Hello everyone! I’m back with another blog post and this time I decided to switch things up a bit and write a Q&A post. Now before you all start to think it, no I’m not a vegan but today’s post is in collaboration with my friend Sonia@PeachxSoda who has kindly let me ask her a few questions as she is following a vegan diet. Shall we begin?
I have really wanted to do a post related to the vegan diet for a long time but had no idea how to write it. In this post I have a few questions that are common questions that I think people following a vegan diet would have to answer so decided to share this with you all so you guys can have more information about what being a vegan means and hopefully inspire a few of you too!
What made you decide you wanted to become a vegan?
Well, I wasn’t vegan from the start. I first went pescatarian for a year, then I went vegetarian for about 8 months and then I went vegan. I went pescatarian because I was watching a video about veganism and the girl I was watching said something along the lines of “I don’t want my body to be a graveyard for innocent souls.” Needless to say, I put down the piece of chicken I was eating (I was having lunch). I first went pescatarian because I was worried about what my mother would say about it since she was the one cooking my meals at the time but the more I got into cooking the easier it was to give up fish. After I went vegetarian, I immediately started cutting down on animal products but for some reason, I couldn’t give up cheese so when my mum questioned me about this whole ‘save the animals’ thing, I kind of got annoyed and gave up cheese on the same day. So to answer the question, I became vegan out of compassion for animals and spite.
What were some of the struggles when you first started eating vegan?
Hm… considering that I was already used to not eating meat and fish, giving up other animal products was easy. I think the hardest thing for me was eating out with friends and family who are not vegan or vegetarian. Still, thankfully, now I have a few friends who are vegan so eating out has become easier.
What are some things you like or love about being vegan?
A clean conscience, for one. I also love how much veganism opened me up to trying different types of veg and fruit as well as recipes. I have learnt to make so many things I wouldn’t have been interested in if I wasn’t vegan. Also, my food is always so colourful and I don’t feel bloated and heavy after a meal.
Some advice on how to deal with some families or cultures who may not be very accepting of the vegan diet.
Honestly, my advice is always ‘have a solid set of morals and stick to them no matter what’. My family is religious and I definetly come from a country where you can go to a coffee shop and ask for soy milk and they look at you like you have ten eyes so transitioning to veganism has been a bit of a battle. My mum and sister are supportive and although nobody ever tried to force me to eat meat, they all make subtle digs about it; be it because of their religion or just the culture they grew up in. How do I deal with that? I stick to my guns because I know that what I’m doing is (and feels) right. I guess it’s harder for younger people who are still reliant on their parents, but in that case, my advice is to become more independent. Learning how to cook for yourself is definetly helpful.
Putting diet and nutrition aside, how do you feel about animals being hunted or killed for food or even experiments being done on animals for any purpose?
Disgusted to say the least. I genuinely get so incredibly upset just thinking about it. I personally never watch slaughterhouse footage because my heart just can’t handle it but to know that some people are aware and still choose to put an innocent being through that? It’s heart-stopping. At this point, I have lost so much faith in humanity but I am hoping that the more people learn and the more they see the more animals we’ll be able to save.
What advice do you have for people who want to try a vegetarian, pescatarian or a vegan diet?
Have a good reason so that you don’t give up. Also, start slowly, let your body get used to the changes. Oh, and don’t try to look for recipes online since they’re always complicated and require crazy ingredients. Instead, write down your favourite foods and make them vegan by swapping stuff out.
A huge thanks to Sonny for answerig these questions and I hope that they may in some way have informed you or inspired you to find out more about the vegan diet and try becoming a vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian yourself!
If you have any more questions for Sonia, feel free to comment or leave a message on my instagram which is @yourstrulyraisa I hope you all have a lovely day, until next time…
-Yours Truly, Raisa
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