Our Story
Our transition to a predominantly plant-based diet has been a very gradual one. It really began in 2009 when our oldest son was diagnosed with a severe dairy allergy. He was just 6 months old at the time, starting to eat solid food, and we were terrified. We started reading everything we could get our hands on to understand how to make sure he got a balanced diet without consuming any dairy. My husband and I still consumed dairy, and we cooked separately for our baby boy.
But once we became parents, we began paying more careful attention to what we were eating and our own health as well. Derrick has a strong family history of cancer and heart issues, so despite working out 5 days a week, he continued to struggle with high cholesterol. I have a family history of cancer as well, along with stroke and lots of joint issues, so I was also keenly aware of the importance of a healthy diet. At the same time, we also wanted to start making choices that were more in-line with an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. We had been making decisions about our home energy use, recycling contributions, and vehicle choice based on our foot print for years; so why not our food?
In 2012 and 2013, we began to really move toward consuming fish and poultry with very little inclusion of red meat. After our second son was born, I went off dairy again, but I never reintroduced it. Then, in 2014, I found myself talking with some colleagues at work about their dedication to a vegan lifestyle, and I was intrigued. As they shared recipes and I began looking at the research on plant-based diets from both a health and environmentalperspective, I felt very drawn to it. And I loved that the vegan recipe world was so diverse in terms of choice and tastes...it turns out it's not all about soy and tofu as I used to think! I suggested to Derrick that we start by changing our breakfast routines by making green smoothies every day. He was all for it, and since then, we (kids included) start every day with agreen smoothie, packed with leafy greens, antioxidants, and raw local honey.
In the summer of 2014, we planted our first vegetable garden together. We planted spinach, tomatoes, zucchini, green peppers, onions, garlic, and herbs. The kids and I just loved planting our food, watering it every day, harvesting it, and finding new ways to enjoy it in our meals. Derrick and I began to wonder how big a leap it would be to stop eating meat at home. Turns out, not such a big leap. Derrick's conditions were that he wanted to feel full after his meals, and he wanted to eat tasty food. Mission accomplished. We do eat fish/seafood from time to time, but otherwise, we don't cook meat or consume dairy at home (excepting the Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas roast beef, which I can't see disappearing any time soon), and we try to limit the amount of oil we use in our cooking. I have no idea if it's just coincidence, but we have been incredibly healthy ever since!
The recipe and family photographs on this site are all my own, and I have done my best to cite all the recipes for which I could find the original sources. Hope you enjoy them!
~Jen