I saw Padma Lakshmi share some recipes on her instagram feed. One was this incredible sounding coconut chutney and that flavor left me with a major craving. In the process, I landed on Maunika Gowardhan’s Keralan Cabbage Thoran recipe with some slight adaptations to include peas for protein and color. I liked the idea of a dosa, but didn’t have time to ferment the batter, so the lentil crepe here is a strong nod to Indian dosas.

Finding delicious protein options for meat-free tacos can be a bit of an adventure. I took some of the incredible flavors from last week’s taco recipe and swapped out the mushrooms for some unfussy dinner. We didn’t have corn tortillas so what you see in this picture are some homemade wheat tortillas.

The spring vegetables recipes originally comes from America’s Test Kitchen. I made some adjustments to include the kohlrabi instead of turnips because that’s what I had on hand, and the kohlrabi really shines in this dish. The salmon was added to round out the protein and pairs incredibly well with the veggies in this dish.

This recipe is a riff on Priya Krishna’s Saag Tofu from her cookbook Indian-ish. I made it for the first time a while ago and it was SO excellent that I’ve been anxiously waiting to make it again. In an attempt to use less dairy recently, I tried to make a vegan paneer cheese.

It’s nothing like paneer, I’ll be the first to admit but it adds a creaminess to the dish that makes it work. Ro make this vegan, swap the ghee with coconut or a neutral oil.

Sofra bakery in Boston is an incredible gem of a cafe. This salad is inspired by their chicken shawarma, but with an everyday/health twist as it’s served over a bed of greens and the addition of the psyllium husks into the dressing boost up the fiber content. Feel free to make the dressing without them if you’d prefer.

This recipe is based on Ottolenghi’s recipe for a cauliflower salad. To round it out as a full meal, I’ve added in chickpeas to the roasting stage to add some protein - seeing a trend in these recipes? If you don’t like fresh tomatoes, feel free to add those into the roasting stage as well.

This green beans recipe is heavily inspired from Jenné Claiborne’s cookbook Sweet Potato Soul. I tried to keep the flavors of the dish, but added in some butter beans and cooked the dressing mixture. Sweet potato soul is incredible - not just because of Jenné's delicious recipes, but her writing feels so full of joy and enthusiasm for the food she cooks. Her storytelling is welcoming - both into her life and to veganism. If you’re looking to dabble with eating less animal products, you’ll want her cookbook in your kitchen.