Living With Intention, Compassion & Simplicity
I loved researching about the Blue Zone Diet for one of my first Welluvia articles and was interested in looking into more diets and lifestyle options to discuss on Welluvia. We’ve always had a predominately vegetarian household and when my sister Maša and her husband Michael became vegan over five years ago, I was introduced to the animal-free options of living a lot more.
As humans we have thankfully started to pay attention to our deteriorating climate and the environment. There is an inextricable link between mass consumerism and the consumption of animal products in this debate, however it is often stupidly ignored. The ideologies behind veganism and minimalism are extremely important for us to have a sustainable future.
Maša came from a food photography background and a passion for cooking, I remember when I was younger all of the recipes she would create, always in the kitchen preparing something new. Her increased interests in wellness saw her working alongside my naturopath mother and led Maša to become a qualified health coach. These sorts of experiences became a fundamental base for the future of her work.
The Minimalist Vegan started as a side passion project for Maša and Michael and has in the last year become their full time job. The multi-platform arrangement of content is released weekly and provides an array of interesting articles, recipes and podcasts covering a variety of topics. Today we sit down with Maša from The Minimalist Vegan to discuss all about their platform, their journey, the benefits of the complimenting lifestyles and how to get started.
Hi Maša, I’ve spoken a bit about the Minimalist Vegan, can you tell me a bit more about the project?
The Minimalist Vegan is a website that shares content around living compassionately and consciously. We share recipes, articles and podcast episodes. Recently we’ve transitioned our focus over to mainly recipes. This is because we have found that this is what our readers want more of as they are spending more time at home and have the chance to experiment with trying new food.
You work side by side with your husband Michael on The Minimalist Vegan. It’s rare for people to have an opportunity like that in the workplace. What has that been like for you?
It’s something we’ve both always wanted and has been both amazing and challenging at times. We started this project over 5 years ago as something we were doing on the side and as of a year ago call it our full-time jobs. We both have strengths that we play on to make sure that the best person is on the job, and it’s great that we have complimenting interests and skills. We’re really lucky to have each others company as we love working together.
Veganism and minimalism are both a conscious choice people need to make to live by that lifestyle. What was your journey into becoming both vegan and minimalist?
Michael was the catalyst for both those lifestyle changes. In late 2013, he began reading blogs on simple living and one in particular called Zen Habits resonated with him. He was fascinated by how Leo Babauta lived with his six kids that were homeschooled with his wife and had no car. He talks a lot about simple living, minimalism and mindfulness. He was so immersed and inspired by his content that he started sharing these values with me. I liked the concepts of the lifestyle and was ready to take on a challenge of pairing down intentionally. This is how our journey into minimalism started.
Veganism came about six months later when Michael heard about a documentary called Earthlings. He sent me a link to the preview and asked if I wanted to watch it that evening with him. When I watched the preview, I was shaken. I firstly refused to watch it because it was very graphic. For some reason, when I came home, I mustered up the courage to say yes and we watched this horrific reality of the animal exploitation industry and when it ended we became vegan on the spot. We have never touched any animal products since. That was five and a half years ago.
After deciding to become vegans and minimalists, what led both of you to create The Minimalist Vegan?
After making a big change in our lives and being so passionate about these complimentary lifestyles, we felt that it was fitting to start a blog and spread the message. We always wanted to work on something together, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so. We both had businesses and blogs before TMV but they didn’t quite fully fulfil us. With the new sense of purpose, this project just felt right.
When it comes to veganism, a lot of people become confused when something is described as plant-based vs. vegan, are the two different?
The difference between being plant-based and vegan is that plant-based focuses on just the food component, consuming plants as much as possible. Whereas veganism is a lifestyle. Vegans don’t participate in the exploitation of animals in any way- entertainment, food, clothes, or anything else that would cause harm to any living, breathing creature.
A big topic of interest to me and a lot of other people is a transition into focusing on sustainability and protecting the environment, how do veganism and minimalism relate to those things?
Veganism is about caring for the animals and letting them live in their natural habitats. This means that the environment has a large role to play in that. If you care about animals, chances are that you care about the environment too. The fewer animals that we farm, the less land needs to be cleared. The main reason that the Amazon is under threat is because of cattle ranching.
Minimalism means living with less things which creates a deeper awareness of what we bring into our lives. Asking all the right questions - where was this made? Who made it? What was it made from? Do I need it or have I got something else similar already? These are some of the questions that as minimalists we ask ourselves before each purchase. The less we consume, the more sustainable life on this planet will be.
What are some of the biggest benefits that come with these two lifestyle changes?
There are so many benefits! Here’s a quick list of benefits related to veganism:
Less animals are bred into existence, therefore less animals suffer and die needlessly.
Your overall health improves, we’ve spoken about this more in-depth on the blog, you can read about that here.
The two lifestyles play a role in reducing methane gas being released into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming.
Breeding, raising, and feeding animals is an inefficient way to use our resources. Reducing the amount of meat we eat, will free up more opportunity for plants to be fed to people rather than animals.
Being compassionate and living in line with your values
When it comes to minimalism, Michael has written a great article about this available here. Some important ones to highlight include:
Having more time for things that are important to you, instead of being consumed by things.
Thinking more clearly.
Creating a clutter-free environment.
Being more nimble.
Less debt or more money in your pocket.
Create long-lasting experiences.
Making less decisions.
Transitioning into both a vegan and minimalist lifestyle can be difficult for some people to do. What are some of your tips that could help people adjust?
It’s important to start slow and not be too hard on yourself. Learn and soak up as much information as you can. Watch documentaries like Earthlings, Cowspiracy, and read blogs like ours, Becoming Minimalist and The Compassionate Road to get inspired. Here is an excerpt from an article that gives some insight into becoming minimalist:
The process of minimising is both challenging and empowering. Saying no is a tough skill to acquire, but one that honestly lets you live life on your terms.
So now that you know what minimalism is and what the benefits are, here are some actionable steps to get you started:
List all of the current commitments you have.
Prioritise them in order from commitments that are most essential to least essential commitments.
Start eliminating your least-essential commitments one at a time. Think about what’s adding value to your life.
Every month, start this process again until you’re only doing things that add the most value.
Say no to things that don’t move you in the direction you want to be going or don’t want to be doing.
ALWAYS ask yourself “do I really need this?” You’ll be surprised how many times you’ll say no.
When it comes to becoming vegan, here is another excerpt from an article we’ve written on the topic:
Learn to cook.
Learn how to read labels.
Find the balance between healthy, wholesome meals and indulging.
Make sure to supplement things like B12, and Vitamin D.
Start going through your life and focusing on eliminating anything that has animal products over time - eg. leather shoes, down jacket, going to the zoo or circus etc.
Create an abundant environment with food and crowd out the food that you might eat if you don’t feel like cooking or are very hungry
What’s in store for The Minimalist Vegan? What are you guys currently focusing on?
As mentioned earlier, we have recently decided to pivot our focus from articles, recipes and podcasts to mainly just recipes. We’ve noticed a growing demand for great recipes and since more people are at home and cooking, we are focusing on giving our audience that type of content. We’ve found such a positive reaction, that we’ve decided to make it a more permanent change. I’ve really been enjoying my time in the kitchen lately and coming up with some great, and different recipes like this Sauerkraut and Bean Stew and this Pear and Almond Crumble. We will still continue with thought-provoking articles and interesting podcast episodes, but they will be more scarce. I’d also love to publish more books! We created a simple manifesto the first time, but next, it would be a cookbook.
Exclusive Recipe for Welluvia
This week we’ve teamed up with The Minimalist Vegan to create a delicious Dandelion Chai Poached Pear Recipe. This quick and easy treat is available to read here.
Slow Sunday Mornings
Music is an integral part of my daily work and leisure time, I curated a collection of sounds with Maša and Michael for Welluvia’s first collaborative mix. Titled ‘Slow Sunday Mornings’, named after The Minimalist Vegan’s weekly Sunday newsletter, the mix is an uplifting and relaxing soundscape for welcoming in your day. It is also a perfect accompaniment for cooking, or writing - something that Maša and Michael spend their time doing daily.
If you’d like to follow Maša and Michael’s recipes and articles, you can subscribe to their newsletter on their website The Minimalist Vegan. They are also on Instagram - available at @theminimalistvegan and @masa.ofei.
With compassion and simplicity,
Aleksandar
Photography of Dandelion Chai Poached Pears by Maša Ofei for Welluvia
Photography of Maša and Michael Ofei by Lauren Campbell for The Minimalist Vegan
