I’m sure you’re wondering a little bit about the gal behind The Thrifty Vegan. I’ve compiled ten interesting facts about me, so here we go:

1. I live in Portland, Oregon with my boyfriend, Ben, and orange fur baby, Izzy. Even though I moved to Oregon in 2011, I’ll forever be a Cali girl at heart. My parents and two younger sisters still live in California.
2. I have always eaten a veggie-forward diet, but I didn’t go plant-based until May 2017. After watching two food documentaries on a long flight, Ben and I jointly decided to make the switch.
3. If you couldn’t tell by my name, I’m a little bit Italian. Although just one of my parents is Italian, my full name makes people think I was born in Italy and might not speak English. I have a lot of family still in Italy, and I’ve been able to visit them a few times. Btdubs, since I know you’re wondering, it’s pronounced “Jo-von.” It took Ben about four dates before he felt comfortable saying it out loud.
4. I love anything chocolate, but don’t you dare give me milk chocolate. I ate way too many Hershey kisses when I was about 8, and even the smell of milk chocolate will make me sick to my stomach. I remember the traumatizing incident vividly – I was sitting in the dining room stuffing gift bags for my dad’s office holiday party, and more kisses made it in my mouth than in the gift bags. Let’s just say the aftermath was not pretty.
5. Growing up, I ate a big bowl of ice cream every. single. night. No kidding. And I’m not talking about those low-fat, no-carb, gritty ice cream wannabes. I’m talking about the full-fat, super-creamy, candy-laden goodness. The more chocolate the better. I obviously don’t have my bowl of ice cream every night anymore, but there are few nights I go to bed without some sort of dessert to satisfy my sweet tooth.
6. I love to travel. I’ve been to 15 countries and counting. I enjoy trying new foods, learning more about a country’s history, and just soaking in different cultures. Countries high on my list to visit are Australia, Thailand, and The Netherlands.
7. I was a track athlete in college, but I will pick just about any other workout over running.
8. I “treasure hunt” salads, scrape each morsel out of my dessert bowl, and clean house on every single nut butter jar. It drives Ben crazy.
9. I have a very established slipper system where I always have three pairs of slippers: a flip-flop, a warm bootie, and a moccasin. The flip-flops and booties are for clean feet only – just after the shower or straight from my bed. The moccasins are when I have socks on – when I’m getting dressed and haven’t put on my shoes yet, or in the evening after I’ve come home. If for some crazy reason I walk around the house barefoot, I have to put on socks and switch to the moccasins.
10. I’ve donated my hair four times, and I might just keep doing it.

I’ll do my best to answer any specific questions, so feel free to reach out! You can find me on Instagram @thethriftyveganblog and you can email me at thethriftyveganblog@gmail.com.