The term vegan was coined in England in 1944 by Donald Watson, co-founder of the British Vegan Society, to mean non-dairy vegetarian; the society also opposed the consumption of eggs. In 1951, the society extended the definition of veganism to mean 'the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals,' and in 1960 H. Jay Dinshah started the American Vegan Society, linking veganism to the Jain concept of ahimsa, the avoidance of violence against living things. Dietary vegans (or strict vegetarians) eliminate the use of all animal products from their diet.

The recipes I have listed here are not meant to represent food that you eat every day. There are many websites that have recipes for salads and fresh foods that should make up most of your diet. These recipes are ones that I have created or adapted and show how you can make tasty meals that even meat eaters will love, without using lots of fake cheese and pre-processed vegan 'meats'