My Vegan Inspiration

     So what made me decide to take the plunge from vegetarian to vegan? Well, I have been interested in the health benefits of a diet free of animal products for a while but I had so many questions I needed to answer before embarking on my vegan adventure. How would I get enough protein? Can I afford to make this drastic change in my diet? How do I tell my family? Can you really be healthy without eating any animal products? All of these questions were answered for me when my little sister recommended I read the "Skinny Bitch" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouim.

     This book has been around for a while and I had heard of it but my assumptions based upon it's title were completely wrong. This book has changed the way I view my diet and the way I view our government's relationship with the meat industry. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is considering a vegetarian/vegan diet and needs a straight forward answer to all their questions. Believe me, they will give you extremely blunt answers to any questions you have ever had regarding the meat industry, the insane amount of crap that is added to all animal products and the steps you can take to ease into or dive into being a vegan.

A vegan in a family of meat-eaters, that is exactly what I am. I have been a vegetarian and thoroughly enjoyed it but just recently I have decided to take the plunge into a completely vegan diet. Many people turn to a vegan diet as part of their support in animal rights. I too, support animal rights however the main reasons I made the change was in support of my own personal health. I wish to completely avoid the hormone filled, protein and saturated fat overloaded foods that come from animal products. Meat-Eaters have been raised surrounded by a world of information supporting the extreme amount of animal and animal products that it takes to keep humans alive and healthy, at one point in time I believed in all of that nonsense as well. Most of my family still stands by those deep rooted meat eating beliefs and see me as borderline psychotic because of the dietary changes that I have made. Actually, I have yet to tell my fiancé that I have decided to stop eating all animal products as well. I guess he knows now, and in his eyes I have gone from borderline psychotic to a complete nutcase in serious need of an intervention! So how do I continue with my healthier vegan lifestyle when I am surrounded by meat-eaters who think that I have gone off the nutritional deep end? One meal and one day at a time, I suppose. I guess that is why I have started this blog, in support of my fellow vegans who are struggling to eat a healthy meal in a meat-based world of food.
Of course, the content of my blog will not only be focused on my struggle to maintain my newly established vegan lifestyle but to anything that can nurture the health of my family. Hopefully those who read my blog will take away something that helps support their own efforts to sustain their own family’s wellbeing and maybe encourage a few people to make changes to their own meat based diet.
I know that I am not alone in my decision to become a vegan but here I feel like I am the Lone Vegan Mom. :)