This week, we feature Vegan Girlfriend - a collaboration between three friends. Ā Each member ofĀ the team answered our questions on their own, making for a fun read of three different perspectives!
Alexandra Courts
Name: Alexandra Courts
Blog name: Vegan GirlfriendĀ Personal IG account:Ā @alexandracourts
Where were you born? Mississauga, ON
Where are you living now? Toronto, ON
Why did you start your blog?
I joined a little after it started, actually. About three years ago I met and became pals with two lovely, talented, passionate ladies who also shared an interest in food the same way I do. Those girls were Megan and Aine. The blog is a way in which I can collaborate with them, as well as share my creations with others.
How did you decide on your blog name? Passing that question over to Aine, see her response below.
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What do you blog about? Vegan food! Every recipe we post is 100% plant-based and cruelty-free.
What post on your blog most encapsulates you and why?
Going to have to say the raw chocolate raspberry pistachio ice-cream sandwiches. Raw/no-bake desserts are by far some of my most favourite things to make. Especially those sandwiches! My love for those led me to start Sweet Hart Kitchen (a Toronto-based raw/no-bake vegan dessert business) earlier this year, as I wanted to share them with others.
Which post do you wish received more love and why?
Perhaps the tofu pad thai that Megan, Aine and myself all made together. The post did receive love, with followers sharing their own photos of the dish, but the more the merrier! This was such a fun experience for the three of us. We got together, made some delicious pad thai, recorded the whole process and shared said experience. Plus it tasted really, really good. Always a bonus.
Which postās success surprised you and why?
The posts generally get positive feedback, so I canāt recall being surprised by anything in particular.
Whatās your biggest challenge as a blogger? Not certain that Iāve noticed any challenges.
Share a couple of your favourite food blogs to read. Why do you like them?Ā
These ladies have a keen eye for crafting beautiful looking dishes. Iāve always appreciated the love that they put into their creations and oh my, their photographs! Absolutely stunning.
Avra, the mastermind behind Love Wild Live Free, is a Toronto-based food blogger that covers all things vegan. Everything from recipes, to beauty, to style, to events that are happening around the city. She also documents and shares what she finds food-wise on her travels, which is fun.
Favourite food - care to share a recipe or a restaurant destination?
One destination that ALWAYS stands out when I think about this is The Homegrown Smoker Vegan BBQ in Portland, OR. Their combo plate is something that I daydream about often.
What are you working on next for your blog?
Weāre always looking for new ground to cover and more ways to grow! Thinking more reviews, collaborations, and more content.
Megan Stulberg
Personal pages: Instagram @meganstulberg and meganstulberg.com
Where were you born? Oakville, ON.
Where are you living now?
Surprisingly enough I live in Los Angeles, CA! I lived in downtown Toronto from 2011, up until a couple of weeks ago. It was very much a last minute decision but Iām still doing recipes and reviews for Vegan Girlfriend...just from 4000 miles away. LA is a very vegan-friendly city, so I canāt complain.
Why did you start your blog?
I wanted to share some of my favourite vegan recipes with friends and family, and thought that having a blog would be the most efficient means of doing so. Once we started gaining more of a following, I wanted to make it a priority to keep updating our website and Instagram page as much as possible. It became more about encouraging people to try plant-based recipes, and expose them to cruelty-free options they may otherwise not become aware of. I strongly believe that if you have the means to reach a large number of people daily, you should use it to do some good!
How did you decide on your blog name?
Like Alex said -- over to Aine.
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What do you blog about?
Recipes, reviews and more. Everything is 100% plant-based and all of my posts are 100% gluten-free as well because I have Celiac disease.
What post on your blog most encapsulates you and why?
Probably this recipe for a cashew cream alfredo with cremini mushrooms and kale. I really like making simple recipes that are essentially vegan versions of dishes most people already are familiar with and know taste good. I made this dish for my mum (a lover of meat, dairy and everything in between), and she loved it. Hearing āIt doesnāt taste vegan!ā from an omnivore is a weirdly a huge compliment in itself. Plus when I posted this dish on Instagram, Ariana Grande followed us right after so I mean...that didnāt exactly suck.
Which post do you wish received more love and why?
These raw mini apple pies. They probably didnāt look like much, but they were SO good. Tasted exactly like apple pie filling. Maybe if Iād paired them with some coconut whip? Or even just taken better photos? Weāre still learning as we go.
Whatās your biggest challenge as a blogger?
Trying to incorporate new aspects to our blog and social presence. For example, weāve been trying to start doing video content since last fall but have only come up with one finished segment so far! Itās hard to introduce something new to your followers if you arenāt sure theyāll like it, just because the existing type of content is doing so well. Itās kind of nerve-wrecking. Another challenge is balancing real life and blog life. Sometimes there are weeks where youāre really busy and arenāt eating as well as you should, or donāt have time to create any new recipes for a while. Then you feel bad about letting your followers down. Unless blogging is your full-time career, itās hard to manage.
Share a couple of your favourite food blogs to read. Why do you like them?
Hot for Food! Their videos are so well done. Lauren Toyota and John Diemer are like the mom and dad of Torontoās vegan scene. We ended up at the same menu tasting last fall and shared a big āI recognize you from the Internet!ā hug, then sat together for the rest of the night. They are great at what they do and the fact that they are such nice people is even better.
Favourite food - care to share a recipe or a restaurant destination?
Cruddessence is a raw vegan restaurant in Montreal that will always have a special place in my heart. Also Shojin Sushi in LAās art district is one of my favourites -- great service and even better rolls.
What are you working on next for your blog?
More recipe posts, honestly! Weāve been doing a lot of product and restaurant features lately which is great and all but we want to get back to focusing on making original dishes a priority.
What else should we know about you that may or not be in your āAbout Meā page?
What we all do for a living! I work full-time in social media and digital marketing focusing on TV and fashion, and do freelance illustration and writing on the side. Aineās a comedian, and Alex owns her own wholesale business. We all hustle in our own way.
What makes your blog unique?
We try to incorporate personality into our posts as much as possible. Plus our posts all have a bit of a different feel to them, and we sign off on our posts with our names to distinguish between whoās posted what to our followers.
Aine Davis
Where were you born?Ā A very very small town called Maryhill, just outside of Waterloo, Ontario.
Where are you living now?Ā Toronto, Ontario.
Why did you start your blog?
I was learning one-on-one with a vegan chef. Aside from cooking, she was teaching me the ins-and-outs of the vegan food industry. She advised me to start a blog with all my recipes, so that I could gain an online following if I ever wanted to launch a product or open a restaurant. I didnāt think it would actually work, but, I guess it did!
How did you decide on your blog name?
I had a blog about sustainable living when I lived in the country called āRural Herbivoreā, which has since been deleted. When I moved to the city I wanted to call my new blog āUrban Herbivoreā but hilariously enough thereās actually a chain of restaurants in Toronto with that exact name! I thought of the name āVegan Girlfriendā and wasnāt happy with it initially. I kept it as a placeholder while starting out but it ended up sticking. Now I love it! Itās memorable and has a nice ring to it.
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What do you blog about?
Vegan food! We try to make our recipes as delicious-looking and straight-forward so that non-vegans wonāt be scared to try the unfamiliar.
What post on your blog most encapsulates you and why?
My most recent post, āPulled BBQ Tofu and Dijon Coleslawā. I grew up in the country, so my dad was pretty much always barbecuing. Even though I didnāt eat meat, I had my own BBQ that I would cook on. My childhood is filled with memories of my family sitting on the patio around that barbecue. I figured out later on BBQ sauce is vegan and everything changed, hence how this recipe came to be.
Which postās success surprised you and why?
My Onigiri recipe! It was one of our first blog posts. Itās something that I eat so often and itās so simple to make, but itās not something you see in North America very often.
Whatās your biggest challenge as a blogger?
Consistency. Iām always on-the-go, running around doing things like picking up props and rehearsing with my troupe, so itās hard to find the time to write recipes. But now that Iām done school, Iām finding it easier to balance my comedy life and my food life. Iām super thankful for Alex and Meg for keeping down the VGF fort and posting regularly.
Share a couple of your favourite food blogs to read. Why do you like them? (include URLs).
Meg and Alex already mentioned all my favs! I couldnāt have said it better myself.
Favourite food - care to share a recipe or a restaurant destination?
As mentioned before, Iām obsessed with anything BBQ-flavoured. That being said, I love the pulled āporkā sandwich at Hogtown Vegan in Toronto. Everything about it is incredible, but the buns they use are what keep me coming back. Iām a big fan of the everything bagel at Bloomers, also in Toronto. Theyāre so doughy and salty and garlicky and perfect.
What are you working on next for your blog?
I have a few things in mind, but theyāre just brainstorms for the time being. TBA!
What else should we know about you that may or not be in your āAbout Meā page?
Aside from being a comedian, I love to sing. Iāve written a few short musicals in my spare time. Iād love to share them with the world one day!
What makes your blog unique?
Meg and Alex said it best.
What part of the FBC site do you find most useful?
The featured blogs! I check it often for inspiration for my next meals, and I love to support good Canadian content!
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Impressiveļ¼Thanks for the post
Really great work ladies!!! I love that most vegans are women because it means we’re getting so many more female bloggers and entrepreneurs in this industry! I’ve also started actively supporting women-owned vegan-friendly restaurants around Toronto š