About Me

Courtesy of: Everphoto

My name is Angela. Welcome to Endless Veggies!

I have some nontraditional views on health. I believe that excellent health starts with a plant based diet and an active lifestyle. Let me explain. 

I haven't always been a vegetarian. 

As a child, I watched my mom struggle with her weight. I've watched my grandparents struggle with weight and health issues. Goodness! I've even watched myself pack on some pounds. I thought we were victim to our genes...that tends to be a general consensus, right? 

In high school, I was pretty active. I was in marching band and I'm pretty sure most people thought our band director ran the band program like it was boot camp. My summers and falls were filled with endless laps around a track, core building and marching. During high school, I didn't eat horrible, but I was not a great eater either. 

When college came around I started packing on pounds. My catatonic lifestyle mixed with copious amounts of Mountain Dew, potato chips and puppy chow did NOT help keep my clothes from shrinking. College meal plan didn't help either (just by changing what I ate over my month at home for Christmas break, I lost 7lbs). 

Growing up, I've always had a love for fruits and some veggies. My grandma once offered me a piece of birthday cake and I wanted a pickle over cake...what sane kid asks for a pickle over cake?! 

Courtesy of: Everphoto

I had heard the documentary, Food Inc., was good and was told I should watch it. One day I did.  I was completely disgusted. For starters, I'm a HUGE animal lover! (I used to want to be a vet, but as soon as I found out I'd have to put animals down I kissed that dream away.) Also, I previously never gave thought to where my food came from.  

I decided to be a vegetarian for a year. I talked to my doctor (who is not your typical doctor, he's a chiropractor & has a degree in functional medicine & treats patients holistically), he was thrilled. I wanted to try it and see if there were any changes. I had read stuff all over the internet about how being vegetarian is so much better, it lengthens life span, etc. I wanted to see what it could do for me. 

Within the first week, my dad commented on how clear my skin looked, how clear and alive my eyes looked....and no, he was not the big, bad wolf. I've always had fairly clear skin, a gift down the family tree from my grandma, but it was true. Not to mention, I felt a lot better, my grades were improving in school, and my thinking was a lot more clear...and to think, all I changed was what I ate!

After my year was up, I was reluctant to start eating meat again, but I missed steak. Later to find out, I really only missed A1 Steak Sauce. I spiraled over the next two years into eating more and more meat, eating more and more junk and feeling worse about my health. My thinking was starting to become foggy, I started to pack on some weight, and I started having all sorts of health problems. Within a couple months time I developed intestinal pain, I couldn't pin down what foods I was reacting to or how to make it stop, I was diagnosed with PCOS, I was starting to develop migrains and the list could go on. 

Stress was partially to blame. I'm a type A personality, I'm high strung, anxious and like to get things done. I have a hard time sitting still and usually have a packed schedule. My doctor was concerned about my health, my husband was concerned about my spiral toward junk, and my pants started to get tighter. 

Recently, I have been finding more articles or clips on my facebook feed about health, meat, and the like. Most of it grossed me out (I follow PETA, I'm to blame for that one). I've become increasingly sick of the rut I've gotten myself into. 

Courtesy of: Everphoto

I started mentioning things to my husband about missing being vegetarian. I missed the energy, the clarity, the health and not mindlessly eating what was on my plate. I feel that when I was a vegetarian previously, I had a greater awareness of the tastes on my plate. I missed it. I didn't want to feel like a mindless drone eating my food at every meal. Food is ours to enjoy! 

Well, hubby decided he wants to try eating vegetarian too. So, this is our journey. I don't like eating boring food, not everything here will be of the absolutely healthy (I do love dessert too!), and most of the recipes will be easy to make for omnivores or vegans. 

Feel free to contact me by email at endlessveggies@gmail.com or you can follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. Or leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!