It’s hard to believe VegCharlotte has been around 15 years! It has truly been a labor of love. A great big THANK YOU to all who follow – or even just drop by every now and then!

I started this website as a new vegan because I was constantly asking questions and doing research.

Where can I find unsweetened soy milk in Charlotte? Or nutritional yeast?

My family is holding a reunion at a local restaurant – is there anything I can eat? Maybe combine a few side dishes and appetizers?

Is it rude to bring my own salad dressing to a restaurant? Bring my own food to a party?

What the h*ck do I do with this f*cking tofu?

I felt very strongly that SOMEONE should be tackling those topics and giving advice.

One day I realized that SOMEONE was ME! When the amazing Ileana became too busy to manage Charlotte Veggies, I started the VegCharlotte Meetup Group. Originally, the blog was meant to be a resource for those members, but turned out I liked writing, photography, recipe creation, cooking, and eating a lot more than I liked event organization! Through the years, this blog has led to awards and freelance jobs – including local publications Keep Charlotte Boring, Creative Loafing, and Charlotte’s Got A Lot.

But 15 years is a looong time.

Things change. Being vegan or “plant based” is now MAINSTREAM! There’s plenty of sources for good, basic information.

I changed. I’m no longer that shy little girl that walked into Charlotte’s first Earth Fare and burst into tears when she saw Vegenaise, Tofurky, and Earth Balance for the first time. I no longer feel compelled to read each and every article and social media post on veganism, and I haven’t watched a vegan documentary in ages. TBH, I find all that a little boring now. Where’s the information and articles for long-term vegans, older vegans, Gen X vegans? SOMEONE should be writing that!

And writing honestly. One peeve I have about the vegan community is everyone is starry eyed. All restaurants are fantastic, all vegan-for-the-moment celebrities are wonderful, every frozen vegan faux meat patty is da bomb, every cookbook is full of mouth-watering recipes. We’re notorious for giving participation trophies.

So this blog is going to change a little, too. (Don’t worry, it won’t all happen overnight, and the theme will still be “Living Vegan in Charlotte, NC – and Elsewhere.”)

You’ll see posts about:

Vegan Health & Aging

I almost didn’t post Vegan Colonoscopy Prep because I thought no one would be interested. Surprise! It is my top post from the past 3 years, with a whopping 40K in views. Clearly, there are middle age and older vegans out there having a hard time finding the vegan-oriented health information they need!

Even if originally we “went vegan for the animals”, we all become more concerned about our health as years go by.

Easy, Inexpensive Recipes

Recipes always do well. Especially the easy ones that start with a can of beans! Check out my Simply Scrumptious Southern Pinto Bean Burgers/Cakes. I get it, for many of us food is expensive, prices keep rising, and money is tight! Related to this is

A Return To Old School

There is a dizzying, mouth watering array of vegan meats, cheeses, and ice creams, but lately I find myself returning to old-school vegan. Tofu and tempeh and homemade bean burgers and hummus and noochy cheese sauce. Chocolate black bean fruit dip and black bean brownies. Nice cream. All kinds of homemade dressings and sauces. We had to be creative back then – and the food was delicious, mostly nutritious, and economical.

Sober as F*ck

Another stat discovery that surprised me was the popularity of my “Sober as F*ck” series, where I originally detailed my Dry January adventures and later began posting reviews and recipes of vegan friendly beers, spirits, and mocktails. (Why wouldn’t a cocktail, mocktail, or alcohol-free beer be vegan friendly? Read Watch Out For The Spirits.)

Readers loved the Sober As F*ck series.

Gen Z doesn’t find alcohol cool.

“Vegan for my health” people are too health-oriented to indulge much, if at all.

And Gen X? Many “Gen X vegans” don’t drink because we overdid the alcohol a bit – sometimes more than a bit – in our early vegan years. Back in those days we’d go to a party, luncheon, dinner, wedding, evening cruise, whatever and there would be NOTHING we could eat.

Except the booze.

We called it the Jack Sparrow Syndrome.

You’ll also see posts on:

Eating Greens – Seriously. I’m a vegan who HATES salads. Only a little less than I hate broccoli and brussels sprouts. I’ll share my secrets to making greens palatable.

Meal Planning / Batch Cooking – I am hopeless at this. You can learn with me.

Decluttering / Organizing – As someone with ADHD this is tough, but I have learned a lot through the years. I’m also a big fan of upcycling and repurposing – take a look at my hydration station.

My Rescue Babies – The reason I originally went veg. How can you love the one and eat the other?

Travel – especially w/Dogs – Nothing better than road trippin’ with your furbabies. I’m also partial to ghost towns.

Vegan Friendly Makeup & Skin Care – I’m not a beauty blogger, but I do get asked about the products I personally use.

Product Reviews or Roundups of products I especially like. There’s so many great vegan products today, I’m not going to give out participation prizes to “decent” or “meh” products. On the other hand, if a product is spectacularly bad, I may give that a mention. We need more truth!

Throwback Memories to the “early” days of modern veganism.

Amusing Anecdotes of Life as a Vegan. Not all were amusing at the time.

And of course, Vegan Happenings & Restaurants in Charlotte!

Old posts will be updated. Readers don’t always notice the date a review posted. I’ll also be adding some new photos and updating recipes.

Can’t wait to see where the next 15 years will take me! And I hope you come along for the ride!

Have any questions? Ask!

Something you want me to write about? Let me know!