This is our little blog about our family, who happens to be vegan now, and all of our adventures in raising our little boy in this world of ours.
I’m not entirely sure where this blog will lead us but I am hoping to share recipes, tips, products we enjoy and stories that make us smile. Right now I am testing recipes for some cookbooks so expect pictures of all the delicious food we are eating but those recipes are top secret! I will definitely share where you will be able to find them and have lots of info about them.
Veganism is definitely a big part of our life and food is our favourite way to express it everyday and we especially love to share it so people can see that vegan food is awesome!
As for introductions…I’m Kelly, the cook in our house, the mom and wife. My decision to go vegan was based originally on my son’s food allergies. Back when he was six months old he was having some issues and then we found out he was allergic to dairy and eggs. I remember thinking “that’s not so bad’ at that moment and then getting into the car and thinking “that’s in everything!!” I had cooked and baked for a lot of my life and it was kind of my thing so it was hard to find out that the way I knew how to cook and bake wasn’t going to work for us anymore. I had even been to Le Cordon Bleu for pastry arts training and now I had to forget all that and start fresh with a new way of doing things.
At first I would search egg and dairy free (insert food here) and never even thought of the word vegan. To be honest, I’m not sure I even knew what vegan meant before. Then came my son’s first birthday and I wanted so desperately to bake him a cake and had no clue how. A girl I knew at the time told me about Isa and Terry’s book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and I was so excited! I couldn’t believe what was possible without all the ingredients I had always thought were necessary. At first, that’s as far as it went but then as I was watching an episode of Bones that showed a chicken slaughterhouse, it was like it clicked. I suddenly couldn't ignore where my food was coming from or even more, that my food was a living thing. From there I started reading more and more cookbooks and books about veganism like Collen Patrick-Goudreau’s book, The Joy of Vegan Baking and I read it from cover to cover. Then I read Skinny Bitch, I read Vegan Freak, I read Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows and I cried and I read and I cried some more and then I did something…I went vegan. It didn’t happen overnight, it wasn’t always easy but it was always something I wanted to do so I made it happen.
Shortly after deciding to take the plunge I was reading a wonderful blog, Have Cake, Will Travel and for some reason I decided to comment “if you need a tester” and sweet Celine took me in. Testing for Hearty Vegan definitely made my transistion easier and I’m 100% convinced it is what brought my husband on board as well. The recipes showed me that life without cheese didn’t mean life without nachos or tacos or pizza. Showed me that I could still make kick butt cinnamon rolls, homemade pasta and the best blueberry pancakes. Through that experience I have gone on to test with other authors for other books and loved every experience and gained new skills along the way. It only takes a moment to make a start and then a lifetime to enjoy and I’m glad I did everyday!
The other people I will be sharing on behalf of are my husband, Ryan and my son Mac. They both became vegan a little bit behind me but they are both all in now. My son is very proud of his veganism and will tell anyone that will listen about it. He’s four by the way! My husband is my happy little tester who will eat literally anything I put in front of him! We also share our home with my mom who has now become vegetarian but isn’t quite ready for the whole vegan enchilada (she's the half by the way)! We do keep our home vegan but she eats as she likes when she’s not at home. She is pickier than my four year old so she is always the hardest sell when it comes to something new. Good news, if she likes it, anybody will! We also have some animal family members...Nova the Cockatiel, Zuma the Chihuahua, Roscoe the Boston Terrier and Jeff the Goldfish. Our dogs are vegan and their favourites are carrots, tofu, lettuce and sweet potatoes.
