*How long have you been a vegan?
6 years
*What made you decide to embrace a plant-based diet?
I
was really bothered by practices I read about and saw regarding
slaughtering animals for food. It then turned into health reasons once I
read more about what goes into meat, dairy, etc. and once I realized
how much better I felt physically, I was sold.
*What was the hardest food (meat, dairy, eggs, etc) to
move away from?
Dairy!
I used to live for cheese, big cereal bowls of ice cream, cake, etc. so
that was definitely the hardest to do without. I would be in class, and
the professor would order pizza for the class and I would just cry on
the inside. LOL. But now that I'm so far removed from it, I don't crave
it and I don't even have much of a sweet tooth anymore! When I do, it's
satisfied by fruit or something very simple.
*Any advice for new vegans?
Definitely
have a meal plan! I didn't know how to cook until I went vegan. You
have to cook ahead of time to always have something ready to go during
busy weeks because depending on where you live, there may not be
pre-prepared vegan meals or fast food that you can readily access and
that leads to you breaking down and eating non-vegan food or eating
complete junk. I gathered an arsenal of cookbooks and made an Excel
sheet of rotating weekly recipes.
*What are some of your favorite books/websites on
veganism?
My
vegan resources revolve more around food rather than general veganism.
Veganomicon, How It All Vegan, and Vegan Planet were my cookbook
staples. Healthy. Happy. Life. is my favorite site for recipes.
*Please share a recipe you enjoy.
Pan-fried tofu cubes (panko
bread crumbs, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and chicken
seasoning--or your other favorite seasoning sauteed in olive oil) and
vegetable rigatoni (zucchini, diced tomatoes, bell peppers, and whatever
other veggies you like sauteed in olive oil with rigatoni pasta, diced
garlic, and nutritional yeast).
*How can we reach
you? Social media, blog, etc.
glowingcolor.com
Thanks for sharing your story, Tamara!
I'm blogging Mon-Fri this month for Vegan MoFo.