Hi, I’m Jen!
I am the author, plant-based cook, vegan activist, photographer, editor and travel lover behind the scenes here at Jen’s Vegan Kitchen.
I have been living a cruelty-free, vegan life since 2012. While I have watched the plant based / vegan world progress significantly since then, I did not listen to my instincts in my younger days when it wasn’t so easy.
My Vegan Story
I was a child who questioned everything. With these questions came conversations about what we were eating and where it came from. My first memory of cutting out an animal product was when I was around 7 years old. I learned what eggs were. Right then & there, I said, “no more!”
…that would have been for scrambled eggs. My head didn’t register that my favorite blueberry muffins also contained them.
I grew up in Ohio in the 80’s & 90’s…
I call it meat & potato land because that’s what we primarily ate. Cubed Steak with mashed potatoes, corn & peas was a staple in my house. So while I had the instincts to not eat meat–it didn’t make sense to me that we would kill an animal for our pleasure–I also turned a blind eye to it 80% of the time. The other 20%, that part that nagged me, ate it while also slightly gagging inside. I did not know that my body could literally live without meat. I did not know anybody who was a vegetarian let alone a vegan!
Fast forward to 2008…
My husband and I took a beach vacation over a weekend. On our way, we stopped at CVS to pick up a few items. I was scanning over the book section when the title, “Skinny Bitch,” caught my eye. It had been published in 2005 but was just then catching some media attention. I had heard of it but did not realize what it was about.
That 2008 beach weekend changed my life. I immediately stopped eating meat. I desperately wanted to stop eating dairy and even tried for periods of time. Eating 100% Vegan did not start until 2012.
In April 2012, I did a 20 day juice fast after watching the documentary, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead.” THIS is how I cleansed my body of dairy and have not consumed it since.
My journey from 2012 thru 2019 was always consistent in my vegan beliefs and in fact grew as I continued to learn. My husband even switched to 100% plant based in 2018.
In regards to the style of cooking I do,
I am educated in every way to cook as a vegan:
- Whole Food Plant Based No Oil
- including each WFPB doctor’s specific details
- Raw Vegan
- Gluten Free
- Junk Food Vegan
- Party Foods
…and whatever a regular vegan would consist of. Predominantly healthy but with a little junk. 😉
I love to experiment with all spices from the many different cuisines across the world. You will see familiar meals but also ones where I have stepped outside of the box and got creative.
In December 2019, I graduated with a Certification in Plant-Based Cooking from Rouxbe and am currently studying Fermented Cheesemaking.
Whether it’s a breakfast casserole, an easy lunch, dinner or party ideas, my hope is you feel inspired by the recipes I share with you.
“I am one person being the change I want to see in the world.”