Very Vegan

I am fascinated by veganism, I love to interview all my patients regarding this dietary lifestyle and learn about what made them become a vegan.  Today I came across a 92 year old lady who was a vegan,  she was a blast to visit with... and she was still yelling out my name across the campus to come back and see her when I left.  Her choice to become a vegan was of that of along the lines of the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals.  Subsequently, she became a vegan at the age of 80... and was probably the most educated vegan I knew.  

I recall reading the book "Skinny Bitch" which the authors were both advocates of following a plant based diet, as well as Oprah Winfrey.. and her staff followed a vegan diet for a week and documented it on one of her shows.  A few close friends of mine who are vegans have referred me to this book:

I am afraid to read it... as I am a huge animal lover... and know I am a hypocrite for saying that.. as I eat animal products.  During my 28 day cleanse.. I experimented with vegan recipes, and avoiding animal products when possible.

Some easy steps to incorporate becoming a vegan/and or vegetarianism would be to:

1) Transform dishes you already know and love, such as substituting meatless meatballs, or using soy cheese (like I started using) as well as veganaise. 
2) Be Nice and try it twice:  If you prepared an entree and hated it... try it again.. but substitute something else.. or prepare it differently.   It actually took me 3x to get used to veganaise on my sandwiches.
3) Browse health food stores:  Ohhhhh my favorite!!  If you ever want to do this... I will beat you to the door!  I can spend hours in Whole Foods... sniffing, tasting, and reading labels.
4) Be patient:  If you slip up... don't worry... give it another college try.  
5) Browse your local bookstores for fun cookbooks, and recipes.. or BLOGS :)
6) Seek out new restaurants in your area!  Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern and Thai restaurants and taste the many dishes they have to offer.  
For instance.. this place is on my to eat list in San Francisco: 

Millennium Restaurant is dedicated to supporting the essential earthly concepts of organic food production, small farms, sustainable agriculture, recycling and composting. We cook with fresh produce delivered every day, and choose organic whenever possible. We believe that a gourmet dining experience can be created out of vegetarian, healthy, and environmentally friendly foods. We are proud to state that our restaurant is completely free of genetically modified foods. (I gathered this from their website ) 

I found this qoute from a blog and thought I would end with

"Why do people worry about vegetarianism being unhealthy more than we do about eating pizza daily and sitting washed out in front of the television?"