Meet Emily Shaw

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Shaw.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Emily. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Fairfield, Iowa – the global capital of Transcendental Meditation – where roughly 1/3 of the population meditates. I learned the technique at age ten and studied Ayurveda and Sanskrit in grade school. The university there draws students from all around the world, so I was exposed to a wide variety of cultures and cuisines growing up.

I had two passions as a teenager – food, and fashion. In 2004, I decided to pursue the latter and made the move from 10,000 people to 13 million arriving at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles. I realized my teenage fantasy of becoming a fashion stylist, but it was short-lived as I found the values and lifestyle so dramatically opposite to my upbringing. A few years later, I read a couple of books that would forever change my career path – one of them being Diet for A New America by John Robbins. It moved me on a deep level, sending my mind into a flurry of possibilities. Almost overnight I became completely plant-based, embarking on a transformation.

Not that veganism was so different from what I was exposed to growing up, but this time it was full of intention, backed by immense passion. So much passion that I became blind to developing imbalances with my health. I developed amenorrhea which I struggled with for over a year – the result of more influences than just diet alone, yet it gave me a second round of fire to dive deeper into nutrition, health and what it means to be balanced. I found myself back in Iowa, getting a degree in Health and Human Physiology and then certification in health coaching from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

I began working with clients on their health, but my favorite part was talking about and making food. By this time, I’d healed amenorrhea naturally enjoying a little wider vegetarian diet, losing the self-imposed strictness, focusing on whole, real foods from my garden and the farmer’s market. Upon a move back to Los Angeles, I began studying and working with Matthew Kenney Culinary to become a plant-based chef and teach the masses the joys of plant foods. It was a thrilling ride learning the tools and tricks to make what I think to this day is the world’s most beautiful food. It’s edible poetry.

I had been sailing on pretty calm waters until it became clear I had some underlying hormone imbalances that were never completely healed. After a consultation with a world-renowned Ayurvedic vaidya (doctor), I made plans to do five weeks of Panchakarma (deep cleanse) in India. I sold my car, and on New Year’s Eve that same year, I boarded a plane to Hyderabad. India completely revived my love for Ayurveda – the world’s oldest and most complete health science. The lifestyle principles I learned as a child now had new meaning. Back in the US, I completely embraced these principles and began applying them to my life and for clients.

Has it been a smooth road?
Throughout my life in both health and career, I’ve had a tendency to push towards extremes. I had to learn the hard way that even a passion for diet and lifestyle can at some point go too far and backlash (for me in the form of amenorrhea). It has been a journey to find a balanced way of eating and thinking about my body and health as a whole. I feel that I’ve reached such a peaceful place with it now; a wonderful relationship with food that is nourishing, flowing, spiritual and full of pleasure. I wish that for everyone!

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I’m a plant-based personal chef with a focus on Ayurvedic, deeply healing, clean, nourishing foods that are full of flavor and equally nice to look at. I was deeply influenced by my time at Matthew Kenney Culinary in both food presentation and also using the highest quality ingredients straight from nature. I take pride in getting everything possible from the local farmer’s markets which are my playgrounds.

I’ll tell you that I’ve gotten teary-eyed more than once watching the farmers interact with customers and the beautiful produce – oh the beautiful produce! It’s just extraordinary, in my eyes it is art waiting to happen. I’m just such a huge advocate for buying organic, local, and seasonal that supports our local economy, our health and the environment – not to mention the fresh taste can’t be surpassed.

One of my clients has a rare and severe form of pulmonary hypertension and it is the most rewarding thing to be meal planning creatively within the strict guidelines of her limited diet, thinking about her lovingly while I prepare the food, play healing cooking mantras, and hearing her sheer excitement over a salt-free, oil-free, dairy-free gluten-free vegan white bean béchamel zucchini lasagna.

I’ve also begun collaborating with a few of my fellow women in food and wellness, Alle Weil of Flora Ex Machina, Meryl Pritchard of Kore Kitchen and Erica Mock of Twenty-Five Eight, putting on women’s health and food workshops. We gave our first one a few weeks ago about how to stay balanced in Vata season (winter) with knowledge coming from Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. I strongly believe in the power of food and nutrition education for all ages.

About one year ago, I produced a holiday recipe e-cookbook called The Plant Collective, a collaboration of recipes from many of today’s leading names in food and wellness such as Goop, Moon Juice, Sakara Life and Deliciously Ella to name a few. We donated 60% of all proceeds to Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard Project, which builds school gardens and educates children about our relationship to food and the land.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes, Los Angeles is a great place for healthy chefs and health coaches because there are many people who value a holistic lifestyle and want the service or want to learn more.

However, I also think there are other pockets of the US and beyond that don’t have access to the ingredients or the knowledge that could really use our help. With the power of the internet, there are endless opportunities to help people all around the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emilyroseshaw.com/
• Email: emily@emilyroseshaw.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyrose_shaw/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilyroseshaw

Image Credit:
Alexa Gray

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