Jess is a 22-year-old from Cheshire, UK. Currently, she is based in Manchester where she’s pursuing her Animal Behaviour degree. Jess has a deep passion for animals and wishes to have a career in caring and rehabilitating them in the future.
Jess recently started a food blogging page on Instagram called @plantpositivejess, where she shares her vegan recipes with the world. Her aim is to inspire both vegans and non-vegans to try plant-based meals and explore the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.
Meatless Movement recently had a chat with her.
Please tell us more about yourself
THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ONES YOU LOVE AND THE ONES YOU EAT!🐄🦙🐕🐐🐎🐖
plantpositivejess
Hiya everyone I’m Jess a 22-year-old from Cheshire, UK. I’m currently living in Manchester completing my Animal Behaviour degree.
I have a real big passion for animals, and I am looking forward to hopefully pursuing a career in caring and rehabilitating animals as I am very enthusiastic about this. I have also recently started up a food blogging page on Instagram called @plantpositivejess for all my vegan recipes, I hope to share them with many vegans and non-vegans in hope to encourage more people to try it out.
Keep reading if you want to know more about me and my journey becoming and being vegan, how it has helped me and my personal opinions on it!
I first went vegetarian when I was about 17 years old
plantpositivejess
I was in college at the time studying animal behaviour and I was exposed to where this so called ‘food’ was coming from. I soon had to face the harsh reality that these animals that end up on our plates aren’t treated very nicely.
I watched and studied many different animals that are sent into abattoirs and was shown their abnormal behaviours, I found this disgusting and soon became vegetarian. As I am naturally an animal lover and have always had pets, I really started to question myself how can I treat one animal with the up most respect and eat another?
This makes no sense and if I say I’m against animal cruelty I’m being the biggest hypocrite ever by paying into an industry to take the lives of these sentient beings for my own pleasure.
I found the most interesting thing to me and potentially the saddest thing is that many people don’t even understand what veganism or vegetarianism is!
plantpositivejess
Most people I have spoken to aren’t even aware of what happens to these animals and what the process is of their own food they’re eating on a daily basis, they don’t know where it has come from and
how the animal is raised, and when you try to explain it to people some can be closed minded and don’t want to know the truth as their diet is a habit and they don’t want to change!
As a vegan, what is the most significant obstacle that you face?
I found the biggest challenge for me was cooking and finding foods especially when I eventually went vegan in 2020. The habit of eating meat and dairy wasn’t such a big deal or challenge to change this as I knew why I wanted to change and be vegan.
After knowing what these innocent beings go through I honestly felt physically sick and I couldn’t go near meat and dairy. Because I was and am so committed to this diet at the start it was difficult to make food so I was eating a lot more pre-made vegan foods.
However, over time I gave it a go in the kitchen and would cook simple things like pasta with vegan sauces and lentils with cauliflower. I eventually found my feet in cooking vegan foods, I would search up different vegan recipes online and just get stuck in whenever I had some spare time cooking things like seitan which can be more time consuming.
But with trial and error I found what I liked and what I didn’t like and that’s what it’s all about, I never used to eat any vegetables when I ate meat and dairy and I had bad breakouts of spots on my face because I wasn’t getting everything in my diet by being such a picky eater but I have learnt vegan foods are so much better for my skin and also for my daily energy levels.
When I’m home and I’m cooking, my favourite dish to cook would be a coconut chickpea curry! This dish is so so easy to make, and it is bursting with many different flavours. And for my favourite breakfast dish to cook would have to be vegan cheese on toast with sundried tomatoes!
I feel more energised now and much more healthier
plantpositivejess
I certainly feel much better mentally, I have had struggles over the past couple of years with my mental health with depression, I feel putting goodness into your body and knowing it is healthy it will truly make you feel good as most of the serotonin in your body doesn’t just come from the brain but comes
from your gut as well, which this is produced by having a healthy diet and I truly believe this
as since I have had a healthier diet I have felt much better.
If you’re not currently vegetarian/ vegan I would highly recommend trying these foods as
they’re good for the environment, the animals and they’re especially good for your diet as
they’re much more healthier.
I would recommend slowly cutting out meat and dairy, you do not need to jump straight into the deep end of things and then get lost because that’s when some people give up with a plant-based diet as they may find it’s a lot of pressure all at once and a big change for them. You could start by substituting things like milk and cheese and cutting out eggs and then start to cut out meat when you feel comfortable.
Don’t feel bad or guilty for not diving in the deep end straight away because if you’re trying to do good to help the animals and the environment that’s what matters and you can just take it step by step.
Can you recommend any vegan restaurants in Manchester?
My favourite place to go in Manchester for some vegan food is herbivorous. Their menu is full vegan including burgers, buffalo wings, philly-cheesesteaks, and mac & cheese. This place is a lovely modern vegan junk food place and you can enjoy it either sit in or take out.
Another place I enjoy going is Pie Minister they have many different vegan pies on offer, and I can say this place is definitely a student friendly place a pie of your choice with 2 sides £12.50! and they also have some 2-4-1 cocktails, what more could you want.
Vegan is the way to be!
plantpositivejess
One of the main misconceptions about veganism I have found people believe it is too expensive! A lot of pre-made food and packaged foods are somewhat expensive but like with anything, you can customize your diet to fit into your budget and of course cooking your own meals at home works out a lot cheaper than buying out.
Vegan foods are mostly made up of beans, peas, vegetables, rice, pasta, nuts, and seeds. In my experiences this diet only gets more expensive when you want the best branded vegan cheese or vegan milk but that would go for a non- vegan diet as well. There are many supermarkets that I have found
that do budget friendly cheeses and milks now such as Aldi and Lidl. So don’t knock it till you
try it!
Make a change for our planet and the animals. Try veganism what harm is it really going to do? Help stop the suffering of these sentient beings and put an end to animal agriculture that is also driving the climate to the ground, we need to make a change now before it is too late for ourselves and our future generations.
If you’re against animal cruelty and you have compassion for animals, why are you paying for these animals to be sent into these places? They want a life as much as you do, they feel emotions just as
much as you. Give vegan a chance!
Jess•22🌿
•Plant positive😎
•Animal Behaviour Student🦒
•Animal rights & climate activist🌍
•Manchester📍
•On the hunt to find the best vegan dish👀🌱
all images courtesy of Jess•22🌿