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About Me

My name is Angela and I am a vegan foodie.

My passion for food has been driven by my love for animals. At a very young age, I realized that I no longer wanted to contribute to the cruelty and suffering endured by animals raised for food consumption. I also discovered through extensive research that the illnesses and conditions that plagued my family’s medical history, e.g., cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc., were all highly correlated with the consumption of animals. It was these two realizations that led me to first go vegetarian, then vegan. I’ve been veg for over 25 years now and I’m lovin’ every minute of it!


Although my path to becoming vegan is pretty typical, my path to creating this food blog is not. In addition to being a vegan foodie, I am also an extreme sports athlete. I was a racecar driver for six years competing in several sport compact drag racing series and I was sponsored by PETA.

After that, I took up skydiving, then BASE jumping (BASE is an acronym for jumping off of buildings, antennas, span (bridges), and earth (mountains)), and eventually wingsuiting (a discipline within skydiving and BASE jumping). 

In 2009, I suffered a serious BASE jumping injury in Norway that could have left me crippled for life. You can listen to my story here.

That was when I really got into nutrition and obsessed over how to supply my body with the fuel it needed to heal properly. I spent over a year recovering from a shattered calcaneus (heel bone), fractured fibula at the ankle, and compressed vertebrae. I’m proud to say that because of my plant-powered diet, incredible determination and dedication, and positive attitude, I had a miraculous recovery. Today I am actively engaged in all of the gravity-defying sports that I love...even with 19 screws and two plates in my foot and ankle.

After I recovered, in 2010, I completed a certificate program at the School of Natural Cookery in Boulder where I learned how to create spectacular meals using local, seasonal ingredients. In 2011, I became a certified Food for Life instructor for PCRM, which enables me to teach cooking and nutrition classes focused on cancer prevention, diabetes prevention, and weight loss. And, in May 2011, I started this blog.


On this blog, I review restaurants that serve vegan food, not just exclusively vegan restaurants. My favorite thing to do is to review top-rated (Michelin-starred) restaurants that typically do not serve vegan meals, but have prepared a special vegan tasting menu for me.

I also review vegan food products (lots of chocolate!) and create my own culinary masterpieces.

I consider myself a wine connoisseur and I take wine education classes on a regular basis. I have been on many wine tours in Napa Valley, Sonoma, Paso Robles (CA), Yakima (WA), and Willamette Valley (OR). And I'm proud to say that my wine collection keeps growing.

Thank you for taking the time to join me in my journey as I continue to share my love for healthy, healing food. It is the plant-powered way that I live that enables me to live life to its fullest. Today, I am an avid skydiver (mostly wingsuiting) and BASE jumper and to stay in shape for it all, I regularly practice yoga, barre, and trapeze. I am proof that with the right mindset, a healthy diet, and regular exercise, you can do anything. Please feel free to drop me a line to let me know what you think at any time! My email is angela [at] theveraciousvegan [dot] com. Bon appetit!

23 comments:

  1. Hey Angela - Happy New Year! Keep up the great work. Love readng about other vegan restaurants all over the place. I will keep a list of your review and make sure I visit them when I get the chance.

    Thanks,

    Steve

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  2. Happy New Year! Thank you so much! It is loyal followers like you that keep me going!

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  3. [ Smiles ] Angela, I wish you all the best with your blog.

    It is always comforting to view recipes from another person within the vegan community.

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  4. Thanks so much! I appreciate the good wishes!

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  5. What do you recommend for a good snack bar that is vegan?

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  6. There are so many vegan snack bars! I love ProBars which are more like meal replacement bars, Health Warrior chia bars, Earnest Eats bars, OneBar fruit bars, and Larabars. But, I could probably name 20 others that I love too!

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  7. Hi Angela, Just found your site while looking for more veg/vegan information about DC restaurants. I wanted to recommend to you a new place that just opened up in College Park, MD called Ovo Simply Veggie. It's has Pan-Asian flavors, and is vegan (to my knowledge, including the wonton wrappers). Looking forward to seeing your review of it? http://www.yelp.com/biz/ovo-simply-veggie-college-park



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  8. Thanks! I have heard of Ovo and hope to make it out there soon!

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  9. Hi Angela

    I have been growing organic Ghost Peppers for several years and have a very abundant crop this year. Take a look at my Craigslist posting (http://charlotte.craigslist.org/grd/4594673638.html) - would be happy to accept PayPal and send you a flat rate USPS box of 20-25 peppers. These are picked fresh daily. Make a great hot sause or addition to any dish that needs some "hotness".

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  10. Have a rec for you. Naughty Girls Donuts in Front Royal, VA. She's 17, runs a full on restaurant/donut shop, goes to high school and offers vegan or gluten free donuts ( you just have to give them 24 hours notice).

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    Replies
    1. I just found out about them! Thank you, anyway, for the recommendation!! I had no idea she was 17!

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  11. Hi Angela!
    I oversee marketing and events for eatonville restaurant. I enjoyed the article you did on our Vegan Chicken and Grown&Sexy Cocktail.

    Eatonville Restaurant will re-launch its dinner series Food & Folklore Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014 at 6:30pm. The event will feature entrées from the cookbook and lifestyle guide, The Lusty Vegan. The authors, Ayinde Howell and Zoe Eisenberg, will share tips for vegans who want to satisfy the appetites of their omnivorous counterpart, and for non-vegans who want to impress their plant-based partners. The evening's 4-course meal will feature recipes from the book and highlight some of the newly added vegan options to Eatonville's fall menu. I would love for you to promote this event on your blog. Please feel free to email me back at cierra@eatonvillerestaurant.com

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  12. Hi Angela,
    With the exception of Car Racing and Culinary pursuits, I pretty much into everything else you have listed here. I too sustained a Calcaneous fracture due to rope snap whilst rock climbing. I am 7 months into it, and still not weight bearing entirely. My feet has mal-aligned; in the sense the injured feet is longer by 1/2 inch and the fibula is slightly bent. Hence, when I walk (with arm crutches) it puts pressure on my pelvic bone area and I consequently get back ache. I wonder if you went through a similar ordeal during your 1-year injury lay off. I have joined IBM Corp on a community consulting role, and that keeps my mind occupied. But for an outdoor guy like me, staying at home, with limited mobility is killing... Any tips on how to keep myself motivated in this scenario, will more than help.

    Cheers,
    Viswanathan Iyer

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  13. Viswanathan,
    Thanks so much for writing! I started weight bearing after 16 weeks and was 100% weight bearing after 20 weeks. It's a slow process. I did not have this issue, but did have back pain due to compressed vertebrae.

    I know it is frustrating, but just stick with an intensive PT/exercise regimen and find a new interest for the moment. Allowing the time to heal will open your mind to new things and when you are ready, you will get back into the things that you love. This injury takes a lot of time and patience, but know that progress is slow for everyone.

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  14. Hi Angela,

    Thank you for you Chicago OHA post. I found a CIBO express in terminal 3 and will be sampling the vegan Jerusalem steak (now labeled Vegani Gourmet ) after I finish off my roasted root vegetables.
    As they say - Blue Skys!

    Thanks again,
    KS

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I noticed they changed their name. So glad I could help!

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  15. Have you tried HipCityVeg yet? You should check it out. Also, if you're looking for a fancy dinner, Cedar (on E Street) has vegan options, and they recently have put them on their "main" menu, a feature I truly appreciate.

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  16. Hi Angela,

    My name is Anuj Agarwal. I'm Founder of Feedspot.

    I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog The Veracious Vegan has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 100 Vegan Blogs on the web.

    http://blog.feedspot.com/vegan_blogs/

    I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 100 Vegan Blogs on the internet and I’m honored to have you as part of this!

    Also, you have the honor of displaying the badge on your blog. Use the code to display the badge proudly on your blog.

    Best,
    Anuj

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  17. Hi Angela! You have a fascinating and inspiring story! I'm very glad you managed to recover and get back to your passions!

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  18. Hi Angela,

    I'm Dave the content editor for easyrecipedepot.com

    I'm reaching out to tell you that you have an awesome blog and we decided to place in in our top 35 Best Food Blogs 2017
    https://easyrecipedepot.com/vegan-food-blogs

    Do feel free to share it around.

    We also have a badge you could place as a sign of excellence on your site:





    Have a great day!

    Best,

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! Can you email the badge to me at angela [at] theveraciousvegan.com?

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