Here we go.........

Well here goes nothing! I have a mixture of emotions as I begin my 30 day cleanse/experiment.  I am mostly nervous, but excited too.  Still not sure if I can do it or not, which is the cause of my nerves.  I am also already mourning the loss of my comfort food...which is really ridiculous...lol.  I am just going to take a second and say again my reasons for doing this and what I hope to achieve.  This is mostly for my benefit, but any of you who are wondering if I've lost my marbles will get your explanation here.

Why?
-I need to cleanse myself of all the crap I eat...thus the reason for me making such a drastic change.  30 days should be a good time frame for me to get through my cravings...
-I really want to learn a healthier and more responsible way to live my life...and have that benefit pass along to my husband and children.
-I need to prove to myself that I can stick with this all 30 days.  This may not seem like much of a challenge to some people, but when your "thing" is food (when I say "thing" I refer loosely to addiction) this is a BIG DEAL.
-I do want to lose some weight, but I really don't want THAT to be my focus.  If I feed my body well, I think I'll lose some weight.  Long term, if I am healthy my body will have no choice to follow suit.  This is also different for me...those of you who know me and my medical history know how important the "numbers" have been.  Screw the numbers.  haha!

So part of me also things that blogging about this is kinda silly too...but then I realize that I want and really need the feedback and support of my friends.  Mostly, I hope this helps to keep me honest.

I do have some exciting news!! My friend Jessie is doing this with me.  As soon as she gives me links to her blogs...I will post them so you can follow her, too.  She will have some great recipes posted too, for anyone looking to join us for a meal or two!

So it's now 11:58 on Sunday evening...  T-minus 2 minutes...and it begins...

Intro

Well hello. I am about to start my vegan experiment. You are probably wondering what I am doing, and why.  So here's a brief-ish run down of the deets.


What the heck am I doing?

• I am becoming a vegan for 30 days

Have I lost my mind?

•  Probably.

Why?

• I want to be healthy. I realize that being healthy doesn't have to mean being vegan...and yes I do realize that vegans aren't necessarily healthy...blah, blah, blah, yada, yada yada.  I have finally gotten it through my thick skull that I am unable to follow any diet plan, no matter how brilliant...and no matter which overpaid celebrity doctor made it up.  In order to finally become healthy I must blaze my own trail.  I LOVE FOOD, I mean I L.O.V.E. food, and I finally need to learn about it - and do it my way.  So my journey will start with me stripping out all the bullshit foods and drinks (let's have a moment of silence while I mourn the loss of Diet Dr. Pepper), and getting down to the basics of nutrition. 

What can you expect from reading this?

• I don't know.  Seriously...I don't.  haha!  Honestly, my plan is to help myself by documenting my journey and to get some feedback along the way.  Those of you who know me, will understand that this blog will not be all puppies and sunshine.  There will be swearing...lots of it, moments of negativity and also happy posts, too.  You will get 30 days of honest Jen, no bullshit and no candy coating.  (pun intended)  Possibly some sarcasm too, although I'm not really sarcastic (note  the sarcasm).  

What is my plan?

• So far it's this: be a vegan for 30 days.  I will try to rely on mostly a raw diet, and I plan to do this with very little influence of soy.  After the 30 days, I plan to add in more food groups, not sure yet which ones.  I don't expect to remain vegan or even vegetarian for life.  I will eventually pick and choose which meats to add back in to my diet, and consider how to include dairy in there somewhere.  I am not going to become a non-deodorant wearing hippie with dreds and tie dye (wait...dibs on the tie dye!) who shouts peace and flowers to the universe.  I just want to be a better version of me.  

What is my goal?

• I want to understand what goes into my body and what it does TO my body.  I want to learn to respect food for what it is: a source of nutrition....the stuff keeping me alive.  I want to become un-obsessed with food, and re-obsessed with what good food can do FOR me.  I'm sure some of you at this point might suggest me reading a book or twelve, instead of doing it this way...but I have always learned and understood things better by doing.
• I want to also learn to trust myself.  Can I do this?  I really don't think I can... I'm hoping that by making this journey public,  I can put more faith in myself and this process.  
• I also need to break habits.  I have some really crappy food habits and I will never be healthy until I get rid of them.  30 days of drastic plant-eating should be a pretty good start.  
• Most importantly...I want to help my husband and kids.  I want the 4 of us to be set for life on being healthy, and living long lives happy as clams.  

What can you do for me?

• Give me honest feedback.  If my post sucks, tell me.  Please don't go all "grammar police" on me...but otherwise I really want to know what you think!
• Help!  Let's share some healthy recipes.  If you know a way to make some cool spiced nuts, or have a magic recipe to make brussels sprouts taste like something other than an armpit...share it!