Roasted Veggie Salad

From Kate: "Roasted bell peppers, parsnips, rutabagas, carrots, garlic, purple potatoes, and tofu on a bed of black beans, garlic hummus, and organic spring mix. Even more delicious than it looked!"

Napa Cabbage Wraps

Here's a new twist on the lettuce wrap: napa cabbage leaves filled with tofu, mushrooms, and sesame noodles. Yum! Visit the recipe at Glue and Glitter.

Chickpea Lettuce Wraps

Erin at Ventures With Veggies sent in a chickpea salad wrapped in romaine leaves. "It's so easy, delicious, filling and healthy. I just love it." Here is the recipe!

Mini Hummus Pizza Bites

From Mary: "These mini hummus pizza bites work well as an appetizer or party food, but they are so easy to make that they are also wonderful as a mid-day snack. The original recipe calls for mayo and cream cheese, but my healthier version features a spicy jalapeno hummus. The very simple, very versatile recipe is found at my blog, This is Vegan."

Curried Sweet Potatoes with Chickpeas and Spinach

Ling Ling writes, "I made this dish from the Vegetarian times cookbook. It was delicious and very healthy!"

Vegan Summer Rolls

Ashley writes, "My husband and I both run marathons and get ourselves moving as much as possible. As a result, we're always, always, always eating. We're both vegetarians . . . and I am more of the vegan persuasion.

"Anyway, here's one of our favorite things to eat: Vegan Summer Rolls. They're full of tofu, basil, carrots, and other healthy/tasty stuff.

"I wrote up a little blog post about it here."

Green Salad with Marinated Cucumbers

Green salad with marinated cucumbers and red onions. Sara says "I love how the marinade softens the raw veggies and makes them super flavorful and delicious." Here's a link to the recipe!

New Year's Resolution Success!

Jennifer in Toronto writes, "This is me at my gym after my final weigh-in for 2009. I'm 38 and have been a vegetarian for close to 20 years...but after years of zero exercise and terrible food choices, I'd put on (gulp) 120 lbs. I was feeling pretty hopeless about it over the holidays a year ago and didn't know how to make a change. Until January 2/09 when my 9-year-old son invited me to join his upcoming kendo (martial arts) class. It's an all ages class, but he'd found out that he was going to be the only student under 20 and wanted some company. I was terrified to sign up, but how could I say no to my boy? The first class was a lot of fun but really difficult given my level of un-fitness. I joined a gym the next day, resolving to work in 3 workouts before the next week's class...and another 3 before the third class...and so on. I did it!

"Towards the end of January, the gym announced that they were starting up free (free!) classes on healthy eating and I signed up.

"Never thought I'd have the willpower to overhaul my eating habits, but I did. Never thought I'd have the willpower to hit the gym faithfully week after week, but I did. Never thought I'd find myself ditching the elevator at work in favor of taking the stairs to the seventh floor...but I have.

"Long story short...I made exercise and healthy eating a habit in 2009, and have dropped more than half the weight. As of my post-holiday weigh-in today, I've lost 65lbs and close to 40". Only 55lbs more to go...

Couldn't have done it without a ton of support from family, friends and the ladies at the gym. I also wanted to thank you for starting This Is Why You're Thin! The posts have been inspirations, and very helpful for keeping me on track."

Thank you, Jennifer! I think you are inspiring many people in turn with your story and this post!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Sticking To Your Resolutions!

Leah the Magic Knitter writes, "This is me after completeing the Changwon Tongil 5k race where I had a personal best of 33:03. I made a resolution on January 1, 2009 to become healthier and lose the 80 pounds I had put on over 7 years. Since January, I have lost 50 pounds. My last 5k race when I was 240 pounds was run in 43 minutes. By dropping 50 pounds and becoming active again, I was able to beat that by a full 10 minutes. For all those people who don't stick with their resolutions, I just wanted to say get up and move. You won't regret it!"

Spiralized Zucchini Noodles

Raw spiralized zucchini noodles with a curry sauce, thinly sliced red bell pepper, carrot, mushrooms, and green onions. Read more about it at The Life Of A Vegan!