Me, a vegan?

Okay, so I am about as far away from your average vegan. Just three years ago, I was on the Atkins diet. It was meat, meat and more meat 24/7/365 for five plus years. While I lost a weight, I never really felt good about the type of food I was ingesting. All around me, there were vegetarian/vegan influences. My daughter, Kayleigh, was a full vegan and my best friend, Amy, was a vegetarian. Being around them may have been the first spark that there was another way of eating, but I was just not ready to look into it.

So... what changed? My health! My body started going downhill after a stressful event about a year and a half ago. I could not get relief or answers from going to traditional doctors. I realized that I need to be in charge of my health and started exploring alternative treatments, such as acupuncture, meditation and diet modification. It was through this experience that I realized how important diet was to optimal health.

Slowly, I started changing the way I ate. First red meat and pork was eliminated and organic food replaced the cheap, over-sized pesticide covered food I had been eating. Then I bought a few book on alternative diets and decided to become a vegetarian for a few months just to see if I could do it. I found it to be pretty easy and really enjoyed the new way of eating. When I went to a restaurant, I found a whole new area on the menu to order from. When I went to the grocery store, I found myself reading labels and trying food I had never explored.

So, how did I go from being a vegetarian to being a vegan? Well, one of the audio-books that I picked up was "Skinny Bitch" and it really made me question why I was still eating dairy and eggs. I did love cheese and cream in my coffee. Plus being a baker, I used a ton of eggs when I cooked. I channeled my inner strength and on New Year’s Day 2010, I decided to become a full Vegan!

Taking my traditional approach, I bought a few books on Veganism (Becoming Vegan, Get it Ripe and Idiots Guide to Living Vegan) and vegan cookbooks (The Garden of Vegan, La Dolce Vegan, Veganomics and the Moosewood Cookbook). This blog will follow my journey as I explore the recipes, restaurants and experiences as an Uncommon Vegan.