Trish: I’ve lived in Hawaii for 4 years and I’ve been a vegetarian for 6 years.

Saradha: Why are you a vegetarian?

Trish: It all started in college, like many of our great stories. My friend Katy and I signed up for different Awareness Months that the school promoted, one of which was Hunger. It was during this time that I gained a new appreciation for food and its role in our own physical well-being, as well as that of society and the environment. I am a vegetarian because I love animals, I love nature, and I love the way leading a vegetarian lifestyle makes me feel about myself and my actions.

Saradha: What challenges did you find in going or being a vegetarian? How did you overcome them?

Trish: A big initial challenge was the college meal plan and budgeting to buy separate food to have in my dorm room. Things got much easier for me when I moved into my own place with my own fridge. It was at this time that I really began to delve into and experiment with new types of foods and meat substitutes. For example, I’ve explored a whole new world of mushrooms that would make my parents proud (I hated mushrooms growing up)! 

Saradha: What's your favorite vegetarian dish?

Trish: I like soups, salads, and sandwiches. These dishes can range from simple to extraordinarily creative depending on your mood or contents of your fridge.

Saradha: Do you exercise or do certain activities for fitness?

Trish: I do! I swim out at the Oahu Club with the master’s team a couple mornings a week and I enjoy ocean swimming, running and cycling. The longer, endurance events suit me best, and I just did my first Iron Man 70.3 over on the Big Island this May. I also am a triathlon and swim coach with BC Endurance Trainings and commute on my bike. 

Saradha: As a vegetarian, what kind of snacks or desserts do you like to eat?

Trish: I eat all the time, so really any snack is game. I like Fig Newman's, apples, and those wonderful chocolate-covered peanuts in Down to Earth’s bulk section. My mom has a great key lime pie recipe that is delicious.

Saradha: Do you have any advice for people who want to or are trying to become vegetarian/vegans?

Trish: Start out simple, eating meatless foods you already enjoy (mine was homemade pasta with made-from-scratch tomato sauce), then get creative.  In using meatless alternatives, some people have the assumptions that it will taste like the meat. Throw that expectation out the door. Ground soy tastes like ground soy, not ground beef. Things will taste different at first and that is ok, it is different. Change is always hard at first but good things come with patience and practice!

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