Hello world! My name is Christine. I’m a vegan (VEE-gun) living in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California. I like to think of myself as the vegan girl next door. From the time I learned about animal suffering from PETA as a naïve 17-year-old living in southwestern Indiana, it took me almost 20 years to go vegan. I didn’t know anyone who was vegetarian or vegan or anything about animal rights at that time. This was before the internet. Access to information was totally different back then. I grew up around hunters and meat-eaters. That was the norm and I didn’t want to be different.
Luckily times have changed and I learned to be myself even if I was different from my family and friends. It’s been a long journey to veganism, but I celebrated 15 years vegan on January 1, 2020. It’s by far the best decision I have ever made.
Over the years, I have devoted myself to a vegan lifestyle and studying its benefits to our health, environment, and animals. I’m certified in Plant-Based Nutrition through the eCornell Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, a PCRM Certified Food for Life Instructor, and have a Plant-Based Pro certification from the Rouxbe School of Cooking. I was a regular faculty member with Global Yoga Center’s Teacher Training program in Chicago from 2008-2013–educating yoga teachers on the connection between diet and yoga, more specifically ahimsa (non-harming), the first precept of the eight limbs of yoga.
I love being vegan and have so much fun cooking new recipes and sharing vegan food with friends and family. Much of my free time is spent in the kitchen. It’s truly never been easier to be vegan than it is today.