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Originally Posted by Thomas Jensen  I tried a vegan diet once, for just a few days, and I really could feel the benefits. In my gut, I felt healthier. But it seems so much preparation and loving care goes into getting the food ready. It can take a long time in your routine if you really want to be a perfectionist in your eating habits. |
Thomas,
It really can be a lot of work at first, as you learn what you like to eat and how to prepare it. Certainly if you try to make fancy meals from cookbooks you'll spend a whole of of time in the kitchen doing prep work, especially if you're not used to doing that and still perfecting your technique. Not having the right equipment can make things take 50%-100% longer than they should. Adding a good-quality chef's knife ($100), mandoline slicer ($50), and food processor ($200) to my kitchen made a significant improvement in how much time I spent and consequently on how enthusiastic I was about cooking. As far as I'm concerned, they paid for themselves in the first week.
You can also find cookbooks that feature simpler recipes and smaller yields. "Raw Foods Made Easy for 1 or 2 People" is a favorite of mine. It helped me to introduce more living foods into my diet without spending all day in the kitchen.
In many places you can now find a wider variety of prepared or partially-prepared vegetarian foods. For example, Trader Joe's carries jars of garlic that have already been peeled or pressed and cartons of mushrooms that are pre-sliced.
Perfection takes time, no matter what the discipline, but tasty vegan eats can still be whipped up quick!
-Brian