A note from Erin: Aloha! I’m currently in Hawaii, hopefully laying on a North Shore beach and sipping a Margarita as you read this. In an effort to really relax on this vacation I’m stepping away from the blog for (most) of the duration of my trip and letting my awesome friends step in. I’m so excited for you to get to learn more about them and their blogs. It means the world to me that they are doing this for me. I’ve never had guest bloggers before! 

I met Joanna when I was new to Omaha and her daughter, Eleanor, was just a few weeks old. We quickly became friends, and I became an avid reader of Makingmine. Joanna is a rockstar baker, incredibly crafty, and a supermom to cutie patootie Eleanor. I also want to steal her wardrobe on a pretty much daily basis. (You know, if I could fit into it. ;p) Okay, enough rambling. Take it away, Joanna! 

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Happy Monday! I’m so excited to be here guest posting for Erin while she’s escaping to Hawaii for a much deserved vacation! My name is Joanna and I blog over at Makingmine. I started as a reader of Girl Gone Veggie just like you, but now I’m lucky enough to call Erin a friend! What began as an Omaha Bloggers connection has turned into so much more! Erin is my 5k buddy and 1/3 of Three Cooks One Kitchen! We’ve even set our husbands up on a few “man dates.” 🙂

Thanks Erin for entrusting your blog to me for the day! Have a margarita for me!

Joanna Gone Veggie

Trying new foods has never been my strong suit. I’m a grilled chicken, avocado, and strawberry loving girl. Just give me the basics and I’m set! I know what I like, and I assume to know what I don’t like.

And as far as veggies are concerned, if it’s not an ingredient in basic chef’s salad, count me out! Anything beyond carrots, broccoli and spinach is exotic in my book. So how did I end up guest posting here on a blog called Girl Gone Veggie?

Well… a few years ago in an effort to get in shape for my wedding, I buckled down and started really looking at my habits. I wanted to adopt a healthier lifestyle and knew diet was an obvious starting point. Since then, I’ve made a conscious effort to branch out with a more well-rounded diet.

Cutting back on the “junk” in my diet was the easy part; however, adding in some of those SCARY veggies was a bit more difficult. Here are my 4 tips for a more veggie friendly lifestyle:

1. Join a CSA

Becoming a CSA member was one of the best decisions my husband and I ever made. We had a huge box of fresh vegetables delivered every other week throughout the summer. Oftentimes we were only able to recognize about half of the contents of the box. For the other half, we would do some inventive Google searching and eventually figure it out and find a good recipe to try. We had a blast making new creations in the kitchen. Some were hits and others were misses. Either way, our veggie repertoire was expanding!

2. Feed your Kids (or future kids or other loveable munchkins)

Caring for my daughter Eleanor has really changed my outlook on life – food included! Since starting her on table foods, I’ve found myself looking at my dinners saying “I wouldn’t feed her that” or scanning the produce section of the grocery store thinking, “I’d really like her to try that.” I’ve adopted a new rule of thumb – if I wouldn’t feed it to Eleanor, it shouldn’t be on my plate, and if I’d expect her to try it, I need to try it too! Who knew a 10 month old could be such a great influence?!

3. Sample Buffet-style

The Whole Foods Hot Bar has been an awesome place to expand my palate. I’m able to take just a taste of a variety of different dishes. I don’t have to worry about liking everything because there are plenty of options on my plate. It’s a low pressure way to try something new.

4. Find Foodie Friends

I’m lucky to have some amazing foodie friends. Between countless girl’s nights out at amazing local restaurants and our new monthly cooking series, Erin is slowly chipping away at my veggie fears. Try calling up your biggest foodie friends for dinner and I can just about guarantee you won’t order the chicken fingers 🙂

Am I totally over my veggie hang-ups? No. But I’m getting better! Let me know if you have any more tips to share! Here’s to eating more of the rainbow!

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Your turn:

Do you have any food reservations?
What’s the most unexpected food you now love?