Amy

How would you describe what you eat? Vegan, mostly plant-based?

So 20 years ago, I became vegetarian. It was very easy.  I did it overnight. Had no regrets. Never went back. The vegan thing has been going on since then. I would gradually just, as things became easier, I would implement something else. So it wasn’t until maybe after Forks over Knives that I started being a little more cognizant of it. And now its been about eight months since I’ve gone completely plant-based.  

How do you feel?

Amazing. I was surprised that the transition from eating meat to vegetarian I didn’t feel any different. Even the transition from being vegan all week and then only vegetarian on the weekends. I didn’t even feel a difference there. It wasn’t until I went all in that it was just this incredible boost of energy. I started running, and I am not a runner. It felt amazing.

What motivated you to make the change from being a vegetarian to being a strict vegan? 

So Gamechangers was probably the other movie that did it. That was kind of the kick I needed to move in that direction. And my husband did it with me. For a good two months he was all in as well. And just having that support helped a lot. I don’t think he’s gone back to eating meat, but in a social situation he’ll still have a cookie or something. He doesn’t usually feel great afterwards. But he’s kind of come along with me for the ride for the most part. 

How has being strict vegan been socially?

We had a trip planned over Christmas to Atlanta to visit friends. We brought a lot of our food. I told them ahead of time what we were doing and they didn’t have to make us special meals at all. But what they ended up doing was they chose meals that were very easy to substitute. Like there was a taco night. And we don’t even make tacos with fake meat at all, we just use rice and beans, but they brought fake meat or fake cheese, which we eat every once in a while. But it was really nice that they kind of made an effort.

My closest friend – we couldn’t be more polar opposite. Her family hunts. When I go over to her house she like covers up the deer carcass on the floor so that it won’t offend me, and there’s like hooves sticking out. Luckily, I grew up around a lot of farmers and I know that this stuff happens Yeah, so I don’t talk about it a lot with her but she eats my food and she really likes it.

And what about with family over the holidays. How was that? 

We brought our own food in that case too. And our family was very accomodating as well. And I kind of stayed away from everything. I really like what Bonnie said at the last meeting about how when you do allow yourself every once in a while to do something, then the choice is always a negotiation – like every single time you’re having to fight with yourself. At Christmas I did nothing. I didn’t eat one cookie. I didn’t eat one piece of chocolate. Like every time it was offered to me, I just said no. And it was the first time that I felt good after eating holiday meals. Usually, I would be passed out on the couch panting for air because I ate so much. I didn’t gain my usual seven pounds.

But in terms of my family, even going vegetarian was huge for them. My dad said it was a phase that was not going to last. But he was saying that ten years after I was a vegetarian, thinking I was weird. And from my husband’s point of view, in terms of his family, there’s a little bit of guilt as well. He says these women have been cooking for me my whole life and its a way that they show me that they love me and its really hard to say “no, I’m not going to eat any of that.” And so that part’s been hard, and with my mom too, I mean I’ve always loved her cooking. 

How long have you been going to the Vegan Cookbook Club?

So I heard about the cookbook club from Ellen Vaagen online, somehow. And so I wrote Bonnie and asked even if I wasn’t a full-fledged vegan could I come and join. So that was back in May. It hasn’t been quite a year yet. And its been a lot of fun. 

I guess the thing that’s surprised me most about the members in the club is that a lot of them have had scares, and that’s actually why they’re there. So for somebody like me who hasn’t gotten there yet, hearing stories about coming back from a heart attack, a stroke or diabetes or hypertension or all of this stuff that can be prevented with diet – and there’s a lot of people in the group that had to learn that the hard way. And now they’re doing amazing. And to hear those stories is really neat. I kind of just want to scream to people sometimes – you know, this stuff isn’t inevitable – everybody thinks, oh, grandma had a heart attack – oh, that happens. That’s what’s going to happen to me – that’s what’s going to happen to my kids. And it doesn’t have to. And I don’t think people realize that.

Any advice on dealing with people skeptical of your veganism?

The one thing I’ve found is a sure-fire way to work is being truthful about how you feel. If you’re feeling great, nobody’s gonna say that can’t be why or that can’t be good for you, and its like if you feel as amazing as you do then how can anybody come back and say anything? Its kind of hard. And so if you just say it from a feeling perspective you don’t have to go into the animal thing, you don’t have to go into the environmental thing if that’s not what people want to hear. A lot of people just aren’t ready for that and they’ll come to you when they are. But if you just talk about how amazing you feel its kind of hard to dispute that. 

What are your main staples?

So once a week we’ll have a taco night – it’s always rice and beans – brown rice and either black or pinto beans and just a whole slew of vegetables – olives and peppers and tomatoes, and my mom’s salsa. And Indian curry I will make sometimes once a week. I do potatoes, chickpeas, and zucchini and kale. And its pretty spicy. I’ll use four Thai chilis crumbled up. But sometimes when I was trying to amp it up I’d go to six – make my nose run and eyes water. And Thai curry. I use a paste. I haven’t gotten around to making my own pastes or powders yet. So I use a combination of red and yellow usually, and I will do just a comfort curry – that’s potatoes and carrots, and Thai chili peppers and shallots and things like that. And they both have tofu in them too. And I’ll usually bake the tofu because its a little healthier than frying it. And I have it with brown rice. It actually depends on how much time I have – if I realize I haven’t started making the rice than sometimes I’ll just have to use white because it gets done faster. My husband also makes amazing waffles with flax seed eggs.

Do you think about protein when you’re planning your meals?

Yeah, we think about it. I’ve got kind of a list on the fridge. I don’t think a lot of people realize how much protein is in whole grains too. And so we do a lot of brown rice, farro, barley – we do barley in soups, and black beans and pinto beans, and chickpeas and tofu. And then even sources that other people don’t think about so much like soy yogurt and things like that. So yeah, I think we’re pretty much covered as far as that goes. 

What about snacks?

I’ve been obsessed with fruit lately. Lots of fruit and veggie slices. My husband makes homemade bread so we’ll have avocado with toast a lot and things like that. 

Does it take a lot of work to be vegan?

Well, I’m lucky because I actually think that prepping vegetables and food is therapeutic. So I really like it. It kind of calms me down. I’ll bring in a show or something and have that on in the background, or some music. And then I’ll just spend a whole bunch of time prepping food. And I’m not fast at it either. It kind of calms me down – and I really like it. But I feel bad for people who don’t really like it, because prepping vegetables can take time. But I think its so worth it. And you don’t have to jump into all of it right away. Just tackle one thing at a time and once it becomes easy add something else.