Meet 2014's first Herbies of the Week: Judith and Fran!

Purely motivated by weight loss, the two went plant-based after discovering "The Starch Solution" by Dr. McDougall and haven't looked back! Not only have they lost a combined 80lbs (WOW!), they also lowered their cholesterol, and Fran is now off half of his blood pressure and heart medications.

It just goes to show you, it's never too late to change your life!

I am Judith and my husband …

This week's meal plan is jam-packed full of healthy, easy to prepare, mouth-watering recipes!

There are also tons (TONS!) of new recipes like Black Bean & Quinoa Wraps (NEW! fam.), Peanut Cabbage Stir-Fry (NEW!), Vegetable Korma (NEW! ind.), Fresh Nori Wraps (NEW!) and Curried Vegetable Rice (NEW!).

Fresh Nori Wraps

Individual Highlights

• Breakfast Fruit Bruschetta
• Vegetable Korma (NEW!)
• Lentil Chili
• Spicy Sweet Potato Bowl
• Fresh Nori Wraps (NEW!)
• Banana Bread Oatmeal
• Curried Vegetable Rice (NEW!)
• …

In a perfect world, every item I buy would be organic, locally grown, freshly picked at peak that morning, fair trade, non-GMO, and so forth. I'd also make nearly everything myself from scratch.

Unfortunately, I don't live in a perfect world. I also don't have the wallet size to make that my reality all the time. My mantra, as you know, is progress not perfection and doing the best you can.

I always emphasize that last part, especially at the …

My sister is my financial advisor. If you need to squeeze quarters out of pennies, Courtney knows how to do it. By looking at her year end account statement last year, she realized she could pay off all her student debt 6 years early by simply getting rid of cable TV for a year. She's that good.

Anyway, my sister, during one of our... shall we say, "financial sessions," shared a terrific story with me that I think sings …

In case you haven't been following the HH Facebook page, there is no Happy Herbivore Cooking Show tonight. We'll be back next week with a brand new, live episode!

Happy Herbivore Light & Lean has been busy on tour — visiting 30 blogs in December. Here's a list of all the places the book stopped at. Each blogger interviewed me, and there were some really great questions! Check them out!

Diana from Veggie Next Door

Katie from Fat Free Queen

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