Vegan-ish????

Perhaps for the past 6 months or so, I've been seriously contemplating vegan-style eating. And then, a sign, of sorts, arrived in my mailbox. My cute mid-western-would-never-turn-down-a-factory-farmed-porkchop mom saw Alicia Silversone on Oprah, figured I might be interested in her book (TRUE - have been wanting it!) and ordered it for me as a random little surprise.

About 2 hours into reading, I kind of knew that I had to at least spend more time considering my dairy intake. And by the end? Yeah, I decided to go for it.
I've been meat-free (minus an isolated incident here or there) for awhile without any pangs of sorrow, so why not at least try to drop the dairy? (I know what Gazelle will say: CHEESE is the reason! Haha!)

I'm only about two weeks in. And for the most part? No issues. There have been slip-ups, for instance - I had friends in town and was super jealous of their cheese consumption (house-made burrata) at a restaurant... so I joined in...but hey, this is a journey, and I'm sure I'll stumble.

The decision was made only a few days prior to a business trip to LA. Typically, business trips are a pitfall for me, food-wise. But you know what? Being committed to this has it's perks on the diet-front. For instance, if I pop into Starbucks for an afternoon iced soy latte, I can't exactly grab a dairy-laden cookie while I'm at it.

If only I'd make this decision years ago, when I lived in the vegan paradise known as Portland! (Or LA - I stumbled upon a vegan cafe that knocked my socks off called Native Foods)

And friends, do not be concerned: I vow not to become one of those self-righteous angry vegans either... there are so many of them trolling the message boards pointing out each others vegan sins,all of them trying to be crowned "most vegan human EVER". It's a real turnoff.

The Huz just warmed up some leftover chili and cornbread, so my stomach is calling me downstiars.

Now - I command you PDX ladies to send me your favorite recipes from your vegan week experiment!