In March of 2020, after 4 and a half years of working for a successful legal video company, my heart pounded as I asked my boss if we could “have a talk”. Based on his expression, I knew he knew that a breakup was coming. After many months of contemplation, I decided to follow my passion and turn my love of food, animals, health, and fitness into a career. A few months prior, my boss had told me that he considered me a “lifer” and that I would eventually be taking over the company. Yea being a “boss chick” sounds cool and all, but I wanted to be a “boss chick” of my own company that 100% aligns with my passion and purpose in life. So, I quit…
I’d say the idea of Meatless Meals began to come to fruition when I was just a wee little 12 year old. I attended the Indiana State Fair with my family and spent a little extra time in the pig barn. I remember coming to the realization that the critters I was swooning over were the same critters I was allowing on my plate. My grandmother had been a vegetarian for 30+ years at that point so I was vaguely familiar with the concept but I guess I didn’t fully understand the relationship between animals and food. I knew that I could no longer consciously consume meat after that so I became a vegetarian. I did have a few accidental slip ups at first but I was just a tween and still learning. At that point, my deep compassion for animals and honoring their lives began.
Flash forward to my Sophomore year of college around 2013. My professor gave my class an assignment to turn a passion project into a business. I created a Facebook page called Meatless Meals where I posted vegetarian recipes and videos. I was tired of people always asking my “well what do you eat?” in response to me saying I was a vegetarian. I loved food, nutrition, and creating vegetarian recipes and wanted to use the page as a tool to show people all of the wonderful meatless recipes there were and how animals do not need to be consumed in order to satisfy one’s appetite.
Over the years, I continued to post on my Meatless Meals page. In the fall of 2019, right around the time my Facebook got hacked and I had to start clean with my page, the idea of turning Meatless Meals into something more kept me up at night. The thought of creating an actual business was intimidating, but I knew that if I put my mind to it then I could make it happen. Well...I put my mind to it. Most of the podcasts, articles, and videos I was absorbing recommended beginning a new business as a side hustle first, then quitting your job, but I was ansty to get out of the job I was working and dive in head first to my own business venture.
At the beginning of 2020, I enrolled in the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies Plant-Based Certificate program. Possibly one of the best decisions I ever made. Because of this class, I transitioned into a vegan plant-based lifestyle and my vision and purpose has grown exponentially. Originally one of my main purposes with Meatless Meals was to save animals by keeping them off our plates. I have always been passionate about nutrition and knew that meat was harming our bodies, but didn’t have a clear vision on how I could tie the two together. Realizing that my desire to help animals so closely correlated to my obsession with health and wellness was a damn near magical feeling.Through helping others attain their health goals, I can also help less animals be consumed which means I am making double the impact in this world.
I am so excited to share this process with you in following my dreams and pursuing Meatless Meals as a full-time career. I would love to hear your personal story as well. Please comment below and let me know what drives you.