SkinnyPenny: Why I became a Vegan

Dear Pennies & Pens,

So here’s the thing, I’ve been slacking on my blogging over the past few years. Social media has become the place where I announce all my latest news but don’t worry that is about to change. From here on, I will be focusing more on making my big announcements here on de la Pen as well as on my websites, ISLP + 8515. The reason for this is because I can control what I say and how on my owned channels whereas with social media, I’m at someone else’s mercy.

In today’s post, I would like to talk about why I became a Vegan. I’ve actually been Vegan for three years now and it has been life changing. As far as why I went Vegan, it was on accident. Back in 2015, I went to NYC to do a shoot for a client and while there, I met up with an old friend Aaron who owns his own Vegan restaurant in Harlem, Seasoned Vegan. I remember before going that I had to convince my cousin and BFF Quincy why we should go. Quincy was convinced the food was going to be terrible and that most Vegan restaurants only serve raw food. So we went to Seasoned Vegan’s website and found that they serve both cooked & raw dishes.

So we left the Bronx to head to Seasoned Vegan. Once we got there, I’ll admit I had no idea what to order. I went with the fish n chips which was pretty good. Quincy oddly enough got a salad. But we both enjoyed our food immensely. Since Seasoned Vegan is considered one of the best Vegan restaurants in NYC and the best in Harlem, it makes sense that we had a good experience.

After I got back to Texas, I’ll admit that I was intrigued by the idea of Veganism. I started doing some initial research and considered becoming a Vegetarian. Before I knew it, I stopped eating meat. I wasn’t yet willing to give up dairy and eggs but I was definitely down for a meatless diet. Immediately, I noticed the difference. I had more energy and everything I ate felt lighter.

So as I fell deeper into my new Vegetarian lifestyle, I realized that I could probably cut out dairy and eggs too. It felt like a challenge honestly. And that’s the real reason, I went Vegan. I like a challenge and finding ways to eat good food that is Vegan is definitely a challenge. It’s taken me years to understand how to prepare Vegan meals and find Vegan restaurants.

I truly love being Vegan. Being Vegan has taught me so much about food and I truly feel like it’s turned me into a Chef. I have created so many different recipes and I cannot wait to share them with you all. I didn’t even realize that I was doing Chef like things until my last two events, #MP3 & Pensgiving. I cooked all of the food myself and since I’m Vegan, I always make the food at my events, Vegan. Surprisingly my audience (aka the people who attend my events most of whom are not Vegan) loves the food. So I’m like: I just may be onto something here.

Over the years, I have created my own delicious Vegan recipes as well as visiting a variety of Vegan restaurants. In essence, I have truly developed a deeper understanding of Veganism and I can’t wait to share more with you all. I will admit that on occasion, I have and will eat Vegetarian or Pescatarian because sometimes Vegan options just aren’t available.

For example, I just came back from Cali and while in Napa, I did eat cheese and seafood because I needed sustenance after drinking all that wine. Also, sometimes at work, I have to do the same thing. In a perfect world, this would never happen but sometimes you just can’t help it. My whole thing is this: I’m not going to starve myself for a lifestyle choice. And it irritates the fuck outta me that people get so judgey about this. Both Vegans and non-Vegans. Like I do not understand why people take it upon themselves to be so concerned about what I do and do not eat. As a grown ass woman, I have a right to decide what I will and will not eat and when. Unless you’re paying, I really do not give a shit what you think. Have several seats.

Moving right along, I would love to produce a Vegan cookbook and I will be doing that within the next year. I have just found that a lot of Vegan recipes found online & in cookbooks are complicated and have so many steps and ingredients. I like simple recipes that are easy to make, cheap, and good.

So I want to create a cookbook with a mixture of recipes with salads, brunch, tex-mex, and soul food. In the meantime, please let me know if you are considering going Vegan or need help finding Vegan recipes. I would love to help you! Just shoot me an email loudpen8515@gmail.com

And there it is. de la Pen…All Pen Everything, with us keeping it real never goes wrong.