Hey there! I’m Sophia, referee to three boys and one husband here in sunny San Diego. My talent is using whole food ingredients to create plant-based recipes that will change the way your entire family views healthy food. I also provide guidance, systems and support to help real life busy people get healthier without tearing their hair out.
My business, Veggies Don’t Bite, was created because I want to help families get healthier one small step at a time. I believe in short term goals that lead us to our end goal. The most important piece to living a healthy lifestyle is knowing your why, creating an environment that will lead you to success and learning how to gain time back through prepping and organizing tasks so you work smarter not harder!
One thing I truly believe in is balance. We are all different, and it’s so important for each of us to find the balance that is right for us. I don’t believe all or nothing diets, any amount of plants you eat is one step towards a healthier life. I also want my kids to grow up with a positive and healthy relationship to food. For us this involves taking extra care not to stress over our food, especially when we our out of our home. We love to socialize, go out to eat and believe that food should be associated with positive emotions, not negative.
My love for health and fitness started with the way I was raised. My amazing mom somehow found the time to cook delicious home made meals for us even though she worked full time. She always chased us outside to play, instead of letting us sit inside all day. I was active, I ate healthy. But as the world evolved, so did our food. I first learned ways to change my diet and mindset when my husband and I struggled through fertility to have our first son. This diet change, along with other pieces to the fertility puzzle we were solving, helped us finally achieve success when pure medical intervention was not working. A few years later, my husband was able to use diet changes to help eliminate both his high blood pressure and cholesterol, and no longer takes medication. We are the healthiest and happiest we have ever been. We feel amazing and enjoy life. What more can you ask for?
My journey has inspired me to create many of my own recipes to take the place of all the old recipes we loved that did not follow our new and improved way of eating. This site is filled with comfort food classics, veggie filled meals, and occasional sweet indulgences create a place where all types of eaters unite. I used the research I did online and my own taste to create some of our very favorites, all being plant-based, mostly gluten free, and refined sugar free…but not flavor free. While I have some recipes that take time to put together, I like to focus on healthy quick and easy meals that can come together before the kids can burn the house down! I want to make healthy eating delicious, accessible and easy so you will stick to it!
Other than loving to cook and bake, I am many other things. I am a fun mom to three amazing boys. The oldest two are 15 months apart and bring more joy to my life than I ever thought possible, and their baby brother is 3 years younger. I am a wife to the most supportive, loving husband a girl can ask for. He is my best friend, my cheerleader, my partner in crime. I love to exercise. I feel blessed to have friends that keep me motivated. I love that we can enjoy being healthy and active but also find time to have fun together!
I was an elementary school teacher where I taught both special education and first grade for 14 years in all before I decided to stay home with my boys and begin this amazing journey. I loved teaching, and now use all I have learned in my science centered undergraduate degree, my special education and general education teaching credentials, my masters in education, and my experience in the classroom to help teach everyone I work with through my business about living a lifetime of healthy food choices!
Life is good and I hope I can help you reach your happy place. You can also find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.
And don’t forget,
Eat. Play. Relax. Repeat.
