Known by the online community as BohoVegMom, food blogger Amy Rolph has been serving up plant-based recipes from her home in Charlottesville since 2019. The restaurant manager turned stay-at-home mom started an Instagram account to connect with other vegan cuisine enthusiasts during the pandemic, and soon after launched a dedicated website (bohovegmom.com) to share her practical and palatable dishes.
Rolph has been eating a plant-based diet since the early aughts. As an environmental science student at Penn State, she felt compelled to adopt a vegan lifestyle. “While learning about the human impact on the world, I wanted to reduce my impact as an individual. That’s why I started eschewing animal products,” she says.
A self-described experimental eater, Rolph was excited about a plant-based diet, especially after finding it helped her feel nourished, energetic, and healthy. However, it did have its challenges. Reflecting on those early days, Rolph says, “Veganism wasn’t mainstream, and ‘plant-based’ wasn’t even a thing back then. You couldn’t really go out to restaurants, and there weren’t all these vegan products on the shelves at the grocery store.”
With few easily accessible options, Rolph turned to cooking more for herself. “That time made me resourceful,” she says. “I can attribute most of my skills to many years of having to cook vegan without being able to buy convenience food.” Rolph asserts that she does not possess natural talent nor formal training. Her culinary abilities have been hard-earned in her home kitchen, where she has spent untold hours building and refining her recipes. “It’s a lot of trial and error,” she says. “I’ve been working on them for years in my little notebook.” The finished recipes Rolph shares via BohoVegMom have these common characteristics: plant-based, simple, delicious, and budget friendly.
By keeping recipes straightforward, BohoVegMom illustrates that preparing vegan meals doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive. “This plant-forward lifestyle is going to be the cheapest that anyone can possibly eat,” says Rolph. She hopes to make plant-based eating reasonable for even the most reluctant cook. “Any little changes can add up to a lot. Being experimental and being willing to try new things in the kitchen is a good thing.”
VEGAN COOKING MADE EASY
BohoVegMom Amy Rolph says her favorite foods to cook and eat are soups and stews. “I just love throwing everything in one pot, giving it time to cook, the flavors to build. They’re even better the next day. It’s cozy comfort food for me—always my go-to.”
Tempeh White Bean Chili
1 tbsp. olive oil
8 oz. package of tempeh, diced**
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeño, seeded & minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 cups veggie broth
2 15 oz. cans white beans, drained
2 4 oz. cans diced green chiles
1/2 cup frozen corn
Juice of 1 medium lime
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
An extra can of white beans can be used in place of tempeh.
Serves 6
Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large soup pot. Add onion and tempeh to the pot and sauté for about five minutes to soften onions and brown tempeh. Add jalapeño and garlic, and sauté for one minute. Next, add cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper; cook for 30 seconds while mixing all ingredients. Finally, add broth, beans, chiles, and corn to the pot. Bring to a boil, then turn burner to low and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro.