THE VEGAN 8 BLOG UPDATE
I have been wrestling with this decision for the past year or so and have finally made one. I’ve been blogging for nearly 9 years (started my first food blog June 2012) and have been running this vegan food blog, The Vegan 8, since October of 2013. I originally created The Vegan 8 because I realized just how many people wanted delicious, but simple and easy recipes that didn’t require a ton of ingredients. I’ve gone over this on my About page. But in short, my concept of 8 ingredients or less recipes (not counting the very basics of salt/pepper/water) began because the recipes that most readers were making were just that, 8 ingredients or less.
I knew that I wanted to reach and help as many people as I could. I knew that my idea was going to help so many, which it has. It has enabled for me to reach hundreds of thousands of people over the years and hear countless testimonies of how my recipes have helped your transition to a vegan lifestyle, get healthier and actually love vegan food.
I’m incredibly grateful to have connected with thousands of you over the years and become friends with several of you. It is a true honor and blessing.
I’ve reached a point now where I feel like my creativity wants to further flourish. A nudging that I can no longer ignore.
My blog has become known as a resource for a few specific niches.
- 8 ingredient concept
- Simple, easy, but incredibly delicious plant-based comfort food
- Oil-free recipes being a big one
- Resource for gluten-free recipes, but them being just as delicious as regular recipes made with traditional flour. This has been one major thing that I’ve heard from thousands-that my gluten-free baked recipes have made you love gluten-free food or helped your kids. Gluten-free baked goods are notoriously known for having awful textures. My years of experience as a baker and commitment to super high standards, has allowed me to create a blog resource for those wanting gluten-free recipes that will wow any eater. I never want people or children to feel like they can’t enjoy a delicious dessert because they cannot have gluten.
- Wholesome plant-based recipes that don’t rely heavily on processed ingredients like fake meats or cheeses. (that you’d buy from the store)
Where I’m at now. I have felt a burning for awhile now to venture out just a bit from my 8 ingredients concept. I receive recipe requests from readers weekly. Some I have to turn down simply because of that. My husband requests recipes as well. Some recipes simply cannot be done at 8 ingredients, without sacrificing my high standards of quality and taste.
For example: Gumbo, Tiramisu, Boston Cream Pie Donuts. These are just examples of requests I’ve received that I have not been able to post due to realizing that they would be impossible to do at 8 ingredients. A true gumbo would need 10-15 ingredients and a Boston cream pie donut has 3 components to it. A Tiramisu is my all-time favorite dessert. That is a multi-layered dessert that would require more than 8.
This doesn’t mean that hundreds of recipes can’t be done at 8, obviously, I’ve been doing it for years, haha. That is the whole reason I started this blog, because I knew I could do it. But this does mean, that certain recipes, cannot. And as I’ve grown over the years as a recipe developer, I want to venture out from time to time.
When I have posted pics of dinners I’ve thrown together, I’ve had requests for the recipe, which I then state it’s more than 8 ingredients, people reply “I don’t care, I want it!” That is a relief to me now.
GOING FORWARD
While I recognize that to many, it was my original 8 ingredient concept that stood out to so many, over the years of building a large reader base, it has been the quality of flavorful recipes that have kept you here. You’ve spread the goodness of your love of my recipes by word of mouth to so many of your friends, family, social media, etc.
So, my plan going forward is to allow myself a little bit extra with some of those recipes that will require a few more, sometimes maybe just 1, maybe 5, who knows, it will depend on the recipe. This way I can share my full creativity with you all. I don’t want to hold back myself any longer.
Plus, one thing that many people have told me over time is that they have followed and made my recipes for a long while and only recently realized the “8” in my blog name meant 8 ingredients and that they were just here for the yummy recipes! Haha.
So, that has made me realize that it is not just my 8 ingredient concept and wholesome ingredients, but the flavors and textures you love about my recipes. Because, let’s be honest, if the recipes were horrible, it wouldn’t matter if they were easy 8 ingredient recipes anyways, right?
DON’T WORRY!
Now, please, I don’t want anybody to panic and think going forward that all my recipes are going to be 10-15 ingredients! No, no, no, no. Most will still be 8 ingredients or less, not counting salt/pepper/water, like always! Because honestly I personally get anxiety over recipes with 10-15 ingredients. Too much work. I like simplicity and ease.
BUT, I have always made an exception to make a recipe with a few more if it’s a great recipe I really want to try. But it’s certainly not a daily thing for me, lol.
This would just be a sometime thing, so I am not changing my blog name or any crazy stuff like that.
I just felt that I wanted to share this with you all and get your thoughts. You readers are the most important thing to me when it comes to blogging.
Additionally, in my next book, I have these exact same thoughts. I will not be advertising my next book as “8 ingredient only” recipes. But rather, many 8 ingredients will be but several will not be. It is so unbelievably frustrating to get reviews on Amazon from people who failed to read the multiple places in the book where I noted that my recipes did not include salt/pepper/water in the 8 ingredients, or obviously anything listed as optional, because, well, it’s optional! Some left me awful reviews hurting my overall rating because they didn’t count properly or read. As an author and a person that works very hard and puts my whole soul into my work, it’s incredibly upsetting. I do not want to go through that again with another book.
MY PROMISE
This small progression of my recipes is simply because of my commitment to not only myself, but also to you because I care so much to give you what you want and ask for. If I didn’t care so much about providing all that I could, I wouldn’t even bother to change anything at all. But I feel sad when I have to turn down a recipe request because it’s not one that could be done at 8 ingredients of high quality.
My recipes will still all be vegan, mostly gluten-free and oil-free, like always. That is not changing. That is who I am and what I love creating. Just some once in a while will have a couple/few of extra ingredients, so I hope you are all okay with that. It will make me happier and feel more free to let my creativity flourish to share with you all. I need to be true to what my heart is tugging at for awhile now.
I feel like change is a must in life if we want to grow, and while this may seem like a small change or a big change to some of you, it has been weighing heavily on my mind since I’ve been writing 8 ingredient only recipes for, well, going into my 8th year now. And they will still almost always have that, but with some extra fancy ones thrown in the mix now!
Love you all so much and thank you for all the support you’ve shown me over the years. I can’t express my gratitude enough.
Brandi — I always have been and always will be a HUGE fan of your work and your beautiful recipes… no matter if they have 8 ingredients or 80! Your food is ALWAYS delicious and I will always be a fan, a chef of your recipes, a plant-based eater, and an enthusiastic giver of your cookbook to others! 8 was a GREAT place to start, and now you are just allowing yourself to grow and go beyond!! I admire all that you did to keep your recipes simple and and all the hard work it took to keep them to 8 main ingredients, and now I will admire all that you do from here on out. Keep being true to yourself and keep taking care of yourself and your beautiful family. Thank you for sharing your genius with us!! Your biggest fan in College Station, TX — Monique :- ) <3
Thank you for letting your followers/readers know your future endeavors. You certainly have my full 100% support. I do love the 8-ingredient or less recipes but use others that certainly don’t fit that pattern. The fact that you will still be oil-free is more important to me than the 8 ingredient. I’ve only been plant-based, oil-free about a year now. Your recipes have inspired me, and your cookbook is one of the few I purchased. Thrilled with it and look forward to your next one. I, for one, appreciate your honesty in letting us know how you arrived at your new venture.
I’m just so relieved you didn’t tell us that you had decided to stop doing your blog and/or creating recipes! A few more ingredients from time to time is certainly not a problem. Love your work!
Your recipes are genius! I would still make them even if they included 100 ingredients. I was more worried you were going to stop developing recipes and sharing them with us. I sincerely appreciate all of your time and effort and I am looking forward to your next book.
I thought the 8 stood for 8 contributors, lol. This will make no difference in my enjoyment of your receipts.
Hahaha I love that!
Thank you for this post! While I love the simplicity of your recipes, and the fact that they are oil-free, the biggest appeal for me is the amazing taste and quality of the dishes you create. So delicious! A few more ingredients will not be a problem! Your website is also very well organized, and easy to navigate because it’s ad free. I greatly appreciate your work and look forward to continuing to follow your blog! All the best to you this year!
Sounds great! It’s hard to keep creativity down. I know when I have a creative spark, if I don’t make good on it right away, I’ll lose interest. So it’s good to hear that you want to branch out and take us with you! I can’t wait to see what you will post and look forward to adding new yummy recipes to my list to try! I’ve often wondered if there have been requests that you haven’t made because it simply can’t be done in a vegan style. But perhaps it’s just been that you’ve been wanting to stick to the 8 theme. So, again, excited to try these new things!
I appreciate your dedication to the 8 ingredients and it has really helped me whip up some quick dinners and not feel stressed about it. But, that won’t stop me from trying your new, more involved, recipes. Because sometimes we do have time to be more involved 🙂
Congratulations on making this decision; it sounds like a lot of thought went into it. I have been a long time follower and will continue to do so. You have helped many many people I’m sure make the transition to vegan not such a scary thing. Thank you and I look forward to more wonderful recipes.
I love this idea! Not going to lie when I first started reading this I thought maybe you had decided not to blog anymore…so glad that’s not the case. I imagine it would be hard to want to create a great recipe and be limited to only 8 ingredients. I do love how simple your recipes are but am looking forward to some great recipes with a few more ingredients. I love your recipes regardless so I will be in for anything new you want to give us. Thanks for continuing to provide us with healthy satisfying recipes! ❤️
Bravo, Brandi!
Listen to your heart and go for it, and we happy fans/eaters will support you! Change is good, and sometimes we have more time/inclination for recipes with more ingredients. Even more so, because they’ll come from you!
Thank you so much Brandi for all that you do for us! I really love all of your 8 ingredient recipes, and your wonderful cookbook, but I sure understand where you might want to branch out a little. I make your recipes every week and each and every one is a delicious success! I look forward to the new recipes that you are creating for us (with more than 8 ingredients).
Brandi, what a lovely post! You are so considerate of your readers. I love your recipes (even if lately I’ve falling off the wagon of trying new things, but I follow you religiously!). It is truly heartwarming how much you care about your readers and I think you have built a consistent following 🙂 Great job and looking forward seeing your creativity flourish further! 🙂
I’m looking forward to EXTRA FANCY!!! And you are right, “let’s be honest, if the recipes were horrible, it wouldn’t matter if they were easy 8 ingredient recipes anyways, right?”!!! I am here because you ROCK and your recipes are awesome!
I’m here for it!! I don’t want a 20 ingredient weeknight meal, but sometimes you do want something special!! I’ve learned so much from you and love your blog and IG as well as the cookbook that I’m using today! If we aren’t growing and evolving, we are just existing! Can’t wait to see what you come up with next! I’ll be patiently awaiting a tiramisu!! Yay!!! 🎉❤️
Yes, I agree! I don’t think I’d ever have a 20 ingredient recipe, haha, certainly not for a weeknight meal. Thank you so much for the support!
I am so glad you are staying with us! I had a sinking feeling when I saw the beginning of the post and I thought..o NO!! I am not vegan, however, I am dairy free and I make your recipes ALL the time! Even my finicky children love your recipes! I don’t care how many ingredients we need to use, just keep em’ coming and thank you for all that you do!
This sounds like the perfect evolution of your blog!! Like others, I’m here for the taste and creativity of your recipes — not for limited ingredient lists. I mean, I can only imagine what you will do with more than eight ingredients, wow. You’ve opened my eyes to how well vegans can eat, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next! Congrats!!
That means so much to hear, thank you Jen!
This is great! Your website is a go-to for me because of the amazingly delicious recipes, I love that everything is oil free, and the gluten free baked goods are the best I have found. Thank you for sharing your delicious creations!
I have loved your recipes and am looking forward to your next level of passion for additional yummy recipes whether they are 8 ingredients or more. I wish you all the best and will be here to support you.
I’m all for this! Your blog and book is truly a gift. Thank you for sharing your creativity with us. I’m here rooting you and all the expansion on. Thank you thank you thank you.
You have my full support! You are always my favorite source for recipes. While the small number of ingredients is always nice, that has never been a deal-breaker for me. It’s that they are oil-free, made from real food, and always DELICIOUS.
Any choice that leads to you creating more amazing food, and feels right to you, is the right one for sure!
Pheweys–when I saw the word “update,” I was worried that you were going to stop blogging and stop creating and stop sharing your wonderful and trusted recipes! Such a relief because you’ve helped me and my family and I am very, very grateful and appreciative of your delicious and healthy and comforting (and oil free) vegan recipes! So even more recipes? This is GREAT news–yay! Looking forward to enjoying them!!!
I love your cookbook and your blog. I use your recipes as a basis for creating new ones . . . sometimes with more than 8 ingredients!😉
Follow your passion! I look forward to seeing what you create!!
Your recipes are wonderful! Everyone has different tastes so not everything will be “liked” by everyone. But to put down mean or cruel reviews is WRONG! If you didn’t like it, just say it’s not your taste ! Be kind!!!
I think that your are so good and one or more ingredient is not going to bother at all as long as they are not outlandish. I think it is a good idea and will work with many
I’m soooo happy about this announcement! Good for you for listening to your inner self and venturing into new adventures. I can’t wait to see what you create and will enjoy them as I have so many of your amazing recipes over the past several years. Thank you for all you’re doing and wishing you much success in the years ahead!!