Meet Celeste

Hey there. I’m Celeste, California girl, writer, psychotherapist and burgeoning plant-based foodie. I started this blog to blab about my plant-based diet and all things vegan. My purpose here is to share, connect and inspire.

I should start by saying that technically I’m still in the process of going vegan. I say this because I define a vegan as someone who avoids the use of animal products for food, clothing and other purposes, and I’ve only transitioned my diet so far. I’m working on the rest of my lifestyle, but I’m not there yet. I’m trying, I swear, but buying leather shoes is like a snort of cocaine to me so it’s tough.

What started me down this path was my husband, Paul’s, health. A year ago he found out he had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Knowing these issues were related to diet, Paul and I went to a healthy cooking class at Whole Foods Market. The class was given by Gerrie, a woman who transformed her ailing health by eating only plant-based foods. Gerrie’s story and the statistics she shared about how meat and dairy contribute to heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease shocked and frightened us.

The class didn’t fully convince my husband and me that animal foods were harmful, but it got us curious. We educated ourselves further by reading plant-based books like The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn and watching movies like Forks Over Knives. We were quickly won over and started transitioning our diet. This wasn’t easy. We cheated a lot in the beginning but eventually got used to our new diet. Now we LOVE the way we eat and can’t imagine going back to our old ways.

Not only do we enjoy our new diet, but we look and feel great eating this way. Paul’s blood pressure and cholesterol are back to normal, we’ve both lost weight, have more energy and our skin looks better than it has in years. When I run into someone I haven’t seen in a while I always get a gasp and hear something like, “Oh my God! You look great.”

Our health and the way Paul and I look and feel are reasons enough for me to stay on a plant-based diet forever, but there’s more! When you don’t eat animal products, you eat out at vegan restaurants, if you’re lucky enough to live close to any. A lot of vegan restaurants have animal rights pamphlets lying around, so when Paul and I would eat out, I’d mindlessly pick up leaflets to scan while eating. It took awhile for the information to sink in, but I finally grasped how eating animals is bad for our planet and causes tremendous suffering to animals.

So in a nutshell, I’m an aspiring vegan because it’s great for:

• My taste buds (yes, I mean this!)
• My health
• My looks
• My weight
• My husband’s health, looks and weight
• Animals
• Our planet

Maybe I can’t honk yet, but I hope writing this blog will get me there soon. If you’re honking, then good for you! And if you’re not honking, there’s no judgment here. I welcome you whether you’re vegan, veg-curious, interested in what a plant-based diet can do for your health and weight or if you stumbled upon this blog by accident.

Happy honking!!!

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