits increase. As I’ve had it explained to me by real, full-time vegetarians, vegetarianism is not eating meat (obvi), fish, or eggs. Some (AKA vegans) even give up all dairy and anything that might have an animal product in it. To just give it a try though, they recommended that I start slow by just eliminating meat. Read More »

[Meet Margaret, a freshman at Yale. We've been checking in with her every week to see what she's doing, who she's meeting, and what new college surprises she's tackling (or freaking out about) as she embarks on the journey we call college. Or as I like to call it, the best thing since dark chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter cups.]

At my old high school, we were never served veggie burgers, nor did we have to choose between vegan and non-vegan options in the cafeteria. I’m from Cincinnati, a city that boasts about its chili (which is really just a runny sauce on top of noodles…). Needless to say, the infinitesimal number of students who identified with vegetarianism at my school only did so for religious reasons. And some of them cheated.

Keeping that in mind, entering the dining hall at my college was like entering the land of some kind of lotus-eating, vegetarian haven, or, in my case, a carnivore’s personal version of hell. It’s not that they don’t serve meat; they do. But they also serve various other reinterpretations of meat: tofu ravioli, lentil hamburgers, vegan minestrone soup.

Upon seeing these, I became bitter and questioned why tofu ravioli was necessary when ravioli is obviously meant to be stuffed with beef and cheese (at least according to my man, Chef Boyardee). Didn’t all the vegetarians here realize what they were missing out on? Chicken tenders and steak? Bacon and sausage links? What was the point of all this? It’s not like one vegetarian will directly save the life of a cow or singlehandedly better animal welfare. Vegetarianism is pointless. Read More »