Be As Vegan As You Can

Happy Weekend, my friends!  It's going to be a little bit toasty out there today, stay cool and hydrated!

If you have been following me, you may have read one of my recent blogs about my meatless general tso's chicken.  I still can't stop thinking about how good it was.  I made enough for 4 lunches this past week, and I loved every single bite of it.  I'll be making it again soon.

Although I highly encourage to be vegan, I know that for some of us there may be huge obstacles to being 100% vegan.  I am not 100% vegan.  I will never turn down a Reese's or a chocolate chip cookie.  If something has eggs in the recipe, I may still have it.  I do draw the line with meat products for myself.

There could be many reasons for not being able to be completely vegan.  Economic class, access to grocery stores (many people live in "food deserts"), unsupportive friends/family, or simply not being able to give up that one food choice.  And, of course, there are many other reasons/barriers.

Be as vegan as you can.  If you simply cannot give up cheese, that's ok.  If it is harder for you to buy more vegetables, get what you can.  If you can be vegan for breakfast and lunch but not dinner, that's ok.  Little changes can make a big impact.  

I try my best not to judge other people's choices, I don't know their story.  Yes, I wish we all could be completely vegan.  The world would be so much better.  However, any step in the direction in progress.  Do what you are able.

Thank you so much for reading, I truly appreciate that you have taken the time out of your day to ready my blog.

If you would like, please feel free to leave any positive/constructive feedback in the comments section.  Also, you can email me at blhutton4@gmail.com.  

Make it a good day!

My Plant Based Journey Part 2

Good day, my friends.  I hope you all are finding ways to stay cool in this heat wave we are having across the country.  It's a bit on the toasty side.  Don't forget to check on your elderly friends/family/neighbors.

So, I am back for Part 2 of my plant based journey.  I believe I left off with the last entry that the first time I tried being plant based, it didn't work for me.  However, Covid then happened.  And when covid started, I said to myself that I wanted to be healthier when it was over than when it started.  I decided that I would give being plant based another try.

The second time I made the attempt (and also the first time), it was primarily for my health.  Of course, I love animals and was concerned about their welfare.  However, I think a lot of us block out what is actually being done to them.  We ignore the truth, I know I did. 

I like to learn things.  I love to read.  I watched pretty much all the Netflix food documentaries.  I read many books about the plant based diet and other ways food could help us with our health.  Along the way, I learned about all the inhumane treatment of animals.  Believe me, it is horrendous.

I started back up with the plant based eating plan in April-ish 2020.  I don't like saying vegan/vegetarian.  I again like to focus on what I can eat, not what I'm not eating.  For the first few months, I slowly transitioned to not having meat.  The last meat I ate that wasn't seafood was in September 2020 and it was a Slim Jim.  I used to love those!  For maybe about another 6 months after that, I again would maybe occasionally have some sort of seafood.  Shrimp was one of my favorite foods and I would treat myself to it sometimes.

Since about spring of 2021, I very rarely had seafood.  At the beginning of the pandemic, I did stock up a little on cans of tuna and such and I hate wasting.  On the rare occasion, I will add a can of tuna to my pasta.  But that's like once every 5-6 months.  I should just donate the rest to a food pantry and be done with it.

So, for about a year, I have been pretty much a "vegetarian," not consuming any meat.  As far as eggs and dairy, I normally wouldn't go out of my way to have it, but I would use it.  I try to avoid them, but I wouldn't stress if they were in something.  (I can't really drink regular milk anyways, but I could have it in something.). I will say that I liked butter in things.  On toast, in pastries, or on some cooked veggies.  But I decided not too long ago that I really want to try as hard as I can to be a vegan.  However, if I have the very sparingly item that has either eggs or dairy in it, I am not going to be upset.  After all, I am not going to give up on Reese's.  I still like to refer to myself as plant based, but essentially I am an imperfect vegan.

While I started being plant based for my health, I would say that the main reason I am now is for the animals.  An animal's life is more important than my taste buds.  Also, it is really important for the environment to limit animal products. 

And don't worry, I get my protein.

And there you have it, my plant based journey up to this point.  I am still learning.  One of the things I am trying to focus on now is how to be a better animal/vegan advocate.  I want to be able to communicate with others better.  I am currently doing a short program through CEVA, Center for Effective Vegan Advocacy.  I am learning many ways to be a better communicator through them.

I hope that you enjoyed ready my journey.  If you have any positive/constructive feedback, please feel free to use the comment section.

Also, you can follow me on instagram at plantbased_brandi

Thank you for reading!

My Plant Based Journey Part 1

 Good day, friends!

I hope everyone is doing well today.  What was one good thing that happened in your day?

Some of you may have followed my original blog site and may kind of know my story.  However, some of you may be new to me and I wanted to talk about my plant based journey with you.

I would like to think that for most of my life, I have consumed a somewhat healthy diet.  I live in western Pennsylvania.  So yes, I consumed animal products.  But I wouldn't say it was the standard American diet.  I loved chicken wings, burgers, and steaks.  I also loved my veggies.  I liked the healthy food (veggie burgers included), but I certainly wouldn't turn down a bacon burger. 

Maybe about 3-4 years ago,  I decided to try a low carbish diet.  I didn't want to go low carb, my body needs the energy.  Plus I never thought it made much sense to exclude fruits and vegetables just because they may have had a higher sugar content.  When I started this eating plan, I also researched food in general and kind of stumbled upon the plant based diet.  Now I really don't like the word diet, because it implies that you are depriving yourself of something.  I like to focus on what I can eat, so I like to say eating plan.

The first time I tried the plant based eating plan, I still was being mindful of the amount of carbs I was eating.  If you are following a plant based eating plan, you know that you really aren't worrying about carbs (as long as they are healthy carbs).  In fact, it's a lot of carbs.  Since I was trying to be mindful about being low carbish, it didn't work.  I was always hungry and went back to eating meat.  But in my heart, I knew that the plant based eating plan was the right path.

Since this getting to be a longer story, I have decided to break this up into separate parts.  Myself, I like reading shorter blogs.  Once they get to be too long, it gets hard for me to focus.

Thank you so much for reading, I am truly enjoying sharing my thoughts with you.  I hope that I am inspiring you in some form.

Feel free to leave positive/constructive feedback in the comments section.

Also, you can find me on instagram at plantbased_brandi