Tell us a little about yourself.
Hey there! We are Dora and Lucija. We are flatmates and art history students at the University of Zadar.
We’ve been living together for 5 years now, and in the beginning we weren’t very good at cooking (basically we survived on pasta), but with the time we fell in love with vegan food and we started to experiment and here we are now. We also decided to make our instagram profile and share our favourite recipes with the world. (@kravokado – feel free to follow us J )
What lead you to veganism? How long ago?
So, first we stopped eating meat. At that time we didn’t even think about veganism, we weren’t aware of consequences of dairy indusry, both for our health and for animal well being, obviously. Then we started to think about it, we watched some documentaries, we got informed, and as we understood what actually is happening, we decided to be vegan.
When you first went vegan how did you phase out your non-vegan food, clothing and other items?
At the beginning it was pretty difficult for us, as we live in a small town in Croatia. We didn’t have many vegan options, and we stil don’t, so we basically had to cook for ourselves, and try to survive at the university restaurant (the only vegan options they offer are rice and some cooked vegetables). When it comes to clothing, we’re still struggling and trying to do our best, but shops in Croatia don’t offer many vegan clothes and shoes. Let’s hope it’s gonna change.
Do you make any exceptions for yourself or if you are married with kids – your family, when it comes to veganism?
At family gatherings we make food for ourselves, as our family doesn’t really get the veganism. Anyways, we don’t judge other people for eating what they eat, we just want them not to judge us either. But always in the end they ask us to try our food and we are happy to offer it. J Oh, and this year we are especially happy, because our families want to have vegan Christmas, so we’re all gonna eat our kravokado vegan food, yay!
Do you believe we should show children the process of how animals are turned into meats?
We don’t believe you should show videos of brutally killed animals to small kids, as it can be really traumatizing. Anyways, we consider that through conversations we can explain the process and what actually meat is.
What does being vegan mean to you?
For us veganism is not just a diet, it’s a lifestyle. When you’re vegan, you’re just trying to live peacefully in any way, you don’t support any kind of violence. You respect insects, you try not to buy from non-vegan companies, you have your own little revolution. And also, you’re in peace with people, you respect people more, without judgments. It definitely bringed peace and love to our lives.
Is it every vegan’s duty to become an activist?
Being a vegan is already an act of activism for us. We definitely support activism on the streets, and we made part of some Cubes of Truth by Anonymus for the Voiceless, but we think that you can also make difference and influence people around you on daily basis by your actions and words.
How compassionate or empathetic are you towards non-vegans?
We’re really trying to be compassionate with everyone. Anyways, many times when it comes to the situation where somebody talks about meat and animal killing like it was nothing, we’re kinda exploding on the inside, but we try not to be violent (it’s hard, though) hehe.
Do you have a favorite movie or videos or your own media that you want to share?
We think every person should watch Cowspiracy, What the Health, The Game Changers… classics. J
What’s your favorite Vegan restaurant?
We don’t have any in our town. But if you visit Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, they do have some great vegan restaurants. You should visit Zrno Bio Bistro, Greenpoint and Vegehop!
Please share your favorite vegan recipe?
Here is one of our fav recipes. Also published on @kravokado:
Beetroot and hazelnuts pasta 😋
1.Peel and cut the beetroot and bake it in the oven with a little bit of olive oil and spices you like (45 minutes, 220)
2.Put your baked beetroot in the blender along with the juice of 1 squeezed lemon, 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup of hazelnuts, 1 clove of garlic, 1 little onion, a little bit of ginger, salt and pepper and blend it all
3.In the meanwhile cook the pasta
4.When the pasta is done, add your beetroot and hazelnuts sauce and mix it well 🤤😍
Some encouraging words for new Vegans?
Don’t give up if it’s difficult in the beginning. You will probably make some mistakes, but that’s okay, we all did, we all do. In the end, the only thing that matters is that you’re trying to make a difference. Love, peace and courage and you’ll make it!
What is the vegan scene like in your city?
As we mentioned earlier, we don’t have any vegan restaurant in our city. You can barely find one vegan option in some restaurants. It’s pretty sad, but let’s hope it’s gonna change.
What personal recommendations can you make for people to meet other vegans?
We think it would be great to make some vegan group on social media, so you can meet vegans from your town. Sure there are many! Like this, we could prepare food, share it, make friends and inspire each other. We’ll think about doing it in our town!
What is the toughest Vegan item to find that you need?
Nutritional yeast! It’s really hard to find it here in our town, but we are totally obsessed with it.
Talk about a time when you struggled with your Veganism?
It was really difficult for us when we began to go vegan. Our parents didn’t understand it and they thought that we were exaggerating. Also it was difficult if our mothers or grandmothers made something “especially for us” because we were back home, but that something had dairy, it was really difficult to reject it, as they don’t understand the point. But with the time we think they are accepting and understanding our decision.
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