Welcome!

Hello! I’m Jessica, a wife and mom that loves cooking and feeding people good food. Sharing plant-powered cooking and nutrition and wellness advice is my passion - although I’m not perfect in any of those areas!

This is where I share mostly whole food plant-based recipes, talk about my continual long and bumpy journey to living a more plant-based lifestyle and everything in between all while cooking for a multi-food preference family. You’ll find a variety of vegan meal ideas, cooking tips and tricks, holiday and entertaining menus, health and nutrition information, sustainable living inspiration, and my current obsession - budget recipes!

I try to eat food as close to it’s original source as possible. Food that is the most nutrient dense, colorful and fresh. But life happens and no one is perfect, especially me (hence the ‘tarnished’). My goal is to provide easy, simple, delicious healthy meals that you and your family can enjoy and feel good about eating.

I believe with every fiber of my being that if we can all get a bit more connected to our food, be more proactive with our health and get back to the basics of life that we can lead a healthier, more intentional and more vibrant life.

We tend to get stuck in our groove of just trying to survive daily life that we don't even know what we are doing half the time. We are just on survival mode auto-pilot. Breakfast may be a quick cup of coffee while trying to get everyone out the door, giving our best to our employers, racing home to pick everyone up while squeezing in any errands and activities and then grabbing something at the drive-thru or throwing something packaged food into the microwave while we do chores around the house and finally collapsing into bed way too late... only to get up in the morning and do it all over again.

I want to make cooking, eating and living exciting again. I want to bring back into focus what is important. We are in charge of our future. We only need to be proactive, not reactive. I want to show you how loving on the people in our lives doesn't have to drain our batteries. To be in touch with where the fuel for our bodies comes from and what makes us feel our best. Feeding our families and those we love is an act of love, not a chore.