This Vegan Life
7 Oct
I get asked quite a bit about my transition into veganism; Was it hard? Do you miss this? Do you miss that? How did you get started with it?
My own personal journey towards veganism begins in high school. My friend and I were always self-proclaimed animal lovers. Dogs, cats, dolphins, ferrets.. you name one, we loved them. It never really occurred to me that if I loved animals, I should not eat them, until a friend a of mine decided to go vegetarian. Even then, it still didn’t really click to me. I loved fast food, mostly chicken nuggets. I even remember boasting that watching Super-Size Me lead me to craving McDonald’s even more! But anyway, back to the story. I toyed around with the idea of vegetarianism during highschool, but it never really stuck. I was an incredibly picky eater anyway, so the idea of knocking out my one food group- chicken- was incredibly daunting.
Fast forward to college, where I got involved with an environmental group on campus. Many of the members in this group were not only environmental activists, but also vegans and vegetarians. Through them, I learned about the environmental impact of a meat-eating diet and what struck me the hardest.. the cruel and inhumane treatment of animals who fall victim to the industry. It hit me very hard. I love animals, how can I eat them? I can’t support an industry so awful. What will I eat? Can I give up my favorite food? There’s no choice, I have to! I was flooded with information and from that day forward, I stuck to a vegetarian diet. I was eating mostly vegan for that time, as well. I never ate eggs before this anyway, so that part was very easy for me. I didn’t label myself as a vegan or even a vegetarian for quite some time, afraid that I might slip up. Oh, and I would also be lying if I didn’t mention that there was also a guy I had a crush on that helped me a lot throughout the way!
The only problem was that I had no idea what to cook, so I ate mostly rice. Before going vegan, the only vegetable that passed my lips was potatoes! Slowly I learned to love vegetables and suddenly the craving for chicken went away. To be honest, it wasn’t a very hard transition. If I had a craving for chicken, my mind reverted to the images I had seen of chickens in slaughterhouses and I no longer had any desire for it. It was all a matter of all the information I had acquired to finally click for me.
When I told my non-vegan friends and family that I had decided to quit eating all animal products, they were pretty shocked, to say the least. When I say that I never ate a vegetable, I am so serious! Anyone you ask will tell you that I had two food groups- McDonald’s chicken nuggets and ice cream! I was so picky. I wouldn’t even eat pizza with tomato sauce on it. Some were worried that I would get sick and not eat, and others just thought I was flat out crazy. I was living on my own at this time anyway, so I didn’t have to worry about my parents approving or disapproving of this change. Thankfully, they were (and are!) very supportive and make sure to always have vegan options for me.
So, yeah. I was getting very sick of eating mostly rice, so I started to learn to cook vegetables. I was definitely no cook at the time, either. I developed a passion for cooking and baking delicious vegan food for my friends and family. This newly acquired passion sparked a desire to begin this very food blog as well! Through veganism and the blog, I am more creative and passionate than I have ever been before.
As lame as it sounds, veganism has changed my life. Not only have I felt physically and mentally better, my life course has shifted. Since childhood, I’ve aspired to work with animals. As you know, I change my mind a lot, but I usually stuck with the idea that I wanted to be a dolphin trainer in SeaWorld. Obviously, I do not aspire for this goal anymore since realizing that animals should not be owned by people and should not be forced to be our entertainment. Instead of having animals work for me, I now want to work for the animals. My transition to veganism also opened my eyes to many other human rights issues that I was ignorant to before. This change inspired me to persue photography, writing, and journalism to spread the information that I have acquired. I’ve always been a very passive person, letting others walk all over me and following anyone who lead me. My growing passion for human and animal rights has inspired me to speak up for what I believe in right and I can proudly say that I am not a follower anymore, and the thought of letting anyone walk all over me makes me angry! I am truly not afraid to speak up for myself.
Gosh, there is just so much that I want to write about about how veganism as affected my life! This will probably have to be a two parter. Do you have any questions you’d like me to address in the next post?
Thanks for listening to me ramble on and on about why I love living a vegan lifestyle! Major props to you if you made it down here 
Recipes are coming soon!
I am so proud of you for the decisions you have made. You inspire our family to live a healthier life and have brought more veggies to all of us, especially me. Keep it up – I see you changing alot of minds about the treatment of animals.
So what DO you eat? I really love veggies but find that I need some cheese or chicken or beans to really fill me up, and I can’t eat beans once a day! Any ideas? So for example, I will eat a HUGE salad for lunch, but then I am hungry two hours later and the only thing that will fill me up is a yogurt or a piece of toast with cheese, something like that.
Hi! I eat a lot of different stuff. If I’m eating a huge salad, I also get hungry a couple hours later as well. If that’s the case, then I’ll usually pair the salad with a filling grain like brown rice or quinoa. Or even a piece of toast with some other spread like hummus, avocado, peanut butter, or maybe tofutti cream cheese. Instead of dairy yogurt, I sometimes eat some of the nondairy yogurts which are really good, with granola or another cereal.
For bigger meals I tend to lean towards hearty sandwiches or wraps (hummus, veggies, avocado, etc) , burritos (beans, rice, veggies, guacamole, salsa- so filling!!), big salads, and homemade veggie burgers (you can make them from grains, veggies or beans/lentils.. even a mix of all of them), chunky soups (split pea, lentils, potato chowder).
There are also some really tasty vegan meal products out there. I don’t eat them all the time, but they are definitely filling. Seitan is a wheat-based meat-like product and it’s super tasty and very easy to make at home!
I hope this helped a little! I’ll go more into detail with recipes and such in the next post
Oops, in the last paragraph I meant vegan meat products!
thanks Nicole! That helps!!!
Thank you for sharing your story and journey. I’m always inspired by your culinary skills, so I’d like to know more about which chefs or cookbooks inspire YOU the most
That was a great and inspiring story of your journey to veganism!
I similarly ate a lot of chicken prior to veganism. Although I was never as picky as you were, haha, and I did eat moderately healthy as a pregan, I never had the passion for veggies and food that I do now, and veganism really opened that up for me! It’s funny how it can change your life isn’t it?! To go from a chicken nugget eater to having one of the most beautiful and fun to read vegan blogs on the internet?! you’re awesome.
veganism got me into blogging and photography too, so i can relate there as well! I’m also writing my senior thesis on veganism and surveying students, so that should be a fun part of my journey too!
Thank you, Nora! You’re making me blush.
Your senior thesis sound so awesome! I can’t wait to hear how it comes out. You must let me know! It really is amazing how much veganism has an effect on our lives!
Your story sounds somewhat similar to mine! I remember telling my parents when I was in high school that I wanted to be a vegetarian and unfortunately did not support me and since I was living with them, I “had” to eat whatever they prepared for meals. So, I figured, if I can’t be a vegetarian right now I could at least be a voice for the animals and did a very large project for one of my classes about animal cruelty (I mainly focused on the cruelty of the circus). After I graduated high school, I started dating this guy that was a vegetarian and he convinced me to finally become a vegetarian, it was easy, but I didn’t know what to eat and mostly just ate the meat substitutes. It took me six months for him to finally open my eyes to a couple of other things, but still had trouble finding things to eat and it took me two years and a lot of research to realized how much food you really can make and eat that doesn’t have any animal products in it.
Anyway, I loved your post, I love learning others stories about becoming a vegan or vegetarian.
loved reading this post, and all about your history through becoming a vegan…i only became a vegetarian a year ago now i am thinking about veganism…but before that i was a huge fish lover but never cared for meat that much, my mom fed me rice milk, puffins and tofu munchie pocket things as a baby, haha so i guess i got an early start.
well i think eating this way makes me feel better, and suits me a lot…and it seems the same for you lovie which is so amazing to read about. and so many options these days and amazing recipes as your blog shows.
lots of love xo
Eliza
Beautiful post, Nicole. Eloquently put, and honest! So glad to have you as a fellow vegan friend
P.S. How did Fast-Food Nation *not* turn you off of McD’s??
Nicole-
I love this post! I can tell just by your writing how passionate you are about this subject. It’s clear that you have a gift for informing others about the beauty and integrity of Veganism! I think it’s great how Veganism has impacted your self-esteem and confidence. Thats amazing.
I also relate to your “high school days”–plain chicken was my favorite, haha. And chicken fingers…THE BEST! And only thing I would order, up until I was like, 18. My, have times changed…
I’d love to read more!!! Keep it coming girl.
hmmm I like reading about how people switched to veganism because I’m kinda on the fence about it! I think i could give up all animal products, except I have a love for seafood.
It’s so brave of you to give up everything you’ve ever known about food (those chicken nuggets) and leapt into a 100% different lifestyle/diet. I guess my biggest question would be, what are the biggest downfalls of being vegan?? hard to eat out? the “stares” from non-vegans when you tell them that you are?
P.s. not sure if you’re interested, or already in it, but i’m doing a ZenSoy pudding and soy milk giveaway and would love for you to enter!!
What a great post! I easily got to the end, it was so good to hear how becoming vegan has formed you as a person (not just what you do and don’t eat). I can totally relate to being a terrible cook and needing to learn pretty quick through necessity.
Also, your photos are always beautiful, just thought you’d like to know!
A
I think it’s so funny when people ask, “ZOMG WHAT DO VEGANS EAT?!?!?!” because as an omni – even as a vegetarian (though much less so) – I ate such a more limited range of foods than I do now. I’ve never thought of myself as a picky eater, but the flood gates of possibility just BURST open when I went vegan. My palette was SO limited back then, my diet so unbalanced, but now that I’m vegan, I’m so much more mindful of my food – taste-wise AND nutritionally. Much like you, I have never felt better as a result, and anyone that’s known me since being an omnivore (nine years ago!) or a vegetarian (five years ago!) can attest that veganism has completely transformed me. In fact, I’m the only woman of the five ladies in my family that doesn’t have anemia. VEGAN POWER!!
what a great post… the journey to veganism is so interesting and different for all of us. I’ve also been thinking of doing a mofo post about it. I was a vegetarian for YEARS and never even knew about veganism. When I did learn about it, it seemed so horrible to live without cheese! It’s great to read about someone as picky as you were transitioning to veganism – all driven by your love for animals. I agree with Micco, “Vegan Power!”
xo
i loved reading this post! i can relate to so much of your journey – i seriously ate nothing but pasta and chicken until i went to college, and potatoes and onions were the only vegetables i would touch. i also remember telling people as a teenager that i could care less about the information in super size me, etc. it’s funny how our perspectives change as we grow up!
it’s so inspiring to read how passionate and positive you feel towards your lifestyle. i can’t wait to read more of your thoughts!
I just saw your comment on Pioneer Woman’s post about the garlic potatoes – how you don’t like the garlic cut up. I hate it too! It’s called trypophobia – the fear of clusters of irregular small holes. I also hate honeycomb. Be warned though, if you google it then you get some really horrendous images. Way worse than garlic!!
Ah! I’m not alone! I’ve seen a really, really horrible photo before that was called “lotus boob”. I think this might be the horrendous image you are talking about!! Ever since then, I can’t look at these clusters the same way
I always love hearing people’s “how I went veg” stories. Thanks for sharing!
What an inspiring post!
I also have a friend who LOVES animals and I just wonder how she can not make the connection that by eating meat shes promoting such a cruel industry. She adores kangaroos and thinks it’s awful that people kill them, yet she will eat one for dinner. I just hope one day, like you, it will click!
I really enjoyed reading this! I was a picky eater before too that considered blue cheese dressing and carrots vegetables and taco bell burritos a prime staple. But once I got out of high school and started to see the world differently, more independently, I decided to make a difference on my own. I guess it shows maturity when you stop following others and start your own path, being a passive person myself too. Anyways I really loved hearing that turning vegan actually made you have to learn to cook. Same goes for me too. Its definetly a life change, but a good one
Maggie
I loved reading your story, especially the part about how much veganism has changed you, and taught you how to cook! I was surprised at how easy it was to go vegan!
Holy crap so i’d just like to draw attention to the fact that you have a lot of lovers/followers/awesome people reading your blog. (Perhaps because it’s an awesome blog.) Woo, go Nicole!
I have a question, but it’s complicated and personal so feel free to ignore it if you want…
How do you balance being a vegan and recovery? I tried for a really long time to do both and I found it impossible as it triggered all sorts of restriction thoughts and actions and in the end I had to make a decision to have no “off limits” foods but instead to make the conscious choice to eat animal products that came from humanely treated animals (well to the extent that is possible in both my location and with my wallet) when the need arose. Is/was this a struggle for you as well? Even if it wasn’t, any thoughts on how to deal with it? My old doc immediately wrote of veganism as unhealthy and refused to offer any tips but I think I was much happier and healthier when I stuck to that lifestyle.
Thanks Nicole!
Nicole, it’s so nice to hear your whole journey into veganism, and how it’s worked for you. Even for someone like myself, who currently has no plans to be a vegetarian or vegan, it’s still really interesting to hear about people’s reasons, and it does make one think about their own choices.
I really enjoyed reading your post about how you came to be vegan. Inspiring!
What a great post! I can totally relate to everything you said!
Loving your blog! It made me laugh and I am really enjoying the topics and pictures. I also really enjoyed your post on how you became vegan, Awesome!
Lots of love,
Sabrina