The best part of this whole thing is that people see how much of a difference my diet has made in my appearance. Anyone who has known me for several years knows I lost several sizes and gained better skin when I went vegan. I also feel so much stronger, happier and healthier! It has made such a huge difference in my life and I want to share it with the world.  I’ve been a vegetarian for 16 or 17 years, but my three year Veganniversary is June 1st!

Carrington Fox of the Scene is the reason I got this opportunity and she even wrote about me in the Bites Blog today. Thank you, Carrington, for this opportunity. Big thanks also go out to Eric England and Rob Williams of the Nashville  Scene, Wesley Adams of Phase III Wellness, Next Level Fitness, Deana Kale at EyeCandy, Sarah at Hue Nashville, Rhonda Parman of Artists Studio, Gina Whitaker at Private Edition, Fresh Harvest Co-op, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. Thank you all for helping me look my best!

Photo by Eric England

My only complaint is that when I’m eating at home I generally avoid sugar and the mozzarella style does have sugar in it for some reason.  I have yet to try the white cheddar style (which doesn’t have sugar), but it’s waiting patiently for me in my fridge.  Looking forward to trying that too.  Any suggestions for a good use?

I also have some Teese nacho cheese sauce waiting to be eaten.  No suggestions needed for that!

For this pizza I started with a Trader Joe’s whole grain pizza crust, spread some Rising Moon vegan pesto on the crust (which was very salty, but also quite tasty) grated half a block of Cheezly over the sauce, then added broccoli, sundried tomatoes, black olives and pine nuts.  I also had a container of Chipotle Cayenne Parma ready to sprinkle on top after cooking.  Yummy.

They also have a water bar with reverse osmosis water for 50 cents a gallon, so I’ve been filling up my big five gallon jugs there as I really prefer to drink room temperature water.  It’s good stuff and the first fill-up is free.  If you’re lucky, Jay will help you to your car with it and belt it into your passenger seat!  (He did this for me and I was super impressed.)

They also have a lot of other nifty stuff like locally produced Amish fruits, vegetables, nut butters, jams and baked goods, some of which (like the fried pies) are even vegan.  Yay!  Louisa at the counter is very knowledgeable about the ingredients and is sweet and helpful.

So, next time you’re in Green Hills patronizing businesses like Ecology (which is actually moving to Edgehill), Whole Foods, The Wine Shoppe at Green Hills or Trader Joe’s, go across the street to 4010 Hillsboro Pike and check out Green Thumb Nursery.  Don’t forget to bring a non-plastic water receptacle!

We are also losing my favorite Nashville wine store, YN.  They’re the ones who had the vegan wine section for a while, so naturally I was a loyal customer.  It also helps that it was right next to Whole Body, which made it extra convenient for me.  Here’s the email that was sent out yesterday:

We are closing (yn) wine shop after Saturday, November 1st. We thank each of you for your dedication and loyalty to us, our concept that less, but better, is best.  To be named “best wine shop” by Carrington Fox and The Nashville Scene is testimony to selling truth and quality. I will send you more details on Monday, but for now, we hope to see you at least one more time at this location (the Hill Center).

Best of luck to Ed, Harlan, Tristan and the rest of the crew.  We hope to see you again soon!

By the way, I stopped by YN yesterday and bought six bottles at 25% off.  That’s my silver lining, although I really am heartbroken to see the store go away.

At least Trader Joe’s is opening soon, which is a very, very good thing.  There were rumors about them opening up a separate wine store, but apparently they were just rumors.

And of course, we still have the Wine Shoppe at Green Hills.