HI friends.
I recently made one of the most significant life changes and I just knew I needed to tell you about it. For a while now I’ve been playing around with my diet, really trying to be mindful about what I put in it, remember my trusty detox method? For the last 17 months (since I had Roman), I have gone through bouts of post partum depression and anxiety. I’ve never experienced these things to this extent before so naturally, it has been absolutely draining, I’m over it . My doctor suggested I see a therapist, which I have been and has helped in so many ways, I love her. However, I am at the point in life where I know that when things feel off for this long, I really need to pay attention to what I am feeding my body.
I’m a pretty healthy person, I’ve never really been a bad eater. But I was looking at photos of myself from 2007 and was instantly transported to my younger self. I was living in Los Angeles with a girlfriend of mine and we began taking an ayurvedic yoga class that taught us all about wellness and the body and how what you feed it directly correlates to your mind and emotions. We were so fired up. Around that time, I was led to read a book called Skinny Bitch and completely dropped all meat and dairy that weekend ( yet I kept eating fish aka a pescatarian diet. ) When I stopped eating meat and dairy, I remember feeling like I was way more in tune with my body, my emotions and my energy. I just felt more in control and aware…..and energetic. I was also in the best shape of my life. Hair, skin, nails, energy, glow, everything, it was all at its best. A few years later, when I moved to NYC, I began eating meat and dairy again because its New York and it would be rude to not eat all the best things at the most amazing restaurants in the world, right?
Fast forward to today, I just really have been feeling like I need to feed my body better. My family and I watched the Netflix doc GameChangers which is such an inspiring film, I loved it. The film had so much new information that it hit me like a ton of bricks, I need to go back to eating vegan! If I think back to my days of eating a more plant based diet, life was so exciting, I was flourishing. I always thought it was just living in LA but when I made the correlation in my mind to how I was eating at the time, it just clicked for me. Ever since that day, I have not eaten one animal based thing. Zero. And it feels absolutely amazing.
So, WHAT IS A VEGAN you ask?
Let me give it to you straight, a vegan does not eat any animal meat (this includes fish), dairy, eggs or any food product with ingredients derived from animals (like gelatin). Vegans also don’t use any products (facial and body care, shampoos, lotions, etc.) that have been tested on animals or contain animal products and they do not wear materials derived from animals.
For me it’s a process, I’ve got the foods down and what I put in my body but I’m still researching all the other many ways to incorporate veganism into my life, like beauty, fashion, etc.
REASONS I AM COMMITTED TO GOING VEGAN:
It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. How many times have you started a diet, only to get bored, frustrated or overwhelmed by it all? Over the years of my life, I have gone on and off so many diets, I remember once I did Atkins and for about three weeks I completely stuck to it, lost weight but then went right back to my carb loving ways. It’s such a yo-yo, unbalanced diet mindset and lifestyle. I never wanted to go on a diet again. The point of making the switch to plant based eating is more of a mindful lifestyle decision to me. To completely rid my body of animal based foods, to fuel my body with whole, from the ground foods. For me, eating animal products is just not in alignment with my love for animals, all animals. I wouldn’t eat a dog or a lizard or even a roach. It just isn’t me and after watching several documentaries that reminded me of the suffering of animals for our benefit, it reconnected me with my motherly, compassionate energy. I’ve never been much of the activist type, so part of me feels very empowered by my lifestyle choice.
I’ve reconnected with my kitchen. As a new mom and girlfriend, I spend pretty much all time time in the kitchen these days. Cooking for two boys feels like a full time job. So, introducing myself back to a vegan diet, has required me to shop intentionally and get creative. It has reconnected me with my love of cooking. It also feels different when you make food for the people that you love that not only will taste good but actually make them healthier and nourished. I’ve noticed that my relationship with my kitchen has totally improved, my Christmas list is literally almost all kitchen things and I could not be more excited.
It improves your emotional Intelligence. Becoming a vegan was a pretty much an instant decision for me. However, it’s not easy to transform your entire mindset overnight. Gradually, paying more attention to what I am eating and putting in or on my body has caused me to be more mindful in the little things. You have to adopt a slower, more mindful pace to almost everything you do. To switch the voice in your head to a slower pace (i.e. taking time to read labels, think about what restaurants you go to, etc) it helps you to be calm, cautious and less reactive to other things and life experiences. So not only does it nourish your body in the best way, it also nurtures your mind and trains it to be more patient, which we could all use a little more of, am I right?
It’s environmentally friendly. It is a known fact that eating meat is incredibly harmful to the environment and the planet. Huge amounts of land are used to raise animals, trees and rainforests are destroyed to make room for more grazing land. The efforts to expand these lands kills lots of plant and animal species living in these habitats. Studies show, a massive amount of crops and water are needed to feed the animals and help them to grow so that they can be slaughtered for food. These crops that feed animals could be better used as food for us humans to help combat world hunger.
Veganism is not only about our body, our minds, our souls and all animals but it is also ultimately about kindness and expressing compassion and respect for the environment.
A FEW EXTRA TIPS:
— Elevate your energetic vibe. Spending time in the kitchen, pouring myself over meals has been truly an upgrade in my wellbeing. Living with an intention of eating rich and nourishing foods has elevated my energy in the best way, a total Bliss Vibes Only move. Something about it, puts an extra pep in your step.
— The vegan community is cool. Once you peel back the curtain to the world of vegans, you will find a whole new group of friends. So many amazing restaurants, resources, and people you can bond with and learn new things. I especially am loving all the vegan mommies I meet, we all have an extra special desire to feed our little ones and create a more beautiful, compassionate world.
— Invest in your kitchen tools. You have to have a blender, it’s just a must. A good set of knives for cutting veggies. I am obsessed with this pan for cooking everything.
— Break your addictions with Ch-ease. I’m pretty solid in my choices to eat plant based. However, one of the hardest parts for me is the cheese. My god, I miss cheese. It wasn’t until I began researching how cheese affects the body that I began exploring new ways of making my own cheeses. Did you know that cheese and most dairy products have addictive compounds that act that opiates to your brain? Like, it’s just another thing that humans tend to become highly addictive to like chips, coke and cigarettes. I am not cool with anything having that much control over me that I can’t stop doing it. It doesn’t feel right to me. As much as I love cheese, vegan cheese is also so good. Whole Foods makes such a good vegan pizza with vegan cheese, just take it home and pop it in the oven and you can enjoy pizza like anybody else. I am currently obsessed with the Trader Joe’s vegan Mozzerella and I pretty much put it on everything,
— Most wines are vegan. Which I love because I enjoy wine with dinner. Wines made in France and Italy tend to not be vegan so just ask to be sure when you’re ordering.
— There are so many wonderful resources out there. Two cookbooks I am currently loving are Liz B’s Vegan on a Budget & Plant Powered Families. I also love watching Cheap Lazy Vegan recipes, she makes the BEST foods. I love trying them out myself.
I hope this post inspires you to make mindful and wise choices with your diet, even if you don’t want to go full on vegan. For me, be sure to follow my insta stories, I am always sharing my favorite vegan finds and hacks. Love, Ashlina
