We're starting this series, In Her Home, to get to know our fellow community because home is everything. Home is where you feel the most yourself. It's where you can cultivate all the items you've collected over the years and it's a place where you can start traditions with old and new friends plus family, but most importantly it's the space that you can decorate and make you. Here it goes...
Caravan went inside the home of @eatcleanwithsarah, also known as Sarah Considine, who's a Wellness Chef & Nutritionist based out of sunny Encinitas, San Diego, California. We were able to bug her on a Monday afternoon as she was meal prepping for several clients who have a vegan based diet. Her home is a great mixture between boho and modern, a great blend of vintage and new - a perfect place for Caravan. We wanted to know what keeps her inspired and what will keep you healthy going forward this fall!
How does your home influence the work you do?
My home influences the work I do because I actually work from home part time. My kitchen is my favorite room in the house. I love getting in there and messing around with the blender to try new things. Having a clean kitchen and my space empty, ready to go at all times make me feels set and inspired. So definitely my home has a lot to do with my job, it brings me a lot of happiness.
How did you get into cooking?
I got into cooking from my mom growing up in Long Beach, CA. My mom would alway cook dinner for us. She worked 9-5, had 2 kids and she would come home and get creative in the kitchen. She did her best to feed us healthy and was a very good cook. There was always a plate of fruit on every table. So we’d have dinner and we’d always eat our fruit first. Think that got me into the idea that fruit and vegetables are meant to be with every meal. It really inspired a lot of my cooking. As I grew older I got more into the vegan lifestyle and realized that cooking while your vegan is actually even more exciting because you get to be creative while you’re finding ways to make vegetables taste good, which is actually not that hard.
Words of advice for someone who wants to meal prep?
Some words of advice for someone who wants to start meal prepping or eating healthier - my number one advice would be to just add more plants to your diet, you don’t need to go vegan or vegetarian overnight. Honestly, if you just start eating more vegetables, focus your meal around more plants, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, parsley, cilantro - adding those things into your food really enhances the nutrition. Doesn’t have to be difficult, doesn’t have to be anything super intense or overthought. For meal prepping, I think that just starting small, finding easy simple meals that you like is great. Items that stay well in the fridge, which be reheated is a bonus. Just think about what you like to eat during the week and when you're at work or chasing your kids, what would you like to snack on?
I make a lot of sprouted quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes or veggie bowls with the sauce inside. It’s all about the sauces, if I’m going to be completely honest, sauces give so much flavor - sauces and spices. So if you start adding those to your basic food items, you’re going to crave your meals and not want to eat out because you’ll be like “Oh I love my food more, I feel so good after".
What’s your favorite you can’t live without?
My favorite piece in my house would be my French press or my blender. Thats a mix up, probably the blender actually. I love coffee, so the French press is up there, but I also love smoothies and I love creating sauces. So I feel like the blender is number one. I have a Vitamix - although its expensive, it’s the best invention/creation ever made. I use that thing about 5 times a day.
What inspires you to keep cooking?
Well the people I cook for, the way they feel, the feedback honestly. I never felt like I would feel this inspired. It’s been a journey to get here, a process but having people give me feedback that they love my food or that they’ve lost weight or their skin is glowing is what has pushed me. I love it when people repost my photos after I cook or it’s even better when random people write to me and say they created my recipe. I have no idea who’s actually watching or who’s trying my recipes, so when I hear that it’s really excites me!
Sarah made vegan manicotti stuffed with macadamia sage ricotta + mushroom "scallops". Want the recipe? Here it is below!
Sarah: Take 1 C raw cashews + 1 C raw macadamias and soak overnight in water. Preheat your oven to 400 F. In the meantime, boil your manicotti noodles until just a little soft (I used @jovialfoods Gf brown rice manicotti 💯). In a high speed blender (I use my @vitamix ), add the soaked and drained nuts + juice of one lemon 🍋 + 4 cloves garlic + a few handfuls of the following herbs: sage, basil, thyme and rosemary + water to blend. Add a little salt and pepper to taste and optional some miso (I added 1 tbsp @goldminenaturalfoodco miso). 🤤 Blend until smooth and stuff your manicotti noodles. Lay into a baking dish, cover with marinara (I use @raoshomemade 👌). Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes. After done, add your mushroom scallops on top (slice the bottom of a king oyster mushroom into rounds, sauté in garlic, sage and @miyokoscreamery butter until golden). ✨🙌👌
If you're ever in San Diego, go to the infamous beach town of Cardiff By The Sea and stop into Bestawan. You'll find a pizza named Eat Clean With Sarah Pizza (and yes, it's Vegan)! For more info on Sarah, check out eatcleanwithsarah.com and peep her Instagram @eatcleanwithsarah for daily inspiration! Thanks for reading our first of many series.
