Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
Caryn Dugan’s transformation from unhealthy eater to professional vegan began in 2008, when, just 10 weeks after cancer killed her father, a dermatologist found a tumor in her arm. She took a hard look at her health and realized that she had to make changes. “I took, overnight, everything out of my kitchen that had any animal products in it,” she says. But the change wasn’t easy: She had no clue how to prepare a vegan meal and had to Google common vegetables. But after taking, and then teaching, vegan cooking classes at Whole Foods, she began her own business. Now, as STLVegGirl, Dugan helps others embrace a plant-based diet.
What’s your food philosophy?
Whole food, plant-based.
What does that mean to you?
When I say “plant-based,” I mean all plants. I really enjoy cooking using the whole food, because that is the most immune-boosting.
What are some of the barriers to going vegan?
When somebody’s making a lifestyle change, it’s usually a solo mission. Families don’t decide to make some kind of major shift. That’s tough. If you’re chowing down on chicken wings or pizza nobody says anything, but the minute you shift to eating more vegetables, or eating “better,” it’s, like, [gasps] “Where are you going to get your protein? Where you gonna get your calcium?” I think that the biggest barrier is that people don’t have support, and they need support.
How can people overcome the challenges?
You don’t have to leave the comfort of your own grocery store. You can shop anywhere. It’s also a lot less expensive to eat this way because meat, dairy, seafood is expensive—a bag of lentils is $1.98. One of my big tips that I tell everybody is, when you’re changing your eating habits stick with one source—whether it be a single cookbook, or a single blogger, or a single website—because cookbooks or recipe authors tend to use the same-ish types of ingredients over and over again. They also have a voice that you become familiar with. You’ll learn a lot quicker, and you’ll be going through your ingredients a lot faster as well. You won’t have a cupboard of half-used whatever—that can rack up in price.
How has St. Louis changed since you began your journey?
When I first adopted this, in 2008 or 2009, I went to New York, then I was out in California. I can remember—because I was still really new, myself, at this—I saw on both coasts that it was no big deal, and I thought that was the coolest thing. I thought, “Gosh, I cannot wait for St. Louis to get this way.” For years and years, I was swimming upstream, but I didn’t have a whole lot of support. Then it started to seep into St. Louis, and it’s been really great. I enjoy watching everybody thrive, because it all comes from a good place.
For a recipe from Dugan, see also: STLVegGirl's chopped salad turns a meaty dish into a vegan delight
