One of the questions I get asked the most is, “How do you come up with so many different recipes?”
The truth is, I rarely have to look very far for inspiration. It lives right here in my home.
Cooking for my family is a little like running a restaurant with four very different customers—including the chef.
One child has an undeniable sweet tooth and would happily eat seafood whenever I put it on the menu. Another loves the comforting, familiar flavors of Sierra Leone—the foods that connect us to family, tradition, and home. Then there’s my youngest, who keeps me on my toes. What she’ll love one week might be completely off the table the next, so every meal feels like a new adventure.
And then there’s me.
I’m about 90% vegan. I rarely eat meat or dairy, though I do enjoy seafood from time to time. My own meals are centered around vegetables, beans, grains, herbs, and whatever is thriving in my little garden.
At first glance, it might sound exhausting to cook for so many different tastes. Some days, it certainly can be. But over the years, I’ve learned that meal planning isn’t about making four separate dinners. It’s about finding common ground.
A pot of rice can become the foundation for several meals. Roasted vegetables can be served alongside grilled seafood, tucked into a Sierra Leonean-inspired stew, or added to my own plant-based bowl. A homemade sauce can completely transform the same ingredients into something that feels entirely new.
Instead of asking, “What do I have to cook tonight?” I’ve started asking, “How can one meal make everyone feel cared for?”
That simple shift has changed the way I think about cooking.
It has also challenged me to become more creative in the kitchen. Some of my favorite recipes have been born from trying to satisfy four different appetites without spending the entire evening cooking.
Over the next few weeks, I’d love to share some of those family-inspired meals with you. I’ll show you how I adapt one recipe into several variations, how I keep meal prep manageable, and how my children continue to inspire nearly everything I create in the kitchen.
Because in this house, every recipe has a story.
Coming to the Blog
Here are a few recipes I’ll be sharing soon:
- Garden Vegetable & Chickpea Rice Bowls (with optional grilled shrimp)
- Sierra Leone–Inspired Groundnut Stew with plant-based and traditional variations
- Homemade BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches with my garden tomato barbecue sauce
- Sweet Potato Leaf Stew (Plasas) made the way my family loves it
- Healthy Banana Bread for the sweet tooth in our house
- Easy “Build Your Own Bowl” meal prep that keeps everyone happy without cooking four separate dinners
What inspires your favorite family recipes? I’d love to hear the stories behind the meals that bring your family together.
Haven Harvest Living 