Food shouldn't make you sick or feel bad

My mom told me that when I found out meat was an animal when I was around 6 years old, I was never the same. From that point on, my beef consumption was minimal to none. And, luckily, I've always hated fish or anything seafood, with a violent passion. Violent in that if I tasted it on accident, it would induce a serious gagging reflex and sometimes vomit. So, I've always eaten a primarily vegetarian diet. Except for chicken, which I ate sparingly and in phases. Dairy, on the other hand, didn't have the same affect on me, given that it didn't require killing an animal. It was a huge part of my diet until a little over a year ago. Throughout my life, I've consumed ice cream and ranch dressing in frighteningly large quantities.

As I grew a little older, and became more aware of how food made my body feel, I started to think that there was something wrong with eating dairy. It just didn't feel right anymore. Cheese especially began to make my stomach ache and made me so lethargic after eating it. So, I've known for maybe 5-7 years that I would eventually be vegan. I knew it was something I wanted and that it would happen because it just made sense. I've read enough about nutrition and the human body throughout my life to know that a plant based diet has been scientifically proven, over and over, to be the key to a healthy and disease-free life. I also just knew how I felt after eating a plant based meal vs. a meat based, cheesy meal. There was always a world of difference. So why did it take me so long to make the decision and take the leap? Human behavior is to blame, I suppose. Habit, fear of change? Probably both. Also, I've never in my life been able to be on a 'diet'. The psychological implications of certain foods being off-limits or a restriction of how much I could eat just made me obsess about it, resulting in failure. I didn't want to do this until I knew I could be successful. It was very important to me and I didn't want to try and fail over and over again and create negative associations.

So one random day in October of 2009, I was sitting at my desk at work feeling a bit 'stuck' and frustrated with where I was in my life and how I felt. In response to the frustration, I knew something needed to change. Right then and there I decided try to go full-fledged vegetarian for a week. It was tough for about 3 days, but that went away quickly. Then, I came across Cynthia Morgan's blog on Facebook. She posted an article about dairy substitutes, explaining that the biggest hurdle for people when making the decision or transition to becoming vegan is giving up dairy. It was definitely the missing puzzle piece for me, so I kept reading. That day I printed out the article and went to Whole Foods and bought all of the products on her list and started experimenting and looking up vegan recipes. My biggest fear with becoming vegan had always been that I'd feel deprived and, well, hungry. So you're saying that I can still eat everything I ate before, I just need to substitute the dairy or meat ingredients? Ding, ding, ding! I had seen the light. I finally figured out how to make it happen, and be successful at it. As soon as you make the decision to be vegan, the knowledge and tools just start flooding in. I posted a couple of questions on Facebook asking for good recipes, etc. and I continue to receive great info.

A big surprise to me since becoming vegan has been how interested others are about it. People often have a lot of questions and seem to be starving for knowledge about the subject. One of the best feelings in the world was when a co-worker came to me in tears, saying that she had heard I was vegan and needed advice on how to help her husband, who had just had a massive heart attack, cut down on his red meat consumption.

The question I get most often is, what is the biggest change you've noticed since becoming vegan? My answer is simple, but big. I never get sick or feel bad from eating. After thinking about what that really means, I realized that feeling sick or getting sick after eating had become an accepted, normal reaction from food before I became vegan. Sick as in, stomach aches, feeling heavy, lethargic and daily digestion problems, etc. Your body and mind are sustained through food. Your body and mind should be energized through food. Food shouldn't make you sick or feel bad. Ever. It's as simple as that.

I make vegan meals all the time for people and they are blown away at how good everything is. Meat and dairy replacements are so good these days. They really make them to taste like the real thing. I love the fake chicken for tacos/nachos (add preservative free taco seasoning, grilled onions, garlic and peppers) and Tofutti cream cheese. Whole Foods has a plethora of vegan products.They even carry homemade vegan chocolate cake in their bakery if you want a treat. Restaurants have proven to be very accommodating as well. If you call ahead, most will have a chef who will make you a vegan entrée.

I have no question that I will be vegan for the rest of my life. It’s really not hard once you make the commitment. It just takes some added effort at the beginning, like any change would.

Happy eating! 

Hilary Bailey, Kansas City, MO

my favorite vegan things:

All Recipes: a helpful website that includes tons of vegan recipes with ratings.

Skinny Bitch: great book with information on veganism.

Vegan on the Cheap: wonderful cookbook.

Turtle Mountain: Purely Decadent Cookie Dough Ice Cream