My vegan journey began when I was twelve-years-old. At  this time of my life my mother was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer and was directed by her doctors to cut meat and dairy out of her diet. She was advised to focus on fruits, vegetables, and juicing. I was my mother’s little shadow, so I too decided to follow in her footsteps and stopped eating meat, with the exception of chicken and turkey. I also still ate seafood and dairy, but this was the beginning of being vegetarian.  

 

I grew up in an Italian family where food was the epicenter of every occasion. As a child I ate everything. I am the youngest of four children and my parents had fancy taste. Regardless of me and my siblings' ages, at all stages of our lives, my parents would get the six of us in the car and my family would go out to eat at upscale restaurants. As young as age four, I was eating baked stuffed shrimp and filet mignon! Nevertheless, once I decided to give up all forms of red meat I never looked back. And from the age of twelve until college with regard to animal products I ate chicken/turkey, seafood, eggs, and dairy only. 

 

I didn’t revisit the idea of not eating animal products again until I was in my junior year of college. My sister and I lived together and we became very interested in health and fitness. We read all kinds of books on the subject and decided to try cutting out all animal products. I was vegan for probably about a year until that summer I went to an acting program at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. It was the mid 90’s and finding vegan options in Oxford, England was extremely challenging. I went back to eating seafood, eggs, and dairy, but at this juncture I permanently cut out eating turkey, chicken and all other animal flesh. 

 

In my mid-twenties I married my love Doug in August of 2000. We lived in New York City, but he was a Mid-Western boy, born and bred in Ohio, and traditionally ate all forms of animal products. I have always had a policy that I am happy if asked to share information about not eating meat, but that I’m not going to try to persuade others to do the same. That the decision to make this shift has to come from personal research and one’s own moral compass. I never pressured Doug or commented on his food choices. Then about five years into our marriage, out of nowhere and much to my surprise, my husband announced he was no longer eating meat. Unbeknownst to me, he had been watching videos about factory farming and the truth concerning where our food comes from. 

 

I am embarrassed and ashamed to admit this, but the truth is, it wasn't until my husband stopped eating meat and subsequently became vegan due to animal cruelty, that I also examined the significance of doing so outside of my personal health. Animal welfare should certainly be an obvious reason, but I guess I was blinded by my own desires and ignorance. It was at this point that I had to examine the food from animal sources that I was eating. It took a few years, but by 2011 I was almost completely vegan. 

 

I will confess that giving up eggs and seafood (not fish) was initially challenging for me. I do not care about eating dairy for pleasure, but I find it very difficult to find products when I eat out that don’t have dairy in them. I have called myself 95% vegan before because for example, if I am in France and I want a croissant which has dairy in it, then I am going to have one. Those humps have been tough for me to get over and Doug has gotten there easier than I have. But over the past five years there has been a massive proliferation in veganism and that has greatly helped. There are now so many products, vegan restaurants, and regular restaurant establishments serving vegan options than ever before. This makes eating vegan exponentially easier. 

 

Today when I am at home cooking, I am 100% vegan plant-based and it is not an issue for me. We are fortunate to live in an area where there are good vegan options in our supermarkets. Additionally, Doug and I are always on the hunt for vegan restaurants, or regular establishments that serve great options, and that is a big part of why we created Saucy Revolutionary; to share what we find. Currently I have absolutely no yearning for any meat, eggs, or dairy. I have literally lost my taste for animal flesh, and am quite happy with the various “replacement products'' that are on the market. I am not a raw food vegan, although I do eat a large variety of raw foods. However, I am not adverse to trying processed replacements for animal products, and have the philosophy that if I am not contributing to the torture or killing of an animal, I will try it. 

 

When I go out to eat at a regular restaurant, or in a foreign country, I try to maintain complete veganism, that is my goal. Nonetheless, there are moments where certain foods have dairy in them and I either didn’t know, or there are no other food options. I now make an effort to regularly search and educate myself about what food establishments offer before going out or traveling, to be sure they have vegan options. This assists me in staying on course and helps to make eating out less stressful. However, if I get into a situation where you have food with dairy or egg in it, then just get back on course the next day. It may not always be feasible to be vegan in certain restaurant establishments or situations, but it is definitely possible to not eat meat. This is what I mean when I will say throughout the Saucy Revolutionary that you cannot always be perfect and don’t let that desire be the enemy of the good. If you end up eating a piece of cake at your friend’s wedding that was not vegan for example, simply get back to normal the next day, don’t give up. 

 

Like everything in life, you have to find your way. I have been vegan for about ten years now and my journey has not been a straight line, but a windy road. I am glad to be where I am now, as I feel enlightened and have a powerful purpose to keep improving and to do whatever I can to help animals, the planet, and other individuals on their plant-based quest.