1
I think I’m trying to make up for lost time. Like an awful lot of young women, I struggled with eating disorders, especially as a dancer. I think I spent the summer when I was 14 eating ice cream and potato chips and then throwing up. And we didn’t have a healthy diet at home. I feel like now, not only do I need to eat really well to stay healthy, but also to try to make up for all the years of horrible eating (if that’s even possible.)
2
I’m not vegan but…I try to make the majority of what I eat be green and animal-product free. What I do is try to make sure that at a minimum, five days out of any week, I’m vegan. It’s different days in any given week and even that can be hard. Luckily I love to cook. My favorite bread to bake is a simple Tuscan loaf that is just different flours, water and, yeast. And even if I don’t have time to make everything from scratch, the gods gave us Trader Joe’s with all those frozen vegetable medleys and veggie burgers – just sauté a bag of something and throw in some broccoli or spinach, chop up some tomatoes and a veggie burger, add some veganaise and I have a “Big Bowl of Dinner”. But am I going to have turkey on Thanksgiving this year? Yes. Do I make my pesto (with grated cheese? Yup. Once and I while do I eat a piece of fish or break down and roast a chicken? Mhmm, yup I do (I try keep that last one to no more than once a month).
3
Our current food system is broken. We absolutely torture animals and it’s unforgivable. We’ve fished our oceans to death. Industry lobbyists have more control and influence over what information gets to the public than scientists and don’t get me started on our healthcare system. But I’m still not 100% vegan…it’s something I struggle with and that I’m still trying to figure out. For now I try to eat real food and make sure I’m truly enjoying what I eat.