Even if it inspired just one person to take the plunge, it’s worth it all to me!

Evie is a blogger from the UK. She also owns a small business in the form of an Etsy shop where she creates and sells hand crafted press on nails. Even before going vegan, she always stuck to cruelty free / vegan friendly polishes as this was the most important thing to her. ✨💕 Meatless Movement recently had a chat with her.

Animals don’t have a voice, but we do 🥰🌱 .
@alohaevie

Please tell us more about yourself

Hi! My name is Evie, I am 29 and from the UK. My mum’s side is Italian and my dad’s is Scottish and English. I currently work full time in Admin & I also own a small Etsy store which I absolutely adore!

I started my vegan journey back in January 2020. Originally, I was only meant to be completing a month of vegan eating for ‘Veganuary’, but as time went on I realised this was a permanent lifestyle change for me.

In January 2022 I will have been vegan for 2 years. As much as my lifestyle change has been the core subject of ‘banter’ for many people I’ve encountered, I have also helped a wide range of people transition to a plant based or vegan lifestyle which massively outweighs all negatives to me.

It’s the best thing I have ever done. For myself, the animals & the planet.
@alohaevie

I feel incredibly happy with my choice to permanently switch to a vegan lifestyle and I only wish that I had done it sooner. Most of my immediate family have been vegetarian for as long as I can remember, so giving up meat wasn’t a big deal for me as I was rarely around it.

Something clicked in me when I started reading articles and seeing real footage of slaughter houses, dairy farms, etc. I always knew barbaric things could and do happen, but I would always shy away from learning more as I didn’t want to feel upset by the information or see any animals being harmed as I have always been an animal lover.

I quickly learned that this was very hypocritical of me and my morals did not line up with my actions. I was against animal abuse but yet I’d sit and eat a chicken burger carefree. I needed to see the reality of what was going on behind closed doors to make the change. I needed to realise that there was a lot more to meat and dairy than conveniently picking it up in supermarkets already packaged.

The biggest challenges of being vegan

Foods that don’t require ‘milk’ as an ingredient but have in them anyway! I can’t tell you the amount of times I have picked something up off a shelf and thought ‘this must be vegan’ to find it contains milk powder for no reason!

The first few months of my vegan venture was a constant battle with product labels and getting to terms with all the ingredients and what they mean. Some things listed can seem like they are fine but they actually mean animal derived products. Slowly but surely It got easier and easier and now I think I’ve finally cracked it!

Another challenge I’ve faced is some restaurants not actually knowing what vegan means. I once asked for a tomato pasta dish to be made vegan. They agreed straight away, but it came out full of cheese!

I’ve met so many cool people through this journey & I wouldn’t change it for the world!
@alohaevie

What should a beginner vegan eat?

Slow and steady! Start with swapping out the meat in your favourite meals and looking for dairy free alternatives to staple household foods! Supermarkets in the UK are brilliant for meat substitutes / dairy alternatives at the moment and there’s so much to choose from! A lot of people I have spoken to about changing over to veganism have started with easy things such as plant milks instead of dairy milk and meat free versions of burgers / sausages.

I live in quite a small town in the UK, so finding vegan friendly places can be a bit of a challenge for me. What I have found works well is simply speaking directly to local places and asking if they can whip something from the menu up without the dairy and the meat. For example, we love to order from the local Indian curry house and they always make sure that my curry is not cooked with ghee and the naan bread is completely dairy free. In most cases: If you ask, you shall receive!

A few of my favourite chain restaurants for vegan options would be:

Wagamama’s – Great Vegan Katsu Curry
BurgerKing – Amazing Vegan Royale
Prezzo – The Best Vegan Pizza
Greggs – VEGAN. SAUSAGE. ROLL.

💕Vegan teriyaki gyozas, crispy kale & steamed rice w/ mayflower curry sauce. Honestly better than have of the takeaways we have been to!

🌱Vegan ravioli by @wickedkitchenfood , home made sauce, garlic bread & salad 🥗 🍝

🤤Beyond burger from @papasamericandiner 🤤🌱 never disappoints!

Share with us some of your vegan creations

Absolutely love making soups when it starts getting colder! Certainly hit the spot! 💕🌱✨and Spinach butterfly pasta with a home made red pepper & tomato sauce 🌱.

🥢Home made ramen bowl. THIS ONE BANGS OMG. ❤️❤️❤️🌱 We used added baby corn, broc, @frysfamily chik’n burg (chopped up) and jalapenos.

Obsessed with making Bolognese too – this one is spicy jalapeno 🌶️🥵🔥.

Boujee baby jackets 🥔🌱, Mini jacket spuds, violife cheese, beans, chives, paprika & lettuce and Vegan lasagne. My speciality dish 🤤🌱

To each & everyone one of you out there making a difference, thank you! 🥰🌱 .
@alohaevie

Overall, I am mainly vegan for the animals. I feel better knowing that I am doing the best I possibly can in terms of not buying into the demand of animal products. Times are changing and more and more people are now mindful of their choices and the effects they cause and I think this is great. It’s important to be aware of what’s in your food and how it got there. The same applies to the clothes we wear and the products we buy on a daily basis.