Tiffany’s Food Journey

At Finca Malama I serve as the head cook.  I have always had a love for food and at the same time I have had a complicated relationship with it.  When I was younger I was made aware by the culture around me that my body was bigger than others.  I developed insecurities and tried on different eating disorders to try and lose weight.  By Middle school i was drinking Slim Fast as meal replacements and in high school I was experimenting with diet pills. 

When I was 13 years old I got a strong message sent from my higher self that I needed to stop eating beef and pork.  I was shown that I had an addiction and it wasn’t the food that was right for me.  I learned to control urges with food from that point on and continued to sharpen my resolve over the years to come.

In my 20’s I had another awakening about food where I became aware that the governmental bodies were approving things that were in fact not healthy for us.  I started to make correlations between the things I was eating, the side effects I researched, and the results I was experiencing.  I applied this same lens to the health of my family and friends and realized that we were being poisoned.  I taught myself how to read the ingredients labels and I’d research the contents and educate myself about their uses, benefits, and side effects.

This journey lead me to veganism and I began my long term journey with cleansing and fasting.  Through my lifestyle changes I experienced miraculous results. I was able to shift my health in ways that baffled what I had been told by the mainstream medical system.  I shared my knowledge with friends and family and watched them apply my suggestions and they too had impressive results.

I formed a new relationship with my body, one that was built on communication and respect.  I learned to listen to the communication of my body based on what I consumed and I found what worked and what didn't and I honored that.

For me, my greatest expression of art has been through creating food. I  often say that I think in snacks because I am typically thinking about the next meal and how I can make it and who I will make happy by serving it to them.

For me, I think I have found a good holistic approach to how I relate with food and that is what I share with others.  Food is many things; its a way to connect with others, its cultural, its art, its comfort, its nourishment, its fun….

I think that food should be all of those things and I have been striving to find that balance for myself through my years.  I have learned how to cook in a way that uses real ingredients.  I use little to no processed foods. I like whole food ingredients.  I love foods from my farm or getting it directly from the people that grew or raised it.  I then take those ingredients and make them taste good.  I focus on familiar foods or I try and recreate traditional foods as best as I can with the ingredients I have on hand.  I add flavor through high quality salts and herbs fresh from our garden. 

I think that one should listen to their body to know what foods serve you and which ones need to be transitioned out.  The body is always communicating, your job is to learn how to listen.

We are very fortunate to live in the time that we do with so much access to information and resources.  Our bodies reflect that in teh form of abundance.  Sometimes our bodies may feel more plump than we would like but this is a form of abundance.  It shows you that you have been gathering many resources and are storing them.

Other times our bodies are more thin and may feel light.  This too shows us abundance.  It can be an abundance of discipline or an abundance of a fast working metabolism.

We always have the power to shift our bodies when we know that it is time.

Meals should be both nutritious, inspiring, comforting, connecting, delicious, and make us feel good.  I do my best to capture all of that in every meal that I serve to you.