About Addicted to Dates

Welcome! I'm Christina, the recipe developer, food photographer, and content creator behind everything you see here on the blog (which happens to be mostly dessert recipes, yay!). I also have a background in Culinary Arts.

I adopted a plant-based diet in 2015 and immediately began experimenting with recipes and creating veganized versions of my favorite dishes. With my culinary background, my goal is to use my training and experience to create the best possible vegan recipes for you to enjoy.

I truly believe that being vegan or skipping eggs or dairy does not mean you need to miss out on all your favorite recipes!

christina leopold decorating a cake in the kitchen.

What Will You Find On Addicted To Dates?

  • Veganized versions of all your favorite classic and nostalgic dishes and flavors covering cakes, cheesecakes, cookies, pies, and more.
  • All recipes are 100% vegan and don't contain ingredients such as dairy, eggs, honey, or gelatin.
  • A vegan basics category to help you stock your kitchen with all the pantry essentials.
  • Detailed recipe posts with step-by-step images, tips and tricks, and FAQs.
  • An email newsletter with a free ebook, new recipe updates, and round-ups.
  • My favorite camera gear and kitchen essentials
a stack of no-bake vegan brownies with ganache and freeze-dried raspberries on top, with a small jar of hazelnut butter in the background.

What's The Story Behind The Name?

When I first went vegan, I found myself trying so many different foods that in the past I would overlook. I was fascinated by how versatile the humble date is. I used dates to form the base of my very first vegan brownie recipe, and I’ve been hooked ever since!

P.S. If dates aren’t your thing, don’t worry! There are desserts sweetened with lots of different ingredients here on the blog, I've got you covered 🙂

More About Christina & The Blog

Yes! All the recipes I share are 100% vegan, as my number 1 passion is to show that all recipes can be created using plant-based ingredients.

I attended culinary school back in the day and have a BA in Culinary Arts from CIT (now known as MTU) as well as an Honors degree in hospitality management.

In culinary college, I learned pastry, contemporary, global, and classic cuisine, as well as areas such as product development and entrepreneurship. I also did work placements as a chef in restaurants and hotels in co. Kerry and Cork.

While the course was not vegan (neither was I at the time), I have been able to transfer a lot of the skills I learned there to my day-to-day work as a vegan recipe developer, and have had to relearn many things as baking without eggs or dairy can look very different to conventional baking at times!

If you're new to plant-based baking or you simply want quick and easy desserts, my apple crumble, cinnamon muffins, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies use minimal ingredients and simple steps suitable for bakers of all skill levels!

Or you could try some easy no-bake desserts like my popular no-bake vegan cheesecake, vegan snickers, or speculoos tiramisu - so you won't even need to turn on the oven!

Yes! I published my first cookbook: No-Bake Vegan Desserts in 2020, which focuses on easy recipes with lots of gluten-free options and wholesome plant-based ingredients, all without even needing to turn on the oven!

You can hear more about the book in this fun chat I had with Dustin over on the Keep On Cookin' Podcast.

You can find all of my most used camera gear and kitchen essentials on my Amazon shop. These are all items I own and love, and recommend!

Thank you for asking! All images and content on this site are protected by copyright law. If you want to share a recipe, please do so using the share buttons provided in each blog post. Do not screenshot or republish the recipe or content in full. Instead, include a link back to the original post on this site for the recipe.

Christina's Favorite Recipes

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