During Vegan MoFo 2012 I have been offering tips and tricks to help you on your vegan journey – specifically in the kitchen.
Today I have something for you that goes way beyond offering a tip – I am able to offer you a very special giveaway that will provide you 30 days of support on your vegan journey, from none other than Colleen Patrick-Goudreau!
I met Colleen at Vida Vegan Con in 2011 and wrote about that experience here: We are ambassadors of compassion. AT VVC she spoke on planting seeds of veganism and communication as activism. Here are a few of my rough notes from her session:
- Anger and peace are not contradictory.
- Use words that say what you mean and reflect the truth.
- I don’t eat fake or faux food; I eat real food.
- If you are the vegan someone comes to, you represent all vegans.
- We are ambassadors of compassion.
- You have to be more willing to solve the problem than to win the argument.
- Imagine if we woke up every morning thinking about how much compassion we could spread in the world.
- May we learn from the animals.
- To the anti-vegan argument “I can’t give up cheese”: It’s the fat and salt. You can get that from plants.
- Veganism is a belief system; it’s about a lot more than food.
- When asked “why are you vegan?” CPG says: Because I do not want to contribute to violence against animals as it goes against my personal ethics.
- The best we can do is to make choices that reflect compassion.
- There is no nutrient we need that is animal-based. B12 is bacteria-based.
- As an advocate, you do not need to know all of the answers. Listen. Ask questions.
- If you make someone upset because you’re vegan, it has nothing to do with you.
- If someone says they are vegetarian…but they eat fish and chicken. Keep a sense of humor. They want to be vegetarian. Probe. Offer your experience.
- I’m not going to convince you of anything. But I can give you facts.
As you can imagine, my admiration for Colleen morphed into worship after her talk.
Last month I was on the West Coast for work. My travels took me from L.A. to the Bay Area and once I realized this I emailed Colleen and invited her to lunch. We packed in a lot into a couple of hours: lunch, a walk along a lake, and a visit to her new home where I met her two beautiful cats.
It was the 2-hour shot of vegan goodness in the arm that I needed. We talked about the vegan lifestyle coaching I am doing – Colleen was so incredibly encouraging – and I shared with her the profound impact she has had on me and my vegan journey. Specifically I told her about her “calcium” podcast episode when I just got it. Cows eat grass and when people eat cows or their secretions they get calcium. I can go right to the source – the green stuff. Simple? Maybe but it was an “aha moment” for me and to me that is exactly what is special about Colleen. Every time she writes a book, records a podcast or makes a public speech, she shares “aha moment” zingers that move me along as a vegan and bring others over to the plant-based side.
At the end of our two hours together Colleen asked if she could gift me a subscription to her new project, The 30-Day Vegan Challenge. She wanted me to see what she’s putting out into the world. I was delighted and have been enjoying every single day of the challenge.
Today, I get to offer THREE subscriptions to you, my readers, thanks to Colleen’s generosity! Read on to learn how to enter the giveaway.
COLLEEN PATRICK-GOUDREAU, known as THE COMPASSIONATE COOK, has guided thousands of people to becoming vegan through her cooking classes, award-winning cookbooks, and popular podcasts. She is a regular contributor to National Public Radio’s “Perspectives” series as well as to The Christian Science Monitor, and she has appeared on The Food Network and PBS. She is the author of The Joy of Vegan Baking, The Vegan Table, Color Me Vegan, and Vegan’s Daily Companion.
The 30-Day Challenge places you, on a daily basis, in the middle of a Colleen Patrick-Goudreau library.
You have access to her podcasts, her recipes, books, and articles. She guides her members through 30 days of living more compassionately providing solid nutritional informational, support, wisdom, recipes, and inspiration.
This is the program that everyone can give to anyone who’s ever said, “I’d like to try being vegan, BUT” – following that “BUT” with questions about nutrition, food, cooking, holidays, traveling, social occasions, children, etc. This program covers it all.
Each day you will receive a topical post. For instance, Day 5 focuses on Eating Healthfully Affordably. Colleen shares an article on the topic, making the distinction between affordable eating and eating cheap. She offers two videos (choosing the proper knife and using the proper cutting board) and then you can listen to her podcast on the topic of healthy, affordable eating. After you have read, watched and listened to the content for the day you can join a discussion on the community boards filled with other members of The 30-Day Challenge.
I love everything about how this program is set up. About a year ago I wrote about how I learned to go vegan. As an adult learner I need information, I need to place it within the context of what I already know, and I need to talk to my peers about it. That’s exactly what happens on The 30-Day Challenge. Colleen equips members by educating us on the basics; she supports us, encourages us, inspires us, and links us to a broader community. She is generating Ambassadors of Compassion through her program!
Thank you, Colleen, for everything you do to make this world a kinder, gentler place for all beings.
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You can benefit from this terrific program, too. Colleen is offering free The 30-Day Vegan Challenge subscriptions to THREE (3) of my lucky readers!
Entering this giveaway is easy. Simply leave one comment below answering this question:
What is one thing you can do TODAY to be an ambassador of compassion?
I will randomly select three winners. To enter, leave your comment by Friday, October 19, 5 a.m. EST.
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