5 Unexpected Benefits of Going Vegan

By now I think most people are familiar with the major benefits of transitioning to veganism. Many, like me, are initially drawn in by promises of weight loss while still eating large quantities of food. Then they wind up staying for the animals and the myriad of other bonuses you notice along the way. Other people do it to be healthier in general or to contribute less to the destruction of planet Earth. There are tons of posts out there that will tell you about the same handful of positive changes a vegan diet brings into your life. After being vegan for over 10 years, I’d like to shine a light on the somewhat stranger, less discussed benefits a vegan lifestyle offers.

One: Level Up Your Cooking Skills

I hate to cook. Or at least… I used to. Now although the amount of time it takes and the mess it makes frustrates me from time to time, I can’t help but get an immense sense of satisfaction from the incredible, healthy dishes I’ve learned to throw together so easily. In the beginning the increased necessity for cooking your own meals may be daunting to new vegans. In a small area like the one I live in, going out to eat every night or buying pre-made vegan food items isn’t really an option (even if I could afford it.) I can’t just go to the deli and buy a rotisserie chicken for dinner when I’ve had an unexpectedly long day. On the other hand, I honestly have no desire to let others make my food. They simply don’t do it as well as I am able to now. I’m quite surprised and proud of my newfound cooking ability and can genuinely say I prefer the meals I make at home over the expensive vegan restaurants’ dishes. If you’re interested in the types of food I prepare, you can find links to all my most used recipes in this post.

Two: Expand Your Food Repertoire

After ten years of hearing, “But what do you eat?” I’ve grown quite perplexed by the question. Imagine trying to answer that as a non-vegan. Am I supposed to list dozens of food items and meals? I eat so many different things! I feel like simply responding, “What do you mean?” I once heard someone on a podcast who explained it perfectly. How many different meats are there really? Maybe three or four that people eat regularly, then cheeses and milk. That really isn’t much variety. On the other hand there are thousands and thousands of different plant foods available to us to eat. Non-vegan meals now look quite sad and tan-colored to me, very bland and unappetizing. Since going vegan, my experience with new, interesting, and exotic foods has expanded beyond the wildest dreams of the normal, American meat-eater. I’ve tried dishes from many different cultures, mastered the art of utilizing spices, and tasted fruits and vegetables I never knew existed before! I assure you I eat a more exciting and varied diet than any non-vegan I’ve ever known.

Three: Bye-bye Common Cold

While I had a vague awareness of this before, the Covid-19 pandemic really brought it to the forefront. I think we’ve all gotten a bit more paranoid around anyone who seems to be sniffling or coughing in the last few years. What’s surprised me is just how often everyone I know experiences cold symptoms like these. It’s almost as if everyone around me is perpetually ill. There are people I’ve noticed who are literally always congested, dripping from their noses and eyes, and have a cough that won’t quit. And these aren’t people with long Covid. Many of them never got it to begin with. Hopefully I won’t be jinxing myself by saying that in my ten years as a vegan, I’ve never gotten sick. Seriously. Not once. And before you go attributing this to luck or good genes, I used to get sick all the time. At the very least, I could expect a few days of serious battling with a stomach bug every year and being plagued by the pesky common cold every fall/winter. I never even realized how badly my body felt at a baseline level until I went vegan and experienced real health for the first time in my life. I thought regular sickness was just how life was supposed to be. I’m here now to tell you, it’s not. Veganism is your ticket to not only long-term health, but daily wellness.

Four: Faster Recovery Time

Not only does a vegan diet prevent you from feeling achy and sluggish after a big meal, it also helps your body recover more quickly from a workout. A vegan diet contains absolutely zero cholesterol, so the heart benefits are usually a big focus. But in addition to a stronger, healthier heart, the rest of the body’s abilities are also bolstered by eating plant-based. I can’t help but laugh when I see fitness bros proclaiming vegans are weak and can’t build muscle for lack of protein. Not only are there world-class, record breaking athletes that are vegan, the diet is also a great help to the average fitness enthusiast like myself. You are not only just as capable of building muscle, but the process will be much less painful. Inflammation in the body wreaks all sorts of havoc, but it also is the culprit when you notice sore, tired muscles after an intense workout. While I still get a satisfying sense of soreness from a challenging leg day, my body recovers and replaces those aches with new, stronger muscle tissue much faster than it ever did before I went vegan. If you’d like to learn more about the effects of veganism on athletes, I’d recommend watching The Game Changers. Or you can read about this specific aspect on their website.

Five: Brain Fog Finally Lifted

Before the pandemic, this aspect of veganism was also a bit harder to explain to people. With so many long-covid patients reporting the now common term of “brain fog” I feel I have a better chance of helping people understand what I mean. It’s been so long, I can’t really remember what it used to feel like inside my head. Still I’ve never forgotten the experience I had after about a full month of vegan eating. I woke up one morning and everything just felt clearer. It’s hard to describe exactly. I’ve always said it was like a cloud had lifted off of my mind. I could think faster, more coherently, more easily than ever before. It’s not like I had been struggling or anything. I had always been a straight A student and prided myself on my above average intelligence. Even so, this was something different. Almost like I had been carrying a heavy weight that was suddenly dropped, allowing me for the first time to move at my full potential. When you and every one you know have been living in a perpetual state of mild illness, you don’t really understand what it means to truly be healthy and well, physically AND mentally. But I promise you, give it a month, even if just as an experiment. You’ll be blown away by what you discover.

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I hope that this has given you a bit more insight into the nearly infinite reasons to go vegan. I’m sure there are many more that I have accidentally overlooked, but these five are the ones I’ve been thinking about lately. I’m no saint. I went vegan in the beginning for selfish reason, not for the animals, as I wish I had. I’m hopeful that personal gain will be a motivator to other people as well. Regardless of what aspect of veganism you look at, there is some incredible benefit to be had whether it be to your health, daily lifestyle, cognitive function, the Earth, or the animals. Please consider giving yourself, everyone else, and everything on this planet this amazing gift.

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Little Known Benefits of a Vegan Diet

Most people are aware of the various physical health benefits of eating a plant-based diet. You see articles all the time about it’s ability to prevent and treat heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, even cancer. You can lose weight, slow the effects of aging, etc. These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits of veganism. There are so many other surprising perks that come along with this change that I never really hear people talking about. Even other vegans I know don’t seem to mention it unless I ask them about it.

One of the most interesting and amazing things I noticed after my first month of a strictly vegan diet is something I have only recently come to understand a bit better. My post yesterday was a very brief synopsis of what I learned about the gut microbiome and how it affects our thinking, decision making, and more broadly, our mental health. Learning this really helped me connect the dots. So that explains it! By “it” I mean the strange mental distinction I felt between eating animal products and eating plants.

It’s been a long time since my first vegan month, but I still remember that milestone like it was yesterday, because of how it caught me by surprise. It felt as though the effects came on rather suddenly. One morning I felt like I had every other day of my life, then the next morning it was like I was awake for the first time. It’s hard to explain, but I’ve always described it as a cloud lifting off of my mind. Now I’ve always been an intelligent, quick witted person. Still, all of a sudden my thoughts seemed to come to me more easily, more quickly, more seamlessly. I guess now having learned the term “brain fog” I would describe my pre-vegan brain as being in that muddled state 24/7. When you’ve lived your whole life that way though, you don’t really recognize it as a problem.

For years, this strange phenomenon that occurred in my own mind, and the mind of all the other vegans I asked, really baffled me. I didn’t understand what exactly caused this shift. But when I read about the way our gut directly communicates with our brain, it finally made sense. After a month of consistent plant-based eating, my gut was producing the metabolites that I needed to be my best. My gut and brain were able to communicate efficiently for the first time in my life.

Another benefit of a vegan diet I wanted to address I believe is also due to the complex interactions between our gut microbiome and the rest of our body. You don’t hear about it often, but a vegan diet is the most anti-inflammatory diet out there. In the beginning this statement didn’t mean much to me. I hadn’t even been aware that eating animal products caused a constant state of inflammation in the body, nor did I understand the health implications of that fact. Inflammation is often the cause of many autoimmune diseases as well as other health problems. But apart from that, inflammation in the body also has an impact on our ability to be physically active.

Contrary to the myths about veganism preventing you from achieving physical fitness and building muscle, it actually assists the body in these endeavors. Without subjecting the body to constant inflammation each time we digest a meal, it is able to perform much more efficiently mentally and physically. Not only are my workouts easier and more enjoyable, my recovery time is also greatly reduced.

Finally, as a vegan, I pretty much haven’t been sick in ten years. When I was younger I used to get extremely sick (usually a stomach bug) at least twice each year. For awhile, I thought it was just because I was a kid. Granted, kids do get sick more often because they are still developing their immune systems. However as an adult, I still see a lot of people who seem to be constantly sick in one way or another. Especially in the winter, everyone I know gets at least one lingering cold. All around me people are coughing and sniffling and complaining of headaches and sore throats.

These mild, but chronic health issues are all seen as normal, just like that brain fog I once hadn’t even been able to notice. No one even considers that things could be different. But they can. All it takes is treating your body with kindness and feeding it what it was designed to be fed instead of anti-biotic, cortisol, adrenaline, puss, shit, piss, and virus ridden dead bodies. Looking back it seems obvious that I didn’t feel my best. I’m surprised our bodies are even able to function with the typical American diet. With veganism, everyone wins, the animals, the environment, and us.

So with January fast approaching, I highly encourage anyone reading this to give Veganuary a try. No need to commit to veganism for the rest of your life, just experiment. Take that one month to try something different. Just to see how it feels. One month was all it took for me to notice a life changing mental shift. It is definitely worth it for many reasons, least of which are all the incredible personal benefits. Let me know if you’ve experienced any noticeable physical/mental changes from a vegan diet. Also feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or would like some advice for how to make the switch. I’m more than happy to help any way I can.

Tiger King: Widen Your Circle of Compassion

The new season of Tiger King is out on Netflix and once again it’s all everyone can talk about. But the part that no one is talking about is the unbearable hypocrisy it exposes. There are so many layers of hypocrisy in fact, that I don’t even know where to begin. I suppose I’ll start with the mind-blowing disconnect that Jeff Lowe demonstrates when, in reference to Joe Exotic, he says: Two years is an awful long time to spend in a cage. My jaw dropped at this. He did not even flinch at this comment as dozens of big cats pace back and forth in cages he put them in just off camera.

Clearly the men and women working at these zoos don’t comprehend the immorality and cruelty of what they are doing by keeping and breeding these animals. One woman even went as far as to say: How could this be wrong when it makes so many people happy? With complete disregard for the happiness and wellbeing of the animals providing that happiness to humans. Even Joe Exotic himself, who on multiple occasions seems to acknowledge the suffering he has inflicted on these animals by keeping them on his property, still insists that the government is “out to get them” and wants to shut down all of these little zoos.

Now I’ve come to expect comments and mindsets like these. Humans are the only beings that matter and we can use and abuse every other living thing as we please because we’re the best. I see this written on the face of most people I meet in this world. They wear this opinion almost like a badge of honor, despite how disgusting it truly is. But what surprises me more is the people that go out of their way to fight for the rights of these big cats, spout all of these noble flowery ideals, then go home and eat a steak. I just don’t know what to do with that.

I cannot comprehend where these people draw the line. Why does a tiger deserve freedom and happiness, but a cow does not? Why should a lion’s suffering matter if the suffering of a pig even being mentioned causes scoffs and eye rolls? Do these people even think about this? The longer I am vegan, the less I understand this painfully obvious hypocrisy. What is the distinction being made between farmed animals and exotic animals, between exotic animals and pets? Why is cow meat an acceptable, “healthy” meal, but horse meat is an abomination? IT MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE!

The only difference between these animals is what humans think about them. I don’t think anyone would actually say this, but it seems like the only animals people deem worthy of protection and compassion are animals that we like, animals that bring us some kind of pleasure (non-gustatory pleasure that is.) But what a fucked up distinction to make. The selfishness, the narcissism of human beings knows no bounds. It makes me want to grab the entire world by the shoulders and shake them.

I want so desperately to have a real genuine conversation with my meat-eating friends about this, but by now I know better than to even try. It has always just turned into a big joke when I’ve attempted to have this discussion in the past. Well pigs are so tasty though. *laughter* Cows are too stupid to suffer. *chuckle* What other purpose do those animals even have besides being food? *snicker* The cognitive dissonance is so thick that no one is able to be serious on these topics. All my past attempts to talk about this have ended in mockery (by others) and fury (on my part).

People have been so conditioned to disregard farmed animals that even comparing them to other protected groups is taken as an egregious insult. Since the black lives matter movement began, I’ve been tempted to co-opt the idiotic “all lives matter” counter argument by making a shirt with those words alongside the image of a pig, cow, or chicken. It’s as if these people don’t even consider other beings as lives at all. The thought would never even enter their heads. However, I don’t act on this impulse because I know it will only cause people to hate me and think I’m a bigot. Oh my god, she is equating black people with animals! They’ll say with disgust. The point I’m trying to make with these arguments only results in people doubling down on their disregard for animal rights.

Since I’ve stopped my SSRI and am able to feel my emotions deeply again, these topics are almost too much to bear. It brings me to tears whenever I see veganism as the butt of so many well-received jokes. How can you laugh?! How on fucking earth can the suffering of these beautiful, innocent, sentient beings be funny to you!? The sheer weight of the knowledge of the billions of animals in unbearable, unimaginable conditions right now is enough to crush me entirely. I am ashamed to be part of the species that has created and perpetuates such atrocities. My mind flashes with images from documentaries like Earthlings as the world laughs at me. I feel so worthless, so useless that I can’t save them. I want to beg the God I no longer believe in to please help them. I want to throw myself at the feet of these animals and ask them for forgiveness that I know I don’t deserve. I would sacrifice my own life to end their pain. I would do it happily. But I guess that’s just another joke, isn’t it?

Cows are My Friends

I went to a local fair today to pay a visit to the sweet babies that are in those hot barns all day. I am not entirely sure if it is very vegan to have anything to do with a fair, but nonetheless, I can never stay away. I feel that it is the least that I can do to go give those darling animals a few moments of kindness before they are sold off to slaughter. 

It is so wonderful to meet those timid little souls and offer them affection, sympathy, and kindness. I met so many wonderful angels today, but I must say, the cows truly stole my heart this year. They were so sweet and grateful for the attention and caresses I gave them. Some were so fluffy and soft. I looked into their dark, intelligent eyes, and it broke my heart that their lives should be so wasted. Why is a cow so different from a horse or even a dog?

I saw the people happily petting the goats and the piglets and being so enthralled with these animals. I just don’t understand why so few people are making the connection. It is time to wake up and realize that though we would like to believe these animals are happy and our friends while still going home to a steak dinner, that isn’t reality. These animals a beautiful and innocent. I know that everyone can see that. Well, they are dying and suffering because of us. We have the power to change that. All animals are precious. I don’t want to have to know that all of the precious souls I met today are going to die for a dinner. Most people can’t argue that if they were to be the one to kill the animal they wouldn’t be able to do so. There is a reason for that.

Listen to your heart, go vegan. ❤

5 Affordable Vegan Snack Options

Hello there! I have been feeling awfully lazy lately, but I fought through it today to share with you some ideas for vegan snacking options that are affordable, low-calorie, and healthy! Sometimes when first getting into the swing of a vegan lifestyle, snacking can be a problem. Most of the usual “healthy” snack options have something to do with dairy, such as string cheese or yogurt. However, I have compiled a few of my favorite things to munch on when I am on the go or don’t have time to prepare anything elaborate. I hope that these can help you out!

1. Granola bars – Be careful to make sure they are vegan as some types and brands are not.
2. Baby food (Fruit Puree) – These are so yummy and extremely good for you. They can even be purchased in a convenient pouch, which makes them an easy on-the-go snack!
3. Lara bars – These are a great snack that are very dense and filling.
4. Popcorn – I pop mine myself on the stove then just add salt. You could do the same or use microwave non-butter or kettle corn instead.
5. Wasabi Peas – These may not be for everyone. They can be somewhat more pricey than other snacks and they are also quite spicy.

These yummy morsels have always worked for me. I hope that I have provided you with a few ideas that you had not previously considered. Let me know what you think and what your favorite vegan snacks are in the comments below! I will try to combat my overwhelming apathy in order to post something better tomorrow.

Have a peaceful day, everyone. ❤