Veggie Report #whatever : Mango Over Milk

Living my life as an ovo-vegetarian, oops, did I say something unfamiliar?

Ovo? No more lacto?

Yes, I decided to quit dairy intake. I used to be a hardcore cheese fan. And I spent my childhood consuming milk everyday and cheese mixed with bread and...ice cream! Plus, I loved anything cordon bleu (with cheese inside). I couldn't resist the gooey mozarella on pizza's top, or other meals with it.

It's super delicious.  Salty, yummy texture, said as healthy and full of calcium...and caused an allergy to me.  Plus acnes.  Yeah, after a while, I finally realized why I never get rid of random pimples on my face, and never-ending sneeze in the morning, plus the body odour and unstable poop-schedule.  Oh, and my throat's health were disturbed, too. It causes phlegm on me. The last time I drank a bottle of yogurt, my phlegm was directly formed! Ewww.

But the most important part of my decision is: dairy is naturally formulated for baby cows. Or baby goat/horse. People reformulates it and advertised it as a healthy, arbitrary nutrition, instead of saying the truth that it might disturb your hormon's development and it's so selfish to take another momma's milk! 

Even worse about cheese, it may contains a part of veal's stomach: rennet.  Just Google about it. It's creepy. Here's a short summary I took from Wikipedia: 

Calf rennet is extracted from the inner mucosa of the fourth stomach chamber (the abomasum) of young, unweaned calves as part of livestock butchering. These stomachs are a byproduct of veal production. If rennet is extracted from older calves (grass-fed or grain-fed), the rennet contains less or no chymosin, but a high level of pepsin and can only be used for special types of milk and cheeses. As each ruminant produces a special kind of rennet to digest the milk of its own species, milk-specific rennets are available, such as kid goat rennet for goat's milk and lamb rennet for sheep's milk.

So, literally, your famous macaroni and cheese may contains cruelty.  Straight cruelty. Bloody scene. They force a cow mama to give away her milk, while her baby's stomach is sliced. It's not humane, it's not friendly. But it's organic. Now you realized that 'organic' isn't always kindhearted, right? :p 

Anyway, I'm not only avoiding dairy now.  There is something important too that I find quite...urgent.  Living in a big city, modern times, it's harder to choose your on-the-go snacks! 
I have too many concerns: packaging, ingredients, ethicality, veganism, palm-oil issue.  Label me as a complex old-soul youth. WHATEVER. I want to grow old healthy! 

Here's a short sketch of my fear about our so-called 'trendy' food: 

Bubble tea with various flavours; cereal with milk; donuts! I've written the points I care about, and added a doodle. :D

A cup of bubble tea is just a representative of any other sweet drinks out there: expensive coffee, irrational ice blend, or a simple cup of overpriced tea with ice cubes and chia seeds. 

Donut: it talks a lot.  Your filled breads, your taart, your cake.  It might be colourful, yummy, fulfilling...and fatful.  Please separate 'fatful' and 'faithful', ok? Yes it makes you faithful, it's so delicious. But it's fatful.  Not a good fat, too. And high amount of sugar and cream. Cheesecake: may contains rennet. Cruelty. Duh. 

Cereals: always advertised to be consumed with cow's milk. Which is cruelty and conspiracy. Plus the cereals itself contains a loooot of sugar, may be natural or artificial sweetener, corn syrup. And wheat, a lot of it. Or...GMO corn? And to be more...scary, the red colour of your colourful crisps may be derived from crushed bugs...carmine.  I've talked about carmine in cosmetic sessions in the past.  Now it's in the food. :) 

There are more snacks that I would like to mention, but it would be too long.  You've already known what kind of food they are, haven't you? 
To read my drawn notes, please click the picture. :) Remember: do not copy & use without permission! 

Conclusion: 

1. If I'm craving for creamy texture, I'm going to choose avocado. Or banana. Mix it with coconut milk if I need salty taste.  Light, salty taste.  Cheese? Try to make cashew / tofu cheese. Or just, let it go.  Move on. Once you let something go, something better will come soon. 

2. Yogurt? Try to make it yourself, without cow's milk. Use an alternative. Google it. I can't remember the ingredients and direction. 

3. Mango, apple, bengkuang, papaya, pear, sprinkle of powdered aren sugar: my kind of 'cereal bowl'. Crispy texture, fulfilled tummy. Ahoy! If it's too dry, add soy / almond milk.  Coconut milk might help, but it's quite thicker. Oh, do not forget a mungbean / black rice porridge! Ah. 

4. Cake / bread : find a nearest traditional market, buy klepon and traditional cookies like ketan bubuk, nagasari, kue putu...whatever your locals offer! Steam a raw cassava or sweet potatoes if you can.  :) 

5. Feeling anxious to not being trendy or being under pressure inside your friend's circle: go find another sincere friends! Seriously. True friends won't force you to eat something you don't want to.  They may make silly jokes about it, or accuse you with logic, but it's never serious. They'll let you be you, in any era.  Even if you wear a Victorian costume mixed with ancient Egypt earings. 

6. Maybe you're confused about what I'm trying to say.  Do I suggest you all to be vegan? Do I love that guy? Do I have a pet llama? Do you like sabrina top? This post is seriously...serious. I write it randomly, since I can only do it randomly, according to my brain's system. 

7. Enjoy! And sort your food right away.  Don't forget to dance and move your body. Get healthy! Be wealthy with your stamina! 

-on the 48th day of 77-Days-No-Shopping period 

Actually...

When I was a student,
I actually worn a non-fashionable sporty shoes with a-line skirt that falls down below my knee.

I thought it was so ugly.
But hey, I survived. And I got less wounds from uncomfortable backings of girly shoes.

Then I spent a lot of time, effort, and money only to make my feet beautiful as I expected.  It's a success. I developed a feminine, vintage style...with a lot of pain and failure.  Skirt that doesn't fit, midi skirt that appeared too long I have to cut and re-sew it. Mmm, as I've mentioned in my latest posts, fragile oxford shoes that lasted only a year or so. Maybe it's the one that brings me here anyway.  Because I've learned my lesson about fashion. From my mentality's point of view, and from environment's concern.

I don't wanna be drown in a status-searcher concept of life. Being a hopeless lady in my 20s? Nope.
Better use my time for precious moments and achievements! :)

Understanding Between Generation Gaps

So I assume that hoarding trouble comes from some kind of psychological aspect.
Well, okay, maybe in my first attempt in being a minimalist, I've gone through a lot of anger and impatience.  I thought people are stupid, parents are weak, our generation is even worse.  And stuff.

Tired of a glass drawer stuffed with small, fragile souvenirs? Grandmother keeping her dusty, yellow, love letters from the past in the corner of your kitchen? Greatgrandparents not wanting to let go of those almost-mushroom-garden boxes filled with their old stuff? Forgot that you have your childhood pillow? Moms be afraid of you wearing hot pants out there? Well, it's not without reason.

But also during the proccess, I've learned that we become hoarders with something in the background.  It must have been caused by...something.

This is just a short, practical summary of what I've learned about the habit of filling the house with definitely too much items.  Not as detail as you may expect, but only in a small circle:

Our grandparents faced wars. Around 1930-1950s.  These wars made their life troubling.  No stability, aware of everything, sometimes they lost every little belongings they have, including people they loved, only in a second.  It's all chaos.

After the war's over, it's normal to see they have became traumatic, fearful, yet, easily attached with whatever they have. Okay, it's sweet.  Your grandma might be very attached to an antique plate, for example, because it's given by her husband (your grandpa!) and it's the only thing that was saved during the bombing or gunfight somewhere in their village. Or maybe there's a creepy-looking doll that was your greatgrandma's only gift for your baby mother during the chaos.  All of the stuff hold a sentimental value for them, who has gone through hard, hard times.

You see, it's something that is formed.  The base, before we go to the most materialistic era later.

1960-1970s. Honestly, I know nothing about this era, but I know some companies have invented...like...luxury soap, toothpaste, commercial cigarettes, and stuff.  Magazines advertize a lot of products.  They've started selling things in bigger range.  And people looked more rich (in my point of view, don't trust me).  Or maybe they're just havin' fun in postwar ease.  There are still some troubles in politics etc., but generally, people were enjoying the peace.  Anyway, many good music was born in this era.  Okay I'm out of topic.
Because I don't know the core of hoarding coming from this era. But, our parents were born, or spending their teenage life. Depends on your parents' age. :)) I'm blabbering.  Hahaha.

1980-1990s. ALRIGHT HERE IT IS. Industrial revolution and capitalism reaches the peak.  I guess. Look at the era: colourful, full of amazing items, with colours and interesting commercials.  Inventions in technology, afro hairs, and fun, fun all the way! I guess, the 80s were so shiny, and 90s are nostalgic yet materialistic.  People started to take it seriously: what you possess is what you are.

Our parents were usually have finally make their own money in the era where junkfood is new and super duper funky, and everything seems finally...purchase-able.  Department stores were growing, Barbie dolls everywhere.  Everyone suggests them to buy new, sparkling stuff for their children.  Don't forget restaurants.  They're everywhere! With all the MSGs and overhauled sugar!

Ah yes, I was born in the 90s.  Maybe you, too, in the 80s or 90s. Do you remember how lovely Polly Pocket was? Sorry, I still keep those toys, in a box.  Hihi. But if you're sensitive enough to see, in the 80s and 90s, media commercials have been more, more agressive in suggesting us to buy things.  Imported toys, local foods with palm oil and fat, fancy vehicles, trendy apparels, cute telephone.  Anything. Remember also the glory of first cellular phone in 1999? ;)

2000s.
This is what a I call a time of accumulation.  Your grandparents spent 3 eras started with sentimental values, pop-culture, and bold commercials. Your parents learned to be sentimental with stuff, being young in pop-culture, and started to be able to buy things in the era where things are easier to have.
And now, it's us. With all of that mixed again. We wanted to buy a new handphone just because our friends have it.  We got bored with clothes we have and bought a bag of new ones only to be kept inside the already-full-closet again because we get bored quickly. We don't care again about what we eat as long as it's socially-accepted. We're dictated with materialistic doctrins. Have more, buy more, grab everything so you're cool and safe !

2010s.
Needless to say more.  You know how shallowly fun it is to be superduper materialistic and making your house full and chaotic. Right? I've been there. And I want to move my attention to anything but material views. But I know, really, we've been shaped like this.  It's in our bloodstream.  To release the habit, we should actually control our thoughts about it.

Maybe we're okay, ourselves.  But what about our parents and grandparents? Do we have to let them like that, or slowly motivate them to start letting go of things that only caused asthma and stagnancy? All those old books that invite fleas. These antique dinner set which was never used anyway. Your old Barbie dolls.  And it's not easy to suggest them about this.  Because it's all sentimental.  Just. Be. Very. Careful. With. Their. Feeling.

My advice is, do it slowly.  Also with yourself! Don't force yourself to be a sudden minimalist and impulsively throw everything out.  You have to enjoy the proccess, because you'll learn a lot in the way. You'll learn why you started gathering items until you're drown inside 'em.  You'll learn how you handle the acts of letting go.  You'll learn why the sky is blue (okay, sorry, this one is absurd, yea). Once you handle your own ego and finally have some space to be enjoyed in your own room (or your area, if you have no private room in the house), you'll naturally invite your family members.  Maybe your husband, your grandparents, parents, or greatgrandparents.  And your aunties, uncles. Friends.  Cousins. Everybody!

You will teach them even without actually tutoring them for real.  Make them inspired by you.  It's really effective--but yeah, it's slower.  If they're actually very stubborn, just give 'em an article about hardcore hoarders case in other countries.  Hehe.

Anyway, how's your holiday, folks? :) I'm sorting out some souvenirs now, while enjoying the 77 Days of No-Shop. Yea. But, okay, here's a confession: my jelly shoes were broken and can't be used anymore, and my other shoes were as bad as it.  So I have let go 2 pairs of shoes in a week--a strong background of why I don't want to crave for girly shoes anymore to be used as a daily footwear.  Anyway, the sin was: I bought a canvas shoes. I don't have a proper shoes to walk through the pathway without a substitution, since the other shoes I have are heeled & wedges. Which I keep for concerts and formal events.

I'm sorry, then.

Here's a blue sky. Enjoy.

In Case You Had A Tough Week, Here's Animal Pictures

It's officially summer holiday in Indonesia.  Not an actual summer--because climate change has transformed the cycle: gloomy days in August, yet shiny December. Plus it's not a holiday caused by summer, but the end of the semester and Ied. Anyway, back to the climate change:  If we're human are disturbed with that, think about the animals out there, with more sensitivity, but less complain.  They're growing strong, evoluting, surviving, while we, the so-called-intelligent-men, just talking around about that without any effort to change anything in our daily habit. Knowing we're the cause, yet not correcting anything.  HEEY.

Not to make your holiday a little emotional. Okay, maybe, I'm asking you, and myself, to be concern about this Earth. Make it a core. Grow it a like a seed.  Grow it in your friends and family's heart. Let it bloom together with a better planet.  A happier one. 

Anyway, happy holiday! Don't forget your reusable bag and be thoughtful about what you buy, what you wear, what you dispose, what you say, what you do.  Just, ehm, be focus to The Earth and humanity, folks! :)