Becoming Vegan

People go Vegan for many different reasons. My reason is because I watched a movie that set me straight. If I happen to have a moment of weakness where I even consider it, that sad little eye of one of the cows that they were butchering in the movie comes popping back into my mind's eye and it makes my heart hurt. She was still alive, still feeling, still a being. Since I started my trip to Vegetarianism and on my way to Veganism, I have come across these other reasons:

1. I feel better.
2. I'm sleeping better. I have always suffered from insomnia, more so since my house got broken into a few years back with myself and the babies sleeping inside. Now, when I sleep, it is less fitful and I find it's a more quality sleep.
3. My craving for chocolate has pretty much, well, gone away. I still get the munchies when I'm bored, but I don't HAVE to have chocolate like I did before. In fact, my cravings for sweets in general have pretty much subsided.
4. I'm a lot more "regular". Since hubby has gone Vegetarian, he has stopped suffering from as many of the digestive issues he had.
5. I have more energy. You often hear people say that you are lacking in this vitamin or that nutrient and, these naysayers are often part of a bigger plot to keep people killing animals.
6. I get to experiment with our meals on a daily basis. I have always loved finding and trying new recipes and there are some awesome ones out there.
7. I have more respect for myself. I am doing something good for the planet, for our animal friends, my family, and myself.

My mother has been having a lot of issues with high cholesterol lately. I'm hoping that I can get her on the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart. I want to prove a point to her. She knows what her cholesterol was a couple weeks ago. I want her to at least make some better food choices and then go back to her doctor and see her results. I think she, and he, would be surprised. By just making a few substitions, it would have such a dramatic effect! I want my mother around for awhile(like forever) and, if I can help her, I will.

I read an interesting blog post earlier today about how to start your Vegan Adventure. You can read the full post HERE. This is the first part of it:

1. Watch the movies The Witness and Earthlings for free online right now. Then tell your friends. You can even send them an invitation for the first movie.

2. Read the book Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won’t Eat Meat.

3. Replace dairy milk with soymilk, rice milk, almond milk, oat milk, multigrain milk, and hemp milk. Unless you’re a baby cow, you don’t need cow’s milk. Did you know dairy products can cause acne! Think of cow’s milk as “liquid meat.”

4. For a quick sandwich, try Tofurky Deli Slices. Mmmm. All Tofurky choices are 100% vegan. Remember to add two new very tasty vegan foods for each food you no longer eat. Vegan living isn’t about what you can’t eat. It’s about discovering the more than 6000 vegan foods you can eat.

5. Treat yourself to Purely Decadent Ice Cream or Rice Dream Frozen Desserts (especially the Vanilla Pie ice cream sandwich and the Mint Carob Chip ice cream) or Whole Fruit Sorbet.

6. Practice cooking. There are no rules. Be flexible with ingredients. Whatever tastes good to you is a recipe that rocks. To make it easy on yourself, you might begin with a classic cookbook such as Vive le Vegan!

7. Join or start a small vegan group to swap info and share in the fun.

8. Explore fresh organic goodies at your local farmers market. Visit health food stores and Asian supermarkets for the yummiest “mock meat.” Browse all the aisles.

This article has some great "steps". I wouldn't exactly say this is the way to go but it has some great parts. I went vegetarian completely overnight. I'm well on my way to becoming full blown Vegan. I'm taking all those things that I can't live without(see my cheese post) and I'm finding a great substitution(Daiya is the way to go for the cheese, by the way). This year, I will have found a great substitution for everything that I MUST have.

So, now that I have just posted the longest blog post of my life, I am going to go and finish a couple things for work and then I am going to deposit myself on the couch and watch a movie with my family.

I am sure I will be posting again soon.

Till then, Live, Laugh, and Love!