On Veggie Magnifique you’ll find a variety of content ranging from holistic health tips, vegan recipes + lifestyle, to mindful + minimal living.

I studied Holistic Nutrition at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and I studied Ashtanga and Hatha yoga in Rishikesh, India. I also studied Film, French, and Dance at Chapman University.

For me, going vegan was a process. It’s been a long journey filled with twists and turns that started around 15 years ago! First, I eliminated meat and eggs, but ate willy-nilly and so fell off the bandwagon several times, but then years later, after watching Forks Over Knives, and understanding how to (and why) properly nourish myself, I slowly but surely was able to fully remove animal products from my diet.

I began as a “health vegan,” but as I did more and more research over the years, I started to uncover the truth about animals, their intelligence, and the horrid genoicide that’s happening to our younger brothers and sisters in consciousness. I realized that I didn’t want to contribute to their slaughter in any way. So I started to gradually remove all leather and wool and other animal fabrics from my wardrobe and life. It’s been about five years of total vegan living, and I’ve never felt better, both physically and spiritually.

I lived in Paris, France, for over eight wonderful years. It’s where Veggie Magnifique began, it’s where I found the love of my life, it’s where I cultivated the gentle art of joie de vivre, and where so many of my dearest friends live. Frenchie-ness is in my bones, even if I now reside in New England. I hope that you’ll enjoy the petit Frenchisms that will surely pop up from time to time. “Magnifique” means magnificent in French, and to my mind, clean living is just that!

Well, in short, everyone wins! You win because your health will benefit, the planet wins because animal agriculture is taking a huge toll on our planet, and the animals win because they don’t… die (needlessly) for someone’s taste, preference, or tradition. Hooray! (Click here if you want help going plant-based or even just head in that direction.)

Plant-based is essentially a diet sans animal products, and vegan is a lifestyle void of animal products across the board.

Stay curious!

My first suggestion would be to keep adding in more of the good stuff – plants! Then there’ll be less room for the “other” stuff. Pick some scrumptious-sounding plant-based recipes, and get cooking! Remember to have fun!

Secondly, start swapping! Soy or cashew yogurt instead of dairy yogurt. Veggie nuggets instead of chicken. Experiment with lentils, tempeh, and tofu, and you’ll start to see that you can live more and more easily without animal products. (Need more ideas? I’ve got you.) And lastly, do the research. If you already have a hankering to tiptoe toward vegg-ery, chances are you’ve been paying attention. Continue to seek out the truth of what’s going on in our world through watching documentaries and reading. But above all, go at your own pace, and definitely don’t beat yourself up if you “fall off the bandwagon.” Just git’ back on it and remember why you’re seeking to veggify!

That’s my dearest friend and sister-from-another-mister, Chloe! Many years ago, she and I co-created Veggie Magnifique to share our love of plants, wellness, and Paris. She has now moved on to other important projects (most especially raising a bouncing lil’ boy!) but we remain in close contact, and supportive of each others’ projects. I hope you enjoy her lovely contributions!