Family Foodies

This Week’s Buzz A Mom Interview is with Latara Ham-Ying of Mom Unplugged.   Latara is a “woman of God, wife, entrepreneur, internet marketer, writer, speaker, and an authentically unplugged mom!”  She enjoys social media and blogging, and has been living a vegan lifestyle since she married her husband, Rupert, 5 years ago.  They share 6 children and 5 grandchildren between them.

Latara, what inspired you to start a vegan lifestyle?

LOL. I was not exactly inspired. When My husband and I got engaged he was already a vegan and had been for about 14 years. I was still a meat eater. We made an agreement that I would still eat fish and chicken and strive towards a “vegetarian” lifestyle. I am not sure where he got the message confused because when I arrived in Chicago all of a sudden he became my nutritionist and informed me that my son and I were not to eat meat. So really I was forced into it. Actually I still ate meat but not in front of my husband and only about twice a week. Today I am about 85% vegan and to be honest I am not sure if I will ever become 100% vegan but I can do vegetarian.

Have you faced any challenges in changing your eating habits?

Yes. My biggest challenge was learning how to create meals without meat. Even though I still ate meat all the meals I made for the family were meat free. I would not even cook for the first two months because i was intimidated by the food my husband introuced us to. I had no idea how to cook things like tofu, chinese vegetables (my husband is half-Chinese and loves to cook Asian meals), or wheat glutem. Over time I learned  a great deal about cooking all of these things and more.

How do you incorporate meal planning & preparation into your lifestyle?

I am not as much of long term meal planner as some are but I do plan for the week and often I simply plan that morning or the night before. I am not a coupon cutter because many of the coupons offer processed foods and we don’t eat much of anything processed other than some canned foods. It gets hard for me to plan because my husband is a cook as well. He would often come home with food to cook and I already had something planned.

What are your family’s favorite meals?
We love to cook Indian, Italian, and Mexican; and I love to make soul food using all vegan items. Some of our favorite recipes are egg plant parmesan, greens, macaroni and cheese, guacamole, salsa, homemade tortilla chips, corn tortilla soup, and lasagna. We make them all with vegan friendly items.

How do you accomplish meal planning & preparation with your busy schedule (writing, speaking, homeschooling, etc.)?
I don’t think I do it well but I try. I am blessed to currently be living with my mother and she does most of the cooking so I have time to do other things.

For more information about Latara, visit her websites:

MomUnplugged

Vegan Family Living