Simply Listen to your Body

Oh my, where do I begin?  I’ll take you on a trip through pivotal moments leading up to when and how I accepted a vegetarian or plant-based lifestyle. Meanwhile, we all agree there are many positive effects of vegetarianism. One of the immediate benefits of plant-based diets is reducing constipation. This has nothing of anti-vegetarian arguments and much less encouraging vegaphobia. Only listen to your body and adjust to its needs…

Greetings World! My friends call me Thumpy Rose.

I was born in Monrovia, Liberia, and moved to Maryland, USA during my teenage years.

Life was rough in high school for obvious reasons but I made it work. The theater kids (aka Drama Club) were helpful in creating a healthy environment to let my freak fly!

Later on, I got my driver’s license and bought my first car for $800 bucks from a local police officer. I named the car Desmond Elliot; the car wasn’t a honk but Desmond is.

Eccentric With A Hint Of Wildness

• Attended prom Solo -it was a blast! I danced with everyone and didn’t feel strange one bit. 
• Went to a community college nearby and met great people. We traveled to awesome places like the Frank Llyod Wright house, and Falling Waters.
• Traveled to nearby states even though I didn’t have a dime saved up.

Why do I Flip Flop between vegetarianism and Plant-based?

I identify with Vegetarianism when I am at a restaurant or any public setting where food is offered. Most people who live outside urban areas understand vegetarianism more and those people are eager to accommodate a vegetarian compared to a vegan diet. Based on the environment, I simply ask the cook to remove any egg or cheese if I don’t want those things. I am not a vegan because I like the comfort of choices based on my environment. Besides, who would want to start on anti-vegetarian arguments while attending to an empty stomach 🙂

Okay, speaking of vegaphobia, I’m going into a spiel.. Not all restaurants understand veganism; from what I can tell by servers’ body language, they shrink into panic for fear of messing up a patron’s food or upsetting a vegan person. I love food too much to upset my cook or server. I noticed, the server becomes excited if I tell them, “vegetarian”, they are eager to whip something up for me. Guess what? It is always delicious. Spiel complete!

In case you’re wondering, vegaphobia involves an aversion to or dislike of vegans or vegetarians. Research has added the term vegaphobe for a person with vegaphobia.

When in my own Kitchen, I am plant-based because I control all ingredients. I love this flexibility. Listen to your body and flow with it. Moreover, I enjoy the comfort of knowing my food lifestyle is not strict. I am not out to save the planet, or humanity by being plant-based. I’m that lazy libra okay? Without a doubt, neither vegaphobia nor anti-vegetarian arguments are fascinating.

I like my waywardness and this attitude helps in a world of hostile normalcy.

Plant-based Weds Meat-atrian 

Jor, I didn’t plan it ooo, it just happened intentionally yah. We both ate meat products when we first met, unmindful of vegaphobia or any anti-vegetarian arguments. But I fell off the wagon. Most people are baffled by how we make it work.

 To each their own right? Currently, he is experimenting with dirty keto and it is tough.

Vegetarianism and plant-based life is not a religion to me, therefore I feel no guilt or shame about the process.

Old Ma Wisdom

Heck, I sometimes cook his meals if I want to. I don’t taste it, instead, I ask him to taste the seasoning.

Gone With The Wind In A Van

I did a stint of Vanlife living which was awesome. It’s a long story y’all! We build the rig and thanks to me it has a mix-matchy personality (see the back doors wood panels). We traveled along the East Coast, met caring Americans from all walks of life. Now we live in ye ole Texas!

Why Should You Listen to your body? 

Short answer is pain. To listen to your body may involve interpreting any feeling in your body as a signal for something. Doctors ran their blood tests, and physical exams and they found nothing. All the tests they ran revealed I was as healthy as a horse; They couldn’t explain why I was in pain physically.

Related: If child refuses to eat meat – Do they favor plants?

I was annoyed, in pain, and felt lost. I love food and ate as much as I could, yet I couldn’t seem to finish a whole plate of food as an adult human being. Didn’t help that my Liberian relatives were on my case to get more meat on my bones. Clearly, I had no idea of the vast positive effects of vegetarianism.

I noticed, I ate more veggie side dish when dining out .

I’m not sure when my observation caught on, I started to notice, that I ate more of the veggie side dish when dining out. I probably was already thriving on the immediate benefits of plant-based foods. This one time, I raved about garlic roasted broccoli and another time about the sauteed mixed veggies, and another time about the veggie pizza.

Along the way, people suggested that I try vegetarianism and all I could think of was “I’m not going to eat rabbit food!” The idea of not eating meat as an African felt foreign and wrong! I’m thinking, how do I even live? What of vegaphobia?

Instead, I jumped to the next option, pescatarian.

Gave Pescetarianism 100% Commitment

Yes, it worked, for a period of one year. My abdominal pain symptoms didn’t go away totally, they decreased by 20%. Burning pains from my kidney and stomach area, switch to a low simmering pain.

I was thriving but not quite happy with the slow-burning sensations I got after eating. Back then, my clothes still felt itchy after I ate. Also, feeling like a rock is sitting in my stomach after eating, occurred a few times a week instead of daily. I committed 100% to a pescatarian lifestyle and noticed my vegetable intake increased.

For example, if the restaurant served salmon or halibut, it was accompanied by a delightful veggie side dish, rice pilaf, or wild rice,  which I praised more than the fish. Also, when we ordered pizza, I would finish all the veggie pizza, which never used to happen when I ate pepperoni pizza.

Not kidding, I woke up one morning and decided to completely remove fish from my diet. I can fully live on the positive effects of vegetarianism. Coincidentally, it was at the one-year mark of being a pescatarian. I was scared and confused. Back then, I disliked tofu and any weird-looking protein alternatives. Yep!

Loving the Positive Effects of Vegetarianism

My entire being pointed me in the direction of soups and stews because that is all I’ve known and eaten. As far as efficiency goes, stews and soups are practical. I clung to my old ways and thought if I’m going to do this no meat thing, I better stick to what I know and love. 

It Works! The immediate benefits of plant-based meals are awesome. I must have watched a documentary, which is probably where I heard of ForksOverKnives. Y’all, I’m not big on research so I hadn’t done any prior investigation.

Watched the documentary Friday, on that Saturday morning as I made my shopping list, I hopped on their website and found something helpful to fit my taste buds. Their soup list has grown since 2016. After eating the native soup with crusty bread, I accepted to experience Liberian food without meat and enjoy the positive effects of plant-based meals.

For each African dish I’ve prepared from then onward, my excitement grows with every taste. Not to mention the immediate benefits of plant-based foods. Feels like I’m experiencing life for the first time and it is enthralling, keeps my curiosity anew, hence this expansive creation, Humble Vege.