Maggie Bichon is from Austin, TX! Originally hailing from Houston, Maggie made her way to Austin 12 years ago to pursue a degree in Finance at The University of Texas at Austin.
While building her career in the tech industry, she also discovered a passion for food blogging through her popular Instagram account, @atxvegana. Beyond her culinary adventures, Maggie is a talented musician and enjoys recording music during her downtime.
As a devoted cat and dog mom, she shares her home with her black and white cat and her black brindle Frenchie, as well as her husband of 12 years.
Maggie’s journey into a meatless lifestyle began at the age of 7 when she learned about the ethical implications of consuming animals. Initially embracing vegetarianism, she gradually eliminated all animal products, eventually adopting a vegan lifestyle in 2016.
Her decision was greatly influenced by her father, who first transitioned to veganism for health reasons, and her husband, who embarked on a 30-day vegan challenge. Now 29 years old, Maggie proudly boasts over two decades of experience in the realm of meatless eating.
Meatless Movement recently had the opportunity to chat with her.
Tell us more about yourself, please
I have been eating meatless foods for over 20 years!
Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
Hi! My name is Maggie Bichon and I live in Austin, TX. I was born in Houston, TX and moved to Austin 12 years ago to study Finance at The University of Texas at Austin.
I remained in Austin to work in tech while managing my Instagram food blog @atxvegana on the side for fun! I’m also a musician, so I love to record music when I have downtime. I’m a cat/dog mom to a black & white cat and a black brindle Frenchie.
Describe the factors that influenced your decision to adopt a vegan lifestyle
I stopped eating meat when I was 7 years old after learning that I was consuming animals. I later learned “vegetarian” was the term for my eating lifestyle growing up. I still consumed some dairy (mostly cheese) but then decided to cut out all animal products and eventually became vegan in 2016.
My dad turned vegan first for health reasons, and then my husband did a 30-day vegan challenge. So I was inspired by them to become vegan! I am 29 years old now and have been eating meatless foods for over 20 years!
I’m prioritizing my body and mental health no matter how busy my days get
Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
I was in elementary school when I stopped eating meat. I still vividly remember walking through the lunch line at school and asking the cafeteria staff if they could take out the meat from my food. They would serve me meatless burgers, pizza without the pepperoni, and so on.
My friends thought I was weird for not wanting meat but they eventually started asking for me to give it to them!
My mom is from Oaxaca, Mexico so I would visit my family’s ranch in Oaxaca growing up. I was introduced to local crops like pumpkin flower and prickly pear cactus at a young age, which I still love as an adult.
My grandma would also cook me a lot of meatless meals and I sometimes helped her cook or chop up veggies. She introduced me to beets, my favorite root vegetable, and would often rub them on my cheeks to brighten me up when I looked pale haha. Sadly, my grandma passed when I was still young but my mom loves to recreate her recipes, so I share those now on my food blog!
One experience that did traumatize me (aside from witnessing a pig get slaughtered once) was when I was cooking eggs. I was vegetarian at the time and in high school I think. I cracked a free-range egg over the pan and a whole baby chicken came out and started sizzling on the pan! I was so sad and never ate eggs after that.
What challenges have you encountered in finding vegan food?
When I eat at non-vegan restaurants, I either ask a million questions to find out what’s vegan friendly OR stick to the staples – chips & salsa, fries, a frozen marg 😂
Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
The biggest challenge for me is when omni restaurants offer vegan options, but do not list them on their menu or clearly mark them as vegan. I always felt like an inconvenience asking questions but realized that if I’m spending money at a restaurant, I want to enjoy my food and not settle for just a side salad or bread. I am now super conformable asking the staff if they have anything vegan to offer – I also look at the menu ahead or call to confirm if they have vegan options.
A lot of places can accommodate and are also friendly about it when I ask. This is why I started my food blog – to document and share all the vegan finds in Austin, TX and places I travel to in case others don’t like to ask a lot of questions when eating out. I have both vegan and omni friends, so we always pick a place that we will all enjoy!
This is why I started by food blog, to share all my vegan finds
Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
I feel great about being vegan. I can enjoy my meals guilt-free, including junk food ☺. I don’t even miss the taste of meat or dairy. It’s been so long that I can taste if there are animal products in my food now. A restaurant accidentally buttered my bread recently and I knew right away it wasn’t vegan butter. Animal products leave this distinct after-taste so my taste buds are always on alert lol.
How would you encourage someone who isn’t vegan or vegetarian to give meatless food a try?
I hope that the vegan food I share on my blog inspires people to try meatless food
Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
I don’t pressure people to try vegan food or convert to a vegan lifestyle. I completely understand everyone lives under different circumstances, so I don’t judge people’s food preferences at all. Do I feel sad for the animals?
Of course. But I just do my best to show compassion for all animals, show how good vegan food can be and how much more accessible pant-based alternatives are now compared to what I had access to growing up. I hope that the vegan food I share on my blog inspires people to try meatless food.
Why I’m vegan also comes up in a lot of conversations with new people I meet, so if they ask or if someone is curious, I’ll share my story on how being vegan has impacted me personally. If they show interest, I usually encourage them to pick one day out of the week to eat meatless (usually meatless Mondays) and recommend a good recipe or restaurant for them to try.
Can you suggest some great places to find vegan food options?
I love Ethiopian food!
Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
- One of my favorite summer recipes is my mom’s plant-based ceviche. We made a recipe video and it got 26K views. So many people engaged with the video and I received DMs from people excited to try it! You can watch the full video below.
- Here are some pictures of some of my favorite foods/places, all vegan!
Anixi – an all vegan, kosher, and gluten-free Mediterranean restaurant in New York City! Pictured is the braised beef Turkish pizza and the grilled chicken sish kebab. Best Mediterranean food I’ve had.
– Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
Rebel Cheese – an all vegan deli in Austin, TX that offers plant-based artisan cheeses, sandwiches, and wine! Pictured below is their $10 happy hour cheese board, chicken/bacon/ranch sandwich, gentle reuben sandwich, and a strawberry pastry.
– Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
Aster’s Ethiopian Restaurant – I LOVE Ethiopian food so one of my favorite local places to support is Aster’s Ethiopian restaurant in Austin, TX. This is a photo of their vegan combo platter with plenty of injera. Everything is always so tasty and delightful!
– Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
Cascabel – this is an all vegan Mexican restaurant in Houston, TX. Every single dish I’ve tried here is chef’s kiss. I’m obsessed with everything about this place and it’s one of my favorite places to visit when I’m in Houston! Below is a photo of some of their popular dishes, like the chimichanga plate, birria tacos, chile relleno, and mole enchiladas.
– Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
What are some common misunderstandings or misconceptions people have about vegans or vegetarians?
There are two common misconceptions that always come up when I talk about being vegan:
- being vegan is too expensive! Some restaurants and grocery stores do charge a premium for vegan alternatives (aka the well-known “vegan tax”), but I find that buying more whole foods and minimally processed foods to cook at home gives me the most bang for my buck. I try to get creative in the kitchen and make time to meal prep as much as possible. And then balance that with going on dinner dates with my partner once or twice a week because we deserve to treat ourselves! It’s a plus that he’s vegan because we can order a variety of vegan dishes and just share everything. This is ultimately the content you’ll see on my food blog.
- vegans only eat salads – you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to veganize popular dishes nowadays. While I love a good salad, I love burgers, pizza, pasta, etc just as much. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on my favorite foods or compromising taste. This is why I share what I eat on my blog, to show how accessible and tasty vegan food can be.
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting to transition to a meatless diet?
My advice to people who want to go meatless is to first and foremost, define your purpose for doing so. Is it to eat feel healthier, for the environment, the animals? Find your purpose so that you are motivated as you make changes. Then start slow – don’t put pressure on yourself to cut all meat out of your diet right away. Slowly cut back where you can.
I know people who chose to cut out red meat first like pork and only ate poultry/fish for a while before becoming vegan/vegetarian. It’s YOUR journey so if you have slip ups here and there, don’t get discouraged. It happens and no one’s journey is perfect!
Lastly, try to veganize your favorite meals so that you don’t feel like you’re missing out. For example, if you love hamburgers, then swap out the beef patty for a plant-based patty or find a good recipe online to make your own. There are so many options and not all plant-based meats taste the same.
Leverage social media like TikTok and Instagram for tips and recipes because there is so much helpful content on these platforms. Some of my favorite vegan content creators and influencers to follow are Tabitha Brown, Fit Green Mind, Sweet Simple Vegan, and One Great Vegan!
I ask what’s vegan so you don’t have to
Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
I never thought about sharing my vegan journey with others on social media. When people send me nice messages about how glad they are they found my page, I feel motivated to continue sharing what I eat. If you want to keep up with my journey and see all the amazing vegan food I eat, follow my Instagram page @ATXVEGANA.
Maggie🌱Austin Vegan Guide
Video creator
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vegana makin reels of all the ✨vegan✨eats in atx🤠 I ask what’s vegan so u don’t have to❣️
all images courtesy of maggie🌞