To everyone who made this book possible, I am beyond grateful. First and foremost, I want to thank Tony Horton for his continued support, friendship, and inspiration. Without him this book would’ve not come to be. Also, thank you to Allison Janse for finding me, working with me, and always supporting my vision—and special thanks to HCI and everyone there who worked so hard to make this book happen.
I would like to thank my dear friend Jill for all her support and love through the process, especially for whisking me off to Santa Barbara to put the finishing touches on the book and for her awesome eating capabilities during the photo shoot! I am so grateful to my family for their support and belief in me, especially my mom, who has always allowed me to follow my heart. Thank you to my soul sister, Karen, for always being my biggest cheerleader. I would also like to thank my amazing classmates at the University of Santa Monica for unconditionally loving me and prizing me. Erinn, thank you for the diligent hours you spent editing my recipes and getting cozy with my garbage disposal. To all my recipe testers and committed Karma Chow followers who lovingly offered their feedback on what tasted good and what didn’t, thank you. To Lizanne, Carrie, and Kyle for being diligent dishwashers and kitchen supporters. Others I would like to extend my thanks to include Heather Hayward for helping me to realize my passion of cooking for others, my Women’s Power Group for their inspiration and unending support of my vision to create this cookbook, and Katina Stallworth at Whole Foods Market in West Los Angeles for collaborating with me to lead monthly cooking classes so that I can bring delicious, plant-based food to the masses. Thank you to all the Beachbody and Tony Horton fans who crave healthy food and begged for a cookbook from me, to the beautiful and talented chef Agi Harkins of One More Bite for contributing three awesome recipes to my repertoire, and to the crew at Food & Flow, especially Hari Bhajan, for helping to bring Karma Chow cooking to the Internet. I am especially grateful to my Gram for teaching me how to bake at such a young age and to my dad, may he rest in peace, for his Italian expertise in the kitchen. My four-legged canine lovebug, Pumpkin, has provided unconditional love and support through it all. And an extra special thanks to Kelsey Skiver of Kelsey Marie Photo for making my creations come alive with her beautiful photos and talented photography. And finally, a huge thank-you to all the other amazing vegan chefs and bloggers out there who continue to inspire me daily.