When one person decides to take part in Veganuary it can have a much broader ripple effect within their families, especially if that person is the household’s main cook.
Here, we meet some Veganuary participants to find out what their personal decision meant for their families and how they all navigated the changes together.
Udesh’s Story: Inspiring His Family to Change
Udesh from Johannesburg transitioned to a vegan lifestyle around eight years ago, which he says “stands out as the best decision I’ve ever made”.
Not only has he noticed health improvements, but it has also had a truly positive impact on his life. “Joining various vegan communities has allowed me to form numerous meaningful friendships.” he says. “I’ve become an active participant in many vegan markets, where I’ve discovered a wide array of exciting new products.”
These positive changes did not go unnoticed within his family! When they got married, Udesh’s wife Karishma was still eating meat and Udesh admits there were some rather heated debates! But as time went by, and Karishma read his passionate posts about veganism, she came to see a spiritual significance in veganism, and she also made the switch.
And she wasn’t the only one! Udesh’s mother Vijay also saw how well he was and, inspired by his posts, she switched to a vegan diet, too.
“I’m proud to say that my family has undergone a remarkable transformation in their dietary choices, thanks in part to my own journey,” he says.
“Both my wife and mother jokingly refer to me as the ‘leader’ who paved the way for their transition. It’s heartwarming to see my loved ones embracing a more compassionate and sustainable way of living and this shared commitment to veganism has strengthened our bonds and enriched our lives in countless ways.”
Nadine’s Family on the Veganuary Journey
“It had been on my mind for a long time to change to a vegan diet,” says Nadie from Oxford, “and I was starting to find a lot of guilt about not doing it.”
But the logistics of how to manage it were holding her back. Nadine’s husband was raised as a big meat-eater, and they had three children under the age of five. Her decision was bound to impact them, which made things so much more complex.
She kept asking herself, “What would my husband, family, and friends think and what would I do with the kids’ food?!”
Nonetheless, her feelings became so strong that she took the plunge, took part in Veganuary, and just decided to take one day at a time, literally marking a ‘V’ on her calendar for every day she ate vegan.
As the daily Veganuary emails arrived, she showed them to her husband, and they talked about her reasons for wanting to eat a vegan diet. He was open to watching some of the well-known documentaries with Nadine, which led to him choosing a meat-free diet, too.
But she still needed to decide what to feed their children. “I kept asking myself how I could say animal products were not to be in my diet but still justify giving them to my kids,” she says. Nadine decided to cut out meat and eggs for them too, and to swap cows’ milk for oat milk.
“They didn’t notice a thing,” she says. And today, their children’s food is almost always vegan. “We aren’t perfect yet,” she tells us, although we know of course that there is no such thing as perfection.
“It is hard to always say no to chocolate or pizza and so we are still on that journey. I wish I had never given them animal products in the first place, but I didn’t know then what I know now.”
Nadine talks openly with her children about why they don’t eat certain things “but as they are all very young (5,3,3) we try to avoid assigning any good or bad labels with food so it can be a tricky conversation to have at times.”
It has been a very positive Veganuary journey for Nadine and her family and even the children’s grandmother makes them vegan mac and cheese, meatballs, stews, desserts and much more.
And while it may not have always been easy, it’s been utterly transformational for Nadine. “All the guilt I had around food is gone, and I get to share this new thing with my family which is amazing.”
Two Couples (And One Dog) Doing Veganuary Together
“After watching Seaspiracy and Cowspiracy my husband and I asked each other ‘what the hell are we doing?!?’ says Alicia from Milton Keynes.
The year was 2019 and at the time Alicia was pescatarian. “We decided that our lives had to change in order to reduce our impact on other lives – fish, hens, and cows in particular.”
They could not wait for Veganuary and set about changing their diets straight away, although six months later, they took part. And it was the start of a whole new way of life for them.
Lisa and Phil from Leeds also took part together back in 2018 and loved the experience, especially the creativity of the food and discovering the close connection between what they ate, nutrition and their health.
They found it so empowering that they soon adapted the rest of their lives so that the products they use and buy are also vegan. Even Sasha, their beloved dog, transitioned easily to a vegan diet.
But it also brought them closer together as a couple. “I love that we’re on this journey together,” says Lisa. “It’s the best decision we ever made.”
Mark & Kerry’s Story: It All Aligned
It was Mark who first raised the idea of taking part in Veganuary. He had watched What the Health and Cowspiracy, which had made him aware of the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet.
Around the same time, one of the couple’s cats sadly passed away and this really affected Kerry. “I realised the hypocrisy of crying over the death of our cat whilst still eating meat,” she said.
As a result of discussing all these things together, the couple found they were both equally keen to try eating vegan. And it is fair to say that they have taken to it like a pair of rescued ducks to water. “Kerry is by far the better cook and the primary chef in the house,” says Mark, “however when we tried new recipes we often worked together.”
It was their collaborative decision-making and mutual embracing of the journey which made it so enjoyable and helped them connect even more. “We believe the experience brought us closer together,” Mark told us, “because it showed us that we had another important core belief in common.”
Feeling inspired? Why not join these families and take part in Veganuary? We’ll send you coaching emails packed with useful tips, resources, meal plans and recipes – all for free!
