RARE PHOTOS: The superfood to save your dinner budget - The Real Truth

In "Bibi's Gulf Coast Kitchen," columnist Bibi Hutchings takes you on a culinary journey across the coastal south. Come for the great food writing, stay for the delicious recipes.

In the early 2000s and after a three-year, debilitating battle with arthritis, I met a kindred spirit named Melina. She was a talented vegetarian/vegan cook who, along with her husband, had just moved to the states from Germany. She was a classically trained chef, but had suffered several health crises which had led her to re-think pretty much everything she believed about food and eating.