Lizzy Peper is the creator of blog Pep In Your Step. She fills her blog with advice on how to live a plant based and balanced life. There's a lot you can learn from her personal journey of becoming a Green Girl.
Q: What's your background and what are you up to now?
My name is Lizzy and I am a recent college graduate. I just started my first full time marketing job at Charm City Run, a family of running stores local to the Baltimore area. I am now transitioning from competitive collegiate running to recreational running. Launching a blog has been a dream of mine for a few years; I finally took the plunge and started Pep In Your Step this past fall. I love writing about plant-based eating, running, exercise tips and balanced wellness.
Q: What drives your passion?
After graduating lot of what I do requires personal determination. I’m not running because I have a coach yelling my splits every lap, I’m not writing articles because they’re due for an assignment and I’m not eating my veggies because my Mom is making me. I’m running, running my blog and cooking because I love to do each thing on my own. I know that all of these activities make me happy so I pursue them. I know to feel my best each day, I need to run a little, work on Pep In My Step some and eat a lot of delicious, fresh, plant-based foods. I do what I do because I do it allows the best parts of me to come through.
Q: What tips do you have for someone who is trying to reduce meat in their diet?
I think plant-based eating has a lot to do with mindset. If you can stop believing that a meal requires a slab of meat and a glass of milk to be complete, you can begin to discover the variety of plant-based options. You also don’t need to start all at once. Like I mentioned before, I started my limiting my daily meat consumption. Although I wasn’t a huge meat eater to begin with, I challenged myself to prepare meals that didn’t include meat as the protein. This got me thinking more plant-based. You don’t have to suddenly declare yourself vegan one day to make a difference. Instead, focus on small changes that you can make. Follow meatless Monday, pack lunches with plant protein or order vegan or vegetarian when you eat out with friends. If you want more ideas on small steps you can take at every meal to make a difference, you can read the blog article I wrote here.
Q: What makes you a Green Girl?
I truly believe that the most powerful action I can take to help our environment is to eat plant-based. Our current meat and dairy industry practices are not sustainable and this is why I don’t want to support and contribute to them. Your dollar is your vote and by purchasing dairy and meat products we create demand. I want to vote for fresh, sustainable foods that take less land, water and corn to produce instead of products that are unsustainable.
In addition, one of my goals for 2017 is to take other sustainable actions in my daily life such as using reusable shopping bags, bringing a coffee mug to work and selling and buying clothes second hand. I want everything I do to support my environmental rationale for eating plant-based.
Q: What's your favorite plant-based treat?
One of my favorite things to make is banana nice cream; you can eat it for breakfast, a snack or dessert! Plus, it’s super simple to make. The only ingredients you need are frozen bananas, coconut water and any other fresh or frozen fruit you want as a flavor. My favorite add-in fruits for flavors are mango and berries. After you blend everything until it reaches an ice cream-like consistency, you can have fun topping your treat with mix-ins like fresh fruit, unsweetened coconut flakes and dairy-free chocolate chips. One of my go-to combinations is a tropical pineapple banana nice cream that is perfect for a post-workout treat. You can check out my recipe here.
Q: What does women empowerment mean to you?
I think being an empowered woman means that you know you have the strength and spirit to do conquer the world. Anything you feel passionate about can be your reality. You can succeed at any job, take on any adventure and form any relationship that you desire if you build the skills you need. As women, we have the power to achieve any dreams we set.
Q: What's your favorite book?
When I was younger, I used to gobble up every book in sight. Now, unfortunately I don’t usually take the time to slow down and read a physical book. However, I just got a few new non-fiction and fiction reads that I hope to work into my weekly schedule. The most recent book I read was Where’d You Go Bernadette and it was great! I always enjoy immersing myself in stories that keep you madly flipping pages to find out what happens. If you feel the same, I would definitely recommend this book.
Follow Lizzy and her Plant-Based Journey on her social media sites.
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