Recently, I complimented a stranger on an outfit she was wearing. It was as simple as "I just wanted to say how much I love your dress." The stranger practically broke into tears and said, "Thank you. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that today." 

It made me think back to an experience I had about a year ago when I'd told a cashier to "Have a nice day," as I always try to do, and …

After our Start Your Own Community Potluck post aired, several Herbies wrote in asking for more details on the "how to." Having not done one myself (I know! The shame!), I started thinking about suggestions and advice when Kelita emailed me saved the day! 

A few days after my potluck post, Kelita told me about a recent plant-based potluck at her church. Her experiences answered many of the questions I and other Herbies had about potlucks in general, so …

You've got questions...

Q: To make a recipe gluten-free, can I substitute oat flour for wheat flour equally or is it more complicated than that?

A: It's more complicated than that, unfortunately. For one, while oats themselves are gluten-free, most are cross-contaminated with gluten, so you'll have to make sure you're using certified gluten-free oats to make oat flour, or certified gluten-free oat flour. With muffin recipes, oat flour tends to be a good solution, but not necessarily for …

A few days after I initially started talking with Jana about her challenge to cook a new recipe each day from Happy Herbivore Abroad, I had dinner with a few Herbies in San Fran. 

(Me with Herbie of the Week Candy!)

During dinner, a group of us got to talking about our initial experiences and the challenges we faced when we first adopted a plant-based or vegan diet/lifestyle. 

One Herbie's comment really stuck with me. He said …

Last October, Kelsey and I were brought together by one of Kelsey's coworkers, who'd emailed me about Kelsey, suggesting I interview her as a Herbie of the Week. I asked Kelsey's coworker to have Kelsey email me directly, so we could talk about her journey. Right off the bat, Kelsey hit me with amazing news:

"I changed my lifestyle 8+ months ago, dropped 27 lbs., my total cholesterol dropped from 219 (at the age of 23) to 140 (at …