I'm starting a new column here on Happy Herbivore that features inspirational interviews from people who changed their life when they changed their diet. I'm also really excited to kick this column off with an interview of my friend Natala a.k.a. Vegan Hope. I hope Natala's story inspires you as much as it has me!

HH: Let's start with the million dollar question. How long have you been vegan and why did you go vegan?

I have been vegan for …

I'm going to risk it all and swear to you that wasabi and cranberries go together like peanut butter and jelly. An unlikely combo, I admit.

So how did I come up with this odd marriage of flavors? I accidentally put dried cranberries into a container that had wasabi in it. I am still stunned at how well they go together... and after a few bites I knew that wasabi peas and dried cranberries would make one killer …

Yes, it's a salad... but it's a salad with fat-free vegan feta cheese! Oh yeah!

This recipe is included in Happy Herbivore Abroad.

I can't remember the last time I had a Greek salad... or feta cheese. Neither were items I ate often as an omni or vegetarian. Still, I love the challenge of making vegan substitutes for foods other people like.

Anyway, this idea came to me by way of my good friend Katherine. …

The 30 WHOLE Days Challenge came to an end on Monday with mixed emotions for most participants. As I suspected, it was an enlightening and educational experience and here are some of my thoughts.

Good:

I never thought I would be a salad-a-day girl but thanks to HH30 I have at least one really big salad every day. I've also come to really enjoy smoothies (I even developed some killer recipes during HH30). On the days I …

Have you ever had an idea rattling around in your head that's a lil' strange and if executed could either be weird and gross or innovative and totally awesome?! 

Well that's the deal with this recipe. For a while now I've wanted to dump chunky salsa over my mac n' cheese. Color me crazy, but it just seemed like a great idea. Of course getting up the nerve to actually do it (AND feed it to Scott) was …