Happy New Year!

And this...is 2020!

My plant-based adventures continue...

Welcome to a new year and a new decade!  Many of us are making New Year's Resolutions and committing to a better self and a better world.  Sometimes we make these resolutions with little expectation that they'll "stick".  I wouldn't blame anyone for being a bit cynical.  I've made many resolutions that got lost in the mire of a busy life or fell to temptation of my old ways.

A delicious plant-based "good luck" start to 2020! 
Sauerkraut with brown sugar & pear, tri-color mini-new
potatoes, peas and mashed potatoes with vegan butter.

But there was one resolution that stuck. About a decade ago, I was wheeling my cart through the local grocery store, and I decided that there were some things that I simply wouldn't put into my cart.  Most importantly and memorably, I decided against cheese.  I had already been vegetarian for many years, but eliminating cheese...that was a big commitment.

So I started my year off "cheese free".  But I knew I needed to do more to improve my physical well being.  Little did I know that these changes would transform my mental and spiritual well being too.

I made some of the typical resolutions. Eat healthier.  Go to the gym more.  Hire a trainer.  Do more physical activity.  All the stuff that typically falls by the wayside within a few weeks.  But low-and-behold, it all stuck.  And the transformation had begun.

More on the physical fitness changes in later blogs. But today, I am celebrating my commitment to a plant-based diet.  It has been an evolution, that's for sure.  I tell that to people all the time.  In biological terms, evolution is the gradual gathering of adaptations, which lead to the overall betterment of a species within its environment.  Technically, this happens over thousands or millions of generations.  I obviously don't have that kind of time.  So here, I use the term "evolution" loosely.

Gradually, I made changes, some small and some a bit more significant, but nothing major all at once.  I researched.  I listened and learned from others.  I experimented.  All with the goal of improving myself, within the confines of my life.  Along the way, I made mistakes.  I "cheated" (I even used my friend's term of a "cheagan" to justify my lapses).  And I toyed with lots of variations to my diet (and I still do).

Along the way, I realized that I will never be perfect, but I always intend to try.  Hence, the birth of this blog, "Intention, Not Perfection".

I hope that my evolution will spark others to embark on their own journey toward self-improvement through a plant-based lifestyle and physical activity.  It's an adventure, but one that I think anyone can take great satisfaction from!

So here's to a clear self-vision in 2020 (sorry for the soon-to-be-overused cliche, but it does seem to fit well here).  And here's to...

...your plant-based adventures!