About

My name is Amanda, and I'm the accidental vegan. Accidental, because I never set out to be vegan. When I got pregnant with my fifth child, my body started to do some strange things. Everything hurt, all the time (my skin, my joints, my muscles... even my hair!). I had major digestion issues, no energy (even more than usual for pregnancy), and intense congestion. Instead of getting better once the baby was born, it got worse. Long story short, I developed an inflammatory autoimmune disorder due to pregnancy. In an effort to regain control of my body, I began eliminating foods that made my symptoms worse. Through trial and error, I discovered that a whole foods, plant based diet is the only way that I can exist without pain and intense inflammation, and an accidental vegan was born.

As mentioned above, I'm the mom of five kids. I try to make sure that everything I cook is also appealing for them. To further complicate matters, I have a kiddo who has life threatening peanut allergies, a son with autism (and food texture issues), and another kiddo who has a whole list of food sensitivities. So, when I say we're a tricky family to cook for, I'm not exaggerating!

Along with all of this, I'm also a yoga teacher and PhD student. From time to time, these parts of me will undoubtedly also find their way to this space.