The Veganastic Life
- msveganastic
- Feb 7, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: May 13, 2019
How I went from loving meat to being a vegan.
Growing up on the island of St. Martin/ Maarten, I was surrounded by a variety of cuisines. Caribbean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Indian, Mexican, Thai, Malaysian, Sindhi, Chinese, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern and Italian, were just some of the flavors I grew up on. Having this mix and variety made me like the rat in Ratatouille. I knew what good food was, how it tasted and how your body rose to cloud nine when your pallet was hit by a mouthful of scrumptious flavors. I loved the bountiful amounts of seafood, poultry, pork, lamb, mutton, milk and cheese that my island had to offer. Do not get me wrong, I loved vegetables but I definitely loved meat more. Adults around me would always say, "Child, you love your meat, give your veggies a try!" I am guessing by now you are able to guess how much meat I grew up on and also how much I enjoyed it, but I am also guessing that you are wondering how in the world I ended up vegan. Well, hold on tight because this is where the story about my journey beings...
I woke up one Saturday morning in 2001/2002 at the age of 15/16, ran down to the kitchen table to have breakfast and looked at my plate of bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes and baked beans. I remember looking at this plate of all my breakfast favorites that my mother and house-help had lovingly prepared and thinking to myself how I did not want to eat any of it. The plate felt like my worst nightmare. Upon lots of persuasion and threats of being grounded for the rest of the day, I ate the baked beans, mushrooms and tomatoes in tears. For lunch, my father took me to get my favorite barbecued spare ribs but I could not eat a bite. In fear that I was sick, I was taken to the doctors. Days later I found myself being nauseous at everything except seafood. It was then that I labelled myself as a pescatarian. Everyone I knew was shocked. Between the years of 2005 to 2015 I went back and forth between being a full vegetarian, pescatarian and eating some meat here and there. Family members and friends were now used to the sudden changes in my food choices. However, nothing could prepare them for my next and final food choice. The choice to become a full blown vegan.
I kid you not when I say that all hell broke loose when I woke up one morning in my very Sindhi Indian household and told everyone I knew that I was going to be a vegan. I remember being asked a million question by my family. "What Indian doesn't eat ghee? Why can't you have paneer? Whats wrong with yogurt?" I had to explain and re-explain what being a vegan was. The more people tried to challenge my new food choice the more determined I was to stick to it. Even though I made a few mistakes along the way when I first started such as ordering my usual ice lemon tea forgetting that they used honey or going to the Gudwara for a wedding and eating the karah parshad, I stood my ground. As I became more aware of what I was putting into my mouth I found that I was feeling lighter. It might sound corny to some but I felt at peace with the world. That feeling of calm and serenity that I felt from within was more than enough for me to commit to being a vegan. I have found that I fall sick less often, and if I do feel ill I recover much quicker from it than I did in the past on a non vegan diet. I feel less bloated or sleepy after eating and I feel more energetic throughout the day. It has been almost 4 years and I am the happiest vegan that I could possibly be. I do not know about others out there, but becoming vegan was honestly the best decision I made for myself.
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