Before I start with this post I just want to pop a PSA out there into the world right away and say that I’m not (currently) Vegan. I’m going to go into a bit more detail about my relationship with food but I’m keen to share this brand with you because since being on Twitter, my eyes really have been opened to Veganism and I know an awful lot of Vegan bloggers (two of my favorites are The Curvaceous Vegan and Glow Steady) who I thoroughly enjoy. I think we all need to do our bit to help the planet and I don’t necessarily agree with this, “all or nothing” attitude that some people adopt. For some people, it’s not possible to have a Vegan diet but they can help in another way by shopping cruelty-free and using Vegan skincare. But food, plant-based options and Eco-friendly behaviors are always worth discussing.
My relationship with food
Veganism or vegetarianism didn’t really even enter my vocabulary until I was on Twitter and blogging (which says a lot about social media). My parents both eat meat, I only ever had one Vegetarian friend at school (who eventually started eating meat) and it just wasn’t something I thought about. I’ve always had a funny relationship with food (which you can read more about here) and I still don’t have a particularly healthy one. But over the last few years I have been more and more conscious about the meat I’m consuming.
Two years ago, I wouldn’t even know where to look for a plant-based alternative to things like milk, cheese or yogurts. But again, back to the power of social media, I now naturally reach for Alpro yogurts (which are the best things in the freaking world), Naked bars and consciously try and cut meat out of my diet at least a few days a week. Due to my dodgy history with disordered eating, I don’t feel like restricting what I eat is healthy for me but I’m happy with the progress I’ve made.
Would I ever become Vegan?
I would absolutely love to be Vegan. I would love to feel the health benefits that a lot of Vegans feel from having a full, well-rounded Vegan diet. I’m under no illusion that all Vegan diets are healthy as I’m sure there’s plenty of Vegan junk food out there. I would definitely struggle in knowing what I can eat, what I can’t and coming up with flavorsome recipes. I like a lot of flavor, spices, herbs and sauce in my food so I’d need some good information on how I can adopt that in a Vegan diet. I’d much rather do it steadily and introduce Vegan foods into my diet on a permanent basis first.
So if anyone has any recommendations, I’d love to hear them!
Who are Healthlabs and what do they do?
I was contacted by Healthlabs, a private and affordable wellness company who offer about their Vegan health tests which I’ll talk to you a bit about now! These tests are designed to help detect deficiencies of some of the most common vitamins and nutrients in our bodies. They recommend these tests for Vegans, who want to see if they’re lacking in anything which they can then turn around and lead an even healthier lifestyle or people who might be wondering whether a Vegan diet is for them… like me!
Unfortunately Healthlabs are only available in the U.S at the moment but luckily for all you folks across the pond, they have over 4000 certified locations all over the U.S when you can have the tests done. They only take 10 minutes and you don’t need to go to a doctors, a hospital or anywhere scary like that.
Healthlabs Vegan testing start at $149 and increases to around $399 which are incredibly affordable! But if you are on a budget, you can get 25% off all vegan testing when using the code JENNYINNEVERLAND25. Bonus!
I think if these tests can encourage more people to adopt a Vegan – or even just a generally healthier – lifestyle then great. For the amount and the time it takes, I definitely think they’re worth it, especially if you feel like you might be lacking in something anyway or feel like your current diet isn’t serving you. I’d personally be really interested to see if I’m lacking in any type of vitamin or if I’m intolerant to anything which I should probably remove from my diet. Although I might not be the healthiest person ever, it’s something I’m always conscious of and I think if I had the information from these sort of tests then I’d definitely be adopting a more healthier lifestyle with much less meat in it!
I’d love to hear about your diet; are you Vegan? Thinking about going Vegan? Do you have any recommendations of yummy Vegan alternatives for me? Have you ever had nutrition testing? Let me know!
* This post is sponsored by Healthlabs