Welcome to Quinoa Conscience!
WHO AM I?
A Bay Area native, a graduate nutrition student in New York, a plant based foodie, a self-taught amateur home chef, a grocery shopaholic, a camera and tech geek, a devoted plant mom, a slight health nut, a dog lover, and, of course, the creator behind the content on this blog.
This is probably the question I have gotten the most since I went vegan back in 2019. (Actually, second to the uncles and aunties asking me what I am studying in college). As satisfying as it is to say that I did it for my health or for the environment, I really do not have a solid answer. I just woke up one fine summer morning and decided that I did not want to eat dairy and eggs anymore. Luckily, I was raised vegetarian so I did not have the obstacle of missing the taste of meat. My parents and sister were super supportive, encouraging me to try new recipes with different ingredients like cashew yogurt and tempeh. I would be lying if I said there was no pushback from the rest of my extended family and friends, but sticking to my decision only made me stronger as a person.
At first, I also thought being vegan meant all I would be eating was salad and smoothies. Instead of focusing on what I could not eat, I started looking at all of the things that I could eat. There was an entire garden of vegetables, fruits, grains, and beans waiting to be used!
WHY VEGANISM?
HOW DID I GET HERE?
There is a cliche that rich people are born with a silver spoon. I might not have had silver, but I was surely born with some utensil in my mouth. I have been in the kitchen for as long as I can remember. Whether it be as simple as licking the batter from a bowl of brownies (thanks mom!) to hanging homemade spaghetti from every possible doorknob, cooking is one passion that has stayed with me throughout my life.
During my teenage years, I struggled with my body image. I was on the chubbier side and, at the time, had a huge sweet tooth. After hearing about health scares on both sides of my family, I realized how essential it was for me to start taking care of myself. At first I took some drastic measures: completely cutting out all sweeteners, logging every single thing I was eating, saying no to friends going out in order to avoid feeling “unhealthy”. Did it help me lose weight? Yes, but also it was not sustainable, especially with college looming ahead. I slowly pivoted away from those restrictive tendencies and into a more sustainable lifestyle. I am still working towards finding a balance between enjoying what I am eating and eating what I enjoy. Through this content, I hope to share my journey to finally develop a locing
If I can encourage you to take away one thing from this blog, it is that eating intuitively is the best way for you to take care of yourself. Trust me, this is not as easy as it sounds but the days that I am able to do it, I feel so much more aligned. By listening to your cravings, you can learn what nutrients your body is currently lacking and alter your meals accordingly. After 20 years of trial and error, I have found that I feel the best when I eat meals that are plant-focused. Many of the recipes that I make use whole plants rather than substitutes and use natural sweeteners instead of refined sugar. A lot of them happen to be gluten free as well. Ultimately, the content I post here is merely inspiration for you to create your own delicious meals and have a cleaner, I mean quinoa, conscience.