My Veggie Chef, Nashville

In 2006, chef Kristie's culinary reality flipped upside down. She tried a recipe for a vegan "cheese" dip, and the result tasted better than any real cheese dip she’d ever had. Excited by the realization that healthier plant products could outshine animal-based ingredients when processed creatively, she felt compelled to reinvent the meaty meals of her childhood under vegan standards.

After culling ideas from her collection of more than 62 vegan cookbooks, developing her own recipes, and shrinking two aprons by accidentally putting them in the oven, Kristie founded My Veggie Chef to cater to the growing meat- and dairy-free community in Nashville. The business delivers a week’s worth of healthy vegan meals, frozen and preportioned, to doorsteps every Sunday. Each entree kit’s prechopped ingredients arrive in BPA-free freezer bags with instructions on how to assemble the complete meal. Filling dishes such as Cajun black-eyed-pea cakes with lemon-caper rémoulade and a gluten-free kung pao rice burst with meat-free flavor, though omnivorous families can easily add a lean meat.