My Transition to the Big V

image from her

 Back in July I watched an interesting episode of Oprah {what am I going to do when her show goes off the air?!}, called "Food 101" featuring Michael Pollan and Alicia Silverstone.  I had previously seen this episode when it originally aired back in January 2011, and was semi-interested in learning more. But for some reason when I watched it this time - I was transfixed and transformed.

Basically, the episode discussed where the food we eat actually comes from and highlights the documentary "Food Inc." {which I highly recommend watching!}. How the food we consume has changed in the last 50 years is shocking.

Something that really struck me in this episode was Michael Pollan's simple and powerful mantra:

Eat Food. Mostly Plants. Not too much.

These 7 words make so much sense. I was hooked. I immediately started researching more about Michael Pollan and his books. I decided to order his latest book, "Food Rules" from Amazon. I'll blog about his book later.

Then when Alicia Silverstone was interviewed about her book "The Kind Diet" - something else inside really struck a chord with me. For some unknown reason, in my world full of fast food, junk food, convenience and ease, I was ready to go VEGAN.

Yes you read that right. VEGAN. Not vegetarian, but full-on VEGAN - like no meat, dairy or eggs. Seriously. 

The Vegan Diet is simple: You don't eat anything with a face or a mother.

This actually isn't such a shocker because I've flirted with veganism for a while. Last year I found some amazing vegan, healthy living blogs that really inspired me to try new foods {Oh She Glows is my all-time favourite!}. There was always a dischord within me about my consumption of meat, dairy and eggs. But never before had I *ever* considered that I was capable of the level of discipline required to convert to veganism -- having failed every fad diet on the market!

Anyway, I ordered my books back in late July and started researching veganism, connecting with vegans online, trying out substitutes for things like cream cheese, yogurt and finding out where to get the vegan staple "nutritional yeast." I was pleasantly surprised that everything I needed to fully convert to veganism was close at hand and the transition would be simple. 

So one day I did it. I gave up meat, dairy & eggs - COLD TOFU! It's been a couple weeks now and I feel amazing. I haven't found it difficult AT ALL and I have tons of energy.

Since becoming vegan, I was happy to find out about all the famous vegans including former President Bill Clinton {recently featured on CNN's "The Last Heart Attack"} and Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi -- Ellen just launched a vegan website - check it out here!  And there's a whole magazine dedicated to veganism - VegNews! The vegan community is expanding and is very welcoming. The resources are amazing.

Don't worry I'm not trying to convert anyone to veganism.  Big A and the kiddos are definitely not full vegans {yet!}, but we try to make kid-friendly vegan meals for family suppers and no one's complained yet. I'm eating a whole, healthy and {mostly!} organic plant-based diet. You can't go wrong with that!

I still have a lot to learn about being a vegan and this is definitely a huge transformation for my lifestyle. If anyone has any feedback or  suggestions, please leave a comment or email me at: mummymaggie.blog@gmail.com