Earlier this month, my dad received news that areas of his health are declining. Much of the advice given to improve his health was diet related-lower his sodium, eat less processed foods, etc. My dad is eager to make diet changes and he is impressed by what I have been able to make as I’ve moved to a whole-food, plant-based diet. The problem is that what I do takes work. It takes planning, prepping, lots of dirty dishes, and many other inconveniences. My dad takes care of my mom full time and has so much responsibility and stress weighing on him. No wonder he turns to quick, easy food.

Around the same time I heard about his health, I also started thinking more about what I am feeding my husband and son. Sometimes I make three different meals for dinner and mine is the only one that is healthy. I’ve been a bit selfish with spending my time focusing on my recipe, my meal, that I often turn to quick and easy for Edwin and Michael. That means lots of processed foods. Michael and I have decided it is time to make a switch to healthier options and he is totally on board for a shift for the whole family.

With all of that being said, I am feeling a need to take what I have been doing for myself and refine it so that it is more practical. Many of my friends have also shared an interest in making changes, but how do they find the time to create these meals. So, I’ve found a purpose. I am going to start a new series on this blog called Doable Vegan. The focus will be on how can I take the cooking and nutritional knowledge I’ve gained and apply it in a way that it is more accessible for others. Here is the criteria I’m hoping to follow as I develop recipes:

• quick prep-either the time to actively work in the kitchen is short, or the cook time is short
• minimal dishes-my kitchen often looks like a disaster zone after cooking-how can I prep smarter, not harder
• reasonable amount of ingredients-sometimes I open up recipes that have over 20 ingredients, how can I simplify a bit
• likeable-I want to make dishes a nonvegan will love

This will be a learning process for me, and I’m excited to have you join me as I experiment, learn, and share. Posts in this series will feature recipes, cooking tips, meal planning suggestions, equipment recommendations, and any other advice I think will help make this possible for others.

Today, I’d like to share one of my favorite tools in my kitchen: my Ninja Foodi. Toaster Oven. It doesn’t have to be this brand, but I love my combination toaster oven. I use it to air fry, bake, toast, roast, cook, etc. Although I could do these things with other tools, I love how it is all built into one machine. I often prefer this equipment to my oven because it is so convenient. Preheating takes only a few seconds, I’m not heating up a huge oven for smaller dishes, and it folds up when I’m not using it (which is very rare). I will be using this tool quite a bit and wanted to share in case you were wondering how I cook some of my dishes. Thanks dad for the awesome gift! So, stay tuned for future posts on making eating vegan doable.