I’m an opera singer turned foodie, who found a second passion in life after going vegan and discovering a whole new world of cuisine. I do all the cooking, recipe creating, photography, and blog building for Vegan Soprano. I am passionate about creating Whole Food Plant Based recipes that are easy and delicious.
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, I live now with my husband and three cats (Lilah, Rami & Kaira) in Delaware. I began building this site during the Covid-19 pandemic, when most of the world’s stages were closed and I was unable to sing opera. I hope you will join me on my journey of building this site into the incredible resource I envision it can be.
I strive to make the majority of my recipes oil free and refined sugar free, but I also recognize that we all need to indulge every once in a while. I will always try to give you as many options for each recipe as I can, including gluten free, with or without oil, salt free and sugar free. While everything I make will always be vegan, I hope that everyone eating any diet will feel welcome to try our recipes and introduce more plants into their lives. I know how much they have benefited me, and my goal is to help by providing healthy recipes and resources to others wanting to enjoy these benefits.
Yes, I really am an Opera singer, and a soprano at that. In my other life, I travel around the world singing in some of the worlds leading opera houses and concert halls. I made my Metropolitan Opera debut at age 29, and am generally known in the opera world as “that girl who sings really high.”
I’ve been very fortunate to sing in some incredible places around the world, including many countries in Europe, Asia and South America. I have learned so much about food and culture from the beautiful people I have met in my travels, and I hope to bring as much of this knowledge to my recipes as possible.
If you’re interested in learning more about my opera career, you can check out my website.
Vegan is a lifestyle that includes eating foods that come only from plants, and in addition, abstaining from using and buying items such as leather, wool and silk that are made from animals. People who are vegan are plant based, but people who are plant based aren’t necessarily vegan.
The Whole Food Plant Based diet, or sometimes referred to as the Plant Based diet, is a style of eating that includes all vegetables, fruits, tubers, nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains, and excludes all animal products. You strive to eat these foods in their most whole and unprocessed form.
A vegan diet, while typically healthier than the SAD (Standard American Diet), is not necessarily always the healthiest. There are so many new vegan alternatives, such as cheeses, mock meats, vegan butter, etc, that are highly processed with refine oils and long lists of ingredients that are hard to pronounce. While these can be wonderful alternatives for someone transitioning to a plant based diet or for special occasions, they are mostly very high in saturated fat, which is the a leading risk factor for heart disease.
This is why many choose to eat a whole food plant based diet, as opposed to just a standard vegan diet.
kale, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, spinach, lettuce, mushrooms, etc.
apples, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, pineapple, cherries, papaya, bananas, etc..
potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, yams, etc.
rice (white and brown), quinoa, millet, bulgar, barley, etc.
black beans, kindly beans, chickpeas, lentils, white beans, etc.
Walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pecans, pine nuts, hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds
I also eat some minimally processed foods made from plants, such as Tofu, Tempeh, Soy curls, bread (preferably whole wheat) and various pastas.
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You would be amazed with the variety of foods and dishes you can eat that use these foods. There are so many delicious plant based versions of favorite standard recipes, and in addition a whole world of unique recipes the average eater might never think to eat. After I went vegan, it opened me up to so many new cooking techniques and dishes that I never imagined before.
The simple answer is that oil (yes even Olive oil) offers little to no nutritional value for the amount of calories that it contains. It is extremely calorie dense and high in fat. For example 2 tbsp of Olive oil contains 240 calories, and a pound of Olive oil contains a whopping 4000 calories, while a whole pound of potatoes only contains 350 calories.
For those who want to read more, I would refer you to the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies site, where they talk much more in detail on this topic.
I am not a physician or a nutritionist, just someone who is passionate about living my healthiest life. I would never presume to know what diet is best for everyone. I only want to be a resource for people who want to introduce more nutritious eating into their lives.
Rachele
So glad you stopped by! Here you’ll find Whole Food Plant Based recipes that are easy, healthy, and of course delicious. We’re new around here, and we hope you stick around while we continue to build this site and add weekly recipes. We’re confident you’ll find something that will become one of your new favorites. Welcome to everyone of all diets!
