My Plant Based Journey Part 2

Good day, my friends.  I hope you all are finding ways to stay cool in this heat wave we are having across the country.  It's a bit on the toasty side.  Don't forget to check on your elderly friends/family/neighbors.

So, I am back for Part 2 of my plant based journey.  I believe I left off with the last entry that the first time I tried being plant based, it didn't work for me.  However, Covid then happened.  And when covid started, I said to myself that I wanted to be healthier when it was over than when it started.  I decided that I would give being plant based another try.

The second time I made the attempt (and also the first time), it was primarily for my health.  Of course, I love animals and was concerned about their welfare.  However, I think a lot of us block out what is actually being done to them.  We ignore the truth, I know I did. 

I like to learn things.  I love to read.  I watched pretty much all the Netflix food documentaries.  I read many books about the plant based diet and other ways food could help us with our health.  Along the way, I learned about all the inhumane treatment of animals.  Believe me, it is horrendous.

I started back up with the plant based eating plan in April-ish 2020.  I don't like saying vegan/vegetarian.  I again like to focus on what I can eat, not what I'm not eating.  For the first few months, I slowly transitioned to not having meat.  The last meat I ate that wasn't seafood was in September 2020 and it was a Slim Jim.  I used to love those!  For maybe about another 6 months after that, I again would maybe occasionally have some sort of seafood.  Shrimp was one of my favorite foods and I would treat myself to it sometimes.

Since about spring of 2021, I very rarely had seafood.  At the beginning of the pandemic, I did stock up a little on cans of tuna and such and I hate wasting.  On the rare occasion, I will add a can of tuna to my pasta.  But that's like once every 5-6 months.  I should just donate the rest to a food pantry and be done with it.

So, for about a year, I have been pretty much a "vegetarian," not consuming any meat.  As far as eggs and dairy, I normally wouldn't go out of my way to have it, but I would use it.  I try to avoid them, but I wouldn't stress if they were in something.  (I can't really drink regular milk anyways, but I could have it in something.). I will say that I liked butter in things.  On toast, in pastries, or on some cooked veggies.  But I decided not too long ago that I really want to try as hard as I can to be a vegan.  However, if I have the very sparingly item that has either eggs or dairy in it, I am not going to be upset.  After all, I am not going to give up on Reese's.  I still like to refer to myself as plant based, but essentially I am an imperfect vegan.

While I started being plant based for my health, I would say that the main reason I am now is for the animals.  An animal's life is more important than my taste buds.  Also, it is really important for the environment to limit animal products. 

And don't worry, I get my protein.

And there you have it, my plant based journey up to this point.  I am still learning.  One of the things I am trying to focus on now is how to be a better animal/vegan advocate.  I want to be able to communicate with others better.  I am currently doing a short program through CEVA, Center for Effective Vegan Advocacy.  I am learning many ways to be a better communicator through them.

I hope that you enjoyed ready my journey.  If you have any positive/constructive feedback, please feel free to use the comment section.

Also, you can follow me on instagram at plantbased_brandi

Thank you for reading!