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My path towards wellness started almost 8 years ago upon realization that I had a problem with alcohol and needed to quit. I have been sober for nearly 8 years and I believe my journey began when I quit drinking alcohol and it is still evolving today.

After I became sober I went through a number of life-changing experiences including marriage, children, divorce, financial struggles and re-marriage. Throughout all of this I sustained a considerable amount of psychological stress on my body. I credit the practice of yoga with being able to help me positively manage stressors in my life. This is such a critical component of my overall well-being and I find that I quickly become paralyzed by life if I am not able to effectively manage stress in my life. I currently practice yoga daily, I enjoy running, cross-training and most recently started P90X training.

My personal experience with plant powered living started about 3 years ago when I made a conscious decision to stop eating animals. I am not sure what prompted me to stop except it seemed to conflict with the healthy lifestyle that I was trying to attain. My family was plagued with health issues including lung cancer (which took the life of my father), digestive disorders, arthritis, renal failure (and subsequent kidney transplantation donated by my mother to my brother) and many other health issues. I was a smoker and shortly after I quit eating animals I gave up smoking as well.

About a year after I gave up eating animals I was presented with a copy of “The China Study” by my former father-in-law who follows a vegan lifestyle. I humored him and decided to read the book. I was fascinated by the content and made a personal resolution to become vegan before I was halfway done with the book. I have maintained this vegan lifestyle since my initial exposure to “The China Study” and have expanded the scope of my vegan lifestyle to all areas of my life. I do not believe that non-human animals are for our use for any reason including food, entertainment, clothing or research. I have taken part in many peaceful demonstrations in support of animal rights and I am a current member of the Animal Rights Coalition based in Minneapolis, MN.

Most recently I was selected to be PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door and I won a trip to Hawaii! Currently I am following Douglas Graham’s 80/10/10 Raw Vegan diet and consume mostly fruit with a balance of greens and fresh vegetables. My fitness levels are increasing as my 37 year old body starts to resemble that of a much younger person. I have experienced near limitless amounts of energy and want to be able to share my experience, strength, and struggles with others who are looking to improve their lifestyle and live a compassionate life free of any and all animal products.

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Hi! I’m Jenna. I have been vegan for about two and a half years, and have loved every minute of it. As a vegan who knows a lot of other vegans, can I first say that the myth about vegans not being able to eat anything is just that, a myth! Vegans love food. Why? Because we feel great after eating our food, we know where it came from, how awesome it tastes, and that our food doesn’t contribute to an industry that hurts innocent animals.

Growing up in Wisconsin, many of my family members tend to be meat-eating, beer-drinking, fishing, hunting folks. It also happens to be “land of the cheese heads”, so transitioning to a vegan lifestyle seemed like a challenge, at first. Prior to going full-on vegan, I was a vegetarian for 8 or 9 years. Having always had a connection with animals, I decided early on that I did not want to eat my friends. However, when I went to college and my passion for animal rights, activism, and the environment grew, I realized that supporting the egg and dairy industry was just as cruel as eating meat. Veganism rocks. There are plenty of reasons to be vegan…and very few not to be!

Let’s face it: veganism is not a trend, but a growing movement that will continue to grow. Why? Because it just makes sense. Veganism is the best thing you can do for your body, mind, the environment, and of course, our appreciative furry/scaly/hairy friends, the non-human animals.

So, I am here as your mentor, to show you how and why veganism rocks. It’s easy (super freaking easy, really), fun, makes you feel great, and I would love to introduce you to the awesome local vegan community. I come with the knowledge of books, documentaries, a great network of vegan friends, and Google powers, of course. Please, ask me questions, take me with you to the grocery store, or ask me to help you cook dinner. Whatever helps you go vegan or stay vegan, I am willing and able to help. Because the world needs more vegans. And you should be one of them!

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For me, the best thing about becoming vegan was discovering a new talent – cooking! Before I was vegan I could barely boil water (and usually I couldn’t even be bothered to do that), but now I’m an ace in the kitchen. I absolutely love trying new recipes and foods, and one of my favorite things to do is to prepare meals for my family and friends. I also love to run and have done several half marathons. In the summer I like to ride my bike as much as possible but I haven’t quite worked up the courage to bike in the winter yet…. maybe next year. During the cold months I do more indoor activities: reading books, watching movies, knitting, or enjoying some cocktails with friends. I live and work in Saint Paul, but I spend a lot of time in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis, too.

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Hi, I’m Megan. I’ve been vegan since late 2005. I made the vegan transition without taking a pit stop in Lacto-Ovo Land, like most vegans. I was working at a bookstore, and was there when the first copy of Skinny Bitch came off the truck. This book had received no publicity at first and I picked it up because I was in charge of the diet/nutrition sections. I decided to read it, not knowing that it was about veganism. Once I figured that out, I opened my mind and kept reading. It made me say “I didn’t know that.”

I soon embarked on a 30-day vegan experiment. I bought soy milk, veggie burgers, Toffutti cream cheese, and my first bottle of Bragg’s. I also remember saying, “If soy ice cream sucks, this might not work out.” Luckily, it doesn’t suck. I didn’t have any vegan friends at the time, so I relied heavily on the internet and books. During my 30 days, I read a LOT. At the end of it, not only did I feel 100% better physically and mentally, but I knew that I could no longer be a part of the horrors I’d read about. I threw away all the meat in my freezer.

I’m a big foodie. I won’t even tell you the horrible things I’ve eaten in my carnivorous past. I basically had to learn to cook all over again, and I’m a much better cook because of it. I joined the Post Punk Kitchen forums and bought a ton of cookbooks. It was on the PPK forums that I found out about ARC’s Vegan Drinks. I still had no “real life” vegan friends, and I wanted to become more active with animal rights, so I went to ARC’s Cosmopolitan-soaked Vegan Drinks event in March 2009. It was there that I met other vegans, washed a lot of martini glasses, and the rest, as they say, is history. I now have a vegan blog (downhomevegan.com) and always participate in any events that call for cooking or baking and sharing.

I am not what you would call a “warm and fuzzy” vegan. I tend to tell it like it is and point out when excuses are being made. Animals don’t care about excuses. I also discourage any mention of how “difficult” or “expensive” veganism is.There are a million reasons why this is not the case.

I will answer the phone at all hours of the day or night if you have questions. I will happily answer text messages you send while standing in the aisles of Rainbow like, “What the halle is DATUM?” I will bake muffins for you. I’ll hold your hand through your first trip to Ecopolitan for a 100% raw vegan lunch. I’ll hold the tissues for you while you watch Earthings. And I hope you don’t mind, but if there’s Silk Nog to be had, I may crash your family Christmas. Just sayin’.

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I am a health conscious vegan. I enjoy eating “comfort foods” and I enjoy trying new recipes. I watch my sugar and sodium intake and I am interested in reading labels to determine what ingredients are actually packaged in foods. I am not a big tofu gal nor do I enjoy those fake lunch meats on the market, but I do enjoy easy-to-prepare meals that my non-vegan co-workers will salivate over when I bring them to lunch.

Many of my family members have dealt with diabetes and other health issues. Therefore, I’m strongly interested in the heath benefits of veganism and how to avoid diseases such as diabetes and cancer. I am interested in learning how the body is affected by foods. I enjoy reading and listening to folks like Dr. Mercola and Dr. Barnard. I am also interested in environmental issues and how human behavior affects our planet and the animals that live here. I am interested in researching and talking to others about the impact of cleaning agents such as sodium laurel sulfate on human and aquatic animals.

I am a social worker by day and enjoy volunteering by night. I am a human and animal rights activist through and through. Besides ARC, I volunteer with Small Dog Rescue of Minnesota and enjoy contributing to the rescue of fur babies. I also volunteer at puppy mill demonstrations and enjoy talking to others about how to properly care for their furry friends. In my spare time, I’m often found playing with my two Chihuahuas. I do not have any children, so my fur babies are my kids.

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I came to be vegan through the intertwining of the animal rights, social justice, and environmental movements, and try to live my life in a way that reflects all three of those mindsets. That means that I can show you how to bake brownies using fair trade cocoa as well as how to sew your own clothes from ridiculous thrift store finds, and tell you two things you can do with your vegetable scraps before tossing them in the compost (either make your own soup stock or use them to feed a rodent you’ve rescued – I did this for rats I rescued from a laboratory when I was in college).

I love to cook. but can never seem to follow a recipe, so I come up with weird – albeit delicious – concoctions sometimes. I love reading, backpacking, walking barefoot, breaking stereotypes, traveling, and people watching. I live in South Minneapolis, but get to travel around the country for my job.

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I’m what you may call a “junk food” vegan. I LOVE vegan junk food! But don’t let that fool you, I’ve been studying nutrition since going vegan. I’ve participated in the Cancer Project and read everything I can get my hands on about healthy vegan diets and how plant foods maintain optimum health. Speaking of reading, I love to read. My favorite books are those that make you think in ways you haven’t before, or books with themes about justice and how we interact with each other. I’m also a movie SNOB. I don’t like to be hit over the head with garbage – challenge me, amuse me, cause me to emote, or don’t bother.

I am married and do not have any children, nor do I necessarily want any. I want to travel and then travel some more and when I get home I want to travel again. I don’t like being tied down to a lifestyle (read: house/kids/companion animals) because I’m always evolving and my interests change frequently. I’ve got the attention span of Dora in Finding Nemo. I like to do yoga, rock climbing, and I bike pretty much everywhere during the summer. I hate winter and being cold, but I don’t really like summer and being too hot either. My husband is NOT vegan.

I live near Uptown and I love being in that area because there is so much to do. The northern suburbs scare me (that’s where I’m from). My real passion is activism and I plan to do that all day, every day, once I win the lottery. I am very active in animal rights and I love spending time with my vegan friends. I am not shy and frequently say what I’m thinking. I’m the person who will say what others wish they would, that is to say, when people challenge me or my values, I bite back and hard. To some, that’s a great quality. To others it can be a little abrasive. That’s not to say I don’t know when to let something go; some people aren’t worth it and I know (usually) when to keep my mouth shut and walk away. Others might describe me as outgoing, bold, feisty, reliable, and loyal.

I am not a religious person but I’m very interested in my own spiritual journey and I love metaphysical stuff, and I do believe that all paths lead to “home” eventually.

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I grew up in Shakopee with my parents and two older sisters (both are vegetarians). After High School, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. Now I have a career as a web developer in Minnetonka where I’ve worked since the Summer of 2008. I became a vegan in early 2012 and was a vegetarian for the seven years prior to that.

I became a vegetarian to resolve the inner moral conflict that I was experiencing as a result of arbitrarily giving greater value to some animals (e.g. my family’s dog while growing up), yet not affording any value at all to other animals (e.g. pigs). Later on, as I learned more about and thought critically of the dairy and egg industry, I realized the same moral trappings applied to animals used (but kept alive) for food and other products. This is when I realized that vegetarianism was not a destination, but just a step in the right direction, so I became a vegan.

As a vegetarian, I continually decreased my consumption of milk and eggs as I knew they were not healthy, and at the very least, they were produced in a way that was not ideal (ethically and morally); however, the idea of completely eliminating these products scared me. I thought veganism would require sacrificing some of my favorite foods (e.g. pizza, some old family baking recipes). Little did I know that veganism would give me much more than I could ever possibly lose (not just in “karma” or feeling good, but in amazing food I otherwise would not have tried).

Although I do enjoy pondering the moral and ethical implications of my actions, I spend most of my time cooking, baking, working out, running, watching movies and TV shows, spending time with friends, eating pizza, reading and volunteering.

Becoming or being a vegan is as difficult as or as easy as the knowledge, support, and resources at one’s disposal. If afforded to me as your mentor, I eagerly await the opportunity to fill any gaps in any of these areas to make becoming and being a vegan, the enjoyable, enriching experience it should be for everyone. If you want someone who can give you practical advice and recommendations, truly and deeply empathize with your experiences, as well as help and guide you in any way humanly possible, I am the person for you.