Nikki the Vegan Foodie Adventurer!
Nikki Griffin is a friend I have made through the wonderful online world. Â She is an Aussie lass living in New Zealand who is a passionate vegan.
As a carnivore hooked up with an even more carnivorous Cowboy (who both eat a lot of cheese and drink a lot of lattes) I must admit the word “vegan” is not one that has been thrown around our household much.
To be honest I don’t know if my Cowboy could ever become Tofu-boy
However. I am a massive fan of a person who lives their life true to their beliefs. Instead of writing off another’s belief as this or that, it is good to hear them out on it and open ourselves up to the idea.
The more I hear from Nikki the more I am opening up to what she says and am looking at aspects of living that until now, I had been blissfully ignorant to.
I asked Nikki to let us know why she does what she does, and perhaps enrol us all in a challenge… a future where Mondays (at the very least) will be meatless.
Here is Nikki’s story:
My name is Nikki Griffin and I am a vegan.
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That admission is usually met with all sorts of reactions, from awe to horror, but I find that mostly when people react badly it’s just because they expect me to be one of those dreadlocked, paint throwing, placard carrying, PETA supporting vegans, you know the ones I mean. Although the dreadlocked part is true, you’re more likely to find me enjoying a soy latte and reading a book than trying to convince anyone else to be anything but who or what they want to be.
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I didn’t stop eating meat until I was well into my 20′s, but I have always felt as though I was a vegetarian, it was really just a matter of time before I managed to put that steak away for good. I still remember the first horrifying moment, as a child, when I realised what meat actually was, that moment when I figured out that the mince meat in my Mum’s spaghetti bolognese had at one point been a cow wandering around a farm. That realisation struck me very deeply and from that moment on I really struggled with the idea of eating meat. When I finally made the decision to become a vegetarian, to let go of all my concerns about people thinking I was difficult or about struggling to find food, it was one of the most liberating moments of my life. That first meal as a vegetarian, although I had eaten many vegetarian meals before, was a really momentous meal for me, I remember putting down my fork and feeling so happy to be able to say “no animals were harmed in the making of this meal”. That is a feeling that I still carry with me to this day and I love being able to share food with friends and family that is delicious and healthful and 100% cruelty free.
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I’ve found that one of the biggest concerns that meat-eaters have about vegetarianism is that the food will be boring or unappetizing and that’s one of the ways that I hope to challenge the vegan stereotype.
Meatless Mondays? Easy I'll have one of each of these please!
I love to share my recipes and favourite foods on my Vegan Chickie food blog.
One of the most surprising things about becoming vegan for me was the quality and variety of the food. It’s so strange to look back now because I truly thought that becoming vegan would mean a lifetime of restrictions and headaches but these days I eat so many more types of foods than I ever did before and I really enjoy food in a way that I never allowed myself to previously because I was always trying so hard not to think about the cruelty associated with the food that was on my plate. Since becoming vegan I have discovered a love of cooking, I can count on one hand the number of meals that I cooked in the five years before I became a vegan, but since making the change you can barely keep me out of the kitchen. I love baking cakes and cookies and making icecream and I eat most of the same things you do, from soups to pies to pizza.
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People often ask me where I get my protein or how I get enough calcium but the truth is that all of your nutritional requirements are available in plant based foods, there is calcium in fruit, nuts, seeds and vegetables and in fact
studies have shown that vegetarians absorb and retain more calcium from foods than non-vegetarians. As for protein, it is very easy for a vegan diet to meet the recommendations for protein, as long as calorie intake is adequate. Nearly all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds contain at least some protein and that’s not even taking into account tofu or tempeh or seitan which are excellent protein sources and staples in many vegetarians diets. I always feel a little baffled by the endless questions about the healthfulness of my vegan diet not only because I am much healthier now than I ever was as an omnivore, but because a lot of meat eaters I know live off pizza and beer (or Pepsi and fish & chips in my Sister’s case) and somehow manage to get by without anyone questioning them about their health or nutrition!
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Initially my vegetarianism, and later my veganism was solely about my desire not to harm the animals, later though, as I read more about factory farming and about the environmental impacts of the meat industry or about the health benefits of a vegan diet my ideas about veganism morphed and evolved and now I really believe that veganism can benefit people in so many different ways. For example, did you know that if everyone removed one serving of meat from their diet per week it would be the environmental equivalent of taking
5 million cars off the road? That’s a very significant difference in just one meatless meal, couple that with the fact that omnivores have
significantly higher risks of hypertension, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and food-borne illness than vegetarians and you have a pretty serious argument for eating less meat, regardless of how you feel about the treatment of animals.
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I challenge everyone to try to eat less meat, if not for your health or for the environment, then for the joy of broadening your food horizons. A great way to start out is to participate in the
Meatless Monday Movement, an international non-profit initiative to reduce global meat consumption by 15% to improve personal health and the health of the planet.
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In support of the Meatless Monday Movement, readers are encouraged take the Meatless Monday pledge and share your photos and recipe ideas with us. If you are looking for inspiration, be sure to check out some of the yummy recipes on Nikki’s website – cook them up and send piccies in. The most impressive Meatless Monday dish will win a copy of  Jonathan Safran Foer’s book “Eating Animals”
Simply leave a comment below to let me know if you are up for the challenge and then email your pics to chronicles@y7mail.com
12 Comments
Wow! One meatless day can make a huge difference-I didn’t know that. We usually have one or two meatless meals in our house. A full day is not something we have ever tried. In fact my relationship with my local butcher is very healthy- and my cholesterol has gone up since I started buying their fabulous meat. It interests me that we often do not give a moment’s thought to where our food comes from. If we did then veganism would probably be the norm. So I do pledge on behalf of me and my family ( they are probably not going to be very happy when they find out) to participate in Meatless Monday-starting next week. Thanks for a great post Nikki!
Woohoo! Fabulous news Heather! Welcome aboard, I’m looking forward to seeing some of your Meatless Monday creations!
I heard about the Meatless Monday Movement on CNN a few weeks ago, and was really astounded at the difference that swearing off meat just one day a week can make for the good of the planet. I have sworn off meat on Mondays since then, and have found it really no problem. I admire vegans and vegetarians for their dedication, but am not sure I’d be able to do it myself. But one day a week, when I eat veggies and fruit and rice and cheese and yogurt (and a pastry or two!) is no major hardship…. maybe it’s the beginning of a more veggie-focussed lifestyle.
Great article; well done!
Welcome to the challenge. I think it’s wonderful that the Meatless Monday Movement is getting so much coverage around the world! I hope that people do see it as a stepping stone to changing their lives in different ways. I’m looking forward to seeing your MM piccies! :)
I have been wanting to get that book since I posted this post last month.
http://selfishlyhappy.blogspot.com/2010/03/im-vegetarian.html
This is my favorite recipe. Its veg but not vegan. Really good though.
This is the recipe. ..
http://selfishlyhappy.blogspot.com/2009/10/pumpkin-challenge-week-two.html
Hi Sharni-
Joey here- from Meatless Monday. I just wanted to reach out and thank you for such a terrific Meatless Monday post. I’m thanking Nikki over at Vegan Chickie as well. How did the contest turn out?
Many bloggers think its fun to do weekly Meatless Monday posts, usually detailing a meatless recipe or writing about a benefit to going meatless. I know Sharnanigans is vegan all the time, but titling the posts Meatless Monday every Monday really helps get out the word about our campaign. Does this sound like something you’d be interested in?
I’d love to be in more direct communication with you so we can better coordinate outrech efforts. If you’re interested in writing weekly Meatless Monday posts please shoot me an email at jlee@mondaycampaigns.org. Thanks!
-Joey Lee
Project Associate
Meatless Monday
Oh, we are so up for this! We went raw awhile ago as a family as a, sort of, trial run for a week. We LOVED it. It was challenging and fun!
I’ve sent in my photos Sharni and Nikki! I wasn’t very adventurous, but I killed 2 birds with one stone- The Meatless Monday Challenge and (what I call) the Pantry Basics challenge. I learned that this is something I could do very easily, with many benefits for me, my purse, and ultimately the world.
Heather, what email address? Can’t see them????
Wow, it’s great to see some more interest in this comp, welcome Nicole! I adore raw food, especially green smoothies in the mornings.
Heather, thanks for the photos! Looking forward to checking them out!
Good read. I’m vegetarian bordering on vegan – my one weakness is cheese. I can identify with the thing about people trying to make you justify your decision to not eat meat. I don’t go round preaching vegetarianism, but if the subject comes up, and I say I’m vegetarian, some people seem to get quite aggressive about it, as if you’re choice is attacking their choice. And I am so sick of those cliched questions ‘where do you get your iron / protein from’. Good one. Enjoyed your article and enjoying sharnanigans. Stumbled on it doing a web search for ‘Keving Rudd-isms’
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[...] I have also been featured on another blog, talking about why I became a vegan. Sharni over at Sharnanigans is also holding a Meatless Monday challenge over there to encourage her readers to start thinking about veganism, which is quite exciting. Check that out HERE. [...]
[...] then you can find me guest posting over at Sharnanigans, writing for Vegan Mainstream, or sharing food on my Vegan Food Blog. [...]