The Collegiate Vegan

These days, I'm trying to eat a raw vegan diet. I did it in October of 2011 for the month, loved it, and have been wanting to do it again. But, real talk, it's been a little freakin' hard! I'm not sure why, however I'm working harder now trying to stick with it... until Sunday that is. See, I'm taking some precious little middle schoolers to camp and I couldn't bare to tell the chef I'm a RAW vegan, so I just went with 'normal' vegan.

Lame. I know. Worst part is I kind of forgot, therefore I have a good amount of produce that I'm actually going to take with me. Is that weird? Or rude? "Hi, I'm a guest leader here for the week with the speaker. I'm a vegan so make me special meals all week. Also, I carry around my own produce, so I'm going to need to store it in your fridge. Thanks!" Hmm... Anyways, I'll worry about that later. 

A full pan, though my housemates and I each had a spoonful before hand :)

Last night I made some killer Raw Brownies. In fact, my wonderful housemates tried them and also agreed that they were quite deeelish! (WARNING: The following recipe is both tasty and chocolatey. A nice cool glass of your favorite non-dairy milk will most likely be craved).

corner piece with extra coconut, DIBS!

Raw Brownies
*This recipe was inspired by Kristen's Raw
     
what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 flax seeds
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup chocolate powder
• cinnamon to taste
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 tbsp extract
• 15 medjool dates, pitted
• agave, optional
• shredded coconut, optional

most of what you'll need

my little guy has never been so full

TIP: Parchment paper is a great way to keep your hands nice and clean

We enjoyed these raw brownies last night and it was great having such willing housemates to try something so far fetched. I love 'em. These brownies were also a great way to introduce raw foodism/veganism to my housemates. Again, I just love 'em.

Today we had a throwback slash birthday party for the lone male in the house. I was able to get some of our friends to give this nice chocolatey raw brownie a try and I got nothing but positive reviews! They're super simple and a healthy alternative to its sugary, processed, heavy gluten, caloric counterpart.

If you've had something similar or try these ones, leave a comment and let me know what you think!


Until next time friends,

Welcome to summer! Well, it's not exactly summer, but I'm going to call it that.

I know I've said that I'm going to blog my regularly, pretty often. BUT I'M SERIOUS THIS TIME! I've got nothing but time on my hands now, so why not? I've got some wonderful people in my life that I want to share about. I've got a ton of recipes I want to try. I've got a new job as a bartender, so you can guarantee some prime stories. I've also got one of my Young Life girls living the dream in Belize as an intern with Thirst Missions and I want you to hear her stories.

Recipes. Stories. Adventures.

Coming Soon.

Besides realizing I'm not a very good blogger, I've recently realized I'm quick to jump to conclusions. Never had I realized this before, but I now see how absolutely terrible this can be. I know I don't always do it, however, I do it nonetheless. The worst part is, jumping to conclusions too rapidly can lead to resentment... yes, personal situation.

After my "balls to the wall" rant, I set out to do it. I did it. The next day in fact. And while success momentarily came from the situation and I was extremely excited about it, just as quick and easy as it came it slipped away. At that point, I jumped on the conclusion train and took it to woe-is-me. But why? Why do we create these false realities in our heads?

I have no idea. What I do know, nearly a month later, is the full story behind my initial let down; a story nowhere near the one I fabricated in my head. A story that explains everything. A story that is true. A story that brings back hope. Sometimes, that's all it takes. I had completely let go of something that was real to me for the first time in a long time, for something that was fake and created by my brain. I know now, exactly how dumb I was being, how I stretched some parts to try and make sense of something. I should have approached the situation, but I couldn't bring myself to do so because I was so far gone on the conclusion train.

I can't explain the relief or joy I felt when the facts came my way. I have taken this as a slap in the face though, as a wake up call to not be so quick to think the worst. Also, I've realized exactly how important it is to turn to God in times of struggle and confusion. I don't know what's in store for my life, but God does. So, why don't I turn to Him more often? The age old question.

These have been two very crazy weeks for me. Not to mention, tomorrow marks pre-finals week. Joy. On top of how busy I've been between meetings, friends, school, meetings, work, ministry, and meetings, I've been thinking a lot about "going for it".

What do you mean "going for it"? I know that's what you're thinking. What I mean is simply going after whatever you want. Setting goals and working your butt off until you are finally reaching them. All out. Balls to the wall mentality. For me, I wouldn't consider what I'm "going for" to be a goal, rather the act of "going for it" is the goal. Sometimes, it's equally as hard to complete something as it is to start. Essentially, that's where my battle lies.

I'm busy and I make excuses, but I'm realizing now I need to just "man up" (your welcome MRHS) and do it. No day but today. Life is short. Live it up. What do you have to lose!?  ...  I mean, I have my integrity and that's about it. It seems the only thing holding me back is that, but is the possible reward worth putting it on the line for? That, I'm not sure 100% about yet. I think so, but I'm just not sure. I'm going to put it on the line anyway. Hopefully, at some point this week I will be able to go for it. Go big or go home.


Vaguest post ever. I'm sorry.