Introductions and a work in progress...

It all started with my kids.  I guess it always does, right?  I am a former culinary student/pastry chef/New Englander, stuck in a small town down South for a bit and like the "About Me" section of my profile says, I am also a full time mom of 2 beautiful little girls.  We had just moved into a new house and I was starting to change all my habits.  I needed to get back to being "me" again instead of crazy zombie mom who just barely made it through each day.  The changes started with food and exercise and then educating myself about the healthier lifestyle I wanted to lead, learning about which foods were better for me and which foods I absolutely had to get rid of.  At that time being vegan wasn't even an idea in my head.  Nor was being a vegetarian.  I cut out some meat though.  I stuck with chicken, fish and, on the very rare occasion, flank steak.  It was my all-time favorite and I was lucky because it was so lean.  Yay!  I cut out white flour and did everything whole wheat or multigrain. I even found a great cookbook series to cook from for my girls.  Oddly enough, I ended up eating out of there a lot too.
It was only when my very best friend Angelle started coming to visit more and more that I ended up leaning towards the veg side of things.  She had been diagnosed a type 1 diabetic a few years before and was only now (by becoming a vegetarian) starting to figure out how to keep her blood glucose levels closer to where they needed to be.  I remember worrying that she'd end up getting sick or starving to death when she came down but it turns out the only difference in our diets was meat.  That was easy enough to work with and since I wasn't the only one cooking for a change I got to try things I hadn't thought of before.  It was like a whole new world was opening up right before my eyes (and taste buds)!  After she left I hit the web and went vegetarian crazy!  I won't lie and say I didn't eat any meat after that.  I did.  After some time, though, I decided to stop ignoring my body.  Each time I would eat meat I would feel very lethargic, slightly guilty and, if I am being completely honest, a little gross.  It just didn't sit right anymore.  I figured my body was telling me I was on the right track so who was I to argue.
A few months later Angelle decided to change her diet again and go a little bit further.  She became a vegan and added some raw elements in there as well.  Her visits after that became another food adventure/experiment I was happy to take on for her as well as for myself.  At this point it is important that you know I am a firm believer in being smart about trying out new food choices like raw food.  If you jump in with something exotic you may blow it for yourself (if it's not what you expected) and not want to try it or anything like it again.  I always go with something I know I am a fan of.  Like dessert.  I know I love chocolate so the very first raw food I tried was  Jason Mraz's Chocomole.  DEFINITELY a great way to bash through THAT wall straight into the world of raw food and veganism!  HOLY DELICIOUSNESS, BATMAN!!  I still enjoy this treat any chance I get.  Not to mention that once I was comfortable with his recipe, I was able to start making adjustments and make it a little more of my own.  (Btw... not only do my little ones love to eat it but they also get to help mommy make it from time to time. I digress.)  
Once again my best friend opened up new food worlds/possibilities to me and my very excited taste buds.  I went back to the net and started the vegan/raw food journey.  It wasn't long before I realized my location made the raw food option practically impossible so I started to focus mainly on being a vegan.  Now, THIS was very hard as well but MUCH easier to manage the further into it I was getting.  A few of the local grocery stores sold the dairy free (and even soy free) butter as well as soy, almond and rice milk.  I also noticed I had many baking staples available to me locally as well as agave nectar.  It's the very "vegan specific" types of supplies I end up having to order online.  This is fine. It's just a matter of figuring out what I need when and if I can afford it all.  Basically this is still very much a work in progress and thanks to sites like Fat Free Vegan Kitchen and the very first AWESOME vegan cook book I bought when I first started  (Vegan With A Vengeance) I have been able to not only sustain being vegan in a town that has probably never heard that word before but also branch out to find more books and recipes as well as start to create my own!
So now we have come to the present.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my kids become full vegans (it's always their choice) but for now they are 50/50 and willing to try everything mommy makes so THAT is good enough for me.  I am hoping this blog will start to find itself as I write and explore more.  For now, it, like me, is a work in progress. So I will be adding some of my own recipes (looks like I'll have to start writing them down) and sharing some favorites I have found and will continue to find along the way.  I am open to any and all feedback.  Recipes, tips, questions; the floor is yours. Well.. ours. 
Ready.  Set.  GO!