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Staying Vegetarian in a Video Game Can Be Harder Than You Think

We live in a glorious time where video games are bigger and more mainstream than ever, allowing us to live out elaborate fantasies and experience worlds never thought possible. But for all that games have done to allow us some sort of morality choice during play, very few actually celebrate, or even encourage, living a vegetarian lifestyle.

Have you sat down and thought about your favorite game characters for a bit and seen if they line up with your own beliefs? Sure, we all want to be the hero (and maybe the villain every now and again), but do we have any characters that are really cyphers for our own personalities and beliefs? Let’s take Mario as a simple example. He’s as harmless as they come in terms of family appeal, and while he does spend a lot of times eating mushrooms, leaves, flowers, and other mostly organic foods, he’s known to love a good spaghetti and meatballs when he’s not saving the princess. Link from The Legend of Zelda seems like a pretty gown to earth kind of character, but when you think about it has runs around slaughtering the native creatures around the area and stealing their hearts to regain health. It looks all cartoony and innocent, but bottom line, he feeds on the hearts of his enemies.

Things only get worse the further you look back, as the standard healing item in games tended to be meat. In Castlevania, Simon Belmot would regularly find whole roasted chickens inside of walls and somehow get healed from devouring them (vegetarian or not, eating random meat found in an old wall is not a wise decision).

How did we let things get so far out of our control? Games regularly send us off on adventures that require us to kill animals to proceed. How many Final Fantasy titles have you played where all forms of wildlife approach you, only to be blasted with Firaga? The game tasks you with tromping through obscure forests, their natural habitats, then rewards you with chump change for hacking them apart.

Oddly enough, some of the best examples of “vegetarian friendly” games tend to be ones where there either isn’t a story at all, like Tetris, or ones that you wouldn’t even think of as video games, such as Farmville. Somehow we’ve hit a point where Farmville is standing as a positive example of an animal-friendly world whereas Call of Duty regularly has you snapping dogs’ necks. Things get even more complicated if you’re vegan, leaving you with pretty much Pong or maybe Nintendogs. And Tetris. Thankfully we always have Tetris (that L block is totally vegan, as if it wasn’t obvious).

Surprisingly, probably the most positive example of a game character living a vegetarian lifestyle is Super Meat Boy, a platformer considered “Nintendo Hard” by the best gamers where you run around as a chunk of meat trying to get his girlfriend back. Yes, you’re playing as meat, but everything is out to destroy you, leaving meat the pitiable victim of this harsh world.

Is that the best we can do? A technicality? Are there no vegetarian game designers out there wanting to give us a high-quality game with a character that embodies our lifestyle? For now, it seems we are alone in this video game world.…

Natural Treatment For Migraine Headaches

Migraine Headaches are more an energetic issue than a strictly physical one and undoing energetic blockages and balancing the body’s energy system through the use of EFT is the number one natural treatment for migraine headaches.

EFT – Emotional Freedom Techniques (also known as meridian tapping) is a simple modality for balancing the body’s energy system and releasing blocked energy dissolving negative emotions, memories and past traumas or future worries and fears.

Meridian Tapping is practised by using the fingers to tap on the various acupressure points on the body, while at the same time focusing on a phrase that describes the issue and also putting attention on the issue.

Miraculous recoveries can be achieved when the reason behind the headache has been discovered and it is different for everyone because it is often a disempowering belief, a traumatic memory, or even some sort of fear of worry, which cause the energetic imbalance. So it is always important to tune into the root cause rather than just the presenting symptoms.

Another effective natural treatment for Migraine headaches can be found with the diet. Many foods and drinks that we consume cause inflammation, and inflammation of the tissues and sinuses can cause headaches. Certain foods are also mucus forming and when our sinuses are full of mucus and inflamed at the same time, this is a sure recipe for a migraine headache.

A predominantly raw plant based diet also known as a Raw Vegan Diet is the number one anti-inflammatory and anti-mucus diet that one can eat. I have never met anyone who’s migraine headaches persisted that ate a 100% raw vegan diet.

At the very least, the foods that you want to seriously reduce or remove are meat, dairy, bread and diet drinks, which contain Aspartame.

The foods that you want to eat more of are fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. By doing this not only will you be free of migraine headaches, your health, vitality and energy will also radically improve and you will look and feel younger.

Find and living your life purpose is also a little understood natural treatment for migraine headaches. To understand this, you must realise that all dis-ease in the body or mind for that matter is communication or feedback. When we don’t listen or act on this feedback then it will get worse or louder until we take action to rectify the problem. Ask yourself the question “Am I doing what I love in life?” “Am I fulfilling my highest aspirations?” If the answer is no, then ask “What would I really love to do with my life?”

Find out what your values are and what is really important to you and start living it daily. When we start to align our life with our true values and align our personality with our soul and our souls purpose then disease can vanish from our body. So you can naturally treat migraine headaches through some soul searches and asking the right questions.…

Easy Yet Delicious Healthy Vegetarian Recipes

Vegetarian is a healthy meal that your family and every one of us should take more. You can label one day every week as vegetarian day for the whole family. It will lead you to a great healthy diet. Below are 2 simple and healthy vegetarian recipes.

Eggplants with Sesame Sauce

Serves 4

2 vegetable, 1 A� fat, A� sugar

Protein 10g

Fat 14g

Carbohydrate 35g

Total Calories 300

5 eggplants

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp light soya sauce

Chopped coriander and spring onions

A� cup water

Boil eggplants in a pot of hot water until skin wrinkles. Cool the boiled eggplants under some running water, drain and remove skin. Cut them into large sections and set aside. To make sauce, brown sesame seeds in the oven or pan and then pound until very fine. Blend the sesame paste with the rest of the seasoning into a smooth consistency. Mix the sauce into the eggplants and garnish with chopped coriander and spring onions. Serve hot or cold.

Malaysian Vegetable Stew (Sayur Lodeh)

Serves 4-6

3 meat, 3 vegetable, 2 fat

Protein 42g

Fat 33g

Carbohydrate 45g

Total Calories 640

20 small prawns (shelled and deveined)

2 firm bean curd (towkwa) (cut into 8 pieces)

10 shallots

5 red chillies

2 tsp turmeric powder

A� cup coconut milk

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

2 cups long beans (cut into 3cm lengths)

3 cups cabbage (cut into bite sizes)

1 bunch water convolvulus (kangkong) (cut into 3cm lengths)

2 cups beansprouts (tailed)

2 green chilies (sliced lengthwise)

In a food processor, grind shallots and chilies until very fine. Bring coconut milk and water to a boil in a pot and add pounded shallots, red chilies, turmeric and salt. Leave to simmer for 5-10 minutes and then add prawns and bean curd. Increase heat, add long beans and cabbage and let it boil for 1-2 minutes. Lastly, add kangkong, beansprouts and green chilies and bring to a boil again for another minute before turning heat off.

Indonesian Tamarind Vegetables (Sayur Assam)

Serves 4-6

4 vegetable, A� sugar

Protein 20g

Carbohydrate 65g

Total Calories 340

1 large onion

4-5 cloves garlic

2-3 red chilies

5-6 cups stock or water

2 cups string beans (cut into 5cm lengths)

1 tomato (sectioned)

2 cups cabbage (cut into bite sizes)

3 green chilies (halved lengthwise)

2 cups beansprouts (tailed)

A� cup tamarind juice

1 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Put onion, garlic and chilies in a food processor and chop coarsely. Simmer the chopped mixture in the stock for 15-20 minutes and then add the vegetables, saving the beansprouts to be added last. Season with tamarind juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables for about 5-10 minutes or until just tender. Add beansprouts, cook for another minutes. Cool well before serving.…

Best Ways to Lose Weight

Weight loss is a reality that can be attained. In fact, if proper weight loss schedules are regularly followed, then there can be no obstacle to weight loss. The best ways to lose weight are following a effective diet plan, thinking in a motivating manner and following a complementary exercise schedule with the diet plan. These ways of losing weight are far better than cosmetic surgeries or other cosmetic processes like liposuction. In contrast to the cosmetic ways, the best ways to lose weight can be termed as natural process to lose diet.

Effective diet plan – The term effective diet plan means switching over to a more vegan diet instead of an animal protein diet. The disadvantages of animal protein diets are that they consist of a large amount of cholesterol and are often cooked with oil. For losing weight, the best oil that should be used for cooking is olive oil. In fact, the objective should be to ultimately switchover completely to a vegan diet for the fastest weight loss.

The components of a vegan diet are fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables. Fruits help the body by supplying it essential nutrients like protein and detoxifying the body of elements that can trigger weight gain in the body (stimulants like alcohol, nicotine and caffeine). Place more stress on acidic fruits like grapes and oranges for the detoxifying purpose. Protein fruits like avocados and olives are also very helpful. Fruits like water melon are also a good source of water to the body. However, adding much eating of starchy fruits like banana. Fruits like guava are rich sources of iron to the body. While cooking opt for cane sugar (brown sugar) rather than white sugar. Commercially available white sugar act as stimulants to the body food craving cycle. Besides, more green leafy vegetable ingredients should also be included in diets. Do not forget to drink plenty of water to help the body detoxifying itself against stimulants. Stimulants like caffeine, alcohol and white sugar create a craving of food in the body.

Motivational support – Be mentally motivated to lose weight. Let the mind support the body on its mission to lose fat.…

Chemical Free – Choose Natural Skin, Hair and Cosmetic Products for Your Family

Protecting yourself from everyday toxins has become the number one thing to do today. Why?

Our society is all about having to clean ourselves with whatever cleaning products there are on the market. But, unfortunately, many peoples cleaning regimes have a serious down side.

Most personal care products – from shampoos, conditioners and hair dyes to delicate and wickedly expensive face creams – studies show they contain a virtual mine field of dangerous, cancer forming agents. In fact, from the moment you wake up in the relative safety of your home environment until you go to work, or drive the kids to school, you probably apply between 10-15 harmful chemical to your skin, hair, and teeth alone.

Have you read the ingredients on your shampoo bottle lately? Or ever wondered why there is a warning on your toothpaste tube many of the chemicals present in these personal products are actually derived from the petrochemical industry – toxic substances that are very effectively absorbed through our skin, scalp and mouth and which over time, accumulate in the body’s organs and tissues leading to irritations, compromised immune systems and even cancer.

Have you ever wondered what makes the white fluffy soapy foam lather up and splash all over you when you are washing your hair or taking a bubble bath? The foam is pristine white because it is bleached by a chemical called Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) and its siblings, Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES). These chemicals are specifically designed to make the ingredients foam up. These chemically based foaming agents are found in almost every shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath, soap, toothpaste and detergent.

SLS is also used as an engine degreaser and a floor cleaner because of their harsh chemical properties to strip off dirt. Can you imagine what that is doing to your skin? According to an American College of Toxicity report, SLS stays in the body for up to five days, penetrating though the skin and maintains residual levels in the heart, liver, lungs, and brain. It can also cause separation of skin layers, creating inflammation, and it has been linked in peer-review studies to lower sperm counts, stress related illnesses and cancer.

The issue for most consumers is to acknowledge that traditional cosmetic products are chemically based. There is already enough air pollution that we have every little control over and that our bodies already have to deal with on a daily basis.

To protect yourself and your family from these everyday toxins, you need to become educated about what kind of chemicals you are applying to your body every single day, and then seek reliable natural and organic alternatives.

But common sense should prevail, we need to protect ourselves and our loved ones form the harmful effects of chemicals. We may not have much control over the environment we live in but we can have a say in what types of products we are putting on ourselves and our family.

That is why you must read the labels of the products. Research what they mean, most people have never heard of the chemicals in the products, let along try to pronounce them correctly. Knowledge is power and with the knowledge that you learn from researching chemicals, you can make an informed decision about what products to put on your loved ones skin.

Your conclusion should be to use natural and organic skin and hair care products so that you are not damaging your skin any longer. Staying with the natural products over time will allow your health to return and to make you feel even better.…

What is a Vegan? A Very Short Explanation

“Does “Vegan” mean there is no dairy in these cookies?” A little girl with chocolate-colored hair is looking at her shoes while her mother asks about my cookies. I am selling them at a local farmer’s market and my signs are marked clearly “Vegan.” I can tell she is not expecting to get to have any cookies today. I guess it has been a while since she was allowed a cookie, since her mother has obviously not done much research on baking without dairy.

“YEP!” I see the girl’s head pop up and she looks hopefully at her mother. Apparently the little girl has recently been diagnosed with a milk allergy. I hope it was VERY recently, because the story the mother tells me breaks my heart for this little girl. She says “she can’t have milk” and “it’s really hard for her because we all eat it at home all the time.”

Two things are painfully clear to me now. One, this little girl needs help, and two, so does her insensitive and ignorant mother. Personally, if my child was suddenly allergic to anything, that thing would never find its way under my roof ever again. Period. I would not torture a young child, forcing her to watch as everyone else enjoyed a full-dairy diet while she had to make do with substitutes.

Eating Dairy-free is just one of the aspects of eating a vegan diet. But it is, next to eating no meat, typically the most well-known aspect of a vegan diet. And yet, here I had a woman who presumably had begun her research into a dairy-free lifestyle (I hope) and had not heard of the term “vegan.”

With the fast growing green movement, and more and more people choosing a veggie-based diet, I am always surprised when I encounter anyone that is not familiar with at least the basic tenants of a vegan diet.

So what is a vegan? A vegan is a person that endeavors not to consume animal products of any kind. This includes flesh of all kinds, beef, chicken, pork and fish, animal-produced foods such as eggs, dairy, and gelatin, as well as most refined sugars, many wines, and many beers. A vegan will typically also not wear clothing or consume other such non-edibles that were made with animal products, such as leather or woolen goods, feather products (with the exception of humane-harvest feathers which are simply collected after the bird naturally molts) or silk.…

The Vegan Diet – New to the Kitchen?

So you have decided to become a vegan and have commit yourself to be successful at this. After all. you want a better quality of life, don’t you?

As a vegan, you will face many different challenges, such as learning about nutrition, adapting to this new lifestyle, how to stay vegan in social situations, but the most scary one could be, what to cook. If you are new to the kitchen then this might be a horrifying thought, I mean you haven’t cook at all but now that you are a vegan, things in the kitchen get even more complicated. The good thing about this is that you are definitely out of your comfort zone, which means you will only grow from now.

Let me start by telling you that you are not alone on this. Many people face the same challenge regarding what to eat. I faced it too, when I was just starting my vegan journey and let me tell you that I have become a pretty good cook. Knowing where to start is not always easy, but with patience and proper planning, you will find that the kitchen monster is not as big as you think it is, you will learn how to cook the most amazing, cruelty free dishes.

OK so before you get started, you need to know where you are regarding your cooking skills. If your idea of a meal is going to the local take out and put that food on a dish, then you will need to ask your mom or friends for some help. Don’t get me wrong, you can still eat out as a vegan but it is not as healthy as cooking your own food and you will have plenty more choices if you prepare your meals.

Now take time to learn a few recipes and master them. Practice makes perfect and starting with a few dishes is a good starting point. This will also help you when you are in a hurry and need to prepare something fast. When you know what dishes to prepare, you can do them in record time. Also make sure you learn some recipes that include ingredients common in your household. It would be useless to learn recipes when you don’t have the ingredients on hand.

Finally look for some cooking classes around your neighborhood. This will really help you in mastering vegan dishes or get you started in the kitchen with help from professionals or people with experience. Just look at this as a great adventure and have fun with it.

I hope you have found this article to be useful in your quest for a better quality of life.…