Conversations with the Inspiring Felicia Cox

Today we’d like to introduce you to Felicia Cox.

Felicia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started my plant based diet In February of 2012. One day, I woke up and decided that I didn’t want to eat meat anymore. It was not anything that I planned out; I just woke up one morning and threw away all of the meat in my house. From there, I began researching plant-based diets and even how it helps us spiritually. After giving up meat I remember watching Food, Inc. on Netflix and that further assured me that this journey was definitely a spiritual choice that was predestined for me. I followed up my using natural personal hygiene and beauty products and was able to remedy myself of alopecia areata and anxiety just from changing my diet and becoming more in tune with myself. I started off with a raw vegan diet and after four months, I realized that that specific diet wasn’t for me so I added grains and healthy starches back into my diet. Over the years, I’ve gone back and forth between being vegetarian (allowing myself to have cheese every now and then) and completely vegan; it allowed me to want to experiment with different recipes to challenge everyone who says that vegan food doesn’t taste good. With my job, I travel a lot and this has allowed me to taste vegan food from all across the U.S. and then replicate them at home. With Atlanta being my home town, I make sure to support all of the vegan restaurants and share them on social media so that everyone can see that vegan tastes good too.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest challenges were at the beginning of not having the knowledge on what to eat and how much of it to eat. I unintentionally lost 15 pounds in the first two months of giving up meat. I’m 4’11 and I’ve always been petite so when I saw that I was losing too much weight I had to adjust my diet and research what worked for me. Repetitive meals are the number one reason why people give up, but with research (Pinterest, Instagram, Google) you can make the process so much easier. The vegan lifestyle is not for everyone, if it feels forced or if it doesn’t make you feel good then you can adjust your diet to what works for you. Plant-based diets come in different types, pescatarians incorporeal fish and seafood into their diets, vegetarians incorporate eggs and dairy, vegan can are completely plant-based and can also go a step further in the raw vegan territory. The advice that I would give is to not torture yourself. Find a diet that works for you, do your research and use your resources. Don’t give up, adapt. There’s a vegan/vegetarian version of everything that you eat regularly.

What should we know about Vegan Tastes Good ATL? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I have a 9-5 job working in the property management and real estate industry that requires me to travel 50% of the time. This has put me in a great position to experience vegan food from all over the U.S. and to experiment with recipes of my own at home. I started my personal blog Vegan Tastes Good after people kept reaching out to me for vegan recipes, advice on their plant-based journeys and recommendations on restaurants. I’m known for my posts of my meals, juices, smoothies. I have a passion for GOOD vegan food and small local businesses. As a former business owner (Jupiter Juice Co. cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and meal prep), I wanted to continue educating those on plant-based diets virtually and Vegan Tastes Good has allowed me to do so. Being on both sides, I completely understand how social media can influence a businesses foot traffic and any support that I am able to give I gladly do it with my reviews on Instagram. My goal is to help small business thrive and survive while showing the non-believers that vegan food tastes good.

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
The resources are out there. I’m continuously discovering new information. The best way to network is by putting yourself out there and being open to feedback. Atlanta has so many events from farmers markets to social events where you can meet like-minded individuals who have a genuine interest in helping others on their journeys. We all deserve success.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vegantastesgood.home.blog
• Instagram: @Vegantastesgoodatl and @msfeliciarenee

Image Credit:
Felicia Cox

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