My Vegan Journey

I wanted to make sure I spoke about my vegan lifestyle in the hopes that it could inspire you to learn more. Ultimately it is up to you to make the best decisions for your body based on how you feel but I thought I would offer my journey and perspective for you to ponder and ask questions.

When did I become vegan?

On October 15th, 2017, I stopped eating/using animals and animal by-products in my life although I gave up dairy six months earlier.

Why did I want to be vegan?

Initially it was honestly because I met some new friends in Seattle that were vegetarians/vegans and then shortly after, when I started dating someone that was vegan, I figured I would give it a shot.

Shortly after taking the plunge into plant-based living, I came to the realization that I had been unconsciously consuming and not stopping to think about what I was putting into my body and how it was affecting not only my health but also my mood.

My reasons for continuing this lifestyle have evolved over the years but currently in order of importance this is how I feel:

1. I LOVE all animals and I do not want to eat them (especially if I could not stomach killing them myself)!

2. Factory Farming

3. Overall health – I had high cholesterol that I was advised to go on medication for. Once I went vegan, I no longer have this health risk!

4. The Environment

If you are interested in learning more, below are some resources I have found helpful:

Documentaries:

• Earthlings

• Forks Over Knives

• What the Health

• Cowspiracy

• The Game Changers

• Food, INC.

Books:

• Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals – Hal Herzog

• Eating Animals – Johnathan Safran Foer

• Becoming Vegan – Brenda Davis & Vesanto Melina

Cookbooks:

• The Frugal Vegan

• Forks Over Knives the Cookbook

• Vegan for Everybody