A New Adventure!

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a foodie. I love being in the kitchen and experimenting with foods. My spice shelf is the most organized thing in my life. I'm a super-geek when a new restaurants in town. I read about chefs and can happily veg out (no pun intended, but funny!) to the Food Network for hours on end. I like feeding people and of course, I love eating!

That being said, I made a decision this weekend that I'm going to give veganism a try! Bold, isn't it? Well, not really. By 'giving it a try' I mean that I've decided to go two-and-a-half weeks without meat, eggs, milk, or products made with the aforementioned. I'm pretty much dating the vegan lifestyle to see of I want to commit. I'm considering it my trial membership to the world of eating leaves, fruits, grains and nuts.

I know a lot of people decide to go vegan because they love animals and can't bear to eat something that once had a face. Um, well, I've got to admit that I'm not one of those folks. Animals are great and all, but so is filet mignon lapping in jus. My reasons for going vegan are strictly selfish:

1) Girlfriend had a baby 4 months ago. And when I was pregnant I gained an excessive amount of weight. I like food and my appetite was voracious, okay?!? I've lost all but the last 8 pounds and I want to give my body a kick in the pants.

2) I been having a love affair with dairy products that needs to come to an end. Bye bye, brie!

3) Whether one eats Big Macs or fois gras, fat is fat. I don't eat fast food, but decadence goes to ones hips and clogs ones arteries just the same.

4) I'm admittedly not a very disciplined person. I am excited to challenge myself and hope that it leads to other positive changes in my life.

5) I feel at my best when I eat clean. I like the way my body runs when I am eating healthily.

6) I'm looking forward to learning how to cook in new styles. It will be fun to put my ultra-organized spices to work and create new dishes. Indian, anyone?

6) Two blocks from our house is the farmers market. The produce is divine! I feel grateful to have such a wonderful assortment of fruits and veggies so close-by and at such a reasonable price.

So, today was the first day of my new adventure and it went great! I had hearty oatmeal with dried fruit for breakfast, a salad of farmers market finds for lunch, and barley salad for dinner.

I did find myself feeling tempted by non-vegan food twice, but both times was for a fleeting moment and I didn't act on it. I think I'll learn a lot about myself if I pay attention to the moments when I am tempted!

I will keep posting about vegan adventure and will certainly share any good recipes I find!