I CAN Have My (Vegan) Cake, AND Eat it Too

Three years ago, I began my vegetarian journey. I am going to stop right there, to point out, I don't mention this because I think I am better than others for not eating meat, and I am not going to walk around with a giant neon sign above my head glowing, "Hey, I just went vegan." I made this personal decision based on MY health, and MY love for animals.

I have never really cared for meat ever since I was a little kid. I would pick around the hamburger in my grandma's goolosh and I remember taking one bite of my dad's Big Mac, and thinking, this really isn't that good. I decided at an early age, that I was only going to eat white meat (chicken and turkey). I was turned off by the thought of red meat, and was never really a fan of seafood. For 25 years, I lived by this. Then, one day, a light-bulb went off. My boyfriend at the time (now husband) and I were going to Charleston, SC for Memorial Day weekend. I turned to him and said, "I'm really tired of eating chicken, I think I am going to go vegetarian." He was like "umm OK, sure, whatever you think." I remember thinking finding food on the menu without meat was harder than I expected. Charleston, is a tourist town, so it has many dining options, but it is also a beach town, where seafood is very prevalent. Despite a challenging first weekend of "going vegetarian", I knew I would stay strong, and keep to my beliefs.

Over the past three years, I have always continued to consume dairy, and have even thrown a bit of seafood into my diet, so living more of the pescatarian lifestyle. I have always thought about "going vegan", but never thought I could give up cheese. I mean, c'mon, IT'S CHEESE. Instead of feeling sorry for myself at the thought of not eating cheese, I decided to attempt to become educated on the meat and dairy industry. I had an idea of the industry based on podcasts and documentaries I have watched, but have never really put it all together. A lot of people will say, "Documentaries are biased, you can't believe what they say." And I agree, they are biased, but that doesn't mean they are wrong. Everyone has an opinion right? And sometimes those opinions are also backed by science. If you love meat and dairy, you probably won't be interested in watching these, or you may have watched the documentaries, and think they are total crap. I am not saying I am educated on the meat and dairy industry, but I am trying. You have to start somewhere. So far I have watched:

1. The Game Changers (Netflix)

2. What the Health (Netflix)

3. Cowspiracy (Netflix)

4. Forks Over Knives (Netflix)

5. FOOD, Inc. (Netflix)

6. DAIRY IS SCARY! The Industry Explained in 5 Minutes (YouTube)

7. Yoga Girl - a social media influencer who leads a vegan lifestyle

I am sure some of these sources hold more truth than others. Either way, I find the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle to be very interesting, and I find the meat and dairy industries to be very sad. Just like Memorial Day weekend three years ago, another light-bulb recently went off. This was not part of my New Years intentions, but I am very welcome to the idea of practicing veganism. With Lent around the corner, I decided I could experiment with a vegan lifestyle throughout Lent. I then thought, why wait? Why don't I just start now? So as of last Friday, I have cut dairy (and seafood) out of my diet ALMOST completely. I know this journey won't be easy, and I probably will fail along the way. I am also not promising, if I am on an amazing tropical vacation, I won't eat a piece of mahi mahi or coconut shrimp, or if I ever have the chance to drink wine in Napa Valley, I wont partake in the cheese on an amazing charcuterie board.

I am welcome to learning from others (but please don't ask me how I am going to get my protein...). I would also love for others to join me on this journey! There really is no "end goal", I just want to live a happy healthy life and and I want the same for animals. I think we can find ways to have our (vegan) cake and eat it too.