Hi, and welcome! My name is Alex and I am the writer, recipe developer, and photographer behind The New Baguette. My goal with TNB is to promote wellness through food and inspire you to cook more plant-based whole foods at home.
I fell in love with cooking as soon as I grew tall enough to see the top of the stove. In fact, some of my earliest memories are of helping my mom make varenyky (Ukrainian dumplings) in our tiny Odessa kitchen.
When I was nine, my family immigrated from Ukraine to America, where I quickly discovered the Food Network. Rachael, Giada, and Ina soon became my best friends and I would run home after school every day to watch them do their thing on TV. Watching the Food Network not only fed my obsession with food, but also helped me understand American culture and learn the English language.
As a teenager, my relationship with food became a little more complicated: I loved food, but often found myself feeling guilty about it. Like many teenage girls, I was obsessed with body image – counting calories and excessively working out. I struggled with finding a way to eat that felt right for me and the conflicting fad diets offered by TV doctors and women’s magazines didn’t seem very practical.
It wasn’t until I discovered Kris Carr’s book Crazy Sexy Diet that my mindset changed. I started learning about the connection between food and health, and my focus shifted from unrealistic beauty standards to doing what’s best for my body and mind. I also realized the answer to feeling great wasn’t in doing trendy workouts, cutting out carbs, or eating less calories—it was in eating lots of plant-based whole foods, eliminating processed food, and reducing the amount of animal products I was eating.
After shifting my diet, I immediately noticed some changes. 1.) My immune system got stronger and my usual two-week-long colds became few and far in between. 2.) My skin got clearer and brighter. 3.) I had a lot more energy throughout the day. 4.) And lastly, because I was eating more nutrient-dense food, it was easier to tell when I was satiated and I became less inclined to overeat or have cravings between meals.
Cooking and sharing nourishing food is my work, my hobby, and my passion. Cooking for myself and my loved ones makes me so happy, and I hope to help you feel that same joy!
Why “The New Baguette”? A baguette is considered a given during almost every meal in France. For me, The New Baguette represents more nutritious, vibrant foods that I hope will become staples on more tables everywhere. (Admittedly, I’m also a diehard francophile and want to pay homage to my favorite culture.)
A bit about me: I started my first food blog in 2009 while studying English Literature in college. It was the perfect way to combine my passions for food, writing, and photography. My first job out of college was at NYC’s Natural Gourmet Institute, where I finally got to utilize my love for food on a professional level. It was there I also learned the art of plant-based cooking, holistic nutrition, and sustainability. Since 2017, I’ve been a “solopreneur” – apart from writing this blog, I work as a recipe developer, cookbook author, food photographer, and food photography instructor. (You can learn more about what I do via my creative studio, TNB Atelier.) I live in New York with my boyfriend, Rene, and our cat friend, Fred.
Shout-out to GILDED SOCIAL for this feature!
Press and other published work:
Headshots by Nalae White
Logo by Yevgeniya Ryaboy
