For the longest time, I’ve wanted to live a healthier lifestyle. As a college student, especially when you’re on a meal plan, it can be super difficult. But now living in an apartment-style dorm, I have full control of what groceries I purchase and what foods I eat. About a year and a half ago, I went dairy-free for a few months, as per the recommendation of my dermatologist. My skin was the worst it had ever been and I had tried almost every topical medication there was. Even though it did wonders for my skin, after about two months with consuming absolutely no dairy (with the occasional slip up), I fell off the wagon. Cheese is one of the things I couldn’t stay away from. I have never been a huge fan of normal milk so that was no issue and I have ice cream on such a rare occasion that it was no problem. But the cheese. I’m Italian so that was incredibly difficult. After those two months of no dairy, I tried to limit my dairy intake as much as I could but in all honesty, I didn’t do such a great job of it.
Fast forward almost two years to now, I’m still working on my skin and finishing up my senior year of college. I had seen a lot of research done on plant-based diets and really wanted to make the change. I also was more educated on issues like climate change and the treatment of animals, which gave me the knowledge to move forward. But the thing that made me want to dive in was Joaquin Phoenix’s speech at the Oscars this year. I was incredibly moved by his speech and his dedication to the environment. I decided that night that I was going to limit the amount of animal products that I ate.
The following days, I started to wean out the animal products in my diet. I wanted to finish up the food I had in my fridge because it would be incredibly wasteful to throw it all out, plus a huge waste of money. I also watched two documentaries on Netflix, Cowspiracy and What the Health. I was deeply disturbed by what I saw and it gave me further motivation to eat more plant-based.
Overall, from a self-fulfilling point of view, I feel great knowing that I’m not contributing to an industry that is destroying our Earth and the killing and torturing of innocent animals. Physically, I have felt great. I find that I have more energy and better digestion. Although, I have felt more hungry because plant-based foods digest quicker than meat and mostly have less calories. This takes time to adjust to, and I’m not complaining because all of the food I’ve been making has been delicious.
In a typical day, this is what I’ll eat: for breakfast, I usually have a green smoothie with spinach, mango and banana if I have time or I’ll make overnight oats the night before with banana, cacao nibs, chia seeds, cinnamon and peanut butter to grab on the go. This is incredibly filling and satisifies my sweet tooth. For lunch, its usually a salad or avocado toast. When I am out and didn’t pack lunch, I get a burrito bowl from Chipotle with their plant-based protein, Sofritas, which is honestly SO good. For dinner, its usually what I would normally have, just without the meat and cheese. Depending on my mood, it could be a tofu stir-fry, chickpea pasta with marinara sauce, or a veggie burger and sweet potatoes. I like to snack a lot since I’m always on the go so I always stock up on granola bars, pretzels and hummus, apples and bananas.
When first eating plant-based, I think it’s hard to go completely “cold turkey.” For example, I went to a family party recently and it was catered Italian food, which of course is full of meat and cheese. I didn’t plan ahead and eat beforehand so I had some salad but I was still hungry so I had some chicken. It’s ok to slip up every once in a while and you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it and automatically revert back to your old lifestyle. Eating vegan most of the time, is better than none of the time. I do think eating more plant-based is a sustainable way to live and I’m excited to see what the future has in store!