Okay, first of all, is everyone seeing my right-side column in the FOOTER space of my blog right now?! WTF is going on, Typepad!? {le sigh}
Whilst I watch the classic (and original) Steel Magnolias in preparation for watching Lifetime's sure-to-be-a-hot-mess remake this evening, I wanted to share some fabulous Q&A I swapped with the amazing Chef Kelly Boyer, of Paleta.
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COFG: What initially motivated you to start PALETA?
Chef Kelly: I had an amazing career as a Human Resources executive, which gave me the opportunity to live in my favorite cities in the country. I loved what I did for a very long time, but then I ultimately wanted to do something to help people in a different way so I left a very lucrative career to go to culinary school. After graduating I started to teach myself more about organics and holistic nutrition and decided that a healthy meal service would be a great way to reach out to the community to help educate them about healthy food preparation, pure ingredients and portion control. PALETA translates in two ways: it represents the painter’s palette, because we believe food is art, and the palate, or tastebuds, in your mouth, because the food tastes great. I came up with the name while traveling throughout Europe because I felt it reflected my wish to bring a variety of bright colors and distinction to my food. PALETA’S mission is to help change the way you eat through a variety of menu options including: eco-conscious daily meal delivery, PALETA’s Mind & Body CLEANSE and the recently launched, PALETA PRESSED, cold-pressed, organic juice detox line. I am a twenty-five year survivor of an extremely rare, advanced stage cancer, and so have gained a unique appreciation for the value of nutrition and how it affects not only our physical health but also our mental well-being. I attribute much of my recovery to focused nutrition and elimination of toxic foods from my diet. I made it my mission to source only the purest and most nutritious ingredients from local farms, cruelty-free ranches and responsible fisheries. My designer meal delivery is prepared for clients to change the way they eat, change the way they feel and change the way they live.
COFG: Tell me how you created your juices. Which one is your favorite and why?
Chef Kelly: My clients have been asking me to create a juice line for some time, but I was skeptical about the nutritional benefits and thought it seemed kind of “faddish”. Since then I have been studying nutrition further and will be a licensed integrative nutrition health coach in a few months so I now understand far better the value of cleansing and detoxing. I developed my Mind & Body CLEANSE (high protein brown rice shakes and vegan meals and snacks) to detox the liver and then ultimately we created PRESSED as a natural extension of PALETA’s offerings. I started by sampling every juice detox across the country…if they shipped it, I tried it. I also tried every local pressed juice with varying results. My biggest problem was that I just didn’t enjoy the taste of most of them and couldn’t get through the mornings. As a chef, I can pretty much eat anything…but I was not enjoying the experience. I wanted to create a line that was both nutritionally beneficial and tasted amazing, so I put together a team of my Le Cordon Bleu trained chefs AND nutritionists and we spent months pressing, mixing and blending organic fruit, vegetables and herbs to come up with our luscious PRESSED. We intentionally developed specific PRESSED blends into 5 detox packages to meet particular nutrition needs. They are CORE, GREEN, ROOTS, Sip ‘Til Supper (for the faint of heart or novice juicer…we give you vegan food!) AND a Design Your Own Detox (you can just pick your favorite flavors and enjoy!). Both the CLEANSE and PRESSED are now delivered locally and shipped nationwide. In just a few short weeks they are going to be available for purchase at various fitness studios and retailers around LA.
My absolute favorites start with the Kale Kooler because of the little kick of heat from the serrano pepper from our own greenhouse; it warms me UP as it’s going DOWN. My second favorite is the seasonal Strawberry Rhubarb Cooler; it’s like summertime in a bottle. The strawberries are sweet and the rhubarb adds a slightly sour and tangy flavor and creates a little natural fizziness to the drink. My year-round favorite is Apple Orchard. I grew up with apple trees in my backyard and this PRESSED juice tastes like apples just got plucked from the tree and magically made their way into my bottle. The hint of ginger is also warming and soothing to the belly. My newest favorites are being released for autumn and holidays. There are 3 new versions of our vegan nutmilks that we call MAGIC MILKSHAKES (the base is almond, cashew, coconut, date, vanilla bean, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt, alkalized h2o). Our new versions we just created are Ginger Snap, Pumpkin Pecan Pie, and Holiday ‘Nog…an amazing, rich, healthy, vegan version of eggnog. Just add rum and start celebrating!
COFG: OK, clearly you have a passion for healthy food…what is your guilty pleasure food?
Chef Kelly: Anything with cheese! I try to eliminate most dairy from my diet, but I can’t resist a wheel of Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam with our PALETA homemade fig jam and rustic bread. My Director of Ops, Jason Miller, makes homemade bread that would rival any French bakery! Which leads me to the second guilty pleasure…bread, bread and more bread. I also don’t consume a lot of gluten in my diet, but I can not (will not!) turn away from a great loaf of fresh-baked artisan bread. Spread a little butter on it or dip it in cold-pressed olive oil…I’m in! I’m only human!
COFG: What kinds of physical activities do you recommend in conjunction with healthy eating? What do you like to do?
Chef Kelly: I have fought my own inherent laziness most of my adult life. I can come up with dozens of reasons to NOT exercise. The turning point for me is that I have since come to realize that if I don’t exercise up to 5 times a week, I just don’t feel great. I don’t even think of working out as necessary for my body’s appearance. It’s 95% about stress release and keeping illness at bay. I have a pretty high-stress job and doing an hour of cardio, mixed with some light weights is perfect to help keep me thinking more clearly so I can make better decisions throughout the day. I have learned to make it a priority for simple peace of mind. Looking better and more fit is honestly just a HUGE bonus. I mix it up by playing tennis and I now try to bike to meetings that are within a few miles of my neighborhood. I also love pilates, hiking, bootcamps, swimming…there is no one thing. The more variety, the more inclined I am to do it. But, sometimes it’s just super easy for me to hop on the elliptical in my garage and spend an hour watching tv, responding to emails or reading on my iPad. The ultimate multi-tasking is me sweating for an hour on the machine while simultaneously managing my business online. It makes the time fly!
COFG: What would you say to someone who is sick of dieting and believes nothing can ever work for them?
Chef Kelly: That person WAS me. I have always been up a few (or more!) and down a few. I spent many years not being comfortable with my body and it’s still a challenge. I still hesitate a bit when standing naked in front of the mirror. I’m about as thin as I’ve ever been in my life at the moment, but the acceptance is far more mental and emotional, than physical. What I figured out FINALLY is that every single person and body is so different and not everything works for everyone. And, over time our bodies change and need different things. My body now responds really well to a high-protein, heavy vegetable diet. I am definitely at my leanest when I eat this way regularly. I’ve also discovered that I don’t feel great when I eat dairy or gluten, but I love them…so I limit them. Luckily I am not burdened with a sweet tooth, but I loooove cheese and bread, so I let myself enjoy them. I don’t believe in being militant about it. I used to be an emotional eater…whether stressed, happy, sad or mad…let’s EAT! I am better at managing these feelings and give pause when I reach for something to make sure I am actually hungry and not just feeding my feelings. Life, and food, is meant to be enjoyed.
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Again, I want to thank Chef Kelly and Nicole Myden PR once again for sponsoring me on my Paleta journey and for taking the time to answer these questions. You've never met a nicer, more lovely women!
For all the information you will ever need about Paleta's amazing programs, you can download their beautiful brochures here. If you are a newcomer to my blog, take a skim through my Paleta journey for more information:
Be sure to follow Paleta and Chef Kelly on Twitter!
