Cooking dinner is one of the only times in the day I get to unplug from staring at a screen and get creative in a different way. 
 
I started food blogging almost ten years ago—way back in high school as a project to de-stigmatize vegan baked goods. I have lived with life-threatening food allergies my entire life, something that has shaped me and changed my approach to eating. As a child, I almost exclusively consumed home-cooked meals, a decision my family and I embraced after too many allergic reactions at restaurants.

My allergy to milk and all milk products pushed me toward a plant-based lifestyle in my early teens. In fact, I had reactions to red meat (steak, burgers, etc.) and the cross-contamination that came with eating deli meat was a risk we were not willing to take. My family and I discovered a local vegan eatery in the mid-2000s and learned that vegan restaurants almost guaranteed that dairy ingredients were not on their premises, ensuring a safer eating experience.