Megan Matthews – Baking Scientist
Nutritionist, Former Pro-Athlete, Vegetarian, Animal Lover, Gardener
High energy on the farm
As a kid I was full of high energy and burned calories like a squirrel. I loved animals and was lucky to share my childhood with chickens, horses, cats, dogs and even goats on a beautiful rural property. I was a wild child who never stopped moving, full of mischief and curiosity.
Discovering baking
I had big sweet tooth and spent my allowance on candy and cookies. No treats were safe within my sight! Eventually I realized that if I could bake, I could have as many sweets as I wanted. I started baking from scratch and learned that I loved it.
Dancing and craving
My dream was to be a dancer, and I finally got my chance when I landed a job in Japan. As a professional jazz dancer, I was on stage daily in form-fitted costumes and felt the pressure to keep my weight low and my stomach flat. I craved sweets and ate sugar every day which made me gain weight. I just didn’t know how to eat healthier
Japan - discovering new tastes
While living in Japan, I discovered new foods that forever changed my taste buds. I loved Japanese cuisine with almost no dairy. Best of all, Japanese desserts used much less sugar than American baking. I returned from overseas with an expanded palate and started reinventing baking classics to suit my new tastes.
Santa Cruz - becoming vegetarian
I reached a turning point in terms of nutrition when I moved to Santa Cruz, California; a beach-town full of hippies, vegetarians and foodies. As a pro athlete and fitness instructor, everything I ate fueled my performance. I studied body composition, metabolism and nutrition and learned how to make plant-based sweets that use zero refined sugar, are high in non-animal protein and contain lots of fiber and nutrients. I became a vegetarian in 1986 and have never looked back.
Athlete and Pioneer Baker
All my recipes at Sweets You Can Eat are based on my 35-year journey eating and baking unprocessed, non-dairy, real food. People ask me to be their “baking fairy godmother” and supply them with goodies they CAN EAT! So, I promised to publish my recipes and share them with you! My goal is to change everything you know about baking, inspire you to eat real food healthier and never say no to desserts.