Vegetarian Food Bloggers Who Will Become Your Gurus

There’s nothing worse than staring at the same old salad, day after day, feeling totally uninspired and blah about being a vegetarian. Enter food bloggers Kate, Beth, Kelsey, Laura, Jeanine, and Sarah to save the day. Instead of top hats and bunnies, these magicians use red onions and rhubarb to astound and amaze. Take a tip from these pros and you’ll soon feel that veggie glow come back into your life with a vengeance.

Cookie and Kate

The only tragic thing about Cookie and Kate is that I found it just a month ago, and I immediately was asking, “Where have you been all my life?” Kate’s Spinach Artichoke Lasagna is literally the only lasagna I like (I’ve made it twice in the last month), and her Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Orzo Pasta is simultaneously fresh and filling. When you look at how healthy Kate’s cooking is, you’ll want to try everything on her site. Let’s start with her Roasted Butternut Squash Tacos and maybe a big helping of Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb and Yogurt Parfaits for dessert. Cookie, by the way, is her adorable dog, so animal lovers will adore the cute puppy photos that come along with the scrumptious spreads. Since when has cooking vegetarian been this much fun?

Budget Bytes

Though not strictly a vegetarian blog, Budget Bytes is nothing but awesomely cheap recipe after recipe (and cheap, more often than not, also means meatless). The author, Beth, is always including notes on how to make a recipe vegetarian or even vegan and most of the time, you’re only a short step or two away. Meat is more a garnish or a treat for her than a staple like it is for most folks on the Standard American Diet (SAD). Beth has even broken down each recipe into its component parts and how much each one costs, then gives you a total, so it’s beyond easy for you to stuff your face with plants and non-meat protein on the cheap. Some of my all time favorites from her blog, which I’ve been religiously cooking from for years, include Eggs Florentine Quesadillas (WHAT), Quick Ramen Bowls (fancied up to be so much more than just dropping MSG dust-in-a-packet on your noodles), easy homemade Naan (I have made maybe 50 batches of this, not even joking, it is like fluffy Indian pillows of heaven), and Southwest Breakfast Scramble (15 minutes, start to finish, and you’re eating updated migas with more). Somehow it’s hard to feel like you’re scrimping when you’re shoving your face full of deliciously seasoned, super healthy non-noms that cost you the change from your couch cushions.

Happyolks

You’ll come for the food, you’ll stay for the writing. Want to hear about family fights (that were supposed to be Hallmark-esque holiday memories? You get all the gritty details from the Happyolks author, Kelsey, right in the middle of a recipe for Herb-y Shortbread Clouds, Three Ways. Want to hear about how the mountains are this blogger’s church? You got it, all while reading how to make Fig and Anise Pull-Apart Bread. Also, let’s get real about the picture above: if YOUR onion peel scraps looked like this - and that is totally standard quality for the unbelievable photos on this blog - you know you’d never leave the kitchen. (What IS this, onion sorcery? How does she make that look so...intense? ritualistic? SEXUAL??) ANYway, this is one blogger that will make you feel like the vegetarian life is one of mystery, beauty, and honest-to-goodness real life that doesn’t require a saint to live it.

The First Mess

Laura’s photos are gorgeous, but they’re real, too - close your eyes and you’re right there, drinking hot chocolate, digging into a big bowl of veggie pasta, serving yourself a huge helping of a cozy breakfast skillet. These are recipes that both inspire and reassure you - this is art, to be certain, but it’s immediately accessible. Laura was raised on a farm and her roots in loving plants are clear in the simple yet “why didn’t I think of that?” ways she presents fruit and vegetables. She describes her meals in such appealing ways that you almost can taste them. If eating seasonally is important to you, The First Mess is a must-follow blog that you’ll feel grateful to have met (especially if you live somewhere snowy - so many yummy soups and hot bowls of warm deliciousness!). I’m dying to try her Rustic Pasta with Cheesy Chickpea Crumble and Heirloom Tomatoes for an impressive dinner, and I think my busy weeknights are ready to be rocked by her Busy Lady Bowl + Easiest Ginger Miso Gravy.

Love and Lemons

Jeanine starts her about page by sharing that she loves “food that's fresh, bright and often finished with a squeeze of lemon.” Well, ME TOO girl. Jeanine is from one of my favorite cities everrrr, Austin, TX, and if you live where it’s always summery, you’ll love her quick, tasty meals that don’t require heating up the kitchen; try, for example, her genius Avocado and Mango Brown Rice Sushi or this unique no-oven-required Pattypan Panzanella. My favorite thing about Love and Lemons is how NOT intimidating Jeanine makes it to cook vegetarian. It’s easy to forget that simple ingredients can make a wonderful meal, but this fun, light, bright blog will remind you instantly.

My New Roots

Sarah has been called "queen bee of the health blogs" and she might also be queen of the fairies; I HAD to show you this picture of her Grain-Free Granola, because it literally looks like my childhood dream of an enchanted sprite feast in the woods at dawn. There is pixie dust just shooting out of it, a breakfast from the most magical recesses of your imagination. But despite this ethereal presentation, Sarah of My New Roots is 100% down-to-earth. On her About page, she says it like this: “A lot of people want to know “what I am” – vegetarian, vegan, raw foodist, fruitarian, macrobiotic…guess what? I am a person who eats! My food philosophy is this: I hate labels. They stink. They force a person to define themselves with very rigid terms, and beat themselves up if they suddenly eat something that doesn’t fit that definition. I know I never want to have to label what “kind” of diet I subscribe to. Being dogmatic about anything, for me, just doesn’t work. Being flexible does.” LOVE THAT. As pretty as her photos are, Sarah’s recipes are also refreshingly simple and straightforward. Treat yo self to her Fantastic Falafel Waffles and then continue that feasting-with-the-fairies thing you’re doing with her Bali Bliss Papaya Salad.