Today is a special day for me.
It’s my 1 year vegan anniversary! One year ago today, I watched the documentary Vegucated, and it changed my life forever. It’s now been 365 days since I decided to make the switch to a vegan diet.
And to celebrate, I made myself some yummy chocolate chip cupcakes. Then slathered them with vanilla buttercream frosting. ‘Cause that’s how I roll.
But first, a few things I’ve learned since switching to a vegan diet:
- It’s not as hard as you think it will be to eliminate all animal products from your diet.
- Instead of thinking about foods I was eliminating, I thought about all the new foods I would be adding to my diet. This made it much easier for me to make the switch.
- Once you stop eating animal products, people are suddenly extremely concerned about your protein intake. And iron. And calcium.
- There are a ton of amazing vegan food substitutes out there that, although are not ideal on a regular basis (as they are often highly processed), make transitioning to a vegan diet so much easier.
- Vegan food is kind of delicious and amazing. And by kind of, I mean definitely.
Things that have happened to me since switching to a vegan diet:
- My compassion for animals skyrocketed. It’s always been pretty high to begin with, but I actually feel compassion for bees and flies, elephants, chickens and whales now, too. All animals are friends. Not food!
- I have lost weight (without even trying). It’s been months since I’ve stepped on a scale, but at that point it was 10 pounds.
- I’ve lost my love of all things super-sweet. In fact, super-sweet foods make me feel ill most of the time. I even switched to dark chocolate, when before, that stuff tasted like burnt cardboard to me. Now – I love it.
- I’m more excited to cook now, when before, I was bored with the repetition of meat, potato/rice, veggie. My meals are way more exciting these days!
- My hair is stronger and no longer falling out every time I run a brush through it.
- My nails are stronger and growing like crazy.
- I’ve introduced a whole heap of new food to my diet, things that I never knew existed before are currently some of my favourite foods.
- I’ve increased my awareness of the things I put in my body.
- I haven’t had a pimple in an entire year. Yippie!
Foods/Drinks that I consume (and love) now, that I wouldn’t touch before:
- Tofu!
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Mangoes
- Dandelion Greens
- Swiss Chard
- Farro
- Freekeh
- Buckwheat Groats/Flour
- Cashews
- Coconut Water
- Hemp Milk/Protein/Seeds/Oil
- Bananas (I used to hate them!)
- Agave
My life has changed a lot in the last year, and all for the better. Happy 1 year anniversary to me!
Now, time to stuff my face with these amazing chocolate chip cupcakes.
They’re moist, sweet, chocolate-y and the vanilla buttercream frosting on top, well, that just takes these babies right over the edge. Perfect for a 1 year vegan celebration.
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup vegan butter, softened (I used Earth Balance)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1½ cups kamut flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup + ¼ cup vegan chocolate chips
- ½ cup vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray your muffin pan with non-stick spray (or use paper liners).
- In a small bowl, add non-dairy milk and vinegar. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add butter, sugar and vanilla, and using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in the milk/vinegar mixture and beat again until incorporated. Do not over-mix.
- Add in ½ cup chocolate chips and mix with a large spoon, until combined.
- Divide batter evenly among your cupcake holders, being sure not to over-fill. You will likely have a bit of batter left over.
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set aside and allow to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and non-dairy milk. With an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add a bit more non-dairy milk. If it is too thin, add a bit more icing sugar. Add in a drop or two of food colouring too, if desired.
- Once your cupcakes have cooled completely, frost them and sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on top (the remaining ¼ cup, divided). I used a piping bag to pipe the frosting on my cupcakes, but you don't have to!
Your site is amazing! So many great tips and recipes!
Wow congrats! The benefits you’ve experienced are amazing! No pimples in a year? I could get down with that!
I avoid dairy as much as possible, which I’ve heard really helps skin. But I still get breakouts once a month. Worse than when I was a teenager!
Try cutting out all animal products and see what that does for your skin! 😉 If you really want to add them back in to your diet, add one thing at a time and see how that affects your skin.
These look great!
Also, congrats on your anniversary! I did a slow transition so I’m not 100% sure of when my veganniversary is – I was eating vegan at home but eating the occasional egg/butter at restaurants for a couple months – so I just go with January first.
I don’t see you posting about Mofo, so I figured I’d give you the heads up that I found your blog while looking for blogs participating in the Vegan Month of Food. If you haven’t heard of it, check out the Vegan Mofo blog.
And I’m so happy to have found a blogger semi- local to me! I used to live in Markham and am in Durham region now.
Hi Moon, thanks for the comment! I love Vegan Mofo. 😀 Durham region isn’t far from me at all!
These are the cutiepants-i-est! I can’t wait to get baking again – another month or so until it’s cool enough. Also, completely off topic, I love your purple hair stripes. 🙂
Thanks so much! They make me feel cool, even though I’m so not. 😛