Rationis Capax

 Many consider humans to be "rational animals" but Johnathan Swift said that humans are animals capable of reason.  I agree.  Because of this capability we mull over what is right and what is wrong.  For some of us this morality issue exists in what we chose to eat.  But our ability to "reason" interferes with our instincts.

Can you say that you eat instinctively?  That you just know what to eat?  I didn't think so.  Whether it's your mother, television ads, health blogs, or diet books there is something that dictates what we eat.  I've found that no matter what the influence is on an individual's consumption, guilt is constantly tied to food. 

This guilt is a consequence of reason and goes against animal instinct.  Because we are constantly fed information on which foods are good for us, what food comes from good sources, and what food is morally right to eat, we over-think.  This over-thinking results in regret and guilt.  In some cases the guilt may be justified and helpful.  If a person eats McDonald's for breakfast, Burger King for lunch, and Pizza Hut for dinner every day this guilt might help them change their habits.  On the other hand an individual who has spent time reading books, magazines, and blogs on fitness may feel the same dose of guilt for eating a frozen yogurt.

I do feel the second variety of guilt on occasion but my biggest source of guilt is based on a morality issue rather than a heath one.  I've been a vegetarian since I was 10 years old.  I am turning 21 in a month.  Lately, I've done a lot of thinking on what I want to eat, what I should eat, and what is right for me to eat.

Here's what I've come up with:
There are certain foods that certain animals are meant to eat.  Because of these divisions we have herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.  Human beings are omnivores but unlike other omnivores we have this capability to reason.  Some humans utilize this reason and come to the conclusion that meat should not be consumed by human beings because it is wrong.  What makes it wrong?  These people don't get mad at birds for eating worms. Human consumption of meat is the thing that helped us survive.  Survival cannot be wrong.

I think some people feel that humans have an unfair advantage.  We are not hunting anymore and if we do it's for sport.  I will say that I am against raising animals FOR food.  It seems cruel to harbor life for the sole purpose of death and (obviously) factory-farm torture is a bad thing.  Because of this I am strongly against consuming meat that comes from large farms.  These farms also pump their animals full of hormones and treat them poorly for the duration of their ill-purposed lives.  These actions produce unsafe environments for both the animals and the humans consuming the animals.

I think that a life made for death is wrong.  However, I do not think it is wrong to eat animals - IF the animals are taken care of, fed well, and allowed to enjoy the life they have OR caught in the wild where they lived their lives as they were meant to live.  But our reasoning shouldn't end with the consideration of where the animal was raised.  We must appreciate the animal's sustenance.  By living, consuming, dying, and providing matter for consumption the animal perpetuates the cycle.  One day every one of us will provide food for the soil that feeds the plants that feeds the animals (unless you have your ashes sent to space ;]).  We are part of the cycle and thinking that we are so special that we escape the cycle is moronic. 


A rational animal realizes that it is still an animal.  Biologically we are meant to eat meat therefore it is "right" to eat meat.  However, we have evolved into a power that believes itself to be more important than other animals.  Because of this power we no longer value where our food comes from.  As rational animals we have the ability to think about our food.  So eating meat is natural but using our power to hurt other animals is not.  It is that cruelty and ignorance that I am against.


*Braces self for onslaught of tomatoes*

Antoinette's Revolution Cosmetics Review

I recently ordered six eyeshadows from ARC cosmetics and I love them so much that I am going to do a review.

Edit: I forgot to say that ARC is cruelty free (no animal testing) but not vegan. This means that some shadows may contain parts of beetle shells, little red shrimp, or other such creatures. The eyeshadows are clearly marked "vegan" or "not vegan" so you can buy only vegan if you wish.

I believe I first saw this brand on Beauty's Bad Habit blog. I was immediately drawn to the brand for these reasons:
1. Cruelty free indie makeup is my favorite.
2. I love anything French.
3. I love anything morbid.
4. I love History.
I bought six sample jars to test out the colors. I am going to order some more samples and at least one full size soon.

Upon first opening the package, the personal touches of indie brands were obvious.
I love the addition of the personalized message, ribbon, and pin.
The jars were also very well packaged to prevent loose shadow explosions in the mail.
They were in a plastic bag, shrink wrapped, AND had paper sifter seals.

Now, paper sifter stickers can be a pain. Ever tried to remove a bar code sticker from something and just end up with shreds of paper and a sticky mess? My solution is tweezers.
Gently pull the edge and it should come off clean.

Swatch time:

Duchess, Liaisons, Louis

Velvet Rose, Gangrene, Patina

I used Velvet Rose on my lid and Ladies in Waiting (free sample) to blend it out. Velvet Rose is such an amazing color. It almost becomes a different shade where it is blended out (difficult to photograph) so fewer shades are needed to create a fantastic look with it!
I love all sorts of reds and oranges (probably because of my hair). I know a lot of people think reds will make them look ill or dead but with a bit of eyeliner the crypt look fades. I've always liked the eerie look of reds alone, though.

See? I don't look dead. Dead people don't smile.

I love this company and I love watching them come out with new colors (usually one every week). Check them out!

20 Years Gone By

It's my 20th birthday.
I feel old.

I drowned my sorrows in some celebratory Breakfast Ice Cream. I added some vanilla to this batch, a very good idea.
I took a picture to show you what it should look like before the almond milk.*
If you use cookie dough almond butter as the nut butter, it's like cookie dough ice cream.

I put icing and sprinkles on it since there will be no cake today.

The good thing about getting older?

No one is there to tell you ice cream and cookie dough aren't for breakfast.

*I forgot to note that you will need to allow the bananas about 5-10 min to thaw a bit before you can mix them in.

Hold on to your Pants...

...this is the best summer breakfast ever invented. Oh, and it's vegan.

I will start by saying that I hate overnight oats. No matter how many times I make them, I want to gag. I thought it was the fact that they were cold. This has changed that thought.

This is not overnight oats. Nothing like it.

This is ice cream for breakfast. Now, I would never name something "cookie dough" or "ice cream" if it tasted anything less than the real thing. Dates + cashews + chocolate chips, ground and rolled into balls are delicious but they are NOT cookie dough. That's a Larabar.
This is ice cream.

Well, the texture is not.
But the taste.
Oh, goodness.
Spot on.
(The key is the frozen banana. Do not sub anything else for this....unless it's a scoop of ice cream...which is an idea that I support)

Look.

It is important.
I am interrupting my eating of this bowl just to tell you about it.

here we go...

Ingredients:
1/2 c oats (rolled or quick)
dash of salt
1/2 tsp sweetener (optional)

2 tsp almond butter (or other nut butter, pb would make it pb ice cream....next time)
1/2 frozen banana
3/4 c almond milk
1 Tbsp Chocolate chips (or ice cream topping of choice. I enjoy pecans as well)
Directions:
1. Mix first three ingredients in a bowl and then mash in the banana and nut butter. This will make a crumbly paste. (The bananas need to have thawed about 5-10 minutes before this so they are mush-able)
2. Pour almond milk over it and sprinkle on toppings.
Nom time!

Easter Holiday

I may not believe in Jesus zombies but I do believe in bunnies. And long weekends. And spring. And baking.
I made Mama Pea's sugar cookie dough balls into snickerdoodles...
and a few sprinkled ones.
My nails are pretty awesome.

There's a bunny.

Vendredi de Vernis à Ongles_OPI Atomic Orange

Vendredi de Vernis a Ongles = Nail Polish Friday (in French)

Atomic Orange is a creme polish that appears coral in some lights. It is a very wearable orange for daytime and work appropriate.
The orange matches my new cereal bowl from Target.
In the bowl: bran flakes, cheerios, PB filled banana, blueberries, granola sprinkle and almond milk.

Makeup Monday _ Clinique Violets

OMG Kittie is back
(I am allowed to speak in the 3rd person because I have already mastered 1st person.)

Really, I'm coming back. I miss you. I'm sorry.

Where I have been:

• The depths of school
• The abyss of work
• The pages of Jane Eyre
• The (not quite) lost lands of Dr. Who and Torchwood

It felt good, though. Not being tied down, that is. Now I'm blogging a mixture of purely Kittie-esque things (including food).

So, about that food...

I woke up from a dream about being in a car chase....trying to get to the stolen banana nut oatmeal....so I made banana nut oat bran and ate it sans car chase.
1/3c Oat Bran
1c water
Pinch of salt
Sprinkle of Stevia
Cinnamon
Cardamom
Ginger
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 banana
2 Tbsp chopped pecans

So, about that Makeup Monday thing...I want to do a series on cruelty free makeup that I use and like.

The first look:

I bought a new Clinique "Fresh Bloom allover color" in Peony and it qualified me for the "free gift" that included an eyeshadow set of violets.


Here I used Peony on my cheeks as a blush/contour and the violet set on my eyes.
I am also wearing their superbalm moisturizing gloss in lilac and the high impact mascara in black.
Since this isn't a makeup blog I won't go into the how-to's unless you guys ask for it.


Clinique has a wide range of non-allergenic face products including makeup and skincare. They are 100% cruelty free which means they never test on animals.


Have a happy Monday night, lovelies.
--Kittie

Green P[eat]s

Green P[eat]s....like Greenpeace or Green Peas? Kinda sounds like "repeats"...hmm..which one??? AHHHHH! your choice. :) Either way, this is a very Green Day. Alright, alright, I'm done..for now.

To start things off, I'll explain this picture up at the top. I am participating in Chocolate-Covered Katie's "Hug a Fat" event. Do I have enough links in this post so far? I think I really could use a couple more. sheesh McGeesh.
Moving on. My favorite healthy fat is, hands down, the avocado. This buttery smooth, beautifully green vegetable (or fruit...whatever) makes me smile...and devour slices at a time. Oh, don't worry. It's good for you!
Oh, wait for it...just...ohhhh yeah, wait for it.
EATED! (Note the green nail polish. That was not planned.)
In a salad! So, so green my foods are. <<(Passive tense, consider revising.) I'd rather not. I would like to simply point out that it is passive and remain publicly a geek.A juicy green pear. mmmm.

Before I get to today's recipe, I would like to present something to you all. (I like to pretend I have readers. It's like lining your stuffed animals up in a little army and preparing them for battle. Not that I still do that or anything....) I present to you:
The green cookie.

"Ewww."
"What????"
"Is that mold?"

No, as a matter of fact these are fresh cookies. So what in the hell is wrong with them? I'm not quite sure. These are the Toadstools made with SunButter and Almond Milk rather than almond butter and soy milk. I decided to test it out since I suggested the usage of SunButter. Well, they came out of the oven yellow and turned green on the inside with green spots on the outside. From what I can tell, the green comes from specks of sunflowers (I used the chunky kind). These are still delicious and moist just like the other ones...but they look plain freaky. I was even asked if they were "special" cookies. No, just vegan. So...I am going to add green food coloring next time. This way, they will look intentionally green and I can make them for St. Patrick's day, Christmas, Springtime, you name it.

Alright, now we can move on from my green foods and freaky cookies. A green recipe is in your future, my friends. Want to make your very own Jalapeno Cilantro Hummus? Keep reading, kiddos.

You will need 1/3c pretty, pretty fresh green cilantro.
One Jalapeno, I used jarred because our fresh ones are not all grown up yet. You may want to take a taste first. I popped one in my mouth and oh my goodness I almost put way too much in the hummus.
One 15oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed. Wait...something is wrong.
Oh, there we go. ;)

Also on board will be:
1/4c or more of olive oil
1 clove chopped garlic
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp salt

Microwave your rinsed chickpeas for about 40 seconds to soften them.
Then, in a food processor, mince your garlic.
Add the lime juice, salt, and chickpeas
Beat it up. Beat. It. Up.
Oh yeah, that's it.

Now, add in your olive oil and make it all nice and silky smooth. Don't be afraid to add more if you need to.
Add in your cilantro and jalapeno and pulse a few times.

Yummy. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Sunday is for Cleaning out the Kitchen

So, when I stumbled into the kitchen this morning all sleepy-eyed, I saw this:
and I said, "EEP! I must eat them NOW!" So I hurriedly put half of one into my morning oatmeal and realized I still had 1 1/2 ripe bananas that needed using.
What do I do? I pull out my go-to vegan banana muffin recipe. Ripe bananas are a good excuse for muffins.
I halved the recipe because that is the amount of nanners I needed to use up. Since I made the rash decision of eating half of one in my breakfast I also had to use a half of one of these beautiful babies:
This is what bananas should look like.

The inventory:
4 ripe bananas
1/2 c maple syrup (I use sugar free)
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Heat your oven to 350 degrees and grease up a tin for 12 muffins. Then take your bananas in a bowl and mash 'em up with a fork. Make this baby food lookin' mish mash.

Mix in the oil, syrup, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom.

Add the flour, baking soda, and the baking powder.

Fill up your muffin tins. You can fill these up pretty much to the rim but don't go over. They do grow but they are good at understanding personal space.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. They will be slightly browned but not as much as a dairy muffin so don't overcook. Let them cool for a bit until you can easily pop them out of the tin and store in an airtight container.

Those bananas were not the only things in my kitchen that needed using up. I made bread earlier this week and we had a stump left that was ever so slightly stale. I decided to cut it up and make croutons while my oven was still hot.
You will need:
Margarine or oil
Garlic powder or minced
Oregano
Rosemary
Thyme
Whatever else you like
Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Cut off the crust of your bread, slice and cube it.
-In a skillet, melt about three tablespoons of Smart Balance per every five slices of bread.
-Add about two teaspoons of garlic powder or one of minced garlic and turn off the heat.
-Cover the bread cubes in mixture and then pour about one teaspoon of each seasoning into a large freezer bag.
-Mix everything in the bag. Pour the bread cubes out on an ungreased cookie sheet.
-Pop in the oven for about 35-40 minutes.
-Let them cool on the cookie sheet before transferring to an airtight container.