How to Make A Vegan Part 4: The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Chocies Matter

Peter Singer might be a controversial figure within the AR movement but there is one thing for sure, Peter Singer (along with co-author Jim Mason) solidified my position as a life-long vegan. Vegan Freak's helped me realize that being vegan was more than just an extremely healthy choice but an ethical one as well. The Way We Eat made veganism more than about just being good for my health, but good for the earth, animals and the globe. Arden's Garden laid the foundation, PPK gave me the materials to build the house, Vegan Freak built the house and The Way We Eat put a roof on it .

Peter and Jim delve into the kitchens of 3 families. A family eating the Standard American Diet (SAD), The "conscientious" omnivore and a vegan family. They spend a day in the life of each family, delve into their shopping baskets and then even farther to where exactly the food comes from that each family buys. It's an incredibly insightful look into how our food choices affect a large global conscientious and how the little things we do each day have such a big effect. More importantly it empowers the reader to know exactly where their food comes from and what all the labels and claims such as "all natural" and "free range" really mean.

At the end of the book it became clear to me that being vegan was more than just a healthy or ethical choice but a vote that I am making to corporations, elected officials, and so on about what I do and don't like and what I will and won't accept. I've sworn off a lot of companies that pose an ethical dilemma for me and do my best to support local, organic, ethical and vegan companies and individuals whenever possible.

The Way We Eat by Peter Singer and Jim Mason is a must read for anyone who eats, it's even on audiobook if you don't have time to read it.

And that, my friends. Is HOW TO MAKE A VEGAN!

How to Make A Vegan Part 3: Vegan Freak

I’m a happy healthy vegan, running around the streets of Atlanta in my happy little vegan bubble. Then come the nay-sayers, the vegan haters, the meat lovers (you would think these people were having a torrid affair with meat and cheese or something), and I just wanted to scream.

One day, in the middle of one of my “I hate omni’s” moods while looking up some vegan cookbooks I came across Vegan Freak by Bob & Jenna Torres. The book summary made it seem like an all encompassing guide on how to maintain sanity in a non-vegan world. The books is that and more. I became a vegan for health reasons and although I was always taught that animal cruelty was wrong I never really thought of it in terms of the animals that are raised for human consumption. Vegan Freak made the connection for me. How could I be completely and totally against animal cruelty and at the same time support, in anyway, the factory farming industry? I couldn’t, and from the day I turned the last page of this book I was not only a vegan but an ethical vegan.

Bob & Jenna also take a realistic view of everyday vegan issues. They anticipate the questions of a new vegan and pretty much cover the majority of them. My big question was, “What do I do with all this leather stuff I have, including my couches, loveseats, etc.?” Bob & Jenna already had the answer. Transition slowly and when you can. So when I say I’m vegan and the vegan police do their “leather scan” I’m no longer afraid (mostly because I’m probably wearing pleather).

My favorite parts of the book: Perfection & the Vegan Police, Speciesism, and basically all of Chapter 3 (titled “Hell is Other People”)

How to Make A Vegan Part 2: The PPK.com & Vegan with A Vengeance

So now I’m a vegan. I became a member of the local vegetarian co-op and I suddenly realized there is a whole vegan hot bar at Wholefoods (I have since realized this is not the case everywhere). I start to veganize all my favorite recipes and then I run into a little snag. What do I use instead of eggs? Isa to the rescue! On the theppk.com (that’s post punk kitchen for you newbie’s) I found answers to that question and then some, and there forum’s are sooooo helpful! It seems like they are just full of people waiting to talk about whatever is going on in your vegan brain. So, of course, after practically printing out every page of the website I had to get Vegan with a Vengeance, which should basically be handed to every new vegan. It wasn’t my first vegan cookbook but it was the first vegan cookbook I actually cooked out of (I tend to be a bit of cookbook collector). I knew that Isa and I must be a match made in heaven when her carrot raisin muffin recipe almost mirrored my own. My all time favorite recipe of Isa’s is her Mango Ginger Tofu.

It’s definitely a recipe for people who love to cook, it has a lot of moving parts but it also was my confirmation that vegan food is good food not just tofu in a box. I’ve subsequently bought all of Isa’s books and still lean on her forum’s for support when I need it (ok, I’m on them everyday, I’m addicted!)

You can also watch her show, The Post Punk Kitchen on the website or from Isa’s myspace page. Other highlights of the PPK are: vegan ice cream (ridiculously easy), vegan sushi, and of course there’s a blog on the PPK too.

How to Make A Vegan Part 1: Arden’s Garden

This is where it really all began in a little juice & smoothie shop in East Point, GA. There was a sign hanging in the window for fasting classes with Arden Zinn the namesake of Arden’s Garden. Arden’s fasting classes came highly recommended to me and so I thought “why not, I’ll give it a try”, never knowing the experience would change my life.

July 8th, the night before my first fasting class. I had no idea what to prepare for. I thought I’d be starving for the next 21 days. One thing I knew for certain was that I wouldn’t taste my beloved cheese for almost a month. So my last meal that night was Cheese Enchiladas, my all time favorite dish. The next morning I met with Arden and 2 other eager soon-to-be-fasters.

After I told Arden that my last meal was Cheese Enchiladas she said this “Milk is not for humans. Cow Milk is to grow calves into 2,000 pound cows.” I don’t know what it was about her statement but it immediately resonated with me. After 21 days of juice and raw foods fasting with Arden my allergies to mold, cats and dogs disappeared, it was so unbelievable that I had it confirmed by an allergist by skin allergy testing to be sure they were really gone. All my life I suffered with allergies to a variety things and I had been on every allergy medication every made. My allergist shared with me that he believed my recovery from my allergies was because I’d cleansed my body of dairy products, which can throw off the immune system creating allergic responses to seemingly normal things around us. That solidified my decision, I was now a vegan.

Arden’s Garden is a local fresh juices and smoothie shop with 5 locations throughout the Atlanta area. All their juices are made from freshly pressed fruits and vegetables and their smoothies are all natural just fresh fruit juice and your choice of fruit. Learn more at http://www.ardensgarden.com/

I thank you Arden for being a powerful mentor, friend and guide to my journey for better health and the best quality of life available to us all!

How to make a vegan…

I became a vegetarian for no good reason really. I just started eliminating meat slowly but surely (and by slowly I mean once every 6 or 7 years) and then one day I woke up and I was a vegetarian. I became a vegan, and have remained a vegan, for very purposeful reasons. I didn’t do it on my own (and I don’t know if I ever would have, but let my mother tell it she knew I would be a vegan all along). I had a great mentor, read some incredible books, tried some amazing recipes in equally amazing cookbooks, and had (and still have) an extremely supportive family, even if they do think I’m crazy sometimes.

My next 4 blogs will be homage’s to all the things that have made me into the happy and healthy vegan I am today.