Today, Day 6 of our holiday giveaways, Meredith Baird is back here to share with you the interview she did with Julie Morris, author of Superfood Kitchen: Cooking with Nature's Most Amazing Foods. AND we're doing a giveaway of Julie's new book!
Q: Hi Julie, thanks for the interview today. I was beyond
impressed to find out that you did all of the food photography yourself, and the layout and design? As if writing a book isn't hard enough- this
part just blew me away. Please explain {wink}.
Thank you! Well, I am extremely passionate about art of all
forms (culinary arts obviously included)! In fact, when I was looking to go to
college, instead of attending culinary school, I opted to go to Pasadena Art
Center with a major in Fine Art (which I later switched to Advertising). It was
there that I took several graphic design classes and photography classes and
developed some base skills. But… my true calling is food, so I moonlighted as a
freelance graphic designer for many years while I worked on developing my
career as a natural food chef and recipe developer. It was nice being able to
put some of my other interests to work within the book… although admittedly an
enormous challenge!
Where did the idea for this book come from? Is
this your first book?
Superfood Kitchen is the republished version of Superfood
Cuisine, which is my first book. I’ve been a long time fan of superfoods
(nutrient dense foods of all kinds), but was surprised and frustrated with the
lack of information on how to use them in the kitchen. Initially, I started
developing my own recipes simply for personal enjoyment. In true synchronicity,
I was offered an executive chef position at an incredible superfoods company:
Navitas Naturals. Working with such an array of amazing foods showed me not
only the delicious diversity of superfoods, but also how many people were in
the dark on how to use them, just as I once was. I realized it was time to
gather together my experience and recipes, and put together a resource that health-seekers
and food-lovers alike could use as a guide on how to use superfoods … which
became Superfood Kitchen!
How long have you
been passionate about a vegan/ superfood filled lifestyle?
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 14, but I started getting
into a nutrient-dense, fully plant-based diet about 10 years ago. I love every
bite of it.
What does your daily
food routine look like?
I’m one of those people who wakes up hungry, so I usually
have a couple dates or a homemade superfood energy bar before I go for an early
morning run or workout. After, I’ll have a superfood smoothie, which varies
from day to day, but includes things like hemp protein, maca, and camu powder
mixed with fruit and coconut water. Since most days out of the week I’m testing
out recipes, to be honest, the bulk of my day is fueled by grazing on whatever
I’m making. As you can imagine, this can be a little bit random(!), so I like
to balance it out with green juice and simple snacks like sprouted bread with
almond butter. For dinner I usually have a WBS – World’s Biggest Salad – which
varies as well but includes different types of greens, sprouts, avocado, seeds,
quinoa, etc. And at some point during the day, there’s definitely a little
chocolate consumption going on…
Do you have any
favorite superfoods? Ones that you most highly recommend?
If I were to recommend one superfood over any others, it
would be leafy greens: they’re inexpensive, local, fresh, and abundant in
benefits, and are an ideal everyday superfood. A couple others I love (there
are so many to choose from!) would be chia seeds for their ease of use and
valuable healthy fats; hemp seeds (or hemp powder) for their exceptional source
of plant-based protein; and cacao for it’s tremendous antioxidant content,
important minerals, and so much more!
The holidays are on
their way! Do you have a recipe from your new book that you can share with our
readers?
I love this warming recipe as a replacement for hot
chocolate. It is profoundly energizing, and a wonderful way to enjoy maca – an
incredible superfood that helps us balance, recharge, and de-stress.
HOT MACA RECIPE {serves 1}
INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon maca powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup, or coconut palm sugar
1¼ cups homemade cashew milk,
or store-bought unsweetened
almond milk
DIRECTIONS:
Mix all the ingredients in a blender for just a moment to
incorporate the maca powder thoroughly with the liquid. Pour into a small
saucepan and heat over a low stove setting until mixture is warm and has just
begun to become frothy.
Reprinted with
permission from Superfood Kitchen © 2012 by Julie Morris,
Sterling Epicure, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photography by
Julie Morris
Any words of wisdom
you would like to share with people who are trying to get on a healthy tract?
I know first hand the terrible amount of confusion regarding
what to eat. The good news understanding how to live a naturally energetic,
healthy lifestyle can be profoundly simple. I think if there’s one thing that
we should focus on, it’s to get away from food dogmas and semantics… and
instead simply focus on the overall nutrient density of food (the ratio of
micronutrient [vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytocehmicals] per
calorie]). What foods are going to give us the most nutritional bang for every
caloric buck we “spend?” When you look at food from a nutrient density
standpoint, healthy choices become crystal clear. Lastly, don’t forget to have
fun…it’s food!
THIS IS SO TRUE!!!!!!!!!! LOVED YOUR EXPLANATION OF IT, JULIE.
---------------------------------------GIVEAWAY TIME -------------------------------------
GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
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