With World Vegan Day is happening on November 1, we chatted with Vancouver’s Kaitlyn Dickie—a vegan/food content creator who shares her plant based recipes alongside her most recent travels. She loves adventure, health and wellness, and has cultivated a closely-knit and deeply engaged community. We chatted with Kaitlyn to learn more. —Noa Nichol
Please tell us a bit about yourself!
I’m a B.C. gal and I’ve lived there my whole life. I recently moved to Vancouver from Kelowna and I am loving it so far! One of my favourite things to do is travel. I’ve recently visited the Philippines, Guatemala, Belize, South Africa, El Salvador and Egypt where I had an amazing time working remotely as a social media consultant and content creator. The travelling continues as I am currently in Brazil as I write this! I love hiking, camping and spending many summer nights in a tent on a mountain somewhere. When I am not in nature, I love being in the kitchen creating new recipes or “veganizing” recipes from my mom’s or Grandma’s old cookbooks. With that passion and my love for good food, I started a blog and an Instagram account where I not only share my adventures, but also delicious plant-based recipes, cruelty-free favourites, zero-waste tips, and ethical products.
Where does your interest in food/cooking stem from?
I became allergic to dairy in 2007 and I didn’t want to miss out on anything so I started creating my favourite treats without dairy. Now I just love being in the kitchen creating new recipes or “veganizing” recipes from my mom’s or Grandma’s old cookbooks.
To what do you attribute the rise of vegan curiosity?
To me it’s as simple as “good food is good food”‘” and I think just seeing colourful food and feeling healthy and nourished after eating it was a big factor. As well as just realizing that nothing needed to die or suffer in order for me to eat.
How do you recommend testing the meatless waters?
I’m not sure everyone will agree with me on this one but I think what’s really important to focus on his progress over perfection. That could be as simple as starting to look at least look at the menu with the vegan options first before deciding what you will choose so you’re going to be opening your eyes to the options. Maybe next you try your friends food, or order something off the vegan menu (Remember, the one veggie option on a steakhouse menu may not be the best so I can recommend giving a vegetarian or vegan restaurant a chance. They know what they’re doing! From there, Pinterest or even your social media feeds are a great start to finding recipes. People are so creative and come up with the most amazing recipes and you can pretty much make anything vegan.
For seasoned vegans, top tips to keep meals interesting?
Pinterest, TikTok and Instagram. I find soooo many innovative and creative recipes on there. You can create folders to save them and refer back to as well. Teach your algorithm to show you more unique vegan recipes by liking those videos and saving them and you’ll start to get consistently awesome recipes on your feed daily. Crab cakes? Ribs? Tuna? You name it!
Your favourite Canadian vegan products? Fave Canadian vegan restaurants?
If you’re ever in Vancouver, you MUST try To Live For Bakery. It was opened by Erin Ireland and the reviews from vegans and non-vegans alike are incredible. The croissants are so flaky, the sausage and egg breakfast sandwiches are next level, and they have a full pastry line AND soft serve! I also love Heirloom and Chickapea as well. In Kelowna, B.C., Frankie We Salute You is next-level impressive, no matter what you order, you won’t be disappointed. As for products, I’m going to start with one everyone likes … vegan ice cream. You know it’s good when all the major dairy brands have successful vegan lines. Give your stomach a break and try So Delicious (look for the cashew-based ones), Haagen Daaz, Ben and Jerry’s and even Magnum and Klondike have vegan ice cream bars! I love Beyond Hot Italian sausage, Spread’Em Kitchen and Living Tree Foods cashew cream cheese.
Inflation is impacting many of us; how can cooking at home and with less meat help?
Of course, it is impacting everyone, of all diets, but if you look at your grocery bill, there’s a very high likelihood that the highest-priced items are meat and dairy. Some of the most affordable foods are rice, dried or canned beans like chickpeas, lentils, black beans, tofu, and quite a few fruits and vegetables that are well within most budgets (fresh and frozen). Some of the alternatives can be pricier but don’t forget that there are price ranges in all diets and varieties based on brand and quality, etc.
Can you share your recipe for your tropical chia papaya boat?!
1 ripe papaya, cut in half
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup plant milk
1 tbsp liquid sweetener (I like pure maple syrup)
2-3 drops of vanilla extract
Optional topping suggestions: granola, shredded coconut, strawberries, blueberries, hemp seeds, slivered almonds
1. Cut the papaya in half and scoop out the seeds, carve out a bowl slightly wider than the space left by the seeds and use the papaya that you removed to add back on top.
2. make the chia pudding by combining the chia seeds, plant milk, liquid sweetener, and vanilla extract. Stir frequently until thick (about 3 minutes). The pudding will continue to thicken the longer it’s left. If it’s too thick, add more plant milk.
3. Once the chia pudding has thickened up, add it to the center of the papaya boat and load up your toppings. Voila!
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