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For less stress and better dinners, join the plant-based meal prep challenge
It's unfortunate, but it's true: cooking up a whole foods plant-based diet does take more time and effort than if we were content with processed foods. Of course, we could make do with rice, beans, and greens every night... but let's just say that my husband wouldn't...
Plant-based batch cooking as privilege – a personal letter from Brigitte
Dear reader, I want to start this message by acknowledging the pain and emotions of my friends, readers, and co-humans who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color. And I want to also say that I see those who, like me, are confronted with their own Whiteness...
“One week at the cottage”: a simple one-week vegan meal plan
If you're the person in charge of cooking in your household, does a week long trip at a countryside cottage really count as vacation? Yes, sitting by the lake reading a book while kids frolic at the edge of the water without breaking into fights sounds wonderful. But...
10 strategies to get your child to eat more vegan foods – Guest post by Joanna Olson of Raised on Veggies
Is transitioning to a plant-based diet causing power struggles with your children? Have you faced backlash from your little ones when trying to feed them more vegan food? I hear you! Even without the added challenge of swapping dairy for lentils and chicken for tofu,...
Your next 10 dinners covered: free vegan meal plan for 2 weeks!
I know what you want: a ready-made meal plan, and to some help so that you can organize a prep session on the weekend. I can't go and babysit your kids while you cook, but I can at least help you out with a meal plan. This sample, free vegan meal plan taken from the...
Minimum viable meal prep: basic plant-based batch cooking you should do every week (even when you are too busy)
Eating a steady diet of unprocessed, home-cooked plant-based meals takes more time than dishing out processed foods from a box. (Duh!) It doesn't have to take a prohibitive amount of time: 4 to 7 hours of cooking per week should yield very enjoyable meals. If you have...
3 ways to create an instant sauce for your quick vegan pasta dish
Whip up a comforting healthy and vegan pasta dish with pantry ingredients and leftover produce. Read this today to be prepared to make it tomorrow with what you have at home!
How to improvise a balanced vegan meal from pantry ingredients (even when you are too exhausted to cook)
It's 6:34 p.m. and you just got home. You are hungry. Maybe you had planned something based on a new recipe, but you do not feel the energy to follow through. You don't have a prepared meal ready to reheat and gobble up. The temptation to pick up the phone and order...
“One Big Shop” plant-based meal plan for one week of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners: Tell me what you think!
Do you find it hard to shop for a whole week's worth of meals in a single trip to the grocery store? You're not alone. My personal preference is to do one big weekly shop... and a couple of smaller trips to the store later in the week to get more fresh produce, plus a...
Vegan overnight oats batch prep: make them your way!
Morning is my favorite time of the day, when everything still seems possible. It's the time when I review my daily planner, write a couple of pages in my journal, and spend 10 minutes reading. It's also when I (normally) have to shepherd my kids to school. Getting...
Vegan pantry cooking recipes with tips from the pros
Need inspiration to keep on cooking from what you have in the pantry? Eight vegan bloggers shared their best vegan pantry cooking tips to make use of plant-based ingredients, along with their favorite pantry cooking recipes. Just pick one, follow substitution suggestions as needed, and make it happen!
Vegan shopping and pantry cooking in a pandemic: Brigitte’s tips on the radio show “Animal Voices”
Local vegan radio show Animal Voices invited me to speak about grocery shopping and pantry cooking during the weird and uncertain times of this coronavirus pandemic. What plant-based ingredients should we always have on hand in the pantry? How do we use what we have...
My vegan meal planning routine
If something matters to me, I know the only way to make sure it happens is to make it part of a routine. And there are few things in my life more important right now than feeding my loved ones home-cooked whole foods, plant-based meals. So I need to have a solid vegan...
Zero-waste cooking for vegans dos and don’ts – and keeping the bigger picture in mind
The zero-waste world can be overwhelming. Don’t get analysis-paralysis: read this post to find out how to shop, get organized, and cook to reduce the waste from your kitchen… while keeping the big picture in mind.
16 ways to improve your kitchen life that are better and cheaper than renovating!
Why not take a few steps to improve your cooking and eating? Pick any of these 16 ways to improve your kitchen life and get started! 1. Plan your meals Meal planning is the number 1 habit that will (almost) instantly improve your life. Your physical and mental health...
Raising toward vegan? Why I am vegan but my kids are not (yet)
My children are not vegan. There, I said it. It is a plain fact. Although the vast majority of their weekly calories come from plants, including everything eaten at home and in their lunch boxes, they occasionally consume meat, dairy, and trace amounts of egg outside...
My 3 best vegan cookbooks, and more (even if I don’t need another recipe) – no affiliate links!
The world doesn't need another recipe. Even within the narrow niche of whole foods plant-based cooking, there are already enough recipes published in cookbooks and posted online to feed you something different three times a day every day for the rest of your life. And...
How to start a batch cooking club (because you really need one!)
Some of my most beloved memories involve batch cooking with friends. There is something magical about getting together with other humans and preparing food to nourish each others' bodies and souls. As we labor jointly to chop, cook, and pack meals, kitchens turn into...
How to convert a recipe from stove-top to Instant Pot (with great vegan recipes)
So you now own an Instant Pot and you'd like to use it more, but your favorite recipes are written for the stove-top? Are you scared to wreck your dinner when using your new appliance? Worry not! In this post, I will explain in detail how to convert a recipe from...
Cast-iron cooking for vegans (with great recipes for inspiration!) – no affiliate links
Is cast-iron cooking a good choice for vegans? After all, the much-touted capacity of cast-iron to sear steaks is moot for plant-based eaters. Compassionate cooks may even be repelled by the meat-centric marketing campaigns for this heavy kitchen gear. Yet, I recently...
How we can help the planet: what we do and what we should do
I started my vegan journey for environmental reasons. Being "eco-friendly" was part of my identity: I walked and biked everywhere, recycled religiously, and signed petitions against polluters. Yet, and oddly, it wasn't until 2013 that I opened my eyes to the...
Mindful screen-free cooking: the pathway to becoming a better, faster cook
At a time when kitchen appliance companies are starting to sell water-resistant, voice-operated tablets powered by Google Assistant, my advice puts me at risk of coming across as either curmudgeonly or perhaps quaint. Yet, in the face of the irresistible pull of...
How to involve kids in cooking at all ages (with lots of kid-friendly recipes!) | A guest post by Janelle Leclair of Peaceful Easy Vegan Nutrition
Do your little ones love to “help” in the kitchen? It can be hard to involve your kids in cooking at the end of a stressful day when all you want is to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible. Yet, teaching kids kitchen lessons is an investment that will yield...
The simplest, healthiest and easiest way to cook brown rice (lots of it!)
Some changes of habits yield big health benefits. Switching from white to brown rice is one of those. (In case you aren't already convinced, I recommend watching Dr. Greger's video on the topic.) It's really a pity (and a public health catastrophe) that white rice has...
How to start batch cooking (with 20 vegan batch cooking recipes!)
Batch cooking changes lives... it really does! In fact, vegan batch cooking probably also SAVES lives. Why? Because when you've got a meal all ready to eat in the fridge or freezer, you're much less likely to eat unhealthy processed or delivery food (saves human...
Vegan meal plan template: Load up on Spring greens!
The arrival of Spring is celebrated with an explosion of green vegetables at farmers' markets. Maybe you have munched on big leaves of cold-resistant kale and collard greens all winter to accompany your root vegetable stews. Now is the time to switch to the fresh,...
How to eat less meat and more plants: Try “Vegan After 6”
Are one of the many home cooks trying to figure out how to eat less meat and more plants? I have a new idea for you: try going Vegan After 6. "Oh, yes, we are trying to cut back on meat," or "I hardly eat meat anymore, except at my mother-in-law's house." I hear such...
How to cook everything faster: learn basic knife skills
Many times, even before I started cooking dinner, I have thrown the towel and ordered pizza from across the street. The mere thought of chopping a pile of veggies felt like an overwhelming feat. No more! Learning basic knife skills made a world of difference in my...
Change how you cook to make dishes faster
Has your life gone to the dishes? Try changing how you cook to make cleanup go faster. Eating three home-cooked meals per day consisting of plant-based whole foods will do wonders for your health. It will probably also improve your family's life as you say "yes!" to...
Should I get an Instant Pot? What’s a vegan to do (no affiliate links!)
Practically every time my Instant Pot comes up in conversation, I hear: "Oh I have been thinking about getting one - what do you think?" I have now owned one for two years and I finally feel ready to answer the question: "Should I get an Instant Pot?" This post does...
How to eat more greens and cruciferous vegetables (with 25 recipes!)
Do you eat enough green and cruciferous vegetables on a daily basis? Chances are, you don't. Even eating vegetables in general is challenge for most: less than 10% of Americans consume the recommended 2 to 3 cups daily. Within a few percentage points, these numbers...
Vegan meal plan template: Fall edition
What if you could tick a few boxes, fill a few blanks, and bam! there's your meal plan for the week. That's what this vegan meal plan template is all about. This version features seasonal Fall produce and heart-warming food for when the rainier days roll in. (Not Fall...
Amazingly healthy vegan ice pops (that your kids will LOVE)
"Mommy, I want a snack!" How many times a day do you hear that in the summer? Those five words can be the gateway to so many perils. Processed food with dubious ingredients and scary color additives. Empty calories that will fill your children's tummies and prevent...
17 fun food things to do with kids this summer
Summer bring a welcome change of pace after the frenzy of year-end shows, school field trips and, for some of the older kids, exams. Whether your kids are 3, 13, or 23, I bet there are at least a few of the activities below you haven't done yet. Why not put a few on...
The easiest way to cook quinoa
Before we dive into the easiest way to cook quinoa, let's talk about the nagging question that any ethical foodie has at the back of their mind: should we eat quinoa or not? Quinoa made its big debut on the foodie scene about 10 years ago, earning kudos from Oprah and...
Vegan dads who cook share their stories and kitchen tricks (plus a bonus home-made tofu recipe!)
Men are getting busy in the kitchen. Between 1965 and 2007, the proportion of men who cook increased from 29% to 42%. Men are also more likely to shop for groceries. That's true in my household: according to our bank statement, my husband spends a lot more money at...
Vegan meal plan template: Summer edition
Eat plants. Decide less. Prep ahead. Those three principles will help you breeze through summer, spending less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying outdoor play. Maybe you'll even get to relax with your loved ones! You can use this clever vegan meal plan...
Vegan batch cooking: the best way to enjoy home-made meals on demand! (with 8 free recipes to download)
Imagine having a stressful day and no dinner plan... and then remembering that, in your freezer, you have a few vegan building blocks that you'll be able to pull together in 10 or 15 minutes to create a delicious and nutritious home-cooked dinner. No expensive...
Vegan cooking for beginners: get started the easy way (even if you think you’ll never go vegan)
If you think you will never be vegan, I hear you and understand you. And I'm not even going to ask you to change. I was an unlikely vegan myself. I hardly knew vegetarians even existed until my late teens. When I started making money as a young adult I would splurge...
Natural vegan nutrition boosters: 6 easy cooking hack for your family
There are bloggers out there who boast about using only a few ingredients in each recipe, and that's great... but if I try their recipes I always end up adding ingredients to kick up the nutritional value. Taste and convenience really important for me, of course. But...
“My husband doesn’t want to raise our kids vegan”: What’s a mom to do?
"Help! My husband doesn't want to raise our kids vegan!" "My partner refuses to hear anything about the health benefits of eating plant-based whole foods. He says that food is food and that our kids should be allowed to eat whatever they want." "When I am away my...
How to prevent a pantry moth infestation
A few years ago, I started seeing tiny little gray moths on the walls of my apartment. It was September and getting cool outside, so I thought maybe they were seeking shelter. No big deal, I am a pacifist, right? After a few weeks, the kitchen was overrun by moths. I...
Mama Food, Toddler Food: What’s on the table of nutrition practitioner and plant-based mom Laura Ashbaugh
I was thrilled to interview Laura Ashbaugh, a plant-based mom, who advises moms and dads on matters of nutrition. This is the second post in my series on how real-life vegan parents make it work to eat (mostly) whole foods at home. Laura was vegan before having...
An ode to She who decides what’s for dinner
If you are reading this, chances are: you are a woman. Ninety seven percent of my readers are. Today is International Women's Day, and I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate the role of women in making a most important decision every single day:...
When your whole family doesn’t go vegan – An interview with Sarah Hayes from Bad to the Bowl
What to do if your whole family isn’t vegan? There are more women than men who are vegan, and also more women than men who are in charge of cooking dinner. As vegan and plant-based diets become more common, we shouldn’t be surprised when this family situation arises:...
Seven ingredients for successful vegan meal prep sessions
Meal planning and weekend meal prep sessions are the top two systems that can save you time in the kitchen. They'll also save your sanity! For anyone who wishes to eat more home-cooked meals and less processed food and take-out, vegan meal prep is a game changer. For...
Vegan cooking without recipes: 8 easy meals you can improvise tonight
Even with the best laid plans, you will occasionally find yourself having to prepare a meal that you haven’t planned for. Maybe you didn’t make it to the grocery store. Or your significant other has been… but brought back the wrong ingredients. Or you are trying to...
Vegans eat better pizza (with my basic dough and pesto potato pizza recipes)
I have never made so much pizza at home as since going vegan. The first reason is that I really LOVE pizza, and so does everyone in my family. Is it pizza that I love, or a slice of warm, golden bread with some luscious toppings? After a couple of years of trials and...
How to make vegan soup taste great? Try these 7 tips!
Soup is such a beautiful thing. It is warm, filling, comforting, and can be quite inexpensive to make. It can catch all the leftover veggies in your produce drawer before it's too late. Best of all, it can be delicious and nutritious too. But how to make vegan soup...
How to make vegan polenta: a heart-warming base for your Fall dishes
There is a rumor that says that making polenta from scratch is tricky, labor-intensive, and better left to Italian mamas. I was fooled by this belief for a long time, but I know better now. Today's the day when I invite you to also see the light. Here is how to make...
What to do when you crave cheese?
One only needs to participate in any online forum for vegan beginners for about an hour to see THE question come up: “What is the best vegan cheese?” (Often followed with: “I tried XYZ brand and hated it.”) Here is my answer. The 30-day Cheese Detox Dairy cheese is...
Got carrots? Here are some vegan recipe ideas.
Ask anyone to draw a vegetable and chances are they'll draw a carrot. North Americans consume many fewer carrots (under 10 pounds per year) than potatoes (almost 50 pounds per year, most of that as French fries, and including 5 pounds of potato chips). But, aside from...
Vegan pesto to use all those greens
Spring brings an explosion of greens that can make even the most veg-friendly cook get a little dizzy. Here is the content of my CSA box last week. This week's was very similar, although consisting of some different varieties, with the addition of four cute little...
Meal planning around picky eaters in 7 loving steps
"I have never had a single concern about my child's eating" said no parent, ever. There are worries at all stages of life, from infancy ("is she getting enough milk?") to teenage ("too much junk food!"), with many years in-between spent bemoaning picky eating habits....
Vegan Bolognese Sauce: Every Mom’s Bolo
Growing up, my favorite dinner was always spaghetti. Actually, it was my mom's version of spaghetti bolognese, but to me it was just spaghetti. I could not even imagine that spaghetti noodles could be served with any other sauce than my mom's. It was red, it was rich,...
Quit eating from a package: three easy homemade vegan staples to get you started cooking from scratch
Whether you are trying to avoid allergens or additives, making your own staples from scratch at home is a great way to gain more control over what goes into your body. But forgoing the convenience of ready-made items has a cost: it takes time. On the flip side, it...
Buy your kale and eat it too: avoid food waste with these useful vegan meal planning habits
How can you cut food waste in your kitchen when cooking vegan, saving the planet and your wallet at the same time? Picture a Wednesday night. You just got home after a big day. Your preschooler is clamoring for a snack and you wouldn't mind one yourself. You think you...
How to do a vegan pantry challenge
The goal of a vegan pantry challenge is not to find out how many days or weeks your family can last on a year-old bottle of ketchup and a bag of pearl barley. It's a learning experience. If you invest a little bit of time upfront, and commit to cooking mindfully, you...
11 tips for vegan families to eat better on vacation (video)
Just like many other vegans with families, I prefer renting a cabin or condo when going on vacation. That way, I have a full kitchen to prepare our meals instead of depending on dubious (and expensive!) restaurant fare. In this video filmed on premises in Hawaii, I...
Vegan meal plan template: Winter produce edition
Do you need a vegan meal plan template that will inspire you to cook with seasonal winter produce? Help yourself! If we only shopped at supermarkets, we'd never know there is such a thing as seasons. But, unless you live in California, a trip to the farmers' market -...
Vegan parm nuts: it tops it all!
It's such a simple thing, but this little topping can take a pasta meal from plain to fabulous. It adds a little crunch thanks to the nuts and depth of taste thanks to the nutritional yeast and, if using, olives. You can also use it on casseroles, salads, or anywhere...
Vegan meal plan template: do it 2 weeks at a time
Make a bunch of decisions today and just execute for the next two weeks: that's what this 14-day vegan meal plan template can guide you through. This meal plan template is a little different from the previous versions, and perhaps will work best for cooks with an...
Save time by following the critical path: a sample vegan meal prep session plan
An advance food prep session on the weekend can save hours of your time (and awful headaches!) on weekdays. Just imagine this scene: You know what you will be cooking (thanks to excellent meal planning) and you have collected the necessary groceries. Then, you...
Vegan meal planning 101 (and a basic template)
If you are a busy parent, and want to feed your family whole foods based on plants cooked at home most nights of the week, there are not two ways around it: you have to become adept at vegan meal planning. (And also meal prep - but that's a topic for another day!)...
Prevent freezer burn with a super-organized kitchen (with geeky printable template!)
For vegans and plant-based eaters leading busy lives (and who doesn’t!), advance prep sessions and batch cooking are powerful tools that reduce kitchen stress and increase the enjoyment, taste, and quality of every meal. However, successfully applying those two...