Vegan Food: Tasty & Healthy For Vegans AND Non-Vegans

by Jill Richardson · 2009-03-30 15:48:00 UTC
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I've got a guilty confession. I don't think I'll ever be a vegan. I did do it for a year, once. And I felt GREAT. But I fell off the wagon and just haven't managed to get back on. That said, I DO enjoy vegan cooking. My hunch is that most of us do - we just don't refer to it as vegan cooking when we do it. If you're not paying attention to the presence or absence of animal products in your food, I guess there's no reason why you would notice if a dish is vegan or not.

But with the recent revelation that eating red meat (beef AND pork) leads to higher mortality rates and the less recent revelation that meat & dairy production ain't so great for the climate, I think now is a good time to discover a few vegan recipes I might like to try. While my lack of self-control might make it difficult for me to go vegan, I can certainly manage to eat a few vegan meals each week.

With that in mind, I picked up a copy of Bryant Terry's new book, Vegan Soul Kitchen (see my review & a recipe here). I'm already a pro at roasting veggies in the oven with some salt and olive oil but I wanted some new inspiration. And I've been a fan of Terry's work since his last book, Grub, which he co-authored with Anna Lappe.

If you want to try going vegan a few meals a week with me, here are some tips:

  • Replace butter with extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil when cooking veggies

  • Replace butter (or oil) with applesauce in baked goods

  • Use soy, rice, or almond milk instead of milk in creamy soups, mashed potatoes, or pumpkin pie

  • Skip on soy versions of cheese and yogurt... they're just not that good. Cheeseless pizza with homemade crust and great sauce and toppings is actually very tasty.

  • I highly recommend Coconut Bliss ice cream. It's dairy-free ice cream made with coconut milk and it's sooooo good.

  • Experiment with new kinds of beans, grains, fruits, and veggies you've never tried before. You'll find that the world of plant foods offers a lot of variety that we non-vegans often ignore.

  • The crock pot is your friend (try this recipe... it's one of my very favorites)

Do you have any other ideas? How do you make your meals more sustainable?

Jill Richardson
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