the v word.

no, the other one. yes, that one. vegan. i never, never, ever, ever thought i could do it. i consider myself a burger connaisseur. grilled cheese is my comfort food. mac and cheese is my sunday evening go-to meal. i eat ice cream for dessert every. night. so i promise i didn't turn into a vegan for moral reasons. i mean, animals are swell, but i don't really have a problem with eating them. i understand why some people do, but it's just not something that i see as an issue.

you are adorable. but also delicious. i'm sorry.

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and yet, i spent the month of january as a vegan. you see, november and december were not the "healthiest" of months. yes, there was the usual holiday indulgence, but i felt like crapola. just like i was dragging around and had no energy. so after my two weeks of yoga over christmas, i wanted a fresh start for the new year. i don't have great self-control, so i knew if i said no meat or no dairy or no cheese, then that wouldn't last very long. so i figured go big or go home! vegan for a month, how hard could it be?

i got off the plane from austin on new year's day, got home, and immediately veganized my fridge and pantry. i had been gathering recipes before, so i had an idea of what i wanted to cook, and the next day, i did a major whole foods stock up. ok, maybe i do that every week (happy place!), but i wanted to get enough staples in my kitchen that i never felt tempted when i came home late from work to just order pizza or throw some frozen cheese ravioli together.

not my fridge. but it looked just like that.

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now, i'll admit, i totally fell off the wagon when i was in boston, visiting a friend over one weekend. i just never want to be "that girl" who makes a big deal of dietary restrictions... so when everyone is excited to go get bbq for dinner, i didn't have the strength to make a fuss about it. so i ate bbq. and then got back on track. no big deal.

throughout the month, i cooked some of the best food i've ever made. i still have two dozen recipes that i'm dying to go through. i ate more veggies than i thought possible. and i felt better than i ever have. so i just kept going, even once february rolled around. granted, not without a couple breaks for pizza, eggs benedict, and a burger. but i never felt like i was denying myself anything. besides, life is too short to feel like that, so if i ever reach that point, then i'll stop.

but i've made dishes that are permanently going to stay in my repertoire, vegan or not. things like:

• creamy butternut squash polenta with spicy wilted spinach
• coconut-red lentil curry 
• pasta with kale pesto and roasted butternut squash
• pumpkin tortilla soup
• baked mushroom risotto with caramelized onions

i also ate a ton of coconut milk yogurt, made soups out of veggies i'd never even heard of (kohlrabi, anyone?), discovered the beauty of almond milk in my coffee, and even baked vegan peanut butter chocolate-chip cookies.

so that's my vegan story. my tips? do research, and get a list of recipes you want to try. clean out your kitchen. don't focus on replacing your favorite foods with vegan versions - i never touched soy cheese or meatless crumbles, or any of that stuff. a lot of it is super processed, and just because it's vegan doesn't make it good for you. focus instead of eating real foods. i ate a ton of beans, greens, lentils, whole grains, and all kinds of veggies. one of the best outcomes is just being really mindful of what you're putting in your body - and that's great news, whether you eat meat or not. just do what feels right. and sometimes, this is what just feels right:

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i should know. that's what i ate for dinner on thursday.