Soul food is a variety of cuisine originating in the Southeastern United States. It has been a cultural staple among the African American community for centuries — starting as a means of survival during the many decades of slavery and evolving into many modern-day variations.

Writing for the blog, Black Foodie, Vanessa Hayford tells us: “During the Transatlantic Slave Trade, enslaved African people were given meager food rations that were low in quality… With these rations, enslaved people preserved African food traditions and adapted traditional recipes with the resources available. Over time, these recipes and techniques have become the soul food dishes we are familiar with today. This food genre… was born out of struggle and survival.”

It seems like a lot of people still see broccoli stems a scraps to be thrown away, but the truth is that broccoli is delicious in its entirety. The stems make up the bulk of the weight for a reason – they are totally edible, incredibly tender inside, and very versatile. To prep them, all you have to do is peel away the tough outer skin, and you’ll be left with a velvety ‘heart,’ which kind of reminds us of an artichoke heart. It can be utilized in so many ways – in fried rice, soups, salads, gratin, latkes, and even apps.


This ‘tartare’ is an unexpected little number to serve on a snack platter, but we think that it will pleasantly surprise any guests. It comes together with the help of staple pantry ingredients, and tastes indulgent…but in reality you’re eating a bunch of broccoli. Win-win all around.

The New Year Glow Meal Plan is here! All kinds of carb-on-carb, dessert-every-day type of holiday indulgence happened for us over the past month, and at this point we are so ready to fill our plates with 99% plants. That’s what this meal plan is all about. We are employing the amazing, shape-shifting powers of spaghetti squash to create four distinctly different, plant-fueled dishes that will still keep us cozy in this frigid weather (no bone-chilling, cold salads or fully raw dishes here!). We’ve got special pesto ‘noodles’, pho, tacos, and lasagna. As usual, there is a step-by-step weekend prep guide, as well as a shopping list for your convenience :) Hope you enjoy this one!

Happy 2019, friends! Hope you’ve been having an inspiring beginning to the year. Today we’re excited to announce that a small batch of our Magic Moisturizer is now available for sale, as per your amazing feedback. You can read all about it here (and get the recipe if you want to make it yourself), but basically, it’s been our go-to skincare product for the past few years. It’s made with all-natural ingredients that we find to be super nourishing and hydrating for all different types of skin, and it has the most luxurious texture and scent. Click here to go to our shop.

Since Magic Moisturizer is like skin food, made with all food-grade ingredients, we were inspired to create a dessert recipe, celebrating two of the star ingredients in the formula: cacao butter and citrus. The result is this dreamy Orange-Tahini Mousse that takes minutes to put together.

This has been our favorite, warming drink this fall/winter. Chai is surprisingly easy to make at home, and fills your whole space with the most lovely, festive scent. It tastes like pure coziness, and is also full of spices that are great for digestion and blood sugar stabilization. Today, we are sharing our favorite way to make chai (and a chai latte), which involves lightly toasting the spices, adding some orange peels, and not including any caffeine (though you easily can). We also have a new ‘day of eating’ video for you, which shows you the whole step-by-step process of making this chai :)
  

I’ve noticed a pattern that I fall into every fall. At the very start of it, right as there’s the first serious chill in the air, I get in the mood for all the cozy fall foods. For me, those always involve tons of root vegetables and winter squashes, and I enjoy them very, very thoroughly for the next month or two. That must be why I’m generally already sick of roasted root vegetables and almost can’t look at another squash right around the holidays. Meanwhile, there’s still January, February, and March (maybe even some of April?) to endure. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this :)


Thankfully, there are mushrooms. They have all the elements needed for fall/winter cooking: they are earthy, versatile, satisfying, do well with wintery preparations, and pair well with cozy spices and herbs (and they are decidedly unlike root vegetables or squash). So today we are sharing a meal plan, consisting of 3 distinctly different, umami-bomb mains, centered around a batch of sautéed mushrooms: pasta alfredo, minestrone, and gravy with mash. And as usual, there’s a shopping list and step-by-step prep tips. Hope you guys enjoy this one!