It has been 9 1/2 years since I’ve returned to the vegan life. My mom raised my sister and I off of a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle as children. It actually wasn't until I was about ten years old that I had my first piece of meat (chicken) from a family member, and fell in deep 😂. Since I was born into Islam, by the time I did try chicken, I still felt conflicted about eating pork so I never had the desire to eat it. The only beef I've ever eaten were cheeseburgers from McDonald's, and I decided early that sea animals were just not for me. So, chicken, turkey, dairy, and eggs were the animals that I consumed until I was reintroduced to the vegan lifestyle at 19 years old.
Some vegan friends of mine sat me and another friend of ours down and had us watch the documentary Earthlings. That one documentary alone was enough to snap us both back into reality. It offered a deeper explanation of why going vegan was important as opposed to the usual black mama tactics of my vegetarian mommy who would say “because I said so” and “you better not eat that poison" 😂.
Needless to say I'm thankful to my friends because they not only reintroduced the lifestyle but they were also a VERY great support throughout the transition. They made meals for us, told us where we could buy food from, shopped with us and brought us fun treats like vegan cakes and cookies 😋. We became vegan over night and never looked back.
Becoming vegan initially was about the mistreatment of animals. Then as I started to see changes happening within my body, health was added into the mix. It wasn't just someone telling me I would "feel" better but I actually did feel better. Prior to becoming vegan I had chronic ovarian cysts, really harsh PMS, and fainting spells. Changing the way I ate eliminated all of those things. I was starting to truly live. A few months after the change I did the Big Chop because now that I was cognizant of what I was putting in my body, I also didn't want to put poison on my body, and that included the types of products that I used on my skin. I started throwing away toxic products and introducing plant based/cruelty free products into my life, thus, fully embracing the vegan culture!
As time continued to go on, it also became the catalyst for my spiritual transformation. It awakened my souls purpose. It awakened my senses to the divine and I felt so much more clear. I had no idea that changing the way I ate would change me so much, and for me, it was for the better. So I give thanks to this lifestyle. It was one of the most important decisions I've made in my life and I have no regrets whatsoever. I have had 3 children with a fully vegan diet and all of our children are still 100% vegan.
My love and I are on the same page on so many things, and eating plant based is no different. He is completely raw while I’m about 80% raw as well as the children. We believe that a high-to-completely-raw diet is optimal for health, and that eating should primarily be for our nutrition and not to just entice our tongues 😂 to later bother our bellies. We are both certified Raw Vegan Chefs and will be offering services very soon to help bring more awareness to eating raw living foods!
We have witnessed that living this way has increased our connection to nature, to people from all walks of life, and to respect animals as beautiful wisdom-filled beings that share this Earth with us.
We also find it very important to help assist the evolution of consciousness on this planet and that comes with living a life that spreads love and light.
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