The Power of Plants: How a Vegan Diet Helped Me Achieve Optimal Health

In today’s world, there is an increasing awareness about the benefits of plant-based diets. This was the reason why Hannah embarked on her veganism journey, which initially began as a quest for improved health. Despite leading an active lifestyle and regularly playing tennis with her friends, her cholesterol levels always remained alarmingly high.

Being young and unwilling to take cholesterol medication, Hannah decided to explore a plant-based diet as a natural way to monitor her cholesterol levels. This decision changed her life for the better and helped her achieve optimal health.

Meatless Movement recently had a chance to chat with her.

Please tell us more about yourself

I have an Australian Shepherd named Chloe 🥰
Vegan Dallas Foodie

My name is Hannah, I grew up in a Dallas suburb and I live in North Dallas with my daughter (Australian Shepherd), Chloe. I’m 25 and I love trying fun new vegan foods. You can find me on Instagram sharing my local vegan eats at @DallasVeganFoodie!

What factors influenced your decision to adopt a vegan lifestyle, and how long have you been following it?

My veganism journey originally started for health reasons. Growing up, I was always very active and playing tennis with friends, but my cholesterol levels were always way too high, regardless of my diet/exercise.

In 2018, I had a difficult year and stopped caring about what I was putting into my body. At 20 years old, my BMI qualified me as overweight and my cholesterol levels were bad enough that my doctor told me if I did not do something, I was on track to have a heart attack at as young as 35.

Due to my age and the long-term side effects of cholesterol medication, my doctor suggested that I first try monitoring my diet, or I was going to have serious problems when I got older.

This really spurned me to take action and become healthy again. I’ve never felt good after eating dairy, and the biggest thing my doctor told me to avoid was red meat, so after doing some of my own research I decided to go plant-based the following week.

Cooking becomes easy when you find joy in testing new vegan recipes
dallasveganfoodie

To be honest, it was fairly easy for me because I enjoy cooking; I found a lot of joy in testing out new vegan recipes and finding fun vegan cookbooks! By going plant based, I was able to get my BMI under control and lower my cholesterol levels enough that the medication was no longer necessary.

In 2020, I began to struggle with the desire to eat seafood. Sushi was always my favorite, and it was difficult for me to give up completely. I stayed a mostly vegan/very occasional pescatarian until 2022, when I watched Seaspiracy and started learning about the environmental effects of supporting the seafood industry and the animal abuse in commercial fish farming.

I did not like what I saw (to say the least) and I no longer wanted to support the industry because of the environmental impacts and animal cruelty. I am now vegan for animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and the health benefits.

What are some interesting stories related to veganism?

When I went vegan at the end of 2018, I convinced my dad to go vegan as well! Today, both of us are still vegan, my sister does not eat red meat, and I am encouraging my mom to give up red meat and dairy. Baby steps, but I am encouraged by the progress!

Thankfully in Dallas, vegan food is becoming SO accessible. The only challenges I still face from time to time are

when I’m going to a restaurant I haven’t been to before with no vegan option labeled clearly on the website or
if I am going to a restaurant for an event, such as a friend’s birthday or celebration, and I had no say in the restaurant choice.

In these scenarios, I always reach out to the restaurant beforehand to see if they can accommodate a vegan diet. In most cases, if they do not have at least one designated vegan dish, they can make a dish already on the menu “vegan friendly.” In the very rare scenario that I am told they only have “French fries and a side salad” for vegans, I make sure to eat at home prior and order a small side salad at dinner, but it’s getting to the point where it’s very infrequent.

My friends are also very accommodating of me and will normally make sure to select a restaurant where they know I will be able to eat something enjoyable.

I am proud to be vegan and of the choices I am making!
Vegan Dallas Foodie

Not everyone in my life is vegan, but I love seeing non-vegans broaden their horizons and become “vegan curious.” If I can help someone become aware of the amazing, endless benefits of a vegan lifestyle and influence their decisions, even a tiny bit, it’s a win to me!

I think the key here is not being too pushy, but making sure that it’s very clear that I am vegan and why I have made the choice to be vegan. It’s a subject that I and many others are passionate about, but it’s important to be informative. I have broken down barriers and stereotypes with my friends when it comes to what I eat vs. what they imagined a vegan to eat, and most are open to trying meatless food with me.

I want to devour their entire vegan menu
Vegan Dallas Foodie

As a foodie, I could go on and on about my favorite vegan restaurants and dishes in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. 😊 As I said earlier, my favorite food is sushi, so I always go to Blue Sushi Sake Grill on Sundays for their amazing happy hour and extensive vegan sushi menu (try the “Shiitake to Me” roll!). A few other options I love are Nunos, Earth Burger at Oomi Kitchen, Best Thai Addison, Cris & John’s, Belse, Casa Del Vegano and Bahn Mi Station. If you’re ever in Fort Worth, you absolutely must go to Pizza Verde and Spiral Diner. My all-time favorite bakery is Reverie Bakeshop, I get all of my special event cakes there and they are exquisite.

When it comes to cooking at home, a few of my consistent favorite cookbooks are the Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook by Nisha Vora, Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen by Richa Hingle, Chloe’s Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli and Fuss-Free Vegan by Sam Turnbull (my consistent go-to for a quick, delicious vegan meal).

My favorite vegan influencers are Sam Turnball with It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken, Candice Hutchings with The Edgy Veg, Lauren Hartmann with Rabbit and Wolves, Nora Taylor with Nora Cooks (her dessert recipes are the absolute best) and Ashley with Eat Figs Not Pigs.

What advice would you offer to someone who is starting to transition to a meatless diet?

Take a deep breath. Remember your reasoning for going meatless/vegan and stick by them. Don’t let anyone force you to justify your choices, people who eat meat tend to get overly defensive when they find out someone else is vegan. Be informative to others, be proud of your choices, and don’t beat yourself up if you make a mistake; we are all imperfect vegans.

The question I, and I’m sure most vegans, get most consistently is “where do you get your protein?” Protein is in everything. There is protein in beans, yes, which I do eat frequently, but there is protein in fruits, veggies and grains as well. I normally revert to the same example when I explain this- some of the largest animals on the planet are herbivores. Elephants, giraffes, gorillas, hippopotamuses, and rhinoceroses, just to name a few. All those animals are large and they don’t consume meat to get that way.