Welcome to The Plentiful Herbivore!
My name is Crystal and I have been a proud vegetarian for over 10 years. I wasn’t very good at it in the beginning. Or very good in the kitchen in general to be honest. But I do love to eat! I also take eating healthily, but not feeling like I’m on a diet, very seriously. So over the years, I set out to explore and experiment as much as I could.
The result is a collection of favourite go-to meals and the confidence to constantly try out new ingredients or flavour-combos. My once carnivore husband, is now happily a vegetarian at home, and enjoys meat once in a while out of the house. I would consider him a converted, mindful omnivore, mostly because I created delicious, healthy, and satisfying meals, that also just happened to be vegetarian.
I started my vegetarianism as a joke/dare for Lent back in 2007. It was something I had considered off and on for many years since doing a case study in university on the working conditions in slaughter houses. When people ask me today why I’m vegetarian, I tell them it’s for ALL of the reasons anyone would make that choice: health, animal welfare, the environment, and even the cost. I choose not to support the broken industry that is meat production. I believe in voting with your wallet as a consumer but it hasn’t always been easy; I get why it is a difficult change for most people to make. I have known many people that understand and support my reasons for being a vegetarian and wish they could move in that direction.
My hope with The Plentiful Herbivore is to help people have some fun in the kitchen with quick and easy vegetarian meals that are satisfying. We aren’t rabbits after all! I’m not a nutritionist or a professional cook, but I will try to bring you healthy meal ideas that you can play around with and make your own. I hope that you find my approach refreshing and inspiring!