Vegan Resources

10 Nov

Posted at 11:41h in Dessert, Guest Post, Raw Vegan, Vegan Resources by
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My next guest blogger contributing to my Vegan Resources! Click here to see all of the contributors and read their stories!Guest Post: Yvonne Ardestani + Chocolate Truffle Cake (raw)Introduce yourself to all of us!

Name: Yvonne Ardestani

Origin: San Diego and Santa Cruz, California

Current City: Los Angeles, California

Occupation: Vegan, Gluten-free Chef. Founder of My Eclectic Kitchen Recipe App (available on iTunes and Google Play), eBook, and blog.

Interesting Facts:

1- Prior to attending culinary school, I was an accountant and sold real estate.

2- I am the youngest of six daughters.

3- I have an autoimmune disease. I was first hyperthyroid, and now I am hypothyroid.

4- I was once a size 13 and went down to a size 2 within 1.5 years, with the help of a cleaner diet and a lot of exercise.

5- I’m often asked what ingredient I miss most since going vegan. I have to say honey. It used to be so good in my granola and granola bars. Luckily, I discovered great alternatives for honey.

Can you describe your lifestyle and food philosophy?

It is important for me to maintain a balanced life. This includes daily meditation and prayer to thank God for my many blessings—my overall health, a wonderful marriage, my family and friends, and, of course, for the abundance of delicious, natural food that I am privileged to enjoy each day.  As I live an active and healthy lifestyle, I work out at least 4 times a week and enjoy a plant-based, whole foods vegan diet.  Taking yoga a few times a week and journaling daily help me achieve a sense of self-awareness. Maintaining healthy and peaceful relationships is a priority so spending time with my supportive and loving husband, family, and friends is a must.  In my spare time, I enjoy watching the LA Clippers at the Staples Center, writing music with my husband, learning about nutrition, and keeping up with current events.

03 Nov

Posted at 08:03h in Entree, Guest Post, Vegan Resources by
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Hi my name is Sarah Ahn and am the girl behind Ahnestveggie blog! I'm here to use my creativity and love for food to showcase how amazing and beautiful living a plant-based, vegan diet can be. Being vegan doesn't have to be either boring or flavorless.

Sarah Ahn / Butternut Squash Quesadillas + Caramelized OnionsAs a Korean-American, I grew up eating meat (Korean BBQ for days) and all sorts of seafood, seasoning, and dairy. Back in 2008 I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (inflammatory disease in my colon) where I lost over 20 lbs. I had excruciating burning pains in my stomach/intestine and food did not digest and went straight through my system. Although stress was the main trigger for this sickness, my diet affected it as well. Per doctor's orders, I had to cut most spicy foods, greasy fried foods, processed foods and eat more raw fruits and green vegetables. This was extremely difficult as my diet consisted of diet coke, fast foods, alcohol, eggs, cheese, pork, steak, etc.

After a few months, my symptoms seemed to have worsened and I was hospitalized for a blood transfusion and left myself, friends and family in shock and fear. I knew I had to do something quick about my health. It was not until 2012 that I started to really focus on what I was putting into my body. I started cooking more, was aware of what ingredients were going into my food, focused incorporating vegetables and cutting red meat out of my diet. I decided then to try a full vegetarian diet to help cope with the pain and it seemed to have worked. I was a vegetarian for about 2 years since then.

23 Oct

Posted at 13:04h in Lifestyle, Vegan Resources by
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How to Adopt A Plant-Based:Vegan Diet and Succeed I have been wanting to create a "how to" guide to going vegan for quite a while now, but as I sat down to do it, I realized just how difficult this was going to be. There are so many points I want to cover, but I also want to keep this to a length that is readable and appealing to those that I am writing this for. With that being said, along with this post, a new series for sweetsimplevegan.com has been created! I am inviting guest bloggers to share their take on how to go vegan! Find my full list of guest posts here.

Mental Preparation

I'm just going to be upfront about this. In the beginning, this may be hard, frustrating, foreign and definitely controversial in some instances where those around you do not support your views, so you MUST constantly remind yourself that it will get easier. This is one of the simplest lifestyles, but going into it from a place that is most often times the complete opposite end of the spectrum will take some work. Tell yourself that you are ready for the change, that you are doing this because the only thing that will come out of it is GOOD, and remind yourself WHY you want to do this. (This is also further discussed below). Be prepared for the opposition that may come! What I like to keep in mind is that they don't understand the unfamiliar change that is being made, but if I stay strong and show them how beautiful this lifestyle is, the lifestyle becomes less unfamiliar and actually more appealing and desirable to myself and others alike :)

Education