Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Venturing into vegetarianism/veganism brought out the cook in me today. I put together a vegetarian loaf that looks, smells, and tastes just like meatloaf, and now I have a banana loaf in the oven, which is mostly vegan with no eggs and no butter/margarine. I did have to use organic milk since I drank the rest of my soy milk for breakfast this morning, but all in all, the batter looked and tasted just like regular banana bread batter. My fingers are crossed that the finished product has the texture and taste of a typical banana bread. So far, the journey into no meat, sometimes no animal products whatsoever, has been going smoothly with just a few bumps here and there. Not having been eating much meat for some time now has helped, I think. I just don't feel the desire to eat meat. I'm drawn to veggies, fruits and breads. I do love cheese. I think that's been the toughest part so far. I found some rice cheese, but the texture and flavor definitely don't compare to that o...

Is it wrong to use vegan mayo on a turkey sandwich? The mayo tasted like the real thing, what I've been eating for years, and I thought if most things vegan tasted this good, I just might give veganism a try. I see this lifestyle change as the next step in the journey towards the kind of life I truly want to live, but going all out vegan is a huge change. I was vegetarian about ten years ago, for about two years, then fell off the vegetarian wagon for a variety of reasons, none of which were really good reasons. I don't eat a lot of meat now, and haven't over the years, but I do enjoy a juicy burger every now and then. Giving up the burgers has been the toughest thing to do. The more I think about the kind of life I want to live, though, the more I think the burgers have to go once and for all. To get me started on this next step of lifestyle change, I went shopping today to purchase food items that meet the vegan standards. With four other people in the house that I need t...