Publisher: Coconut and Berries - a vegan food blog

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I love healthy vegan food and cooking but it wasn’t always that way. Here’s my story… I grew up on a pretty typical omnivorous diet but was extremely picky- my favourite food being plain pasta for a long time! I also didn’t like any fruit and it was only when I was about 15 that I started to enjoy it. I wasn’t really into “real food” and often eating out I’d pick at my main course in favour of dessert or sweets :) I went mostly vegetarian when away at boarding school, mainly because I felt uneasy about eating the meat we were served, but still never really thought deeply about the question of eating animals or my food choices. I encountered veganism for the first time at university and very quickly made the decision that that was the path I wanted to follow. My relationship with food had definitely turned rocky in my late teens and all food became the enemy. It’s taken some time but gradually things have turned around. I credit veganism in large part to my recovery and I know I’m not alone in this experience. It was going vegan which really helped me to feel good about the food I was eating, knowing that I’m not contributing to the violent practices of raising and killing animals for our consumption, nor the destruction of the environment which goes hand in hand with the animal “industries”. I also taught myself to cook and now one of my favourite things to do is spend time what I call “playing in the kitchen”. Of course vegan food isn’t in itself health food and it’s certainly possible to eat badly on a vegan diet, but I’ve also embraced healthy eating and get pretty excited about discovering new-to-me ingredients and recipes which keeps me motivated to eat well. But, I think it’s important to acknowledge that I don’t like to demonize foods and make a point of enjoying cake and cookies every now and again too (as long as they’re vegan of course)..and I eat dark chocolate most days! My vegan path is continually evolving and I’ve slowly been eschewing animal products of all kind from my life- eliminating leather, wool etc. and cleaning up my cosmetics too, making sure not to buy products tested on animals or containing animal ingredients. Going vegan for me has been so much more than about the food, rather a transformation into (hopefully!) a more compassionate person with a deeper connection with the world around me. Thanks for reading, enjoy the recipes and please do share your thoughts or drop me an email if you have any questions or suggestions, I love hearing from you.

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