I never even liked meat, but was still intimidated so much by idea of how bland, expensive, and complicated I thought eating a plant-based diet would be for me...and especially for my family.
Not everyone lives with a chef, but these changes were so simple that I couldn't help think how useful some of what we figured out along the way would have been GREAT! That said, for those of you looking to transition into a full-on plant-based diet, the first couple tips are for you.
Whether you're just incorporating some plant-based meals into your repertoire or not, like most new things, learning to cook plant food and actually make it taste good without paying more wasn't nearly as intimidating as I expected it to be.
Hopefully, we can save you some time and stress by making it as easy as possible!
Tips and Tricks for
Plant-Based Cooking
Tip#1: Keep it simple
After talking with your doctor about any major dietary changes (see what I did there), don't rush to purge your kitchen of everything you already paid for! Aside from the whole 'wasteful' component here, believe me when I tell you the knowledge you will gain through experimenting and planning will be worth the wait.
Besides, don't worry about having to change major habits overnight! I can't tell you how many times I tried and failed in the past...only to learn that any major change takes time, that's okay!
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We were fortunate to have had a head start, by having recently cut out most processed food. So we were prepping most of our own meals at that point. If you're not eating homecooked meals most of the time, that's a great place to start!
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While getting in the habit of prepping food each day, keep things interesting by experimenting with new flavors and dishes. Finding new ideas online became a fun way for us to experiment, both with changing meals up and with keeping the enthusiasm up during what otherwise might have gotten downright daunting.
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We would find ideas, then research a few different recipes and take our favorite parts of each, to suit our tastes and suggest you do the same. This website will feature a lot of new recipe ideas, so check back often!
Tip#2:
Create a weekly meal-plan and try to stick to it!
We plan to add meal-plan ideas very soon, because keeping new and fresh ideas was probably the most challenging part of sticking to a plant-based diet, since the same dishes will lose their luster...FAST!
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We try to have varied dishes each week, with a good balance of easy and complex recipes, of various types of cuisine. As a family of five, making an Asian feast was not in the cards on a Wednesday night, factoring these things in will help everyone!
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In our house, Sunday is usually the night for prep and some next-level cooking. Which may come as no surprise as to why that's also the only night we usually take pictures! Think simple for a few nights, one leftover night, and one takeout night, if you do that sort of thing.