Sophia DeSantis - Vegan Burgers & Burritos: Easy and Delicious Whole Food Recipes for the Everyday Cook

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There are so many people I could dedicate this book to My village meant the world to me throughout this entire process. But on April 19, 2017, after a rough, emotional day, I opened my laptop and the peace and clarity came to me. I finish this book just like it began: for my sister-in-law Christine, the first person to try my very first recipe when this book idea was a tiny seed. She looked at me and said, You nailed this one. Her strength and drive to beat cancer was beyond words. And although shes not here to see this books completion, I know shes here with us in spirit.

May you be eating many burritos in heaven, sweet sister.

Me. The real deal. The fact that I am writing an intro in a real book is mind-blowing to me. Like, people are actually going to see my name in print. Not just on a silly little blog, but on a book.

One that is sold in big places like Amazon. I want to jump with excitement and throw up from nervousness all at once. This was no easy task. Being a mom to three kids, currently ranging from two to six years old, having a husband who travels for work and managing life overall, let alone keeping up with a blog and on the side writing this book, was something short of a miracle. I am not going to say it was smooth, because there were meltdowns, by all of us. Even as I sit here typing, I am being yelled at by the two-year-old about why his avocado is inside the burrito.

God forbid. I stop what Im doing to remove said avocado, only to spark another tantrum as to why his burrito does not have avocado. This is me. This is my life. And as crazy as it is, I love it. I am not a supermom.

I am simply like every other mom out there trying to make life work. And what works is different for all of us. Creating recipes, photographing them and sharing them with others is something I enjoy. And when I dont, I dont do it. But mostly, its a way for me to get my creativity out. I have always been the creative type, and that has taken many forms over the years.

Now its through food, but who knows where life will go from here. Other than forcing my family to eat my wild creations, I love to play with my kids, exercise, go on date nights with my husband, drink wine, eat good food and spend time with my friends. My ultimate life goal is balance. As much as I love my kids, I also love myself. I simply cannot be the best mom and wife possible if I dont take care of me. This book is the perfect example of that.

I did this book for me. Because it was a lifelong dream that felt right when the opportunity fell in my lap. I will be the first to admit that my kids didnt have the best mom, nor did my husband have the best wife, these last couple of months that I have been fully focused on this project. But I personally believe that its okay. Its good for them to see me do something for me, especially something as big as writing a book. It wasnt forever and now that I am done, they get center stage again.

I am proud of the end result, and I hope that one day when my kids grow up, they can understand how big this was and perhaps think something other than, When are we going to have something for dinner besides burgers and burritos? To every one of you reading this, thank you. Thank you for your support, and I hope that you will find some favorites in this large collection of our favorites. Please feel free to reach out anytime with questions! I am truly blessed to have had this opportunity to share my love of food with all of you!

November 2012. Thats when we decided to try this silly little 21-day elimination diet to see how my husband felt with no animal products in his body. I thought he was crazy, but he wanted to feel good again. After being told by multiple doctors that his high blood pressure and high cholesterol were genetic and that he would simply need to take medication, he met a cardiologist who said something different.

Three months into our new mostly plant-based eating, he was no longer on medication and was doing incredible. One year later, my blog, Veggies Dont Bite, was born. Our lives were changed forever, we felt amazing and my husbands health was more than great. We decided it was time for a change: this was how our family would move forward. So here we are, much sooner than I expected, with a book to give the world some delicious, satisfying and sometimes wild, sometimes simple recipes that just so happen to be free of meat, dairy and eggs. All whole foods and all fairly easy-to-find ingredients.

People make changes for many reasons. Ours was for health, for keeping my husband feeling good on a day-to-day basis and keeping him alive. Why did we all change? Because we are a family. We are in this life together, the good, the bad and the ugly. And the truth is, my boys are all part him, so the chance that they too have the same issues is pretty high. Me, well, I am in this for support.

To show love in a different way. Could I eat what I want when Im not around him? Well, yes, totally. But in all honesty, I dont miss meat. Right before we changed our diet, I was pregnant with our second son, and meat repulsed me during my pregnancy. I couldnt eat it at all, and even the smell sent me to the trash can. Puke city to say the least.

So this change wasnt a huge jump for me. And I feel amazing! I ran my first three half marathons within the first ten months of our new diet with no problems, and got some pretty fast times to boot. My primary care doctor is a plant-based eater herself, so if I ever have issues, she is there for support and has true knowledge of all things medical as related to vegan eating. And so far, we are all doing great. All that being said, we also live a life of balance. In our home, we are able to control what we make, buy and eat.

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