Number 200: Documentaries and Cookies

Today's a big day, and it's not because it's Valentine's Day, although that is important to some people. This day is blessed with being the day I wrote my 200th blog post. And brace yourselves. I have a lot to tell you.

So let's start with the obvious: Valentine's Day.

Not trying to toot my own horn, but one of the perks of dating me is the fact that I can bake. My Valentine was pretty excited because I baked him some cookies. And let me just say I got up at 6 A.M. to set out butter to soften, and I was baking cookies at 9 A.M. on Friday morning. Yep, I'm that girl. But it's definitely a perk that I can bake.

These are white chocolate pistachio cookies, and they are absolutely delicious. I found the recipe on Julie's blog when Ali submitted it for a holiday cookie link-up. At Christmas this year, I made a variation of these beauties by adding some dried cranberries. Nothing says Christmas better than red and green speckled cookies. So good. Make them today. As in right now. You won't be sorry.

Moving on. I watched two amazing documentaries on Netflix yesterday. "Forks Over Knives" and "Food, Inc." are absolute must-sees. I can't even begin to tell you how captivated I was, and still am, over these two movies.

We are what we eat. And it's even more true now that I've seen how food is made and what it can do to the body. Both documentaries had a huge impact on me and how I want to continue living my life. But "Forks Over Knives" really hit home for me, and it's sort of put me in a soul-searching place. Let me tell you why.

"Forks Over Knives" makes a grand claim that a whole foods, plant-based diet will prevent degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, dementia, diabetes and many, many types of cancers. And with this grand claim, the documentary provides evidence of said diet working on patients with lots of health issues. There's a lot more to it than just that and I could talk about it all day because it's fascinating, but I won't do that to you.

Now I've said it before, I could easily be a vegetarian, but giving up the occasional cheeseburger, bacon and fried catfish filets would be pretty painful for me. And living the "Forks Over Knives" diet would mean I would have to become vegan, which means giving up not only all meats but also all dairy products.

Y'all I love cheese. Giving up cheese would be like a death. And not being able to put half and half in my coffee would make me very sad. And I don't really want to have to explain my choice of becoming vegan to everyone who isn't of like mind.

But if that means I could ward off Type 2 diabetes, breast cancer and Alzheimer's, cheese and half and half seem like miniscule issues. I love all fruits and vegetables. I love rice and pasta. I love bread. I already limit the amount of meats I eat, so the only major jump I would make would be nixing the dairy.

I'm not saying it's something I'm going to do, but it's something I am considering. I'd love to talk with a nutritionist and a doctor before I make any significant changes. It's a big change. A lifestyle change. A HUGE lifestyle change. But it's something to think about.

Watch the documentaries, and tell me that they didn't plant some seeds.

What did you make your Valentine this year?

Do you think you could ever go vegetarian or vegan? Why or why not?