191. Vegan Pregnancy, Motherhood and The Need For More Black Vegan Voices with The Worthy Vegan
Shout out to this week's sponsor:
Athletic Greens - Athletic Greens is going to give you a free 1 year supply of immune-supporting vitamin D and 5 free travel packs with your first purchase.
Clicking the link above is an easy and free way to support the podcast.
Thank you so much for checking out the sponsor!
Listen here…
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher for weekly episodes.
On this episode of the Brown Vegan podcast, I have Charlotte of The Worthy Vegan joining me for an amazing, in-depth conversation about so many relatable topics that I KNOW y’all will enjoy.
Charlotte is a long-time listener of the Brown Vegan Podcast (which is how we originally connected!) and shares her vegan journey and food inspo as well as talking about health and wellness on her Instagram. She is also a mother of two and loves sharing her experience as a vegan mother with her community.
Because Charlotte has been a listener of the show for years now, you know I had to pester her about what she likes about the podcast (I need to know, okayy?) which turned into a great conversation about being Black in the vegan community. While Charlotte was first beginning her vegan journey–a story she of course shares with us on this episode–she immediately noticed the lack of Black representation in most of the major vegan publications across social media and she doubted if veganism was something other black women even cared about. Now of course you know that after some digging, Charlotte DID come across hundreds of Black vegans, and luckily found the Brown Vegan podcast which helped connect her further with our community. Later in the episode, Charlotte also shares some of the questions her family had for her after announcing she was going vegan (“isn’t that a white people thing?”) and how being a black vegan with white friends and relationships can shape people’s perception of why you’re vegan. It’s a great conversation that I think many of y’all will relate to and find comfort in.
Charlotte’s vegan journey began as trying out pescetarianism in high school, but really took off in college after a health journey led her to watch multiple vegan-focused documentaries (Forks Over Knives; Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead; Invisible Vegan, etc) which led to a summer vegan food challenge. And, as so many people share on this podcast, even though she wanted to eat plant based food, Charlotte kept feeling stuck about WHAT to eat. She shares how that challenge went for her and why it ended up taking her multiple years to officially go vegan.
Like I said, this is podcast episode that’s packed with great topics, conversation, relatable content, and really helpful insights for new vegan mothers going through a vegan pregnancy.
We chat about:
Why hearing black voices and perspectives in the vegan community is so important to new black vegans
How vegan documentaries help influence our food decisions
How Charlotte learned that veganism is so much bigger than JUST food + the pain of learning the environmental and ethical impacts of animal agriculture
Getting stuck eating the same things on repeat as a new vegan and how to break free of that challenge
How to slowly transition to veganism rather than doing it over night
How to replace one animal product at a time with a vegan version
Vegan stereotypes + finding balance between being healthy and enjoying vegan junk food
Pandemic pregnancy, being vegan while pregnant, and how to get support from your doctors as a vegan
What to ask your doctor about being vegan during pregnancy + the importance of vitamins and regular blood work
How to enforce boundaries with non-vegan family while raising a vegan child
Nut allergies as a vegan and helpful tips for avoiding nuts while cooking vegan
Connect with Charlotte:
Resources Mentioned:
Forks over Knives documentary
The Invisible Vegan documentary & our podcast episode
Link to my juice YouTube video