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VeggieBytes

Chef Veggie's blog

About Me

Hi, I’m Cristina.

I was a plant-based personal chef in Austin, TX for 15 years. Now I am based in the capital region of NY, near Albany. I love it here and enjoy all 4 seasons.

Chef Veggie – A plant-based personal chef business that I started in 2008 and I continue today via consulting.

How did I get to be Chef Veggie?

After graduating from Baylor University, I lived in a Hindu (Vaisnava) ashram for 2 years. Cooking in the temple kitchen is where I learned a lot about vegetarian cooking. Following a strict, sattvic Ayurvedic diet meant I never ate out. I did not eat commercially made products like bread, tortillas, or other prepared foods.  I made my own ketchup and almost every other kind of vegetarian sauce out there because I didn’t eat garlic or onions. If I wanted to eat, I had to know how to cook.  So I’ve been honing my cooking skills for over 20 years. In 2016, I completed a culinary program and now have a  Plant-Based Professional Certification from Rouxbe.

And now?

Nowadays, I live a less austere lifestyle but appreciate the spiritual connection I made with food at that time.  I follow a plant-based diet to reduce the amount of cruelty I am responsible for.  I care about the well-being of all living creatures.  No meat, fish, or eggs will ever post on these pages. (I was eating dairy when I started this blog but no longer do.) Tropical dishes, biscuits with creamy veggie sausage gravy, Asian delicacies, and gigantic sandwiches with avocado have a special place in my heart.  I’m half Filipina and half Tennessee country boy! Having both a refined and pedestrian palate makes eating fun and I truly believe that variety is the spice of life!

I am working on a plant-based cookbook that will feature tropical flavors and hope to have it published by spring of 2025!
http://www.plantbasedpacific.com

Feel free to find me at other places on the web.  I would love to hear from you! Thanks for letting tiny veggiebytes hang out on your computer!

Lots of Love!
Cristina

Disclosure/Disclaimer Notice

The content of veggiebytes.com is meant to provide helpful information to you, the reader.  I am not a doctor or a clinical nutritionist. Please continue to do your own research and contact your respected health professional. FDA Disclaimer: The advice & statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. Any information on this blog is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Copyright
No part of this website (written content or images) shall be reproduced, transmitted, or sold in whole or in part in any form, without prior written consent. Pinning on Pinterest is fine if you link back to the original content.  If you are interested in my content, for financial gain or not, please contact me.

Sponsor/Affiliate/Ads
My blog posts are about products or services that I enjoy personally. Occasionally, there may be an Amazon affiliate link but I must be doing it just for fun because I have never received a check from them.  I also sometimes get samples for review by brands.  It is up to me if I review them and will give an honest opinion with full disclosure that the item was made available to me for free. I also don’t like ads so there are no annoying ad boxes on my site.

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