Amber Shea Ford, creator and author of the popular food blog Almost Vegan, is a linguist-writer-runner-metalhead-traveler-strangeling from Kansas City, Missouri. She is also a certified raw vegan chef, classically trained in the art of living foods at Matthew Kenney’s 105degrees Academy. As a health-oriented vegan, Amber eschews diets based on dogmatism and deprivation, espousing a flexible approach to food choices instead. Don’t look to her for strict rules, political rants or ethical diatribes. Amber is not your mom, your congressperson or your local PETA representative—she’s just a girl with a taste for nutritious, vibrant, sexy food! Read her musings at Almost Vegan and find her around the Web at Almost Vegan on Facebook and @AlmostVeganChef on Twitter.