Welcome to No Empty Fridge!
I've always loved to cook, just to be in the kitchen. I grew up with a large family where we would spend the majority of the time in the kitchen, and when the kitchen was too small, we would bring the cooking outside if we were canning tomatoes or spill over to the dining room for some more space to roll out the pie dough (and boy did we make a lot of pies sometimes).
As I grew, I learned to love cooking more and more, and in 2009 transitioned to a vegetarian diet. It wasn't that hard of a transition for me as I grew up eating tons of vegetables, and as odd as it sounds for some I never remember being the biggest fan of meat. There's a history of heart disease and diabetes in my family, transitioning to a plant-based diet made perfect sense to me.
When I was transitioning to vegetarianism, I was also dating a vegan. My boyfriend and current partner in the kitchen, Ryan, was raised vegetarian, which really made my transition easier as he and his family knew how to prepare vegan staples like pan fried tofu or tofu scramble. I started by taking out red meat and poultry, but kept fish in my diet. I kept the fish in the diet for about a year before turning to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet. It wasn't until I left my parents house and started living with Ryan that I gave up all animal products. As odd as it sounds, turning to veganism was easy once we were on our own.
And so my vegan life began. Living in Toronto has made being vegan a dream! There are many markets and vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Toronto, and I never feel like I am missing out on anything. Though, when you make the majority of your meals, like we do, it makes being vegan that much easier.
Since I started making vegetarian and vegan food, I started compiling all my favourite recipes, modifying them as I experimented, making my own versions. In 2012, while doing my undergraduate at the University of Toronto, I launched No Empty Fridge, my vegan recipe blog. Since, I have graduated from UofT and started my degree at Ryerson University in Nutrition, a Dietitians of Canada accredited program. The hope is that one day, I will be able to publish a cookbook of my very own, as a registered dietitian. Fingers crossed (and I'll keep you posted)!
As I grew, I learned to love cooking more and more, and in 2009 transitioned to a vegetarian diet. It wasn't that hard of a transition for me as I grew up eating tons of vegetables, and as odd as it sounds for some I never remember being the biggest fan of meat. There's a history of heart disease and diabetes in my family, transitioning to a plant-based diet made perfect sense to me.
When I was transitioning to vegetarianism, I was also dating a vegan. My boyfriend and current partner in the kitchen, Ryan, was raised vegetarian, which really made my transition easier as he and his family knew how to prepare vegan staples like pan fried tofu or tofu scramble. I started by taking out red meat and poultry, but kept fish in my diet. I kept the fish in the diet for about a year before turning to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet. It wasn't until I left my parents house and started living with Ryan that I gave up all animal products. As odd as it sounds, turning to veganism was easy once we were on our own.
And so my vegan life began. Living in Toronto has made being vegan a dream! There are many markets and vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Toronto, and I never feel like I am missing out on anything. Though, when you make the majority of your meals, like we do, it makes being vegan that much easier.
Since I started making vegetarian and vegan food, I started compiling all my favourite recipes, modifying them as I experimented, making my own versions. In 2012, while doing my undergraduate at the University of Toronto, I launched No Empty Fridge, my vegan recipe blog. Since, I have graduated from UofT and started my degree at Ryerson University in Nutrition, a Dietitians of Canada accredited program. The hope is that one day, I will be able to publish a cookbook of my very own, as a registered dietitian. Fingers crossed (and I'll keep you posted)!
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