Evening dear readers!! I’d like to introduce you to Christy. I’ve been reading her blog for a while now and feel unbelievably honored that she was willing to share her story on my blog. So without further ado…Christy – The Blissful Chef.

I grew up in a small town in Texas and knew my meat personally. As a child, I would help feed the cows and tend the garden at my grandparent’s farm. I hated every minute of it. Not because I had a deep connection with the cows and knew they were going to be slaughtered. I just despised being outside in the heat and getting dirty. Twice a year my dad would bring home slabs of meat to fill up the extra fridge in the garage. We loved to barbecue and I ate my meat with a smile. I didn’t think it was wrong. Mostly because I didn’t know any better. I was taught that eating animals is just part of life; that I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

In college I met vegetarians and they were healthy! I started going to vegetarian restaurants and never cooked meat at home (meat was gross to touch), buying soy “chicken” nuggets instead. “Cooking” meant boiling noodles to go with pasta sauce, or making a sandwich. I continued to eat out and put on weight. But the “freshman fifteen” was normal right? After college, I packed my bags and moved to Los Angeles. To keep up with the Hollywood types, I started eating more salads and working out. The vegetarian path was unfolding in front of me, but for the wrong reasons—at first. But, after watching a video on slaughterhouses in 2002, I went vegan overnight.

It was hard at first since I didn’t know how to cook. Thankfully, I had a good friend to show me. I had dinner parties and experimented with new recipes. I soon found that cooking for others and seeing their faces light up was the happiest time of my life. I decided to go to culinary school, but there was no way I was going to cook meat. Sue told me about a macrobiotic school in Austin  (I had no idea what macrobiotic meant at the time). I moved to Austin and prepared to start a new adventure: the world of whole foods.

Little did I know that this program would completely change my life in profound ways. At The Natural Epicurean I learned that food could completely change your whole existence. The food we made was delicious! I was trying foods that I had never heard of, like daikon, rutabaga, burdock, and sea vegetables. Macrobiotics and its philosophy opened me to new and exciting foods and really spoke to me. The Eastern ideas and universal principles made sense, but it wasn’t until I changed my diet that I started to experience these truths for myself. I became a believer in the power of food.

There were good times and bad times, tons of detoxing, sugar binges, the worst hangovers of my life, and pushing my body to the limits to help me see where the middle was. I even started eating fish and eggs as an experiment. It didn’t help me build muscle or have more energy like I thought it would, so I went back to being vegan. Since macrobiotics is all about knowing what your body needs, I was able to have a nutritionally sound vegan diet that made me feel great. Eventually, I stopped drinking alcohol and began to feel healthier than ever before. Eight years later, I feel more alive and radiant than I could have ever imagined!

I’m not a traditional chef. I didn’t go to a traditional culinary school. The food I make is real food. Real meaning in it’s natural state, pure and simple, unadulterated whole foods. You’ll find a mix of traditional plant-based diets including vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic, and raw foods on my blog The Blissful Chef. I share recipes, nutritional information, holistic advice, cooking videos, product reviews and so much more. My blog is an extension of my true essence, a way for me to share and give to others. It’s my hope that everyone who changes to a plant-based diet can connect to their bliss and live out an authentic life full of joy, love, compassion, and delicious food. Follow Your Bliss <3

Craving more of Christy?? Check out her blog The Blissful Chef, her website also called The Blissful Chef, she’s on facebook or you can also follow her thoughts in 140 characters or less on twitter. WARNING: Once you start – you can’t stop!!

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