Our Story

Hi friends, welcome to our blog! My name is Jasmine, and my partner Chris and I run Sweet Simple Vegan. Our blog started in 2013 as a hobby blog, but has since then transformed into a platform for us to share our passion, and hopefully inspire others to choose to live more consciously for themselves, the animals and our planet.

We definitely understand that going vegan is tough, as breaking a lifelong habit of something as intrinsic as diet can be troubling, but we are here to help. Everyone has to start somewhere, and whether it be going fully vegan overnight, or slowly transitioning by giving up specific foods or veganizing certain meals of your day, you can do this! We are focused on making any positive impact that we can on the lives of others, to help make changes to better their health and wellbeing longterm.

In 2015, Chris and I met at a Field Roast party (lol), and we bonded over our shared passion for veganism and blogging. At the time, he was still living in New Jersey, so we connected online and eventually reunited at a vegan blogger conference in Austin that year. We hit it off after that, and when we parted we didn’t really know what the future held for us being so far apart from one another. Later that year, Chris decided to take a leap and moved to Los Angeles. We then realized that it only made sense for us to join forces on Sweet Simple Vegan, and our site has grown to be what it is today because of it. We love being able to share both of our voices, perspectives, and recipes on our blog, and connect with you all both individually and collectively as Sweet Simple Vegan.

We have included our individual vegan stories and a few fun facts about us below 🙂

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Meet Jasmine

When I was 18 and a freshman in college, I struggled with an eating disorder. It took over my life, diminished my health, and eventually I was forced to move back home to get everything back in order. I realized the only thing that was in the way of my success and health, was myself. My eyes were opened, and it was then that I chose to dedicate myself to getting better. I started doing research to find a way to better my health and improve the nutrition of my diet, and that is when I came across veganism. It started as just diet for me; however, once I did more research, I soon realized it was so much more. Veganism is a lifestyle; a choice to do good for not only yourself, but the world around you. After learning how veganism has such a positive impact on our environment and the animals, I knew that I needed to adopt this lifestyle forward. I began Sweet Simple Vegan in 2013 shortly after I went vegan. I’ve never felt better, I regained my health and my life, and it is truly the reason why I am where I am at today. I felt it was only necessary to share my experience and hopefully inspire others to consider living more consciously.

It wasn’t until years later that I started to connect the dots. I began to realize that if I truly wanted to live a conscious and compassionate life, I wouldn’t be able to do so by just being vegetarian. I knew I needed to cut out all animal products, but the thought was daunting for me. I toyed around with the idea of going vegan for a few months, and finally, after watching “The Best Speech You’ll Ever Hear” by Gary Yourofsky, I set the mark of January 1, 2013, to make the full transition to a vegan lifestyle.

I began Sweet Simple Vegan in 2013 shortly after I had gone vegan. I had never felt better, I had regained my health and my life, and it is truly the reason why I am where I am at today. I felt it was only necessary to share my experience and hopefully inspire others to consider living more consciously.

Blogging was a hobby for me in college, and it was something that I only really did in my free time. I actually intended for my blog to be used to archive recipes for myself, my friends and family, but from there it blossomed into so much more. With the help of social media, Sweet Simple Vegan has grown to be a platform where I am able to share my life and connect with others all over the world regarding veganism and health.

a few random facts about me:

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and I have lived in the same home for all 24 years of my life.
I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutritional Science in 2016, and my interest in health and nutrition stemmed from going vegan in 2012.
Elf will forever be one of my all-time favorite movies
If I had to eat one food for the rest of my life, I’d say it would have to be the vegan baked potato pizza at a place called Mohawk Bend in Los Angeles (if you have the chance to try it, you must!)
I went vegan as a freshman in college, when I was only 18 years old!
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a singer. I am so glad that did not happen because 1. I definitely cannot sing haha 2. Blogging and recipe development is my passion, and I honestly can’t see myself doing anything else!
My favorite color is evergreen
I used to have a lip ring (yuppp, haha)
I used to be a cat person, but after rescuing our Chiweenie Berry, I can with confidence say I am a cat AND dog person… I never knew that I could be both, but I guess it just depends on the day 😛

Meet Chris

My journey to live a more compassionate and conscious life began back in 2009. Two years out of high school, I was realizing that most things I had learned in the previous years didn’t matter in the slightest. My eyes widened to the scope of animal cruelty and factory farming and I began to feel sick to my stomach. On one fateful night, after seeing the Canadian punk band Propagandhi in NYC, I decided to give up meat for good. At this time in my life, I was 20 and in the mindset of “I could never give up dairy or eggs.” Prior to this, I was a meat-loving, steak-eating, vegetarian/vegan shaming teen, who didn’t stop for a second to think where my food was coming from, so just giving up animal flesh was huge for me.

My eyes were opened, and it was then that I chose to dedicate myself to getting better. I started doing research to find a way to better my health and improve the nutrition of my diet, and that is when I came across veganism. I had played around with the idea prior, but it wasn’t something that I stuck with or was dedicated to, but this time I knew it was something I needed to do. It started as just diet for me, but after being vegan for a short while, and doing some more research on the topic, I soon realized that it was much more than that. Veganism is a lifestyle, a choice to do good for not only yourself but the world around you. After learning that it had such a positive impact on our environment and the animals, I knew that I needed to live my life this way going forward.

Since then, my life has transformed with a whirlwind of positivity. I began to take control of my health, and most importantly, started embracing the power of making conscious choices about what I was purchasing, consuming, wearing, etc. I started working for a vegan company, and from there decided to start a blog (Conscious Chris) to share recipes, lifestyle tips, etc. Through this, I rediscovered my passion for photography and was given an outlet to share my passion for cruelty-free cooking. I’ve now been vegan for almost 5 years and looking back on the journey I can only smile. Still learning and growing every day, I am grateful to share this platform with Jasmine to bring you all recipes, lifestyle and travel tips, and so much more.

a few random facts about me:

I was born and raised in a 1 square mile town in New Jersey and lived in the same house for my whole life.
I moved to Los Angeles in 2015 with just 2 suitcases.
I have 7 tattoos currently, with plans on getting more, and have my ears gauged to 5/8″
I played bass in a band called A Need For Reason for 6 years after high school and had hopes of touring and playing professionally
I was never much a fan of school, but have an associates degree in Communication from Middlesex County College.
I’ve always enjoyed photography, cooking, writing, and the arts—it’s funny how life works out.
I never had a ‘real’ pet until we adopted our little dachshund chihuahua, Berry.
I was an emo kid in high school with long hair and a lip ring