I found the same thing when switching to a vegetarian (now vegan) diet--you experience a whole new universe of cuisine you never had before. For example, I'd never even heard of nutritional yeast, but it's absolutely delicious and now always readily available in my pantry.

It's easier, in my personal experience, to live on a repetitive diet largely consisting of rotating meats. But when you're constrained to fruits/vegetables/grains/seeds, it becomes very boring quickly and forces you to be creative. Then you suddenly have a lot more interesting culinary experiences.