What I’ve Been Eating Recently

Hi friends,

I want to share something I’ve been experimenting with for over seven months now, but I wanted to be sure it was something I’m interested in before I wrote a post about it. Because, well, it’s a pretty big change.

See, I love eating plant based. And I’ve always been interested in the vegan diet, especially since I started incorporating more whole foods and veggies into every meal I eat. Then I discovered that some people even eat a raw vegan diet (although personally I’m not a huge fan of that) and the concept seemed so interesting and foreign, that I was intrigued. I wanted to find some rockstar vegan cooks out there.

So I started looking into vegan recipes on youtube through Hot for Food and Avant Garde Vegan. I love that they create really good quality vegan food. They don’t compromise taste for health. Then, my obsession continued as I got really into food bloggers on Instagram like Lee From America, Alison Wu, and Minimalist Baker.

These people really inspired me to change my food habits. I was eating even more plant based and truly thought about the things I was putting into my body. I wasn’t perfect, but I was craving more veggies and less other things, including (believe it or not) cheese.

Then, my world-traveling sister let me know that she decided to go vegan, after eating an abundance of meat in a kind German’s house (I’m not kidding), but also after talking to many travelers and locals from all over the world.

My sister, Emily, feeding elephants bananas in Thailand

My sister tends to go all in when she commits to something, where I’m more of a processor. I had been thinking about a vegan diet for years but always found reasons why it was too hard, didn’t fit my lifestyle, or just wasn’t for me.

But when Em did it, something just clicked. I mean, if my sister can do it, someone so close to me, why can’t I?

So, I’m officially calling myself mostly vegan. I say that because I’m not perfect. The more I do it, the more I want to commit further. But for now, I’m saying “mostly” because I still have some occasional local meats (which I think can be really great for you when they’re good quality) and eggs. I often crave those and if I’m going to have them, I make sure they’re from a good, sustainable source. In fact, I don’t see giving up eggs any time soon since they’re a good source of protein and don’t have a big impact on the environment. But for the most part, I have completely cut meat and dairy out of my diet.

Pictured is a delicious chili I made recently with a little bit of local ground beef, lots of veggies, cashew crema, and cilantro. (Vegan version coming soon!)

My main goal with this is to avoid the industry that treats animals so poorly. I’ve known about these issues for so long and chose to ignore them. And for what? For some meat? It suddenly seemed ridiculous.

So, I almost never get meat from unknown sources or fast food chains. I also really avoid dairy after learning how it’s produced. I just can’t be apart of such mistreatment of animals.

On top of that, cutting all this out really makes an environmental impact. It sounds crazy, but I was seeing articles everywhere about the HUGE impact that the meat industry has on our environment. Just cutting our meat consumption in half makes a big difference.

Plus, I can’t help but eat better. Instead of making enchiladas filled with chicken and cheese, I’m filling them with a homemade enchilada sauce, chickpeas, and cauliflower. To some people, it might sound so boring or limiting to have a vegan diet, but it can be quite the opposite.

I find myself getting much more creative when I cook too. And sure, I have plenty of moments of trial and error. But more times than not, I am surprised by how good some of the recipes I try are and I’m quickly learning how to tweak them to my liking. This results in a lot of yummy, vegan meals.

Even Elliot agrees.

So, I’m not here to tell you to become vegan, but I am saying that it isn’t a bad idea to reduce your meat and dairy intake, for the sake of the animals and the environment. Not to mention, you’ll end up eating a lot healthier too. And if you have access to it, I really encourage you to only eat local meats when you can so we’re not supporting an industry mistreating animals. I know it makes me feel a lot better knowing where my meat and eggs are coming from, when I do have them.

I’m telling you, going mostly vegan has made me feel so much lighter, in more ways than one.