I’ve mentioned this before but I am always so amazed at how many inspirational and hardworking people there are in Paris that have completely reinvented themselves since moving here – or the people that have taken a previous passion or career and taken it to the next level.
Melanie Stephens, the found of Feed Your Awesome Machine, is one of these people. I met her almost a year ago over lunch to discuss more about her blossoming health & nutrition coaching business. She talks more about her love of kale below.
A few months ago she reached out to me to tell me about her upcoming program: Gorgeous You. Don’t you just love the name? Melanie realized that through her work with individual clients that they of course all have the same goals but making sure to cut out dairy or exercising an extra day a week is harder when you’re going it alone. So she decided to create a program where women can reach their goals together with her support and insight along the way.
The program is a 4-week, nutrition and fitness social coaching program which I am very happy to be sponsoring with a fun Kale Cocktail gathering sometime this September. I can attest to the time and energy Melanie has put into this endeavor and think that it will be very beneficial for many of you – especially if you have new goals for la rentrée to eat just that much better or exercise just a little bit more.
Check out the video below for more information (created by Melanie herself!) and if interested, head to the Gorgeous You site and sign-up for the early notification list where you get a 20% discount.
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Describe kale in one sentence.
Deliciously potent, sexy leaves of life enhancing versatility and culinary joy.
What is your favorite way to eat kale?
The think what I love about kale is its impressive versatility. It’s happy when massaged into a salad, it sings when blended in a green smoothie, and is positively blissful when gently wilted into a curry, or soup.
In addition to that, as far as vegetables go, it probably has to be the quickest and easiest to prepare. Think about it– you give the leaves a quick rinse under a running tap, rip the leaves from the stem, throw them into a salad bowl or into a hot dish that is just minutes away from being ready, count to 20 while the leaves wilt and turn bright green and voila, you’ve just cooked one of the most nutritious vegetables in the world, and with almost zero effort too.
When was the first time you had kale and how was it prepared?
How I wish I could remember! It seems like so long ago. I have a feeling that it was in my little kitchen in Ireland, most likely wilted into a delicious Thai prawn and vegetable stir-fry, or Indian lentil curry.
If you were to prepare kale for a kale-virgin, how would you do it?
I was an extremely picky child who has morphed into a food loving, try-anything-at-least-once foodie. So I love the challenge of introducing new foods to people. My strategy that tends to work 99% of the time is to start with a dish they already love and tweak it slightly to include the new food.
So, if they love curries or stews, I’ll wilt through some torn kale before serving. If they’re a smoothie lover, I’ll make a delicious kale green smoothie. If salad is their thing, I’ll marinate some kale leaves along with some finely sliced red onion in a homemade balsamic dressing and then serve with cherry tomatoes, a shaving of hard sheep’s cheese and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts. If they are a meat and three veg traditionalist, (as my father-in-law is for example) I’d make a sort of Irish potato colcannon using kale (if you’re not familiar, this is basically a mashed potato dish with added cabbage or kale). If they like nothing but cake… we’ll, I’m sure I could even come up with something there.
I’ll be sharing some great kale nutritional advice and Melanie’s favorite kale recipe on Monday! And check out more about Melanie’s Gorgeous You program!
Gorgeous You & On Meet-Up
Feed Your Awesome Machine
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melanie says
Hi there! I’m glad to have come across this awesome blog… :-)
My very best, have a great weekend and à+! Cheers, Mélanie NB, Toulouse… :-)
kristen says
Hi Melanie! Thank you so much for your kindness. Any local producers in your area that you think might want to grow kale? :)