There have been three vegetarian periods in my life. I thought about this today and something really struck me that hadn't before. Each time I have chosen to go full-on vegetarian, it has been during a serious transitional time in my life. I think it's one of those things that has always been important deep-down, and when I know it is completely up to me, it's the first thing I choose for myself. Now I know that the choices I make for me are always important, and I can't shove those things to the side ever again.

So, the first time was at the age of 16, and I was vegetarian for about a year. My parents moved out of town and I was on my own. What was my very first moment-of-clarity adult-on-her-own decision? Go veg. I had no idea how to do it, so I found myself eating a lot of kidney beans, broccoli, and McDonald's french fries. But I maintained it, nonetheless. When my folks came to move me down to Missouri with them, and into a two room apartment, I was jobless, car-less, penniless, and I gave up.

The next time I thought clearly enough to give it a go was during my separation and following divorce. It was, again, one of the first and easiest choices I made. I instantly felt healthier, which is saying a lot considering the emotional shape I was in at that time. It only lasted a few short months as I gave in to the dating world and met my future husband, who- God-love-him- is a fantastic chef. The great thing was, he loved vegetables as much as I did, and had been vegetarian once before. I was weak and in love and let down my "meat guard" :) .

During the wedding preparations I began scanning old emails, sort of reminiscing about the last few years of my life and all of the ups and downs I had navigated, and I found a lot of information that I had stuck just far enough out of reach that it wasn't a daily reminder any more. But once it was in front of me again, the choice was simple. I told my fiance that after our honeymoon I was going back to vegetarianism, for good.

Strangely, over the weeks that followed, something began to stir inside of him, and the more he saw and read and heard about the mistreatment and brutal violence toward animals for the sake of money-hungry corporations, the more he knew he would be making the change as well.

So here we are, hand-in-hand, newly converted vegetarians. There is a lot that we are still working on- some decisions have been easy, others, not so much. For instance, I don't have a moral opposition to the act of eating meat, even though there is now research that could prove we were originally herbivores. And I was a rather picky meat-eater in general. I will miss bacon very much, and sushi. But I understand now the ramifications of eating these things, and funding the companies who are putting them in our grocery stores and restaurants. I have no problem giving up milk and ice cream, but eggs are a tricky thing. I'm still evolving, and it will take some time.

I hope to give a little insight into what it means to be a veggie, and how interesting your choices can be outside of the traditional carrot-eggplant-squash style dishes typical to generic vegetarianism. There are so many choices now, and many ridiculously delicious replacements.

So, please subscribe, and join my journey in whatever way you want- advisor, participant, critic.

Vegetarians are the new sexy.