Pathway to Plant-Based | 5 of My Favorite Vegan Resources

I’m not vegan, but I am plant-curious. It wasn’t long ago that I wouldn’t have considered a meal without meat or dairy or both a real meal, but these days I have a whole new appreciation for plant-based cooking.

Like everything else in my life, I don’t like to be too prescriptive about my diet. I focus more on the do-do’s rather than the don’t-dos and try an eat plant-based for dinner 2-3 times a week.

I heard on a podcast once that we should look at the meat, fish, and dairy we eat more like a garnish than the main event. This was kind of a revelation for me.

I have a corn-husker husband and picky kids, so I need a gentler approach than a lot of the all-or nothing vegan preachers out there.

When I was first introduced to the plant-based lifestyle I would search hashtags like #veganmeals #veganprotein and #veganrecipes on Instagram. I was overwhelmed by beautiful, and incredibly complicated recipes filled with unfamiliar ingredients and flavors.

Side note, I don’t get the smoothie bowl. Yes, they are gorgeous and just looking at them makes me feel healthier, but they are impractical… and cold, really freaking cold. Why not just put it all on a cup and use a straw?

A couple of times I laughed out loud at the recipes I found for “easy vegan dinners” on Pinterest. You’d laugh too if you knew what my house looked like at 5 pm and you had a recipe in front of you with 10 ingreadients and a whole lot of chopping.

In time though, I was able to filter out the noise. I unfollowed the overly complicated and preachy and focused on the simple, easy, and unpretentious. I even came up with a few of my own recipes.

I’ve been incorporating plant-based cooking into my diet for a few years now, and have found a bit of a grove, even though fertility issues, pregnancy, and nursing I’ve been able to stay pretty consistent.

Here are 5 Plant-Based Resources that have helped me along the way

Plant Based Santa Barbara

This website is packed with great information on the health benefits and how to transition to a plant-based diet, as well as local events and even policy changes to improve the school lunch program.

It is a fantastic resource for everyone, but especially those local to Santa Barbara. She often shares vegan menu items from local restaurants and for those with kids she is a great resource for meal ideas for your “Little Earthlings.”

The Happy Pear

Their name says it all. These adorable identical twins are truly ridiculously happy and filled with what seems like endless energy. I am contemplating a trip to Ireland just so I can eat in their fantastic restaurant.

They not only share delicious and simple recipes via Instagram and YouTube, but they also offer a 4-week online course called The Happy Heart Course. If you our a loved one have a history of heart-related health issues you might want to check this out.

One Part Plant

Jessica Murane is the creator behind this awesome resource. She has a cookbook and a great podcast that covers a wide range of topics, not just food. What I like most about her style is that she just wants people to work towards eating one plant based meal a day. She’s not pushy or preachy. She just wants people to feel good.

Yummy Mummy Kitchen

At first glance this beautiful resource was a little intimidating. But once I tried a few of the recipes I found them to be much simpler than I thought and the videos are super helpful.

The site is not totally vegan, but she has a huge archive of vegan recipes.

Delightful Mom Food

I don’t want to brag or anything, but I know this beautiful mama! She is actually one of the people who helped to convince me that I could start this blog and is one of the sweetest people I know!

Again, her site isn’t totally vegan, but she makes it really easy to filter the recipes so you can find those that are plant-based. Also, many of her recipes can be easily modified to be vegan. I make this stuffed squash regularly and I’ll I have to do is eliminate the goat cheese.

Bonus: Purple Carrot

This is a vegan meal delivery service. If you are intimidated by new ingredients and flavors you might want to give this a try for a few months. We’ve had it for a few weeks now and I feel like I’m getting some new easy recipies to keep in my back pocket for quick weeknight meals.

I’ve tried other services and I found the recipes really labor intensive and the packaging super wasteful. Purple Carrot’s packaging isn’t perfect, but it is an improvement.

So there you have it. What do you like? What did I miss?

Have you tried to incorporate more plant-based cooking into your diet? Have you gone full vegan? Do you think life isn’t worth living without bacon and ice cream? Drop a comment below I’d love to hear your experience.

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