Vegitude GR 1

Problem Statement

Vegans and vegetarians have trouble finding recipes that fit their dietary restrictions. Most recipes don’t consider providing vegan and vegetarian alternatives. It is complicated to keep track of appropriate substitutions for meat and dairy products. Additionally, it is difficult for non-vegans/non-vegetarians to cook a meal for their vegan or vegetarian friends since people without dietary restrictions can be inexperienced in altering recipes to fit different dietary needs.

User Classes

Vegans and vegetarians

Looking to cook for themselves. Could be novice or experienced. Might want recipes specifically designed for vegetarians and vegans, or might want alterations of classic recipes that swap out meat and dairy product for vegetarian/vegan equivalents.

Non-vegan/vegetarians learning to cook for vegans/vegetarians

Cooking for other people. Likely inexperienced since they are not vegan/vegetarian. Don’t have good knowledge of appropriate substitutions or how to evaluate and pick vegan/vegetarian recipes. May only have partial knowledge of the food preferences of the person they’re cooking for.
None of us are vegetarians so this is cool. Sometimes we do cook for vegetarians, but the user class that we are a part of is small.

Needs/Goals

We interviewed a vegan, a vegetarian, and a person who often cooks for a vegan friend.

The vegan we interviewed reported that, when looking for recipes, he usually selects a classic recipe (e.g. shepherd's pie), and then looks for vegan versions. To do this, he looks up both a vegan version and a normal version online, and then uses the regular recipe, but making the substitutions from the vegan recipe. He reported that the vegan recipes he found usually came from blogs, rather than dedicated recipe collections. He also would sometimes just look up regular versions of recipes and use substitutions he has learned in the past from vegan friends or my inference from vegan recipes. Finally, he knows what types of food (e.g. indian food) are frequently "accidentally vegan," and searches for those items.

The vegetarian said that she usually looks up recipes that she knows already. She has been vegetarian for a long time, so she is used to finding vegetarian options and does not find it arduous to cook for herself. Usually she Googles a recipe and will use one of the top results, especially if it is from a website that she frequents. Sometimes she cooks meals that happen to be vegan. Occasionally, she will cook a meal that is vegan on purpose, but she only does this if the substitution is simple (e.g. soymilk instead of milk). She finds it easy to find vegetarian recipes without having to go to vegetarian-specific sites or blogs.