Hello!

Hi everyone,

My name is Emily, and I'm vegan. I've been vegan since early 2012. 

I like to think I have a very open mind, and I've tried a lot of different ways of eating up to this point: standard American diet, Mediterranean diet, pescatarian, vegetarian, etc.

To the shock of my parents and relatives, I started my vegetarian journey in 1997 at the wise, old age of 12. I credit my decision to a project I did in 6th grade on animal rights. There the facts were, on my family's 1990s MAC signed in through an old-school AOL account. I stumbled across a video about chicken factory farming that I will never unsee. I made the decision to quit meat cold turkey, and it changed me forever.

Around 2007 I made a brief foray into eating fish and white meat again on the advice of a doctor while trying to get to the bottom of a medical issue that ultimately turned out to be thyroid related. I continued with a pescatarian diet for a while, not really enjoying it but mostly just shoveling it into my mouth and swallowing before my brain caught up to me.

In 2010 I started volunteering heavily with the local humane society in my area. And I had a "What am I doing?" moment. How can I work so hard to save these animals while supporting the death of others with my diet? So, back to a vegetarian diet I went. 

What I learned is that in my attempt to find and make vegetarian alternatives, I was eating a lot of cheese and eggs. My doctor confirmed that as only a 20-something, I already had borderline high cholesterol. With each passing year I've also had progressively bad stomach issues after eating dairy. In January of 2012 I read The Kind Life by Alicia Silverstone, and it opened my eyes to the cruelty of the dairy and egg industries, which I had been trying to avoid thinking about for years. I decided to make the plunge to vegan, and I've never looked back. On a side note, my cholesterol is back in normal range, and I very, very rarely have stomach issues at all.

I decided to start this blog because I get the question "So, what do you eat?" frequently when the topic of my veganism comes up. I also have a constant desire to post what I'm eating on Instagram. I know many people do that as well, but I really want to show people that vegan food is SO good! I want to open minds and maybe inspire someone to eat something they normally wouldn't.

Please note that I am not an avid recipe follower. I use recipes primarily to get ideas or to find out what temperature the oven should be, but I rarely measure (unless I'm baking). I like to get creative, experiment and add things to my taste. I love flavorful food, and the spicier the better! 

Please also consider that vegans are not perfect. I'm sure I have accidentally eaten non-vegan items at times along the way, because dairy seems to find its way into everything. All I can do is educate myself and do my best, thus I try to cook most of my own meals and limit my restaurant visits ( unless it's a vegan/vegetarian restaurant with a true understanding of my diet).

I hope you enjoy seeing the vegan meals I make.... And who knows, maybe it will inspire you to cook a meatless meal of your own!

Emily