So I'm eighteen and pregnant with my first. I am just now making the switch to veganism, after watching documentaries like Forks over Knives, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, &Foods that Kill I was compelled. I see the fact this lifestyle is cruelty-free as an added bonus, and now because of those documentaries and my research, I KNOW I this will be a healthy lifestyle for me AND my baby. He's not going to know any other way to live/eat.

I'm due in November, on the 17th. I plan to breastfeed and raise him to be a plant-powered kid... and am also going to avoid letting him consume processed foods/preservatives. Shooting for as organic as possible.

As time goes on I want to grow a garden and a small orchard in my yard and do as much of this as possible with my own homegrown fruit. I plan to learn how to make my own juices, dressings, almond milk.. all of it. 

So far I'm just taking little steps. The change is proving to be more difficult for my boyfriend than for me. Cows milk, as many of you know, has casomorphins: addictive hormones meant for keeping a calf close to it's mother. I quit drinking cows milk back when I was 14 at the urging of my dermatologist(my acne was out of control), and switched to soy milk. In the last few months I've switched from soy to almond. However, while I gave up cows milk long ago, my boyfriend has been used to it his whole life and I can tell he's not liking the idea of giving it up even though he well knows the benefits of doing so.

I guess thats where we are right now. I never really knew how to cook BEFORE hand anyway, so I'm learning how to cook and cook vegan all at once right now. My dad said it though: "Learning how to cook is a good thing, and learning how to cook healthy for your family is a GREAT thing." It was really encouraging.

I just wanted to introduce myself and see if I can't make some friends and find out what you all do to live the lifestyle of Vegan Parents raising Vegan babies.. Any advice or tips you all may have for me at this stage of my journey are greatly appreciated.

--Ashley Rankin

Big Water UT