The Vetted Health Coach

04/04/2026

In 2024, I started little VegWithMandy.com to share recipes with family who asked for help in adding easy plant-based meals into their diet. They had little energy or motivation to cook but wanted to eat better. (I had been snail-mailing ✉️ recipes or texting them screen shots before then. 😅)
One family member flew down ✈️ and spent a week with us, while I taught easy recipes. A few months later after a doctor’s 🩺 visit she excitedly called to tell me about her lower A1C, cholesterol, weight… all while her energy was way up!
My heart 💚 was to make eating more plants more accessible. “Plant-based recipes: Fast. Easy. Affordable” has been my motto. And this call had me pumped!
In 2025, circumstances changed - I gladly accepted an opportunity to add more hours back at my primary career, and I shifted away from pursuing health coaching on the side.
I’ve also faced some health challenges; many days even I have been too tired and unmotivated to cook or create new recipes 😴. And that’s the reality for a lotta folks, right? 🤷‍♀️
I stopped posting. Since I wasn’t creating something original and exciting, I didn’t think it could help people. One week I had a health flare and I exhaustedly scrolled through old posts looking for recipe inspiration that required the least energy… And then it hit me.‼️
What if it doesn’t have to be original 💡 and exciting to be helpful? What if sometimes it’s just me sharing a brand of store-bought sauce I liked that helped me throw together a plant-based meal in under 30 mins? ⏱️
So here’s the deal. I’m not fancy. I’m practical. I’ve never been an influencer; I just wanted to be a helping hand. 🤝
So if you’d like to add some plant-based meals 🌱 into your diet, have low energy/motivation, but still want to eat healthy (and sometimes just healthy-ish 😉 ), I plan to start posting some again.
Add me on Instagram .
To keep it simple, I’m not going to be posting the recipes/food inspo on Facebook or my other IG accounts (personal or VettedCoach), just VegWithMandy.
Best,
~Mandy

03/29/2026

Cheap kitchen tools and a salad dressing hack for a no-cutting-board required salad. 🙂🌱💚 Sprouting jar lids and stands, handheld spiralizer, Tofu Bud brand tofu press. Lazy Basil Lover “salad dressing”: 1.5-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil + 1 Tbsp minced basil (comes in a tube) + splash of fresh lemon 🍋 juice, mixed. Salads lately have been alfalfa and/or salad mix sprouts, Spiralized tofu (torn apart with hands into smaller strands), lentil sprouts, pre-chopped coleslaw mix, pressed/diced tofu (similar texture to feta), basil dressing. With some hummus and carrots or pretzels 🥨, apple 🍎. Has been making me happy. 😊

10/29/2025

There's so much conflicting diet advice out there; it can be overwhelming. Whether you want to maintain a healthy weight, shed
extra pounds, or simply lengthen your "healthspan" (the amount of life spent in good health), there's something here for you. These
principles are scientifically backed by numerous research papers (which he mentions), tried and true by the longest lived, healthiest populations in the world. I promise it's worth the time to listen!

Calorie Density: How To Eat More, Weigh Less and Live Longer - Understanding a few simple concepts about calorie density is one of the keys to safe and perma...

09/03/2025

Shout out 👏 to Bon Secours Health for including Diet and Lifestyle tips for Breast Cancer prevention in their Mammogram reminders. Love it! ❤️

07/23/2025

'Tis the season for Zucchini! ☀️So if you'd like to enjoy your summer garden's bounty (or someone else's), dig on in to this recipe.
It's a light lunch you can throw together fast. ⏱️🙂

zoodles, WFPB, easy lunch

07/13/2025

If Chocolate is a food group in your book, you've got to try these 5 Ingredient Fudge Pops! Containing healthy fats and a sneaky ingredient that is low food-waste friendly, it's just what you need for this summer heat.

--5 Ingredient Fudge Pops--
Makes 6+ servings

Blenderize the following:
3/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 c. aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas*)
6 Tbsp (or 1/4 c + 2 Tbsp) cocoa powder
6 Tbsp (or 1/4 c + 2 Tbsp) maple syrup
2 small avocados**

You can eat as-is as a pudding (just cool in the fridge first), -OR- freeze in popsicle molds for at least 4-6 hrs before enjoying.

Tips:
*I love to make Chickpea Salad Sandwiches during the summer, or really anytime! See the blog, search "chickpeas" to see a list of all my recipes that utilize a can of chickpeas.

**Want the absolute easiest way to cut an avocado without slipping and slicing a finger? Slice in the direction of the long axis of the avocado. Before opening, rotate 90 degrees and slice through the short axis. Then twist slightly, and the quarter should come apart easily. The pit may even fall out for you. : )

https://vettedcoach.com/blog/11464/5-ingredient-fudge-pops-

07/11/2025

One of my happy places - the Library 📚! I check out cookbooks ALL the time for inspiration, especially when I’m in a mealtime creativity slump. Since I started doing this 10 years ago, I’ve found that EVERY library I have been to has at least 100+ cookbooks to choose from. 😊 So show your local library some love ❤️; it’s got fiction and food to explore!

07/09/2025

If you’re looking to decrease your use of plastic, I found these great mason jar adapter lids. They come in regular and wide mouth size, and they work great for use as a water bottle or smoothie lid. Cost is about $15 for a 4 pack and they are (top rack) dishwasher safe. 🙂

05/21/2025

Happy Allergy Season/Sneeze-on, folks. Allergies can be brutal.
Although I have used turmeric for other purposes for years, I never
considered using it specifically for allergies until recently. I saw a
rave review by an individual who shared this particular brand really
subdued their allergy symptoms. I can now speak from personal
experience that it has helped mine, too! It’s not the only thing to use
— antihistamines, various nasal sprays, etc, still have their place,
in my opinion. I just wanted to share in case this helps someone else!
As always, speak with your doctor before starting any herbal
supplements. While many herbs are safe for most people, individual
needs/meds/sensitivities vary. One example is that although turmeric
can quell GI inflammation, some find it can actually cause nausea at
higher doses. Another example, ask your doctor about any supplements
you should pause prior to surgery; turmeric can increase bleeding.

05/21/2025

Want to unwind without the wine? Try adding these popsicles into your sleep hygiene routine!

04/27/2025

This is one of my favorite months in the garden, when the peas 🫛 and strawberries 🍓 appear, but the pests and heat 🌞 haven’t discovered my little oasis yet. I mostly grow medicinal/tea herbs ☕️ these days. Hope to share some easy to grow herbs and their benefits soon! 🙂