I like to think of my journey into veganism as a love story. I didn’t seek it out or make a decision to go cold turkey on animal products. I just stumbled into it by following my body’s lead. A few months before my wedding in 2014 I noticed that I had a constant need for an afternoon “pick me up” every day around 2:30 PM or so. I was usually so sleepy after lunch and sometimes I even took a mini nap in the car (no judging!). I would head straight for the caffeine until that wore off and I crashed when I came home. I knew something was up. I was already a vegetarian at this point because I gave up meat for a fast and just didn’t have the desire to go back after. I did some research on how dairy products can affect the body and I figured there was no harm in trying it out. So I slowly eliminated dairy every other day for my work lunches and I had SO much more energy! After a few months of slow eliminations I decided to just go for it and be done. I’d like to say the story stops there…but it doesn’t.
I knew that to make a lifestyle change I had to make vegan food that was similar to what I already ate. I set out to find recipes for my favorite foods and desserts. I was truly blown away by how many resources are available for vegans! I got in my kitchen and practiced making what I used to eat and would “veganize” it. It was the most exciting time of my plant based journey. I fell in love with cooking and taking on the challenge of making my dishes good enough for my meat-loving husband to enjoy. The amount of knowledge that veganism has taught me is unmeasurable. I make sure to research all the vitamins and nutrients I need, superfoods to incorporate into my diet, and I even drink three times as much water as I did before. It just led me down an overall healthy path, which is why I created my company Chefy101. It walks people through 30 days of vegan meal planning.
My most recent venture has been the launch of my app, AirVegan, that lets you know which terminals in the airport have plant based foods and it rates each one on how vegan-friendly it is.
I made this app for all my veggie loving friends and I look forward to engaging with the vegan community about how they travel while being plant based. I’m so thankful for the growth and awareness that plant based eating is receiving and I want to dedicate my career to make sure it continues!
Social Media
Instagram: chefy101
Facebook: chefy101
