Fridays with Friends: JL Goes Vegan!
So there’s this amazing woman named JL who I’d like you to meet. JL had me at KALE (see her photo below). Then, I learned that she went vegan in her 40s, runs triathlons for fun and encourages women to love their bodies at any size. She is a living, blogging example of how to take the idea of compassionate living to an even more personal level. Welcome JL!
Allison Rivers Samson: You write two blogs: JL Goes Vegan and Stop Chasing Skinny. Tell us about them.
JL Fields: After being vegetarian for eight years I went vegan two years ago. I read many, many blogs to help me along on my plant-based journey. They were immensely helpful but I did feel a bit like the odd-woman out, as someone approaching my mid-forties. I decided to start JL Goes Vegan: Food & Fitness with a Side of Kale as a way to chronicle my experience as a new vegan and to encourage other 40+ folks to consider life changes, regardless of age. I started writing about my love and appreciation for vegan cooking and how it shifted my relationship with food. While I have not experienced an eating disorder, I had certainly bought into the cultural phenomena that thin = beautiful and found myself yo-yo dieting for about six years leading into my 40s. Going vegan liberated me from dieting and I decided to embrace a larger, rounder me. I wrote the post January diet? Nope, I bought bigger clothes and readers really connected to it. I felt the topic was worthy of its own blog so I started Stop Chasing Skinny: Find Happiness Beyond the Scale, a community blog, last year.
ARS: Our relationship with food is such an important one to heal. You went vegan after 40! How did that come about?
JLF: Initially, I went vegetarian in my 30s. I was in Kenya for work in a small village in the Rift Valley. There was a celebration held for an auspicious occasion and my colleagues and I were guests of honor. 
Early in the day an elder from the community brought a goat to the site of the celebration – a true demonstration of generosity. The goat was presented and subsequently killed and boiled. That evening, we were offered the goat for dinner. To refuse it would have been an affront (or so I told myself?). Essentially I met a goat, shook his hand then ate him. I became a vegetarian. Years later, never intending to go vegan, I did a nutritional cleanse and discovered after two weeks that I had removed all animal products from my diet, except for one hard-boiled egg. I realized I was an egg away from being a vegan so I just decided to do it.
ARS: Way to go for it! Do you notice a big difference in going from vegetarian to vegan on your health?
JLF: Yes! As a vegetarian I really bought into the “what about protein?” myth and consumed incredible amounts of dairy (yogurt, milk and cheese). My body felt completely different when I removed it from my diet. My emotional health improved, too. It didn’t take me long to shift from a dietary vegan to an ethical one. The more I learned the more I could not ignore what we are doing to animals. I feel physically and emotionally healthy living a life based on compassion for all living beings.
ARS: I have seen time and again that the best blend is a marriage of both the healthful and ethical aspects of being vegan. You’re a hardcore athlete doing marathons and triathlons. How has the transition to a vegan diet impacted your performance?
JLF: Well, I was a hardcore athlete. Part of my body image journey was to become honest with myself. In my late 30s and early 40s I ran two full marathons, seventeen half-marathons, and eight or ten triathlons in six years. 
It was pretty excessive and I now realize I was doing it to keep weight off. I worked out like mad but was unable to eat like an endurance athlete. Once I embraced a larger size I became less interested in working out so hard. I now prefer moderate exercise – slow running, road cycling, yoga, walking, easy gym workouts, etc. I do love the sport of triathlon and plan to do more of them. For fun. As for vegan nutrition, I have no problem fueling my body before, during and after hard workouts. Plants are amazing! One of my favorite energy bites, during a long run, is my Medjool Date for the Runner.
ARS: I couldn’t agree with you more about plants. In fact it’s a topic I’m a touch obsessed with. What do you think is one of the most common misconceptions about the vegan diet? Why?
JLF: I think non-vegans believe we are “deprived” and sometimes I think we vegans can perpetuate that misconception. I just returned from vacation in Florida. 
I found myself whining at restaurants. No beans? No tofu? Boo-hoo. I was offered vibrant, colorful vegetables and, yes, if I had been back in New York I would have had an amazing seitan dish with them, but vegetables are awesome and I need to remember that I am, as Colleen Patrick-Goudreau would say, an “ambassador of compassion.” As a vegan I eat a wider variety of foods than I ever did when consuming animal products. Quinoa and kale were not a part of my vocabulary or diet before. And seitan? Never heard of it, but now I make my own! Vegan foods can be simple, complex, flavorful, nourishing and delicious!
ARS: Variety indeed! Like me, you are utterly smitten with kale. What’s the most unusual kale-containing dish you’ve made or eaten?
JLF: I recently found kale granola at Lifethyme Natural Market in Manahattan. It had me at hello.
ARS: Ooohhh… I am so gonna make that! What’s your go-to quick-fix meal?
JLF: The food bowl! I bulk cook on the weekends and therefore always have home cooked grains and beans on hand. During the week I simply reheat a bowl of beans, greens and grains – like this Flageolet Bean & Millet Stew - and my heart swoons!
ARS: Do you have a favorite Allison’s Gourmet goodie?
JLF: Girl, your Salted Vanilla Caramels rock my world!
Thanks so much, JL, for your compassionate, self-adoring, food-loving point of view! 
Vegucated DVD Giveaway Winner!
Photo by Jessica Mahady
For this week’s DVD Giveaway we asked a rather in-depth question and got some really inspiring and detailed answers. Thank you to everyone who told us your stories! There are many reasons to go veg and in our experience, the people who are the most successful, healthy and happy vegans tend to be the ones who do it for ethical and health reasons.
Mary Kate is our winner this week; she had this to say about her transition to a veg lifestyle:
I didn’t have a specific a-ha moment going veg but it was more of a cascade of “shock factors” that inspired me to go veg. I would first see the health benefits, followed by delicious recipes and seeing more of the terrors of factory farming all led up to my transition.
The most educational and helpful tools for me were various blogs throughout the internet. Knowing that other people were going through what I was going through and thought what I was thinking about going veg was the most helpful. I also think cookbooks are very important for showing how much variety there is in a plant based diet.
We agree, good cookbooks are key! Mary Kate will receive her own copy of the Vegucated DVD to share with her friends, family and community. Congratulations!
‘Vegan Is Love’: Children’s Book By Ruby Roth Causes Controversy
Children love food. They love animals, too. It’s a little bit funny then that Ruby Roth’s incredible children’s book about veganism is raising such controversy. After all, aren’t there books that promote all sorts of belief systems, diets, lifestyles and interests? Ruby’s book is an essential and beautiful tool in helping children understand this lifestyle choice and the truth about our food system and entertainment venues that rely on animals. While some of the greatest books create worlds of fantasy and imagination, when they’re used as a gentle tool about truth, they can help to advance our culture and establish trust so that our children will know that we will always tell them the truth, no matter how sad it may be. Parents can use this as an opportunity for dialogue and closeness with their children.
‘Vegan Is Love’: Children’s Book By Ruby Roth Causes Controversy, The Huffington Post
A children’s book that will be released next week is stirring up controversy among parents. It’s called “Vegan is Love,” and according to the publisher, is a young readers’ introduction “to veganism as a lifestyle of compassion and action.” The details, however, including images of animals behind bars in crowded cages and graphic passages about animal testing are being called unsuitable for children –- the book is intended for kids as young as 6-years-old.
The pro-vegan message of the book isn’t in dispute. While there is debate about whether an animal-product-free diet from birth is appropriate, nutritionists (and activists including Alicia Silverstone and our very own Allison!) agree that a vegan regimen can be healthy for little kids as long as their meals include enough supplemental nutrients and proteins. That said, the tone and wording in “Vegan Is Love” has experts concerned.
Child psychologist Jennifer Hart Steen told Matt Lauer on the “Today” show this morning that, “there’s so much fear presented in the book and if you would just give it to a child as a children’s book they don’t understand it. So now they’re just going to be afraid.”
Nicole German, a registered dietitian wrote on her blog that “Vegan is Love” might scare impressionable children into becoming vegan and “without proper guidance, that child could become malnourished.”
Read the entire article on The Huffington Post here.
Fridays with Friends: Gettin’ Vegucated (and a DVD Giveaway!) with Marisa Miller Wolfson
Marisa Miller Wolfson is the powerhouse writer and director behind the newly released documentary film Vegucated that follows three New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. Amid the madness of a national promotional tour and sold-out screenings across the country, we caught up with Marisa to get the inside scoop. In honor of Earth Day this weekend, Marisa has offered to give away a DVD of the movie to one of our readers, so read on!
Allison Rivers Samson: I love your inspiring and award-winning film! Rightfully so, Vegucated has been exuberantly-received by various audiences. How different was the end result compared to the intention you originally set?
Photo by Stephen de las Heras
Marisa Miller Wolfson: From the very beginning, executive producer Mary Max, producer Frank Mataska, and I set out to make a grassroots educational tool that people could feel really good about sharing with their families and their communities, knowing they’ll laugh as much as they’ll cry and hopefully walk away feeling inspired to make more plant-based choices. The feedback we’ve gotten has been so lovely, from people across the omnivore spectrum who’ve said they’ve really appreciated how accessible the film is for all audiences and have shared it with friends, families, coworkers, students, etc. either by sharing the DVD individually or by hosting a community screening. So, so many people have reported back that friends, family, and colleagues have watched and been inspired to go vegetarian or vegan.
Executive director Mary Max, producers Frank Mataska and Demetrius Bagley, and writer-director Marisa Miller Wolfson at the sold-out US premiere of Vegucated in NYC.
In terms of audience reach, the smartest thing I did was bring producer Demetrius Bagley on board for the release. He thinks bigger than I do and masterminded our 12-city national tour last fall and secured wonderful sponsors for us. Without that tour, we obviously wouldn’t have reached nearly as many people or created as much buzz. He’s also managing community screenings beautifully. Back when I started the filmmaking process, digital distribution wasn’t even an option, so now it feels amazing knowing that with just a couple of clicks, so many people are watching the film via digital portals in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and even Australia. We won’t get digital viewer stats for a while yet, but we’re a bestseller on iTunes and Amazon Instant, and I’m dying to know what that means in terms of our exposure.
ARS: People come to the veg lifestyle by many avenues. In your film, you highlight all the reasons, including human health and reduction in suffering for both animals and the planet. Do you find that people more readily make this lifestyle change for one reason over another? Any thoughts on why that might be the case?
Dagan went vegan right after seeing Vegucated with his mom at the Albuquerque premiere in January. Now he's a full-blown 9-year-old advocate for all beings.
MMW: In my ten years of vegan advocacy, I’ve noticed a bit of a shift in the original motivating factor for people going vegan. When I started out, I was told that statistically speaking, more people went vegetarian for health reasons and vegan for ethical reasons. My personal experience bore that out. Things have shifted since then, and I’m running into a lot more health vegans now than ever before. I think books like The China Study and films like Forks Over Knives have helped with that. Anecdotally, I’ve noticed that people are much more inclined to stick with a vegetarian or vegan diet, though, if they’ve been exposed to and care about the ethical reasons on top of the health reasons. Otherwise, it can fall more into the category of diet du jour rather than a lasting lifestyle change.
Vegan experimentees/film co-stars Ellen, Brian, and Tesla looking good and feeling great at the L.A. premiere.
ARS: Without any spoilers, what’s the biggest takeaway you hope viewers receive from Vegucated?
MMW: Oh, I hope they see the three film stars–Tesla, Brian, and Ellen–overcoming initial challenges with plant-based living and feel inspired to make changes in their own lives despite the challenges they face. Whether you’re a single mom, you don’t cook, or you don’t like a lot of vegan foods (yet), you can still make changes in a more plant-based direction, and it’s very, very rewarding physically, psychologically, and even emotionally as you can feel really great about your everyday contribution to the world.
ARS: Did the process change anything for you personally about your diet, food ethics or otherwise?
MMW: Since I started shooting, I’ve gone more in a whole foods-based direction with my diet, but that’s not from filmmaking. That’s just what happens naturally, I think, the longer you’re vegan and the more you learn. The biggest personal change I’ve made is psychological. I have so much more respect for feature filmmakers and people who take on big, long-term projects. It tests you in ways you’ve never been tested before, and you rely on completely different skills and attitudes. It’s like the difference between training for a sprint and a marathon. I feel like I’ve just run the longest marathon of my life, but I also feel proud and much stronger for having seen it through.
This peanut sauce has only a few simple ingredients: peanut butter, ginger powder, garlic, cayenne pepper, water, and tamari. So easy!
ARS: What are your go-to quick meals to prepare at home?
MMW: I tend to rely a lot on delicious sauces that I can make in my blender then pour onto something yummy. Right now I have pesto in the fridge that I mix with whole wheat pasta, cannelini beans, steamed spinach or kale, and sundried tomatoes. I also do a delicious peanut sauce that’s good drizzled over steamed greens, green beans or broccoli, black beans, and quinoa. For lunch today I’m about to dig into a spinach tortilla wrap with hummus, tomatoes, and kale–doesn’t get easier than that!
ARS: Delicious! What’s your most-preferred vegetable? Bean?
MMW: I love good “hand food.” In other words, things that are so good you can eat ‘em plain, right out of your hand. To me it doesn’t get any better than a ripe summer cherry tomato or a perfectly cooked chickpea. I pop ‘em like candy.
ARS: Do you have a favorite Allison’s Gourmet goodie?
MMW: When I checked your website for a refresher to make this very important decision, I was literally slurping the saliva back into my mouth. (Sorry to be so graphic!) 
I’m going to have to go with the chocolate almond toffee. I’ve had the pleasure of receiving some as a gift, and as much as I want to save (and savour) it over a few days, I have no willpower around your vegan toffee. It’s amazing, and I’m toast.
Thanks so much, Marisa! Vegucated is celebrating Earth Day this weekend by holding screenings all over the country. Find one near you! And, enter to win your own copy of the Vegucated DVD by leave a comment with your answers to these questions:
• If you’re veg, did you have a particular “a-ha” moment? What was it?
• Even if you’re not yet veg, which vegucational tools (books, movies, friends, resources) have been the most informative to you in your journey into conscious eating?
We’ll pick a winner Thursday, April 26th. You must be a resident of the US or Canada to win. Good luck, and Happy Earth Day!
This Giveaway is now closed. See the winner here.
Springtime Adventuring
Spring is here, at least here in Northern California. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing and all the oak trees are getting their first new green leaves. It’s warmer too, I even got a little sun working in the garden this weekend. 
Spring is my favorite season, but I always get a little restless this time of year, too. In April of 2007 my boyfriend and I set out on a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail from the Mexican border to Canada. We backpacked 2,400 miles in 5 1/2 months. It was the most amazing adventure of my life, and every year I wish I was doing it again. Unfortunately, whether it’s rural or urban adventures you seek, heading out into the backcountry (or urban wilderness as the case may be) doesn’t really combine well with real life most of the time. But that doesn’t mean we have to be starved for adventure all together. Although it may not be world travel, trying new things can be done right at home on a smaller scale. 
Take a weekend staycation at an Inn or B & B in your own town, explore places nearby that you’ve never been (they’re there, you just have to pretend you’re a tourist to find them), or try our new Artisan Truffles, Caramels and Vegan Milk Chocolate Bites bursting with enticing flavors. Even if a long backpacking trip is out of the question, getting moving outside whether it’s an urban walk in a new-to-you part of town or a rural jaunt on a previously undiscovered road or trail, breathing fresh spring air and enjoying the sights and sounds of the earth coming alive is my best medicine for spring fever.
That or chocolate, which is my go-to remedy for almost every malady. We even have some organic brownies and vegan gift baskets with seasonal flavors to complement the warmer weather. Springtime Salted Almond Bark is also available right now, and keep an eye out in a few weeks for some new truffle flavors we’re working on as part of our vegan Mother’s Day gifts collection.
