Portrait of a Vegan

Last week my friend Megan sent out a round of questionnaires for a project she is working on called Portrait of a Vegan. Her goal is compile a group of vegans to show that there are many different faces of veganism, not just the rail thin, hippies people expect a vegan to be. Since Pink Noodle is keeping my super busy my blogging has fallen by the wayside but because Bianca fussed at me yesterday I am going to attempt to do better and blog at least twice a week. Be prepared for a lot of food dump posts. Don't worry I'll post some pics at the end of my interview. Here is my Portrait of a Vegan.

Age: 32

Occupation/What do you currently do? Office Manager At Redeemers Group/ Owner of Pink Noodle Vegan Cuisine

How long have you been vegan? 1 year 6 months

Why did you decide to go vegan? I saw a documentary on how animals were killed and the hormones they are pumped with and decided I no longer wanted that in my body.

How difficult or easy did you find transitioning into the lifestyle, specifically here in Memphis and/or in the South? (If you did not go vegan in Memphis, then simply how was your transition into a plant-based diet?) It was a moderate transition because I have friends that are vegan and helped me with advice and most importantly cookbooks and I have never been fond of Southern Food.

What were/are your social experiences like as a vegan? People don't expect it being a black southern woman, some think I did it because of my circle. 

How do your peers/colleagues react to your lifestyle? At my former job I was teased by co workers and left out of the monthly lunches that were catered. My friends were very accepting especially after I cooked for them and explained that there isn't very much of a difference. 

How has your family responded to the lifestyle?  How have traditional social gatherings, such as holidays, been?  And how much did your traditional lifestyle change when you went vegan? Ha, well my biggest supporter was/is my aunt but I remember when I first started my sister cooked a Sunday dinner and they made spaghetti with meat in it. Everything had meat even the green beans. They told me since I wasn't going to eat it or pick the meat out there is some grass in the yard I could go eat. 

What were/are your biggest challenges transitioning into the lifestyle in Memphis? Chocolate my biggest challenge is standing in a check out line and not being able to grab a Kit Kat or Twix . So to fix it I started making my own chocolates.

What are your best tips of advice for new vegans in the city/South? Find a vegan sponsor someone who is on the journey. They can give you tips, books and they won't give you grief if you have a slip up. 

Have you had any crazy dreams related to veganism? Recently I had a dream that a local coffee shop I go to for breakfast told me that the veggie sausage I've been ordering have eggs in them. I starting shouting at the owner, beating him with my purse and told him that I was told that there were vegan and that I write a blog and have friends that write and I would make sure that vegans never stepped into the restaurant again. 

What or who have been some of your greatest influences or resources as a vegan? (Do you have any favorite books, cookbooks, blogs, websites, that you return to frequently…) My friends of course 

What's your favorite veg-friendly city to visit? I don't have one. When I travel I go for the shopping or sites lol

As a vegan in Memphis, where is your favorite place to shop for food or go out to eat? Phuong Long on Cleveland. I love Asian food and they have over 20 tofu dishes and the pho is made with veggie stock.

How has veganism affected your love life/dating? Ha! Another part of the reason I went vegan was because I finally ventured into the dating world and it was a few months after my weightloss and a guy told me I had a "banging body" and that's what he was most attracted to. So I decided to shut down the dating wall I would go vegan. Dating me is a job within itself for not being able to feed me would just build another wall they would just leave me alone. That didn't work out to well now because my now boyfriend is vegan so the running is over. 

How has veganism changed in general, as well as in the city of Memphis (or in the South) since you first transitioned into the lifestyle? Since I am a new vegan I am not sure of the change but I do see a vast shift since I have started and am happy to say that I am part of that shift. 

What are some of your favorite meals that you have veganized? Or, If you could veganize anything, what would it be? Lasagna  and sweets 

Have you had any slip-ups?  Do you foresee yourself remaining vegan in the future? Slip ups yes mainly because I was lazy and didn't read a label or because I was misinformed. I honestly don't know what the future holds for me but as of this moment in my life I am happy with my veganism. 

I am one of the lucky vegan woman why you ask because I have a mate that is also a vegan, it makes things so much easier when I cook dinner and go out to eat because he eats the same things so I don't have to worry about him ordering me the wrong thing or questioning my eating habits. He does nag about my sugar intake because Lawd knows I consider cake/pie dinner but I nag him about his fried foods habit so it balances out. Another sliver linning is that my other half can and will actually cook for me when I am too tired or just feel like cooking. Aren't we cute together?!

  My favorite dish to get when I go to Phuong Long on Cleveland is the Vermicelli Bowl. Sadly my weekly noodle bowl has taken a hit due to the super tight budget I am on so I decided to make my own. Its not that hard. Of course there are the vermicelli noodles, fried tofu ( I make mine spicy) mung bean sprouts, cucumbers fresh herbs and pickled carrots. ( I've been watching a lot of Top Chef so I know how to make a quick pickle) Normally it comes with a side of fish sauce but this vegan doesn't have to leave that out because the Viet Hoa has a vegetarian fish sauce that I keep in stock.

One Saturday morning on our trek to the Farmer's Market the boyfriend sent me off to go buy flowers but before I left I mentioned to him that the Stickem Food Truck has the most amazing tofu and guess what I have waiting for me when I get back. Tofu and French Fries!! Yes, I had tofu and french fries for breakfast. I'm gangster like that. 

Last Wednesday we were both in Meltdown mode so we decided to make a pallet in the floor and watch stand up comedies for the evening.  Of course cooking for a no go so I decided to make Ramen for dinner. I added Thai Chili Peppers for that extra spicy because when you are upset spicy foods and stand up comedies will clear the whoa is me's. Needless to say I laughed so hard there were tears rolling down my face. Check out the his and her chopsticks. Yes I took the bigger bowl. 

I promise to do better with my blogging but even as I am blogging I am getting texts asking for approval on the logo for Pink Noodle. So what I think I will do is 2 posts a week one food related one Pink Noodle