I'd been vegetarian for a year when I decided I wanted to try out veganism. I was mostly spurred by the ethical side of it, but the health benefits were a factor, too. I think having awesome vegan dinners with my friend Matt a couple of times made me realize it could even taste good.

I didn't want to make a big deal about it, though, and I figured I'd just slowly try to phase out animal products in my diet without telling anyone. In my mind there was no need to label myself; I'd just eat what I wanted. If that didn't include dairy or eggs, so be it.

Of course, it wasn't that easy. The very first day of my self-imposed "trial period", my boyfriend Rob and I were going out to eat. He didn't notice anything different until he suggested we go to one of our favorite places to get dessert. I love pretty much every dessert ever invented, but I just responded, "No thanks, I don't think they'd have anything I would eat." And Rob responded, "What? Oh no... Are you eating VEGAN?!?" I kind of mumbled some half-hearted defense about just trying something new, but at that point the cat was out of the bag. Within days, it seems like all of my close friends had heard, so I decided to embrace it. "Yes," I said proudly, "I am a vegan."

Matt was the one who really got me started on cooking. He showed me how to make stir-fry, and soon we added curries to our repetoire. I think cooking from scratch with whole ingredients was the main reason a) that I had no trouble sticking with veganism and b) that I lost 10 pounds that first month. How sweet is that!

Soon I was cooking by myself, and I started branching out and making more and more varied things. I still consider myself a beginner cook, but with every dish I make I feel more comfortable in the kitchen. I've acquired some great cook books, and I have also found some of great recipes from online sources. I realized after awhile, though, that I wanted a record of what I'd made: what was good and what I wouldn't make again. I'd also gotten requests from a few friends that I give them some tips and/or recipes for easy, tasty vegan fare. That's when I had the idea to keep a food journal. It started with just some notes on what I made, but since then I've started adding things about restaurants I've found, as well. I imagine same day soon I'll probably get into the clothing part of it too. (That has been MUCH harder for me than changing my eating habits!)

Enjoy!