Being Vegan In A Meat-Eater's World

Since this is my first post, I figured I would talk about why I named my blog "Being Vegan In A Meat-Eater's World". I have been vegan for a little over 2 years. Everyone asks me why I became vegan and the simple answer is, The Animals. Yes, I am on the side of vegans that "do it for the animals". It all started when someone innocently recommended a Netflix documentary to me. It didn't have anything to do with veganism but what it did have was suggestions of what else to watch when I was finished with that film. Well, this led me down a path of videos which contained all kinds of information about how animals were being treated in factories. I had no idea what was going on (And let me tell you, the companies don't want us to know. They actually spend BIG BUCKS making sure we never find out what really is going on behind those locked doors, security guards, and barbed wire fences.) After watching these films and being horrified by what I was seeing, I made the choice to change. I refuse to be a part of torturing innocent animals.
Giving up meat wasn't particularly hard for me because I was never a huge meat eater. I was one of those people who "only eat chicken" (well, most of the time). What was hard for me was giving up the dairy which was in cheese and my beloved sweets! I did not know what I would be able to eat so I just started switching out my animal products with substitutes and searching for recipes. This involved a lot of trial and error. There were many times I ended up throwing away my kitchen disasters that I had just spent precious time working on. I would eat a lot of junk food, with french fries and oreos being my favorite (who am I kidding, I still love me some french fries and oreos!) I was not trying to be balanced in my diet, I was just trying to keep out animal products. As time went on, I decided to follow vegans on Instagram, I watched vegan videos on YouTube, searched out local vegan restaurants, and googled every non-vegan restaurant's menu before I arrived. I still do all of these things. I am not malnourished, I don't go to bed hungry, I am not lacking energy, and all I eat is Plant Food. Crazy! :)
As far as those "meat-eaters", how have they responded to my life choices? Well, at first my friends and family did what I am sure most would, they just thought it was a diet and I would "fall off the wagon" eventually. I endured people being annoyed with my strict choices which limited what I would eat. I dealt graciously with people trying to get me to eat food that contained animal products in it. I decided being frustrated at people would not help as they did not understand why I made the choice I did. I could also understand where they were coming from because I too was a meat-eater my whole life. I too thought that this was just the way we are supposed to be. As time went on, slowly those around me realized I would not bend on my choice and they began to respect my decision. My friends and family now make sure there is food for me to eat at gatherings, they go to vegan restaurants with me, and I am even noticing more becoming aware of where their food comes from and making changes themselves.
So Being Vegan In A Meat-Eater's World, takes having thick skin. Don't get ruffled when people make jokes or tease you. It's always good to keep the walls down because you never know, one day they may be coming to you for advice about becoming vegan.