<--- This is Bethany Remsberg... She is an all around great person and happens to be a vegan too and I've recently been trying to connect with all my Veg friends in hopes to get them to share their stories and tell about their experiences and share their favorite recipes (see Bethany's here) ... Beth was one of the first people I asked because not only is she a kick butt Vegan but she and her husband Ron are two of the funniest people I know... They also run one of my favorite Etsy stores. Be sure to check out for all your baby onsie, awesome apparel and home decore needs!
I'm Vegan Because I Love Animals…I Love Eating Them in Excess.
By Bethany Remsberg
A year ago, our 8 month old daughter Normandy, already struggling with a severe kidney disorder took a turn for the worse…through a series of surgeries, procedures and infections, we would on average spend a week in the hospital every 10 days. I'd typically leave her hospital room for no more than 15 minutes a day to run down to the cafeteria and stock up on (here comes the oxymoron of the century) terribly unhealthy hospital food. I got used to spending my days isolated and sedentary in sweatpants, overeating "comfort" food.
When we were at home my husband Ron and I would pride ourselves in buying organic. Much to the demise of my skinny jeans, I discovered there is organic bacon, cheese, sugar, chips, and I kid you not...aerosol pancake mix. By the summer of 2010 I had gained 55 pounds and took a flying leap to the bottom of the priority list.
At the end of August Normandy had her last surgery to date and we have remained out of the hospital since. This blessing granted the time and headspace to finally be self aware…I was unhealthy, uncomfortable, exhausted and depressed. In September, at the height of these realizations, my dad suffered 2 strokes within a week and was left blind with a skewed sense of reality. He was exactly twice my age and I felt as if I was staring into a crystal ball at what the next 31 years would bring and how quickly they'd pass me by. Things needed to change.
After plenty of research I believe the healthiest way to eat, the closest anyone can come to rewriting poor genetics and reversing disease is to live an active Raw Vegan lifestyle. Simply put, a raw vegan diet consists of unprocessed, raw plant foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees. Typical foods include fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains and legumes. Though I believe whole heartedly in it, I haven't been able to stick to a 100% raw vegan diet for more than 2 weeks at a time. It's okay. This isn't an extreme last-ditch effort to fit into a dress; this is for the rest of my life and I won't let an all or nothing attitude sabotage me like it has so many times before.
Maybe someday I'll be a glowing raw vegan goddess. Maybe someday I'll smell like pachouli. Maybe someday I'll look great in hemp yoga pants. Maybe someday everything I do will honor the earth…
This is what works for me today…
~100% vegan except for when I am not…I like to have coffee with half and half a couple of times a week.
~Incorporate raw food into every meal.
~For me, granulated sugar and flour is enemy #1, even more so than meat.
~Counting calories keeps me grounded and aware that being vegan isn't a free pass to Skinnyville.
~Closet eating Hershey Miniatures while pretending to take a shower wastes water and makes you fat.
~Breaking every aforementioned rule doesn't make me a failure or give me the right to jump ship.
~Living one day at a time while embracing the big picture and what is to come isn't a contradiction; it is a recipe for success.
