The young green fingered vegan bursting to get out



Fresh and lovely and raised by my own fair hands!
 

As a child I spent weekends with my father, who had an allotment, as did his father and I have very fond memories of watching them for hours, seemingly engrossed in their tasks of sowing, nurturing and growing wonderful vegetables.

Then came the day that I was to get my very own little patch on their sacred allotment to plant my own vegetables. The excitement I felt when I saw theses onions grow, be dug up and get put into a meal later that evening. There was something quite wonderful about being about to gown your own food and watching it going from ground to plate.........


The allotments have sadly gone, but my father still has an amazing patch in his own garden. I love now going and staying for tea, where my father will pick something straight from the end of the garden, bring it down to the house, where it will be cooked for us to eat. I am lucky to still get a courgette, potato or tomato plant. It is from these plants that I continued being as green fingered as I can and whilst I live in a town, with a small garden, this is the limit. However,  I sit and dream that in time, I will have my cottage in the country, with my own vegetable patch and with my experienced father as my green fingered guru, I am sure I will producing vegetables a plenty in no time.

I am convinced therefore that these times with my father, the love of being on the allotment and the many pets we had, gave me a love of fresh, wholesome food and animals and it made sense that I became vegetarian at the age of 11.

In 2010 I was diagnosed as coeliac, so had to maintain a gluten free diet. This further increased my interested in food and made me reassess my diet and health in general and in 2012 I took the next step and became vegan.

Whatever peoples reason to becoming vegan, they are varied and interesting. I am always intrigued  hearing what little gem restaurants fellow vegans have found on their travels, a hotel they stayed in that was really helpful to vegans and a brilliant body cream that is vegan and animal friendly.

Again, this is what motivated me to write this blog. I believe these gems should be shared to encourage new vegans to not feel so overwhelmed (as I know I did at times)

I hope they are helpful !

Vegan Girl X