Celebrating Spring and St. Patricks Day with a Plant-Based Brunch

By Megan Grigorian

This month we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, and the first days of Spring in the global north, by setting a very green, DefaultVeg table for family and friends. Food is such a central part of our celebrations, faith-based and otherwise, and meals often frame our time together in community. 

We took the opportunity to make this Sunday during Lent a little extra special this year, trying some new plant-based recipes and foods from Irish culture like colcannon–creamy mashed potatoes with cabbage, garlic, and lots of vegan butter–and a whole wheat Irish soda bread baked with nuts and dried fruits in a cast iron pan. It was a cozy, celebratory Sunday that we offer to you as you make preparations for setting your Easter table this year. Here’s one way to make new traditions with your favorite Spring-time dishes. 

St. Patrick’s Day Plant-Based Table

Irish Soda bread, recipe printed in local paper for the holiday. Replaced eggs with plant-based powder egg replacer. You can also use the recipe, and others, printed by VegNews here.

A Green Table, including Matcha Lemonade (a couple tablespoons of Matcha mixed with your favorite lemonade recipe makes this refreshing and festive beverage) and Tempeh Bacon

Green fruit salad with kiwi and honeydew, sweetened with agave syrup.

Spring Veggie Salad with Lemon-Chive Vinaigrette; a Frittata made with JUSTegg product and herbs from our garden and Beyond Sausages. You can use the base recipe here and add any veggies or proteins you like; Colcannon; Carrot Cake cupcakes with walnuts and coconut

Every time we set our table, we have the opportunity to live in alignment with our values. Setting a DefaultVeg table honors the lives of all of God’s beloved creation–human and nonhuman–in the food we serve and eat. Whether you’re planning a fun celebratory meal, bringing a dish for a potluck, cooking dinner for family, eating by yourself or with loved ones, DefaultVeg is accessible and available to you. Checkout the CreatureKind cookbook for some of our favorite plant-based recipes, and submit a plant-based recipe that’s important to you here if you’d like to share with our community. 

With love and liberation for all, we look forward to seeing more of your DefaultVeg tables this Spring. 

Blessing of the Animals Reflection

By Megan Grigorian

Note: A version of this reflection was given at the CreatureKind Blessing of the Animals service on 6/7/22. You can see a recording of the whole event here, as well as the virtual program for the service here. 

I have spent nearly fifteen years working in animal advocacy and experiencing industrial animal agriculture from many sides and environments–from pig farms in Brazil to chicken farms in North Carolina. I’ve protested against the use of animals for entertainment, for experimentation, for food all around the US, and I’ve worked with colleagues in Thailand, Australia, and the UK on campaigns to take measures that would improve the lives of farmed animals within the systems [where] they currently are forced to live. The problems with industrial farming are nuanced due to different governments and cultures, but what remains the same is how the animals suffer in a system that uses their bodies as products, rather than as living beings with whom we, humans, share the Earth. 

Today, I try to walk a path toward justice and liberation for all, which always includes human and non-human animals that suffer in the man-made systems of white supremacy and capitalism. These systems that uphold the modern farming industry that we get our food from today. The chickens, pigs, cows, and fish–and the farm workers, the migrant workers, and the slaughterhouse employees who do back breaking work in hazardous conditions for little pay and no protection. This system does not work for the most vulnerable among us.  

From our scripture today that has been woven into each part of the service, read again in its entirety. 

Job 12: 7-10: 

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,

    the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

8  ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you,

    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

9  Who among all these does not know

    that the hand of the Lord has done this?

10  In God’s hand is the life of every living thing

    and the breath of every human being.

I think about this scripture and how animals are used in so many of the stories we’ve heard today to illustrate how we as humans can be stewards of the Earth, advocates for our communities, and present to our surroundings. Even in our daily lives, we can observe all these animals, take in new information, adjust our behavior and widen our lens the more we learn. We take all this in so we can work side by side to build a more harmonious world than the systems of oppression that have been imposed on us. Those systems that have severely impacted our relationship with so many animals, with each other, and with ourselves. In reflecting, a few stories from my own path stick out to me. They illustrate how listening to animals, and to each other, can help us to walk toward that kin-dom of nourishment, of connection, of stability, and of peace. 

Land Animals

My first job in animal advocacy was working to stop the circus from using elephants in its performances. Elephants and all wild animals used in entertainment are denied most of their natural instincts and behaviors, and they are forced to live under the will of people who are using them to make a profit. I would travel from city to city across the United States to meet with newspapers in hopes that they would write an editorial encouraging people not to support an industry that glorifies animal abuse. 

I traveled with a former circus trainer to do this work, who dreamt since she was a child of joining the circus and working with animals. She had a soft heart and a gentle voice. She lasted 8 months within the industry before she was unable to emotionally sit with the reality of what it took to train a 12,000 pound animal to perform tricks, and what these animals' homes were like in box cars and cold cement arena basements. The trainer couldn’t live in that dissonance knowing how different life would be for an elephant in their natural habitat. I respected her story, and her calling to bring truth to the dream that she and other children had been told about the circus. 

In their natural habitat, elephants travel in matriarchal herds. They can live to be around 70 years old, and they have very tightly knit pods. They walk up to 30 miles a day. They love swimming in water. If you’ve ever seen a baby elephant enjoy a mud bath, you’ve seen the face of pure joy. 

When someone in their pod dies, they have very specific and special mourning rituals that last days. Along with humans, they are one of the few species to have meaningful traditions around death. All of this life, this tradition, is erased when we see an elephant purely through a human lens–when we look at them only as what value they can provide for us. I don’t need to see an elephant up close to respect their wisdom, to value this special life on the land. 

Sea Animals

Next I was introduced to the plight of an orca named Tilikum and spent years learning about the sea animals that in the US are kept in captivity for entertainment. Animals like dolphins, who swim up to 100 miles a day in the open ocean. Dolphins are incredibly interesting animals. Each pod of dolphins has its own language with each other, somewhat similar to the differing dialects and accents in our own human communities. This is how they communicate, and how they recognize and find their way when they are lost. Incredible.  

Orcas and dolphins, these smart marine animals, suffer such psychological damage in captivity, after years–sometimes decades–being denied their natural life. Forced to perform for scraps of food, and living in an artificial version of their reality, they sometimes snap and attack their trainers. And with that one action we remember their violence, their size, their danger. When in the wild, orcas don’t attack humans if they come into contact with them. That judgment of violent behavior that we as humans created is the opposite of harmonious living with each other and other animals. Training a wild animal to be used as we please, whether from the land, sea, or sky, and enjoying the result of their suffering, is not being a steward of this earth as we are called to be.

Farmed Animals

Chickens and pigs have a special place in my heart. One campaign I worked on heavily focused on getting farmed chickens more enrichment because their minds desire to be active. They want to be perching and exploring different levels and heights–they are birds after all. Yet human-designed systems keep them in cramped cages and barns. They want to build nests, yet their environment is often just dirt floors and spaces that are less than a 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. Chickens enjoy games and activities that challenge their minds. 

Pigs are playful and maternal and have the same cognitive understanding as dogs. Some studies show that they have the intelligence of up to a three year old child. They have their own rituals for giving birth and protecting their young. They want to give birth alone, and build their own birthing nest. I read an article from time to time about a pig escaping a farm to give birth in the woods, because that’s how strong their instincts are around birthing. All this makes knowing that pregnant pigs on industrial farms are kept confined in what are called gestation crates, where they can’t even lie down or move–even more heartbreaking. 

In talking to generational farmers, many are open to change but unsure how or where to even start while keeping up an income that is currently dependent on big ag. They keep a separation in their minds between all they know about pigs and their intelligence–I learned a lot of what I know about how smart these animals are from farmers–and the pigs they raise for food in painful conditions. Much like the circus trainer who had to quit when she understood the depth of the animal suffering, it seems the only way to keep going in that industry is to shut your mind to the animal's pain. 

Walking Alongside all Animals 

As stewards of the earth, we have to include animals in our walk for justice for all. Animals’ suffering deserves to be acknowledged and understood. Their pain should not be dismissed just because their flesh and bodies are sold for parts. We can learn from the birds who see trouble ahead, who see danger before we do and warn us of it. We can be the calls for liberation for all, so the animals are not screaming alone. Our food system isn’t working for such a big part of God’s creation–for animals, for people, or for the earth. We can have the courage to step outside the system to build something new, to look first within our communities. To look at the work being done by our neighbors and build upon it in unity. To build flourishing community gardens and plant-based pantries that keep families nourished and that engage the world around us without causing more harm. 

The wonder of God’s creation is that I see new parts of it everyday. I learn from the animals to be present to my surroundings. My family has a lot of bird feeders in our garden and about half the seed falls on the ground, which end up feeding the squirrels and sometimes a rat who has built a home somewhere in our yard. It’s truly one of my favorite things to do, to sit in the garden and watch the birds eat and bathe and then take off. It’s a gift to contribute to their plight. The other day I was watching a rat eat some of the seeds on the ground and for the first time it hit me how similar they look to squirrels when they are eating. They could be in the same family. It made me think about the human lens we put on rats, as inconvenient creatures to be feared and killed, when they have the same behaviors and looks and instincts as animals that we might smile at and think are cute. 

Our human lens isn’t complete, and those peaceful moments when we are open to seeing, to learning from the animals–who all share that bird seed together–those are the moments among thousands of moments that stay with me in my walk to be a doer of justice. God bless that rat.  

Companion Animals 

I can’t talk about the impact that so many animals have had on my life without thinking of my sweet dog Georgie. Georgie was around three years old when she was surrendered by a family who felt they couldn't take care of her anymore. Her energy was high and unpredictable. Her breed was used for hunting dogs, so they follow their instincts and are very fast. 

Her first family kept her tethered outside day and night to keep her from running. I imagine she got used to being on alert sleeping outside, unable to run to protect herself from the other dogs and animals on the property, or keep her food, or ward off danger. I have compassion for her first family who did all they could with the resources they had to care for Georgie, and I’m sure it was a hard decision to surrender her. Maybe with more help or resources, they wouldn't have had to. 

When Georgie came home with me, she had trauma from her first few years of life that I didn’t know, or understand, and some of it never fully went away. She bites when she feels trapped or when a boundary is crossed, and I had to learn what those boundaries were through some painful experiences. She is 11 years old now and has taught me more about life, myself, patience, unconditional love, happiness, and letting go of control of what I think the perfect outcome should be. Perhaps most importantly, she has taught me how to be willing to learn, grow, and live with another creature at their own pace. She can’t walk on her own anymore, and it’s a privilege to learn her new needs, to discover what tools and enrichment I can give her to keep up her quality of life, and provide her the peace and comfort that all animals deserve in their twilight years. Taking care of Georgie has been one of the greatest joys of my life. 

For the animals we share our homes and lives with, we learn their ins and outs and personalities as well as we know ourselves or our human family. They see, understand, and know us. As their guardians, we do our best to see, understand, and know them. This knowing is a comfort that all beings need and one that I dream all animals roaming the land, flying in the sky, and swimming in the sea will experience.  

Lastly, one of the sermons that has stuck with me from my childhood was at an Easter Sunday service where our pastor recounted a memory from his time in seminary. One day, he walked into his dorm room and saw his roommate using a knife to take the wooden carving of Jesus off of the cross that all the seminary students were given. His roommate explained that he would rather have an image of an open tomb to remember that Jesus has risen. I think this story is partly a memory for me because my Gram was visiting our church that Sunday and her gasp during this part of the service was heard by the whole congregation. The story wasn’t for everyone. But I think about that sermon now and can understand not wanting to define Jesus by the actions of his oppressors. I carry that sentiment today as we take care not to define farmed animals by the oppressive industrial world that looks at them as products instead of full beings with agency, inner worlds, feelings, and entire lives beyond the human lens. We acknowledge their pain, we don’t turn away, we keep our eyes open and our minds learning, and we stand alongside them—but their lives are not defined by the suffering that we have caused them.

A word of guidance in giving blessings to animals is to “be careful not to reinforce the separation of human animals and other animals in blessing. Instead, consider reinforcing our common kinship by blessing ALL animals–human and otherwise.” ¹ The root of God’s creation is liberation–with people, with animals–not pushing them from behind or leading from the front, but being with them in solidarity. May God bless all the farmed and companion animals. May we walk, swim, and fly together in harmony. Amen.


^{1.Blessing of the Animals,” Let All Creation Praise. Last accessed June 16, 2022, http://www.letallcreationpraise.org/worship-services/blessing-of-the-animals.↩}

DefaultVeg: De-centering Whiteness in Veganism and Working for the Liberation of All

by: Megan Grigorian

I started my career working in the US animal movement space two days after my college graduation in 2008. I was a twenty-one year old able-bodied, white, cis-gender woman with an English degree, a new-found passion for veganism, and a job writing copy for an animal rights organization. I learned about all the awful ways that animals suffer on industrial farms for food, and I was excited to do work that I thought made the world a little better for them. The concept of my privilege in this space did not occur to me until years later, nor did the knowledge gaps in my advocacy that made an inclusive and holistic approach to work in a social justice movement difficult at best, harmful at worst. For years my approach and perspectives were shaped exclusively by white people–white peers and leaders, white representation of animal advocacy in the media, and a white, Euro-American experience with food and diet. 

My ignorance to my whiteness, power, and privilege caused me to remain unaware of how the white vegan movement brings about harm. Only through a series of events and conversations over many years —along with reading, listening, reflecting, and seeking direct exposure and education to the nuances of the industrial farming industry — did my perspective begin to widen. By the time I got to CreatureKind, I was beginning to see that I cannot talk about the injustices of animals used in the farming industry without also talking about the people who suffer in the same industry. By centering whiteness and prescribing white veganism in animal advocacy, BIPOC communities that understand these issues way more than white people do are left out of the conversation. There are so many factors to ensuring that everyone on God’s earth is nourished, with access to their own land and healthy nourishing food — going vegan cannot be the only one-size fits all prescription. 

Over the years, I came to realize through education that my “go vegan” approach lacked nuance and was upholding a captilastic, white supremacist food system that creates the problems I was fighting against in the first place. By looking at only how animals suffer, I was asking for change to the part of the industry that I didn’t like, while doing nothing to question the parts of the industry that harm marginalized communities the most. After more than a decade in this space, I had to reevaluate my own motivations for doing this work when I found myself, for the most part, always surrounded by white people making the decisions. Was I drawn to this movement as an invitation to be righteous on behalf of a species whose language I do not speak and who will never challenge my words, views, or actions? Why did I think I had the authority to tell people how to feed themselves and their families? As the number of vegan options in the grocery stores and restaurants around me rise, while the number of animals killed on farms increases, is the vegan movement really working? I was telling people to “go vegan” out of compassion for animals, without understanding, or frankly caring, where that vegan food would come from or who really had access to it.

The mainstream US vegan, animal rights, and welfare spaces from the top have largely been occupied by white people, with many orgs, until recently, being run by cis-gender white men. Similarly, 95% of the nation’s farmers are white. Yet, many farm, field, and slaughterhouse workers are BIPOC — without legal protection, livable wages, or safe working conditions. The farmers in the US who are Black — many who focus on growing vegetables —  have to fight for funding that is being blocked by white farmers. Food insecurity across the country, as well as access to fresh, nutritious and affordable food, impacts BIPOC communities the most. 

The issues that affect the people who are harvesting our food cannot be ignored by those who  talk about farmed animal welfare. They are injustices that exist because our food system centers white people with easy access to current capitalist structures. The work we do to dismantle that system cannot do the same thing if we want to work towards an equitable, safe, loving world that protects all of God’s creation and ensures their flourishing upon the earth. 

A little ways into my first year of animal advocacy, I had a meaningful conversation with my dad. He wasn’t particularly religious then, and he was a pretty enthusiastic meat-eater at the time, so what he said surprised me. He said I was doing “God’s work.” I never really understood what he meant, and only in the last few years, working with CreatureKind and getting to learn from the perspectives of our leaders, fellows, and contributors, have I begun to understand how valuing the life of all God’s creation, not excluding the earth, human beings, ourselves, and animals, is inherently a spiritual principle. It’s what Jesus preached. It’s what we are called as Christians to do. All of God’s creatures deserve liberation. The work of CreatureKind’s food policy campaigns is committed to pursuing liberation for all, including those with the least power in the current hierarchies. 

I have been a plant-based eater for sixteen years, and I feel that it sits right with my own spiritual practice. I do not practice a plant-based diet perfectly, and I still have a ways to go toward decolonizing my plate. At CreatureKind, we want to work in solidarity with small-scale, ethical farms and communities toward food sovereignty, so everyone can have access to safe, nourishing, culturally-significant foods that feed their bodies and their souls, while protecting the whole of God’s creation. 

CreatureKind’s DefaultVeg program is an entry point for all communities to start thinking about the food we eat when we gather in ritual or celebration. What food brings us joy? Where does it come from? How was it grown and prepared? Who are we supporting (and not supporting) with the food we consume? Does our communion/community table center liberation of all beings impacted by factory farming? These answers will not be the same for everyone.The program can and should take into consideration accessibility and be tailored to the community's needs. Such attention takes time, effort, and intentionality, but at CreatureKind, we believe liberative, equitable eating is worth it. We’re here to support your efforts and offer guidance as you consider what DefaultVeg should look like in your community, too.

We are looking forward this year to celebrating multicultural foods and traditions that center BIPOC communities, while focusing on strategies that pursue decolonization. We warmly invite you in on this journey with us, as we keep learning together.  

To start a DefaultVeg program in your church, organization, class, community, or small group please reach out, and let's begin the conversation. 

A Story of Renewal

By Lee Palumbo 

This is a story written and told by Lee Palumbo at CreatureKind’s LoveFeast service. You can view a live version of the story here. 

ROMANS 12:2 International Standard Version

“Do not be conformed to this world, but continuously be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God's will is—what is proper, pleasing, and perfect”

When my child Wren announced they were vegan I silently groaned. It seemed like just another rebellious act in a long line of rebellious acts that had left us reeling and exhausted over the puberty years. I politely listened to the stories and descriptions of farming practices, the baby animals, the overwhelming numbers, and mostly filed them in my brain as “too hard to think about.” Sometimes their eyes would well up and tears flowed down their cheeks simply because we were eating cheese. It seemed disproportionate at the time, and I remember dismissing their feelings as an overreaction.

Dismissing their reality.

Dismissing their insight.

Gaslighting is often experienced by vegans. It is not always consciously intentional; it is done to defend another’s reality. But it hurts those on the receiving end and can lead to deep anxiety. It is experienced as silence, eyerolls, jokes about bacon and dying of protein deficiency, and the typecasting of vegans as militant, extreme, and humourless. Gaslighting is nuanced and passive aggressive, and it is often an attempt to bring the other into order.

I deeply regret the dismissive comments I made at that time. But their persistence worked, and so did watching the movie Dominion. We watched it together as a family, and finally two years after the first conversation, the whole family went vegan. While the change seemed to happen overnight, it was — just like any conversion —  actually a long journey,  and my faithful child was there preaching all the way. 

Cheese and the whole dairy industry then became the epitome to us of everything that is exploitative and wrong about current food and farming systems in developed countries. Stealing calves and stealing milk on stolen land. I was starting to see that the whole picture of colonial exploitation sat juxtaposed to the history and practices of first nations people, which involve collaborative and integrated approaches to living with animals and the land. A renewal of our minds about food had begun, and the connections to a theology of caring for the planet and everything on it became apparent.

At first it was hard work. Our minds were stuck in an old system of food. But over time we explored the bigger picture and the thousands of different recipes that have been developed by people all over the world who use veg as their default. Now, we eat a bigger variety of foods than ever before. My spice cupboard is a chef’s dream.

Wren’s every day is a living sacrifice — saving  half-dead lambs from the winter frost, picking up abandoned old sheep no longer able to walk, re-homing injured hens discarded by the chicken farm, and the list goes on. Most of the little money Wren has goes towards their upkeep and vet bills. I’m so grateful and proud of their nonconformity and abandonment of external pressures on who they are and the life they have chosen. I am passionate about changing our trajectory on this planet, and sparing farmed animals is a huge part of that. I feel a clear direction given by our Creator, so I do it because I feel a desire to align with God's will for my life. Yet, all around me are activists doing way more than I am, just because it’s the right thing to do for the common good, often unaware of the Creator who loves them. I am humbled by their dedication, love, and commitment. Their lives are shaped by their ethics, and to a degree, by vegan culture. Our lives as followers of Jesus need to be shaped by the “Kingdom come, His will be done,” or it will be shaped by the culture instead.

Last year I was lucky enough to be one of the fellows in the CreatureKind Fellowship Program. One of the reasons I applied was to deepen my understanding of my new vegan life from a biblical and theological perspective. I wanted it to refine my thinking. We learnt so much, but what struck me the most was how limited my understanding was at the beginning, due to my worldview. I am an immigrant from a colonial background, my worldview shaped by my European middle class-ness. My food choices had been shaped by this, too. The fellowship helped to renew my thinking, embrace a wider perspective, and look at the cross section of social injustices that are interwoven into our current food system. It's bigger than I ever imagined. It left me with a heart on fire for action.

You know we are called for times like this.

Esther 4:14 CEV

“If you don’t speak up now, we will somehow get help, but you and your family will be killed. It could be that you were made queen for a time like this!”

How scary it is to speak out against the popular narrative of the day, and those of you who have been vegan for a long time will know all about this. Social media death is guaranteed when you speak out against animal farming. Just try it. But even in the middle of a global pandemic, with a global rise in nationalism, racism, temperatures — a  time of increased poverty and a tsunami of mental health issues coming — you need to speak. For evil to continue we only need to do one thing — nothing. Esther and Wren both found their purpose outside of the safe zone of cultural expectations.

So what can we do? Well, you can continue to live your everyday life, capturing the smallest details of it, and place it before God as an offering. Your food, your thoughts, your dreams and imaginings. From your cup of Fair Trade coffee in the morning to your Vietnamese tofu burgers in the evening, and thank God for every bit of it. Be grateful you are called out of certain cultural norms, your heritage that binds, your family traditions steeped in a bygone era. You are called to a life that sees the Creator in the simplicity of the everyday, and yet, called to change the world through your every breath, your every prayer, and your every action. You are the people of the restoration, a new world coming, and that can only be seen in the everyday. Be shaped by the kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven, or you will be shaped by cultural norms. Stand in that space, protected, empowered, and fed by the Creator God.

We will fail in all of this, too, and we will need grace every day. But be assured that the Creator brings out the best in you, and that is something you can rely on  in this volatile world in which we live. God’s will be done. God's perfect, proper, and pleasing will, forever and ever, amen.

Recipes to Welcome in a New Season

By Megan Grigorian 

In the Global North, fall is almost upon us, and a new school year has begun. The South is anticipating the start of spring when new life bursts forth. All around the world, we're experiencing seasons of renewal. Recently, CreatureKind hosted a LoveFeast wherein we considered ways the Church might renew its thinking about food and food practices. (Check out this link to the LoveFeast service on CreatureKind’s YouTube page. You’ll hear a profound story about renewal and be offered some reflection questions to help consider your own  experience.) The topic got me thinking about meals that highlight the harvest of seasonal vegetables. They remind me that opportunities for renewal come in many forms, many times per year. Hearty root vegetables in the fall, leafy greens in the spring. The satisfaction felt, inside and out, from a flavorful vegetable-forward meal is hard to beat. 

Below are a variety of recipes from plant-based chefs all over the globe that spotlight vegetables. In the spirit of renewal, perhaps you might try one  that features ingredients you haven’t used before or in a while. Enjoy the process. 

Lord, bless our meal, and as You satisfy the needs of each of us, make us mindful of the needs of others. 

-Prayer from Mount St. Mary’s Abbey 

Carrot and Coriander Soup 

Photo from Avant Garde Vegan, by Gaz Oakley 

When I think of my favorite cozy fall meals, I think root vegetables—sweet potatoes, turnips, fennel, ginger, and many more. Carrots are the root-vegetable star of this soup recipe by the Avant Garde Vegan, Gaz Oakley. A divine combination of spices leads to a creamy, flavorful, fresh soup with crispy homemade croutons topping it off to make the perfect bite. (For a simple, bonus carrot recipe, try this combination of orange-braised carrots and parsnips. Never fails.) 

Warm Kale and Artichoke Dip 

Photo from Blissful Basil

Lots of greens are coming into season in the Global South. This Warm Kale and Artichoke Dip by longtime plant-based chef Tal Ronnen is a fun way to incorporate those nutrient-dense vegetables, while still highlighting their inherent, undeniable tastiness. When you prepare this  healthier, flavorful twist on the classic spinach and artichoke dip, consider serving it hot with veggies or some salty crackers. Chef’s kiss. 

Chickpea Potato Curry with Peas 

Photo of Chickpea Potato Curry With Peas by Photographer Vanessa Rees

This list of chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s top five simple plant-based recipes has some real gems, but I keep coming back to her Chickpea Potato Curry for an easy weeknight dinner that uses most everything I already keep in my pantry. It’s fast, it’s fresh, it’s comforting, it delivers, and it’s fit for any season

Creamy Vegan Cabbage Pasta 

Photo from The Accidental Chef 

Another leafy green, springtime dish that is oh-so-satisfying is Creamy Vegan Cabbage Pasta. From UK plant-based blogger, The Accidental Chef, the pasta sauce here coats the cabbage, complementing its texture and makes for a filling meal that will have you coming back for seconds every time. 

Vegetable Pot Pie

A list of vegetable-forward meals wouldn’t be complete without a pot pie. This slam-dunk recipe from Ayinde Howell, an American soul food chef who specializes in vegan cuisine, wraps the fresh, delectable veggies in a flaky crust that looks like a dream and feels like a big hug. It’s perfect for a crisp fall night, or one of those chillier spring evenings as winter comes to an end. Take your time with this one to enjoy the prep and the beautiful rainbow of vegetables that go into this pie—that’s the fun of it. 

Blackberry Apple Crumble Cake 

Photo from Great British Chefs 

No vegetables here, but every meal is made better with a little sweetness at the end, and this Blackberry Apple Crumble Cake by Henrietta Inman marries spring and fall together beautifully. The tartness of these two fruits and the sweetness of the cake is just a perfect combination that is both rich and light, rustic and elegant, fresh and filling. This is also a great dessert for our gluten-free friends.