Don't forget to eat your veggies

I admit, I'm a carnivore -- or more accurately, a flexitarian. I like a little meat every now and then.

Back in college at Berkeley, I had a vegan roommate. Now, at that time, before Whole Foods -- heck, before the Internet -- being vegan was tough. Cookbooks were scarce, and Tofurky wasn't a Thanksgiving option yet. The other non-veg roommie and I pitied our pal who couldn't even eat cheap Spaghettios.

Now it's me who's drooling with hunger over the lush photos and rich recipes at VeganYumYum, one of a new crop of amazing vegan and vegetarian food blogs.

This ain't tofu and brown rice land. We're talking chipotle chili with apple and black beans, peach upside-down cake, herbed marinara sauce, mojito cupcakes, and mini baked donuts.

These fabulous recipes make it no great sacrifice to give up meat for a few meals each week. And going veg just once a week makes a difference.

According to Environmental Defense, a person who takes one meatless day every week saves 0.17 tons of carbon dioxide on average per year. The respected medical journal The Lancet recommends that people cut back on red meat consumption by 10%, not just for personal health, but for the health of our planet (register for free to read the full study).

VeganYumYum is coming out with a cookbook soon, so we'll all have more great recipes to go flexitarian, vegetarian, or even vegan in delicious style. Guess my old friend isn't looking for vegan Spaghettios anymore.