Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Four cups kale skilleted with tempeh bacon and shallots and mushrooms. Then I was still hungry, so I went for some toasted curry chickpeas.

@wellred - It's pretty much a weird name for ambrosia. Canned pineapple juice reduced into a sauce and mixed into acini de pepi, mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks and mini marshmallows (unless I am eating it). At the end, you fold in cool whip (unless I am eating it).

@redfish - I exercise between 2 1/2 and 4 hours a day, 3-5 days a week, and have not lost a pound since I started. Actually, I have recently decided to drastically up my calories, because I realized I was under-eating for the amount of activity I get, and thereby lowering my metabolism and inhibiting muscle development.

Anywhoo, exercise alone won't help!

I advocate smaller cookies. And letting others test first so you only eat the best of the bunch. :-)

@therealchiffonade - I was joking about kale. But I think the fact that parents are raising kids who don't eat fruits and vegetables is a problem. It's just accepted that kids won't eat healthy food - yes they will, if their parents eat well and they can't spend their lunch money in a vending machine.

As a kid, I loved food like butternut squash puree (granted, it was my grandmother's, so who knows what badness she put in there), broccoli, spinach (usually in pasta), corn, carrots, tomatoes, and every fruit ever. I used to love giving classmates zucchini chocolate muffins, and then telling them - gasp!- they were eating vegetables. And I loved vegetables in spite of my mother's cooking, not because she was an amazing chef.

I enjoyed plenty of junk, too, of course, because kids freaking love sugar. I am just saying that kids not eating vegetables is a far bigger problem than kids not drinking milk (let me once again point out that people from non-dairy cultures rarely shatter). Milk does provide calcium - but you also get saturated fat, cholesterol, lots of calories, and proteins that prevent calcium absorption.

@Cassaendra - Nope, not joking. I think it's awful that industries control what children eat or drink in school (and quite a few long-held nutritional beliefs). No one needs milk. There are very good plant-based sources of calcium, and too much animal protein in the diet can actually hurt bone development. Encouraging children to drink milk with every meal is ludicrous.

I like what PCRM had to say: http://www.pcrm.org/news/release091109.html

And for those saying that they have never broken bones - traditional East Asian cuisine does not include dairy, and the people eating it did not see their bones turn into noodles.

Oh wow, guys! After reading through this thread, I have to tell you that you can definitely make vegan versions of anything you would normally see at Thanksgiving. Vegans can have pie for dessert, with ice cream and whipped cream, even! And there are plenty of vegan gravy recipes.

Also, I think some of the Pepperidge Farm stuffing mixes are vegan if you use veg broth. And you can buy gelatin-free cranberry sauce if you're attached to those can-shaped slices.

Actually, protein requirements aren't nearly as high as most people think. Yes, it's important, but it's easy enough to fulfill your needs so long as you eat a balanced diet. Make sure that most of your protein comes from plant sources, because loading up on cheese isn't going to do you any good.

For me it was a bit of a gradual thing, but there's no reason you can't start whenever you want. Arm yourself with some cookbook and get cracking!

There's a third way - develop nasal allergies that prevent you from tasting any food that doesn't contain hot sauce or peppers.

I think you body stops producing as many of the particular digestive enzymes needed to break down a food if you consume less of it. That's why a lot of people will develop lactose intolerance if they stop eating dairy for awhile. Or find themselves sensitive to wheat if they reduce their wheat intake, even if they do not have celiac. But yayfood is right in saying that it won't last forever.

And POM - can I just say that I think it's awesome your family has gone flexitarian/lessmeatatarian? :-)

Almaz on U Street in DC is my favorite. The injera's really yummy.

I like daiya vegan cheese. Not nearly as much as real cheese, but I'll take what I can get. It melts and stretches and tastes good (as in, tastes like the processed cheese product normally used in grilled cheese and on pizza).

This could totally be wrong, but someone told me that Natalie was a vegetarian and has only recently switched to veganism? So maybe the show was filmed before she stopped eating dairy?