Why did I start yet another food blog?

I apparently hated cooking when I was younger. My family loves to remind me of that. But in my late 20s I had a couple panic attacks. When trying to treat it, a butthole psychiatrist basically said medication or bust and I refused to believe. I read a few books about healing anxiety naturally and through that process found that I was really interested in nutrition.

The books that encouraged a nutrition-based approach to treating anxiety didn’t recommend a specific diet, but I dove headfirst into the Paleo diet, because I liked it the most (uhm, hi Bacon) and it seemed like the easiest way to get what the books recommended. I started feeling better (probably from actually taking care of myself). Since I was convinced that quitting my job would solve it, I decided to do yoga teacher training with the studio I’d been going to for a while.

It did not feel awesome when we get to training and my teacher immediately showed everyone Earthlings. I mean, I’d been vegan for two years in college, so I wasn’t blind to the abuses that take place in animal farming, but it made me super uncomfortable at what I thought would be a blissful yogi experience because it immediately called me on my shit. I thought we were there to learn how about asanas and teaching a class.

The beautiful other people were open to the experience, baring their hearts to this group, and I was such a closed off dummy - thinking - I don’t have problems like these. I’m just here to jumpstart a different career, I’m fine. But on like, day 5, blindfolded with my head in a hole I had dug on the beach in Mexico, I broke and started sobbing the mantra my teacher had given me.

This experience cracked my intellect wide open, and I saw that I was my problem. The rest of the experience was like a ninja mind bullet. It all went in, I was more receptive to the latter half of the training. But, literally the day I got home, I had booze on the plane, a cigarette in the car on the ride home and a steak for dinner. Change is hard y'all.

For the next few months, I did much soul-searching and the plant-based life really began to speak to me. More than the flavors and fun that come with creating new and exciting dishes, the reason I love food so much is the love that exists around sharing it and eating with others. In my opinion, making plant-based food is both bhakti and karma yoga; feeding yourself & others without harming anyone else to do so is the healthiest form of love I can imagine.

I’m not a nutritionist, and this blog is not about healthy eating. I am a nutrition hobbyist and this blog is about food, conscious living & love. I’m excited to share what I make with you and I hope it feeds your soul and your stomach. Thanks for finding me.

Xo,

Amanda