Being vegan doesn’t mean missing out on anything!

Julia is a vegan from Brazil who has made the move to Amsterdam. She is passionate about the vegan lifestyle and is currently enjoying all the culture and cuisine that the city offers.

Julia used to be far from a vegan lifestyle. Before she moved to the Netherlands, she was the kind of person who believed that a meal wasn’t complete without some form of meat. However, since relocating to the Netherlands, she has adopted a vegan lifestyle and she has never been happier.

Meatless Movement had the opportunity to chat with her.

Julia told us that it’s time for the next chapter, but of course she will keep cooking lots and lots for herself because that’s what keeps her sane.

Please tell us more about yourself, please

So I’m here, just being grateful for this life
Julia K | Vegan living 🌿

Hi, my name is Julia and I’m originally from Brazil, but I’ve been living in Amsterdam since 2018. I’m 26 and I used to be a professional chef, but now I’m finishing my master’s degree in Communication and working in the field.

I haven’t always been vegan, in fact, until I moved to the Netherlands, I was very much the type of person who had to have meat in every meal. In Brazil, we have a very meat-based culture and only recently, I would say in the past two years, the vegan conversation really gained momentum. I noticed because every time I go back home there seem to be more and more vegan and vegetarian restaurants, as well as products in shops and supermarkets, which is amazing!

When I moved to Amsterdam, I started living with my sister who had been vegan already for quite some time. I noticed that cooking vegan was really not as hard as I thought and there were so many vegan options in the restaurants over here.

Also, I was lactose intolerant but as the stubborn, meat-eater I used to be I kept insisting on consuming milk and cheese which made me constantly bloated, irritated and with stomach aches.

One day, a few months after moving to the Netherlands and seeing how doable the plant-based diet is, I woke up and decided to stop consuming all animal products. It was just like that, and my body react instantly. In about a month, so many stomach and skin issues I used to have were gone. The inflammatory state caused by lactose completely stopped and I realized how much more energized and happier I felt.

I can easily say my life revolves around food and I love it 💖
Julia K | Vegan living 🌿

I was lucky enough to live with my sister, which was vegan, so we only consumed vegan products in the house. I was also very lucky to have a very supportive group of friends, which never teased me about my diet and were always willing to taste my plant-based dishes (but that also might be because I am a professionally trained chef, haha).

Doing the things we love is what makes life worth living
Julia K | Vegan living 🌿

I feel the hardest part was in my job, which is why I left the restaurant I used to work at for a plant-based location. It just didn’t feel right to still prepare and serve animal products. Nowadays I don’t work as a chef anymore, but I still share vegan dishes and tips on my personal social media pages (@juliakamimura on all platforms). Cooking is one of the things I love the most, as well as showing everyone that being plant-based is not hard at all.

When people tell me they are scared to go vegan because they think we only eat salads…

I have always been supportive of the non-aggressive approach when it comes to getting people to go vegan/vegetarian. I feel like the way to get more people to join the vegan movement is to let them see it is as easy and simple as possible. In my case, I lived with someone who was “very chill” about veganism, and one day I woke up and something just clicked, I realized eating animal products was wrong and I never did it again. I didn’t need to watch some horrible videos of slaughterhouses or animal cruelty. I know not everyone agrees with this approach.

My amazing boyfriend also went vegan after meeting me. When we first met, we were both very respectful of our different diets. Whoever, the more he understood how good going vegan was for me, the health benefits of the diet, and the ethicality of it all, he decided to go vegan too, and has been for the past year and a half.

Making the most of it even when nothing goes to plan
Julia K | Vegan living 🌿

I think if you are struggling to go plant-based you shouldn’t feel pressured to get it right the first time. I always say that it is better to try and fail sometimes than to not do it at all! Just take it day by day and try to slowly cut animal products off of your diet, experimenting with new recipes or adjusting some of your favorites to a vegan or vegetarian version. 😊