Why I am vegan

At the end of 2015 just after Christmas, I made the decision to become vegan.

Here is a little of my background before I tell you about my journey to a healthier and happier me...

I ate meat growing up as a child but I must admit as I got older and I remember eating it, I wasn't a huge fan. I used to eat happy meal burgers from Mcdonalds but when I realised what they where I opted for chicken nuggets, I know its no better but to me for some reason it was. I now know the life of a chicken is no less important than the life of a cow but at the time as a child, that is how I felt.

So chicken was the main source of meat I did actually enjoy and very rarely I would eat pork. Even though I ate chicken I was still extremely fussy with it. I could only eat chicken breast and if I saw a vein or any pink colours on it I couldn't eat it and I felt sick, I couldn't eat meat off the bone and ribs would be an extremely rare exception.

In 2014 Darren and I made the decision to not eat meat and it was a little difficult at first because we where so used to eating a certain way and we still ate fish but gradually that stopped because I felt so guilty eating them. In Dec 2015 just after Christmas I was watching some YouTube videos and I came across videos on veganism. I didn't really know that much about it so I watched video after video and something in me just clicked and I couldn't believe what I had been doing nearly all my life so far.

My immediate change of heart was to become healthier and lose some weight but as the days, weeks and months passed I quickly learned of the cruelty and suffering of animals not only in the slaughterhouse but the months and years leading up their unnecessary deaths.

The dairy, wool and the meat industry as a whole is down right cruel. I will do a separate post on this because it will be too long so look out for that one. It will be very interesting, informative and eye opening.

Animals are very intelligent. They have feelings, social relationships, they love their young and they play together. Vegans get so passionate because we as humans see ourselves as superior and that they are not important. Why should we decide if they live or die?!

Darren is not a vegan but he makes a conscious effort the buy foods that are suitable for vegans and does not buy or drink milk and hasn't done for a year now but he does eat food that contains dairy occasionally.

The thing with veganism is you need to be passionate and really want to make the change because it can be hard and challenging if you do not have a solid reason for wanting to make the change, be it either to be healthier or for the animals, know you're reason. Hopefully some of my sweet recipes will help you on your way to a happier healthier you regardless of whether you support a vegan lifestyle or not.

My taste buds have changed and it's amazing. If I go down the dairy isle in the supermarket now I can smell the milk but it smells off, it's very strange. I don't crave cheese or chocolate like I used to and when I eat fruits and vegetables they taste so lovely and strong. None Vegans joke that vegans only eat salads and carrot sticks with hummus but this is very far from the truth, the meals I make are so delicious and some of my meals are;

chilli with rice, soups, roast dinners, hearty salads, lentil stew, vegetable stew, lasagne, tofu scramble, tofu Chinese style fried rice, risotto and bean salads and these are only a few I can think of. I still have biscuits an cakes and pancakes with chocolate sauce- the only difference is almost all of this is hand made and I will share some recipes with you to help you ease into a plant based diet if you would like to give it a go.

Since being vegan I don't feel bad about eating foods because I know that they are cruelty free and my diet is based on whole foods- all natural. I have also found my mental state to be healthier and I feel more positive.

If you are not vegan, please don't feel you can't read the blog, I will post healthy tips and recipes and it will be a very interesting blog regardless of your diet as I will also be talking about how Darren and I will raise our daughter to be vegan and all the stigma surrounding that. I have a lot of friends and family who eat meat and dairy and although I do wish everyone felt the same way and saw the world through my eyes, this will never be the case and I love them all regardless. No one is perfect.

Thank you for visiting me xxx



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