TIME FOR CHANGE!
It’s now been over 2 years since I decided to go vegan, yet this place still has a very strong “omni” flavor because of my past paleo life. I’m still very much uncomfortable with it but unfortunately, no matter how strongly I feel about veganism and how much I am convinced that it’s the right thing to do for the planet as well as for the animals, and much as I feel uneasy about all the meat-based and other non-vegan recipes on here, they do represent many many years of hard work and I can’t simply go about deleting them all. Besides, I feel it wouldn’t really be the right thing to do. I will learn to compose with their presence and embrace all of my recipes, past and present! I once was a meat eater and I think I have to come to terms with that.
However, I’m hoping that with time, the meat-based recipes will become less and less prominent on this blog and will get replaced with as many delicious plant-based, cruelty-free, good for you and good for the environment recipes.
But my real true hope is that this change will also happen in each and every one of your plates, if it hasn’t already, and that you will soon not even care to make any of my old recipes.
Curious as to how the shift initiated for me? I’m more than happy to share the story with you! Who knows, maybe it’ll inspire you to take a walk down that same path, too!
As you may know, I’ve gone through many different stages throughout my journey… I’ve gone from omnivore, calorie restricting, weight-loss oriented, to almost vegetarian, then omnivore again, to grain-free, to strict paleo, then omnivore again, to now convinced vegan. The thing is, I’ve been exploring a lot, asking myself all kinds of questions, trying to find and define me. In all honesty, all this time, while always remaining health-conscious, I’ve been trying to find the ONE diet that would work for ME, that would magically turn my body into what I thought MY ideal body should look like. Or what society made me believe that my body should look like, rather.
Then, something magical happened to me… I went through a severe depression! For several months, I remember creating recipes, cooking and photographing them while crying practically the whole time. In fact, I would find myself sobbing most every day. I never really talked about it on here because I was kind of embarrassed; no one likes to admit that they are ill. Plus, well… life had to go on, you know.
But that was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, because I eventually sought help, and that led me to discover meditation and the teachings of the Buddhist philosophy. This has has a profound positive impact on my life. Through those teachings, I got to learn a great deal about love and compassion and I soon started to feel a huge amount of that towards our Mother earth, as well as all the sentient beings that she shelters. I soon established that I wanted to make a valid effort towards making a change for the better, starting with reducing my ecological footprint. And well, the fastest and most efficient way to do that was to switch to a vegan diet, because animal agriculture is what’s destroying the planet at the scariest and fastest pace.
To say that my mind was resisting that change would be an understatement — like seriously… giving up meat for good? Are you insane? — but I was determined that it was the right thing to do. To help me reinforce that feeling, I worked up the courage to face my aversion — who wants to actually watch innocent animals get mistreated and abused? — got my head out of the sand and watched a few ground-breaking documentaries (all available on Netflix) namely What the Health, Fork Over Knives, Cowspiracy and Food, Inc. That totally did it for me, it was like an awakening from which you can never fall asleep again. My eyes finally opened up to how insanely badly the animals get treated, how we managed to turn them into actual products, and how extensively we’re destroying the planet to produce our precious meat. I wept.
This also lead me to finally realize the true meaning of “voting with your dollar”. Every single time I purchased a product from one of these monstrous corporations, I was in fact not only telling them that I was in total agreement with their ways and actions, but I was also FINANCING them! I no longer wished to be a part of this. Even if I did purchase most of my meat from local, sustainable farms, I was still contributing to the destruction of the planet, because the impact of raising the animals is the same. Plus, all the animals end up going through the same slaughtering process, and well, there is simply no humane way to kill an animal. And so I became vegan, practically overnight.
For the first time since I began this journey, I switched diets for entirely selfless reasons. And seeing as how it’s impossible for me to un-know what I now know, or un-see all that I’ve seen, I know that I’ll never be able to go back to consuming meat again. I can no longer be a part of the carnage, the torture, the abuse and killing of innocent sentient beings, all for our own personal egoistical pleasure.
And that is why I feel so strongly about this new lifestyle. I’m not doing it for me, I’m doing it for you, for the future generations, for the planet and mainly, for the animals.
I really hope that you will consider going vegan, too, if you aren’t already. Or at the very least, reduce your meat consumption drastically.
Do it for me, for the future generations, for the planet, and mainly, for the animals…
27 Comments on “TIME FOR CHANGE!”
My daughter has been vegan for about 1.5 years now. Although I have not embraced the lifestyle yet, I have decided to make better choices and reduce my meat consumption. I was VERY pleasantly surprised when you started posting began recipes . Good for you and thank you for sharing your journey and recipes with us!!
Vegan recipes are an great option.!
I’m really sorry to hear that you ended up becoming depressed. I’ve had bad periods in my life too, so I can really empathize on how you felt during that time. But the most important thing is that you turned that around into something positive! While I personally haven’t become a vegan myself yet, I think that it is a great path to go down. I look forward to all of the new changes!
I am thrilled with your decision! My husband and I are both vegan. I have always loved your recipes (that I could work with). Now, I will be able to enjoy all of them!!!
I haven’t gone vegan yet, but I am struggling with so much guilt about animal products. I respect your choice immensely and aspire to be like you. I think I need to take the plunge with the docs I’ve been avoiding 🙁
DO IT!!! It might very well change your life forever, for the better. 🙂
Brava, Sonia. You are an inspiration and a leader in the conservation of the planet and its animals, not to mention one very courageous woman.
I admire you greatly.
Barbara
Thank you so much for your kind words, Barbara! I’m touched!
Hi Sonia! I moved from a Paleo lifestyle to a Vegan lifestyle myself, which was relatively easy to do, for quite often, I would describe Paleo as being like “vegan with meat”. LOL!!! I had some health related anemia which has now been resolved, and being vegan has brought me some real peace of mind, and has had fantastic results in my body. I can’t wait to see the newly designed website! You go, girl. Keep evolving – it’s inspiring.
I’m interested also how you quit smoking, any tips?
Over the course of several months, I reduced my consumption until I got it down to 7 cigarettes per day… at that point I felt I could not go any lower and set a date to quit completely. For the first month, I took medication to help but didn’t even finish the treatment because I didn’t care for the side effects. Every time the need for a cigarette strikes, you just need to embrace it, accept it and mostly, realize that it will eventually subside. No craving will last forever; just breathe through it. And with time, the cravings will become weaker and weaker. You just gotta hang in there, and then one day you simply can’t even imagine yourself having a cigarette and feel so free at last!! Best feeling in the world. Believe in yourself. You got this.
Keeping your site maintained with recipes that cater to both vegans and non-vegans is the way to go – in my opinion. The are many brilliant (and moral) people who believe that plants combined with pastured meats from humanely raised animals is not only the best diet for your health but is best for a healthy ecosystem. After experiencing an initial run off good results with veganism, many dieters find that they need to add back fish and eggs to maintain their health properly, and it’s well known amongst dentists that vegans tend to have more problems with their teeth. So, don’t be too hard on the omnivores, and don’t let your meat-based recipes grate on your conscious – as you said, they are merely a history of your journey. Best wishes on your plant based approach to eating.
Me and my husband have made the switch from paleo to plant based. Wow I can relate to you in so may ways. Plant based has to be our future, it just has to be. I LOVE the fact that you’re vegan!!!!🥰
And I love the fact that you and your husband made the switch too! Thank you!! 🙂
I am in awe of your roasted greek style rutabaga! Amazing and encouraging as I move from primarily pescatarian to veganism. I have many chemical allergies so I often prepare from scratch as tinned food is not an option.
Thank you so much!
Do I need to print out the meat recipes on your site?
I am not and will never be a vegetarian.
Oh! And I forgot to mention… I used to say the exact same thing: “I will never, ever, be a vegetarian. I simply could not. I love my meat way too much for that!” But look at me now: going on 4 years of being a vegan, with no intention of ever going back. You know what they say, right? Never say never! 😉
I forgot to mention:
If I cannot find your meat recipes by checking the search box, they as well not be there.
Not sure what is happening on your end, Lisa… every single recipe that I ever posted is still up on the site and searchable by category either through the “browse recipes” or “complete index” page. Also, I have no intention of ever deleting any of my recipes, so there really is no need to print them.
Hey Sonia, love your post.
I particularly liked the part about how you incorporated meditation into your life. I’ve been meditating for over a year now and I’m also leaning towards veganism, because it gives you a sense of awareness and compassion for all the other living beings we share this wonderful earth with.
I think it is cruel how they are being slaughtered for people
When it comes to losing weight, becoming vegan is easily one of the best things to do, mainly because most vegan foods are low in calories and high in nutrients particularly fibre, which helps you stay full longer and helps you avoid overeating.
I would really like your expertise on the best way people who are struggling to become vegan can make the full transition?
Thanks again for the post
Wow- this resonates so much with me! The reason I started looking into a plant based lifestyle was due to a diagnosis of early onset osteoporosis. What a shocker to learn that calcium from dairy products actually leaches minerals from your bones! Another great website is Switch For Good. All about how bad dairy is for us, the animals, the earth, etc.
Thanks for the great recipes to help support this healthy lifestyle!
HI Sonia, I’m over here in the UK, but your site is so relevant to people everywhere. I’ve been a Weight Management Practitioner for 25 years and I’m still so overwhelmed when I come across people such as yourself that overcome their lifestyle challenges and then go on to help others to do likewise. All power to you, I’ll be following you and recommending my clients take a look at your site and try the recipes. Incidentally, I don’t think you should be stressing about the Vegan issue, your position on this is 100% ethical and we are all in a transition stage. We are all following the early adopters who have courage and wisdom. Helping people to transition without blaming or persecuting them is the only way forward. You are on my Christmas card list forever. Best Alan
Hi Sonia, I’m over here in the UK but your site is so relevant to everyone. I’ve been a weight management practitioner for 25 years but I am still so overwhelmed when I come across people that have overcome their lifestyle difficulties and then go on to use this knowledge to help others to do likewise. Also, please don’t stress about your omnivorous recipes. Many people are transitioning to a plant based diet and helping people to do this gently and with humility is so refreshing rather than the harsh approaches some people take. We all need hand holding! Keep up the great work and I shall be suggesting my clients take a look at your site and I’ll be a regular visitor. Well done and ‘great job’ as you guys would say.
I’ve been on the vegetarian/plantbased journey for quite some time now – roughly 8 years. I resonate very deeply with your post and it inspires me to become more focused on cutting out all animal based products entirely from my diet and lifestyle. Thanks for sharing.
How about hearing an opposite story? I’ve been a super strict vegan for 12 years. And I ended up literally dying, in my 40s I was feeling like I’m 90. One day I was passing by a lady selling fresh fish and my body started shaking – that’s how much I needed it. I stopped being vegan that day and started eating fish, then meat. I’ve got my energy back. I started feeling myself alive again. It was sad to admit, but in long-term veganism doesn’t work, unfortunately. First 5 years you feel awesome, your body is cleansing up, then everything starts falling apart. Truth is in the middle. Don’t overdo anything.
I appreciate your insight, but truth is, everybody’s mileage will vary. Long term veganism has proven to work really well for a lot of people. How do you know that it was fish and meat specifically that your body was craving, and not some specific nutrients that they actually provide? Did you ever look into what your body actually needed and if you had any deficiencies that could’ve been addressed and filled from non-animal sources? Also, you say first 5 years you feel awesome, your body is cleaning itself, but then it all falls apart… So you’re sort of implying that after that great cleanse, one needs to start “dirtying” their body again – by reintroducing animal products – for it to start working good again? That don’t make sense to me. And to be honest, I don’t feel I’m overdoing anything. I made a conscious decision to not to take life or cause suffering in order to feed myself and I intend to keep doing that for as long as I possibly can. If I ever come to feel sick or unealthy, I will look at every possible alternative and exhaust all my options before resorting to eating animal products again.
Your Mayo recipe is amazing! I’m not vegan but I don’t eat eggs or dairy and on a very specific diet. I will NEVER buy any Mayo again. You have changed my life! I will eat this every day!!!! THANK YOU!