It's Taco Time! August 25, 2008

Posted by Marta at August 25, 2008 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 6 ) | TrackBack

By now, I'm sure you're well aware that those of us here in peta2 love to eat. A few of us got together to have Taco Night recently, and I thought I'd let you guys in on the deliciousness.

For a Taco Night of your own, you'll need:

• Taco shells (we used both hard and soft)
• Vegetarian refried beans
• Burger crumble (we used Boca)
• Taco seasoning
• Spanish or Mexican rice
• Olive oil
• Jalapenos
• Tomatoes
• Vegan chicken strips (we used Morningstar Farms)
• Vegan cheese (we used Follow Your Heart)
• Lettuce
• Guacamole
• Salsa
• Chopped black olives

Prepare all ingredients and put on the table in separate dishes. You'll need to heat the fake meat on the stove with the olive oil and taco seasoning, and cook the rice according to directions. And you'll definitely need to warm up the beans. Shan and Rachel were lovely enough to show all the ingredients you'll need:


Now of course Taco Night wouldn't be complete without friends—so make sure you have some of those on hand, too. At this point, everyone can assemble the tacos to their heart's content, and devour them with glee, as pictured below:


Me, Sarah, and Ashleigh, stuffing our faces


Rachel and Shan, also stuffing their faces
Let me tell you, dinner was delicious! I highly recommend having a night like this with your friends. It's a great way to show your non-veg friends how fun, easy, and delicious vegan food can be.

Have any of you had an all-vegan dinner like this before?

♥ Marta

PS - We also played Guitar Hero and Shan kicked everyone's butt!

The peta2 Advice Blog! August 21, 2008

Posted by Marta at August 21, 2008 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 7 ) | TrackBack

Got some friends who like to give you a hard time? Check this out!

My friends make fun of me ALL THE TIME for being a vegetarian. Usually I can deal with it just fine, but it really gets to me sometimes! What can I do to get them to back off (at least a little) without alienating myself? - Feeling Helpless

I used to have friends like this—that is, until they became vegetarians too. :) Anybody who would make fun of a friend for speaking out against cruelty to animals clearly doesn't understand what happens behind closed doors. Next time you go to your friend's house, pull Meat.org up on the computer screen. Even if they don't go vegetarian immediately (though, of course, that'd be swell), they will at least be more informed and begin to understand that vegetarianism is a statement against cruelty, and something you can be proud of! - Ryan

When I first went vegetarian, I had no idea how many people around me would feel offended. Before you knew it, I was badgering them all and making myself look crazy. It wasn't until I calmed down and just acted like my compassionate and calm self, that people around me started to open up. Slowly, every single one of my good friends went vegetarian, and are now mostly vegan—just because they knew I was, and started to ask questions. The sad fact is, most people never think about why they shouldn't eat corpses. Inform them, but make sure you stay positive and confident. You know you're doing the right thing but some people will want you to question your decision—don't! You don't have to do anything other than stay positive, and answer their questions politely, and you'll see a huge difference, I promise! - Rachel

I know exactly what you're going through—I dealt with this too, and still do! Tell them that if they want to harass you about it, then they should get their facts straight first—once you show them a video or a leaflet, then they might better understand where you're coming from. Sometimes, people come around later, even if they don't seem interested right away. That's why it's important to be patient with your friends and try to answer any questions they may have. Just remember not to force anyone to see things your way—you'll end up pushing them further away! Trust me, the older you get, the less other peoples' opinions will matter. If you're feeling alone, you can always join the peta2 boards and connect with other people that feel the same way you do! Don't forget that here at peta2, we're always here to help and support you; no matter how many times you get teased, we will always think you're rad for caring about animals! Love, Liz <3

Have a relationship question (that relates to animal rights, of course!) that you're dying for us to answer? E-mail peta2@peta2.com with the subject line "Help me peta2! I need advice!" and your question just may be answered by us in our next advice blog!

Comment with your own advice for Feeling Helpless! And to read past installments of the advice blog, click here.