In bed with Like a Vegan

Firstly we’d love if you could tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hi! My name is Chelsey and I’m the Founder and Editor of Like A Vegan – a blog covering all things vegan including food, fashion, beauty, lifestyle and travel. I live in Newcastle with my rescue terrier, Brett and love to spend most of my time listening to hip hop and podcasts.

What does your perfect morning look like?

My perfect morning would mean waking up whenever I felt like it, making a delicious breakfast like avo on toast and taking it back to bed to eat while I watch Netflix!

What’s your number one sleep tip?

I have to have white noise in the background to sleep as It helps me block out any other noises that may pop up throughout the night. I usually have a fan going as well as a podcast to get me in the zone.

How do you wind down in the evening?

I know you’re not supposed to do this but I can’t go to sleep without watching a solid half hour of Netflix. If I don’t factor this in to my nightly routine, I find that I have a really restless sleep.

How has Koala changed your sleeping habits?

Firstly, I upgraded to a queen so I am loving the extra sleep real estate but with a puppy in the bed, I’ve found that his movements throughout the night don’t disturb me at all.

What mattress feature appealed to you the most?

I love Koala’s commitment to animals by not only creating a vegan and cruelty-free mattress but also adopting a koala with every mattress purchase. I don’t think I’ve heard of any other mattresses that actively promote anything like that!

As a blogger, what is your favourite thing to blog about?

Recipe development is for sure my fave because it allows me to show people that vegan food isn’t boring. I also love to promote companies who are creating fantastic vegan products so that’s a close second.

Where do you find your inspiration to blog, and how did you first get started?

I find inspiration mainly from non-vegan food and funnily enough that’s also how I got started. When I first went vegan, I missed a lot of the food I grew up with so started ‘veganising’ those meals and sharing them on my personal Facebook page. When friends started asking for the recipe, I started a blog to keep track of them for myself and to share with friends!

You have a good following of 16,700 people. What do you think draws people to follow you? What’s your unique offering?

I like to think that people follow me because I’m posting content that is relevant or interesting to them in some way. It’s really easy to get overwhelmed by all the horrible stuff that happens to animals and while accounts highlighting that kind of thing are important, I’ve made a point of always showing the lighter side of veganism and highlighting all the positives!

What made you start being vegan?

I first went vegetarian because my brothers told me they would love me more (true story). I had always wanted to be vegan but like many had put it in the too hard basket because I bloody loved cheese! I finally made the decision to go vegan when I’d cut out cheese for a diet I was on and realised it wasn’t so hard after all!

What’s the best thing about being a vegan?

Good question! I think it depends on why you’re vegan. For me, it’s a 100% ethical decision so the best thing for me is the fact that as much as possible I am reducing animal suffering for my own benefit. The diversity of delish eats, health benefits and environmental impact are all amazing by-products that have come along with it.

What’s the hardest thing about being a vegan?

The hardest thing is absolutely the mainstream misconceptions about what veganism is all about. I think people like to immediately jump to the conclusion that vegans are bossy activists who live only to make people feel guilty about the way they live their lives and that’s simply not true. Funnily enough, I find it’s usually the people fighting that ethical dilemma within themselves that love to perpetuate the “militant vegan” stereotype.

Has being vegan made you think about how the rest of the products you use in life are made?

Absolutely! Veganism is an all-encompassing lifestyle that doesn’t just include diet, which makes it impossible to be vegan without considering everything you buy and reading a lot of labels. It sounds super complicated but trust me, it becomes second nature very quickly.

What do you look for in products now that you’re vegan?

First and foremost – products I buy can’t have any animal products or animal by-products. For food that means nothing like dairy, eggs or things like gelatine and when it comes to other products I’m looking for things like leather, wool and silk. If I’m searching for beauty or home products nothing can be tested on animals or include ingredients like carmine (from beetles), lanolin (from wool) or beeswax.

Some people may be put off going vegan because of the reduction in food options. What is your ULTIMATE meal you love to prepare?

Oh, don’t make me choose! If I’m just cooking for myself I love to make a delicious vegan pizza with a tonne of veggies, mock meats and vegan cheese. If I’m entertaining I love to put on a huge spread. At the moment I’m planning a Christmas in July (in August) feast for my (non vegan) friends and plan on making a huge mock meat pie, mac n cheese, crumbed Brussels sprouts and a bunch of roasted vegetables.

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