A year of being Vegan!🌱
Let me just start off by saying I am not a writer, so please don't judge my writing abilities! I just really wanted to get this message out there.
It has been over a year since I have gone vegan, and to be honest it has been the best year ever. Not only has my diet become so much healthier and sophisticated (besides a few Oreos here and there). I have had so much inspiration from food since turning vegan because you really get to see the beauty of food when you cook. If you know me well, you know I was picky AF with my food, I ate pretty much nothing that was healthy. I have really come to appreciate food and the beautiful combinations one can create. I know this lifestyle is not easy for everyone because many people aren't confident with their cooking abilities or do not have access to the necessary supplies. But it really isn't difficult, and I really urge you all, who aren't vegan, just to try it and see the benefits it has to offer.
Besides the food making me feel great, I also have a clean conscious. I know the food I eat will lessen my carbon emissions, and I know that an animals life didn't have to be taken because I was hungry. To me that is very important, I will not go and buy animal products knowing what I know now. I know the pain and suffering that those poor animals went through, this is because of the Bsc Animal Science degree that I am currently studying. I have had to study the conditions production animals have to live in, I have had to listen to lectures on killing animals "humanely", I say that because I really don't see any form of slaughter to be humane, be it stunned, shot or slit! I know not all farms are the same, but, in the big picture you most likely aren't buying your products from small well-kept farms, it's most likely coming from the bigger farms that lack in animal welfare.
Veganism is a lifestyle, it's not a diet. A diet can easily be cheated on or quit. I have heard many people go vegan for various reasons, but what I saw was, those that weren't educated properly on the ethics behind these production animals, had a tendency to "cheat" or give up easily. I have had many people ask me, oh so you know what are the things you cheat on? My answer is, "Absolutely nothing, to my knowledge". I don't have the urge to "cheat" on my lifestyle, I have a very strong reason as to why I'm vegan and I firmly believe in it. Many people say, "I can't go vegan because I love cheese too much", I also used to LOVE cheese, but I could give it up because I knew the true story behind its production. Studies have shown that cheese is addictive, hence why you love it so much, so if you can hold out on cheese for a little while you will not miss it as much as you did (that's if you even do miss it) when you weren't vegan.
I would not have changed anything that happened in my journey thus far but let me get real. Yes, I was asked so many questions, I was made fun of, and I was given so much grief about it. I really do not see the reason why it is necessary to tease me because of my lifestyle. I never forced my beliefs on anyone or "attacked" anyone, like other vegans apparently do, so I don't see it. I guess you will always get bullies in life, it doesn't matter what you do. I have just tried to take it as a lesson in life, and have learnt how to deal with those kinds of people and situations, and tried to better myself from it. I know I 'inconvenienced' many people, and I would love to say I didn't care but I did, because I am a people pleaser and I hate inconveniencing people but I tried my best not to get worked up about it. For some reason when you go vegan you get a lot of people that become concerned about where you are going to get your protein and vitamins from, when they had no interest in my well-being before but anyway. Well, I can proudly say I had my blood tested and all my levels were perfect, besides iron. I am not too worried about iron because it was just under normal and there are a lot of factors that play a role in iron absorption. So for those of you who were concerned, I am perfectly fine, actually thriving with this lifestyle, so don't stress.
With all of this crap that happens, I must say I am very thankful for how my parents, boyfriend and friends accepted me changing. I think that is what made it that much easier because they were very accommodating and interested in the lifestyle. They are always there to taste my new recipes and help me with ideas, which I highly appreciate.
Changing to veganism is not the be all and end all if you really "can't" or do not want to change to fully vegan, then just incorporating more vegan meals into your diet is a start. I think any progress is good progress. I would just love to spread the message and get people aware of what is going on in the production animal industry. You should really do some research if you are interested, there are a bunch of documentaries: What The Health, Forks over Knives, Earthlings, Cowspiracy, etc.
Please take everything I said with a pinch of salt, as this was my vegan journey thus far, yours could be completely different! Please feel free to email or comment if you have any questions, I would love to help if I can. xx
It has been over a year since I have gone vegan, and to be honest it has been the best year ever. Not only has my diet become so much healthier and sophisticated (besides a few Oreos here and there). I have had so much inspiration from food since turning vegan because you really get to see the beauty of food when you cook. If you know me well, you know I was picky AF with my food, I ate pretty much nothing that was healthy. I have really come to appreciate food and the beautiful combinations one can create. I know this lifestyle is not easy for everyone because many people aren't confident with their cooking abilities or do not have access to the necessary supplies. But it really isn't difficult, and I really urge you all, who aren't vegan, just to try it and see the benefits it has to offer.
Besides the food making me feel great, I also have a clean conscious. I know the food I eat will lessen my carbon emissions, and I know that an animals life didn't have to be taken because I was hungry. To me that is very important, I will not go and buy animal products knowing what I know now. I know the pain and suffering that those poor animals went through, this is because of the Bsc Animal Science degree that I am currently studying. I have had to study the conditions production animals have to live in, I have had to listen to lectures on killing animals "humanely", I say that because I really don't see any form of slaughter to be humane, be it stunned, shot or slit! I know not all farms are the same, but, in the big picture you most likely aren't buying your products from small well-kept farms, it's most likely coming from the bigger farms that lack in animal welfare.
Veganism is a lifestyle, it's not a diet. A diet can easily be cheated on or quit. I have heard many people go vegan for various reasons, but what I saw was, those that weren't educated properly on the ethics behind these production animals, had a tendency to "cheat" or give up easily. I have had many people ask me, oh so you know what are the things you cheat on? My answer is, "Absolutely nothing, to my knowledge". I don't have the urge to "cheat" on my lifestyle, I have a very strong reason as to why I'm vegan and I firmly believe in it. Many people say, "I can't go vegan because I love cheese too much", I also used to LOVE cheese, but I could give it up because I knew the true story behind its production. Studies have shown that cheese is addictive, hence why you love it so much, so if you can hold out on cheese for a little while you will not miss it as much as you did (that's if you even do miss it) when you weren't vegan.
I would not have changed anything that happened in my journey thus far but let me get real. Yes, I was asked so many questions, I was made fun of, and I was given so much grief about it. I really do not see the reason why it is necessary to tease me because of my lifestyle. I never forced my beliefs on anyone or "attacked" anyone, like other vegans apparently do, so I don't see it. I guess you will always get bullies in life, it doesn't matter what you do. I have just tried to take it as a lesson in life, and have learnt how to deal with those kinds of people and situations, and tried to better myself from it. I know I 'inconvenienced' many people, and I would love to say I didn't care but I did, because I am a people pleaser and I hate inconveniencing people but I tried my best not to get worked up about it. For some reason when you go vegan you get a lot of people that become concerned about where you are going to get your protein and vitamins from, when they had no interest in my well-being before but anyway. Well, I can proudly say I had my blood tested and all my levels were perfect, besides iron. I am not too worried about iron because it was just under normal and there are a lot of factors that play a role in iron absorption. So for those of you who were concerned, I am perfectly fine, actually thriving with this lifestyle, so don't stress.
With all of this crap that happens, I must say I am very thankful for how my parents, boyfriend and friends accepted me changing. I think that is what made it that much easier because they were very accommodating and interested in the lifestyle. They are always there to taste my new recipes and help me with ideas, which I highly appreciate.
Changing to veganism is not the be all and end all if you really "can't" or do not want to change to fully vegan, then just incorporating more vegan meals into your diet is a start. I think any progress is good progress. I would just love to spread the message and get people aware of what is going on in the production animal industry. You should really do some research if you are interested, there are a bunch of documentaries: What The Health, Forks over Knives, Earthlings, Cowspiracy, etc.
Please take everything I said with a pinch of salt, as this was my vegan journey thus far, yours could be completely different! Please feel free to email or comment if you have any questions, I would love to help if I can. xx
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