Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Hill.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My whole life I’ve always had a creative streak. When I was younger, I expressed this mostly through fashion. I sewed my own clothes, made them for friends, and waited eagerly for monthly subscriptions of Vogue and other fashion magazines to arrive. I started my career in Fashion Design in Seattle, where I grew up, but being in a climate full of outdoor enthusiasts, I found myself designing outdoor sports bags, backpacks, and accessories rather than dresses or suits. And I loved it!
This career eventually led me to our outdoor enthusiast location in Denver, CO. I have directed design and product development for some world-class outdoor bag and luggage brands. I have also led sustainability efforts for some of these brands to drive more responsible business practices relating to materials sourcing and product development and disposal.
Simultaneous to this, I have also enjoyed my personal passion for food, self-proclaiming myself a “foodie.” However, I’ve struggled with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) for my adult life and have had to learn to make sacrifices with what I can eat. Being the creative person that I am, I refused to look at food restrictions as sacrifice, and instead have found creative ways to enjoy my favorite dishes, even creating new ones.
I eliminate or greatly reduce the foods that trigger me while finding flavorful substitutions and cooking methods that round out a dish and mirror what a restaurant version would present. I’ve traveled around the world, in part with my corporate career, but also on my own, developing a taste for new (to me) spices from a variety of cultures and I bring this to my cooking..
I am a self-taught chef, with hours of research and reading in nutritional books and journals over the years so that I can marry a healthful approach to food, digestion, and food pleasure. I choose to eat a mostly plant-based diet because I believe it truly is the most healthful, and it certainly is the most healthful approach to feeding populations within the planet’s natural resources.
But, I am not exclusively plant-based and I never preach this. I need to be low on FODMAP most of the time, which means I avoid common vegan ingredients such as wheat, onions, garlic, and legumes. With those out of my diet, I find my body responds well to incorporating seafood from time to time for the easy-to-digest protein source.
I have dealt with this and created a healthy, happy lifestyle for myself over the course of decades, and felt that it was time for me to share my love for food with others. So I have transitioned away from corporate life and launched my business, Sara’s Kitch. I am a Cooking Coach primarily and teach others who have recently been diagnosed with food intolerances or sensitivities how to deal with their newfound diagnosis.
This can look like personal cooking classes, taking a shopping trip to the grocery store together, reshaping weekly meal plans for them or their family, and developing recipes they can incorporate. I customize a plan based on the client’s needs and cooking skill level. I can work with any food sensitivity – theirs does not (and should not) match mine. Our microbiomes are as unique as each of us are as individuals.
Additionally, I have a food blog where I share my favorite recipes, which are vegan and mostly low-FODMAP. I have a large stack of hand-written recipes that I’ve created and collected over the years, and it’s truly been a blast getting these into a neat and tidy spot online where they can be openly shared with anyone.
My personal pet peeve when I’m searching other recipe blogs is how long it takes me to scroll down to where the recipe is. So, I’ve committed to sticking to a few notes about the dish itself and skipping the reiterative writing in my posts. I hope that others enjoy this simplicity as well!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Getting the blog going has been fun, and taps into my creative juices, but I’ve never been a web developer or a marketer, although I have a lot of conceptual marketing knowledge from my corporate career to draw on. I’ve taught myself how to set up a blog and post within it. I am not a social media influencer, but find that a necessary part of marketing myself. In fact, I’m somewhat introverted, so putting myself out there is an emotional challenge, but I’m having fun pushing it.
I have always had a good visual ‘eye’, so photography, though not my core training, is something I get better at with every photo shoot. Food should be as visually appealing as it tastes, so I try to make it beautiful. I’m still learning the best video and editing techniques to work within my narrow kitchen, but that’s coming along, too.
Working with clients without overwhelming them with my enthusiasm for this, is also something I have to keep in check. Most people are not excited about cooking and many people are not even enthusiastic about eating. Food is fuel, but it is also an element of cultural connections and community, so we need to learn to incorporate the sense of enjoyment that comes with some meals. This can be difficult when someone has just been told to avoid certain ingredients, and I hope to help people bridge the emotional as well as the practical.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a Cooking Coach, I specialize in helping people with food intolerances, sensitivities, and allergies after a diagnosis. A client should work with naturopaths and dietitians to determine foods they should avoid, and other foods and nutrients they should incorporate. After that, I can take their list and step in and help them reshape their relationship with food to create new easy routines around shopping, cooking, and eating.
Because I have dealt with my own intolerances my entire life, I am an expert at low-FODMAP for IBS, and this includes gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. I can work with other intolerances as well and recently helped someone navigate a new soy-free and corn-free lifestyle.
Any big plans?
I plan to build upon my Cooking Coaching business, as well as develop recipes for new food brands. For example, if a food brand launched a new gluten-free cookie butter (think Biscoff, but gluten-free), I could develop recipes that use their ingredient and create a new recipe for Gluten-Free Biscoff S’mores Brownies, or something else relevant.
I am also planning to continue building my blog to reach vegan and low-FODMAP communities, or anyone who just enjoys cooking and looking at pretty food pictures.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.saraskitch.com
- Instagram: @saraskitchIG
- Pinterest: @Saraskitch
Image Credits
Taylored Wedding and Portraits
