Meet Sassy, Your Vegan Coach

Do you like to cook? If so, perhaps you can remember back to a time when your food didn't exactly turn out the way you had expected. That was me back in 1994. Well, I had always been a terrible cook. I burned practically everything I ever made.

So when I decided to "Go Vegan" all those years ago, and didn't know anybody who could show me the ropes, I figured it was FINALLY time to learn how to prepare meals that were delicious and nutritious.

I purchased as many vegan cookbooks as I could, and with my trusty taste-tester hubby Jeff by my side, my kitchen laboratory was open.

The Girl Learns To Cook...

I can't tell you how many horrible-tasting dishes were made back then. Oy! But somewhere along the way the tides started to turn. Little by little, dish by dish, I learned to create food that was 100% vegetarian and yummy.

It was truly amazing to me that I actually started to enjoy cooking! So after 9 years of hands-on practice and honing my skills, I opened Whirled Peas Vegan Personal Chef Service, preparing delectable vegan meals for my fantastic clients

Of course, along with preparing food for others comes a responsibility...

In all my years as a Vegan I kept running into huge amounts of conflicting information about the vegan diet. One day I'd read some information which solidified my resolve to be a Vegan, and the next day I'd question this same information.

I really had no idea if the food I was preparing for Jeff and I (and my clients) could provide the nutrients that we needed. In order for me to continue enjoying my vegan way of life, I needed to learn the unbiased truth about vegan nutrition.

So I enrolled in a nutrition course and to my delightful surprise, the topic of nutrition completely and totally fascinated me.

I fell in love very quickly with the wonders of the foods we use to fuel our miraculous bodies, graduating with Honors from Global College of Natural Medicine as a Nutritional Consultant in record time.

So Life Was Rolling Along...

...and I was happy in my chosen career as a Personal Chef, knowing the meals I was creating for my clients offered them the best of vegan nutrition as well. I loved my little business. Loved making others happy through the creation of my food.

In 2006, after 12 years of whipping up delectable vegan vittles, something inside of me suddenly snapped! I was tired of recipes. Sick of having to follow the "formulas". And cooking just started to be a drag. I needed to make cooking fun again. I'm a creative person (aren't we all?) and felt the strong desire to be more creative in the kitchen.

Around this time Jeff and I took a fateful trip to Costa Rica. While in Montezuma, we visited Cafe de Artistas, a simply magical, gorgeous restaurant right on the beach!

Every evening our fantastic Chef Nicola (from Italy!) prepared a vegan feast just for us. A HUGE platter was delivered to our table with the most delectable veggies, beans and grains I've EVER had the pleasure of tasting, all prepared to perfection to compliment the natural flavors of each food. Delizioso!

We swooned with each and every single solitary bite. The simplicity of this food was incredibly inspiring. I couldn't wait to get home to ATTEMPT to capture some of what I tasted.

Once in my own kitchen, I started to experiment with different foods and spices, trying to capture the unique beauty of each ingredient -- without a recipe in sight! I amazed myself with the food I was cranking out of the kitchen.

Food that's not only easy to make, but focused on the best of vegan nutrition.

And Jeff? He's happily whipping up recipe-free vegan dishes that taste great. (He figures if he can do it, anybody can!) And best of all we get to play in the kitchen together. Happiness!

Long story short, it can be crazy and confusing when you decide to switch from the standard American diet (S.A.D.) to a full-on vegan diet. And if you're like I was back when I went vegan, you want someone you can turn to who has experience both personally AND professionally in preparing nutritious vegan food. So I created this website for all of you who might find some benefit in all this information I've been gathering over the years.

It has been such an incredible experience making this website for you to enjoy. I love to find out what it is that YOU want to learn, and then putting my creative energies to the task.

Vegan Coach is dedicated to all my fellow Vegans (or wanna-be's) who are sick and tired of recipes and just want to play with their food. Who need an EASY way to get food on the table -- food that's delicious and nutritious and doesn't take an hour of solid preparation!

Of course, you'll still find recipes throughout this site because...well, sometimes you just need a recipe! :)

Thanks so much for popping into Vegan Coach for a visit. And for taking this little trip down memory lane. ;O)

Wishing you all the best in this beautiful and magical life,




Patty "Sassy" Knutson, NC
Vegan Chef/Author/Nutritional Consultant

p.s. Do you have any questions? Visit vegan cooking, vegan nutrition, or the vegan lifestyle page and ask away. I'm here if you need me. :)

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