I love food, so I find myself naturally drawn to other people who think like me, cook like me and eat like me. Oftentimes, though, I find people who eat drastically different than me and inspire me to eat better, healthier. One of those people is Sara Forte, author of the blog Sprouted Kitchen.
At Sprouted Kitchen Sara shares a “tastier take on whole foods,” and she delivers on that promise with every recipe she creates. After discovering her blog last fall I quickly snagged her Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook and haven’t put it down since. I find myself poring over it on weekends while meal planning, looking for snip-pits of healthy inspiration and meal ideas and I never come up short.
Sara’s husband Hugh captures all of the images for the blog, and each one in itself is a work of art. Go see for yourself. A delicata squash has never been so stunning.
We recently had the pleasure of picking Sara’s brain on her whole foods approach and her blog. Here’s what she had to say.
Why did you start your food blog?
I wanted to have a place to practice cooking and writing, Hugh to work on a different type of photography, and us to have a project together.
How would you describe your approach to eating/health?
This is a coffee date conversation for me. In short, I make a great attempt at filling our diet with as much produce, whole grains and lean proteins as possible. I eat a vegetarian diet with fish occasionally and do my best to stay away from white flours and sugars. I keep my dairy and saturated fats to a minimum. Honestly, it takes more time and more money to eat cleanly but I feel better all around the better I eat, and that’s worth it to me. I do love a bowl of ice cream and a rich, homemade brownie, and I enjoy those things because I don’t want my diet to rule me.
Have you always had an interest in healthy food or did it come later in life?
I would say it came about later in high school when I realized my body responded to what I was eating. I started paying attention to what I was eating to manage my weight and be fit, and therefore taught myself to cook. In college, I worked at the organic farm on campus and took a few classes that made me fall in love with food in its entirety.
What is your favorite (or a few of your favorite) food/ingredient to use in the kitchen?
Lemons, fresh green herbs, shallots, a good quality extra virgin olive oil, miso, and all sorts of nuts.
Has blogging changed the way you view food and cooking?
It has introduced me to a fabulously encouraging community. I have come to know some really kind and inspiring people in this circle, and it has made me pay closer attention. When we started I could have cared less about aesthetics, as long as it was quick, light and tasted decent. Now with Hugh’s influence, and how many people are attracted to Sprouted Kitchen for its visual aspect, I think about color and texture and details when I put food together.
Favorite recipe to date?
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I think I’d like to take Sara up on her coffee date offer to further discuss her healthy approach to food. And then I’d follow her home to watch her at work in the kitchen. Do you think she’d mind?
Be sure to visit Sara’s blog, Sprouted Kitchen, for even more of whole foods inspiration. If you don’t know where to start, here are three more of Sara’s most beloved recipes.
Sara is the first in a series of spotlights on healthy food bloggers. Be sure to check back next Sunday to meet another healthy food blogger in our midst.
Also Read:
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30 Days of Groceries at Whole Foods on a Poverty-Level Budget
Gwyneth Paltrow Reveals her Top 10 Favorite Food Blogs