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Who's The Qurite TALK OF THE TOWN?

Qurator and @goldendawne present~ The Qurite Talk Of The Town

Are you; or do you know of another Qurite that has accomplished and achieved a goal or dream that goes beyond all thoughts of every day life?

Maybe you know someone who was recently accepted into an special program? Maybe you're a photographer and you sold some of your images to a stock photo website? Or perhaps you know someone who had a book published?

WAIT! What's that? Someone had a book published? WHO? Who was it?

Our very own...

@plantstoplanks

So how did @plantstoplanks get started? Let's see...

The impetus to start sharing recipes came about from my work as a personal trainer. Ten years ago when I entered the wellness field I focused more on the exercise side of things, but quickly learned you can’t outwork what you put in your mouth. Also, from a performance perspective you can work at a higher level when your body is well-fueled. That got me into researching more on the nutrition end of things, leading me to get certified as a Nutrition and Wellness Consultant and taking much more time to experiment in my own kitchen. As I started cooking more my clients would ask for recipes that I talked about and eventually it made sense to start blogging if for no other purpose than to have a way to easily share meal ideas with all of my clients and friends at once. A lot of my inspiration still comes from wanting to stay on top of my game in the gym or when I am training for my runs. Not to mention I try to practice what I preach to all of my clients from a health perspective! Ultimately I do really enjoy food that tastes good, but I also try to make sure I hit all the marks from a nutrition perspective using local, seasonal ingredients with lots of vibrant colors and keeping my cooking methods simple enough that pretty much anyone can follow.

When did you decide to publish your work? And where are they available for purchase?

I have to give all the credit to my boyfriend, @dksart for doing all the work to bring my recipes to life in printed form. He had been saying for quite some time I should do a cookbook, as had many of the wonderful people I interact with on Steemit. Despite the support, I couldn’t see for myself that I was there yet. He took some of the best recipes off of my blog and took the time to put them all together into the beautiful cookbook for my Christmas gift. Seeing it and holding it in front of me was such a great moment. Not only was the physical gift one of the best I have ever received, but it finally showed me that what I have been putting out does have value. Since he did such a fantastic job, we made just a few edits and decided to put it out on Amazon for purchase. Though it definitely took him a lot of effort to create the layout and edit the photos, once you have your files together it is fairly easy to submit and independently publish. I don’t have any expectations on selling a ton of copies of this first compilation, but it has opened the door to a whole world of possibility for future creations!

What is the most rewarding thing for you in regards to creating these recipes and sharing your book?

My biggest hope is that I am impacting others to make better food choices. Whether you go totally plant-based like I have or just get encouraged to try different whole plant foods, our decisions on what we eat do matter not just to our personal health but on so many levels of the economy and environment. I am so enamored of my local farmers and the seasonal produce that it makes it easy to want to do it justice by creating wholesome meals. If I inspire just a small handful of people to check out their farmers market for the first time or pay more attention to the seasonality of their produce, then I consider that a perfect reward. Heck, even just getting people in the kitchen at all can be a win in this day and age where it is so easy to never even handle your own food preparation! My recipes or style of cooking may not appeal to everyone, but hopefully my passion transcends beyond what is physically on the plate.

How supportive has the steemit community been?

I have found a true family on Steemit! I started ramping up all my social media at the same time as I got a profile on Steemit, and it is still the site I spend the most time on because of the people that I have met. When I first started on Steem I joined in on contests run by @lenasveganliving and @woman-onthe-wing. Those two ladies quickly became some of my dearest online friends. Without their early support I don’t know if I would have kept on going or have built the confidence I have now in the content that I put out. The @cookwithus crew and my pals in @vegansofsteemit have also been really supportive and encouraging to keep following my passion, and I can’t forget @qurator for a few spots in Tasty Tuesday and the regular daily posts! At this point there are so many people in my treasured circle I can’t even name them all for fear of leaving anyone out! Though as far as the cookbook goes, I can’t even begin to describe how honored I was when @dswigle sent me a photo of the copy she ordered once it got to her. Definitely a great moment I won’t ever forget!

We all know writers have “writers' block”, but do you suffer from anything similar when thinking of the next recipe?

All the time! At first I felt the need to constantly come up with something new and different, but I quickly realized that really isn’t feasible, nor is it fun. There are plenty of times when I pull out a trusty cookbook and follow a recipe or scroll through my favorite pals’ feeds on Steemit and make something they shared. That’s one of the benefits of doing this as a bit of a side hobby—I don’t have to feel pressured to keep up with a certain pace of production. I got into blogging and sharing recipes that I truly enjoy, so at the heart of it if I don’t have joy in the creating portion of it then there’s no point in sharing. :)

Is there anyone who has been real helpful along the way? Sample taste-tester perhaps, etc

My boyfriend is my number one taste-tester, but he likes everything so perhaps he’s not always the most objective, haha! It sure does make it easy to cook for someone who isn’t very picky since I have free reign on what I want to make. I think my biggest muse is the farmers market, though. I am so grateful to have such an amazing roundup of local farmers that toil away all week in the dirt to bring us the most fresh and delicious fresh produce each Saturday morning. Then they set up in the rain, shine, cold or heat to hang out at the market to sell what they have. Until this past year I used to go on occasion, but didn’t make it a true habit of visiting weekly. I am so glad I finally opened my eyes to just how much better it is to get most of what I need from them. The quality and taste is so much better, plus I find local varieties of things that you just can’t find in the stores. It also makes me feel much more responsible knowing I am supporting the local economy and minimizing my carbon footprint by buying things that didn’t get shipped from all over the place. I do still have to fill in at the store for some staples, but my heart and biggest inspiration for recipe creating belongs with my local market!

So where can you buy @plantstoplanks' book... right here on Amazon where it is available in paperback!!

If you know someone who is a Qurite and deserves to be the Talk Of The Town, send me a message on Discord (@goldendawne#7044 ) and let me know! ALL recommendations will be look into and considered.