Veganism
I’ve always loved animals, so I was horrified when I became old enough to understand that the Babe I loved from the movie was the very same Babe engulfed in my ham sandwich. Thus, at the ripe old age of seven and a half, I became a vegetarian.
This lasted about a week!
But my love of animals remained, and once I learned about factory farming (in other words, when I discovered that my hamburgers did not come from Old McDonald’s Family Farm, but rather his torture chamber), I couldn’t fathom contributing another dollar to support such horrific practices. (The book, Food Revolution, by John Robbins, was a real eye-opener.) So, at fourteen, I became a vegetarian for real.
Veganism, however, was a whole different ball of… umm tofu.
No way would you ever see this Ben and Jerry’s card-carrying member giving up her beloved cheese and ice cream. Sorry animals; it just wasn’t going to happen.
Until China…
My family moved to China when I was a freshman in high school. Very little dairy is consumed in Asian cultures, so without even realizing it, I cut my dairy-product intake drastically. And when I finally did realize it, I also realized that I felt a TON better. Not to say I was a sickly child—far from it—but before China, I’d been getting recurring stomachaches that I now associate with all the cheese and ice cream in my diet. (My allergies also cleared up, but I don’t want to assume that this was thanks to my diet change; it may have just been due to the change in location. Same thing with my clear skin: One of my friends is adamant that eschewing dairy gives one a greater chance of not having any acne. But I really have no idea if my clear skin is due to a lack of eating dairy or if it’s just a coincidence.)
Suddenly, Veganism didn’t seem so daunting. I was barely eating cheese anyway; why not give it up completely?
Best decision I ever made!
If you’re interested in trying out Veganism, see the Omnivores & Veganism post
(even if you only want to try it for a day).
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
i was a sick child. i became a vegetarian and it lasted for two weeks, then i became a vegan. up til now. it was, like yours, the best decision i have ever made! i am much much healthier (i have only been sick once eversince veganisme). and i am now living a guilt free life. i wouldn’t eat my pets, so why would i want to consume anything that has intelligent life?
have you watched fast food nation?
It IS the best decision I ever made too Katie! I think it’s SO cool you have lived in SO many different places, does it ever get tiring or hard to leave/start all over?
It has been almost 2 1/2 years for me and I can say it truly is the best decision I ever made in my life.
My omni friends all agree that cheese is one of the things that they would find really hard to give up.
Hi Katie,
I’m new to your blog, and I ablsolutely love it. You are so funny. I’ve been vegan for 6 months. I love what you wrote about becoming vegan. I have a 12 year old niece who desperately wants to become vegan. (she is semi-vegetarian now) but she’s struggling with peer pressure. (A school friend called her mom a stupid, psycho vegan freak) How did you deal with other kids at age 14? Your story is inspiring and I am going to point her to your site.
I love reading how people made the transition to veganism! I’m so glad you did, you are a great inspiration to so many other people.
Isn’t dairy so gross??? Not only is the dairy industry absolutely violent, brutal and abhorrent in its treatment of animals (every glass of milk has a chunk of veal in it) but it pushes the lie that everyone needs to eat dairy products to get calcium! You couldn’t find a worse source of calcium if you tried thanks to the high animal protein content creating an acidity imbalance in your body that actually causes calcium to leech from your bones in an effort to rebalance our ph levels.
Hah, listen to me preaching to the choir! Anyway, lovely post Katie!
Katie,
I’m by no means vegan, but our rude awakening was when we watched the Rave Diet…
So nieve…I didn’t realize that animals were raised and treated like that until my late 20′s…and I’m so embarassed to admit to that because I grew up on the farm and just naturally assumed animals were all blessed with that life of freedom I knew and loved. So sad, and such a horrific treatment that WE created…I can’t even blame the factories…WE allowed it to get like this by the diets we push and accept…and the lack of knowledge we agree to when we go to the store and don’t care where the meat came from…just as long as we have it. Unfortunately supply must meet demand…
I already commented on one of your other post, but I read this section from your FAQ and I wanted to comment again – My journey into vegetarianism/veganism is similar in a lot of ways to yours – I knew on some level that the meat I’d been eating my whole life was causing pain and suffering for animals. And I am an animal lover as well, but I chose to put that thought out of my mind thinking it was “too hard” to become vegetarian/vegan.
I guess you can thank Dwight Schrute and insomnia for my final push toward going veg – I saw the Jim and Pam get married episode and Dwight gives them 2 Red Eared Slider turtles, 2 bibs and a “turtle hammer” so they can cook and eat the turtles.
I turned to my boyfriend and said, “People don’t really eat turtles, do they?” He told me that yes, yes they do.
This totally broke my heart because I used to have a pet Red Eared Slider named Donatello (like the Ninja turtle). During that time I’d been suffering from chronic insomnia, so late that night I decided to look it up. Learning about people eating turtles lead to reading about factory farming and my fate was sealed. I knew I couldn’t eat meat anymore. But I had no intention of going vegan.
Until I read “The Skinny Bitch Diet.” It had excerpts from Gail Eisnitz’s “Slaughterhouse,” which I read as well as Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Eating Animals.” After reading those, I was convinced to go vegan. And like I said in my other comment, I’ve successfully eliminated all animal food-products except for cheese (which I am working on). I’ve also started purging my closet of my clothes that are made from animal products as well. Eventually all my clothes, shoes, and furniture will be vegan, but it will take a while to get there.
So, in short, thanks for writing about your experiences, it definitely helps to read about others with the same belief systems!
Diet For A New America was the book that convinced me to go vegan too! Cool!
The choice to live vegan is such a blessing–I wish that everyone could understand that…
wow! that is really an eye opener. I always thought (please don’t take offense) that vegans were sorta, well, weird. I mean God said that all was created for us to eat, so i didn,t see a problem. also, i though they were all abunch of enviromentalists. I don’t think ill be vegan or even vegetarian any time soon, but i respect you all!
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Hi Sarah,
No offense taken! Honestly, I have probably made fun of people on “different” diets in my lifetime, too. One instance that comes to mind is in the movie Notting Hill. I laughed along with everyone else when they poked fun at the raw foodist. It’s probably because I just didn’t understand the lifestyle. (I still wouldn’t want to be a raw foodist, but I definitely respect them now!)
I think, as veganism becomes more mainstream, it’s being perceived as less and less “weird.” I mean, even Ellen DeGeneres is a vegan now
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it is becoming mainstream, and if people feel that is the lifestyle for them, go for it!
Love your blog. Found it on Pinterest. I’ve been going back and forth w/ the vegan idea. I really like the idea just finding it hard to find good tasting foods for my particulatr palatte. I’m certainly liking what I’m seeing on your site. I am going to try the cookie dough dip. Thank you, Amy
I stumbled across your blog today and am ever so glad I have. Your recipes look delicious and your outlook on life and how you approach things is refreshing. I have dabbled with the idea of vegetarianism, though I can honestly say, I’ve never considered being vegan. Much like a pp above, I’ve always felt that there is a certain level of snobbery that comes with the lifestyle. Perhaps, like most facets in life, the most vocal vegan are the ones that take the holier-than-thou route. Time and greater exposure have tempered that idea and I’ve even considered the idea of working vegetarian and vegan elements into my diet. If not letting one or the other take over completely.
My issue comes solely from my family. My boyfriend is practically a carnivore and I have a one-year old daughter. I’ve long held that, much like ones religion, the choice to be vegetarian, vegan, or raw should be a conscious decision and not one that is forced or manipulated. And I can’t exactly afford to cook two different meals a day.
But what better day to expose them to the lifestyle than with desserts?
Hey Amanda!
Yeah I definitely agree that there can be some “vegan police” type people who seem holier-than-thou… but then again, I guess there are those types of people for any diet. (LOL like my friends who tell me their carnivorous diet is the BEST and that veganism is just weird!)
Personally I think it’s up to every individual person to decide how to live… People shouldn’t try to force a diet on another person, especially since the tactic usually backfires anyway! If someone tells you that you HAVE to live a certain way, it’s just human nature to want to rebel!
I have been vegan for a year now (and vegetarian my whole life, as my family is) and it is one of the best decisions I have made! I am a junk food fiend, but now I can’t help but enjoy healthier snacks like fruit leather and raw fudge balls. Before I would have gone crazy over a candy store, but now my friends get annoyed when I drag them to our local organic food shop, because I could stay in there comparing products and finding ideas for hours! My latest favourite snack is organic vegan gluten free gingernuts, and of course, as always, fruit leather. Becoming vegan wasn’t actually for a good reason to begin with – it was to cut out more foods due to an eating disorder. But I soon came to see all the ways eating dairy and eggs hurt animals. I didn’t know before that they killed the boy calves when they bred cows to milk, same for male chicks. And I didn’t know all of the environmental problems caused by all this. Veganism is cool, it’s a choice to live in the most selfless way possible, you don’t have to just eat tofu (although it’s super yum!) and it isn’t as difficult as it sounds – you stop craving things after a short amount of time. Just try it out!
Love this comment
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It’s so true; you stop craving things… even things you used to LOVE. I was a cheese addict, but I can’t even stand the smell anymore!
Katie- I LOVE LOVE LOVE your site!!! I became vegan a couple months ago (for both health and ethical reasons), and I’m loving finding new recipes from you!!! I also love that you live in TX (I’m in OK), because I don’t think our way of eating is nearly as mainstream where we live, and it’s not as easy to find healthier options as other more metropolitan parts of the country.
My cholesterol and high blood pressure were/are a problem, so I’m hoping that by eliminating all animal products I can regain better health and avoid the sadness of an early death (my father died in his early 50′s from heart disease).
Thank you for making veganism delicious!!! And thank you for giving me recipes that I can share with my omnivore husband- who, BTW, rarely notices something isn’t the unhealthy, full-fat, animal-laden desserts he is used to eating. LOVE it all!!
Aww I am so so glad I can help in any way… I so agree with you that it can be HARD to be a vegan when you’re not in Portland or Cali or NYC, and all your friends think you’re crazy and the restaurants think steak is an acceptable food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert!
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Thank goodness things are changing. Even Dallas now is getting more and more vegan-friendly. I can only hope the rest of the so-called “middle of nowhere” cities will be improving too
(Not that Dallas is in the middle of nowhere… But as far as veganism is concerned, ten years ago it might as well have been!)
You’re right- we’re getting there! In cattle country it seems VERY odd to not want to eat meat. OKC is getting much better. We FINALLY got a Whole Foods in November ’11, so we are coming right along with healthier options. Gotta love it!
Oh, and I also commute to work by bike. So not only am I a dietary outcast, I’m a vehicular one as well.
And 98% of my clothing is thrifted or from vintage clothing stores. Cheers to being different and living life on our own terms!
Again- thanks so much for sharing your story and for inspiring so many of us to try new things. You help my severely lacking chef’ing skills!
I recently have gone gluten/dairy free and have noticed changes in literally every aspect of my life! Less groggy, less stomach upset, more energy, sleep better, better focus… I love it. I am considering going vegetarian since I rarely eat meat just because I really don’t want to, I’m basically a raw foods kind of girl most of the time. My question is the big one about veganism- what about protein? Without eggs I don’t know what I would do. See I don’t particularly LOVE eggs, but nearly every headache or groggy/tired feeling I get is when I haven’t been taking in much protein. Are there any tips, tricks, or insight you have?
Your blog is new to me and I absolutely love it! I’m glad you’re doing what you love and you get to help other people in the process!
Hi Monica!
Many people actually get too MUCH protein, which leeches calcium from the bones. (It’s one of the reasons why America has the highest number of cases of osteoporosis even though we also eat the most dairy products!) As long as you’re getting enough calories to meet your energy needs, it’s pretty difficult to not get enough protein, as many foods have protein– even foods you wouldn’t think of, like broccoli!
My friend wrote a terrific guest post for me a few years back: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2010/04/25/vegan-bodybuilding-and-fitness-with-robert-cheeke/
A big part of me really wants to go vegan. I don’t eat dairy or red meat or poultry. However, I do eat eggs and fish daily. I’m scared that I wouldn’t get the protein I need (I workout a lot!). My body is at its best when I’m on a high protein / low carb diet….lots of fish, nuts, veggies but no grains/starches/fruits. Will becoming a vegan make me fat? Will I loose my muscle tone?
To be honest, I don’t know much about high-protein diets. But my friend Robert is a genuis in that area! http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2010/04/25/vegan-bodybuilding-and-fitness-with-robert-cheeke/
Very helpful, thank you!!
After very successfully making your Yumlicious Lentil Curry and Deep Dish Cookie Pie for a potluck, I am fully Vegan! Your blog has really inspired my to make the change – from your awesome recipes to your whole non-pushy, funny, genuine writing style! THANK YOU
Awww good luck, girl!!!
Sara- I’m an athlete who runs marathons regulary and does an Ironman triathlon every year. I totally get enough protein in my diet. The best sources for protein on a vegan diet are leafy green vegetables, legumes, pseudograins, seeds and tofu. It’s true that most Americans get far too much protein (read The China Study). If you are interested in finding out more, read Brendan Brazier’s books (Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide is a good place to start). He’s a pro Ironman triathlete and has been vegan for years. There’s lot of pro athletes that do well on this diet. I bought his books when I became vegan to make sure that I was getting enough nutrition to maintain my workout intensity. I also drink a soy protein shake after really long, intense workouts. I’ve only been vegan 4 months, but I think that not only have my workouts not suffered, my recovery time has sped up and I feel I’m getting stronger.
Thank you so much for the encouragement and advice! I heard about the China Study in the film Forks Over Knives…amazing stuff. I find tofu gives me digestive problems and have been using a soy free vegan protein powder made from pea protein. I’ll check out Thrive tonight, thanks again!
Hi Katie!
Love the blog and I was exploring it today and stumbled on to this post. It is so exciting to me that you lived in China! I have to ask (and I totally respect if you don’t want to answer), but why did your family move to China?
I’m moving there myself this fall to Hengyang in the Hunan providence. (So excited!) Anyway, I’m really curious, where did your family live and what was it like cooking and grocery shopping over there? Where you able to find familiar products or did you guys have to adapt to a new food lifestyle? I guess you did in a way because you didn’t eat dairy. I’ve been weaning myself of dairy products for the past few months so I don’t think giving it up completely will be too difficult, especially if it’s not available to me.
I love your posts. I ate your chocolate and banana oatmeal for breakfast and had some naughty girl vegan fudge for snack. mmmmmmm. Thanks for allowing me to not feel guilty about my love/obsession for chocolate!
Hi Paige
My dad works in international insurance, so it’s taken us all over the world. We were in Shanghai, and so we were able to find familiar products… but they were expensive! Cheerios were $11! So we ate a lot of whole foods and made a lot of recipes from cookbooks. Veggies were very cheap over there
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