Why the hell is honey not vegan? I mean ,it’s not like bees are exploited or anything ,right?
So what’s the dealio with honey? Why is it not consumed by vegans if it’s not the body part and food for another animal,well before we look into why let me show you this great definition of ”vegan” that I discovered from Vegetus which has , amongst other sources ”fueled” my knowledge on the treatment of bees.
First off let me introduce you to Donald Watson ,an English animal rights advocate and the guy who bloody funded The Vegan Society!!,props to you man…
So in the words of dear Watson (no Sherlock reference intended) ” Veganism is a way of living which excludes all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, the animal kingdom, and includes a reverence for life. It applies to the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, animal milk and its derivatives, and encourages the use of alternatives for all commodities derived wholly or in part from animals”
Which excludes honey from our diets…but how are bees actually treated? Bees create honey by taking a substance called nectar from the pollen of flowers and converting into said honey and storing it to eat during the winter,smart right ? It’s kinda like how we stock up on loads of quick easy meals that go on sale before winter ,because we become to lazy to cook when its cold and are butts are numb-anyway! Honey is food made by the bees for the bees in winter ,because there are no flowers to take nectar from .So if people eat honey which is food for the bees then tell me what do they eat ? or better yet ,what are they fed to substitute the food that humans take for their so-called benefit? And I say ”so-called” benefit because the vitamins,minerals and protein in honey are in such small amounts that it barely benefits us ,they are in such small amounts that they are the perfect amount for the bees small body mass.Perfect right? Everything works well,a beautiful cycle in nature that was inevitably corrupted by us domineering humans.
But here’s the thing,it’s only been 10,000 years that humans have been eating honey and adding it as an actual part of their diet,and even then it was a great cycle ,bees make an overload of honey from time to time ,and humans would go and takes the excess honey and both parties would be happy.It was only until the 16th century that man started to create practical cages to capture and trap the bees ,ones with moving lids to efficiently contain them for a long period time.
Some people might argue that ,in some cases not all bear in mind,the bee keepers leave enough honey for the bees.Regardless this isn’t the case because A) The honey belongs to the bee and B)The bees are killed when the keepers smoke them to remove the bees from the hive,from either stinging the keeper , or being stepped on and squashed.
Another thing to know just because you probably don’t know, is what the smoke actually does to the bees,when bees see smoke they instantly assume it’s a fire and much like a desperate human consuming its favourite meals before running ,bees do the same and consume an excess amount of honey,which makes them calm.This allows the keeper to work in a safe,controlled environment.
Second thing is bees use pheromones,these are chemicals produced by animals to provoke a specific response in others of the same species.They are used as a communication tool in the hive and the smoke masks these chemical signals and the bees become confused enough for the keeper to work.Although this does not physically harm the bees ,this is unnecessary, the idea that you have to trick the bees into taking something that doesn’t belong to you anyway!
But for most people they won’t consider the treatment of bees just because they are bees ,small insignificant beings that actually scare the crap out of them within breathing distance(this includes me also),for them the real questions depends on a beings capability to feel pain to determine if the being can have rights justifying or not justifying the exploitation of said being….
And in answer to that yes ,bees can feel pain ,a great deal apparently as they do have a central nervous system like humans.As well as pain ,some people also feel your right to live freely depends on your intelligence …. I’m not going to get into the technicalities of how capable and beautiful the work of a bee can extend to ,I mean they are their own food manufacturers ….Bees are intelligent,they do feel pain ,and they make honey to feed themselves through the winter so why should vegans eat honey let alone non vegans ?
When it comes down to it most people will turn a blind eye and ignore the ideology that beings as small and ”simple” bees are being exploited.I don’t blame them ,its something you’re not really aware about when devouring pancakes.But that’s why honey is not eaten by most vegans as some don’t see this as an issue ,its different for each person.
Tell me what you think and do follow,like and comment ! I hope you learnt a little something and share your new-found revelation about the lives of bees with your peers ,cuz I know I will …
Thanks so much guys!
Love,bettypancakes
Why Vegan ,Not Veggie?
]I feel like there is no better time than now to say ”So long,no post” although that’s not actually a saying .I reckon I could make it happen,but moving on swiftly today’s post is all about why people choose to be Vegan rather than Vegetarian ,specifically why I chose to be Vegan.( I’m also going to focus more on the dairy side of things,I’m pretty sure the not using animal products thing is self explanatory) Aside from the fact that Vegan sounds cooler.There is actually more !
First of all lets distinguish the difference between Veggies and Vegans(I hope ”veggies” isn’t an offensive term to anyone).Veggies do not eat meat or fish and live with a diet based on grains,pulses,nuts,vegetables and fruits.However they do eat the bi-products of animals for example dairy and eggs.Vegans eat the same substantial foods however with the absence of dairy and eggs and honey and just all products that come from animals including clothes/other products that are manufactured from animals.That was a lot of info you probably already knew…
When I first began researching animal cruelty ,it really opened my eyes to the horrors going on .I honestly thought there wasn’t much more than what I already knew to be discovered.Take milk for example.Almost everyone drinks it.Its nutritious and makes you grow and gives you strong bones.You hear this all the time and because it’s the status quo,you would never go against it and question ”Why do I drink cows milk?” And why should you ? it’s what everyone does, what the majority of what I call ”mainstream doctors” will tell you..Yet I didn’t realise that the calf would be taken away from its mother within 48 hours of its birth.So that me ,a young girl ,completely oblivious to what occurs , thousands of miles away will ask my mum for my daily glass of milk.We literally steal the milk from the calf .What’s worse is that the information is not hidden.Its there for anyone to see ,but even some reading this will disregard the information given because although they may agree ,everybody else does it, so why should you a single person amongst billions stop.Surely if everyone does it then it’s not a problem?
For me, is the simple fact that I am drinking the milk of another species .That altogether does not make sense.In reversed roles it’s as ”logical” as a cow drinking the breast milk from a human mother,and although people may argue that the milk is very nutritious for the growing children and that they need it .I can assure you that this is not the case .So if I can’t explain my reason for not eating dairy through ethical perspectives let us move on to the health benefits shall we ?
Although there are obvious benefits such as the calcium provided and fortified vitamins.The calcium in milk is not easily absorbed by humans .People need to understand the difference between animal sources of nutrients and plant sources.Cows milk is custom designed for the calves .
In fact when studying the biological mechanism of which calcium is absorbed in the human body.Humans barely receive half the amount they think they’re getting.Milk increases the acidity in the body’s PH (Like all animal protein).Ironically at the same time calcium is a pre-eminent neutraliser meaning the calcium absorbed is used to the neutralise acidifying effects of milk.So how much of that calcium are you really getting?
Further more ,87% of the protein found in milk is Casein ,a protein that is most potent in promoting the growth of cancerous tumours.Another down side to the human consumption of dairy in general is people being lactose intolerant .If milk is such a substantial and ”natural” source of calcium and protein amongst other things,Why are so many people unable to tolerate it ? Why is it that some human bodies physically can not absorb the nutrients needed.Its simple it’s not for us.Look at it this way,a machine needs certain cogs to function properly(Humans are the machine) the mechanism of that machine shows that it needs a cog with circular base (plant sources) to work.However a cog with an oval base (animal sources) is continuously forced in,Although it may ”work” for the time being,it is not what that machine needs.In fact the machine is not functioning properly and will fail to work at its prime(Humans consuming animal sources ).I hope you didn’t get lost along the way but I thought explaining like this would make it easier to understand.So… this just a few of the reasons why I don’t consume dairy .A lot of this information I also found from my new book The China Study which is in one word .Incredible.I’ll rave about that another time!
Oh! And my definition for mainstream doctor is a physician who takes the information given to him without question and with an absolute certainty that what he know is the truth.These doctors in my opinion believe without question and are very close minded as they refuse to either listen to patients properly or accept ”second hand information” or in other terms new discoveries made by the patients themselves such as how one man who was diagnosed with osteoporosis ,was encouraged to drink milk,making his condition worse.However he decided to join the plant life and his illness receded .Amazingly.
So …..thank you for reading and I hope to post soon!
Be Vegan ,stay healthy!
(That is my new ending !!)
READ THE CHINA STUDY
3 Makeup Tips To Keep You Lookin’ Fresh!
Three things . Simple things really , but when used in combination? I guarantee that you’ll always be looking fresh , natural but ready to go !
Step 1
Always try to ensure that your eyebrows are in shape. I can’t express enough how much they frame your face and actually change what looks in proportion to the rest of you. Never had your brows threaded before? No problem.Just look at your brows and depending on the size of your eyes and their positioning start plucking hairs that fall out of line with the heavy hairs of your brow.
What I mean by this is going to the areas with a lighter amount of hair and taking away stray hairs. Now I will in the future take photos of my own brows to demonstrate the effects because I really want to use just my own content!
But for visual sake just search up brows before and after and see if you can apply the results to your own brows.
Also a good thing to start with would be to determine your brow shape ! Here are a couple of diagrams
Step 2
Glossy lips anyone ? Always have some lip moisturizer to give you smooth looking lips . Especially with this weather and for this step I doubt I need to add visuals as only old Vaseline will do
Step 3
HIGHLIGHTER! Again Vaseline could be the answer mixed in with a little eye shadow from any palette of yours. And the pictures below have been taken just like that ,just with the exception of eyeshadow . Not everyday sparkle right?
So that’s it ! Using all three tips in combination will keep you looking natural but good for the day plus it’s a quick routine that requires a minimal effort. But bear in mind if you’re dressed looking like a bum the impact of said tips is going to be minimal folks.
Love ,bettypancakes xx
Does My Race Affect My Love Life ?
Does my race affect my love life?
It’s pretty safe to say that when it comes to the world of dating , there are a HELL of a lot of factors which could affect why or why not you would be willing to spend the rest of your stressful,controlled, tax paying life with one person. But besides your sex? Race , according to a lot of sources is the predominant decider , and to hear again from many sources that your racial preference for the most part is not of your own doing?
As a young black woman who is an absolute lover of all people , it’s a bit disheartening to find out that even science has established that I fit into the category that is seen to be the least attractive and will inevitably receive the least responses.
According to an analysis done by OkCupid on their users “Men don’t write black women back.” and “Blacks get fewer responses.” Additionally Asian men are also seen as the least attractive and are one of the least likely to receive responses in . The results that were gathered is nothing new unfortunately , worldwide black women and asian men are notorious for being the least desired. White men and Asian women faced the least difficulties with a broad consensus deciding that they are at least 8% more attractive than the average male or female.
What can we actually gain from this ? You must admit that the idea of people prefering a whiteness was a long thing coming . Can you hardly be surprised with what’s constantly projected around us . The media in particular for instance loves to illustrate a typical image of the asian sidekick who struggles to get the girls and has an intelligence that rivals Einstein, and let us not even start on the portrayal of south east Asian women being submissive and docile.
Does these statistics potentially affect my life when it comes to dating?
In all honesty ? Yes they do. They provide empirical evidence to suggest that this white wahsing in the media and under representation of different kinds of beauty affect even the best of us. But at the same time ? Hell no! I feel like the idea of having these statistics define what I could potentially find in life is utterly ridiculous. We are all individual , meeting a person for who they are and what they are is completely up to you, and yes I am deliberately ignoring the fact that there is a universal love for whiteness or in the words of OkCupid “Adding ‘whiteness’ always helps your rating! In fact it goes a long way toward undoing any bias against you.” But one could say that the fact that I made out with a white guy no more than a week ago can testify against this ….
In the moment I didn’t really take his race into account ,I mean upon first meeting him I acknowledged that he was white but like I said before when actually being with a person in a somewhat personal way.
It would be stupid to say that we should completely disregard race when it comes to dating , obviously we all have racial preferences and that could be completely genuine and due to our own tastes and not as a result of this Eurocentric standard we have constantly floating around us . Also for some I know that race plays a substantial role in their identity . For me ? I don’t want someone who claims to be colorblind ,I’m black and that entails everything about how I see and feel about the world. Whoever I end up with needs to hack that .
Love is for all , we need to wake up and start to actively demonsrate this because if I wasn’t who I am today ? Statistics like those upthere could potentially ruin me . Is it really a surprise as well to find out that minorities , namely blacks , have the lowest self asteem ? Everyone loves to believe that they have love for all. It’s idealistic , probably not possible but it doesn’t mean we can’t try .
But just a little food for thought, should this necessarily be considered a problem? Is it really so wrong to want to be amongst people like yourself?
Tell me what you think.
Short, but sweet motivation.
Where do I go from here ?
It’s been approximately 8 weeks since GCSE’s and 6 weeks since I started sixth form and despite the fact that I should be doing my recommended `16 hours a week revision I’m struck with the question of where my life is heading because in all honestly ? I don’t bloody know.
I pictured where I could be in 5 years time and I was met with the predictable image of me having completed university and doing an unsatisfactory job that provides just enough to keep my purse complacent.Is this something I want ? Hell no. But life as I’m sadly realising doesn’t work the way we want it to and I feel like I’m bound to walk on a road already paved for me which is the complete opposite of what I want.I’d like to highlight in particular that for most of us we are going to have to walk that road despite wanting to do something more creative.More free and liberating as hell.
As pitiful as it sounds I’m still stuck in the dream where I want to share my creative side through Youtube for instance and although I know a career on this social platform is not something I should realistically aim for it’s still something I’ve always wanted to pursue. So what’s stopping me ?
The simple fact that my happiness in what I creatively do may not work out well enough for me to even have a roof over my head, and that right now I can’t even afford to. Oh , and I’m African so something that doesn’t follow an academic path is out of the question for me. If I could I would have added a pitiful laughing emoticon.
But ass much as I dread having to work hard for this simply because I don’t know where I’m going to end up ? I’m ready to try because if there’s one thing I’ve realised in my life is that I want to be happy.
So if you’re still reading this (props to you) I personally challenge you to stop for a moment and think about your life and what truly drives you. If you’re not spending your time , money and effort on whatever that thing is .What the hell are you waiting for ?
Your Ultimate Guide To : A Life of Cruelty Free
Your Ultimate Guide to : A Life Of Cruelty Free
So you’ve recently discovered or more likely taken seriously the cruel treatment of the creatures on our planet today . You want to make a change so, where do you start ?
Step 1: Thought Process
Start thinking about where you want to take this ,you now have the ability and knowledge to make a difference so how are you going to achieve this? Go big or small?
- You can start by sharing your recent found knowledge with others ,one of the key factors that actually greatly impact the implementation of a cruelty free world is your knowledge!
- By sharing what you know,people can see animal cruelty is not just some RSPCA advert before a run of Eastenders or a label to miss when buying for products.
- Having a normal everyday person understand the depth of it allows other everyday people to understand the depth of it.Now some of my friends around me are a lot more aware and actually make a habitat of defending me ,not that I need it,when someone jumps down my throat about the benefits of chicken…bitch please SCOFFS*.
Step 2: Action
You’ve shared some of your knowledge that’s great ! Seriously it helps loads ,now if you can put some of that knowledge into practice.
- People assume a cruelty free life is costly.Prove them wrong.You don’t need to go on a full 2 point 0 and turn vegan but at least try to attempt to eradicate little bits of injustice at a time.
- Skip the chicken caesar and grab an avocado and chickpea wrap once in a while.Instead of buying your usual products do some research first on the origins of those products and find out if you’re genuinely comfortable with what you discover.
- A common misconception for people is that once you’re aware of animal cruelty you have to rid of EVERYTHING not cruelty free.That’s not the case ,for some of us we’ve been living our whole lives in the dark and in order to make that change; it’s going to take time.
- So now you understand where the profits of that MAC foundation goes , what are you going to do about it? Throw it away ? No.You can’t afford this,however now you are aware of that product and you can slowly but surely start to make changes for it!
- You’ve discovered an alternative to that MAC ,it took you some time but ,you made that change. That’s already more money going towards cruelty free products now that you’ve made that purchase.
- You discover a bunch of your stuff is actually not cruelty free.Don’t panic and remember it takes time and slowly you’re making a difference.
Step 3: Target Time
It’s been a while now and you feel like you should expand the horizon a little..You want to make a bigger impact!
- Your family,they are the prime targets .They already love you ,have to put up with you,why don’t you try to inform them?
- Your attempt fails nonetheless ,you tried and you’ll try again .Now your mother is looking at that burger a little differently though ..or not. She just ordered the wrong sauce.
- So your family were a bust ,what else can you do ? Expand your knowledge ! Now is the time to actually consolidate your knowledge with hard proven facts about the health benefits of a cruelty free world.If you can’t get people to empathise for others then surely you can them to empathise with themselves,and nobody wants to soil their bodies with trash.
- Suggest going out to a new veggie restaurant ? Who wants to give up an offer of food anyway ?
- Introduce your friends to vegan alternatives ,show them they should join the cruelty free life. Entice them and show them the benefits. No one likes to believe they don’t make their own decisions but they’ll allow themselves to be influnced.Who gives a fuck ! It’s change nonetheless.
- Head back to your former targets and hit them with the hard facts .Don’t force it on them simply introduce to them to new possibilities .
- Show the people around you; this is important, and you’d appreciate them respecting that importance by at least trying to listen to you.The pity card always works…
Step 4: Influence at a higher level
You’re in a position where at work you could potentially influence a wide range of people. Or it’s the complete opposite and you have no standing whatsoever! But you know what we all have . Social Media!!
- Ok, you may not want to dedicate your whole media life to this battle but you may wish to incorporate a little dashes here and there.
- Your newest instagram post features a home-made (vegan) smoothie.Share it with the world! If you can’t impact those around you ,there are millions who purposefully want to seek out alternatives.
- Follow people with a similar message to yours and combine your powers! You’d be surprised at the incredibly friendly community online if you look for it.
- Build a following ,no matter how small the message is still reaching someone right?
- Have fun with it.Don’t make this a chore .Ultimately and foremost, a cruelty free life is simply just that. A lifestyle not some to do list.By genuinely enjoying what you do I guarantee you will receive positive results!
- You have a lot of spare time ; like mentioned before do something collaborative with another person and keep at it.It’s actually quiet inspiring for some people like myself to see teamwork in action,and for a beautiful cause it’s bound to make some noise.
Step 4: Consistency
It’s been a long while since your journey began but you’ve kept at it for this long …
- It may look like you’re moving at a snail’s pace right now ,but I guarantee that if you’re consistent .The difference made will start to grow.Now my entire household doesn’t consume dairy on a large-scale and I haven’t unleashed my full power yet.
- Now, almost all of the products you use today are cruelty free ,you’ve actually managed to make a large impact on the others around you although you may not realise it yet.
Hope you enjoyed this guys! I certainly did .Also a big thank you to natalieslovelyblog for following me and M MALMCRONA for liking my post ! It’s much appreciated .
Also ,word of advice .You need to watch Peaky Blinders .End of.
Love ,bettypancakes xx
A little guide to Cruelty Free and Vegan Makeup!
Vegan Makeup
One of the best things about having a vegan lifestyle is that you can advocate animal rights anywhere anyhow and as I’m reaching the point where I want to in-cooperate more cruelty free products in my life ? Make up is the key!
So I don’t actually wear makeup now ; nor have I ever purchased it,owned it or worn it on a daily basis so I’m definitely excited! However what has struck me is the little bit of a pickle I’ve gotten myself in.
Cruelty free makeup is pretty much available everywhere online and maybe not at your local drugstore unlike B.Makeup at Super drugs *Winks* you most definitely have a wide range of companies to choose from .However, a lot of these cruelty free makeup brands are expensive as fuck to put it lightly .For instance AfterGlow cosmetics have an Organic infused Hydra Gloss – which looks to die for .But it would be my purse making that sacrifice for £ 21.50!
Additionally the issue with providing products for all skin types remains forever incessant in the world of vegan makeup, and you’d think at least the vegan community would cater to everyone right? So obviously I was a bit dissuaded from even trying to find my appropriate shade and the task become more daunting as the image of me wearing a face of cruelty free make up slipped away.
But PETA came to the rescue with this fabulous post!
15 Vegan, Cruelty-Free Foundations for Every Skin Tone – Peta
100 % Pure immediately grabbed my attention although I was already aware of the brand, the need to buy their Fruit pigmented Black Mascara which does apparent wonders for your lashes grew ever more . However ,the issue of money still remained so I decided to search for affordable vegan makeup for black women in particular and again a miraculous post came up !
Black Up Cosmetics is Cruelty Free – Phyrra
As a result I had discovered a brand which catered to a wide variety of skin tones and was cruelty free ; if you read the post to your delight you’ll also learn that they are aware of the need to be cruelty free and will soon actively try to gain official recognition for that. So with my new-found knowledge I rushed to call my makeup partner in crime and made plans to visit my local Debenhams store which has Black Up cosmetics in abundance. I should also mention that I discovered Bare Minerals which is cruelty free however their parent company is not,where you stand on that issue is your choice but thinking about this now …it would be a great post idea for a controversial debate right?
I must admit I entered Debenhams with slight caution as it was hard to believe a cruelty free brand was right under my nose for little over a year ! And obviously because every time you enter the Beauty section in a store you ‘re faced with exceptionally stunning women so there was that as well…
However I was graced with a smile and first taken to the Bare Minerals counter to decide which shade would be best .The friendly beautician concluded that Bare Mocha Shade 20 was my perfect match and from there I was taken to the Black Ups section where I was matched in the same manner. Success ,right?
Not completely. All in all I’m not blown away at the prospect of caking myself in vegan but not completely natural products such as Black up . So I’m still searching for products with a little under 15 ingredients .
But the PETA post has a bunch of different brands you should try ! I was particularly impressed by Too Faced which is purchaseable at many Debenhams stores .Their Better Than Sex soy mascara genuinely made me laugh and the prices are extremely decent for the effect promised. It’s important to remember that the only reason a product wouldn’t be vegan is because it contains ingredients that have been derived from animals like beeswax or lanolin ,which is sheep oil made from sheep’s wool which is obtained from shearing the sheep involving cutting some of its skin-You get the gist ,don’t you?
But cruelty free is makeup that has not been tested on animals in the manufacturing process or with the finished product…Now back to the Better Than Sex mascara
Moving on to the bushy fellows on our faces ! E.l.f Eyebrow kit is your go to guys ! Honestly it’s cheap,affordable and quite accessible despite there not being any E.l.f stores around London.
You need this pronto ,the results look amazing and this kit is available through Amazon as a add-on-item no less but the price is amazingly decent ! They offer this kit in 3 shades as far as I know . So whether you’re a blonde or a brunette maybe not ginger though, yeah definitely not ginger.You should be able to find your match.
Next its lips people !
So a bunch of brands like Beauty Without Cruelty, Inika and Vegocentric offer incredible varieties of shades and textures in lipsticks and glosses .However I’m trying to show you the vegan options within large brands because for some of you who may have been using non vegan and not cruelty free makeup for years ; it may be nice to recognise which of your products from mainstream cosmetics lines are suitable for your new lifestyle !
Heard of LA Splash? Well , all of their lip couture products are vegan so they do not contain any shitty stuff taken from animals .But they are not officially cruelty free and I actually plan on emailing a bunch of mainstream cosmetic lines about their products so it’ll be easier for you guys to know whose shearing sheep and whose disturbing bees!
Right so what else do we have ? You should know that Urban Decay is completely cruelty free and they do have a bunch of vegan products you should check out!
Basic supermarket brands will most likely be vegan as they often cannot afford to have animal products in their cosmetics .
Key ingredients to watch out for in makeup ! This will be your makeup bible guys
- Albumen.
So this is a chemical taken from protein guys, so it’s taken from egg whites most of the time and used in cosmetics as a coagulant. Which is basically a sophisticated way of saying it keeps shit sticking together*The shit being anything* But you’ll find it as Albumin. - Beeswax. Duh.
This is almost everywhere ; in lipsticks, face creams, lotions, mascara, eye creams and eye shadows . You may find this as Cera Flava
- Carmine.
This is a red pigment made from the crushed female cochineal insect, disgusting right? Remember it’s a red pigment so it’s used in a lot of red/pink lipstick lipglosses and even bloody lollipops!
- Cetyl Alcohol
I’ve seen this often and to put it in simpler times ; it’s wax found in the spermaceti from sperm whales or even dolphins.
- Lanolin
I mentioned this a little earlier , it’s an oil excreted from the glands of sheep which you get from the wool. It can be found as Aliphatia Alcohols, Cholesterin, Isopropyl Lanolate, Laneth, Lanogene, Lanolin Alcohols, Lanosterols, Sterols, Triterpene Alcohols , amerchol L101, isopropyl lanolate, laneth, lanogene, lanolina Acids, wool fat, or even wool wax.
- Ambergris
Ugh. This is found in the intestines of whale and its used as fixative in perfumes so it will keep the perfume sticking to your skin.
- Collagen
You hear about this all the time, and it’s a protein taken from animal tissue that’s most often used for anti ageing products such as lotions .
- Keratin
Finally , another protein from the ground-up horns, hooves, feathers, quills, and hair of animals. And as you’ll most likely already know it’s found in shampoos and hair care products.
So I hope you gained a lot of information guys ! I definitely did ,and try to watch out for those ingredients .
Like, comment or follow only if you genuinely enjoyed .
Love,bettypancakes xx
Have I Grown Up Yet?
Have I grown up yet ?
At the current moment I’m nodding my head in absolute confidence that surely by now I’ve reached that level of maturity where I simply can’t become any wiser . I mean.. this is it right?
I pretty much know the ins and outs of life ; I can now understand that rain is not in fact God sweating or crying,I know that people die and that we don’t really know where they go next or even if they can go somewhere next ? I understand sex pretty well, it’s kind of hard not to with social media guys and finally – I actually know how to cook rice without having the little burnt crispy bits at the bottom of the pan. Success.
But have I grown up? To be honest. No , I don’t think I have and I don’t really want to! When physically ageing as a child I always thought that being an adult was the best thing ever; I had this extremely childish image that I’d conjured which consisted of me somewhere in my twenties baking cakes all the time with a steady boyfriend of 50 years,how that’s possible ? Don’t ask me.
Oh ! Don’t forget the lavish holidays on the weekend guys! I wouldalso plan to spend my Saturdays exploring the jungles of the Amazon or discovering the rattle snakes like Steve Backshall did in Deadly 60 whilst somehow making it back home in time to call the girls for a night out . Like I even had a ” girls” to refer to at age 10. Trust me when I say I now know this is not reality.
What did you think growing up meant as a child? Can you relate in any form to my former beliefs?
I also used to think I would suddenly discover prince charming at the prime age of 19 , have a kid by 22 max so I’ll still be able to play with them and be a “cool “mum . I mean, all second born kids have had to endure their parents response to their lack of physical activity with the old “Well back in the day with your older ….”.At 10 I basically had my life figured out, and I almost forgot the part where I’d be a famous author and sell more books than Stephanie Meyer and J.K Rowling combined.
Cute right ?
Now as I’m moving onto the next stage of life which in my case is even more years of schooling .Yay. I realise that much of what I wanted ,I simply don’t have time for and moreover there’s not really much I can do without money .*Sigh*
But just pause. Think for a minute .Are there some things you believed you could do as a child still within reach right now? Yes? Then you better bloody grab it ! Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned growing up? Is that what I wanted as a child was not at all childish. OK maybe a little bit far-fetched but foremost still within reasonable reach. I don’t want to give up those little fun stories I would craft in my head that would keep me entertained for days.I want to pursue that.
I guess we’ll see if I really meet the man of my dreams in a few years and basically become the most successful author on the planet by the standards I’ve put in place .But that doesn’t mean I won’t try.
Why don’t you try ? Give yourself a little task and delve back into the mind of your 10-year-old self and see what ideas you come up with.Not being funny or nothing.
It could change your life .
As a child it all about spontaneousness for me. I feel like there is no better time than now to be spontaneous.Like right now ,go out and watch a movie by yourself ,call that one person and say the thing you’ve always wanted to say.You wouldn’t dare woould you? A little earlier I just mentioned wanting to pursue the dreams of my childhood , and I feel like I should explain before you wait for the next best-selling book by author bettypancakes to crop up in your Waterstone’s suggestions.
Sure enough I would love to pursue all of that but I actually meant to pursue the excitement and pure make belief I used to hold as a child.I don’t want to lose the fun I had in my head as a kid,it’s what made being a kid so great ! I just want to embrace it and be happy ,what about you ?
Were you happier as a kid then or happier now?
This was just a quick little post for some well needed talk about life .You know I’ve noticed that writing or rather typing out my thoughts , actually allows me to understand myself more !
Hope you enjoyed this guys , comment or like or follow if you really want,but only if you really want to .
GIVE ME IDEAS. I want to know what you want to hear …well read so if you got any. HIT ME UP!
Love ,bettypancakes xx
P.S
Thank you cookingwithoutlimits for liking my post !!
Vegan or Plant Based Diet?
So what the hell is the difference? Just a quick note guys I’ve been in hibernation for absolute ages now because of exams and thanks to wonderfulbabyanimals (Thank you!) I was reminded that I’ve been neglecting this blog for far too long now and it’s time to actually give you something entertaining to read!
So would you be able to differentiate between a vegan and someone who is on a plant-based diet ? Of course you could ! A vegan is someone who has a lifestyle dedicated to eradicating animal produce from their daily life; they do this due to the compassion they hold in their hearts and the ability to understand the cruelty that a crazy amount of animals face today.
Whereas someone who has a plant based diet .Simply just has a plant based diet or lifestyle – these people eradicate animal products from their diet on the basis that it is unhealthy for the human body in comparison to the wonderful alternatives that the plant life has to give. This is fantastic ,it’s great that people want to actually look after themselves ,and we as vegans or people who are just compassionate about animals in general should never criticise them for their supposed ”selfishness” . It is what it is ,it’s their choice and either way they are doing good for the planet and animals so who gives a crap?
But obviously some who are on a plant-based diet don’t extend this purification of animal products to other aspects of their lives ; their clothes for instance,and again that is their choice.
Now that we’ve clarified the clear difference it is then important to understand what to take from this.Picture this scenario..
I have a friend who recently told me they were planning on going vegan ,at first I was overjoyed ! Yes ! I’ve finally influenced someone before I hit 30! But then I had a reality check. I realised this was the same person who only a few weeks earlier were counting calories .Immediately , my joy was stifled and I asked them what brought the sudden change and was answered with wanting to stop eating unhealthy foods yada yada …..On the other hand ,however veganism made me appreciate myself so whose to say this wasn’t the best way to rid my friend of their calorie counting mentality?
But notice where the mistake comes in? They told me they were becoming vegan and like we clarified before but let’s make it clearer with Donald Watson’s definition,founder of the Vegan Society.
Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.
But let me continue with the story, around 5 minutes later they messaged me with a picture of a moisturizer that they use on a daily basis with a message basically saying “Can’t use this anymore ,it’s not vegan”.5 minutes after that “What deodorant do you use?”
Now do you see the problem ? I love this person to bits but they are incredibly misinformed and so are a lot of the world about the true meaning of being a vegan.
You see ,this person has not done any research whatsoever or know anything about animal cruelty in its simplest forms ,and the fact that they are now suddenly chnging their diet completely when weeks ago they were counting calories shows me this. And now they want to adopt being a vegan ?
It doesn’t work like that. As we established ;being a vegan is a way of life not some fad diet or the bloody Beyoncé diet as some people like to call it. It’s a lifestyle.End of.So while I commend them for making a change I am disappointed that someone who that close to me would not understand the significance behind this lifestyle .I spent months researching and understanding the true impact of animal cruelty, questioning my own actions and for the first time in a long time I completely empathized with the pain of other beings pain , and was so impacted by that which led to me trying to reduce their pain. Being a vegan changes your mindset completely it’s what makes it so amazing and special to begin with.
I honestly feel like the term is used too loosely and it matters to people like us who are constantly and actively fighting against animal cruelty as much as they can .Although people may not see me do this, it is what I do.
Take this for instance, my mothers work mate heard about my new lifestyle and wanted to change ,I gave her the advice I could.She is now changing her lifestyle to incorporate less animal products and does actually plan on watching Vegucated .Do bear in mind that this is a milestone for a first generation African ,their mindsets are closed like crazy!
Now my whole family doesn’t buy bulks of milk anmore and drink and love almond milk. Though they are not vegan the dairy consumption has dropped like crazy. I educate myself constantly about the victories of animal campaigns and the losses.I make plans for the future to do so much more because where I’m at right now as a young woman still completing her education? The best method I can use is to spread the message to others. Social media-perfect right ?
So please understand the difference because it matters deeply to me , a person who has now adopted this lifestyle for over a year now and to all people who want to change.It’s important we know.
Thanks for reading guys! I promise that this time I will be on this blog until you get sick of me.Only have 1 week left of exams so the summer is prime time !
Any questions ? Fire away ! Any criticisms ? Send them along ..
Comment,like or follow ONLY if you enjoyed this! If not then I guess you could piss off…Who says vegans can’t swear, right? *SCOFFS*
P.S
My foul language is as a result of the influence of the Peaky Blinders..
Love ,bettypancakes xx
Where am I going in life?
life
As a young woman about to start the long and waited GCSE’S I can’t help but wonder where I’m going in life.I have to make all these decisions about what I want to study and what profession I want to go into,how I’m going to get there and basically just plan out my life to be another tiny person in the grand scheme of things .Who is work hard to get money,buy materialistic things and worry about things like taxes and start saving for my pension from the age of 20 and so much more! Exhilarating isn’t it?
I don’t want to be another random name ,a random person that has made no significant impact. I honestly want to be known for making a difference to the world, well at least at the current moment I think I do?
You know those moments where you feel like the world is in your hands and practically yours to take it because you have the motivation and inspiration to do something bigger than you’ve ever imagined? Yeah. I’m having that right now…
When I think about all the things I want to do and experience in life,like being able to travel around the world to see and meet people walking different paths of life. Being able to fall in love like crazy and having a love so deep its fucking corny . Or simply being happy without stressing and having worries about the little things that should be insignificant but,scarily i enough ,actually determine how far you get in life.
It’s not fair. Honestly it’s not fair ,you know? You spend your whole life as number in the system and before you know it you’re 60 and almost retiring and suddenly you’re just another person about to die,kick the bucket ,meet the maker or whatever-the point is .This shouldn’t be the fate of millions of people worldwide ,this shouldn’t be your fate and now that I’ve let all that out .I can finally share what I know to be my motivation ,and as cringe worthy it may sound.It’s simple. It’s to be happy.
Simple as that ,I mean when’s the one time you feel carefree and alive and so in the moment that the next months rent doesn’t count as a priority ? Does happiness ring a bell anyone?
And this is why I constantly say again and again that my lifestyle as a vegan has given me that platform to feel and be happy whilst making a difference to the world. Even if no one else knows. But strangely enough ,I do want to be known and I strongly feel that it’s the responsibility of people in the media to be actual role models and show people how to live-to be happy. Take this for example, I recently watched a documentary on the rise of the number teenagers suffering from body dysmorphia and anorexia. And it’s risen by a fucking scary amount.
Young people ,boys and girls alike are literally harming themselves because they don’t feel beautiful or important. They’re focusing on things like the shapes of their bodies and the amount of likes they get on a photo to equal to how much importance they hold. This is crazy,and it may seem quite pathetic and not understandable to some people on why this matters so much . But this is the future ,they are the future and if the future feels this way about themselves how can we as the vegan community for instance, even hope of them being animal activists when they don’t even love themselves? Or how can parents expect perfect grades and straight A*’s if their children can’t even stand to look at themselves in the mirror.
This is literally just a tiny example of how so many of us waste our time and energy .This is only going to get worse and if people band together to help and can make a change,no matter how insignificant it may seem-as in my book no change is insignificant.We need to start now.
So in answer to my original question .Where am I going in life? I am going to be known for the happiness I can bring to people. I am going to be successful in ways that may not seem to be recognised as success in society but I will be that nonetheless. I am going to share my happiness ,and knowledge and joy wherever I go and have an opportunity. And I swear to myself that I will be as happy as humanely fucking possible!
So now that the corny bit is over I can thank anyone who was able to make it to the very end of this.I actually didn’t know where I was going with this ,it just kinda came out of me.
That sounds wrong,excuse my dirty teenage mind for a second guys and just appreciate that it’s toned down a little bit.Thanks for reading ! I hope you found this even a little bit motivational and a bit of a wake up call. I do hope this post impacted at least one person and if it did, please tell me ! I really want to know if these do anything .Comment,like and follow if you enjoyed .
Love,bettypancakes
P.S
I’m having that Vegan Chocolate Oat Mint Smoothie again…
Quick and Easy Vegan Smoothies !
My smoothie game has been so strong guys! For a while now my diet has been…lacking to say the least but this is just a classic example of how easily my nutrition hasn’t been my priority! Which it HAS to ,if I want to look after my body ,I can’t exactly feed it trash can I ?
So let’s get started on my favourite smoothie bowl of the week! I call this one Strawberry Passion !
OK so I don’t actually call it that ,but it’s the image ,non? To make this beauty all you need are the following things.
- Blender
- Any non dairy alternative to milk, I used almond milk
- Frozen bananas (I used three)
- Strawberries
- Almonds
First things first, cut up 3 bananas and put them in the freezer, bare in mind you don’t necessarily need frozen bananas. I just prefer them frozen because it makes the base of the smoothie bowl more creamier and thicker. I always leave them in overnight and don’t worry about putting them directly in the blender-I have a B-tech Nutri Bullet and it works fine,so that alone speaks volumes…
Next ,add in your strawberries ,obviously after giving them a good wash-no one likes a gritty smoothie.Add a handful of almonds that’s what I used however, I recommend cashews-the taste compliments the strawberries a lot more.
After blending until you’re sure it’s all smooth,pour in a pretty looking-glass or chalice or goblet-whatever works best basically !
And now my favourite part which is decorating ! Cut up some strawberries and place them in whatever pattern you want ,as you can see I kept it pretty simple and it still looks great. Do the same with the bananas and finish off by sprinkling on some crushed almonds !
Next, my second favourite smoothie – The hell for all peanut allergy sufferers !
No seriously..the picture speaks for itself.
Right, so with this one it’s literally all the steps above but without the strawberries and with a hell of a lot more nuts!
Now on to a NEW favourite ,I say new because I literally discovered this like 5 minutes ago . This ”masterpiece”is what I call the Vegan Chocolate Oat Mint Smoothie –It’s the oat bit that makes my one special…
To make this you need the following
- Blender
- Mint leaves
- Spinach
- Kale
- Frozen bananas
- Cacao powder or pure coco powder
- Almond Milk
- Nuts
- Maple syrup (pure of course )
- Oh ! And strawberries!
So to make the chocolate bit just blend together some frozen bananas,spinach,kale,almonds,cashews,oats ,Cacao powder or coco , and almond milk. Blend this for at least 7 minutes ,trust me you don’t want a non blended piece of spinach at the bottom of your smoothie-my mouth was not expecting that.
Pour half of it into a clear jar and save the rest away for layering.
Next ,clean your blender quite thoroughly to get rid of all the brown goodness,then put in some washed mint leaves,frozen bananas and clear fruit syrup ,and you can get this syrup anywhere. I went to Planet Organic and got a 250 ml bottle for under 5 quid . The key bit here is to make sure the mint bit is thick and denser than the chocolate part . That way when you layer it on top it won’t mix,like oil and water!
Blend that for at lest 5 minutes and pour it over the chocolate smoothie already in the jar,if you want you can continue layering but I just kept it simple.I was too hungry to take my time-story of my life but anyway. Now all you have to do is decorate it! And you’re done. This has been my breakfast for the past week and I feel great! It’s actually been helping with my revision loads and it gives me SO MUCH ENERGY . For me I can have one from 8 am and I won’t feel hungry till about 1 in the afternoon before I break for a lunch.
So, I hope you find this useful ! I had fun writing it, and guys I always forget but do check out my instagram if you have time I always post random pics of my food and if you want to see a face behind the screen it’s all there ! Comment and like and all that other good stuff!
Love,bettypancakes
P.S
My instagram name is desiredream03…kinda forgot to put that above.
222 Veggie Vegan Review!
So first of I would like to formally apologise for neglecting this blog especially after I said I wouldn’t do this! Unfortunately I have exams coming up and that equals to time consuming revision that I probably should be doing right now.Nonetheless let’s go on with the review!
So last night my friend and I decided to bless our bodies with beautiful vegan food (Not that I don’t always do) but bless ourselves we did! First of the new design for the restaurant is simply gorgeous,it now has a sleek grey exterior, which was extremely difficult to recognise at 9:30 in the evening , but really aesthetically pleasing to look at.The moment we entered we were greeted by an incredibly friendly and funny Spanish man , and he showed us to our candle lit table with the grace of butterfly,I’m telling you it was that smooth.
Moving on ,the menu was quite small but had a great variety of options to pick from.For instance the Seitan Stragonoff was a definite contender for my stomach, and as well as the organic tofu and veggie burger-but I was sold by the Pasta Basillico ,and don’t even get me started on the dessert menu! The prices were incredibly reasonable as well and you know how usually the more you pay the less you actually receive on a plate? It was quite the opposite and I constantly found myself wishing I brought more money. Now on to the visuals!
We started off with Pitta bread and dips of hummus,pimento and avocado .Excuse my French but I’ll tell you now that pimento dip was fucking gorgeous, and if you throw in a smile here and again they give you more bread at no additional charge ! We were also served pretty quickly ,there were only a few people around so I instantly felt comfortable and kind of chilled out . And I don’t know if it’s because the whole place was filled with vegans/veggies but everyone bloody smiled your way! But back to the food.My main meal, which unsurprisingly was the cheapest thing was the Pasta Basillico .
This was pure gold,honestly I don’t even know how they get their food to be so tasty.Everything was just perfection .I waited only about 15 minutes for the food to arrive and the presentation was on point ,no matter how bad my shitty angles made made it look,I was hungry guys ,I couldn’t focus.The portions were also perfect but not that I would have complained if I got more…
Thinking about this now I seriously need to get that recipe.But next up we have the main my partner in crime ordered ! She had the err…Hmm I actually can’t find what she had on the menu. But just know that whatever she had ,it tasted great! (obviously I took some of her food as well) It went something along the lines of curry and that’s all I can remember.
The next thing we did was order a Raw Chocolate Torte that was just lush.I had really high hopes for this as well and they were almost met with flying colours. Don’t get me wrong guys ,the torte was fabulous however I did want more of a deep,rich and dark chocolatey taste to it as opposed to the more subtle and soft coconut cream that was used for the most of it.Excluding the base though,that was just perfection.
Yeah, I’m a bit disappointed with the visuals too but we were hungry ! And I was under pressure from my greedy friend to take and I quote ”the god damned picture!” you can even see in the photo where she rubbed off some of the cinnamon on the plate because she couldn’t wait 5 minutes for me!
But all in all despite greedy hands mucking about my photo, the whole experience was fantastic! Everything tasted superb,the staff didn’t treat us like shit and we got free pitta bread!
So hope you found this short little review even the tiniest bit useful ,and you must stop by there if you have time,I can assure you’re not going to regret it one bit.Enjoy!
Love,bettypancakes
bettypancakes 