Hello love. Welcome back to another Shamelessly Fabulous Friday! Every Friday I will be celebrating and sharing someone that inspires me, uplifts me and adds a little sunshine to my day! This week I will be celebrating Desiree of I Can You Can Vegan! Desiree is a vegan blogger that first caught my ear back in February.
I was listening to Brown Vegan’s podcast and Desiree was a guest. The episode was very informative for anyone that is interested in blogging. I left that episode knowing that I couldn’t let my blog lay dormant any longer. I also left the podcast an instant fan Desiree’s and had to go check out her blog and her Instagram. I was blown away by her stunning photography skills and mouthwatering recipes! I’m so excited about this celebration! I hope that she inspires you as much as she inspires me!
Get to know Desiree
If you’ve been here a while, you know that I LOVE quotes! Quotes are like little truth nuggets! They have the power to make you think, act and reflect. So you know I couldn’t continue this celebration of Desiree without asking her what her favorite quote is!
Soulversation
I love to start these conversations with your vegan journey because everyone’s vegan story is so different and I believe that there might be someone that’s watching that is not vegan and there might be something that you say that might unlock them, and help them take that next step. Can you share your vegan journey with me?
I love watching documentaries and I was in a ‘Netflix and chill’ mood and came across What the Heath and it changed my world. After watching What the Health I knew that I had to make some changes. My whole life has been a lie, people have been lying to me about food my entire life so of course that led to other documentaries. Food Choices was the other documentary that did it for me.
I’m fortunate to live in a very privileged city, so there are plenty of grocery stores everywhere and fresh food at every turn. Food is not hard to get, so I say that coming from a privileged place. It was pretty easy for me, it was more mental than anything.
Being vegan has definitely opened up a whole new world of vegan food. Its been so freeing to be able to expand my palate outside of all of the societal norms.
Tell me about your Instagram handle:
When I started my blog back in 2017, I was convinced that if I could make the switch to a vegan diet, others could too! Just like most people, I grew up eating the standard American diet, eating everything under the sun. I wanted people to be able to see themselves in my journey and the handle “icanyoucanvegan” seemed fitting.
What is one thing you wished you knew before going vegan/plant based?
Its all about mindset! For YEARS I thought veganism was a “white” thing, or a “rich” thing, I also thought it was really restrictive. I quickly learned that it was none of the above. After going vegan, it felt like a new world opened up. I find myself eating foods I would have never eaten before and I look forward to trying news ones regularly.
What foods do you avoid?
There are no foods that I avoid. There is a lot of confusion about soy so I try to limit my intake but I still eat soy.
What is a food that you can’t live without?
The first thing that came to mind was rice because my family ate a lot of rice growing up. But I also like beans a lot, which is my favorite duo.
Lets talk blogging, why is it important to have a space outside of Instagram?
Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook are great but we don’t own any of that so at the end of the day if those platforms get shut down there is nothing we can do about it. If you’re only sharing content on those platforms, when that platform goes down, all of your content goes with them. That is why it is very important to own your own space. If you’ve got the dot com, use it! I rarely put full and complete recipes on my Instagram because I want you to go to my blog.
What is your favorite thing about blogging?
The food! I’m always hungry and love eating new food! I love the photography, I love taking good pictures.
What is keeping you grounded right now?
I’ve always been a pretty optimistic person and I know that no season can last forever so I’m already planning my life beyond Covid 19. I’m writing down places I want to visit and staying focused on that.
What is one book that has had the greatest impact on your life?
One of my favorite books to date has been Michelle Obama’s memoir. That has been my favorite one because I felt like I was experiencing things with her. It was well done and inspiring. It was so good.
Who inspires you?
There are certainly people that inspire me in the food world Jessica In The Kitchen, Sweet Potato Soul and so many more that I can’t think of right now. My followers also inspire me when they tell me they’ve tried something my recipes! And just the fact that they trust me enough to try my recipes.
What are your best self care practices?
Sometimes the best thing for me is just being still. I like to exercise. It has to be fun. When I work out, it can’t feel like a workout. In addition to that, me and my husband like to go for a walk. Last but not least, my husband bought me a hammock for my birthday. I didn’t know how much I needed a hammock until it ended up in my backyard. In the evenings, when the sun goes down, we like to hang out and just chill.
What are your best practices for getting through challenging times?
I need time to process. I need to sit and think. Sometimes all we can do is pray. The quote that I gave you “Que sera sera , whatever will be, will be” speaks to not stressing about things that are completely out of my control.
Anything that you need to get out of your body?
What is a song that makes you want to move?
One of my all time favorite songs is Dance Tonight. I love Solange, Beyonce, Earth Wind Fire, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson.
What are you most grateful for in this moment?
I don’t know that there is one thing that I am grateful for in this moment, there are a lot of things. I am grateful that I have a husband that I do not mind being quarantined with. I am grateful to be in a healthy relationship where being quarantined is not negative. I am so grateful to have a house where I feel comfortable and safe for the most part. I say for the most part because like a lot of us when we heard about Breonna Taylor, whose murderers have still not been arrested, so if you have not signed petitions to have her murderers arrested, please go find one. I could be Breonna Taylor, I say I feel safe in my home to a certain extent because somebody could run up in here and make it an unsafe space because they think I am someone that I’m not.
I’m grateful to live in a place where food is easily accessible. I’m grateful that god showed me that there is more than one way to make money, my blog being money. I’m grateful to be in a job where I feel safe. I have so many reasons to be grateful.
Check out our full Soulversation
I had too much fun celebrating Desiree! Make sure you follow along her journey at her blog, I Can You Can Vegan and her Instagram!
Thank you so much for stopping by and until next time, Stay Fabulous!
