i guess it mostly started when i was feeling like there was a need for a change. ok well a SERIOUS need for a DRASTIC change. this came about, after finding out i have high cholesterol, low hdl’s and a couple other pretty serious health issues that could be completely turned around by changing my diet. so i did. it started by cutting back on this, eating more of that, etc. the usual changes when you’re doctor tells you to stop eating like a college frat boy (my words not hers).
i decided i was going to attempt 10 days of the master cleanse. that’s right, i said attempt. and by that i mean i went to the grocery store, bought everything i would need for weeks of cleansing, began the cleanse, after 4 hours, i ordered jr’s. – chicken cheesesteak and chicken parmesan, french fries and brownies. yeah… so much self-control right?!?!
then i watched food inc. oh boy oh boy. that’ll make you think twice about when you’re shoving down your throat. instantly i thought back to the days of being vegan and remembered how “healthy” i always felt. and i mean felt. like from the inside out. i thought about the reasons why i was vegetarian to begin with all of those years ago. i thought about how on my brothers birthday i looked at the usually eye-popping goodness of a giant whipped cream cake and only thought of a (earmuffs) blistered nipple of a hormone injected cow pumping out the milk that became the main ingredient in this sheet-cake of disgust. then i was vegan. years later, on my sister jenny’s birthday, a trip to cheesecake factory, the three of us ordered chicken dishes and entered back into omnivory. oh then i was on a binge. forget chicken, forget milk. i was instantly eating bacon wrapped, deep fried hot dogs with cream cheese on top, recipe courtesy of crif dogs in nyc!
and i wondered why i had high cholesterol and no energy. hmmmm.
i grabbed a book. eating animals by jonathan safran foer. and now here i am. a few months into quitting meat. i ALREADY feel healthier.
Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am Jackie from near Seattle WA, I know your sister, even though I have never met her in person and have her art all over my walls!
I went veg last mid January, then went to totally vegan shortly after. I did it for total health reasons, my friends husband had been in the hospital with open heart surgery ( he is a steak & potatoes man) and my mom being diagnosed w/ breast cancer. I just wanted to eat better, one day at a time. I don’t even drink diet pop anymore because of the cancer causing aspertame and try to eat all organic. From the very beginning I kept telling myself that if I really wanted to eat something, like craving big time I would have it and or on a special occasion. But so far, that hasn’t happened. Years ago I did the vegan thing but it only lasted a little less than a year because I wasn’t eating horribly. Now Im eating much better and there are so many GREAT options at the store. Practically anything can be veganized! Including some of yours and Jennys yummy cupcakes!
Good luck on your journey, I am hoping some day to meet Jenny & Aaron in person, and I am sure I will get to meet you too!
XOXO
Jackie