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It’ll be coming from me, Nicolette from Home-Cooked Roots.

In the mean time, I thought it would be nice to introduce myself.

Nicolette on couch eating a bowl of spaghetti.

Hi, my name is Nicolette!

I’m the person behind all of the recipes, photography, writing on this blog!

I started Home-Cooked Roots in 2019 while working as a paralegal and have since turned it into my full-time job. I live just outside of San Francisco with my husband and our mini Goldendoodle, Maui (follow on Instagram for lots of Maui and behind the scenes)!

Now for some fun facts about me…

I am obsessed with budgeting

But I wasn’t always that way. I didn’t ever look at my bank account or what I was spending until I graduated from college and realized I had accrued just under $70,000 in private student loan debt.

Knowing that my monthly student loan payment would be equal to my rent put the biggest knot in my stomach.

I quickly got serious about tracking what I was spending, and realized one of the biggest variable spending categories I had complete control over was FOOD (sharing more on this soon!).

After lots of tears, hard work and determination, I paid off my $70,000 in debt in 27 months.

Since then, I’ve sworn by budgeting and have credited it to helping me live the life I’ve always wanted. Overtime, you’ll see my love of budgeting sneaking into recipes.

Who doesn’t love a healthy, hearty, CHEAP dinner?!

I gave up my dream of becoming an attorney

During undergraduate, I was studying English and legal studies with the plan to graduate, take the LSAT and apply to law school (something I had been thinking about and working towards for 10 years!).

I went so far as to suffer through the LSAT twice, applied and was accepted to law school and then had my finger on the button to accept my seat at UC Hastings when I let the dream go.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that putting myself into six figure debt wasn’t actually a dream at all.

And although I had no idea what my future would look like at the time, I knew there had to be another way to feel fulfilled in life without signing myself up for a lifetime of corporate work. And that’s when I found food blogging.

I didn’t love vegetables before going vegan

Nicolette cutting vegetables on cutting board in kitchen.

When I first went vegan, I was a little concerned about getting enough nutrients because I simply did not love eating vegetables. I actually realized I had a pretty limited palate and was completely new to a lot of vegan staples (LENTILS?!).

I have never been a big fan of salads and smoothies never make me feel full.

Overtime as I was figuring out how to make a vegan diet work best for me, I realized a few key things:

You never have to eat salad or drink smoothies to be a healthy vegan.
Vegetables prepared in the right way are seriously delicious.
Eating a healthy vegan diet DOESN’T HAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE.
You never have to drink a gross, expensive protein powder or supplement to get all of your nutrients.

If you’re in the beginning of your vegan journey, don’t fret! We will figure this out together! And if you ever have a specific question, please hit reply on any of my emails or email me directly at info[at]homecookedroots.com.

I personally reply to each and every email.

I’m a huge introvert!

Although I love chatting with people and hosting people for delicious meals, I am happiest spending my weekends at home with a matcha latte, a good book and my 10th million Gilmore Girls marathon.

I think that’s why I am loving working from home on Home-Cooked Roots. Nothing beats staying home. Any other introverts here?!

I love organizing

Nicolette in pantry holding glass bulk jar.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “A clean space is a clean mind.”

I totally believe that. I’m so much more productive in a clean space and just feel overall happier and at peace!

I also believe that when you’ve got systems in check for an organized fridge and pantry, you’re less likely to blow your budget and order takeout. It’s an overall win.