A New Project - My Everyday Meals

I was reflecting on this blog/website's content the other day and realized that I wanted to add a parallel project that has a similar flavor, but a slightly different focus.

The Vegan Breakfast Sandwich - want some bagel with those veggies?

ChefinResidency.com's content is meant to teach, in a detailed and easy-to-understand way, about how to cook and eat delicious, healthy food that won't take forever or break the bank and doesn't require a lot of special skills. Another goal is to help people to better understand what a healthy diet is and to dispel nutrition myths. The time that it takes to create each post - cooking, documenting, photographing and/or recording video, writing and editing - is substantial. Best case scenario, I get a post published every week or two.

When it comes to mealtimes, my husband always asks, "are you going to put this on your website?" Generally, because of the time limitation, the answer is no. We both agree that it is a shame that people can't see the delicious plant-based dishes that we eat on a regular basis!

Vietnamese Rice Noodles, Herbs & Vegetables with Spicy Lime Dressing

You see, people frequently ask us, "what can you eat?" This is because I am vegan and my husband is a flexitarian (vegan most meals, fish thrown in a couple times per week, but won't pass up a delicious steak if it's put in front of him) - and we're from the Midwest, raised on meat, potatoes and more cheese than anyone should ever eat. A vegan diet is one in which someone eats no animal products - no milk/dairy products, eggs, meat, fish or poultry. Most people are confused by my food choices knowing how I grew up, that I went to French culinary school and taught traditional cooking methods for years (including some butchery!). They think that I now deprive myself of all of that deliciousness - something they never could/would do.

While, I do occasionally think about the amazing tastes of some of those French classics, I can honestly say that I don't feel the least bit deprived being vegan. To non-vegans, this sounds unbelievable - I know, I've been in your shoes. This is why, I decided to succumb to Instagram and start sharing some of our weeknight meals.

Follow my everyday meals at: http://instagram.com/chefinresidency

Stir-fried Asian Vegetables with Basil-Lemon Sauce & Fried Cashews

To make sure that I am able to keep this up, I'm just posting the picture and a brief description. No editing, no recipes, no fuss. I am excited to see how it goes! Of course, if you're dying for a recipe, let me know and I'll try to tell you what it is - very little of what I'll post will be from a recipe since I rarely cook by recipes. The recipes that I share on the blog are made by me carefully documenting what I do in the kitchen so I can share with you later (again, lots of time required).

Spicy Yellow Curry with Lemongrass Tofu & Brown Rice

Elephant in the "room": no, I do not expect that everyone will become vegan nor do I proselytize about this to people on the street. I recognize that this is a personal choice that I've made for a variety of reasons - including that vegan is a healthy diet that is very low (compared with most others) in terms of it's stress on the environment and resources required to produce food, it's cholesterol-free and those that eat vegan have the lowest rate of obesity. It has also been shown to be an effective treatment for heart disease and diabetes and lengthens telomeres (aging is associated with shortening of telomeres). When done right, it also provides plenty of all the nutrients you need to stay healthy. If people are interested in learning more about a vegan diet, by all means, let me know and I'll write future posts on the topic!

However, I recognize that these reasons are not important to everyone. What should be important to everyone, though, is being the healthiest, happiest version of yourself you can be. Who doesn't want to add life to their years? Part of this includes eating right. Part of eating right is increasing the number of plant-based foods in your diet - vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes/beans and healthy oils. The goal of this website is to help you do that regardless of your dietary framework. Look for an upcoming post on "What is a healthy diet." This will highlight what a healthy diet is for those with a variety of preferences and restrictions - including omnivore, flexitarian, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, etc.

Whole Wheat Linguine with Marinara and Basil Flowers, Sautéed Chinese Broccoli with Red Peppers & Toasted Artisan Bread with Garlic Oil

Finally, whether it is about this new project or the website, I would love your feedback (good or bad - I can take it)!