Seriously. That was me. I couldn't cook to save my life. My idea of a homemade meal was Lipton's Instant Rice (which, honestly, is still frikkin delicious even though it's not the healthiest choice you could make) and deep fried... well... anything. Coming from the south, and especially Louisiana, the idea of "delicious food" that we've grown up with is pretty skewed when it comes to health. At the same time, we demand a lot from our food - mostly flavor. And that's something that's not lacking here in Cajun Country. The problem is, that flavor also comes with a heavy dollop of saturated fats, cholesterol, and sugar.

When my parents were told they needed to become fat-free vegans to counteract the horrible (traditional) diet they'd had for years, I grabbed my spatula and armed myself with google and a burgeoning interest in food. Fast-forward two years, and here we are. I'm no professional. I'm not perfect. And sometimes, I just want to get off from work, stop at Popeye's, and bury my face in a bucket of spicy chicken. But I'm learning and growing and now I'm sharing it with you.

This is not a strict health blog. This is not a vegan blog. This is not a vegetarian/specialty/fat free blog. It's the culmination of everything I know and love about food. In the time I've spent learning about where food comes from, how it's processed, and how to make it taste AMAZING, I'll tell you the most important thing I've learned - being healthy and losing weight (which aren't necessarily synonymous) isn't about sticking to any low carb, low protein, grapefruit-based diet. Living healthy is about eating and preparing as much fresh food as you can. And the best part is - "delicious" and "healthy" aren't mutually exclusive. :]

Happy Eating,