Eating Florence: Vegan Gelato

As I said in my first blog from Florence, if I had known I wouldn't be able to eat Gelato when I was applying to study abroad, I probably wouldn't have chosen the gelato capital of the world as my location.  But here's the best news in the whole world (really): you don't have to give up gelato when you give up dairy!  It is in no way necessary, even in Florence.

I used to love ice cream.  When I was little, I would make up songs to convince my parents to take me to Dairy Queen on the way home from school.  I wish I was kidding.  Gelato is like ice cream's cuter big sister that everyone likes more but is a little less approachable.  Gelato is a really big deal.

However, ice cream and gelato have this cousin who could definitely be as popular as gelato but she has a bad rep. because her mom is a weirdo.  Her name is Sorbet and we are in love.

The sorbet here is not like the sorbet in America.  Other than the fruity flavor, you can't tell the difference between that and regular gelato.  I highly recommend you give it a try, even if you normally eat dairy.

So far, I've had Strawberry (fragola), Pear (pera), Lemon (limone), mixed berry (frutto di busco), and chocolate (cioccolato).  To be honest I feel like a real fruit talking about sorbet in so much detail, so I'll just say that all of them were amazing.  Pear is my favorite.

If you're looking for dairy free gelato that isn't sorbet, there are also a few places to get gelato made with milk alternatives.  Perche No? Gelateria offers a few soy-based flavors, for example.  I got hazelnut and chocolate, and was pretty pleased.  Just make sure you know how to get there: I went into a pizzeria and said, "Dov'e perche no gelateria?"  To which the man responded in broken English, "We don't have gelato because this is a pizzeria."  :|

Another gelato place I have found that has dairy alternative flavors is Gelateria Dei Neri, near Santa Croce.  They offer a few rice-based flavors, which I never knew existed.  Rice-based products are more common here than they are in America.  This was my favorite of the three.

The last location is Festival Del Gelato, near Piazza Della Reppublica.  They offer a few soy-based flavors in addition to their sorbet.  However, their flavors "senza latte" are also "senza zucchero," as in  "without added sugar."  If that is something that interests you, Festival Del Gelato is the place to go.  But I found it a little disappointing.

When you go to these or any gelato stores, look for labels that say "senza latte" or "senza latticini," meaning without milk or diary.  To make sure, you can say, "Questo è senza latte?" - this doesn't have milk?  To ask which flavors don't have dairy, say: "Qual i sapore non hanno latticini?"  It's really easy, just practice.

I hope that this has inspired you to try the multitude of dairy-free dessert options here in Florence, and also helped to subdue the discouraging feeling of being unable to participate in elements of culture while you travel.  Like I said in previous blogs, I am doing my best to maintain optimum health while also participating wholeheartedly in the culture of the locations I visit, and I know you can do the same.

Roasted Vegetables and Quinoa Slaw

Quinoa and Roasted Vegetable Slaw

It's a quinoa salad, but I thought the term "Slaw" made it much less pretentious.

I've adapted this recipe from Ina Garten's Orzo with Roasted Vegetables. Though I would never deny the wonder that is Ina Garten nor her expertise in making delicious food, this alternative is vegan and gluten free and contains less fat. I've made a lot of her recipes, and I've found that there usually is too much oil. That's not just me being healthy, either! Sometimes I just think it's a little too oily for my taste.  This is a recipe that you can make for your family or save in your fridge for a quick lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:

1 Yellow Onion, roughly chopped

1 Eggplant, peeled and  ¾ inch cubes

1 Red Pepper,

2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes

2 Cloves Garlic, Minced

3 Cups White Button Mushrooms, halved

1 Cup Quinoa

2 Cups Vegetable Broth

3 or 4 Tbs Olive Oil

1/3 Cup Dry White Wine

Salt and Pepper

1 Lemon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400.

Toss onion, eggplant, red pepper, tomatoes, and garlic in olive oil, salt and pepper on a sheet pan.  Bake on middle rack until browned, about 25 minutes.

Combine quinoa and vegetable broth in a medium sized pot.  Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer.  Cook, lidded, until the liquids are absorbed, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute the halved mushrooms in the wine on medium heat until they have exuded their liquid and browned, about ten minutes.

Serve vegetables and mushrooms over quinoa, and squeeze lemon to taste.

Additional Comments:

• The salt in this recipe is recommended but not required - try adding less than you would normally (stay with me) because the lemon will bring out the flavors in the same way that the salt does. Also, aim for a low sodium vegetable broth.
• Because we've reduced the oil, use a non-stick pan or parchment paper. If you're stuck with a difficult dirty dish at the end of the recipe, put baking soda on it, let it sit for a few minutes, then pour boiling water over the pan. The cooked-on grease will come right off; no need to do extra work because you're using less fat. Then take a second to think about how weird it is that baking soda does that to dishes but we eat it anyways... I dunno.
• The vegetables listed in the recipe make delicious food, but you can try with whatever vegetables you want - local, in season, in your pantry already, whatever.
• In order to lower the fat, it's important to cook the mushrooms separately: they are like little sponges for liquids and won't share with the other vegetables. If you're not a fan of the flavor of wine, see these substitutions.
• If you don't eat quinoa regularly now, take it easy. It is a powerful grain that your body will need to make adjustments to. If you want to know more, see the nutrition facts and make some inferences.

Thanks for reading and let me know how your fooding goes. Like always, I'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for Reading + One Day Vegan Challenge

Hello everyone!  I have a lot of pieces on the way: vegan gelato in Florence, where to find the health food stores here, healthy travel food, etc.  But I have been pretty busy lately and I wanted to take a second to thank everyone for either beginning to read or continuing to read my blog.

Google Blogger gives me pretty limited information about who reads my blogs; there is no subscription necessary, which makes it more easily-accessible but more difficult to keep track of audiences.  One thing it does show me, though, is the location (by country) of people who access my blog.  On the left, you'll see that people have been reading (or at least opening the link and then becoming immediately disinterested) from all over the world, and that's awesome!

I know that there are people from all walks of life who at least occasionally read, but I would like to know more so that I can continue to be helpful to my audience.  If there is anything you would like to see more of, or if you have any questions to ask me, please let me know.  You can comment below (you do not need a Google+ account to comment), or contact me elsewhere.  I would love to know what you think!

In order to avoid making a blog that is totally pointless, I have one health proposition for you: use one of your weekends or even your vacation days to be really healthy.  Whatever that means to you is fine.  Take one day to give yourself no excuses, and live in a way that will give you optimal health.

Easier said than done, I know.  But I thought I would just plant the seed in your heads so that you can eventually try it out.  You'll find that many of the excuses you gave yourself are not as valid as you thought.  I initially committed to a short-term experiment with veganism and I realized that it was much easier than I thought it would be, and I think the same will be true for you.

So if my compelling charm was enough to get you to agree to this, you can try my very own Vegan for a Day Challenge.  Does that sound catchy enough? It'll have to do for now.

Vegan for a Day Challenge:

1. Pick your favorite breakfast with no meat, dairy, or eggs.  Lacking inspiration?  Try one of these.  When you eat the right things, you can and should eat until you're full.  
2. If the weather's good, head outside for at least 45 minutes in the morning.  Our body makes vitamin D from the sun.  Don't you think that is so cool?  No, just me? okay well I think it's cool and this is my challenge so just do it.  Exercising would be great at this time, but we can go simpler than that.  Eat your breakfast on the porch, take your dog for a walk, do something.  Even if you're literally laying on the ground for 45 minutes.  I don't care if you drag your flat screen to you living room window to watch whatever awful thing is on TV from outside, just do it. 
3. Eat a wonderful and delicious plant-based lunch.  If you're looking for a real challenge, go low-fat, too!  Whoever decided that deli meats were a requirement for sandwiches did not have enough appreciation for the avocado sandwich.  Whole grain bread, vegan spread of whatever kind, avocado, tomato: amazing.  If that doesn't just get you going, you can also try one of these.  And again, eat as much as you want.
4. Use all that extra plant-based energy to get a project done or do something really, really fun.  If you want to be healthy, you have to be happy.  If it's going to please you to be productive, you should do that.  But I'm not forgetting that it's your vacation day, so you don't have to.  As long as you're consciously choosing to do something because it is fun, I'd say that's still productive. 
5. For a snack, eat some raw fruits and veggies.  You can even put them on whole grain (or gluten-free if you're really going crazy) bread.  This can be repeated as many times as you want.  You shouldn't be hungry for a minute of this day.
6. Go back outside, but this time, you really should exercise.  Not in a "wow... you really could use a jog" kind of way.  But in a "I'm telling you what to do to be healthy so just listen to me and stop looking for reasons to be offended," kind of way.  You know? Swim, jog, walk, run, whatever.  Just do something. 
7. For dinner, try something new.  Keep it plant based, of course.  Like one of these.  There may be some weirdo ingredients that you don't have, but try it anyways.  You'll see that vegan diets don't have to be bland or boring.  Eat until you are full.
8. Treat yourself to an awesome vegan dessert.  There are so many that are amazing.  These are just some examples of the choices that are out there, so pick your favorite.  Share it with some family and friends, but don't tell them it's vegan until after they eat it... it's more fun that way. 
9. When you feel like you're done with food for the day, head over to cronometer.com and input all the food you ate.  Set some health goals for the day, and see if you've met your expectations. 
10. Spend an hour before bed away from your phone and your computer.  The next step up would be away from the TV, too, but I still like to watch a good movie before bed sometimes. 

Weeeeoooooeeeeooooo you've completed the one day vegan challenge.  Imagine flashing lights and confetti.  Was that so bad? No.

So, half of you are reading this and saying, "This is cute, Katherine, but I don't have time or energy or motivation for this."  I know the feeling.  But it's just one day, so you can handle it.  I mean, I can't motivate you to do something, but I can tell you that it's easier and more fun than you think.  To make it easier, get a friend or family member to do it with you.  Also, the more research you do ahead of time, the easier it will be.  Take ten minutes out of each weekday to pick out recipes and track down ingredients.  Then, the healthy things will be at your disposal.  You really can do this, and you should!  Even if you feel good about your health now, it's good to be challenged every once in a while. 

The other half of you are saying, "Are you even a real vegan?  You should be suggesting low fat and non GMO and organic and way more exercise and less fun"  (Okay, I may be exaggerating with the less fun thing).  I agree.  Simply being vegan is not the point of optimal health - there are a lot of unhealthy vegans, and I wouldn't want to suggest otherwise.  But this challenge is for people who think being vegan alone is too difficult or too extreme to handle.  I'm just trying to show everyone that it's not. 

Let me know what you think of the challenge!  I'm thinking of making this the first in a series of challenges that will include longer durations and stricter, more specific diets, etc.  But not if this is a really lame idea and I just don't realize it because I'm from Generation Y and I assume I'm destined for great things.  I'd also love to hear about your results.  Keep me updated. 

Careful Fooding: Parma and Modena

I've been very busy fooding for the past week.

First, I started my semester, which includes a Vegetarian Italian Cooking class.  We'll be studying the nutrition of a vegetarian diet, learning to cook vegetarian meals, and observing how the traditional Tuscan diet conflicts and coincides with vegetarianism.  I look forward to using the information I get in class here in my blogs, as well as in my day-to-day Florentine life.

I've also spent a lot of time exploring the vegan and vegetarian options here in Florence.  From pizza to gelato, there really isn't anything I'm going to miss out on by sticking to a mostly vegan diet while I'm here.  I say "mostly vegan" because I am not being as careful about ingredients as I could be, but I am fully confident that one could remain 100% vegan without missing out on the Tuscan experience.  All it takes is a little research.  In a future blog, I will tell you exactly how to do that: where to find vegan food, how to tell people you don't eat dairy, how to avoid the looks of disgust after you tell someone you don't eat dairy, etc.

But more information about all of that will come later.  Today, I want to talk about my amazing and food-filled weekend.  On Saturday, I took a day trip out to Parma and Modena, on which I toured a cheese and a prosciutto factory, then toured and sampled from a traditional Modena acetaia.

If you've been in Florence for a few weeks, the trip out to these locations will be well worth the two hour drive for the scenery alone.  This area has an abundance of the rolling hills that are so characteristic of Italian countrysides.  I have neither a fancy camera nor the patience to really capture the landscapes, but hopefully you get the idea.  The persistent rain seems like a burden here in Florence, where puddles in the cobblestone seem to last forever; but coming out here made it clear that the rain is what makes Tuscany such a big deal.  The land was well-watered and I didn't feel that twinge of guilt I sometimes feel when I see a huge lawn in California.

That's the thing about Italy, though.  I mean, there are thousands of cultural differences, but the big one that I've noticed is that things are done with a sense of permanence, and nothing seems to be manipulated too severely.  They make one awesome looking church and it stays there for hundreds of years.  They get some good grapes off of the hills in their natural state, and they make a bunch of wine and balsamic vinegar.  They get one successful business idea, and their family continues the practice for generations.  Extra care is given to delicate but simplistic processes: a lot of finesse but little fuss.  The result, of course, is some pretty delicious food.

We started the tour early in the morning at “Azienda Agricola Saliceto,” where the family of employees showed us the production process of Parmigiano-Reggiano.  It was a building the size of a large home surrounded by acres of grass for their cows to graze.  Part of the "secret recipe" of each cheese maker's Parmigiano-Reggiano is the diet and lifestyle of their cows, and a similar level of finesse and control is placed on every element of the production process.

While the milk is boiled in large copper vats, they use what looks like a bird cage on a stick to whisk the milk into curds and whey.  It's a really personal process: they put their hands right in it to make sure it is the right temperature, and they separate the curds from the whey with just their strength and a large cheese cloth, etc.  I couldn't help but think about American health codes and wonder if they were as arbitrary as I think they are.  The cheese goes into a mold to harden, which includes the label of the farm and the date it was created.  From there, it soaks in salt water for 12 to 36 months.

Parmigiano-Reggiano includes three ingredients: milk, salt, and time.  The quality of the milk is extremely specific and the process of adding the salt is controlled to a T, but it is the duration and specificity of the aging process that really makes this famous cheese what it is.  The flavor of the cheese is attributed to not only the careful process, but the way the wind enters the soaking room, the difference in temperatures in Parma, etc.

 A similar story was told at the "Salumificio La Perla."  It was a large building perched high on the hills of Parma, equipped with immaculate views and a black lab to greet you when you arrived.  Inside, there were three HUGE rooms full of hundreds and hundreds of the thighs of little piggies (well, large piggies, but still piggies) being cured.  To the piggie-meat, they added only salt and, once again, time.  The family of workers spread a  layer of salt on the imported pork thighs, which are then hung on racks for a number of days (I was too distracted by all the meat to take specific notes).  This layer is washed off and the pork gets massaged, and a new layer of salt goes on for the remainder of the curating process.  As my tour guide said, "the pigs are treated very nicely, but only after they cannot feel it anymore."

Towards the end of the curing process, each individual thigh must be tested  to make sure it has dried out completely.  How do they do this?  Carlo, the owner of the factory, personally pokes a needle made of horse bones (I know) in five specific places on the thigh and sniffs it.  He told us that he had an amazing sense of smell, and that his nose is ensured for three million euro!  If he is satisfied by the scent of the thighs, the meat gets a branding stamp of approval.

Let's recap for a second.  The raw meat hangs in a cold room.  We put salt on it.  It hangs in a cold room for a few more months.  Then we eat it.  I try to have an open mind about the food of different cultures, but I just want us all to absorb that in our minds.

Regardless of how you feel about the piggies (would it be easier if I stopped calling them piggies?), I know you would fall in love with the family that owned this factory.  For generations, they have been processing their meat in this extremely specific way, and caring for it seven days a week.  I had no idea what he was saying, but I know that Carlo was really welcoming and really charismatic.  They made us a three-course lunch after the tour, and insisted we finish every bite.  Beyond taking care to create quality prosciutto again and again, the family has created a facility that exposes thousands of tourists every year to a paramount element of Tuscan culture.

We finished the day with my favorite tour: the Acetaia Malpighi.  Unassuming on the outside, the building had an ambiance that I can only describe as "a room full of tiny things I can't afford."  The tour consisted of one room only: a little attic full of open black barrels, pictured here.  The small opening allows for the water to evaporate from the grape juice, and is covered by a cloth napkin for sanitary purposes.  To earn the title of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, the grape juice must age for a minimum of twelve years.  Though they sell younger varieties in their facility, only the twelve year old and up vinegars can bear the prestigious label and be housed in the specifically shaped bottle.

After the tour we went into the tasting room and tried about fifteen varieties of Balsamic Vinegar: from young, white vinegar, made from only uncooked white grapes, to the 25 year old Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, to their progressive combination vinegars.  I was fascinated by the variety of flavors that came from the same one ingredient.  The younger varieties were extremely bright, and the older were thicker and more warm.  My inner foodie was perfectly content with the experience, even before they brought out the balsamic vinegar-filled chocolates.  Yeah, that is a real thing and it is amazing.  I left with a young vinegar, meant to be paired with fruit and salads.

If you've read any of my other blogs or been a part of my recent life in any way, you know how I feel about cheese and meat.  But even in the prosciutto factory, they do something that many people have completely lost sight of: they take care of what they eat.  In previous blogs, I discuss a person's relationship with food.  The relationship that Carlo has to his food is much better than that of a person eating the standard American diet.  Though pork and salt are by no means healthy ingredients in my mind, the way you feel about food once you are aware that this kind of process was necessary for production will deflect many unhealthy habits.  When you know your cheese has been aged for twenty five years, your portion might be smaller.  When you know that millions of grapes were necessary for your bottle of balsamic, you might choose to pair it with higher quality ingredients.

Though this is mostly a travel blog, I can't help but include a healthy call to action.  For the next week, eat whatever you want.  Anything you've already planned to eat, whatever diet you practice.  But every time you eat something, pay attention to it.  Consider what work went into getting it on your plate.  Was the process harmful or helpful to the ingredients? Am I happy to be contributing to the process? Whatever comes to mind, take note of it.  I think it will make you lean towards healthy choices.

Eating Florence - My International Fooding Adventure

Here's the thing about my time in Florence: if I had known that I wouldn't be able to eat gelato or cheese when I got here, I probably would have gone somewhere else.

So when one small cup of gelato made me feel horrible, I was pretty disappointed.  I had hypothesized that it was not dairy that made me sick, but the way dairy is processed.  In America, we do a lot to our milk.  Perhaps the closer-to-source dairy found in Florentine gelato would be better for me.  Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I had to test it out.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  No matter how you spin it, dairy and I will never be friends.

Back in November, when I started this blog, I planned to experiment with different diets and tell you how they went.  I started with a vegan diet and planned to move on to a "Mediterranean" diet when I came to Italy.  The vegan thing worked really really well for me.  There is no doubt in my mind that eating vegan is the solution to many of society's mild to severe health issues.  It helped me so much that I don't think I will ever go back to the way I was eating before this; but while I am traveling, I must have an open mind about the way people eat around the world.  One solution is good, but many solutions is better.  The milk processing theory, for example, was important for me to try out.

For the next three months, I hope to explore two things: first, how the standard Italian diet affects life, and how standard Italian life affects diet.  Then, how to experience a culture completely while dealing with dietary restrictions.  I will eat, write, and be healthy, finding a balance between adopting the characteristics of a culture and maintaining optimum health.

***

For those of you looking for an update that goes beyond my dietary health, I am all settled in and doing very well!  My apartment is spacious and in a lively neighborhood - the Piazza Santo Spirito.  I wake up to the sounds of an Open Air Market and go to sleep to the sounds of locals socializing in restaurants and bars.  I wasn't prepared for the jet lag or the extent at which the language barrier has affected me, but I am quickly adjusting.

I've been exploring both on my own and with friends, and I can't avoid the beauty of the city.  That sounds cliche and awful, but no matter where you turn there is something ancient and amazing. I still stumble ungracefully through Italian, but I can see myself progressing already.  I'll be taking Italian this semester and getting extra help from friendly locals; the woman who sells vegetables outside my door, for example, has been helping me along quite a bit.

There is no such thing as personal space here - not between people, not between cars, not between people and cars.  Because of this, everyone constantly clutches their belongings in every public place. Whenever I make the slightest bit of eye contact with anyone, they greet me with buongiorno, buonasera or ciao, especially in the morning.  Though nothing (and I mean NOTHING) happens before 8:30AM here, after that time my neighborhood is a lively place.

So far, it seems like the customs are much more widely accepted here.  No one is working before eight thirty, everyone is out shortly after.  No business is open in the afternoon, and if you're out on Sunday morning in any place that isn't a church, you're definitely just visiting.

It was hard for me to say goodbye to everything I have in America, but I can already tell that this is going to be a really rad experience, and I'm really grateful.


If you have questions, comments, an Italian-English Dictionary, or advise for traveling through Europe, comment or email me.

Plus Size Models are Not the Problem

"You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world."
-Lucille Ball

I try to avoid sounding preachy in my writing but I have some ideas that I'd like to put out there.  This blog isn't directly about fooding, so forgive me.  But in trying to become more informed and enthusiastic about my own health, I've been noticing some less than healthy messages being portrayed.

Part of being a vegan (or maybe just a socially-driven nineteen year old vegan) is searching the internet for other vegans and spending too much time paying attention to them.  I learn a lot, it helps me to feel less crazy for making these choices, and it gives me the confidence to continue my healthy lifestyle.  It has also forced me to observe the trends and tendencies of the health-food world on a broader level.

Today, for example, I watched this video.   Freelee the Banana Girl has a strong message and dedicates a lot of her time to helping people.  I've watched many of her videos, and even made her recipes; but I can't help but think she is contributing to unhealthy behavior by formatting her arguments in this way.

If Barbie was life size

Plus size models are not the problem and neither is "Plus Size Barbie."  Obesity, in fact, is not the problem either.  Let's all start thinking about the causes, not the symptoms.

I don't want to spend too much time discussing this particular video.  I want to talk to you about how you perceive your own and others' health.

I did not adopt a healthier diet to be skinnier.  I don't write this blog so that people can learn how to be skinnier.  This argument upsets me because I have always been my ideal weight, but I have very rarely been at my ideal level of health.  That's a little scary.  So instead, what I really want us all to achieve is reaching our healthiest, happiest states.

Between ethics, environmentalism, and health, being sexy does not need to be your reason to be vegan.  Being sexy is great, but we must refocus the discussion if we're going to solve these problems.

I encourage you to focus your life and your health goals on the causes: your relationship with food, your value of your own health, your understanding of "healthy" and your tolerance of unhealthy behavior, etc.  Try looking at videos like this, rather than those that focus on what you look like (side note, I want to be her when I grow up).  If you are in your healthiest state and doing everything you can to ensure you stay that way, you will eventually reach your ideal weight.  There is no need to objectify yourself or others to observe or display your level of health.

Freelee is not wrong here.  We have a big health problem.  But there are countless reasons to let your health become less than ideal.  Sometimes your health is not the most important thing to focus on; sometimes you are not the most important thing to focus on.  That's just how life goes.  So if you're looking to achieve health or weight goals, commit to the long haul.  Do what you have to do, but be willing to value your own health as a top priority whenever you can.  Take your health into your own hands and find out what makes up the most healthy lifestyle for you.  But continually allow yourself to be happy with what you've got going on.

I Like Food Just as Much as You Do.

Not many people reading my blog are vegans (yet), which is definitely okay and possibly ideal.  I didn't start this blog to communicate with people who had already made choices about their diet and lifestyle.  This blog is for smart, forward-thinking, openminded and attractive people like you.  From the beginning, I have hoped to provide people with honest, unbiased, and comprehensible information about how food can affect people's lives by means of experimentation.  For that reason, I want to make sure to write from the perspective of a human, not a vegan.

I used to look at people with strict diets and simply assume they didn't like food as much as I did.  So when I found out that my health problems were possibly caused by food, I was defiant.  The information was too varied, the instructions too vague, and the proposed changes too extreme.  If I was going to have to change my diet to stop having migraines, I was going to have migraines forever.

It wasn't all defiance; a large part of it was hopelessness.  When I looked at the influence food had on my life, it just didn't seem possible to alter.  Food wasn't about nutrition, it was about social interaction, culture, creativity, and entertainment.  I wasn't going to give all that up to get rid of some headaches.

Here's the good news: I didn't.  I still use food as a means of social interaction.  I continue to learn more about the culinary practices of different cultures.  Through vegan cooking, I am more creative with my food than ever, and I am definitely still entertained by food.  But I have gone through a huge transition.  My relationship with food has changed.

It didn't happen overnight, but it did require what some people would consider an extreme adjustment to my diet.  I started out reluctant, had a difficult time in the beginning, and then one day I realized that healthful behavior was making me really, really happy.  So what, specifically, am I doing differently that caused that change?

• I read ingredients:  I first had to do it to make sure that my food didn't contain animal products, but after the habit was formed, I started noticing a lot of other things.  I would read some things and find no animal products, but also no other ingredients that I recognized.  I would notice how some ingredients (like sodium or wheat and corn products) would sneak into food where I never would have expected it.  I used to read ingredients and either immediately decide not to care or care for a second and then get discouraged by the surplus of negative information.  But when you read the ingredients of everything you buy, you will find some things that are good for you, and the gnarly ingredients will start to be less and less appealing.
• I notice when I'm hungry and then I eat:  I wish that was an obvious thing to do but it's just not.  From the three-year-olds I babysit to my adult brothers, people spend too much of their time hungry and angry for no reason.  Ever heard of "hangry?" Let me tell you, it is a real thing.  Some people don't realize that a lack of food is causing them to be angry.  Some people intentionally limit their calories.  Some people don't realize how much they're supposed to eat.  I never told myself to stop eating, but I accidentally let myself go hungry a lot.  Now that I'm eating the right food, I notice being hungry and thirsty and I finally recognize the importance of changing that immediately.  I don't care how great your people skills are.  You're better at being a human after you've eaten.  Before you take a test: eat.  Before you go to an interview: eat.  Before you watch an ASPCA commercial: eat.  Before you argumentatively comment on this blog about how I used the wrong "your":  eat.  
• I don't eat for fun, I indulge:  I love food.  Sometimes food benefits me in ways separate from nutrition.  There are definitely some people out there who do not have this feeling about food, but I will never be one of them.  However, I'm not tied to these unhealthy foods.  I've had one pint of Soy Creamy Cherry Chocolate Chip ice cream in my freezer for weeks!  Eating foods like this is now a conscious decision to indulge, rather than an impulse to consume.  I have trouble writing about this because I never thought this would happen and I'm not really sure how it did, but I thought it was definitely something to take note of. 
• I am attracted to healthy things:  This is the big one, and the only way I can think to explain it is through example, so listen.  My hypothesis thus far is that my migraines are caused by dairy products.  This was an extra difficult pill to swallow because I used to drink around three glasses of milk a day.  Now when I look at a glass of milk, I see myself losing vision and vomiting and laying in bed under twelve blankets for the next three days.  And I don't want to drink it.  I changed my mind about milk through its relationship with my health.  It's not as fun to eat something when you know it's poison (like not the fun kind of poison).  This transcended into things that wouldn't cause me direct pain, but would increase my likelihood of health issues in the long term.  The important thing to note here is that it was a voluntary and conscious effort.  It is a decision I make every day to adjust my focus, when dealing with food, to the nutritional benefits, rather than the more superficial advantages.  I don't do it always, of course, but it has become a potent influence on my day to day choices.  

In the future, I can go into more detail about how I made all of this happen; for now, though, the most important thing to take away from this is that I never thought I would.  So if you're looking to change the way you eat, trust in your body and your mind's ability to adapt.  These changes have made me happier, healthier, prettier (I know, you didn't think it was possible), and given me more energy and motivation to continue with a healthier lifestyle.  Do your research, make realistic goals, and stick to them.  It will be easier than you think.