Written By: Emily from The Vegan Home Chef

My name is Emily, and I write a blog called “The Vegan Home Chef.” I’ve been a vegetarian for a while, and about a year ago, I transitioned to a vegan diet. Melody featured my blog in a post a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to share with her and you a little bit about my experience of going vegan, some recipes (including one that I created just for you all), and a few tips to make things go a little more smoothly.

Whether you’re considering a vegan diet for health, animal rights, or environmental reasons, or even if you’re just curious about what it means to be vegan, there is so much to be enjoyed. The one thing that has surprised me most over the last year is that while at the beginning it can seem like there’s so much you can’t eat, before long, you’re focusing instead on the incredible abundance of a plant-based diet.

Meat and dairy seem like such huge things to cut out because we’ve made them the central items in most dishes, but when you begin to think differently about
what makes up a good meal, that perspective changes relatively quickly. As an example, take a look at a menu at an Indian restaurant. They usually have a vegetarian section (and other than dishes including paneer, an Indian cheese, are often primarily vegan), and a quick scan through the variety of those dishes is a great illustration of what I mean. Simply put, there is another way to do this.

I do think though, that things would be much different if I didn’t cook. It will be much harder to be vegan if you are almost entirely eating out at restaurants and trying to buy things pre-prepared from the grocery store.

I had always liked to cook, but going vegan is what made me into a cook. I wanted to explore the full breadth of what could be done in the kitchen, and I wasn’t willing to accept that being vegan would limit my culinary experience. The more I cook, the more I find that to be true.

It’s always going to be a challenge to explain being vegan to someone who has invited you over for dinner. Some people find it threatening, and think you’re judging what they eat, just by virtue of having made the choices you have. However, food is inherently communal and celebratory, so just as social situations can be some of the most challenging, they are also a great opportunity to bring some fantastic food to share and make your statement that way. I suggest Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes, because who can say no to that?

I do love to dine out at restaurants. I’ve worked in them for about 3 years, most of that at one of the best restaurants in my city. The whole experience of dining out is so familiar and personal, and it’s nice to see other people doing it well. It’s almost always going to be more difficult to find a good vegan meal at chain restaurants, because they aren’t usually set up to modify food (e.g. substitute the eggplant from that one dish for the feta in the one you want), and they’re often not making it from scratch so much as composing it from frozen and reheated elements.

Who wants a plain baked potato and a salad with oil and vinegar? Not me. So, finding restaurants that actually cook is key, and while sometimes this means spending a little more, just a little experimentation around can yield great results. Also, you can always just call and ask if they have vegan options or if they mind to make substitutions. One fantastic, old-guard type restaurant where I live has a whole separate vegetarian menu that I didn’t know about until I asked a waitress one day what she’d suggest.

Ethnic restaurants have become my new best friends. Indian food is my absolute favorite, but you can do well at almost any kind of Asian restaurant (by the way, check out my Vietnamese Banh Pho Timbales), Middle-Eastern restaurant, and even meat-heavy cuisines like Cuban and some Eastern European places. I have a huge weakness for Latin food, particularly Mexican, a love affair that began when I went to Mexico as an exchange student when I was 16. Unfortunately, you do need to be careful to ask about hidden meat and dairy: re-fried beans are a major offender and you’ll have to ask if they’re prepared with some kind of meat broth or cheese and make sure they aren’t topped with cheese. Southern Mexico (where I lived) and the countries of Central and South America tend toward more produce and a more tropical-style preparation, so you should have an easier time in a Honduran restaurant than in a just-south-of-the-border place.

I suppose that, even though I’ve tossed a lot of information you’re way, my message is simple: If you are interested in being vegan for any reason, you don’t need to worry about losing any quality of life; in fact, mine has gone up dramatically, but that’s all up to you. As a vegan, I may cook with different ingredients, but I’m not making a different kind of food. Vegan is not a cuisine, like Indian or Mexican or French, it’s just a way of preparing. You aren’t going to lose your favorite foods (unless your favorite food is steak, in which case, becoming vegan was an interesting decision), they’re just going to change a bit. To convince yourself, try my Vegan Chocolate Mousse.

See you tomorrow for a Roasted Eggplant, Portobello and Kale Lasagna!