This Is How Monique Samuels Convinced Her Family To Go Vegan

Star of Love & Marriage: DC Monique Samuels always thought vegans were “crazy,” but five years ago, she decided to join them.

Samuels cut out one food at a time from her diet rather than switching to a plant-based diet overnight. The procedure moved slowly. She recently spoke with Insider and said, “I literally approached it as a journey.”

“What I decided was, I’m going to start with what I eat the most and I’m going to take a year to eliminate that from my diet,” said Samuels, starting with chicken and then pork.

Her family members transitioned to veganism shortly after she made the decision. She didn’t compel them; rather, she invited them.

“I talked to my husband, I talked to my children. I just told them what I was doing. I said, ‘If y’all want to go along with it, y’all are more than welcome, but this is what I’m going to do,’… After a few months, they ended up joining me.” Samuels said.

One advantage to adopting vegan gradually, according to Samuels, is that “if you do slip up, you don’t feel bad.”  She started her journey in January and acknowledged that in July she slipped and ate some chicken.

She had formally stopped doing it at the end of that summer. “I finally gave up chicken. When I tell you we ate chicken about four, five times a day,” she said.

In the end, she no longer even desired to consume chicken.

“I didn’t even have the desire for chicken anymore and I could not believe it… I was like, okay, I’m one of those crazy ‘I cannot eat meat’ people,” she said.

Even the plot of Love & Marriage: DC this season included Samuels’ veganism. She and her family encouraged the other cast members to have a vegan supper on the second episode. Even the cast members who made fun of them for not like vegan food seemed to appreciate the lunch.

Hulu is currently offering the first season of Love & Marriage: DC for streaming. The second episode is following and includes the entire vegan supper.

Source: “’Love & Marriage: DC’ star Monique Samuels convinced her family to go vegan by eliminating one food at a time” by Insider

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