There isn’t a moment that goes by that I am not thankful for choosing a vegan lifestyle

Julie is a vegan and loves adding some life to her little piece of desert. She is host to an amazing getaway “The Omstead at Twentynine Palms”, a high desert retreat stay offering 360 degree views of the open desert on expansive acreage conveniently located near Joshua Tree National Park. Julie recently told Meatless Movement that she is Vegan for everything 💚🌱💚

Tell us more about yourself please

I love adding some life to our little piece of desert
Julie Graham

My name is Julie Graham (Grahamcracker). Born and raised in Illinois but making my way to the California desert. It’s not a secret that Illinois is not my favorite place. Although Chicago does have very good vegan places.

Who am I kidding…what parties? I am vegan there are no parties 😂
Julie Graham

I have been vegan for 6 years. It started as a quest for better health and immediately turned into an ethical vegan journey.

This has been an awakening for me. It opened my eyes to the horrors of animal agriculture and the brainwashing of the human race. I also learned who my true friends and family are and left behind those that were toxic.

Many of our friends no longer invite us for meals and parties. I tend to not eat with others at work. Eating out takes some prep work but is getting much easier. We cook a lot in our home so home cooked meals take priority.

This was the absolute best decision I ever made. I wish I would have done it so much earlier.
Julie Graham

This is a journey you will never regret. Do your research, educate yourself with the facts. There are so many vegan options to help with the transition. Trust me you feel so much better.

Yeah you have to do the work at first but once you educate yourself it’s not hard at all. There are so many foods and guess what all food that is grown is vegan.

Where to eat the best vegan food?

Gino’s East Vegan Deep Dish Pizza
You cannot even tell the difference between their non vegan deep dish and their vegan deep dish!

Vegan Sushi from Blue Sushi Sake Grill in Naperville, IL. They have a large amount of vegan sushi and it’s all delicious. Super knowledgeable staff too! And the drinks well…I have tried many of them.

Buona Beef partnered with Uptons and now have a “beefless” sandwich. I cannot rave enough about this sandwich. It’s a family fave!

This is my flipped burrito bowl from Chipotle. I load it up with brown rice, black beans, sofritas, all the salsas, fajita veggies and lots of lettuce. This is a wonderful way to have an easy dinner. Super filling without the fast food guilt.

Making a bowl filled with brown rice, quinoa, chia, air fried tofu and veggies is one my absolute favorite meals. The best part is that I always make too much (that’s the Italian in me) so we have plenty of leftovers for other meals.

I try to include plenty of raw in my diet. I have found eating more raw has improved my fitness levels and recovery time. It really helps with my endurance. Because these raw foods are low caloric I can eat a ton more to fill up without having that heavy bloated feeling.

Del Taco has beyond meat that you can have with tacos or burritos. Just need to make sure you order without the cheese. Another easy travel option when out on the west coast. Maybe not the healthiest option but they sure are tasty.

There are always smiles when VooDoo donuts are being eaten.

When in Denver VooDoo donuts is a must stop! I don’t even want to know how money we have spent at VooDoo Donuts but it is worth every penny. Hands down some of the best vegan donuts.

Cinnaholic is an all vegan cinnamon roll bakery! They have so many different creations and vegan cookie dough. There are several locations here in Illinois.

I use a similar recipe for my homemade ravioli. All dough is oil free, whole wheat and water. The filling is a tofu mixture with vegan cheese and sometimes ground beyond meat.

Dear Bella is an all vegan ice cream parlor in the center of Los Angeles. It happens to be right next to several other vegan restaurants in the same strip mall. I cannot wait to visit there again on our travels to California.

Entire residential home hosted by Julie
Julie Graham

Holidays in our house are 100% vegan even if we have guests. A typical holiday meal usually consists of homemade lasagna with a tofu filling, a vegan roast, 10lbs of mashed potatoes (and yes they are all eaten) and plenty of vegetables.

Any non vegan food can be made vegan. We make beyond meat stuffed peppers, lemon-turmeric rice and of course vegetables. There are always tons of vegetables.

My vegan journey has made me a much more compassionate human being. Not only has it changed me physically but also emotionally and mentally.
Julie Graham

We have road tripped from Illinois to California several times in the past year. It is one of my absolute favorite routes to drive. Utah is breathtaking along with the Mojave Desert. Before any trip it is so important to preplan places to eat. We pack meals and snacks for all along the way. Things like tofurkey wraps, cut up veggies and granola make great options for when you can’t stop. I will say that almost every city we have stopped in has had vegan options. You just need to do the work up front. From Moab to Springdale to Las Vegas, they all have places that make eating out fun and delicious.

We take lots of photos on our travels. About 12 years ago I didn’t even want to be photographed because I was severely overweight and living a very unhealthy lifestyle. I want to show others what eating a plant-based vegan diet can do for your health. I feel younger than I did at 20.

Vegan food is not boring. I eat more varieties of food than I ever have. Once I detoxed my body of animal products I could taste the real flavors of food.