It would be of no surprise to anyone when I say that the past year has been tough. Doing school online at home is definitely not my preference as I learn much better in a classroom setting and I am way more productive when working in the library. Having school move online was hard in many ways, but particularly I found it hard to establish a school/life balance. Normally I am a ‘I do schoolwork at school’ person and home is just for relaxing, but that got thrown out the window this year. Because of this, I constantly felt ‘surrounded’ by my schoolwork and it impeded me doing other things that I enjoy. But, this project while still school related, really got me out of that school headspace and into doing something that I really enjoyed. Not to mention, I so desperately needed a break from screen-time! Earlier in the year I actually had to see my doctor because spending so much time online was making my eyes feel incredibly strained. While I did learn about the 20-20-20 rule, I still knew that I needed more breaks throughout the day from the screen, and so baking was a great way for me to accomplish this! Diving into vegan baking has been a really fun project over these past few months. I have tried new recipes, experimented with new ingredients, and got to share some delicious food with my friends & family.

In this final blog post I hope to share some of the tips and resources that I have learned in order to help anyone else who may want to go on this journey!

First up, blogs! Prior to this class, I honestly thought blogs were a thing of the past – oh how I was mistaken. Specifically, while food Instagram accounts have been popping up like crazy, most of the well-established people behind these accounts all have fully functional (& amazing!) blogs. I loved scouring blogs for different recipes and here are a few of my favourite ones:

Note: not all blogs are fully vegan

Next up, ingredients! I have realized that vegan baking does not have to be complicated and many of the ingredients you need you likely already have in the house, but there are a few staples that I would suggest having in your pantry prior to beginning this journey. Here are those ingredients:

  • Maple Syrup
  • Coconut sugar
  • Coconut flakes
  • Coconut oil
  • Flax
  • Dairy free milk (I often used almond milk)
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Vegan butter
  • Nuts
  • Nut butters (Peanut, Cashew, Almond)
  • Oats
  • Dates

Overall, this has been a great learning experience. Possibly my biggest takeaway is that vegan baking is no more difficult than baking with dairy/eggs. As I have many friends and family who are dairy free or vegan, I am excited to have some new recipes to share with them. Also, it is much easier to make one dessert for everyone than to have to make different desserts for everyone’s dietary needs! I think the world of vegan baking has expanded exponentially in recent years and will probably continue to do so. There are so many vegan recipes that fit within various different dietary needs (celiac, refined-sugar free, nut-free) so I hope that if you are interested in trying out vegan baking you can find what you are looking for!

Bye for now, Jaime

Feature photo: Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash

Second photo: Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

Third photo: Photo by Nadine Primeau on Unsplash