UK was going into the second lockdown and I decided to go vegan

About a year ago, Kate decided to change overnight to a vegan diet and lifestyle. She told Meatless Movement recently that it’s been one of the most positive changes she has made ever in her life and without doubt, vegan for life.

Tell us more about yourself, please

Hello, I am based in the North East of England near Newcastle. I’m the only vegan in my family. Since changing to a vegan way of life all my family are eating more vegan dishes and I love it!

Have never loved food so much since I changed my diet
katey_vegan_lifestyle

I changed overnight to a Vegan diet (and wasn’t vegetarian though was leaning a little towards more plant based foods) I watched a number of documentaries during the lockdown such as cowspiracy, game changers and so on and was inspired to change immediately. Overnight. I have never been one to do things by halves 😉 I understood more so the impact on the environment it can have by changing to a vegan diet and felt like I’d “woken up” in terms of not realising previously how totally disassociated I was in the past when buying animal products and the process and animal cruelty involved. I genuinely thought I might struggle after a month, but it was the total opposite. Have never loved food so much since I changed my diet and finding new foods to try, jackfruit, banana blossom, tempeh, tofu (endless list..) and new recipes to create has seriously been a life changing and positive experience.

I started my food blog in early 2021, as always had both a love for cooking and photography, and a slight (ok major) obsession with food presentation, and it made me rediscover my passion for cooking. It’s also been a great way to connect with the vegan community. And then an exciting opportunity fell into my lap, as was approached earlier this year by a TV researcher to take part in a cooking show (not been aired yet so I’ll have to keep details to a minimum… so watch this space!) which was an absolute experience of a lifetime and very exciting to be part of especially in difficult times with the pandemic and I got to create some dishes which I put my heart and soul into, as very passionate about others liking my food.

Food is good for the soul and especially cruelty free! It was an amazing opportunity to spread the word about veganism.

I am deeply passionate about this way of life and absolutely vegan for life, for the animals, the planet and health!
katey_vegan_lifestyle

Since I changed to a vegan diet, a lot of family and friends have incorporated way more plant based food into their lives which is just fantastic. I am keen to develop my food blog further and share home cooked recipes and shortly launching a website with recipes, information on becoming vegan along with a podcast I’m in early stages of developing to speak to a number of experts on a range of topics.

My main goal? I’d love more people to change to a more plant based way of life. Of course I’d love everyone to go vegan!!!!… but I don’t think that’s realistic so my plan is to share resources, recipes and interesting sessions through my podcast so those considering going vegan have a range of tools at hand to help them in their journey! I personally believe in winning hearts and minds when it comes to talking about veganism as there are certainly those who are so vehemently opposed to it from the outset when it gets mentioned so I try and share my love of cooking through my blog and discussions directly with others, just how satisfying vegan food can be and dispell the many myths such as its costly to be vegan, that vegan food is boring or that there’s concerns about not getting enough nutrients or protein or that its just too hard to do and so on.

If you’re just getting started as a vegetarian or vegan

My advice is to connect with the vegan & plantbased community on social media – there are so many great ways to connect with the community, Insta, FB Groups and so on. There are some great resources out there to find, I joined the Vegan Society at the outset and they have some handy guides. For someone like me who started from meat eater to vegan overnight I did initially find the odd fix from some of the amazing meat substitutes out there really helped whilst adjusting. But I typically eat a very healthy very balanced diet, my health and energy levels have never been so good and I definitely spend way less on food than previously, yet feel so much better for it in so many ways. A truly positive and life changing way of life.

You can do good, feel good and look good
katey_vegan_lifestyle

I’ve never felt healthier, lots more energy, lead a cruelty free lifestyle and reduced my carbon footprint. Truly never loved food so much. I’d love to dispel the many myths surrounding a vegan diet for those considering going vegan – it’s a truly positive change and YOU can make a significant impact.