After coming across a video of Waka Flocka Flame (yes, the rapper) making vegan blueberry muffins on Facebook, a coworker and I decided to go vegan. That’s exactly how it happened. The funny commentary and vital facts made us think “Hey we should do this. How hard could it be?” So we watched the video over and over, thinking about how funny it was that Waka, a hard core rapper, was sitting in a kitchen with Raury, another known artist, making vegan blueberry muffins.
We decided to start our vegan lifestyle the following week and talked about it all week. We told our bosses and co-workers about our decision and of course they thought we were crazy. Yeah, being healthy on college campuses is a thing, but it definitely is not common. Stockton offers a great amount of healthy options but there is no lie that the lines with the most action stems from Chick-fil-A, Johnny Rockets and Primos Pizza, with students holding burgers, chicken sandwiches and buffalo chicken pizza. So, if Stockton offers healthy and tasty vegan options, how hard could it be?
It was hard, very hard, especially from a bacon-loving, cheese praising person like myself and my friend.
The weekend before we went vegan, we went food shopping at Target. We didn’t go with a list, just our eyes, and picked out food that contained nothing with dairy or meat. We picked up spices, rice, beans, vegan popcorn (which is amazing by the way), and almost anything else that caught our eyes. After we were done we enjoyed our last day of poultry power in the parking lot of Taco Bell, eating quesadillas and nachos and singing at the top of our lungs.
Throughout the week we shared our ups, downs and sides. We often made rice and beans that we mixed with veggies, or ate alone; we had veggie burgers and a lot of potatoes. However, Stockton offered us chick pea meat loaf one day and continued to have tasty vegan options throughout the week. Kind Brand breakfast bars, bananas and tea were also a frequent part of breakfast that week. Salads, soups, raw vegetables and fruits made their way into our fridges and bodies throughout the week as well. My friend told me she always included a plant based protein so that she wasn’t thrown off.
Of course we weren’t vegan experts, we were just beginning to get into the swing of things so most of the times our meals were repeats. My favorite part of being vegan for the week was how much energy I had and how much my face began glowing. My water intake was already pretty high, so having an abundance of raw food in my diet made me shine bright like a diamond. I loved it! I loved how I wasn’t easily winded anymore, was sleeping better and just felt overall better, because of only a few days too!
So, overall I do not regret my decision of going vegan, I only wish I stayed with it longer. I think that it is a really dope way of life and commend anyone who is dedicated to it. My goal is to be a weekday vegan/vegetarian and have my weekends to eat what I like. I am slowly working my way towards that goal and I am enjoying the journey of creating a healthier lifestyle for myself.
So, if you’re thinking about going vegan, I’d say go for it! You’ll never know what you may or may not like and there are so many guides out on the wonderful World Wide Web that will give a person the confidence and assistance they may need.