Comfort Food. We love it. 

There's no way around it. Some of our strongest memories are connected to our food.

We can smell the brownies baking, the onions sizzling, the fresh strawberries in the summer.

Diving into a big bowl of your favorite soup, casserole, or ice cream satisfies us emotionally in ways that keep our therapists in business. But, it's more than that. 

The flavors of home connect us to something greater than we are. They connect us to our families, our stories, and ourselves. 

They encourage us to feel connected, to feel safe.

And, it's those feelings of safety and connection that lead us to want to share those flavors and feelings with our families and children.

It's also when we feel safest, that we're the most open to learning and to change.

So, if your family is anything like mine, one mostly vegetarian, one lactose-intolerant, one gluten-sensitive, one mostly vegan, and one omnivore, it is in the comfort-food sanctuary where we find solace, and each other.

I've had to learn to create foods that everyone loves and will eat, but while still meeting the varying needs of a food-sensitive family. Vegetarian-Home-Cooking is the story (and vegetarian recipes) of our family's journey.

Comfort food. It's what's for dinner.

Special Needs

Has your daughter just declared that  she will never eat anything with a face again?

Is your son allergic to milk?

Have you noticed that you are sensitive to gluten and get bloated when you have a sandwich? Can't get your flat, sexy stomach back no matter how much Zumba you do...?

Is your husband trying to lose weight and keep his heart healthy and stave off diabetes?

Are you balancing the needs of multiple family members…one eats meat, one doesn't eat dairy, one can't have gluten, one is trying to lose weight…how do you make a meal that satisfies everyone AND that you can afford?

Do you miss the flavors of comfort foods trying to accommodate your family's varying needs?

If you answered yes to any ( or all!) of these questions, then this website is for you!!

Vegetarian-Home-Cooking is one mom's attempt to have it all. I have a happy, healthy, active family with a variety of different dietary needs, but everyone leaves the table saying 'Yum.'

Delicious Food CAN Be Healthy

You're committed to a healthful, plant-based diet, but no one else in your family is. All they care about is what it tastes like…then learn how to make vegetarian recipes taste so yummy, they won't realize that they're healthy too!

And, still have time (and money) left over for you…time to indulge in the life you crave…time for hugging your kids, time for hugging your spouse, time with your friends, pets, time to appreciate the world around you, time for exercise and actual self-indulgence.

VHC is where you can learn to create the foods that your will satisfy your family's needs…from their allergies, to their sex drive…and everything in between, all while saving time, money, the planet, and you.

Hurricane-Force Compassion

Hi. I'm Katrina. (Yes, like the hurricane).

Thanks for visiting.

In all my years as a home-care nurse and a psychiatric one at that, I've learned that people are the most receptive to learning and change when they feel safe and comfortable. 

Not judged, not made fun of, not told what is 'right' or 'correct'. 

People want (and need) to know that wherever they are at RIGHT NOW is ok. 

Thus, when we can re-create foods which are reminiscent of our strongest sense memories (and taste and smell are HUGE sense memories), closely related to our emotional development, we feel emotionally comfortable and safe enough to be open and receptive to change.

As the cook in your family, you are blessed with the privilege of creating foods which make people physically and emotionally healthy and comfortable. 

When people feel uncomfortable or confused, ( like when trying new flavors) their mind says 'no', and they become unreceptive, even when they 'know' it is in their best interest, and subsequently their previous patterns continue.

When people feel comfortable, however, they are receptive to change, open to all the goodness that may be in store for them. Especially, when taken in small, manageable chunks.

 Gradual change beats cold turkey. (or Tofurkey). :)

Here, on Vegetarian Home Cooking, you'll learn to make: 

 Delicious pot-pies, so rich and creamy, no one will ever know they are dairy free.

Gluten-free Vegetarian Lasagna...no sweat, bloating, or pain.

Pumpkin Muffins…fresh from the oven, moist, and gluten-free and vegan or

A Scrumptious gluten-free and Vegan Banana Bread

Rich, indulgent, flourless Chocolate Ganache that's gluten-free, vegan and diabetic-friendly.

Afraid to go vegan because you'll miss cheese? Learn about raw and vegan cheese options that satisfy your soul without hurting baby cows.

C'mon Home

We feel most comfortable in our homes. It's where we rest, and re-charge, it's the place we can't wait to get to at the end of a long day, and where so many of our memories are created and stored. It's the foundation of our physical and emotional health. 

Home cooking saves us money, time, (it actually does take time to go out to eat), and creates delicious foods that we can't get in restaurants, not to mention organically without all the pesticides, fertilizers, and hormones, and limited food-allergy menu.

As a mom of a busy family with varying needs, I know this first-hand. I cook daily for my carpenter husband who eats meat (but only wild-caught by himself) (no turkey, cow, pig, or chickens), a teen ager who only loves what tastes good (think mac n' cheese) and as much dairy as he can consume, a foster daughter who has a milk allergy, a 13 month old baby who is practically a fruitarian, and me, a normal gluten-free vegan raw foodist. :)

Like you, I want it all. I want to craft healthy meals for my family, that everyone will eat, and yet feels comfortable enough to open up around the dinner table, to talk about their day, to reveal their feelings. Isn't that what we all want? Connection.

That's what this site is about…building connections and relationships between you and your loved ones through cooking in a way that will enable everyone to live longer, happier, stronger, healthier lives…and get to enjoy each other for many years to come.

It's like life coaching in your kitchen.

So, come home with me. Pull up a seat. Get comfy. Start dreaming of yummy flavors that inspire you, and get ready to live a vibrant life that empowers you, your children and loved ones to be their best selves. 

Ready? Let's go!

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