How-To
Practical, tested guides for everyday vegan cooking and living.
A Guide to Vegan Meat Substitutes (Whole-Food and Store-Bought)
Vegan meat substitutes mapped out: tofu, tempeh, seitan, TVP, jackfruit, mushrooms, lentils, and the best store brands, with what each is good for.
A Guide to Plant Milks: Which to Use for What
The best plant milk depends on the job. A practical guide to oat, soy, almond, cashew, coconut, pea, rice, and hemp for coffee, baking, and cooking.
A Guide to Seitan: What It Is, How to Use It, and Is It Healthy
What is seitan? It's wheat gluten with a genuinely meaty chew. Here's the protein, the gluten warning, store-bought vs homemade, and the best ways to use it.
A Guide to Tempeh: What It Is and How to Use It
What is tempeh? It's fermented whole soybeans pressed into a firm cake. Here's the nutrition, the varieties, and the best ways to actually use it.
A Complete Guide to Tofu: Every Type and How to Cook It
Types of tofu explained: silken, soft, firm, extra-firm, and super-firm, plus what each is for, pressing, freezing, and the cornstarch crisp trick.
A Guide to Vegan Cheese: Types, Brands, and How to Use Them
Vegan cheese explained: which types melt, which belong on a board, the best brands by category, and when it's worth making your own from cashews.
The Best Vegan Protein Sources (With Real Gram Counts)
The best vegan protein sources ranked by grams and practicality: soy, seitan, lentils, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, and quinoa, with real numbers.
How to Caramelize Onions (Slow and Properly)
How to caramelize onions the slow, proper way: 40 minutes low in vegan butter or oil, the deglaze trick, salt timing, plus uses, make-ahead and freezing.
How to Cook Beans in an Instant Pot (No Soaking Needed)
Instant Pot beans done right: exact pressure-cook times for black, pinto, chickpea, kidney and cannellini beans, salt timing, and release tips.
How to Cook Dried Chickpeas (Stovetop and Instant Pot)
Learn how to cook chickpeas from dried: soak or quick-soak, simmer or pressure cook, salt and baking soda timing, doneness, and saving aquafaba.
How to Cook Dried Beans: Soak, Simmer, and Actually Get It Right
Dried beans are cheaper, better-tasting, and less wasteful than canned. Here's everything: soaking, stovetop, Instant Pot, the salt myth, acid timing, and storage.
How to Cook Edamame (Boiled, Steamed, Pan-Seared)
How to cook edamame three ways: boiled, steamed, and pan-seared, with exact times, salting tips, garlic-chili variations, and the protein angle.
How to Cook Jackfruit (Pulled-Pork Style)
How to cook jackfruit pulled-pork style: buy the right can of young green jackfruit, shred and sear it, then sauce it for sandwiches and tacos.
How to Cook Lentils (Every Type, No Mush)
How to cook lentils of every type: green, brown, red, black, and French, with cook times, ratios, salt timing, and how to keep them whole or make dal.
How to Cook Quinoa (Fluffy, Never Mushy)
How to cook quinoa so it comes out fluffy, never mushy: rinse off the bitter saponins, use a 1 to 1.5 ratio, simmer, then rest off the heat.
How to Cook Tempeh So It Isn't Bitter
How to cook tempeh without the bitterness: steam it first, then marinate and pan-fry, bake, or air-fry. A practical, tested technique guide.
How to Cook Tofu So It's Actually Good
Press it, use the cornstarch trick, and marinate after cooking. A practical technique guide for crispy, flavorful tofu every single time.
How to Air-Fry Tofu (Crispy Without the Oil)
Air fryer tofu that's actually crispy: press it, cube it, dust with cornstarch, and air-fry at 400F. The times, temps, and mistakes that trip people up.
How to Cook With TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)
How to cook TVP the right way: rehydrate it in seasoned broth, not water, then brown it into taco meat, chili, or bolognese for cents per serving.
How to Freeze Tofu (For a Chewier, Spongier Texture)
How to freeze tofu for a chewier, spongier texture that soaks up sauce. The freeze-thaw-press method, what to expect, best uses, and how long it keeps.
How to Get B12 on a Vegan Diet (What You Actually Need)
Vegan B12 made clear: why you genuinely need to supplement, fortified foods vs pills, exact doses, deficiency risks, and the pseudo-B12 myth to ignore.
How to Get Calcium on a Vegan Diet
Vegan calcium without dairy: fortified milks, calcium-set tofu, the low-oxalate greens that absorb best, tahini, and real milligram numbers.
How to Get Enough Iron on a Vegan Diet
Vegan iron made simple: the best plant sources with real numbers, the vitamin C trick that doubles absorption, and what to stop drinking with meals.
How to Get Enough Protein on a Vegan Diet
Vegan protein made simple: how much you actually need, the best plant sources with real gram counts, the complete-protein myth, and a sample day.
How to Make Almond Flour (and Almond Meal)
How to make almond flour at home: blanch, dry, and pulse almonds into a fine flour without turning it into butter. Plus almond meal and a free pulp trick.
How to Make Cashew Cream (Thick, Thin, and Everything In Between)
Cashew cream is the one technique that changed how I cook vegan food. Soak, blend, done. Here's the ratio guide, the hot-soak shortcut, and when to use each version.
How to Make Cashew Parmesan (3 Ingredients, 2 Minutes)
Cashew parmesan takes 3 ingredients and 2 minutes: blitz cashews, nutritional yeast, and salt into a nutty, salty sprinkle. Here's my exact method and ratios.
How to Make Oat Flour (1 Ingredient, 1 Minute)
How to make oat flour with one ingredient in one minute: blend rolled oats into flour. My exact method, sifting trick, baking swaps, and storage tips.
How to Make Oat Milk That Isn't Slimy
How to make oat milk without the slime: cold water, a 30-second blend, and a gentle strain. The technique fixes, gummy rescue, and barista versions explained.
How to Make Seitan (Homemade Vegan Meat)
How to make seitan from vital wheat gluten, broth, and seasonings. Get the dough, the no-over-knead rule, simmering vs steaming, and a foolproof base recipe.
How to Make Tahini (Toasted Sesame Paste)
How to make tahini at home: toast sesame seeds, blend with a little oil until smooth and pourable. My exact method, hulled vs unhulled, and storage tips.
How to Make Tofu From Scratch (Soy Milk to Block)
How to make tofu from scratch: turn soybeans into soy milk, curdle with nigari, gypsum, or lemon, and press into firm or silken blocks at home.
How to Make Vegan Gravy (Rich and Brown)
Vegan gravy that's rich and brown, built on a flour roux, good mushroom or veg broth, soy sauce, and nooch, with mushroom and onion variations plus make-ahead.
How to Make Vegan Stock (and Use Up Your Scraps)
Vegan stock from a freezer scrap bag or built from scratch in 45 minutes: what to save, what to avoid, simmer times, freezing in cubes, and depth boosters.
How to Marinate Tofu So the Flavor Actually Sticks
How to marinate tofu so flavor actually sticks: press hard, use a thin sauce, and toss in glaze after cooking crispy. The timing and formulas that work.
How to Meal Prep Vegan (A Week of Food in 2 Hours)
Vegan meal prep, done right: a 2-hour Sunday plan to batch a grain, a protein, a sauce, and roasted veg, then mix and match all week without boredom.
How to Press Tofu (And Why Skipping This Step Is Ruining Your Dinner)
Pressing tofu removes excess water so it crisps up and actually absorbs marinade. Here's the towel method, the press method, and the freezer trick for chewy texture.
How to Read Food Labels as a Vegan (Hidden Animal Ingredients)
Vegan food labels are full of traps. Here's how to spot gelatin, carmine, casein, whey, shellac, and the sneaky 'depends-on-source' ones in seconds.
How to Replace Eggs in Baking (A Swap for Every Recipe)
The best egg substitute baking guide, matched to the job: flax egg, aquafaba, applesauce, banana, and more, with exact ratios for cookies, cakes, and brownies.
How to Roast Chickpeas (Crispy and Stays Crispy)
Roasted chickpeas that get crunchy and actually stay crunchy: dry them well, roast at 400F, season after, and store them the right way.
How to Soak Cashews (Fast and Overnight Methods)
How to soak cashews two ways: the overnight cold soak and a 15-minute boil hack. Why it matters for smooth blending, plus draining and storage tips.
How to Start a Vegan Diet (A Realistic First Month)
How to go vegan without burning out: veganize meals you love, the swaps to stock, B12 and the nutrients to watch, eating out, and a real week-one plan.
How to Stock a Vegan Pantry (The Essentials List)
A vegan pantry done right: the legumes, grains, flavor builders, and condiments that make plant-based cooking fast, plus what to buy first and budget tips.
How to Store Tofu (Opened, Cooked, and Frozen)
How to store tofu the right way: keep an opened block in water you change daily, store cooked tofu safely, spot when it has gone off, and freeze it well.
How to Thicken Sauces and Soups (All Vegan)
How to thicken sauce vegan six ways: cornstarch slurry, flour roux, blended cashews, pureed veg, agar, and reduction. Ratios, no lumps, gluten-free.
How to Veganize Any Recipe (A Simple Framework)
How to veganize recipes the smart way: a swap-by-category framework for dairy, eggs, meat, honey, and gelatin, plus the two swaps that fail and why.
Miso 101: What It Is and How to Cook With It
What is miso? It's fermented soybean paste, and it's the umami secret in my kitchen. Here's white vs red, is it vegan, and how to cook with it.
Nutritional Yeast 101: What It Is and How to Use It
Nutritional yeast is the cheesy, B12-rich flake that makes vegan food taste like food. Here's what nooch is, how to use it, and how much.
Eating Vegan on GLP-1 Meds: The High-Protein, High-Fiber Playbook
On Ozempic, Wegovy, or Zepbound and plant-based? Appetite drops, so protein and fiber have to lead. Here's how to eat to protect muscle and feel good.