Gabi, a resident of North London and the driving force behind The Playing Space, a Speech and Drama Education company. Her work is a true labor of love, focused on empowering children and young adults to become better communicators, boost their confidence, and develop impressive performance skills.
Gabi’s vegan journey began five and a half years ago, sparked by her participation in Veganuary in 2018. The initial impetus for her transition came from her husband, who decided to give up meat for environmental reasons. Always one to embrace a challenge, Gabi decided to take it a step further.
Interestingly, Gabi’s relationship with vegetarianism started at the tender age of 9. However, during her first pregnancy at 28, she experienced a surprising shift. Cravings for meat crept in, and societal pressures, being the only vegetarian among her peers and family, led her to revisit her dietary choices. Sadly, this marked a period of consuming meat again, viewing it as a food source.
It wasn’t until Gabi turned 43 in January 2018 that she made a life-altering decision. She resolved to go vegan for a month. This pivotal choice ignited her profound journey into veganism, and it has since become an integral part of her identity. Gabi’s story serves as an inspiring example of personal growth and commitment to ethical and sustainable living.
Tell us more about yourself, please
My name is Gabi and I live in North London. I run a Speech and Drama Education company called The Playing Space which is hugely rewarding as I love to help children and young adults become better communicators, build confidence and develop amazing performance skills!
My instagram page is https://www.instagram.com/the.intuitive.vegan/ My philosophy of Intuitive Veganism centres around Intuitive Eating, Intuitive Cooking and Intuitive Thinking… I won’t go into that too much here but send me a message if you want to find out more!
I’ve been vegan for five and half years. I started with Veganuary in 2018. My husband decided to give up meat for environment reasons, and having a competitive nature I decided to go one better! I’d been vegetarian from the age of 9 until I became pregnant with my first child aged 28… I started craving meat for the first time, and being the only vegetarian among my friends and family came under a bit of pressure to start eating meat if I was craving it “for the good of my child”. It was a huge mistake, as the blinkers went back on and I started seeing dead animals as food again. So I continued eating meat until January 2018, when I was 43 years old, and thought “I’ll go vegan for a month”.
I have Crohn’s Disease, which is an auto-immune disease affecting the gut. I had been hospitalised in 2015, and had to take large doses of anti-inflammatory medication to stay in remission. I still had regular flare ups, which seemed to be triggered by fibre-heavy foods like nuts, seeds and green leafy vegetables. For this reason I thought it was unlikely that I’d be able to stick to a vegan diet which relies on these foods for good nutrition. However, by the end of January 2018 I was surprised that I hadn’t had any flare ups while eating a vegan diet for a month. Naturally, I decided to stick with it! And six months later I was still completely in remission. At this point, I mistakenly thought I’d cured myself of an incurable disease and started reducing my medication… And guess what? I had my first flare up in six months! This was a really useful lesson: veganism undoubtedly helps keep Crohn’s Disease under control, and has meant that flare ups are incredibly rare and dealt with more quickly… but it isn’t a cure. For anyone else in a similar situation I would encourage you to keep taking your medication, and use a vegan diet to support your health alongside this.
What are some common challenges you’ve encountered when it comes to finding vegan or vegetarian food, especially when dining out with friends or in social situations? How have you successfully overcome these challenges, and do you have any tips or strategies to share with others in similar situations?
Being in North London, it is incredibly easy to find delicious, healthy and convenient vegan food and ingredients in shops and restaurants – so no issue at all. The only problem comes when I travel abroad. We went to Bergamo in Italy recently, and when we went to a restaurant to ask if they had any vegan dishes the manager gave us a huge smile, spread his arms widely and said with huge pride “No! I have NOTHING for you!” It was quite funny really, he was so pleased with himself for not having any vegan food! Fortunately we found another place nearby that served us delicious pasta with tomato sauce and a side of grilled vegetables. I even found an ice-cream parlour with amazing pistachio ice-cream for desert. There’s always a solution… and if you have to live on chips and salad for a few days, it’s not the end of the world.
Being vegan is all joy, no sacrifice. I am free of the hypocrisy of loving animals, and yet funding their abuse and suffering. Three times a day I sit and eat delicious, nutritious food that is (as far as possible) free of harm. As so many vegans say, my only regret is not doing it sooner.
How can I convince someone who isn’t vegan/vegetarian to try meatless food?
When people consider veganism, they sometimes say “I’ll be vegan at home, but not when I go out” – there’s a worry about being a bother to people, or not finding good food when you’re out and about… But actually I would say that a good way to start is to try all your local vegan restaurants – this is where you get the absolute best vegan food. Use the Happy Cow app to find your nearest one. I remember going to a cafe just a week or two before I became vegan, and ordering their vegan brunch which was delicious. I said “if I could eat like this all the time I would definitely go vegan.” And then the idea came to me: well why not eat like this all the time?
What are your top choices for delicious, home-cooked vegan dishes or vegan recipes that you personally enjoy?
My favourite recommendation is sunflower seed mince as a mince substitute. It’s a single ingredient, a dry store cupboard product which is super convenient, and it’s a waste product of the sunflower oil industry so very environmentally friendly too.
I get it from my local refill centre (shout out to Harmless Store in Crouch End!) but you can get it from health food websites as well. It’s super nutritious and absorbs the flavour of whatever you’re cooking. My family prefer it to more processed meat substitutes. We use it for chilli, lasagna, shepherd’s pie… here’s my spaghetti bolognaise:
What are common misconceptions people have about vegans and vegetarians, and how do you recommend addressing these misconceptions when they arise in conversation?
I think the main misconception is that we’re missing out on something. How do I explain or educate? When someone asks me the inevitable “so what do you miss the most?” I will answer along the following lines: I don’t miss any animal product. The thought of putting the flesh of an animal into my mouth makes me feel ill. Just because it tastes good it doesn’t make it good to eat. I’m sure Labrador puppy tastes amazing but you wouldn’t want it in your mouth.
What advice would you offer to someone who is just starting their journey towards a meatless diet? Are there any practical tips, resources, or personal insights you can share to help them make a smooth transition to a meatless lifestyle?
Don’t worry too much about every decision you make. I see lots of questions from newbies in Vegan Forums like “what should I do with non-vegan food left in my cupboard?” “I’ve got some leather boots that I really love – should I stop wearing them?” “My granny has backyard hens that are treated really well, she wants to make me a cake with one of their eggs and doesn’t understand veganism.” Etc etc… If you post a question like this you will get forty-seven different answers. Trust your own judgement and logic, think for yourself. You haven’t joined a cult or a religion, there isn’t a rule book and there are grey areas. Don’t be scared of the vegan police telling you that you aren’t vegan enough.
Whenever I have to make a decision about something in one of the ‘grey areas’ my starting point is always: if I were the victim in this situation (ie a farmed animal) what would I want to happen. Other people might have a different way of making decisions, but this seems to be a good way to navigate vegan life!
Any closing remarks
I think it’s nearly impossible to find two vegans that agree on every single aspect of veganism. Some people say veganism is a cult. If so, it’s the worst organised cult in history!
Vegans need to remember that the real enemy is not other vegans who think slightly differently from them. The real enemy is the system we live in that supports the abuse and suffering of animals for their meat and products.
Whatever the smaller differences, vegans are all on the same team and need to get better at working together instead of splitting off into smaller and smaller factions. It gets really silly sometimes!
Gabi Ⓥ
Nutritionist
Snapping pics of the food I eat before I eat it. No set up. Cooking without recipes, and without harm.
all images courtesy of Gabi Ⓥ