I <3 "Bean" a Vegan!

LOL! Funny, right? "Bean" Vegan...get it?  Okay, I know that was pretty corny ha ha!  Seriously though...I am vegan and I have been for about 4 years now.  I am going to share the story of how I became vegan and why I <3 "Bean" vegan (ha ha...again). 

Before I was vegan I was a vegetarian.  You know the kind of vegetarian that makes up their own vegetarian eating rules day to day.  Like, hmm, that burger looks good. It's Tuesday and that's my one item of meat day.  I really had no reason for being vegetarian besides it was part of a proper yogic diet. 

When we moved to California it was the summer of 2008 and my hubby had some friends there he had met though work.  One of his good friends and his wife took us out to sushi for my birthday.  We were just getting to know each other and she knew that I was a vegetarian.  As a gift she went out to find me a thoughtful gift and she found a book/cookbook she thought sounded good.  Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin.  Little did I know (she didn't either she just liked the title) this book/cookbook was an introduction to becoming vegan or that I would ever be one.  

I started to read this silly titled book and realized it was based on a diet of solely plant based foods.  None of the recipes used eggs, milk, or butter?  I was intrigued.  Not sold, just intrigued.  It talks about the meat and dairy industries and about the harmful effects of processed foods on your body.  I decided I would try out a few recipes and see what I thought.

I made a few simple recipes and they came out pretty darn good.  I wasn't much  of a cook so I was pretty proud of myself.  In the meantime I realized that Rory Freedman, from the book, was also a contributing author in VegNews while I was flipping though my copy of the recent month's issue.  In her article she suggested  the movie Earthlings to people who wanted to learn more about why being vegan made such a positive impact on...well, everything.

My hubby and I watched the movie and were both so changed by what we had learned we became vegan cold "faux" turkey.  We have been ever since.  Now we are vegan for a reason.  We chose to be vegan for ethical and moral reasons but have since learned the other positive reasons such as the health benefits and the AWSOME recipes :D

I do love being vegan and now I can cook like a rockstar which is really great because I LOVE to eat!  I have learned a ton about nutrition and health along this journey as well.  Most importantly chips and french fries may not be healthy or nutritious but they are vegan!  Seriously that piece about nutrition was important to me because I wanted to make sure that my family was getting proper nutrition  as well as yummy plant based meals and snacks (like oatmeal cream pies, peanut brittle, carmel corn, fudge, cupcakes, we will get to all that later).

Through this blog I will be sharing lots of delicious, fun, vegan recipes for all.