Hey There!
Welcome to Make It Dairy Free!
We’re so excited to share more about us! At Make It Dairy Free you will find mouthwatering vegan recipes for any occasion. Whether you are looking for restaurant quality vegan recipe ideas, product reviews and recommendations, a quick and easy vegan dinner or your new favorite vegan cake recipe, we got you covered!
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Make It Dairy Free Background
We are Andrew and Larisha, an award-winning photographer and writer team. We live in New Jersey with our two beautiful daughters, ages 10 and 8.
We met in college in 2005 at West Virginia University, started dating in 2009, moved to Jersey together in 2010 and have loved every second of Jersey life since (well, minus the property taxes).
We are completely self-taught in our professions!
Larisha
In 2012, I started blogging after losing my job. Four weeks after losing my job, we found out we were expecting our first child. Frightened doesn’t begin to describe the feelings we both had.
I started our first site, We’re Parents, as a creative outlet to share my pregnancy and my recipes with family and friends while I searched for a job. After having our daughter, we decided together it was best I stay at home to raise her.
I’m an adventure seeker, love to help and entertain others, and while I love sweets, I’ll usually pick the savory option if there is one for snacking.
I love exploring ancestry, crafting when I have time and I dream of the day we travel the world more together. You can usually find me in the kitchen with our tiny chefs – The Seasoned Kids.
Andrew
I received a degree in Visual Arts, but it wasn’t until Larisha started blogging that I put my degree to use. I started doing behind the scenes work on logos and such, until I found my true passion – photography and videography.
Getting better at my passion and snowboarding are my two biggest crafts, while vegan chocolate chip cookies are the way to my heart.
I also have a passion for building things by hand and working to update our house we bought as a foreclosure.
What you’ll find at Make It Dairy Free
- Classic Recipes Veganized – Prior to being vegan we often ate pretty standard meals, so if you’re looking for those classics like vegan sloppy joes, vegan hamburger helper, or vegan mac and cheese, you’ll find it here!
- Restaurant Quality Vegan Meals – we pride ourselves on creating unique food combinations that really make you feel like you’re stepping into a restaurant at the convenience of your home. Try something like our easy vegan chickpea curry, vegan tofu tikka masala, or Turkish chickpea salad. Or if you prefer, our copycat Chipotle sofritas!
- Product Reviews and Recommendations and Resources – We pride ourselves on giving 100% honest opinions on products (like Vegan Cheese Review or Vegan Cream Cheese Review) and also sharing resources like Tips for Going Vegan and explaining Why Sugar Might Not Be Vegan.
- Vegan Sweets to Impress – Andrew has a huge sweet tooth which means we create lots of vegan treats to enjoy! Try our most popular vegan chocolate cake or vegan brownies.
- Approachable Recipes – We know not everyone has time to make elaborate meals, including ourselves, so we love creating 30 minute meals. Try our vegan cheeseburger wraps or easy cheesy crispy vegan black bean tacos.
- Allergen Friendly – We find joy in making sure everyone can enjoy our recipes as much as possible. Inside all our recipes, we share, when possible, have to make the recipe Top 8 Allergen Friendly.
About our Site
Makeitdairyfree.com was created in September 2018 and came from a desire to fill a need. When Larisha had both of our girls, she had to be dairy-free in order to continue breastfeeding them.
It was then that she realized how much dairy was in all foods and how there were very limited resources available to help.
The day the site launched publicly, on October 1, 2018, Andrew and Larisha started a 31-day vegan challenge. They have been vegan since that day and thus, the entire site is vegan.
Our goal is to provide others, whether dairy free, egg free, vegan, plant based, or just trying to eat less animal products, out of desire or need, to find everything they need in one place.
Whether that’s a vegan recipe idea, a menu of dairy free options at their favorite restaurants, or resources in how to make the transition easier, we hope you’ll find it all here.
Our site has grown drastically in the 4+ years since creation and we couldn’t be more proud to bring veganism mainstream.
Frequently Asked Questions
Four and a half years. We went vegan on October 1, 2018 as part of a 30 day vegan challenge. Prior to that we started with one meal a week, then two, three, etc.
By the time October 2018 hit, we were eating vegan meals 3-4 times a week and mostly vegan until dinner but not fully committed. After starting the challenge, we never went back to consuming animal products.
We originally started adding vegan meals into our diet for budget reasons. Non-processed, simple vegan meals are much cheaper. Health reasons were another big reason. We started the challenge for those reason and environmental/animal rights and stayed for all the reasons mention.
Not at this time.
We do not sell any of our recipes pre-made at this time.
How to Find Us
- Our biggest platform is Youtube. We currently have over 220,000 subscribers on our Make It Dairy Free Youtube channel, as well as over 275,000 on a separate whole foods plant based channel called Andrew Bernard | The Nard Dog Cooks.
- We have another 110,000 on Instagram
- 35,000 on Facebook
- 75,000 on Tiktok
- 18,000 on Pinterest
- and over 10,000 on our email list.
- Our username for all social media platforms is @makeitdairyfree.
Our Top Recipes
These are some of the most popular and highest rated recipes on our site!
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Our Work
We have been featured in VegNews (multiple times) and PlantBased printed magazines.
Additionally, our work has been featured online at Yahoo!, MSN, Women’s Health, Best of Vegan, VegNews, PETA, Pure Wow, PopSugar, and more!
We have worked on campaigns for Kitchen Aid, Just Egg, Florida Crystals, Field Roast, Enjoy Life, and more.
Work with us
If you’d like to work with us, you can email us at [email protected] for our current media kit and rate card!
Main tech we use for the site:
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- Computer: Macbook Pro with Touchbar and an iMac
- Phones: Iphone X and IPhone 13Pro
- Tablet: Apple iPad
- Cameras used: Canon 5D Mark IV and Canon T6S
- Main Lenses Used: 24-70mm and 100mm Macro
- Microphones: Rode VideoMic Pro+ and Blue Yeti Nano
- Lighting: Aputure Light Storm and Dome (used with this Light Stand)
- Main Tripod: Vanguard Alta Pro
- Secondary Tripod: Viltrox
- Editing Software: Adobe Creative Suite, including: Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere, as well as iMovie
Other Equipment We Use:
- Reflectors: Small and Large
- External Hardrive
- Memory Cards
Other Lens We Use:
- Great First Lens: Nifty Fifty
- 24mm Lens
- 85mm Lens
Kitchen Equipment We Use: