About

Where healthy meets delicious!  || Contact: [email protected]

Hi! I’m Sylvia Fountaine, professional chef, former restaurant owner, and caterer, recently turned full-time blogger, based in the Pacific Northwest, and here is where you’ll find hundreds of seasonal, veggie-driven, globally-inspired, whole-food recipes.

Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, paleo, keto, flexitarian or omnivore – we can all agree on one thing: cooking meals from scratch, using fresh wholesome ingredients is one of the most nourishing gifts we can give ourselves and our families.

And you’ve been telling me how challenging this can be! Many of you lack the time, energy or inspiration. Some of you are bored and stuck in a rut, or perhaps somewhere along the way, lost your love of cooking. Believe me, I’ve been there and I totally get it.

Working in the food industry for over 25 years (first with Mizuna, then with Feast Catering Co.)  I’ve learned a few tricks of the trade to help cooking become a little more simple and enjoyable.

Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated, stressful or require hours of time. Wholesome meals can be easy and approachable, without compromising flavor or beauty. I’m so excited to share how!

My goal is to help you feel successful in the kitchen and perhaps cooking can even become the best, most relaxing and creative part of your day. A joy instead of a chore. 

Food Philosophy:

Though I try to eat mostly plant-based (see my Plant-Based Recipe Guide), I don’t judge or label foods as “good” or “bad.”  I simply try to eat foods that make me feel energetic, alive, light and joyful.  These are usually plants!

Even though I had a vegetarian restaurant for 10 years and often eat plant-based during the week, as a chef I want to try and experience everything. So I don’t like to label myself or create rules for myself.  I’m also married to a wonderful carnivore, Brian. Sometimes I’ll adapt our meals so he can have meat, and keep mine vegetarian- one meal, two ways.

• Know that I will never try to convince you to eat one way or another… what you eat is your business! I understand there are many paths to health. We are all so different genetically, and our bodies have different needs. My husband does better with a low-carb, high-protein diet,  but I do better with a low-fat Mediterranean Diet.  There is no one right way for everyone. I do love sharing things I stumble on, but there is never any pressure, ever! I really have no agenda here. I just want your food to taste good!  Haha! 😉 
• As a chef, what inspires me most is seasonal, local produce. This is because local produce, grown in its true season, as close to YOU as possible, always has the BEST flavor! This is because it doesn’t have to travel as far as conventional grocery store produce- so it’s allowed a little more time to ripen on the tree or vine and develop more flavor.
• When you start with ripe seasonal ingredients at their peak of flavor, they can be treated so simply in the kitchen. Not only will the end result taste better, but it’s also a beautiful way to embrace the seasons and cycles of the earth. A very grounding way of cooking and being in the world. (Tip: It is the one thing you can begin doing immediately that will elevate your cooking.)
• Many recipes are globally-inspired. I’m hearing that you are very intrigued by global cuisines, but are turned off by complicated processes or hard-to-find ingredients. I was raised in Los Angeles by a Finnish mother and Egyptian father, both right “off the boat.” We traveled extensively and they both loved to cook and entertain. They were also very frugal- every single thing was made from scratch, nothing was wasted, yet somehow they created the most amazing meals. They showed me how the humblest of ingredients could be turned into a feast, utilizing a wide array of vegetables and herbs and spices. When my husband Brian and I travel, it always revolves around food and culture. We love experiencing different, often exotic, cuisines, learning new techniques and I am so excited to share this with you! That’s why you’ll find a lot of globally-inspired recipes here.
• AND YES, occasionally I’ll throw in a few recipes that may not seem very “healthy” on the surface, because I’ve found… there are times in one’s life when “comfort food” is actually comforting, on a soul level. When my sweet old mom passed away several years ago, my dear friend Sonna brought over her Four-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese. It was the only thing that would go down after days of not eating. To this day, I believe that was the most healing, nurturing thing I could have put into my body at that time – and I’ve never forgotten it.

Cook simple and smart:

ADAPTABLE RECIPES: With so many mixed households – vegans and meat-eaters – both living under the same roof,  cooking can get so complicated. So I’ve started creating “adaptable” recipes to help make cooking easier (one meal, two ways) and hopefully enjoyable again.  For more of these kinds of recipes – visit the “Adaptable” category.

WEEKNIGHT DINNERS: Most of you have shared how short on time you are. I get it. Most of the recipes here in the last few years are geared towards you- time-saving, healthy recipes. I created a category just for you “Fast and Easy” Weeknight Dinners. 

Other Posts you may find helpful: “Make Life Simple” Sheet Pan Dinners, Instant Pot Recipes and Packable Healthy Lunches!

Cooking is Nourishing (to the soul):

There are days like Sundays when some of us truly enjoy spending time in the kitchen while something slow roasts in the oven for hours – and you’ll find those recipes here too because they are nourishing on a soul level. Cooking, if we allow it, can center and ground us, and bring us back to ourselves. In this day and age, we need this. 

Even back when I was catering, after big stressful events on my days off when I felt totally exhausted, I would often find myself back in my home kitchen simply making a pot of soup or baking a loaf of bread. Cooking can be incredibly restorative and healing when we allow ourselves the time to be present.

And for some, cooking is the one creative thing we get to do during the day. Soul-satisfying!  My hope is that you experience this incredible joy for yourself. I like to think what we put into our bodies becomes a part of us. Not just the food itself, but the energy we put into the food. It can be such a loving thing… cooking.  A grounding place to be when the world feels as if it is crumbling around us.

This is why I share quotes here on the blog, little nudges to go within and simply listen because the deepest truths can be found inside ourselves.  Cooking has become a gentle practice for me to still my thoughts, become present, reconnect with the peace within. When I do this, not only does it help restore me, it inevitably affects those around me, without even saying a word. People, especially those who live with us, can feel our energy. This simple act affects those around us and carries into the rest of the evening.

Cook with Us!

I’m so excited to have you be a part of our community! Subscribe to the blog below, and receive a free gift (my Plant-Based Recipe Guide) then only one email a week, on Saturday mornings with my latest recipes. Be sure to check your spam folder or promotions tab, if you don’t see them. That is it! There is no cost, it is totally FREE to everyone. (Wondering how this is free? Scroll down.)

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 We’ve Been Featured On:

Huffington Post, Fitness Magazine, Buzzfeed, Good Housekeeping, Pure Wow, The Kitchn, Brit.co, My Domaine, Country Living Magazine, Eating Well, Self, The Every Girl, Elle (France), Prevention, Self, Women’s Health Magazine, Shape, The Feed Feed, Tasty Co., Taste of Home, Delish, Food Revolution, Parade, Domino, Simple Most

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Comments from our community members:

“Your recipes have helped change the way I cook, shop, and eat. I used to love overly complicated French cooking—expensive, time-consuming, and a little risky when guests are coming. Now life is simpler, healthier, and far tastier! I love that I have things in my kitchen like miso, sumac, zaatar, dashi, coriander…and that I use them regularly. They used to be mysterious and “off-limits.” Not anymore. I think we (society) can be a little too precious about food. I love what you say about not moralizing it. It’s truly a privilege to have access to fresh produce and high-quality food items. I really do rejoice in food. It’s a thrill to prepare really healthy dishes and watch people I care for scrape their plates clean and marvel at flavors and combinations they never expected to like, let alone crave. That’s thanks to you!”

“Your blog has been most helpful in the following ways: Sheet pan meals are a revelation. The sauces make all the difference in the world. The versatility and adaptability of your recipes are a dream. The new flavors are exciting, like Indian and Asian. You make it so easy to use tofu, which I love but used to have difficulty preparing in a way that tasted as good as at restaurants. Your turmeric broth is a staple. I make it at least once a month. ” Susanna 

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“I found you online 18 months ago and I love, love, love all the recipes I have tried so far and my husband can’t be happier.  My husband and our guests thank you over and over. Who thought I would get goosebumps from reading your recipes!  P.S.  I’m 71 years old and never enjoyed cooking until I found you! Love at the first recipe❤” 

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“Thank you for giving your recipes life and bringing your creations out into the world! They bring back a new-found joy for cooking and I feel extremely inspired to try out many more and come up with new ideas myself.  May you keep on inspiring others along with you. You surely did with me.” Caroline

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How this content is ” free”:

In order for us to provide FREE content, we generate income through advertising on the site.  Thank you for understanding, I know the ads can be annoying.  To avoid the ads, feel free to use the “skip to recipe” button at the top of each post. If the ads ever get too invasive, or inappropriate just drop me an email with a screenshot (very helpful). I don’t advocate political ads- so if they are in here they have “slipped in” without my consent. Again, please let me know. [email protected]

We also generate income through affiliate links to various sponsors and sites like Amazon.

We also have an online store called Bowl and Pitcher.

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How to BEST Support the Blog:

One of the BEST and easiest ways to support the blog, is to simply comment and rate the recipes! This encourages others to try the recipes too.  Sharing how you adapt a recipe is very helpful and useful to others as well- a win-win for all. I also value your feedback on each recipe- it helps me understand how to make the recipes better and this site the most useful to you.

Our Privacy Policy:

 This Site is affiliated with CMI Marketing, Inc., d/b/a CafeMedia (“CafeMedia”) for the purposes of placing advertising on the Site, and CafeMedia will collect and use certain data for advertising purposes. To learn more about CafeMedia’s data usage, click here: www.cafemedia.com/publisher-advertising-privacy-policy

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Questions and Feedback:

I always love hearing from you.  So feel free to email me at [email protected], or simply hit “reply” when you get your Saturday morning emails and tell me your thoughts on how to better serve you! Seriously!