Veggie Pot Pie Recipe

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LVL

Cali

Cali- Vegan housewife, mama, and lover of food!

Howdy- do! Cali here, coming to you from the great state of Texas!

I started my journey to veganism in September of 2010 when I met my handsome husband, Jeremy. At that time, he had been a vegan for about 2 years. Jeremy became vegan to support his father who was doing it based off of a doctor’s suggestion to help lower cholesterol, blood sugar, weight, other health problems. While his father did not stick with it the diet long term, Jeremy and I have followed suit.

Hubby and I

 My first week of being vegan, I had a crazy burst of energy and my body felt great. I had a more pleasant demeanor, spent more time outdoors, and began exercising all the time-all because I just felt amazing! In the first 3 months, I lost about 20 lbs! A year after we had met, a very fit and tan version of Jeremy and I got married. I reeled him in by recording NFL games in HD and cooking delicious home-style vegan meals. :) Cooking so often really opened up my taste buds to new flavors that I had never experienced. I found a new favorite hobby!

It wasn’t until our first anniversary that I really started to realize that you can be vegan and completely unhealthy at the same time. I was 3 months pregnant at the time and I was downing oreos, vegan ice cream, large portions at every meal, and lots and lots of cereal (preferably Cocoa Rice Crispies). I gained a hefty 65 lbs while I was pregnant. Large and in charge for sure!

                

4 months pregnant

Full term

I realized that I needed to focus on what I was putting in my body for our baby and for myself. It’s amazing because after doing just a little research, I found out many vegans do not get the nutrients they actually need in their system just like anyone else on a typical American diet. So, I set out on a quest to learn what it really means to be healthy and what  I should really be putting in my body.

In July, I went through an online vegan boot-camp that helped me to lose the last 10lbs of the baby weight I had gained. 4 months after having our baby, I was back to my pre-pregnancy size. During my boot-camp month, I watched a lot of health documentaries and one, just one, ethical documentary. It’s called Earthlings, and it will forever change the way to see animals, food, clothing, and the products we use daily. I didn’t become vegan for the ethical reasons, but I most certainly am no longer tempted by non-vegan foods, products, or clothing now that I’ve seen that documentary. I am much more conscious of my purchases and check to make sure they have not been tested on animals or that any part of it comes from an animal. Some people think that this is silly and that one person doing it does not make a difference, however, if one person can get another person to even consider it- I think we’re on the right track. This being said, I have no judgement against anyone that does not choose to be vegan for these reasons, it’s just the choice my family and I have made. :)

TODAY- I am ready to start this wonderful journey of sharing the knowledge we’ve gained on how easy, affordable, and fun it can be to be vegan. When you put the right HEALTH foods in your body, it thanks you. You feel better; you don’t get sick. Your body and mind just work the way God intended them to. I no longer cheat with dairy products or eggs, but instead I cheat with oreos, cereals, and the occasional ice cream treat. My baby is vegan and incredibly healthy. She has not been sick once since she’s been born. We intend to raise her vegan and as she gets older if she changes her diet, at least we will have instilled the best method of health we know how.

Audrey Alice at 5 1/2 months old

I can’t wait to hear your questions, stories, comments, and concerns. We’re so incredibly excited to share this experience with you and I feel so blessed my good friend Amy asked me to join her on this venture!

~Cali

P.S. We’re all over social media! Find and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and more!

Amy, A Wanna-be Vegan.

Hey Yall! 

Where do I begin? As a kid, I ate pretty crappy food. Chicken nuggets, potato chips, snickers bars, Dorito’s, coke, diet coke. You name it. This is not at all a reflection on my mother/father and their parenting skills. They just did what they knew, and hey, i am still alive aren't I? We ate home cooked things as well, chicken stew, red beans and rice, gumbo (I am Cajun ya’ll)!

 My husband and I. 

 

Beauxregard & Liam, our 2 puppies! 

That is why I began this journey. I was just eating and doing what I always knew. What I always did because my parents did it that way before me.

My husband and I decided we wanted to start “not-not, trying” to have a baby. I am a researcher and so is my husband. He is usually more than I am, but something about the idea of having a human being growing inside of my womb inspired me to want to be more informed about what was going into the trap.

I researched books I should read and headed to the library. I got SEVERAL books, but the tiniest one was called Skinny Bitch, Bun in the Oven. If you are familiar with these series, these chicks are hardcore and are anti any type of processed junk, sugar, high fructose corn syrup…etc. After reading the book, I decided that I needed to make some changes.  At first I made tiny changes. I started juicing daily but continued eating pretty normally.

To be honest with you, I am still not 100% vegan, but my goal is to become vegan 100%. I do eat meat sometimes when I go out to dinner...etc...and I like honey. You can call me a “wanna-be” Vegan. My choice to try and eat clean/vegan/raw is  purely nutritional. Everyone has their own take on vegan-ism. There are lots of reasons for becoming vegan. I LOVE animals, don’t get me wrong. And I do think the way animals are treated in the food processing industry is DISTURBING, but I carry a Louis Vuitton and am not a “wanna-be” vegan for animal rights reasons. If YOU are, that is okay, and I respect your decision.  This blog is all about different view points and respecting and loving everyone where they are!

The funniest part of the journey for me so far is how people are so misinformed and so “scared” of becoming vegan or look at you like you are weird. They are so worried about me being malnourished, but I can tell you, if you are eating a typical “American” diet, chances are, you are not getting what your body needs. That is why I decided to do this. I want to break down the walls that people put up when you say the word vegan and show that being vegan is really not as scary, difficult, and weird as it seems. Chances are, the processed food consumed by millions of us each day is much more frightening than the food vegans are eating.

I always get the well “a balanced diet is really what is best.” If our culture had any sense of what balance really means, I would be fine with this defense. I will explore that very topic in my next post!

I am so excited to share my journey to a better path with you! And I am so excited that my girl, Cali is doing this with me!

I want you to be knowledgeable about food and see what 2 normal Texas girls are doing to try and better their health! Our journeys might surprise you and inspire you! I hope they do! Thank you again for following our journey! I can't wait to hear from you!

XOXO Amy

Coming Soon

Lovely Vegan Ladies is a new venture that friends Cali & Amy are launching soon! Be sure and follow us on instagram @lovelyveganladies to keep up with our adventures!

We can't wait to let you into our lives, and show you how ordinary families can live a vegan lifestyle as well as address other health/nutrition questions that we have wrestled with!



Cali & Amy