VAM Questionnaire: Candace

Candace Bollinger is a vegan from Brooklyn, NY. She is a self-professed cat lady, a radical feminist, an anarchist, a head-over-heels-in-love partner to the most amazing person ever, an aunt to six awesome little boys, a sister to four, a daughter, an activist, a reader, a survivor and a vegan (sometimes a raw one). She works retail in New York and is currently studying to become an EMT. In unpaid work, she does workshops for political activists on emotional wellness and self care in the social justice sphere.

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Q When did you become a vegan? 

A 6 years ago.
Q Why did you become a vegan? 

A I had been a vegetarian for a very long time (since age 11) and gone back and forth from vegetarian to vegan. One day I decided I just needed to commit, for the animals, for my health, and for the environment.
Q What is the most common misunderstanding you face about being vegan? 

A HOW DO YOU GET YOUR PROTEIN!??!??!? It's nonsense. I get plenty of protein from beans, grains, and nuts.
Q What is your strategy for maintaining your vegan diet? 

A At this point, it's very natural to me. However, in the beginning, I admit to having to force myself to watch videos showing the horrors of the dairy industry, every time I thought "mmmmm, I want pizza..."
Q What is your favorite meal? 

A The Picnic Plate from Angelica Kitchen in NYC. It has raw marinated kale, a curried cashew pate, kimchee, fermented ruby kraut and marinated tempeh.
Q What is your favorite dish to prepare? 

A Red Lentil Curry. It has onions, garlic, the lentils, red peppers, spinach, tomatoes, tumeric, curry, garam masala, cinnamon, cashews and apples in it. It's out of this world.
Q What is your favorite recipe? 

A Auntie Bonnie's Wacky Cake from the Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer vegan cookbook series. Hands down, the best vegan chocolate cake ever.
Q What is your favorite cookbook? 

A Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.
Q What is your favorite restaurant? 

A Angelica Kitchen in NYC.
Q Which culinary tools do you use most often in the kitchen? 

A A good knife, a food processor, and my dehydrator.
Q Any advice/thoughts you'd share with people who are considering becoming vegan? 

A The best thing about it will be the difference that you feel after such a short period of time. Your energy levels skyrocket, your body feels clean; it's like a whole new world.