Flavorful Food . . . Hassle Free!?
IMAGINE THIS:
- A friendly woman shows up at your front door...
- With bags full of fresh groceries from Whole Foods, and ALL of the necessary tools to prepare delicious meals - (which YOU have pre-selected).
- She spends hours cooking (as scrumptious smells waft from your kitchen, and you get to sample the incredible food she’s preparing).
- When complete, she labels the meals and stores them in your refrigerator (and gives you instructions on how to heat & serve them).
- Then, she cleans up so thoroughly it looks better than when she arrived!!
I know . . . this sounds like a daydream, right?!
But - it actually happened, to ME!!
WHO is this unicorn of a character you ask?
Listen to this Whole U. Podcast to hear from the legend herself, Ms. Suzanna Perry, to find out WHY she started this meal preparation service, and how YOU might be able to catch a glimpse of her too! . . .
Blog Post by Althea Champion
NO Time To Be a Chef?
An inevitable side effect of subscribing to a 21st-century lifestyle is busyness and an ever-present shortage of TIME. As a result, we struggle to decide on how to spend our limited free time. Maybe it's
- With people you love? Or
- Doing activities that give you a sense of fulfillment outside of work?
- . . . (Most likely, NOT meal prep!)
And if you DON't have home-cooked meals . . . you risk not eating well throughout your day at work . . . and end up "hangry," with a growling stomach, and desperate to pop into the first fast-food joint you see on your commute home.
There's a Better Way!
Imagine a different reality. One where you have an array of flavorful, delicious, and nutritious food waiting in your fridge at home. Well, that IS a possible reality, thanks to Suzanna Perry. Her culinary passions started with balancing her own work-life, and then transformed into Soul to Plate, her blossoming business that offers in-home meal prep and private cooking classes in Boston, Cambridge, and surrounding suburbs.
Through her homegrown business, she provides people with healthy, delicious foods that fuel their bodies. Perry tries to subvert the misconception that nutritious foods are bland and boring, by proving that they are flavorful and delicious. She holds great passion in what she does. "It really is like I'm putting my soul on each plate of food, because I just love everything," Perry said.
"From picking the fresh produce at the store, and making sure I am getting in-season, flavorful ingredients, to preparing them in a way that really brings out those flavors, and then seeing people be able to enjoy healthy food that tastes so good."
The life that preceded Soul to Plate had Perry working in finance (after finishing her undergrad in Economics). This consisted of long hours . . . (and a bad diet). She simply did not have extra time to take care of herself, because it felt like her time did not belong to herself. So she subsisted off of:
- Sugary Starbucks drinks
- Granola bars, and
- Prepared, processed foods to get her through her usually long work days.
Sound familiar?
Becoming Your Own Food Doctor
As Suzanna's health began falling to the wayside, she started getting hives from foods that had never previously bothered her. The first doctor she consulted conducted a food allergy test, which found that she - (someone who had never once had a food allergy in her life) - tested positive for every food allergy in the book!
The doctor sent her home with a prescribed diet of rice, chicken, and gatorade.
Needless to say - Perry was not convinced.
"This is not healthy, and I've never had all of these different food allergies." Perry said.
When There's a Will, There's a Way
Perry then took it upon herself to research holistic approaches to nutrition and autoimmune issues. She consulted a second doctor who conducted an allergy test with a more complete panel. This found a "wonkiness" in Perry's immune system.
Following her trips to the doctor, she began eating a diet of whole foods. This had her making sure ingredients were:
- Well-sourced,
- Chemical-free, and
- Unprocessed
which resulted in her cooking 80-90% of her food at home. After a month of eating this way, she started feeling better. She felt less inflamed and more energetic, all whilst enjoying the flavors she loved so much.
Getting Creative
But Perry knew herself. She knew she would revert back to her old lifestyle if she did not come up with interesting, delicious new recipes to try:
"I was pouring over cookbooks every night and planning different recipes I would try..." said Perry. "I started learning all of these different recipes and learning how to use vegetables in ways that transforms them into a flavorful, well-rounded dish."
Her coworkers, impressed with her ability to maintain a healthy diet while working such long, asked how she was fitting everything into such an unyielding schedule. She then realized something important:
"For a lot of people, they either don't have the time," Perry said. "And they don't want to spend their free time the way that I was enjoying learning how to cook in a nutritious and delicious way."
Helping People Eat Better
She realized that people WANT to feel good, and be healthy, but are actually just not equipped to do so! So she decided to start a business as a personal chef to help people bridge the gap between what they actually have, and what they desire.
"I will go into somebody's home, I will plan a menu that is tailored to their preferences, cook everything in their home, label it, leave it in their fridge, clean up so that when they get home, there only job is just to enjoy the food, and it's there for their week."
When people are immersed in their work life - and its' associated stressors - a healthy diet can feel out of reach. Perry's service eliminates the obstacles that stand between a healthy diet. By meal prepping for clients, she melts the stress that has become synonymous with the question: What am I going to cook for dinner? It enables people to eat delicious food, enjoy their life, and nourish their bodies.
Care for Yourself While Caring for Others!
Perry admittedly struggled making the transition from her old job to her business. Particularly the task of finding a happy medium that balances her work with the rest of her life: scheduling her free time, and honoring it in the same way she does her work. She hopes to grow her business in a way that is sustainable, so she can maintain that balance.
"It's easy to just let everything devolve and become work, especially when it's something that you're passionate about and you enjoy..." said Perry. "When you love what you're doing, it's easy to then realize you're spending 16 hours in your day working, and you haven't taken a moment of time for yourself."
Ready to for Flavorful Food... Hassle Free?
Her services are available to everyone, but those who will get the most out of it are busy adults who work long hours and want to eat nutritious food - people who do NOT have enough free time to effectively:
- Plan . . .
- Grocery shop . . .
- Prepare meals AND . . .
- clean up afterward
Sound like you??
Website: SoulToPlate.com
Instagram: @SoulToPlate
E-Mail: [email protected]
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Produced By:
Shannon O'Brien
Ed.M, M.A.
Shannon created Whole U. to encourage career seekers to live a balanced purposeful life, while pursing their life's work.
