So who are you anyway?

Hello! I'm Lisa Marie. I'm 30 years old, married to Juan and mother to Ethan. I recently moved from New Jersey to Illinois. Talk about a world of a difference. Oh yeah! I'm also vegan. My husband and son aren't, but I'm confident that that'll change soon. Ethan is already eating mostly vegetarian. It's a very big switch for a child (well my child anyway). I don't want to force him into it. I'd rather it happen naturally. He's very curious and is always wanting to eat what mommy eats. I strongly believe that if I set good examples they'll follow when they're ready.

Wait! You're vegan?

Yes! I'm vegan. I decided to go vegetarian on February 15, 2008. It's easy for me to remember because it's the day after my husband's birthday. Anyway, after being vegetarian for a little while I decided that it just wasn't enough. Even though I was told that going vegan was difficult and nearly impossible, I decided to give it a shot. I proved a lot of people wrong. Was it challenging at first? Yes. But it definitely wasn't impossible.

What challenges do you face now that you're living in the Midwest?

Wow! Where do I begin? For starters I was pretty pampered on the East Coast. There were numerous health food stores within a few short miles. Over here I have to travel quite a ways just to get the goods. The local stores are full of meat and processed garbage. Something as simple as vegetable stock is even hard to come by. In a way this is good because it forces to me make my own things from scratch. Which is what I should be doing anyway. However, there are times that you just don't want to fuss over dinner and having a few short cuts available would be very helpful.


Then of course there are no vegan friendly restaurants nearby. If I don't feel like cooking I have to travel to the nearest city which can sometimes be a pain. It's a good hour long drive, but usually well worth it. It's just different from what I'm used to. No more calling Veggie Heaven for take-out while sitting on the couch watching Dexter.

Do you regret moving?

No way! I do miss having it easy, but I'm not one to walk away from a challenge. I'll make it a point to find every vegan option this place has to offer and make it work. I'll ask local stores to carry more vegan products. I'll also use this as a push and start making my own things from scratch. I'll build my very own vegan kingdom right here in the comfort of my own house. Oh yes. I will do it.

Why start a vegan site two years later?

Truthfully, I didn't think I'd be any good at it. I did personal blogging for so many years. That's all I ever really knew. Well, when I first went vegan I relied heavily on certain vegan blogs. They were so helpful and I honestly believe that they helped keep me going strong. I guess I just felt that it was time to suck it up and start giving back.

Domain Info

MidwestVeg.com was purchased on March 5, 2010. It is registered with Godaddy and hosted by Surpass Hosting. The current theme was created using this stock photo from Dreamstime.

Contact

Gmail: MadamGuevara@gmail.com
Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Even if I'm not sure of the answer, I'll try my best to help you find it.