January: New Year--Go Vegan And Feel Better! (A 21-Day Kickstart Plan)

Say you don't know where to begin. . . Food for thought.

A Vegan Thyme post that is a bit preachy, a bit sassy, and yes, a bit about food--browse away if you are not in the mood for this. If so, read on--and learn about the Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine's 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program!

Yesterday the January magazines began to arrive--guess what their covers show? You got it--Eat Less, Feel Better. . . NOW! More folks at the gyms--great! More folks out walking, (or better yet, running)--great! More folks turning to diets and excercise, period. Great! But are these folks considering a vegan diet as well? Less likely, but my hope is that this is about to change. Those slick magazine covers of peeled carrots and soup will also be accomapnied by commercials for "lap bands" (seriously, a rubber band implanted around your stomach? Okay, Ew.) and other weight loss vodoo hype. I suppose that is better than the ten pounder burger and buckets of lard commercials. H-e-l-l-o. . . Eat a vegan diet and not only will you feel better, but you will have a multitude of other healthy side benefits, one being--you may just see a slimmer YOU! But don't go vegan and sit on the couch all day eating tons of vegan food--no diet plan will be effective if you are not active (and still have a propensity to overindulge--there are meeting groups for that). Just. Get. Up. And. Move.

As a woman in her middle of life, I am lucky in that I've been a runner since I was 14. I started in track, then moved on to cross country. Out of all the activities I've begun in my life--this one has never left, never let me down, and has always given me joy. I am so lucky I can run. Fitting in any type of excercise will, I believe, make you a better person. And, I'm luckier still that I'm vegan. I've been blogging about being a vegan now for about six months. Remember, I was vegetarian for 13 years, then converted to veganism over a year ago. When I set out to begin this blog--my first intention was to begin to document the wonderful vegan meals we were enjoying in this house. I was like, wow, this is so easy, it's great food, I don't feel deprived, and OH, nothing was killed to have to feed me--even better! I wanted my main focus to be "vegan dinners" especially. Out of all the cooking I do, I sometimes found planning the perfect vegan dinner the most challenging. Vegan baking and vegan lunch--not so much. I know by now you have probably figured out I am vegan for moral reasons as well.

After reading Eating Animals by Jonathon Safran Foer, I will never place another living thing in my mouth again. I highly recommend this book. Don't live an ignorant life and sit at the buffet table grabbing parts of an animal and justify it because really naming what your are eating would turn more stomachs than it would encourage eating them. And no, eating chicken is NOT vegetarian, okay! And.. . . the horrors this animal suffers all in the name of "food" is probably the greatest and saddest of them all (next to turkeys). The book brought me to tears several times, it is a hard book to digest in one sitting. It took me a few weeks and lots of post-it notes to get through it. If you think our factory farming is the best answer to our food supply, you have another thing or two coming. And now with developing countries seeing a demand for animal protein, the problem of animal abuse and inhumane killing practices for food will, unfortunately, also see a rise.

Here is a suggestion for those of you maybe reading vegan blogs and "thinking" about becoming a vegan, or better yet, at least being a bit more curious about your eating choices. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is launching a 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program. Your diet change ideas could begin here. Or maybe you've begun your diet changes and are reading this blog to get inspired--that's cool, too. (Oh, and thanks!) I just want to offer you reputable resources for seeking out plant-based eating options--and reasons for doing so.

Okay, I think that is all I want to say on the matter for today. But be warned, between now and whenever, you might see a post or two like this--in between my mahvelous, yummy vegan dishes for you to try!