About Us

I love life. I love food. I love good health. I love all living creatures. I love our planet. These passions have inspired me to build Vee for Life with my like-minded buddy Blanche. My mission is to help others on their journeys to become the best they can for themselves, the planet and all living creatures.

My food journey

I am vegan and passionate about animal rights. However, I didn’t always live this way. As with most children, I was raised as a meat-consumer and sadly the topic of how meat arrived on the dinner table was never really discussed (or questioned). My Mum is a wonderful cook and I was raised on wholesome home-cooked meals and delicious baking. As a family, we always had a few vegetarian meals per week and consumed much fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts. My mother taught me to cook and bake at a young age and I am forever grateful for this, as not only was it lots of fun being able to cook for my family, it is also a skill that has enabled me to easily make food choices as an adult.

When I was 14 my Mum did a vegetarian cooking course (all the craze in the mid-80s) – she would arrive home from the evening course with a pile of recipes to which we happily became her ‘guinea pigs’ as she started adding more vegetarian meals to our weekly menu. It was at this age that I made the decision to become vegetarian – probably partly because I loved the food, partly because I had never been a fan of meat, and a small part because I started to become conscious of the plight of animals. Luckily my family and friends were all very supportive.

Around the age of 21, I started eating some meat again. I was living in the UK and not taking very good care of myself. I was very time poor so spent very little time in the kitchen, and thus my diet lacked nutrients. I was spending much of my time partying (great fun), but sadly food and nutrition were not big players in my mindset.

However, at 24 I decided to get back on the vegetarian train. I loved making the switch and started learning more and more about factory farming and animal rights. From that point on there was never any question about how I would eat for the rest of my life. As my education grew, so did the items eliminated from my diet and life. First, it was all meat (red, chicken, fish), then leather, feathers, silk, cleaning products/skin care/makeup/fragrances with animal ingredients and animal testing, boycotting circuses/zoos/aquariums, then ditching eggs, honey and finally dairy. This journey to veganism took many, many years but I now feel so free and happy to be living a life that aligns with my core value of “treading a gentle path for all living creatures and the planet”.

My family and loves

I am privileged to be the mum of one amazing daughter. She is a blessing and brings many smiles and laughs to every one of my days. My husband and daughter are also vegan which makes life very simple in our home. Even our dog is vegan (a kelpie rescue). Our previous fur child, a Jack Russell X rescue, was also vegan for the last 8 years of her life – she lived ’til the ripe old age of 15 years and was very active right up until the end.

My mantra is to enjoy whole foods, movement, play and laughter every day – these are my key ingredients to a happy and healthy life. I love to jog in the rain, swim laps for hours, eat anything vegan (except Brussel sprouts and green peas – I’ve hated them since I was a kid), walk in the bush, and create yummy food for my husband and daughter.

Love and light!

Karen x

I feel I have been given the most important job in the world… to educate my children, and as many people as will listen, about how to live the very best version of their life.

My food journey

I have always had an interest in Nutrition. I remember back in Year 10 when meeting with my guidance counsellor about what I want to be when I ‘grew up’. I struggled to find the words… something to do with medicine, but not a doctor. Something that would allow me to help families and kids. Something that helps me teach them the way to live a healthy and happy life…

He didn’t get it but then again, neither did I at that stage.

Nutrition education wasn’t really so much of a thing back then and he said he didn’t think I could get the grades to do medicine. So my focus was diverted and my journey into a professional career in marketing and entrepreneurship began.  

At times I flirted with Vegetarianism as meat was never of great interest to me – the longest time period was just over a year. I was indirectly taught to eat for nutrition growing up, so my eating habits were rarely fuelled by trends or cravings as such. I was always open to trying new foods but really focussed on nutrient density and variety. This always worked well for me.  

With the impending birth of my first child in 2008, I was urged by my doctor to eat more meat. It felt right at the time, so I went with it. I had started studying Nutrition which opened my eyes as to what food could really do for our health. 

I did the best I could for my family, as any Mother does. I cooked a lot of our food from scratch due to my husband’s random and fortunately short-lived nut allergy and my own sensitivity to dairy. But we also included convenience foods and meat products.  

We had moved interstate in 2009 and really started to rediscover who we were as individuals and as a family.  

After the birth of my second child in 2011, I felt a haze set in. We moved back home and purchased a busy Café in Perth that catered for all food choices – Vegetarian, Vegan, Omnivore, nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free – just to name a few – with a focus on fresh organic produce. We loved it, but with two young kids we were over-committed and often our clients were eating far better than us. Life became complicated. My studies were pushed to the side. We were overworked, stressed and we really needed to reconnect as a family. 

In 2014 we handed this business over to some gorgeous new owners and took a well-deserved break to rediscover what was most important to us. We started to refocus on our health and living our life to the best of our ability. I became a Pescatarian the following year and progressed to Vegetarian eight months later.  

For me, it was a health choice. Meat was not something I loved or craved and I wanted to take my health to the next level. Again, it worked for me.  

I will openly admit it was not an easy transition, and at times I faltered. I found it difficult to know where to start and how to navigate through gradually transitioning my family.  

There are so many stigmas that come with labelling your food choices. There was criticism and questions that I wasn’t really prepared for. It made it harder, but as I started to feel better and take back control of my health, I felt ready to stop explaining myself.  

Fortunately, my dear friend Karen (Vegan) was always there to support and encourage me. She helped me understand that it didn’t have to be all in straight away. She told me it was ok when I had a bad day and she helped me pick things back up when it all fell apart.  

I wonder where I would be on my nutrition journey now if it wasn’t for Karen and I only wish that everyone out there had someone to reassure them they are doing such an amazing thing for their body, their family, the environment and the animals.  

It doesn’t have to be all in if that is what you choose, because after all, it is your life. The only thing you have to choose is to live your life to the very best of your ability.

Blanche