Angela Liddon
Angela Liddon
Angela graduating
Angela Liddon is a creator of an award-winning recipe blog featuring over 500 healthy recipes, Oh She Glows, and an author of #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER, The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out, which is now printed in several different languages including English, Chinese, German, Slovak, and Spanish. ** She is a s elf-trained chef and food photographer, whose blog is now an internet sensation and one of the most popular vegan recipe blogs on the web. [22]
Education
She graduated in October 2006 with a BAH degree in Psychology and minor in Family and Child Studies. In October 2008, she graduated with a Master's degree w/ Honours in Social psychology. Prior to graduating, she interviewed for a full-time research position during Spring 2008. It was offered to her and she took it "even though my gut told me that the timing wasn’t right". She was already a full-time grad student and part-time teaching assistant which kept her very busy. [6]
Career
Angela in park
Angela cooking
Angela drinking
Angela getting married
During the last semester of her Master's degree, she started working full-time as a Researcher.
"I did a lot of hands on, practical research and even had the opportunity to write a book chapter, but ultimately I found that research did not fulfill me like I thought it would.
I just felt so empty inside and deep down I knew that it wasn’t a great fit."
She longed to express her creative side- she wanted to write, but not in the form of scientific articles.
On October 31st 2008, she started Oh She Glows to write about her recovery from an Eating disorder, her journey to health, and "the amazing transformation that food can make in our lives".
"Thankfully, Oh She Glows was a great outlet and really let my creativity flourish."
For the first year of blogging, she wrote 3 posts per day and she absolutely fell head over heels in love with her new hobby.
"Up until this point in my life, I never had a hobby that I felt so passionate about and it felt so rewarding to enjoy something so much.
Connecting with others all over the world motivated me to keep going during a time when I was very unhappy with my career.
Whenever I was frustrated with career unhappiness and worried about my future, I would brainstorm ideas for blog posts.
Boredom was no longer in my vocabulary."
Within the first few months of blogging her readership started to grow and before long she connected with women and men all over the world.
Today, Oh She Glows has over 1 million unique readers each month.
"I never expected that my blog would turn into a passion and eventually my full-time career, but I’m extremely grateful that I took a chance and hit publish on my first post.As
my relationship with food improved, I focused on creating healthy plant-based recipes that would win over my husband’s approval. At
the time, Eric was a devout fast-food lover and drank pop like water. Coming
up with healthy dishes that he enjoyed was a difficult task, but I was up for the challenge! I
didn’t come from a food or photography background (nope, I barely knew how to cook a potato), so everything you see on this blog is a result of hard work and self-taught skill. I
taught myself how to create recipes and then photograph my creations. It’s
been an adventure!"[6]
In 2009, she took the leap and left her research career.
"This was a difficult and anxiety-provoking decision as someone who doesn’t like change or letting people down.
I had no plan, but a supportive husband, tons of drive, and a hobby I loved."
After a couple months of looking for other research jobs, she decided to start up her own business, Glo Bakery – a healthy bakery featuring her popular Glo Bars.
"Walking away from a career that I went to school for 7 years was not an easy thing to do, but it turned out to be the best career decision I could’ve made.
Finally, I felt passionate and in control of my own happiness!
I was determined and filled with passion to make this new career work."
She ran the bakery on her own (with the help of her husband when he had time) for a couple years and it was a huge success.
Each week, she hand-made over 500 Glo Bars and shipped them to customers (many were blog readers) all over North America.
"It was physically exhausting running both the bakery and the blog, but I knew that I was on the right path to career happiness.
No matter how much work it took, I was willing to do it."
After a couple years of running the bakery and blogging full-time, she closed the bakery to pursue her cookbook dreams after being approached by an editor from a major publishing house in 2011.
"It had been a dream of mine for a while so I jumped at the opportunity."
Her first cookbook was published on March 4, 2014.
One year later, and it has over 300,000 copies in print.
"The response has been absolutely shocking…thrilling…mind-blowing.
I’m so grateful that my work has resonated with so many across the world."
In September 2016 she published her second book, an eagerly awaited follow-up to the New York Times Bestseller The Oh She Glows Cookbook, featuring more than one hundred quick-and-easy whole-foods, plant-based recipes.
"I truly feel like it’s the best collection of recipes I’ve created to date"[6]
Personal life
Angela pregnant
During her last year of high school she met Eric, her highschool love, when she moved to Ontario from New Brunswick with her mom. They started dating just a month after she began at her new school.
"It was puppy love that blossomed into a real, beautiful, can’t-be-without-each other – love. I always say the reason I moved to Ontario was to meet my soul-mate." [6]
In 2008, she married Eric.
"Life was wonderful, yet not so wonderful at the same time."
She was in recovery for an Eating disorder, something she had been struggling with since she was 11-12 years old.
"Despite the great things going on in my life, I couldn’t enjoy them fully without putting my eating disorder behind me.
It was like a storm cloud hovering over me for years."
In September 2014 she welcomed a baby girl into her family.
"She is my greatest blessing and I’m enjoying motherhood more than I ever dreamed."
Diet trasformation
Angela when she gained weight
Angela with her husband before
Angela in 2008
Angela ready for a marathon
In 2002, during her last year of high school her weight was steady around 125 pounds.
In 2003, she had gained about 20-25 pounds since 1st year university.
Her highest weight was 148 pounds.
Her eating disorder, something she had been struggling with since 12 years old, surfaced a lot in 1st and second year university.
Exam stress, living in a dorm, and new social opportunities led to late-night binges, alcohol, and unhealthy cafeteria food.
"I was trapped in a starve-binge cycle."
In 2004 she lost a bit of weight, but she was still struggling and going up and down on the scale.
When she and Eric moved to Toronto due to her acceptance into graduate school for psychology she lost a lot of weight due to the stress of grad school and the demands that it brought.
2007 was a tough year for her due to the pressures of grad school and she dropped more weight and was really struggling on the inside.
2008 "was a year of ups and downs like no other I have ever experienced.
I was stressed to the max and my weight kept dropping."
She was a full-time Master’s student, writing a thesis, part-time teaching assistant, working at a new FT research job, and planning her wedding.
"I looked happy on the outside, but was really struggling on the inside.
Everyone told me I looked great, but they had no idea how I truly felt."
The summer of 2008 was when she first started with running.
However, she did it mostly to burn calories and did not appreciate fitness for fun.
2009 was a monumental marker in her life.
"I finally got the courage to leave my job after being miserable for a year.
We also moved out of the city to a town that was a better fit for our love of nature and peaceful surroundings.
Things were starting to come together.
I learned to have FUN with food and I fell in love with cooking!
This is when my mindset about food started to shift."
In 2009, she started up her own business and I stopped obsessing about her body and weight.
"I worked out for fun and not to burn calories.
I decided to ditch the scale and to go by how my clothes fit instead.
It was the best thing I have ever done.
I did things that made me feel happy."
She also switched to a Vegan diet after many years of experimenting on and off with a Vegetarian diet, as she learned more about Nutrition, Animal welfare, and the environmental impacts of Factory farming.
After battling back from a pelvic injury from Jan- march, she ran her first race ever in June- a 10k- and "got hooked on running!" This time not to burn calories, but to enjoy it.
In 2010 she trained for her 3rd half marathon and her first try-a-Triathlon (with Eric).
"These challenges keep me motivated to stay on a healthy path.
I need lots of food for energy to keep up!"[6]
Her husband, Eric also experienced many healthy changes.
He went from a highest weight in university of 210 pounds to 172 pounds (April 2010).
He has cut down his meat and dairy consumption by about 75% and he has recently eliminated pop out of his diet for good in March 2010.
Books
The Oh She Glows Cookbook
The parfait cover is the Canadian cover and the carrot cover is the U.S cover – same content however
The parfait cover is the Canadian cover and the carrot cover is the U.S cover – same content however "The Oh She Glows Cookbook features a treasure trove of more than 100 mouth-watering, wholesome recipes—from revamped classics that even meat-eaters will love, to fresh and inventive dishes –all packed with flavor. From rich and hearty entrées like the Crowd Pleasing Tex Mex Casserole and 15-Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta to decadent desserts like the Chilled Chocolate Espresso Torte with Hazelnut Crust and Angela’s famous Glo Bakery Glo Bars, there is something for everyone. Featuring over 100 stunning full-colour, full-page photographs shot by Angela herself, there is mouth-watering inspiration throughout!This cookbook also includes many allergy-friendly recipes–with over 90 gluten-free recipes–and many recipes free of soy, nuts, sugar, and grains too!"[6]
Oh She Glows Every Day
Angela's 2nd book
Angela's 2nd book "Oh She Glows Every Day is filled with delicious, wholesome, and accessible plant-based recipes. As a business owner with a young (and growing!) family, I’ve really come to appreciate recipes that are family-friendly, super energizing, and convenient for on-the-go lifestyles. (But really, who doesn’t?) Inside, you’ll find over a hundred glow-worthy plant-based recipes—including a mix of “everyday” and more elaborate holiday or special occasion options.One of my very favourite things about this cookbook is that it includes useful tips that will help you create meals that are kid-, allergy-, and freezer-friendly. Each recipe will tell you whether it’s gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, oil-free, grain-free, kid-friendly, and/or freezer-friendly (or whether I provide an option for you to make it so). It’ll also tell you if advance preparation is required (such as soaking nuts). Out of more than 100 recipes, you’ll find 100 gluten-free and soy-free recipes or recipe options, over 75 nut-free and nut-free-option recipes, around 65 kid-friendly and kid-friendly-option recipes (yes, we had a whole group of kids eating their way through this book!), and 45 freezer-friendly recipes. There are around 25 reader-favourite blog recipes (all re-tested and tweaked to perfection). And of course, all of the recipes in the book are plant-based and vegan."[6]
Favourite quotes
"If you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.
You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”
- Neil Gaiman
Awards
"Best Health Cooking Blog" - 2014 The Kitchn's 'Homies' Awards
"Best Blog" - VegNews 2012 Veggie Awards
"Best Health and Wellness Blog" - The Bloggies
"Best Overall Blog" - Foodbuzz
"Best Veg Blog" - Foodbuzz
"Hot 20 Under 30" - Chatelaine Women of the Year
"Best Health Blog" - Best Health Magazine
"Top 3 Finalist" - Foodbuzz Project Food Blog [17]