Shauna Gilbert

IN THE KITCHEN WITH SHAUNA GILBERT

September 2019 US Wellness Meats Featured Chef Q&A

Tell us about yourself:

I’m Shauna Gilbert, Culinary Nutrition Expert and blogger living in the San Francisco Bay Area. My life’s passion has been eating amazing food, cooking, and travel. After almost completely reversing my own autoimmune condition by removing the foods that were triggering my health condition (gluten, dairy, refined sugars and oils among others) and cranking up the real, whole foods, I went back to culinary nutrition school so I could learn everything I possibly could about food as medicine.

How did you get involved in cooking?

Everything revolved around the kitchen and food growing up, and I learned by watching my mother who was an amazing cook. Like me, she devoured cookbooks like novels, and we never missed an episode of Julia Child on TV.

Describe your cooking style:

My cooking style and recipes are focused on using seasonal whole foods, emphasizing vegetables, with good quality protein as a condiment.

How did you learn about grass-fed meats?

I learned about the importance of grass-fed and humanely raised meat during my quest to heal myself. You truly are what you eat.

What is your favorite recipe featuring grass-fed meat?

I have so many, but one of my favorites is the braised pork shoulder steak. It’s just so darn tasty and versatile.

You’re stranded on a desert island; luckily, you’re stranded with your top 5 ingredients and one must-have kitchen tool:

My top five ingredients are good quality sea or grey salt, extra virgin olive oil, filtered water, duck fat and lemon. My kitchen tool is my chef’s knife.

Best cooking secret/tip/piece of advice you’ve learned:

Have fun and don’t take it too seriously. If you’re not experienced, start with a recipe, make it once exactly as written, and then next time play with ingredients to make it your own.

What’s your favorite quote/song for culinary inspiration (if any)?

From Julia Child- “People who love to eat, are always the best people”

Anything else you want to share?

It’s so important to know what we are putting in our body. We take for granted that food producers have our best interest at heart, but sadly it’s not always the case. I encourage everyone to worry less about calorie counts, and focus on the ingredient label. If your grandmother wouldn’t recognize it, don’t consume it.

Enter to win our September 2019 Featured Chef Contest for a chance to win! Contest runs from September 1 – September 12, 2019