About Me

So I am a recent UC Berkeley graduate with a degree in Nutritional Science and Toxicology......and I am also vegan! I am pursuing my Masters in Public Health and becoming a Registered Dietician, while living in Los Angeles. I have taken many classes in food science and cooking, and will definitely be sharing all of the lessons we learned about cooking and food science, as well as using this information to create new, delicious, and healthful versions of recipes to share on my blog. I have also worked at the Berkeley Student Food Collective as a Dessert Chef creating and selling my own unique desserts (that are all vegan and mostly raw) which I will share on my blog. I have a lot of random interests such as photography, piano, bike-riding, and antique shopping; and have been told by my friends that I have an an "interesting" way of thinking about things (aka I'm weird  so hopefully my sometimes random posts or straonge opinions aren't too far-fetched for you all ;)

Now to get down to the Nitty Gritty. I grew up in a Los Angeles, California; then went to UC Berkeley for undergrad, and now I am back in LA taking classes to fullfill prerequisites for a joint graduate MSRD/MPH program. I have a brother who is 5 years younger than me.....and is one of my best friends. I have a little brother who thinks I'm awesome, he tells me that everyday....not.

 And my love of running was inspired by my father, an avid and lifelong runner.

Us going for our Christmas Morning 10 mile run!

Although I do consider myself a runner I am not what many people would consider a "serious" runner: I run when I feel like it, and I normally dont run "fast" by most people's standards, I just recently started being un-lazy enough to be able to go on fast long runs which to me means keeping my miles at around 8:30 or 9:00 pace; there is no way I would run consecutive miles under 8 minutes......unless someone is running with a big bowl of mangos in front of me. Oh yes that's one very important thing about me, I have an absolutely irrational love for mangos and strawberries, I mean all fruit is great, but mangos take the cake. Among other things I also love biking and going on long walks (on sandy beaches with handsome men......in my dreams). Anyways, back to running. I have run more half marathons and 5ks than I can count, but I have yet to run a full marathon.....you know, because running for 2 hours straight is far more reasonable than running for 4 hours....

I love educating myself about new things going on in the world of competitive running, but I am myself in no way, shape, or form, a competitive runner (except in my dreams, where I am not only a competitive runner but am also a celebrity chef and a oscar winning actress.....). 

Lastly, and potentially the aspect of my life that might be the most controversial is my "veganness." Let me preface this by saying that I eat a 100% plant based diet, but I still wear some leather products, although I am trying to cut down and minimize my use of leather and animal products that's just not my main motivation for being vegan....what can I say? I wish I were a better person....but a girl's gotta have herself some prada (okay maybe not actual prada but some cute leather ballet flats are a must). I became vegetarian when I went to college because I had always wanted to do it but my mom wouldn't let me while I lived at home; I was always grossed out by meat and even liked soymilk better than regular milk....I know, I sound like such a cool kid. I also stopped really consuming dairy products except for the occasional fro-yo or whipped cream. I would however consume copious amounts of dairy and egg-laden desserts......nom. But then....something actually serious happened for once in my life (and by actually serious I mean people other than myself thought it was a big deal, because obviously to me everything involving me is a big deal ;) ) I developed a relatively serious GI condition in the middle of college and in the process of getting a diagnosis for this condition I also found out that I was lactose intolerant. I had learned so much about the harms of dairy in the diet, as well as the benefits of a plant-based diet in my upper division college coursework, and had also heard that other people with my condition benefitted from a vegan and low gluten diet, so I hopped on board. Not only did my GI condition become much more manageable, but I just felt more energized, less sluggish, and less guilty about what I was putting in my body. I think a part of me always wanted to be vegan, but this last push turned me around forever. Since initially become vegan, I have also learned so much about the environmental benefits of only consuming plant foods and about the ill-treatment of animals on factory farms that there is just no way I could ever go back. I also just feel so much better and more full of life eating this way, and my athletic performance has improved drastically since I switched to an entirely vegan diet, I even qualified for the olympic track team but had to turn it down because it interfered with hugely successful acting career. Oh yeah, so I guess I also do this thing where I'm sarcastic and half of what I say isn't actually true......you've been warned. I hope you enjoy reading about whatever it is I end up writing about on this thing.....I really shouldn't be allowed to have one of these....too much opportunity for self indulgence. Blame google.

Happy reading,
Mina

Me at a vegan grocery store in Montreal!