This week, I had an ah-ha. On May 3, 2024, my Mom has been gone from her very favorite spot on our Earth for a year. Late last night, I had an ah-ha that I would launch my new brand, Love Beautiful Food, today to honor her (and my Dad.)
To share a little personal, all my life, my Mom would tell me, “Follow your passions, and the money will follow.” My Dad would balance this and always ask, “How much money did you make?”…whether it be after coming home from a waitress job during the summers when I was in college, or even as an entrepreneur many years later…after an event, he’d ask, “How many books did you sell.”
Here’s the news! Today, I am proud and excited to share with you that I am launching my new brand, LOVE BEAUTIFUL FOOD, in my parents’ honor!With LOVE BEAUTIFUL FOOD, we go from Farm to Kitchen to Table. That is from the beautiful food our local farmers grow to simple culinary techniques and intuitive cooking to creating beautiful, eye-catching appetizers, entrees, and desserts. If you love farmers markets and home cooking and are ready to elevate your dishes into incredible, beautiful food… Coming soon…more shopping tips, intuitive recipes, and opportunities to create beautiful food in Live Online Challenges, 3-day Live Online Virtual Events, and even incredible Retreats. From my heart and passion, I really do look forward to sharing my passion and skills with you and creating Beautiful Food together! Love Beautiful Food, Melanie PS And, finally, finally…my parents would say to me today…”Now go have fun!” So, I pass that to you, too. Enjoy, my friends!
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
After two full weeks of traveling to Boston for my niece Mallory’s beautiful, loving wedding; to my parents’ home of 30 years in Cocoa Beach; to a stop in Barbados (while on the East Coast, of course, it makes sense to visit Barbados to explore the island and scout villas for plant-based culinary retreats.
For my close friends, an Albert family photo at Mallory’s wedding. xoxo
The Albert Family. Mallory and Phil’s Wedding. June 2, 2019.
Self-care in Cocoa Beach…breathing in the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean.
Self-Care in Cocoa Beach.
Barbados. So beautiful, I have to share right away, one of my favorite spots in the paradise of Barbados. The iconic Sandy Lane Beach.
Enjoying the serenity of Sandy Lane Beach in Barbados with my Tree Pose.
Back Home in Arizona
As soon as I was back in Phoenix, I shopped at our downtown Phoenix Public Market to purchase kale for a cooking event with the Maricopa County Summer Reading Program and bought a few seasonal goodies from our local farmers.
Saturday Stop: Phoenix Public Market
Honestly, I was not planning on cooking that morning before the Kale Salad event, but I could not resist, so I’m happy to share with you my first Arizona Summer Farm-to-Table Salad after returning to our desert.
Arizona Corn. Tomato. Arugula Summer Salad.
This salad was inspired by three of my summer favorites. Fresh corn-on-the-cob grown by long-time Farmer Frank of Crooked Sky Farms in Phoenix; Matt’s tomatoes from the Community Exchange; and baby arugula grown by Blue Sky Organic Farms in Litchfield Park. Plus, I picked up flavorful Hatun Oregano Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Fun shopping for Hatun Olive Oil at the Phoenix Public Market
Simple Ingredients
½ ear corn-on-the cob, kernels cut off the cob
1 cup tomatoes
1 cup arugula
1 lemon cucumber, sliced
1 lime, juiced
2 tbsp olive oil
Pinch sea salt
¼ cup walnuts
¼ cup Kalamata olives, sliced
1 tbsp capers
Arizona Summer Goodies. Thanks farmers!
Simple Steps
Pre-heat oven to broil.
Slice corn off the cob.
Slice the corn off the cob.
Place corn and tomatoes on a flat sheet pan.
Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt.
Drizzle olive oil onto corn and tomatoes.
Broil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Gather Mise en Place (all ingredients in place) to prepare the salad.
Be mindful. Mise en place to create the Arizona Summer Salad.
Place all ingredients into a small bowl.
Place all ingredients into bowl. Then gently toss.
Gently toss with hands.
Plate mindfully.
Enjoy.
Pause and enjoy your mindful plating.
Pause. Enjoy your mindful plating.
We eat with our eyes first. Enjoy your Summer Salad.
We eat with our eyes first. Enjoy your summer salad.
Plant-Based Culinary & Self-Care in the Magic of Sedona, September 13-16, 2019.
I’m excited to participate in the Local First Arizona Independents Week, June 29 – July 7, 2019. During that time, save 20% (up to $500) on the retreat. Contact Melanie Albert if you are interested: Mel@MelanieAlbert.com or 602.615.2486.
To stay in touch, visit us on Facebook and Instagram: @nutritionauthor
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain.
By Melanie Albert, Nutrition Expert and Author, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition
Melanie Albert: 2013 Accomplishment Board
Within the 9Ways90Days program we focus on goal setting and taking step-by-step action every day to achieve our goals.
This year I decided to create a visual board of my 2013 for both life and business before starting to set goals and create my vision for 2014.
4 Simple Steps to Create your 2013 Accomplishment Board
1.Sit quietly in your favorite place, light a candle, pause, inhale and exhale fully a few times.
2.Now intuitively write down the top 10 accomplishments in your life in 2013. Make one for your personal life and for your business or career. Personally, you may include great experiences like traveling, fun times with family or friends, your wedding, birth of a child or grandchild, even positive affirmations from your year. For business, it could be experiences (like speaking engagements or video shoots for me), rewards, promotions or a job change.
3.Favorite Photos. Next, go through your favorite photos from each of your accomplishments and put them into a simple document (Powerpoint works great).
4.Enjoy. Print out the document, share with your family and enjoy re-living the wonderful experiences.
With LOVE BEAUTIFUL FOOD, we go from Farm to Kitchen to Table. That is from the beautiful food our local farmers grow to simple culinary techniques and intuitive cooking to creating beautiful, eye-catching appetizers, entrees, and desserts. If you love farmers markets and home cooking and are ready to elevate your dishes into incredible, beautiful food… Coming soon…more shopping tips, intuitive recipes, and opportunities to create beautiful food in Live Online Challenges, 3-day Live Online Virtual Events, and even incredible Retreats. From my heart and passion, I really do look forward to sharing my passion and skills with you and creating Beautiful Food together! Love Beautiful Food, Melanie PS And, finally, finally…my parents would say to me today…”Now go have fun!” So, I pass that to you, too. Enjoy, my friends!
