Hey, I'm Emma!

The Beginning: A Cheese Lover's Dilemma

I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in a family where Sunday dinner meant pot roast, and cheese boards were considered a legitimate food group. I'm talking aged cheddar, creamy brie, sharp blue cheese – the works. My mom used to joke that I'd put cheese on my cheese if I could. The idea of going plant-based? Not even remotely on my radar. I was that girl who'd order extra cheese on everything.

My relationship with food was typical American comfort food all the way. Mac and cheese was my love language. Pizza night was sacred. Sunday brunches meant eggs benedict with extra hollandaise. I thought vegan food was... well, let's just say I had a lot of misconceptions. I imagined sad salads, bland tofu, and people pretending that their cashew cheese was "just as good as the real thing" (spoiler: most of it wasn't, back then).

The Turning Point: 2020 and Too Much Time

Then came 2020. Like everyone else, I was suddenly stuck at home with way too much time on my hands and a Netflix queue that seemed endless. I started watching documentaries – you know the ones I'm talking about. The ones about food systems, factory farming, environmental impact, and health implications. At first, I dismissed it. "That's other people's farms, not where my food comes from," I told myself.

But the more I learned, the harder it became to ignore. I started reading articles about climate change and agriculture. I looked into antibiotic resistance and its connection to factory farming. I learned about ocean dead zones from agricultural runoff. The evidence kept piling up, and I couldn't unknow what I now knew.

Still, I resisted. Because here's the truth: knowing something intellectually and being ready to change your entire relationship with food are two very different things. I wasn't ready to give up the foods I loved. I wasn't ready to be "that person" at family dinners. I wasn't ready to navigate a world where every restaurant meal became a challenge.

The 30-Day Experiment That Changed Everything

In June 2020, I made myself a deal: 30 days of plant-based eating, but with one crucial rule – I wasn't allowed to feel deprived. No sad salads, no "close enough" substitutes that tasted nothing like the original. Everything had to be genuinely delicious, or I wasn't doing it. If I couldn't make plant-based food that actually satisfied me, then fine – I'd go back to my old ways knowing I gave it a fair shot.

The first week was... let's call it humbling. My first attempt at cashew cheese was so grainy it made me question all my life choices. My chickpea "tuna" salad tasted exactly like what it was: mashed chickpeas pretending to be something they're not. My attempt at tofu scramble was simultaneously mushy and tasteless – an impressive feat of culinary failure.

But I'm stubborn. Always have been. Instead of giving up, I dove deeper. I started researching food science. I learned that nutritional yeast isn't just a weird health food store item – it's basically magic that adds an umami, cheesy flavor to everything. I discovered that aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) can do things with desserts that blew my mind. I learned that properly pressed and seasoned tofu could actually be incredible – the key was treating it right.

The Breakthrough Moments

Week two brought my first real victory: a cashew cream sauce that actually tasted creamy and rich. I stood in my kitchen, tasting it straight from the blender (don't judge), and actually said "Holy shit" out loud. It wasn't trying to be dairy – it was something delicious in its own right.

Week three, I cracked the code on mac and cheese. The secret? A combination of cashews for creaminess, potatoes for stretchiness, carrots for color, and a careful balance of nutritional yeast, miso paste, and spices for that cheesy flavor. The first time I pulled a pan of it out of the oven, topped with crispy breadcrumbs, I may have done a little dance in my kitchen. It was GOOD. Not "good for vegan" – just good, period.

By day 30, I wasn't just surviving – I was genuinely excited about what I was eating. The 30 days turned into 60, then 90. I kept finding new techniques, new flavor combinations, new ways to recreate the comfort foods I loved. I wasn't missing cheese anymore because I was too busy being impressed with what I was creating.

From Personal Journey to Public Platform

At first, I was just documenting my experiments on Instagram, mostly for myself. But people started asking for recipes. Lots of people. Friends would come over for dinner, try my food, and be shocked that it was plant-based. "Wait, there's no cheese in this?" became a phrase I heard almost weekly.

The real turning point came when my brother – the same guy who once said he'd never go vegan because of cheese – asked for my mac and cheese recipe. He made it for his girlfriend. She loved it. He started requesting it regularly. Six months later, he went fully plant-based. If I could convert my meat-and-cheese-loving brother, maybe there was something bigger here.

In 2021, I launched The Game Changer as a simple blog. Just me, sharing recipes I'd tested and loved. No ads, no sponsorships, just honest food that worked. The response was overwhelming. Within three months, I had 10,000 followers. Within six months, people were asking for meal plans, video tutorials, and more structured content.

That's when I made the decision to go all-in. I quit my corporate job (I was in marketing, if you're curious) and committed to building this full-time. It was terrifying. It was exciting. It felt right in a way that nothing else in my life had before.

Building The Platform (The Hard Parts Nobody Talks About)

Let me be real with you: building a recipe platform is way harder than it looks. Every recipe goes through an average of 7 test batches before it's published. That's right – seven. Some recipes work on the first try (rare). Others take 15+ attempts to get right (looking at you, vegan croissants).

Each recipe gets tested by our beta group – real home cooks with regular kitchens and regular equipment. We track everything: success rates, common questions, failure points, timing accuracy. Only recipes with a 95%+ success rate make it to the platform. We've scrapped dozens of recipes that tasted amazing when I made them but didn't translate well to other people's kitchens.

The photography took me months to learn. Those beautiful step-by-step photos? I taught myself food photography through YouTube tutorials and a lot of terrible early attempts. I'm not a professional photographer – I'm a home cook who learned how to take decent pictures because I had to.

The tech side was even harder. Building the platform, the search functionality, the meal planning tools – I partnered with developers and learned way more about web development than I ever thought I would. There were moments of serious self-doubt. Moments where I thought, "Maybe I should just stick to posting recipes on Instagram."

But every time I thought about giving up, I'd get an email from someone saying a recipe changed their life. Or helped them cook dinner for their vegan daughter. Or made them realize they could reduce their animal product consumption without feeling deprived. Those messages kept me going through the hard parts.

What I Stand For (And What I Don't)

Let me be crystal clear about something: I'm not here to convert you to veganism. I'm not going to lecture you about your choices or make you feel guilty about what you eat. Everyone's journey is different, and that's okay. Some people go fully plant-based overnight. Others reduce their animal product consumption gradually. Some just want a few good meatless meal options. All of that is valid.

What I AM here to do is prove that plant-based food can be ridiculously good. Like, "your meat-eating friends will ask for seconds" good. Like, "you won't even miss the dairy" good. I want to eliminate the excuse that vegan food is boring, bland, or unsatisfying. Because when it's done right, it's none of those things.

I believe in accessible cooking. No fancy equipment you don't have. No ingredients you can't pronounce. No pretense or food snobbery. Just real recipes for real kitchens, tested until they work every single time.

I believe in honesty. If a recipe didn't work the first time I made it, I'll tell you. If there's a shortcut that makes things easier, I'll share it. If something requires specific timing or technique to work right, I'll explain exactly why and how. No gatekeeping, no secrets.

I believe that cooking should be enjoyable, not stressful. My recipes are designed to build your confidence, not intimidate you. Even the complex ones are broken down into manageable steps with photos showing exactly what things should look like along the way.

Beyond The Kitchen

When I'm not in the kitchen testing recipes or taking photos, you'll find me at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, probably buying way too many heirloom tomatoes (it's a problem). I'm obsessed with vintage cookware – my collection of Le Creuset and cast iron has gotten slightly out of control, according to my partner.

I love terrible reality TV (The Bachelor, Love Island, all of it – no shame), long walks in the arboretum, and trying to keep my herb garden alive (current success rate: about 60%, which I'm told is actually pretty good). I'm learning to play guitar, though my neighbors might have different opinions about how that's going.

I believe in cooking with the seasons, supporting local farmers when possible, and that garlic makes literally everything better. I also believe that sometimes you need mac and cheese at 10 PM on a Tuesday, and that's perfectly valid self-care.

The Future

We're just getting started. The platform is growing every day, with new recipes, features, and content added weekly. We're working on video tutorials, live cooking sessions, seasonal meal plans, and even a cookbook (stay tuned!).

But more than any of that, I'm excited about the community we're building. A place where people can share their cooking wins, troubleshoot challenges, swap tips, and celebrate good food together. Where nobody gets judged for where they are in their journey, and everyone gets encouraged to try new things.

Thank you for being here. Whether you're fully plant-based, flexitarian, or just curious about trying some new recipes – you're welcome here. Let's cook some amazing food together.

My Values

The Journey Timeline