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Let’s talk food!
So I’ve mentioned before that I am pescatarian, and have been my whole life. (No, it's not a religion...it means I'm a vegetarian who eats fish!) Because of this, my diet has been very veggie-forward ever since I can remember. Veggies…and also pasta *wink* - it’s just so easy!
I love vegetables. But sometimes it can be hard to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. I get stuck in making the same old salad and the same old roasted or steamed vegetable accoutrement. Or, I get stuck in the easy carb and dairy-heavy meal alternatives.
Back in 2015, I started following this incredibly inspiring woman over on Instagram. She was a long time Broadway veteran, who seemed to appear in every single Broadway show known to man, she was a mother of the most adorable little girl I had ever seen, AND she would post these killer vegan recipes and her cooking process on a regular basis - watching her cook and create in the kitchen became very therapeutic. She is also STUNNING, funny, and incredibly down to earth, so I found her profile to be highly entertaining as well!
I came to find out she also had her own website and blog to which she would post her recipes and occasionally write about her life - which, to me, was rather fascinating.
Over the years, I’ve loved watching her journey and behind-the-scenes antics of Broadway life and motherhood. I’ve come to feel like I know her personally, even though we’ve never actually met in person!
Along the vain of my It’s a Beautiful Life post, Katie Webber is another one of the people in my life that serves as a positive and inspirational influence. Talk about a strong female! I get so much joy “cooking with her” in the kitchen and watching her adorable daughter, Ollie, grow up before my eyes.
Social media is in an interesting thing in that way…feeling so connected to someone you’ve never met…but I truly feel that Katie Webber has changed my life, for the better, in many ways.
Not only has she inspired me in the obvious ways, of being a mother and having a kick-ass career (something I fantasize about on the daily), but she has also inspired me nutritionally and creatively as well.
She takes the intimidation factor out of cooking and she makes vegetables insanely approachable and highly desirable.
I absolutely love cooking and always have, but there is something special about the way Katie handles vegetables and other ingredients that makes it that much more exciting. She combines the most simple of flavors to create the most epic of dishes. And they’re all guilt-free and good for your entire being - mind, body, and soul!
Katie talks a lot (on her blog, in her book, and on varying podcasts) about her “diet” journey. She has been vegan before and still gravitates towards a prominently vegan/vegetarian diet, however, she now prefers the term “intuitive eating” - removing any of the strict diet “rules” and vocabulary from the equation. If she wants a burger or a slice of pizza, she is not going to deny herself of that, but instead she will choose to consciously indulge in it (void of guilt!) and assess, in turn, how it then affects her body and her mind.
She encourages truly listening to one’s body for what it needs, filling it with ample nutrition when it’s hungry, and stopping the indulgence when it’s not. Her holistic nutritionist certification gives her a great basis for which to create healthy and satisfying meals. And she has the best way of turning seemingly “non-comfort food” into true comfort.
As mentioned, I’ve followed her Instagram and blog for years, but recently she came out with her very own cookbook (“Fall For You”) - and actually, currently has a second one in the works! (While this pandemic is most certainly depressing and difficult to deal with at times, I am more than grateful for the ingenuity it has produced and the ways creatives have been able to divert their energies towards other passion projects along the way. Katie’s cookbook being one of them!)
She has also developed a program called “The Reset,” which is chalk-full of cleansing recipes to reset your gut (and mind) over a 10-day period, and can be catered to your own personal tastes and schedule. These recipes are also great, however, on their own - and I highly recommend trying them out!
Katie will teach you how to use hemp seeds, tahini, and nutritional yeast (things I had never before explored), but she will also reinvent the way you see tomatoes, kale, and garlic. She makes the seemingly complicated simple, and her down-to-earth nature enables you to explore your very own cooking creativity. She has led me to try new flavors and a variety of vegetables and produce I never would have even touched, and I feel like she is constantly providing me with limitless options when it comes to healthy eating. (You can get so much worthwhile content through her Instagram and website alone!)
Because of her, I am continually striving to keep my fresh produce (and white beans - this is a reference to her famous 6-Minute Beans recipe, which you most certainly have to try) stocked, so that I always have something satisfying and nutritious on hand. I am also encouraged to constantly be trying new things. She breaks it down and makes it simple. And her flavor combinations make my mouth water and often have my body salivating even before I step into the kitchen.
Along with her white bean recipe, I highly recommend her Kale Tahini Caesar (part of the reset and worth the price of admission alone - which is only $10 by the way), her Cereal Au Natural (also in the Reset), her Lazy-Girl Breaded Zucchini (unreal and super simple), Brussel Sprout Chip trick, delicious Crispy Oven Baked Fries (part of “Fall For You” and often shown on her Instagram), and her simple yet scrumptious dressing simply known as “The Dressing” (because it’s just that good).
She has multiple (literally hundreds of) other recipes that I am dying to try in the days and months and years to come - most of which will likely become staples for me, just like these other ones have.
Her current cookbook has lots of hearty options that are specifically great for the cooler months, and range from breakfasts, salads, and soups to sweets and breads, snacks, and stars of the show.
Katie is also an avid wine drinker and certainly knows her way around a cocktail shaker! So, her website and cookbook provide ample ideas for delicious libations as well - using only the freshest, and most nutritious, of ingredients, of course.
If you can’t tell by now, I am a fan.
Katie Webber is the complete package for me when it comes to inspiration. Simple cooking, healthy lifestyle, dedicated motherhood, talented performer, strong-willed and grounded personality, and an overall zest for life (and citrus). That is what Katie is to me and so many others. And I highly recommend letting her enter into your sphere of influence as well. She can only elevate it - and I promise you, you’ll never look back.
Give her Instagram, website, or cookbook a gander, and allow yourself to fall for healthy, fall for her, and in turn you will once again learn to fall for yourself.
