Favorite Vegan Resources

Must-see movies:
  This is such a great overview of the reasons for going vegan: compassion for animals, environmental, and health.  It is entertaining, as well.  A vegan woman challenges three carnivorous New Yorkers to go vegan for six weeks and helps to show them all the benefits that come with the lifestyle.  I HIGHLY recommend this movie.

If you're wanting to know more about the health benefits of veganism, this is movie for you.  It takes a scientific approach, suggesting that most degenerative diseases can be prevented or reversed by switching to a plant-based diet.  The evidence they present is fascinating and really gets you thinking.

This is great for anyone who is interested in juicing.  I had never really given it a lot of thought (other than buying a fancy juicer about 7 years ago that had only seen action when I let friends borrow it), but this movie really made me reconsider.  Also, as I have a picky 2 year-old who would rather drink a carton of orange juice than sit down for dinner, I've been able to use my juicer to get him those important nutrients he's been missing out on.


Favorite Cookbooks:




Helpful Links:

Looking for a veg restaurant, well, anywhere?  Check out HappyCow.  This is our biggest resource when we travel.  It has vegetarian, vegan, and veg-friendly restaurants, information, and reviews.
http://www.happycow.net/

5k-ing it up with Steve and Allan!

As many of you know, I used to be incredibly unhealthy.  Not only did I eat terribly, but my weight just kept climbing.  Since going vegetarian I have lost 20 pounds!  10 of those pounds dropped in the last 2 1/2 months since I became vegan.  And what to do with all this great weight loss?  Well, run a 5k, of course!  Considering my strong dedication to couch-potato-hood 8 weeks ago when I signed up, I'm really proud of my 38 minute finish time.  It's a good start, but I am determined to beat my time, perhaps at next month's Vineyard Run (Hello, running AND wine!!!!).

Introduction

As you may notice, I have deleted my previous posts and have decided to revamp my blog.  Originally, I just wanted to share recipes with my family.  Then, last year, I made the very sudden and huge decision to go vegetarian (if you don't think that's a big decision, you're obviously not from Texas!).  Recently, I have chosen to continue my journey and go completely vegan.  This has been a huge change for me and my family, but it has been one of the best decisions I've ever made!  I am healthier, happier, and living a more compassionate lifestyle than ever.

This journey has been so important to me and has shaped my life in countless ways.  Not one to shove my lifestyle down other people's throats, I have tried to lead by example.  My husband and I love food.  I mean, LOVE food.  So when we changed our diet, living on rice, beans, and salad just wasn't an option.  Unfortunately, we couldn't imagine a single meal without meat or cheese, much less abandoning them completely.  We had to start over.  If we were going to make this work, we had to do more than eat the same food without meat.  We had to find new foods that satisfied us in the same way that meat did.  The past year has been a food adventure.  We have scoured cookbooks, magazines, and the Internet looking for new and delicious recipes.  We have sampled tons of meat and dairy alternatives.  We continue to try new restaurants and to visit vegan food festivals.  In this time we have been able to find tasty, satisfying food that is every bit as good as the food we ate before our transition and, even better, it's much healthier and a million times more compassionate!

I hope that others can gain something from my experience.  As such, here is my new blog.  Enjoy!