2022
Having grown up with a father who supplies meat to thousands of people in my city, I have been a meatatarian all my life; chowing down copious amounts of meat ever since I can remember!
But in November 2018, I met a friend who is vegetarian and through her I discovered a whole new world of food! Not only did I find delicious food that I didn't know existed but I also saw a huge positive transformation in my health. So I decided to go vegetarian full time; not knowing the challenges that would come with it.
When I explained this lifestyle choice to those close to me, I got very confused looks and a lot of discouragement. In fact, some even said "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Because food without meat on a Kenyan plate is not only unheard of but also frowned upon.
This didn't stop me because I knew what worked for my body. So I kept up my pursuit for vegetarian food around the city. At first, I was quite discouraged because either the options were very limited or very bland. It started to dawn on me why Kenyans avoid vegetarian food.
Eventually though I discovered some amazing places by chance! The first was a Chinese restaurant called Silk Noodle, just ten minutes away from my workplace. Then I also came across avocado, tomato and cheese sandwich, Chinese soups, and of course the Mecca of vegetarian food - Indian cuisine!
Getting to a point where I can sustain a vegetarian diet required a lot of trial and error and also persistence. So I resolved to ensure that I make it easier for other vegetarians to find the food for them, especially in Kenya where it's hard to find. I began to take photos of menus and uploading them to maps to help others decide where to eat before they take the time to get there. I also started tagging my posts with #vegetarian to help others easily find what they are looking for.
I hope that with these efforts people not only discover food they've never had but those with diet restrictions can comfortably meet their needs and find the food for them. Especially the delicious kind :).
