Learning to cook vegan
- Kimberly Winters
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
If you know my story, you know that I went vegetarian in 2001 with no idea how to cook...seriously.no.idea.I cannot stress that enough. Since I was clueless I had to start learning fast, so, for me that meant a lot of trial and error and a LOT of sad looking and not so great tasting food. What I'm saying here is, no matter your current skill level in the kitchen, you can learn to cook vegan and before you know it, images like the one above will be in your phone only to send to the next pre-vegan you meet.
Back in 2001 I didn't have a zillion and 6 recipe blogs to consult online but I did have access to lots of cookbooks. I definitely bought many but I also utilized my local library so I could try out a lot of them without a huge commitment.
Little side note: When I first started learning how to cook, I did not understand why every "30 minute recipe" took me 2+ hours. I definitely expected it to take 45 minutes or an hour, my knife skills were terrible, I was so slow, I didn't organize anything and hadn't yet discovered the magic of mise en place (read my blog about that here), but 2 1/2 hours?! It seemed absurd even for a newbie. I still can't "just throw something together," I get distracted by something In the kitchen, or I decide to chop veggies with a meditative mind, slowly and thoughtfully, enjoying the sounds of the knife on the cutting board....etc. there are a million things that can extend my cooking time even now. If you're like this too, lean Into It. The food tastes better If you do.
Also, cooking doesn't have to be complicated. Following detailed recipes can be fun and a challenge but we don't always have time or the patience/energy for it. So my advice (something I tell myself as well) is to simplify.
Here are two of my favorite simple recipes to get you started:
Do you have a go-to vegan meal or a vegan meal you want to try? Tell me in the comments!
Looking for some self-care time this week? Join Meditation with Kimberly tomorrow night, Wednesday, January 7th at 8:00pm ET. Can't make that one, no worries, we meet weekly on alternating Mondays and Wednesdays, always at 8pm ET. Each attendee receives an affirmation at the start of each session. Meditations change each session, packages at a discounted rate are available. Click here or visit the Book Online tab on my website to sign up.
This is a great chart! You are an amazing cook! 💚
One of the best additions to my table ~ 18 months ago was Natto!
I love Samurai Matcha's channel, (his recent Japanese Morning exercises video is great!) ....
and when he talked about the benefits of Natto (and it's use by centenarians in N Japan), I was hooked!
It's the easiest of the soy products to ferment at home, and the process doubles the protein! Has an Umami taste - so also great option for cheese flavor!
Since I'm gluten free, I avoid processed food if I can't see a lable! I make my own yogurt using coconut milk, using Dr Davis' recipe (Undoctored, Wheat Belly)
Last night I wanted a favorite Chinese-style dish that I enjoy but has ingredients others at my table do not. So I stir fried each ingredient separately and made the sauce on the side. I ate the meal I wanted and they didn’t have to eat the yucky stuff.
Truthfully I have never seriously considered becoming vegan, but I have tons of respect for those that are. I think it's great that now there are more products to help support the lifestyle, it still seems that it is a challenge to always be really sure that outside meals are truly vegan. I love the chart with the substitutions that is really helpful!😀