The Beginning

I love food!  I admit I think about it almost constantly.  In fact I would call my self a food geek.  I also love good nutrition.  My parents raised me to exercise and to eat well.  No Hamburger Helper ever served when I was a kid!  We had a huge garden growing up and my sisters and I even got to have our own little sections of the garden to grow our favorites.  My mom would often send us out to find something to eat out of the garden when we complained about being hungry for a snack.  (Although sometimes she had to tell a little "white lie" and tell us the strawberries were poisoned so we wouldn't eat them all - green ones included!)  My dad has always been into nutrition too, or at least for as long as I can remember.  He used to pull a bunch of things out of the fridge and make some juice out of it for all of us to drink.  I remember thinking he was a bit nuts when he would give me some brownish-greenish sludge for me to drink.  Now, I know that if I drank it - I'd probably live to be 200 years old - because of all of the nutritious things he put in it.  But kids will be kids.  My kids often turn their noses up to the things I make them now.

So, I guess my parents have rubbed off on me a little.  I try to get exercise often and I am starting to really enjoy good nutrition.  Last March I made a very scary decision.  I wanted to go Vegan.  I know it isn't for everyone, it was very hard for me to make the decision and the transition.  I come from a family of meat lovers/eaters.  (Don't threaten to take their meat away - it won't be pretty!)  :)  I used to be very proud that I would and could eat about anything put in front of me.  I was the very opposite of picky!   But now I am learning that maybe that wasn't such a good thing.  Not everything is meant for me to eat, because it isn't healthy for me.  And that is OK, or at least I am getting there.  I am learning to cook most everything from scratch and trying to stay from processed food as much as possible - I am not perfect!  :)  It has been quite a process - I was quite crazy for a while when I was first transitioning.  I am learning everyday and I feel so much better inside and out. 

This blog is a way for me to share fun and yummy recipes with all of you.  I am not an amazing chef or anything, but I do enjoy cooking (and eating)!  Eating well doesn't have to feel like you are missing out or eating diet food.  Going vegan meant that most of my recipes I have collected over the years are no longer something I can use, or need to be tweaked.  Finding delicious new recipes can be challenging, so I wanted to help those of you who are looking for something nutritious, and good to eat.  You definitely don't have to be vegan to enjoy the recipes I share!  This is just a fun site to find new, yummy recipes to try!  Thanks for sharing my journey!  :)