I had no idea this would be one of the defining moments that pushed me into my next phase of life.

People think eating vegan food means the end of enjoying life as they know it. My mission is to show our community that vegan food not only has health benefits, but it can be absolutely delicious. Serving delicious vegan food is just a piece — the real root is helping others see that expanding their taste buds and eating food that fuels you can also lead to a more sustainable lifestyle.

My business, Vegan It IZ Eats, was inspired by several important life events.

The first was a spiritual fast in 2019. Before the fast, I did not have the best relationship with food. I didn’t realize the connection between what I ate and how I felt. I wasn’t even attempting to eat to live; I was living to eat. Eating to take away a stressful day at work, eating because I rewarded myself, eating because it was the one thing I felt like I could control.

I experimented with foods from the Daniel Fast. One day, I was eating a meal with sweet potatoes, dried fruit, walnuts and agave. Someone at church stopped me and asked me what I was eating. I told them and their response was “Wow, you’re really taking this seriously, huh?” At that moment, every time I had short-changed myself in any area of my life came crashing down in front of me, right on top of my meal prep container.

After the 21-day fast, I was ready to jump back into my standard American diet. I tried some of my favorite foods and my body was immediately like…”No, ma’am.” Everything made me sick to my stomach. I was mad, but I soon realized I felt better both physically and spiritually. My body was not struggling to process dairy as it had been and I had a drastic increase in energy.

Shortly after, my mother had some health issues arise. Doctors thought she had two different types of cancer. After a few tests, it turned out that she did not have cancer, but she needed to change her diet. I started making her meals I had created during the time I did the Daniel Fast. Now, I am not one that says that being vegan will cause all of your health issues to go away, but I watched how making a few adjustments changed my mother’s life. Prayer and faith are not enough, we have to put in work to see results.

My children are also my inspiration. I have been a mom more than half of my life. During my senior year of high school, my son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. It was manageable until the end of 2019. He started having a great deal of pain when he walked and some days was not able to walk at all. Before I knew it, I was spending a lot of time missing work due to countless doctors appointments. After extensive testing, it was determined a major surgery was needed with a recovery period of six months to a year.

I had no idea this would be one of the defining moments that pushed me into my next phase of life. I had never had so much time to spend with my child and I remember crying one day about how many years I had missed because I was busy with work.

In the beginning of 2020, while my son recovered from surgery, we found ourselves in the pandemic. I was able to work from home while he recovered. I also gave birth to my daughter. With my children being 17 years apart, I knew this time I wanted to do something different. I wanted to spend as much time with her growing up as possible. In order to do that, I needed to believe in myself and follow my dream of pursuing my business whole-heartedly.

I became a full-time entrepreneur in 2021 and Vegan It IZ Eats found its home at 2nd Street Market in 2022.

Last year, I had the opportunity to compete on a vegan cooking competition series with seven other vegan chefs. This experience changed my perspective on food. It helped me realize that meals don’t have to be expensive or overly complicated.

When I think about our community, one thing that often holds people back from going vegan is the cost. While this can be true, it is also possible to eat vegan affordably. We have several local markets, such as the 2nd Street Market and the Gem City Market, with vegan-friendly products. Even places like Dollar General and Dollar Tree have items anyone on a budget can use. Stay tuned: I plan to offer a series that will include vegan-on-a-budget options soon.

My desire is to see us all thrive from a holistic place. It’s deeper than the foods we eat, it’s about the life we live. If we exercise self-control over what we consume mentally, physically, emotionally — that’s half the battle.

Rhea Adkins is an author and the owner of Vegan It IZ.