The best laid plans...

The first thing, the very first thing that happened last night when I walked into my sister's house was her handing me a tray of meatballs (ww friendly, of course) and going, "Here do something with these."

At least I didn't eat meat after midnight.  The second that ball dropped, and Jenny McCarthy started making out with random servicemen, I grabbed the hummus and salsa for good and held on tight.  Even when my friend's husband offered me meatball after meatball, I persevered like a crack addict who knows that the next hit will kill her.

Then I went to bed.

But the mushrooms were amazing and the hummus and salsa that my date brought were awesome.  It's not that I didn't ultimately have options, it's just...you know what, forget it.  That was last year's problem.

This morning, when I woke up  -- completely not hungover and laughing at the fact that #WaffleHouse trending on Twitter -- I resolved to set the day right. I was going to use the Bayberry burn-time today to go through the cookbook, and figure out what I wanted to do with the things I had on hand and making the list of the few little things that I might need to round it all out.

Since it's New Year's Day, I figured the Southern-Style Beans and Rice Soup (pg. 155, 8pp if 4 servings; 5 if 6) would be perfect.  There would be black eyed peas for the start of the year, and the collard greens would be mixed into the broth, and it would be a perfect way to ease into the taste of a vegetable that, despite my southern upbringing, completely intimidates me.

Long story short, though, I couldn't find any black eyed peas.  Though I usually pick them up during Christmas week, that didn't happen this year.  And, let's just say that finding them on New Year's Day itself is a damn near-impossible prospect.  Oh forget the "near" part, it's downright not happening.

Oh well, the collard greens will keep for another day.  It's just an eye-opener though because I'm finding that I really don't have a clue what to do when things go south.  In the past, if I couldn't find what I needed for the recipe I was planning, I'd look at the basket, think through the contents of my fridge, and shift gears accordingly.  Trouble is, in the past, there were no restrictions.  Now that there are, it's a bit like showing up for a softball game and being told that you're going to play regulation football on the field instead.

In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the first thing Alice encounters after she hits the rabbit hole is the DRINK ME bottle and the EAT ME cake.  Despite what happened to her after she followed the instructions, it would be nice to have signage like that, at least during these early days.

I know it'll get easier.  I hope that one day soon, I'll be standing at the grocers or the market, not seeing the ingredient I want and being able to adjust accordingly.  I just need to remind myself that not everything comes as easily as others.  Case in point: I'm a marathoner now, but I wasn't always.  When I first decided to take up running, I was thirty lbs overweight and slow as a drunk penguin.  It also took me three days to recover from a half.  I kept with it, though, and five years later, I think nothing of busting out a decently-paced half marathon distance after work and showing up at the office the next day.

But until I get to that point, I'll  be eternally grateful for marinara sauce, salads, and pre-mixed vegan Indian. :)

Why "vegan," why now?

What makes an otherwise normal, 30-something-year old woman whose preferred method of ordering a steak involves the words, "Just let it look at the oven in terror and bring it on out"* suddenly decide to start 2013 committed to a plant-based diet?

In a word: bridesmaid dress.

Okay, that's actually two words, but if you've been there, you get what I'm saying.  My little sister's getting married in February, and when I tried on the dress that I will ultimately wear to see her marry her intended, I simply wasn't happy with the number on the label.  It was a number I hadn't seen since my freshman year of college. It was a number that, quite frankly, I shouldn't be seeing after all my time with the Weight Watchers PointsPlus program (though, granted, I have been kind of half-assing that lately).

Obviously, a change is needed.  A change that involves a little more than the standard, "Actually get your butt in gear and follow the program" mantra.  I need a plan that will completely rejuvenate how I look at food, rather than telling me that the way I  look at food is mostly okay, I just need to tweak it a little.

I also need a plan that turns cheese into a "danger" food.  Because, man oh man, do I eat a lot of that.

That's when I started thinking about a friend of mine who went from meat-eater to vegan over the last two years.  As the guy who's cooked our pre-Thanksgiving turkey since we were in college, this obviously did cause some fear/consternation among the group.  True, someone else could conceivably take on those duties, but the man knows his way around a bird, and I don't know if it would quite be the same without him doing it.

But that's not the point right now.

This last Thanksgiving, we were, as usual, all giving each other a hard time about various and sundry things and, once again, the subject of veganism came up.  Finally, he snapped, "Yeah, well, I look and feel better than I ever have."

Shut us up reeeeeeaaaaaal quick.

I thought about that moment when I was standing in the dressing room, trying to squeeze into the size-that-will-not-be-named.   It was obvious that I needed to kick my diet into high gear and do something different, and there I was with a friend who'd clearly stated that his plant-based diet was key to his looking and feeling better than he'd ever felt before.  A friend I knew would be supportive and who wouldn't be a brat (mostly) about answering the myriad of (sometimes stupid) questions I might have for him.  

And, trust me, in the last two weeks there have been a lot of stupid questions.  (Sigh)

We went shopping yesterday, and I got a truly eye-opening look at the way he's lived for the last two years.  Following him around what is arguably the world's most incredible Whole Foods (Fair Lakes, VA), I honestly felt like Alice following the rabbit into Wonderland.  Was I overwhelmed?  A little.  After all, my usual experience with Whole Foods is their incredible cheese department (R.I.P.) and an occasional jaunt through the land of couscous as I picked out a spread for book club.  Yesterday was an education.  It even came with a "textbook" (more on that later).

Is this the change I need to get into the dress?  I hope so.  After all, it's New Year's Eve, and the wedding is in seven weeks.  The thing is, though, as I wandered Whole Foods yesterday, the end goal stopped being February 22.  It became February 23rd, and 24th, and...well, you get the picture.  I'm not saying that I'm going to stand here on December 31, 2013 and say that I was a perfect little vegan the entire year, but I am hopefully going to stand here and say that 2013 was the year I finally started looking and feeling better than I ever have before.

One meal at a time, one recipe at a time, one day at a time.

I'm just lucky I have the Mad Hatter on speed dial.

*From NBC's The Tenth Kingdom, Loved that movie!