What Is "A Veggie Venture"?

Sampling an heirloom tomato at my hometown farmers market in Kirkwood, MissouriA Veggie Venture is the food blog about vegetables written by Alanna Kellogg, a second-generation food columnist from suburban St. Louis, and features vegetable inspiration from Asparagus to Zucchini.

But of course, there's more to the story.

An Obsession, A Mission, An Education

A Veggie Venture was started on April Fool's Day 2005 as a month-long project but then took on its own life. For an entire year, I cooked a vegetable in a new way every single day. Along the way, a fellow food blogger dubbed me the veggie evangelist. Now A Veggie Venture is the award-winning home of free vegetable recipes, including the Alphabet of Vegetables, vegetables for every course, Weight Watchers low-point point recipes, low-carb vegetable recipes and five-minute vegetable recipes. (For still more ways to find great vegetable recipes, start at the well-organized Recipe Box.)

From Asparagus to Zucchini, from simple sides to vegetable salads to soups and even desserts, A Veggie Venture is my food playground, a true 'food blog'. My goal is to inspire both new and experienced cooks, even as I learn more about food and explore new recipes, ingredients and techniques.

I also write Kitchen Parade, the food and recipe column that my mom started when I was a baby. It's published in my hometown newspapers in suburban St. Louis and features 'fresh seasonal recipes for everyday healthful eating and occasional indulgences'.

What to Expect

A Veggie Venture is 100% vegetable recipes, often but not exclusively vegetarian, mostly simple vegetable recipes that can be put on the table in a flash. Here's what to expect from A Veggie Venture.
  • A recipe resource for vegetable lovers
  • Well-organized archives so it's easy to find tonight's perfect recipe, fast
  • A familiar, over-the-kitchen-table writing style
  • Kitchen tips for busy cooks, or cooks new to the kitchen
  • Nutrition information and Weight Watchers points
  • Product and cookbook recommendations only when I really love them myself

So look around the Recipe Box, see what sounds good. (See a vegetable recipe you like? It's easy to print a recipe.) If you like what you see, come back for new recipes two or three times a week. Or better yet, sign up for a free e-mail subscription so you'll never miss a single new recipe.

Many thanks for visiting, for reading. I hope you'll come back often. And if you have a favorite vegetable recipe you think A Veggie Venture's other readers might like, just drop me an e-mail. I do love hearing from readers!

~ Alanna 4/3/08


Lachanophobia
Fear of vegetables. :-)



A Note to Veg(etari)ans
Every recipe on this site features vegetables and an estimated 85-90% of the recipes are vegetarian and 75-80% are vegan. Still, A Veggie Venture is not a vegetarian or vegan website. As a former vegetarian with no wish to offend, please know that recipes here do call for meat ingredients on occasion. Still, with such focus on vegetables, all vegetable lovers should feel much at home here and with any luck, feel inspired by my passion for vegetables and healthful eating.



About Weight Watchers & This Site
In 2002, I lost 30 pounds with Weight Watchers. Truly, in the course of several months, and especially since, Weight Watchers changed my whole understanding of the relationship between food and weight, of how my metabolism benefits from eating within a tight range of calories/points, of making food choices day in and week out. Yes, I'm a big fan of the Weight Watchers concepts! (And so are my sister, three of my cousins, several of my Size 4 friends and ...) To me, Weight Watchers is as much a 'healthful eating plan' as a way to successfully lose weight. For this site, I use my own recipes, my own nutrition analysis software and calculate Weight Watchers points myself. What's shared here are my own opinions and perspectives. With any luck, A Veggie Venture can serve as a 'buddy' for Weight Watchers followers, just as my friends who followed Weight Watchers offered me tips and pointers when I was first losing weight.

So please know: This site is not affiliated with Weight Watchers International, Inc. WEIGHT WATCHERS and its point system are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. Weight Watchers has not reviewed this site for accuracy or suitability for its members. Information on this site (including the Weight Watchers point values associated with recipes) is based on my own opinions, perspectives and calculations. It is not endorsed by Weight Watchers. Complete information about Weight Watchers is available via the Weight Watchers' website and local Weight Watchers meetings. Readers are encouraged to join Weight Watchers to fully enjoy Weight Watchers many benefits.

Privacy
A Veggie Venture uses third-party advertising companies (BlogHer, SixApart, Amazon and Google) to display advertisements during your visits. These companies may use information (NOT including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of particular interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice by Google and to specify your interests, please visit here. You may also opt out of having this information used by Google and some other advertising networks by visiting here.
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Your Comments:

Hi from Canada - great blog. I'm going to try your Cauliflower Tomato Medley tonight. Thanks for posting - keep up the good work.
Hi Lisa ~ hi back from the States! Would you believe that the Cauliflower Tomato Medley comes from one of my Canadian (Winnipeg) cousins?! Let me know how it goes!
Hi Alanna! Speaking as a vegetarian of more than twenty years, your site is among my very favorites. I've never once seen a recipe here that wasn't easily adaptable to my diet. Your obvious passion for veggies is inspirational. Thanks for a terrific resource!
Hi Rachel ~ Thank you so much for your note, truly, that's exactly how I hope vegetarians and vegans feel about my site.
Hi Alanna!! I have been searching and searching for a site like yours. A vegetarian one that actually has nutritional info -- and you have a bonus of the actual weight watchers points already calculated!! A bonus since I wouldn't have to do it myself!!

I can't wait to try some of your recipes.
Hi There,

I have just spent the last hour reading through your site and cannt wait to really get into things. I have always been timid about cooking vegetables particulary but am looking forward to diving in and trying new recipes.

Maria
Hello, Alanna! So I did a search for "cucumber water" on Google a few hours ago and your delightful recipe for cucumber lemon mint water came up in the results. Since then, I have been reading through as many recipes as I could get my hands on. This is fantastic! I've never seen a site like this, and the whole project is truly inspirational. I'm not much of a cook myself, but I do love vegetables. I typically don't get any more inventive than stir-frying things, but now I'm seeing so many possibilities within my reach! I've already called up my friends and I'm going to try the Ratatouille Omelettes tonight. Thank you so much for all of this!
Thanks for all the great recipes. I love to cook veggie dishes as my husband can eat all he wants and it is healthy.

Funny - I saw your comments and my husband is from outside Winnipeg. He has lots of family there.
Hi! I love your blog and I was wondering whether you have any suggestions of veggie friendly or healthier restaurants that you like in St. Louis (they dont have to be vegetarian)? I go to school there and I am always looking for good ideas.
Hi S ~ Thanks for visiting! You know, I have great luck with vegetarian options at nearly all restaurants anymore so don't really have a favorite. Maybe as you find your own favorites, you'll share them with me!
I can't tell you how excited I am about your blog. I love finding ner veggie dishes when I can.
Thanks!
Hi Alanna,

LOVE your website! Happened upon it while looking for a kohlrabi recipe or information about the veggies. Bought some at the farmers market and had no idea what to do with them. Now I know I can eat them raw and make an apple/kohlrabi slaw too! Thanks too for the tips on just printing the recipes without the other stuff on the page.

Keep up the good work... or is it play?!

Peace,

Victoria
Adore all the little tips, tricks and notes such as "next time I'll skip the egg" ... "better refrigerated overnight" ... and, it's all about vegetables, but not narrowly vegetarian! hooray!
Your website is great! I stumbled upon it while looking for a Caponata recipe and I'm so happy I did because I am always trying to find new ways of eating more vegetables and I'm a Weight Watchers members, so it works out great! I am so inspired by your site and can't wait to try the recipes!

Thanks again!!!
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