Alice shares her delicious & nourishing plant-based recipes on her IG @alicepipr. She thinks Berlin is a VEGAN FOOD HEAVEN. Meatless Movement recently had the opportunity to chat with her.
Tell us more about yourself please
Hi, I am Alice. Currently 27 years old and living in Germany. I was born and raised here but my mom is from China and my dad is from Poland. I just finished my master’s degree in business economics. I am also a freelancer doing photography jobs for vegan brands! I speak 4 languages: German, English, Chinese and Polish. My next goal is to learn Japanese!
It happened when I first moved out. Good meat was quite expensive, and I just started studying so my budget was kinda small. I also never really liked to prepare it. It became natural to buy less meat and I also did not miss it. I started looking into vegetarianism, read a lot of books and watched all the documentaries (Cowspiracy, forks over knives, earthlings etc.). I was a vegetarian for a month before switching to a complete vegan diet. I always liked the taste of meat/meat dishes, but I never once missed it since going vegan. The animals are way more important to me than my taste.
I went vegan at the end of 2013, so it has been 8 years. A lot happened since then and I also changed as a person. When I started being vegan, I was super strict with everything and tried out all the different vegan diets like hclf (high carb low fat), Rawtill4 and so on. Whenever I fell out of my diet plan, I felt super devastated and would cry whenever I accidentally ate something non-vegan (like milk in a pastry). I am over that now! Life is more than food and mistake happen. I am enjoying my life more and I think that if you are trying your best, that is all that matters!
Nowadays I think it is the best time to eat a vegan diet! Not only because there are literally all the options and everything non-vegan you can get vegan, but also because of the environment, the planet, and the animals. When I think about the time, I started becoming vegan, there was not much on the vegan market (like fancy meat, egg, cheese substitutes etc.). But I sticked to the Chinese cuisine, which I grew up with. There is lots of tofu and already vegetarian/vegan dishes included so I did not miss much and had it pretty easy.
Now I live in Berlin, and it is just VEGAN FOOD HEAVEN. Not joking. If you ever miss something, come to Berlin. You will get it there. This is also why I do not have any challenges with finding vegan food. Every restaurant has at least one vegan option. But if I ever find myself in a completely not vegan friendly restaurant, I will stick to side dishes and/or will ask the staff if they can prepare something vegan. Don’t be afraid to ask!
All I can do is live by example
@alicepipr
I have never felt better ever since I have switched. Of course, there are times when I eat a bit more “junk”, don’t move as much, and don’t feel my best but that’s life. Knowing that I don’t have any dead animals in my body makes it 1000% better.
And your favorite vegan meals …
I am totally into breakfast/brunch, preferably sweet. I am a big sweet tooth. My go-to breakfast dishes are smoothie/acai bowls or nicecream, pancakes, oatmeal, and crumble bakes. I have a few of them on my Instagram feed + recipe.
The vegan market has grown so much in the past years
@alicepipr
Some places I love to eat at in Berlin are:
- Calm Coffee (The best vegan cinnamon rolls & buns & coffee)
- Brammibal’s donuts (Famous for their all-vegan donuts)
- Mana Food (Really good brunch)
Here are some of my advice I already gave to friends who want to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diet:
- Find a reason, why you want to change. Having a good reason (e.g. for the animals) let’s you stick to your new lifestyle.
- Do not cut out all the foods you love overnight. If you are not an extreme person, do it step by step.
- Find the foods you love that are already vegan (I doubt that a diet of just milk, eggs and meat is realistic) and stick to them.
- Try out new products! The vegan market has grown so much in the past years, and I bet you will find lots of alternatives that you will love.
- Go out and eat in restaurants! Good ones of course. A vegan diet is not just veggies and water.
I would never force someone to eat something they don’t want. It is super important for me to let everyone live the way they want. All I can do is live by example and if they get interested in the vegan diet or want to try it, I would be glad to help!
Alice | Vegan Food & Recipes
BloggerDelicious & nourishing plant-based recipes
Sharing what I love!
🇨🇳🇵🇱|📍Berlin
All images courtesy of @alicepipr