I'm Back - and Headed in a New Direction

Hello Internet!

I can't believe it's been nearly four years since I have posted something. I've always loved writing this blog. It has been a tremendous way for me to document my transition into veganism and to share what I've learned along way.

I'm trying to figure out where I lost my way. Certainly life got in the way, as tends to happen to all of us, but when I reflect, I think I realized why I stopped posting. My original mission for the blog was to talk about becoming vegan through the lens of someone who was experimenting with vegan baking. When I started this blog, I think that succinctly captured the route I was taking to explore veganism. What surprised me, though, is how narrow this topic started to feel. I felt compelled to keep my topics pretty close to vegan baking with some forays into cooking; I always felt the need to have a recipe with every post and not to stray too far.

In reality, though, becoming vegan has opened up a much wider world to me. I have experienced a number of positive changes that I would have loved to write about, but it didn't fit into a neat construct of putting up recipes, so I ignored my urge to write about other things. The result: some combination of burning myself out on my original mission and writer's block with regards to recipes. So I simply stopped posting, always thinking I'd get back to it...until four years went by.

I have missed this blog, though, and interacting with all of you. So with some further thought on the topic and some amazing support from my husband Greg, I've decided to relaunch Veg Baker, J.D., but with the expanded approach I should have taken much sooner in my blogging career. Will I still write about baking and cooking? You betcha! But there probably won't be a recipe in every post. In fact, I don't know how many recipes will even make it to the blog.  So what will I talk about instead?

My new mission for the blog is to be a more expansive resource for all kinds of readers, from established vegans to skeptical omnivores. I still want this space to be a place without judgment, but I will do more here than before and address more topics than the old format allowed.

So what exactly will I write about? Well, to give you a sense, I think it's only fair to give you a brief update about what's been going on with me! For starters, I'm pleased to say I have now been vegan since October 2011. That means in addition to talking about the vegan transition, I can also talk about simply being vegan in a number of settings, from basic meal planning at home to buying a vegan suit to finding good vegan eats in Chicago and on the road to making sure all of my consumer choices are consistent with my feelings on animal rights. I am also happy to report that my husband and I are expecting our first baby this summer, which is very exciting! I have stayed vegan throughout my pregnancy, and we plan to raise our child vegan as well, so I hope this page can be a resource for folks who are interested in raising a new generation of vegans.

And honestly, from there, I'm sure I will continue to talk about more subjects as they come up, both in my personal life and from questions I am happy to field from my readers (you can still email me at vegbakerjd@gmail.com!). But the short answer is I don't want to make the same mistake I did before; as I grow and share my experiences, I want the blog to grow with me, too, and I am thrilled to have you come along on the ride

Thanks for coming back to visit me - and I can't wait to get started again!