Halloween Fun

Let's face it. It's not that hard to be vegetarian during halloween. Its not like the mass majority of candy has meat in it. Or does it?

Vegans beware! Some gummy candy has a certain gelatin that is manufactured from hoofs of animals. Also, some candy was dyed using dye that was produced using animal products. Actually the more I read about this the more I don't ever want to eat candy again, vegan or not. Ew.

Another thing... many not be meat technically but it's close. A company called Hotlix is the original manufacturers of the lollipops with real bugs inside. REAL. They have a plethora of options. You can order insects such as: worms, crickets, larvae, scorpions (umm, is that safe?), ants, and butterflies (aw, that's so sad). And for the 21 some of their lollipops contain tequila- appropriate has that's probably the only ways anyone will eat them.

Anywho, hop these were some fun facts about creepy candy. Have a fun and safe Halloween yall!

Cheap Is Nice

I've been slowly realizing this but I think its time to officially spill the beans.

Being vegetarian is much cheaper.

I went to Ye Old Waffles today and ordered what I always order at breakfast places- two eggs over medium, hash browns, and biscuits. (Let me just inform you, Ye Old has some of the BEST biscuits I've ever had and I grew up Southern.) Anyway, I usually order bacon as well but of course that wasn't an option. I wonder if they have tofu bacon... So at the end of the meal my order rang up for around 3.75. Wow, that's not bad usually little breakfast shops are a bit pricy. Not anymore now that I don't order meat. Meat with my meal would have cost me another 1.50 for two strips of bacon. Now that may not sound like a huge difference but imagine when all those 1.50s stack up.

It's not only Ye Old, being vegetarian is traditionally cheaper everywhere including everyone of my favorite eateries on Franklin.

Just another good reason to come over to the green side. By the way I'm being grapes for Halloween- Yay fruits and vegetables.

Supplements

SUPPLEMENTS.

The big question. Ok, it wasn't so big until someone mentioned to me that as a vegetarian I really should consider taking these things. Well the idea had crossed my mind but I've never looked into it because I'm a bit of a hypochondriac. I hate taking pills of any kind so I wasn't about to swallow random bits "earth products" mashed into capsules from far-away hippie land. Oh, and it turns out that if you eat the right things as a vegetarian you don't need to take supplements. If I find one day I'm running a bit low on iron or zinc (there's an app for that) I could eat some eggs (which I LOVE), whole grain cereals, green leafys, orange juice, or fresh fruits or vegetables- all available at your local Lenior. And if I'm running low on calcium- duh, drink more milk (which I do drink for every meal).

So, supplements aren't necessary but are kind-of like a back up for vegetarians. Pissahhh... back-ups? No thanks, I work alone. And I'd rather eat right and stay away from the unknown pills coming fresh off the hippie farms.*

* Disclaimer: supplements are NOT all from "hippie farms" and are proven safe. Many non-hypochondriac vegetarians and carnivores alike take them.

Family Time

My friends continue to be huge supporters of my changing lifestyle. And by friends I mean comedians, by support I mean joke, and by lifestyle I mean more vege's.

No, just kidding. My friends have gotten used to it and only wave chicken in front of my face once or twice a week at most now.

So my friends have gotten used to it, but how would my family react? I soon found out during Fall Break. First meal we had? Meatloaf. Now most of you would say "Meatloaf, sweet! I've been praying for an excuse not to eat that stuff forever!" But I was singing a different tune. My mother's meatloaf is amazing and I was looking for an excuse to eat it. But no fear blog followers, I did not give into my temptation and I ate the vegetables and potatoes my mother cooked as well. Second meal? Beef and broccoli, and that one was easy- all I had to do was pick out the bits of meat and give them my ravenous teenage brothers. So we can agree that being vegetarian at home was not a huge deal, but my family's reactions?

Different.

Brothers: "Allie's a hippie now. But its cool, we get the meat she won't eat, and that's good cause we LOVE meat."

Dad: " Yeah, its just a phase. Let her eat vegetables for now, this will be over by the end of the semester."

Mom: "Probably just a little phase but she's a strong girl. Let her do want she wants."

Thanks family!

Oh and they didn't wave chicken in front of my face the entire time...

I Bet Luna Lovegood Is a Vegetarian

Aristotle

Brad Pitt

Buddha

Charles Darwin

Ellen Degeneres

Emily Dickinson

Franz Kafka

Jason Mraz

Kate Winslet

Leonardo de Vinci

Lisa Simpson

Lord Byron

Paul McCartney

Prince

Steve-O

Voltaire

Do you know what all these people have in common? They are all vegetarians. I was pleasantly surprised at all the people I could find who were proven vegetarians- and they're not all vain Hollywood actors. "Vegetarian Times" claims there to be 7.3 million Americans who are officially vegetarian and 22.8 million more who following a vegetarian diet.

Oh yeah, and JESUS was a vegetarian/pescetarian ... beat THAT carnivores.

It's a Video!

Burritos

Random question: Just got out a rise krispy treat to eat as I write this post and noticed something. I have some of the special rise krispys that have a chocolate drizzle on top, cool I know, but the package says "chocolaty drizzle." I didn't think much of it at first but then I began to wonder: Did they add the "Y" to make the name more enticing? Or are they covering their bases and hinting that the chocolate drizzle on your rise krispy is not chocolate at all but simple "chocolaty" in flavor? Oh marketing...

Anywho.

Some of my friends and I decided to go back to our hometown (good old Wilmington) for the weekend. The first thing we did? Ok, unpacked and probably went for a trip to the bathroom. But after that? We rushed to the local favorite- Flaming Amys Burrito Barn. and when I say "local favorite", I'm not exaggerating, in fact that might have been an understatement. Go into Flaming Amys on any given day and you are guaranteed to see at least one close friend or relative that lives in the port city. Why so famous? Simple. Hot, Fast, Cheap and Easy. (That's their slogan.) That and they have the best burritos on the East Coast.

So one of the blue haired, religiously tattooed, pissed-off Flaming Amys women was about to take my order when I had a panic attack. I always ordered the same thing. I always ordered a Bandito Burrito with honey mustard. Do you know what's in a Bandito Burrito? No! Of course not! But a Bandito Burrito has chicken in it. God forbid.

So, I walked right up to that frightening woman, honestly I have nightmares about the workers at Falming Amys, and asked for my same buritto But. With. Out. Chicken. The first bite was hard, it wasn't the same. But honestly after that, I didn't even notice my burrito was missing anything. I realized that even before this I would take out most of the chicken anyway.

So all in all being a vegetarian this weekend back at home was much easier than expected, even at Flaming Amys. The meal was still Hot. Fast. Cheap and Easy.

Waffles on Wednesday

Needless to say, on a particular day this week I found myself in Lenoir disgusted. Nothing looked the least bit appetizing. Even the salad bar- which on a good day is pretty sketchy- was looking rough. I was in distress until I found the breakfast alcove.

The breakfast alcove is adjacent to the Grill and the vegetarian bar. Ironic? Perhaps. Anyway, did you know not only can you get cereal at Lenoir anytime of the day but make your won waffle? And I'm not talking about some Eggo frozen one either- don't get me wrong I do love those things- but no, these are gigantic frisbee sized warm waffles made by yours truly. Unfortunately with this new knowledge I might now be committing carbo-cide once in a while but it will be worth it. Those golden plates of warm fluff are simply amazing and make me feel nice and... Ok, this might be going too far but I love these things and guess what????

WAFFLES DON'T HAVE MEAT.

Rush Hour at Rams Head (Well, I mean Lenoir but Rams Head works for my alliteration.)

Has anyone been outside today? Its absolutely gorgeous.

"Carolina blue baby, God's favorite color."

Oh Mother...

I've been to Lenior plenty of times during 12am and 6pm and I am surprised.

I am traditionally a very clumsy person. Curious, because I was a dancer for eleven years. But I truly tell you I am usually a blundering fool and I have many bumps, bruises, and scars to prove my awkwardness. The world and I always seem to want to go in an opposite direction. I am walking in a strait line, the world throws a brick in front of my feet. Its a rainy day and the world slathers the sidewalk, grass, and my leather Rainbows* with the cruelest combination of water and slime. Maybe the world has a vendetta against me, you know, like the physics have it out for the Virgos- if your a Virgo like me and you read your horoscope, you know all about that discrimination.

Anyway, I am very surprised. Tell me, with all the horrendous traffic at Lenoir during rush hours (mainly around 12 and 6), WHY HAVEN'T I RUN INTO ANYONE? Why haven't I seen a head-on collision? Why haven't I seen someone trip over a foot or two and witness a rain of mash potatoes, greens, and chicken?**

If you have visited the dining hall during these hazardous hours, you know how insane people are. Am I standing in the salad line or the Grill line? Which way are you going dude in front or me? Did they really just stop in the middle of the intersection? I'm surprised we don't have lines painted on the floor and traffic lights to get to our desired destinations.

Perhaps as Carolina students, we are naturally more intelligent and observant. Perhaps Carolina students will always weave their way through the throng of people unscathed because we're just THAT cool.

Perhaps not. Maybe the delay of the many mini collisions will result in a debacle of epic proportions... and knowing me, I'll be the cause of it.

Good luck fellow Lenoir dwellers.

* Rainbows, for non Wilmingtonians, are leather flips flops worn year round in the Port City. When worn in the rain or dipped into the ocean the shoes become increasingly slippery and will turn your feet bright orange.

** This actually happened to me once when I was in middle school. I was at a ballet summer intensive in Austin TX and was eating at the University of Texas dining hall. My clumsiness plus carpeted stairs resulted in said food stuffs everywhere, including myself and others. That was an awkward elevator ride with mashed potatoes in my hair...