Maybe it was an overly indulgent week of Valentine’s treats, cheese and duck-fat fried poutine, or maybe it was the RAVE diet vegan infomercial we saw in the hotel, but something made me want to give animal products a break this week.

I wasn’t planning on being awfully strict - after all, someone brought a bag of Reese’s to work yesterday and there’s the matter of a gallon of vanilla ice cream already in the freezer. Instead, my goal was to eliminate animal products from my cooking.

The verdict? Although I don’t see myself becoming vegan or even vegetarian, I would like to cook this way more of the time. Aside from being healthy for myself and the world, much of the food I made was inexpensive and lasted longer than meaty leftovers.

Pumpkin oatmeal made with steel cut oats and soymilk

Here are some of my favorites from this week:

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins - I have to admit, my heart usually sinks a little when I’m offered vegan baked goods. But these excellent muffins don’t suffer at all from lack of eggs or butter.  I substituted maple syrup for the molasses and used whole wheat flour.

Pumpkin oatmeal - I cooked steel cut oats in a mixture of unsweetened soy milk and water, adding some nutmeg, cinnamon, maple syrup and raisins. Then, in the last few minutes of cooking, I stirred in the leftover pumpkin from the muffins, about a half cup. It was delicious - luckily I made enough to last for a few mornings.

Chipotle split pea soup - Split pea soup usually gets its smoky flavor from ham; here, the smokiness is accomplished with chipotles (an ingredient I find myself using more and more). Not only is this vegan, but it’s also very thrifty - the whole batch, around 10 servings, cost me less than $2 to make.

Tofu scramble - onion and bell pepper sauteed with firm tofu, topped with scallions, parsley and avocado. Looked and tasted great, kept me full for hours.

A lot of people find working with yeast dough intimidating. While it does take a bit more time than picking up a loaf at the store, it’s really not all that hard. I’m going to share some tips and my favorite recipes for bread and pizza dough.

The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake - this is mine!

I was lucky - when I was young, my mother let me bake bread with her.  Now, I love the almost flesh-like feeling of dough as I knead it. But I’m far from an expert, and you definitely don’t have to be to turn out some great bread or pizza.

If you’ve never baked bread before, I have two recommendations. One is to buy yeast at Costco or Sam’s Club, where a giant 2 pound package cost me $3.87…22 times less than those puny envelopes at the grocery store! Buying a package not only saves you money, it gives you the flexibility to use a larger or smaller amount than is in the envelope, and you can experiment without feeling wasteful.

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We spend the first half of December anticipating the holidays, and all of a sudden we’re sucked into the frantic current of gift-buying and cookie baking.

Rum balls I made to give away for the holidays

One way to battle the last-minute rush is to make your edible holiday gifts ahead of time. I love to make rum balls, which actually improve in flavor and texture after aging a week or two in a tin. I’ve also found that fudge keeps for quite a while in the fridge. Many cookies, such as chocolate chip, freeze and defrost well - just make sure to cool before freezing.

What are your favorite make-ahead holiday treats?