This is a question I’ve been asked many times over my lifetime, mostly by people that are either bewildered or curious about my lifestyle. I’d like to think it’s one of the less exciting facets of my personality, but time and time again I get asked this question! 

“Why did you become a vegetarian?”

For starters, here’s a quick definition of a plant-based diet:

A plant–based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of foods derived from plants, including vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and fruits, and with few or no animal products.

Circa 1994

It happened in junior kindergarten. My best friend, Vrishni, followed a plant-based diet due to her Hare Krishna (Hindu) religion.

We had a playdate and her mother, sister and Vrishni brought me to their temple, the Hare Krishna Temple – International Society For Krishna Consciousness at 243 Avenue Rd. Every Sunday the temple gathers for a vegetarian feast and celebration. This is where I discovered vegetarianism at a young age.

A Revelation

Vrishni told me that when I ate meat, I was eating animals. This was a revelation for my four-year-old brain. I had never put the two and two together. I feel like kids these days are way more evolved now with the internet–it’s hard to hide anything from them! But here I was, a little kindergartener whose mind was blown.

When I got home that day I asked my mom a simple question. “Is ham from a pig?” I asked.

She said, “Yes, it is.”

“Is beef from a cow?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Okay, from this day forward, I’m never eating meat again!”

That was it. I never did intentionally eat meat again. My parents accepted my decision but possibly resented having to cook separate meals for their four-year-old. They tempted me again when I was seven with some chicken–just to make sure, they said. I had a bite and said “That’s very good, but I’m still going to be a vegetarian.”

A Veg Life

Going through life as a vegetarian with omnivore parents wasn’t easy. It was in 1994, before plant-based was mainstream and “cool.” It was a time before being a vegetarian was widely accepted. As a young person, I faced a lot of ignorance from society and kids at school. I had salami dangled in my face at lunchtime only to rush off to cry in a bathroom stall. People viewed me as different and I often felt misunderstood. Despite this, I have unwavering values–meat is murder to me.

A Calling

My mom cooks homemade food but she isn’t familiar with preparing plant-based meals. I ate a lot of dried beans, cheese and carbs. It’s now that I’m older that I’ve embraced cooking my own beans, eating copious amounts of tofu, lentils and various seeds like chia, drinking green juice, eating algae and other strange superfoods.

When I was 12, my dad gave up on his big rockstar dreams to pursue work as a butcher, which further complicated my philosophy on meat. He would often talk about work through dinner, much to my disgust. I felt like I was an alien even to my own family. How the hell did my parents end up with a vegetarian daughter? I’m sure everyone around us wondered as well.

Raising A Plant-Based Child

Now that I have a son of my own who I’m raising vegetarian, I took my plant-based cooking to a new level. I orient our meals around vegan and gluten-free dishes where possible–lentil soup, bean tacos and peanut tofu with rice noodles are a few staples. I get a lot of questions about raising my son as a vegetarian.

“How will he get enough protein?”

Like everyone else–with a balanced diet. I try to cook everything from scratch and usually plan my meals the day before. Generally, I spend a lot of time cooking and meal prepping. I take my plant-based diet seriously, and my son’s diet as well.

A Plant-Based Journey

I want to share my plant-based journey and how important it is to me. The plant-based diet craze is also comprised of processed and packaged food that can be considered unhealthy. People are ordering their dinner through UberEats or buying the new meatless burger as opposed to cooking for themselves.

I worship my food in a way that nurtures my body, I love eating my own home-cooked food and growing my own vegetables. Today’s diners seem so removed from the process of food cultivation.

People seem to emotionally distance themselves from the meat they are putting in their bodies, so much so, they don’t even acknowledge the animal whose life was taken for their steak.

I get asked if I’ll allow my son to have a choice whether or not he wants to eat meat. Of course he has a choice, everyone has a choice. His grandma has offered him bacon on a few occasions, but he retracts his head back and cringes. That’s my boy!

My view is, to educate him on where his food comes from, so he can make his own decision. For now, his instincts are en pointe and he mostly eats a vegan diet.

Whether the decision to move towards plant-based eating is health or compassion based, it’s a choice we have, to make the world a better place.

As I evolve, my diet evolves with me. I strive to eat more organic, less gluten and more vegan based dishes. How can you evolve your diet?

If you have any comments on plant-based eating, or have a question, leave it in the comments! I’d love to continue this discussion.

Here’s a great resource to continue your plant-based journey–check out the Toronto Vegetarian Association.

Here’s a vegetarian recipe on my blog to get you started!