A little late, but a lot of tasty!

Growing up my Mom constantly reminded me I was “half-assed” when it came to my chores and general helpfulness around the house. It seems updating my blog is no exception, BUT please know that I have been chronicling what I think is cool, fun or tasty with photos; seriously, I have loads. Following-through and actually telling you about them is where I get a little tangled. At least I am consistent, right Mom?

So I guess I’ll start with kind of a big deal in my life that took me by surprise.

Last January I committed to being a vegetarian with vegan tendencies; no meat, fish, cheese, milk, or butter and initially I promised no fits if there was egg in my rice or animal stock in my vegetable soup. It was a pretty seamless transition and each day I felt grateful no animals forfeited their life for my meals. In high school and college I was vegetarian for long periods of time, but didn’t really do it the right way and I wanted to be okay this time around.

Asparagus Love

In the beginning there was the occasional craving for fried chicken and Tikka Masala, but by April they were gone. To my surprise it wasn’t long before the smells of my former favorite foods, like roasted chicken and spicy taco meat, were a complete turn off and made me nauseated. So I concentrated on transitioning to becoming more of a vegan.

Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Life is a really incredible and great resource for moving into being vegan. She talks about the body, mind and soul transitions that you experience and addresses questions around protein, what to cook and even changes in your poop! It sounds really out there and new agey, but it’s true. I read her book in 3 days, made up my mind and took her grocery list to the store and farmer’s market.

Who would have thought the girl in love with making a French picnic with loads of bread, foie gras, cheese, honey and cornichons would now find pleasure in nut butters, tofu scrambles and rice cheese? As a side-note, one of the things I love about the Kind Diet is the focus on being kind to yourself. For instance, when I sometimes eat a bit of honey or indulge in a piece of chocolate or rice cheese that contains milk I don’t give myself a hard time about it.

Vegan Carvingboard

The change in diet and lifestyle has helped my overall health as well as my pocketbook and I’m happy to say I now make conscious decisions about buying locally and sustainably and purged any chemicals or anything animal-tested from my household and life. I practice meditation to keep a clear mind (even if it’s 10 minutes), like to spend time outside, exercise more and am blown away by how inexpensive it is to buy 5lbs of fresh goodie’s at the farmer’s market or have a full cart at the grocery store.

With the exception of a few ibuprofen and allergy pills in high-pollen season I have not been sick since making the transition, either. So CRAZY!

The good new is I have not gone hungry yet and am so blessed that my family and friends have embraced my change and never give me any grief. Some of them have even cut down their animal intake significantly, but the really fun part? Trying new foods, creating recipes, the challenge of baking (which I used to feel I was born to do!) AND eating more goodness. Super-Yay!!

I’m happy to share any tips, tricks and obstacles along the way so just drop me a line!

Whoopeeee! Pies

Ole' Tasty Tacos!

Ms. Mac and Cheese

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