Interview Nicola & Stephanie (Lopeztwins)


 

1) I love your blog and look forward to your beautiful Instagram posts.  Everything just looks so nice and very inspiring (outfit, travel, meal…).  You make us travel with our photography & playlist. I think it shows in everything you do!   You do a great job of inspiring life style. Was this your intention when you started the blog « Lopeztwins » with your sister and how did you get started and why?


Thank you, that’s really lovely to hear! Our intention when creating our blog was exactly that . We really wanted to make the reader travel with our photography, and with the music to match. Our aim when we created our blog was to have it almost as an extension of ourselves, so it has to represent us in terms of our style and portray our lust for life, travelling and our love for food. Essentially, to create a place to share everything we love with the world in one place. 


We had been talking about starting a blog for a while, but I found it difficult to find time while working a 9-5 job, and Stephanie, my twin sister lived in Bali. I quit my job and met Steph in Colombia and we went travelling to Colombia for 6 weeks in December last year. As much as we loved chilling on a beach and sipping on coconuts everyday we felt as though we needed a creative outlet for all of our thoughts and ideas. Our friends were always asking us to share tips on how to make tasty, easy and cheap vegan food as well as travelling tips; especially for Colombia as we’re half Colombian! We’ve always loved experimenting in the kitchen, and travelling so we were like .. hey, why not just make this a thing? We also love music a lot, and sharing our playlists and good vibes is just an added extra for the blog. We brainstormed over a couple of days and came up with three main themes, vegan food, travel and music! Super simple. We’re quite visually creative people, which is why we found creating the website so much fun. I work in creating content for brands, as well as overall marketing and strategy and it was really interesting creating that for ourselves, it was almost like we were creating a branding for ourselves. Having that creative freedom was really refreshing and inspiring. 



2)    What is a typical day for you and what do you enjoy most about what you do?


To be honest, I don’t really have a typical day! I get bored of routines, which is why I love working as a freelancer creating digital content for brands. But, my ideal day would start with me making my favourite smoothie! As I’m vegan I like to create nutrient dense meals, and smoothies are the perfect way to kick-start my day. My Banana Cacao Smoothie is the best breakfast and packed with so many tasty ingredients (frozen banana, spinach, avocado, organic cacao powder, cacao nibs, baobab powder, maca powder, vegan protein powder and coconut milk). It’s honestly so delicious and quick to make! I also like to practice yoga, so I’ll play around on my mat to wake me up in the morning and then I’ll head to the park or gym for a quick workout. We also love to visit charity shops to find vintage clothes, and just about every Sunday we’ll head to the Battersea Car Boot sale. It’s heaven on earth for any vintage clothing lover! My sister and I are really passionate about shopping sustainably, so we try and avoid buying new clothes when we can and it’s so much more rewarding finding nice clothes, and a lot friendlier on the wallet too! In the evenings we’ll spend a lot of time cooking, we don’t really follow recipes so we usually just experiment and use what we have in the kitchen to make a big hearty meal. We’re not the type to sit and watch TV, so instead we’ll chill out and listen to music. We also love DJing in our spare time so we’ll spend time finding music and play around on our decks spinning some tunes, it’s honestly the best way to unwind after a busy day.


3)    Who would you say is your typical fan/follower?


I think our typical fan/follower is someone who shared the same mindset as us. Travel lovers, music lovers and those who also want to create tasty vegan food! 


4)    Can you think back to your earliest dessert memory?  What was it like, what did it make you feel?


YES! Actually one of my first memories ever was making pancakes with my Dad when I was around 3 years old when we lived in Abu Dhabi. I remember sitting on the kitchen counter covered in flour and in awe of the beautiful gooey beige batter in the bowl which would magically transform into fluffy, tasty pancakes! Every Sunday was Pancake Day in the Kinghorn household for the whole of my childhood. I plan on continuing this tradition when I have my own kids… pancakes = happiness!


5)    Who made the desserts when you were growing up?  Was it Mum, dad, sibling, and granny? What was their speciality in your mind?


Definitely my Mum! My mum loves baking, although she raised us to be super healthy (we didn’t even have a drop of sugar until we were 1 years old!), she loves baking with fresh fruit and tasty ingredients. My mums speciality is her Pear and Ginger cake, this cake always makes a special appearance for family birthdays and celebrations. We grew up in Scotland with a big garden and lots of fresh produce, so my Mum’s baking included a lot of homegrown rhubarb, blackberries and apples. All grown from our own backyard! She also loves making jam, and although it’s a running joke that she burns it nearly every year, it’s what she’s famous for. She actually just called me now telling me she’s making some as we speak!

 

6)     Now as an adult what is your favourite Michelin star, sophisticated type dessert vs. your guilty pleasure dessert (I’m thinking chocolate hob nobs dunked in tea, Ben & Jerry’s on a Friday night)?


That is really hard to say! I find it tricky to find sophisticated desserts which are vegan when I eat out, which is a shame, and definitely something which needs to change! But my guilty pleasure has got to be a Chocolate Mug Cake. It literally requires about zero effort, four ingredients and no baking required (thanks you good old trusty microwave) and is the closest thing to Gü’s Hot Chocolate Soufflés which I used to eat before I went vegan. 


7) How often do you eat dessert after a meal?  Or perhaps you have dessert as a treat during the day?  Do you have in company, for entertaining or alone with a good book for example! :)


My sweet tooth definitely comes out more during that 3pm slump rather than after dinner, so usually after I’ve had my lunch I’ll crave some sugary goodness. If I’m out and about I’ll grab Boots Vegan Chocolate Belgian Cake, or if I’m at home, I'll make a chia seed and coconut pudding. I like to eat my desserts all alone so I can enjoy with no distractions! Usually with a cup of tea and a good podcast.


8) Do you make your dessert at home or do you go for shop bought?  Perhaps it is a mix of the two, if what occasion do you buy in and when do you get cracking eggs and make your own?

I’m at my happiest when baking for others, and doing so at home is such a nice way to spend some time alone and really allows me to be mindful and get away from my phone and laptop. My go to dessert is my Vegan Double Chocolate Cake. I also recently made a Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake which was surprisingly easy and so delicious. I’ll buy in desserts when I’m feeling like I need to treat myself, we live next to Battersea Park, they have the tastiest vegan blondie brownies and we can never resist going to the park without treating ourselves to one! I’m all about that showing yourself some love as self-care is so important. Especially when it comes in the form of a dessert. 


9) Is it important to you to know what goes into your desserts?  Are you careful about what goes into your body and how and when you eat?


Absolutely, it is so important! Since I changed to a plant-based diet a few years ago, I have become so much more aware of what I put into my body. I really think that being mindful of what you eat and where it comes from can impact your health in such a positive way; which is why I love baking with plant-based ingredients as I know exactly what is going in. In terms of my overall diet, I’m not very strict! I love carbs and chocolate, a lot. If I want that extra healthy kick or if I’m feeling a bit groggy after a heavy weekend of over indulging I’ll do intermittent fasting, I’ve found this works wonders best for my body and gives my metabolism a good boost. It actually helps curb cravings and gives me way more energy during the day. When I do this I will have dinner pretty late, usually around 9pm and then eat my first meal at around 12pm - 1pm.


10)    I always end the interview with a dessert recipe share.  Would it be okay for me to ask you to share a recipe? It could be your “go to” dinner party dessert.  Or perhaps an old recipe from your grandmother. I would love to share this with Mon Dessert fans if you are okay for me to do so?  


We’d love to share our 5 ingredients recipe for Vegan Peanut Butter Cups, these are so incredibly easy to make and proves that vegan desserts can be delicious, quick and affordable to make! 


Enjoy!  :-)


https://www.lopeztwins.com/blog-1/2018/11/30/vegan-peanut-butter-cups 




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