Hi my name’s Jodie and if you told me 6 years ago that I would be vegan, I would have laughed – a lot. I have always been a massive foodie with a never ending stomach. I’m the least fussy eater and believe in trying everything once (obviously now that excludes all animal products)! Being half Chinese/Malay, food has always been a massive part of my life – everything revolves around food in my family. Growing up, my uncles, aunties, cousins, grandparents etc. etc. always insisted on keeping my plate full – before you had a chance to finish the last bite of your meal, they’d be spooning more onto your plate. This is probably where my reputation of being ‘the feeder’ among my friends and family began.
I’ve always been a huge animal lover so eating meat always felt a little weird, but due to societal norms, I just didn’t really question eating it up until I was 19 years old. It all suddenly changed when I was watching a video on Facebook of a pet pig begging for food at the dinner table – it reminded me of my dogs and it hit me – there’s no difference between pigs and dogs? Why should we adore one and farm / eat the other? So I turned vegetarian and was vegetarian for 4 years.
I'm sure people would be disgusted if someone said monkey was a large part of their diet, but why is that any different to pigs or cows or lambs?
I felt happy that I was doing my part in saving the animals, but after watching videos of what happens in farms and reading articles of what happens behind the scenes, I realised that the dairy and egg trade was actually more cruel than the meat trade because the animals lives are prolonged for their produce – I started to feel like a bit of a hypocrite. I went through an internal battle because I just loved food too much – what about burgers? Pizza? Burritos? CHEESE?! But with veganism becoming more and more popular, the options are just growing and growing. I told myself I would gradually go vegan and try all of the vegan options so I knew what I can and can’t eat. But I was pleasantly surprised at all of the options I had, and how easy it is to make delicious vegan food which is actually better than foods I’ve had pre-veganism. I converted straight away and would never look back. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything, and it’s all guilt free :)
I want the world to know that being vegan doesn't mean missing out on anything, it's just about adapting. I want to share my delicious (and simple) vegan recipes inspired by foods I thought I would miss. Recipes for all the food people mention when they’re like “you’re vegan? How can you live without [FILL THE BLANK]?!“. Whether you’re already a vegan, a vegetarian thinking of going vegan (or not), or even a meat eater who just wants to try something different – there will be something here for everyone. You really don’t need to feel like you’re missing out. The food I’ve had since turning vegan has been far more exciting and flavoursome than most of the food I’ve had before. I haven’t yet stumbled across anything that can’t be ‘veganised’ – pizzas, burgers, pastas, curries, desserts and sweet treats. Here's a snapshot below of my instagram page, 
Yes, this is really all vegan!!
There is a preconception that being a vegan is really difficult, expensive and time-consuming (and I even thought that was the case before I converted), but it’s really not. The meals I have been making have been just as simple and quick as meals I had been making as a vegetarian. You just need to swap out some of the ingredients out for ones without animal products – butters, milks, even eggs are replaceable.
As I’m sure you are aware Vegan’s have a reputation of eating like rabbits, but I wouldn’t feed my rabbit pasta and burgers and curries and cakes… You can also still be a vegan and eat junk food (I would really struggle otherwise).
Here are a few of my creations so far: brownies, cookies, lasagna, 'meat'balls and a 'chicken' stir-fry! There is plenty more exciting new recipes coming, so stay tuned!!! If there is anything you guys want to see 'veganised' let me know and I'll give it a shot!!
If you want to, check out my blog so far - https://thegreedyvegan.blog/
Who doesn't love to travel?! With a full time job in central London, holidays are essential!! I need holidays as something to look forward to - so when the office life gets a little draining, I can daydream about my next adventure.
I've just booked a holiday to Mexico and Belize - so stay tuned for tips on traveling as a vegan. I've done a few trips around Europe eating a plant based diet which ended up being really easy. Amsterdam and Stockholm were both VERY vegan friendly, not only were the trips totally struggle-free, the food was DELICIOUS. It will be interesting to see how I get on on the other side of the world! In the past it's been difficult being a vegetarian abroad, so I assume this will be a challenge - but we shall see!
