Hi there, I’m Sapana (pronounced “Sup-nah”) – product manager turned wellness blogger. I’m a holistic health coach, plant-based professional cook, and author of cookbook Plant Power Bowls (Sasquatch Books, April 2019).
I was recently interviewed by Seattle Refined (KOMO News), New Day NW (KING 5), and Afternoon Live (KATU).
My recipes have been featured on Brides, BuzzFeed, Raise Vegan, PureWow, Clean Eating, Elite Daily, The Spruce Eats, Greatist, Southern Living, Alive Magazine, Elephant Journal, Thrive Magazine, VegWorld Magazine, Organic Authority, Vegan Health & Fitness Magazine, and many more.
Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to partner and collaborate with many of my favorite brands, including Whole Foods Market, Rishi Tea, Omega Juicers, Hilary’s Eat Well, Orgain, Inner-eco, So Delicious, Sun Basket, Foursigmatic, ClassPass, Primal Kitchen, Traditional Medicinals, Love Beets, Bulletproof, Nutiva, Milkadamia, Manitoba Harvest, and many more.
My Approach
My motto is simple: eat real (food) + live well + feel vibrant. Small changes can lead to big results in health and life.
While I am a vegetarian who eats mostly plant-based, I do not advocate any specific type of diet. I believe each and every one of us is unique and so are our dietary needs. What may have worked for me may not work for you. You have your unique characteristics and challenges that require unique solutions for addressing the obstacles you face in your health and wellbeing.
There are no cookie-cutter solutions in regaining the power to bring balance in all aspects of your health and life. Real health starts from within, in the smallest of ways…. taking care of ourselves, living in gratitude, waking up feeling refreshed. It requires feeding our body clean foods that are non-toxic and good for us. It also means looking deep into other parts of our lives. You could be eating all the kale and spinach in the world, but it won’t make a significant difference until you address other important aspects of your life that are bringing you down.
What You’ll Find on Real + Vibrant
Real + Vibrant is a blog dedicated to celebrating the power of real food through vibrant, delicious plant-powered vegetarian recipes. Along with plenty of whole food recipes, you’ll also find healthyish and may-not-so-healthyish treats, snacks, and desserts because good health goes hand-in-hand with finding a balance.
Here are some of my favorite recipes:
- Chana Masala (Chickpea Curry)
- Kitchari
- Cauliflower Tacos with Spicy Cashew Sauce
- Edible Cookie Dough
- Turmeric Latte
- Iced Matcha Latte
- Iced Vanilla Latte
- Cauliflower Tikka Masala
- Kale Citrus Salad
- Italian Potato Salad
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Whether you’re looking for a refreshing smoothie to make or filling salad, you’ll find a little bit of everything here. Be sure to sign up for email updates and follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
My Story
After suffering from chronic migraines for well over a decade, I decided to focus on what I was eating and how I was living. After integrating real foods into my diet and cutting down on processed foods, I noticed major shifts in my health and wellbeing.
I loved how I felt. I had time for life. My life.
A few months into my new lifestyle, my dad suffered a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest. He was rushed into quadruple bypass surgery. Thankfully, he survived.
They say you find your strengths through life’s biggest adversities. What I learned from my own health issues and witnessing the sickness of the most important people in my life is just how precious health really is. And that we usually don’t realize its importance…..until it’s gone. I’ve never taken my health for granted ever since.
One of the most amazing things about being healthy is that it creates so much more space in your life to help others and make a change. Fueled by a new passion for wellness, I decided I needed to share my journey and help others. I began learning everything I could about health and its relationship with food and trained to become a certified health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
I decided to turn wellness into a full-time career. That’s when Real + Vibrant was born. One door after another started opening and soon I trained to become a professional plant-based cook and soon after started working on my first cookbook, Plant Power Bowls. You can read about my entire cookbook journey here.
Photo Credit: David Em Photography