Welcome to A Plantiful Path!
We’re Teresa and Bob, recipe creators, writers, and photographers for A Plantiful Path! We’re so happy you’re here!
We created this site to help you see just how easy and tasty it is to add more vegan meals to your diet. By following a plant based lifestyle, you’ll likely see improvements in your health, as well as help to curb climate change and save the lives of many of our fellow creatures on this planet.
Whether you’re new to a vegan diet or a seasoned plant based lifestyle follower, we’ve got recipes you’re sure to love! On our site you’ll find vegan versions of many of your favorite comfort foods as well as some new taste creations. We see absolutely no reason to miss out on flavorful meals just because you’ve made the decision to go plant based!
About the Food
The recipes on this site are 100% vegan, 99% oil free, and mostly made with minimally processed ingredients. We do use whole food sources of fats, such as nuts and seeds. While many of the recipes are whole food plant based, some are a bit more indulgent and contain white flour and or sugar.
While some may choose to follow a strict whole food plant based diet, not everyone does. We want to be here for anyone choosing to follow a vegan or plant based diet, whether it is for health, for the animals, or for the planet. We strive to follow a whole food plant based diet most of the time, but also believe there is a place in our diet for an occasional treat.
On our site you’ll find recipes to meet a variety of taste preferences, including plant based versions of many of your favorite comfort foods. Don’t miss my Black Bean Burgers, my Baked Vegan Mac & Cheese, and my Buffalo Soy Curl Subs! I also have a recipe for potato salad that has fooled omnivores. They couldn’t believe it was vegan!
About Teresa
I love creating plant based recipes! I have so much fun figuring out how to make vegan versions of all of our favorite foods! When my daughters were little I started researching how to help them avoid the health conditions that have affected both sides of their family. My research led me to a plant based lifestyle. I began adding vegetarian and vegan meals to our menu back in 2010, and went fully vegan in 2013. It was a fun challenge to learn how to create plant-based versions of the foods we loved.
I started this site in 2019 to share these recipes with all of you. I’m mostly a self taught home cook, but I did take a Forks Over Knives cooking course through Rouxbe Online Culinary School in 2018. In 2021, I received my Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate through the T. Colin Campbell Center of Nutrition Studies with eCornell. I’m also certified as a Plant-Based Nutrition Specialist through AFPA, American Fitness Professionals and Associates.
Random facts about Teresa:
- I collect vegan cookbooks, but rarely use them. I have a degree in secondary education with a math endorsement, but I have never taught in a classroom.
- I did homeschool both of my daughters, though!
- My favorite foods are Italian, Mexican, and Thai, but I’ll never pass up a creamy vegan mac and cheese.
- I hate mushrooms! But if you’re a mushroom lover, not to worry. Bob is too, and he will be creating all those mushroom recipes for you!
- I could spend hours in book stores and kitchen stores.
- In my free time I love to knit, crochet, sew, and garden.
- I love living in the Pacific Northwest, being so close to the mountains and the Oregon Coast. Forest hikes and walks on the beach make me happy!
My favorite recipes on the blog are:
About Bob
Starting when I was a teenager, I cooked meals for myself when I didn’t want what my folks were having, which was often. I found I really enjoyed the freedom to make what I wanted to eat, and the creative process that allowed me to try different ingredients, to experiment. I never stopped, and when Teresa started her blog, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. We set out together to plan my career change to join her on A Plantiful Path.
As a fully committed vegan, I am excited to explore ways to bring healthy, awesome tasting plant based foods to as many folks as possible. Since becoming vegan, I’ve never enjoyed food more, and there’s so many choices!
Random facts about Bob:
- I worked for 3 years on an archaeological dig after leaving a job as a manager for a wholesale trophy parts business.
- I have a bachelor’s degree in financial management I never applied, and an associates in mechanical engineering that I did use as a CAD draftsman in HVAC for over 25 years.
- I love the outdoors in every season, snowshoeing, hiking, camping, even unique stuff like spelunking.
- Home remodeling is one of my favorite activities, which is good since there’s still a lot of it to complete.
- I’ve been known to spend hour after hour tending our garden, and not noticing the time that’s passed.
- Books have always been one of my favorite pastimes, especially sci-fi.
- For breakfast, I have eaten toast with hummus and green olives 5 to 6 days a week for over 10 years and still love it.
My favorite recipes on the blog
Our family’s journey to a plant based diet
Our family transitioned gradually to a vegan diet by initially giving up beef when our first daughter (now a young adult) was a toddler. Bob told Teresa at that time that he would stop eating beef, but he wasn’t willing to give up any other foods. He was concerned there would be nothing left to eat. It certainly can seem that way when you are accustomed to the Standard American Diet.
Over the next several years, Teresa read many books on plant based nutrition. We also watched several incredible videos related to the effects of diet on our health, the animal population, and the planet. The more we read and watched, the more we were convinced that plant based eating was the way to go. But even though we knew what we should eat, following the diet was initially a challenge. No more cheese? No more ice cream? What about burgers and fries?
We dove into vegan blogs and cookbooks, searching for substitutes for all of our favorite foods. We found that, rather than there being nothing left to eat, our vegan diet opened us up to the huge world of plants. A plentiful collection of plant based foods – plantiful! Over time we found vegan substitutes for pretty much anything we wanted to eat. And we have all been fully vegan for many years now. We developed a passion for food, and discovered a whole new way to cook. Eventually, Teresa began trying her hand at creating her own recipes.
The result of eliminating animal based foods from our diet was an improvement in our health. The digestive issues that I (Teresa) had dealt with for years completely went away. And, amazingly, our family now rarely comes down with a cold or flu virus. When we do, it only lasts a couple of days. We were convinced – the vegan diet was definitely the way to go!
We know that adopting a plant based diet can seem overwhelming at first. That’s why we want to help you. Whether you want to transition over night, or switch over gradually like our family did, we will help you do it without giving up all the deliciously flavored foods you love.
Some of the most popular recipes on the blog are:
Be sure to look at our A Path To page to learn some of the many reasons to add more plant based foods to your diet.
Take a look at what we have to offer. Whether you’re a fully committed plant based follower, trying to use a little less dairy, or just wanting to add a few more plant based meals to your menu, we’re excited to be on this journey with you! Give some of the recipes a try, and let us know what you think! You can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. And sign up for our email list so you don’t miss a recipe or special offer! We can’t wait to hear from you!
