Welcome to Very Veganish! I'm Abi and it's great to have you here!
On this website, you'll find fast, simple & downright delicious vegan recipes that will help your whole family eat healthier and feel better.
I focus on comfort foods, like pasta, rice and potatoes, with some hearty salads (like this kale orzo salad) thrown in. And, I love tea. Like, a lot.
I love to batch cook to save time, energy & money in the kitchen, so look for recipes like Instant Pot steamed potatoes that you can use for all kinds of meals throughout the week.
One thing you should know: You'll find no judgmental mess here. Just good food. No matter where you're at with your food choices, you're welcome here.
Our Recipe Criteria
- Must be downright delicious
- The ingredients are plant-based or vegan and include as many unprocessed, whole food ingredients as possible
- The instructions must be clear, helpful and easy to understand, even for beginners
- The recipes are simple and fast to make
If you agree with those criteria, you'll love all our recipes!
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About me
I'm Abi, the creator of this website. I started Very Veganish in 2012 when my sons were just 4 and 6 years old. Our family of four went plant-based for health reasons and I had to completely re-learn how to cook.
There weren't as many websites about vegan cooking back then, so I started this site to share my plant-based recipes with others.
In 2023, my website grew so much that it became my main source of income. It makes me so happy that I can do something I love to help support my family, especially since my husband is disabled.
My husband and I live in Houston, Texas with our two sons, who are almost grown now!
When I'm not cooking, you'll find me volunteering, taking care of family and trying to survive the Texas summers with copious glasses of iced tea.
What kind of recipes will I find here?
Here you'll find yummy recipes without meat, seafood, dairy or eggs. You're welcome here, no matter how you choose to eat!
Most of the recipes focus on whole food plant-based ingredients that aren't highly processed. So, you'll find plenty of WFPB recipes to try.
Here are some of the most popular recipes on my blog:
- 3 Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- Instant Pot Steamed Potatoes
- Kale Crunch Salad Chick-Fil-A Copycat
- Fauxveeta Vegan Cheese Sauce
- Fat Free Tortilla Chips (Baked or Air Fryer)
- Quick and Easy Seasoned Vegan Black Beans
- Perfect Iced Tea
Culinary education and experience
Food Writer, Blogger, and Recipe Developer at VeryVeganish.com since 2012
Food Photographer and Videographer, Houston, Texas
Instructor of countless plant-based cooking classes, both in-person and virtual, group and individual, from 2012-present
Private Plant-Based Chef and Vegan Culinary Consultant, Houston, Texas since 2012
Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate, Completed August 2023, eCornell and T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies through eCornell University
Anticancer Lifestyle Program Course, Completed January 2024, through anticancerlifestyle.org
In-Depth Tea Classes in Organic Oolong, Green, White, Black, Rooibos, Pu-erh, and Herbal Teas, The Path of Tea, Instructors: Tea Master, Thia McKann and The Path of Tea Owner Chris McKann, 2014-2024
2017 Winner, Tea Blending Contest, The Path of Tea, Houston, Texas
Commercial Kitchen Chef for Disaster Relief, Houston, Texas, 2019
I am currently studying the Lifestyle Medicine and Food as Medicine Course through the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
In addition to formal courses, I have learned much over the years from numerous books, documentaries, videos, conferences and in-person talks, as listed below.
- Dr. John McDougall and Mary McDougall, RN - their website is a wealth of free information. Book: The Starch Solution
- Dr. David Servan-Schreiber - Anticancer
- Lorenzo Cohen and Alison Jeffries - Anticancer Lifestyle
- Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn - Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease book
- Ann Esselstyn and Jane Esselstyn - wife and daughter to Caldwell and a hilarious duo in the kitchen. YouTube Channel
- Dr. Michael Greger - Website NutritionFacts.org and Books: How Not to Die and How Not to Diet
- Dr. Will Bulsiewicz - Book: Fiber Fueled
- Dr. Neal Barnard - Book: Your Body in Balance
- Cyrus Khambatta, PhD and Robby Barbaro, MPH - Book: Mastering Diabetes
- Dr. Kristi Funk - Book: Breasts, The Owner's Manual
- Rip Esselstyn - Live talk and book Engine 2 Diet and Engine 2 Cookbook
- Thia McKann, Tea Master and Owner, The Path of Tea - Live in-depth tea courses
- Chris McKann, Owner, The Path of Tea - Live in-depth tea courses and in-person training
- Tea Sommelier: A Step-by-Step Guide
- What to Drink with What you Eat
- Alisa Vitti - In the FLO
- Dr. Hazel Wallace - The Female Factor by Hazel Wallace
- Doug Evans and Joel Fuhrman, MD - The Sprout Book
- Lets Sprout with Doug Evans - Online course on Commune
- Samin Nosrat - Salt, Fat, Acid Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking (book and docu-series)
- Ken Forkish - Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza
- Amie Valpone - Eating Clean: The 21-Day Plan to Detox, Fight Inflammation and Reset your Body
- Karen Page - The Vegetarian Flavor Bible
🗺 Cultural influences
I'm a native Houstonian, being born and raised in Houston, Texas. So, I'm highly experienced in Southern cooking, Texas food culture, Tex-Mex recipes, and the food culture of Southeast Texas.
My mixed ethnic background and heritage includes: Southern United States, the Cherokee Nation, Czechia (formerly Bohemia and The Czech Republic), England, Ireland, and Italy.
Strong family and friends in my community and experiences have resulted in heavy cultural influences in my life from: Michigan, Mexico, Ireland, Spain, New Zealand, Italy, Cuba, Venezuela, Jamaica, India, Trinidad, Peru, Nicaragua, Lebanon, Honduras, Argentina, China, Japan, Scotland, Nigeria, St Maarten, Haiti, Korea and Vietnam.
The rich cultural diversity of my hometown, Houston, Texas, one of the most diverse cities in the United States, has greatly contributed to my exposure to various cultures, of which I am incredibly grateful.
Our family has had the privilege to travel throughout the United States, as well as Canada, Mexico, Spain and Ireland.
You'll find recipes on this blog from many cultures. I do my best to give proper attribution to the origin of the recipe. If I have missed the mark in this, please let me know in the comments section of that blog post!
I do not mark a recipe as "authentic" if I do not have first hand cultural experience making the recipe. In addition, most of my recipes are vegan adaptations, so they are already different, in most cases, to the original, authentic version.
Photography and videography
All of the photos and videos here at Very Veganish were photographed by me, unless otherwise noted. I've had the pleasure of working with several brands on photos and videos over the years:
Professional background
- Process Improvement Business Analyst and Project Manager at UnitedHealth Group
- Business Consultant and Social Media Marketer at Promote Community LLC
- Owner at Very Veganish
Featured in
- Quoted in HuffPost
- Quoted in Eat This, Not That
- Website homepage design feature on Feast Design Co.
Why veganISH?
Cooking is something that I've enjoyed doing since I was a kid. For a long time, our meals included lots of milk, butter, meat, cheese and the like to cater to my omnivore husband and chicken-lovin' boys.
But, that all changed the night we watched Forks Over Knives and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. If you haven't seen those documentaries, I highly encourage you to do so.
While I've always leaned towards vegetarian meals, I never thought I'd give up cheese (a life without grilled cheese, really?!?).
But, those two documentaries opened my eyes (and my husband's) to how much our food choices really do affect our health, short-term and long-term. In the fall of 2012, we dumped out our organic Horizon milk and went vegan overnight.
Not familiar with plant-based eating? Check out: What is a plant-based diet and why you should give it a try
While we're not 100% strictly vegan - hence the title of this site - only a small percentage of our food isn't vegan or plant-based. That's typically eaten when we're out and have limited choices. Get my tips for dining out and traveling on a plant-based diet.
You could say that we're flexitarian, plant-based or veganish. Seriously, why all the labels? Most of the time we actually eat a whole food plant-based, high carb, low fat, oil-free diet. We do it for health reasons and this approach has served us well for years.
Curious about the difference in all the labels? Read Vegan vs. Plant-based and why it's okay to be veganish.
We believe that some is better than nothing and you can reap benefits without being completely 100% strict (and restrictive) in your way of eating.
What made us go plant-based
In 2001, when I married my high school sweetheart, our lives were very different than they are now.
Fast-forward a short 18 months after our wedding, a work-related injury left him with four herniated discs in his lower back. A 20-something with the back of a 60-year old and in chronic pain daily is a hard pill to swallow.
Fifteen+ years, countless doctors' appointments, treatments and remedies later, it's stunning that food is what makes the most difference in quality of life.
We follow a mostly plant-based diet to help reduce inflammation and in hopes of preventing serious health problems as we get older. Plus, it's a really fresh and delicious way to eat!
In 2020, my husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer, an aggressive and fast-moving cancer that affects mostly young men and teenagers. While there are many major diseases and even cancers that studies have shown to be prevented, affected and improved by lifestyle, unfortunately this condition is not one of them.
He continues to receive excellent care and treatment at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. And, we are hopeful about the future.
As a caregiver to many loved ones, I need quick, simple and cheap meals that are also healthy with easy clean-up. If you're here, I'm sure you can relate!
Get my Simple Plant-based Meal Ideas and Cooking Tips here.
We welcome you to follow our journey and learn some yummy recipes in the process.