A Little About Me (and How I Fell in Love with Vegan Cooking)

Hello, and welcome to my kitchen!

My journey to vegan cooking started long before I ever thought of myself as a vegan cook. For many years, I’ve been a yoga teacher and Ayurvedic practitioner, and I’ve always believed that what we eat plays a big role in how we feel. But over time, I began to realize that yoga isn’t just what happens on the mat. It’s how we live, the choices we make, and how we move through the world.

For me, that meant taking a closer look at my food choices. I became vegetarian because I wanted to live by the principle of ahimsa — the yogic practice of doing no harm. At the time, it felt like the natural next step in bringing my beliefs and my everyday life into better alignment.

But the more I learned, the more I began to question whether being vegetarian was really enough. I took an online course at Johns Hopkins about our food system, and it opened my eyes to the realities of modern industrial food production. I started to understand that the idea of doing no harm went far beyond what I had on my plate. It involved the treatment of animals, the impact on our environment, and the ways our food system can affect our own health.

And that was it. Once I understood what was happening, there was no going back. There are some things you simply can’t un-know.

I went vegan, and honestly, I immediately felt better about my choices. There was a sense of peace that came from living a little more in line with what I believed. Twelve years later, I feel energetic, youthful, and more connected than ever to the idea that small, everyday choices really do matter.

But here’s something I didn’t expect: going vegan completely transformed the way I cook.

Rather than feeling like I was giving things up, I discovered a whole new world of ingredients, flavors, and possibilities. Beans, lentils, tofu, seeds, grains, vegetables, spices, and ingredients I had barely paid attention to before became the building blocks of some of my favorite meals. My creativity was ignited, and cooking became an adventure. I started experimenting, combining flavors, borrowing inspiration from different cuisines, and finding new ways to make familiar dishes entirely plant-based.

And that’s what I love sharing here.

I’m not interested in food that feels like a compromise. I want food that’s delicious, satisfying, nourishing, and fun to make. Food that makes you excited to sit down at the table. Food that just happens to be vegan.

My yoga and Ayurveda background still influences the way I approach cooking. I appreciate fresh ingredients, thoughtful preparation, and the connection between food and how we feel. But I also love a good comfort meal, experimenting in the kitchen, and figuring out how to make something taste amazing.

Whether you’re a longtime vegan, plant-curious, trying to eat a little more plant-based, or simply looking for some fresh inspiration, you’re welcome here. You don’t have to change everything overnight, and you certainly don’t have to be perfect. Every meal is an opportunity to try something new.

So pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea, and let’s get cooking. I hope you’ll discover, just as I did, that eating vegan doesn’t mean having less. In so many ways, it means discovering so much more.

Welcome to my kitchen. I’m glad you’re here!