Welcome to In the Kitchen with Steff! I’m Steffanie and I create simple flavorful recipes that I hope you’ll want to make again and again.
I am a Southern California girl and I live in Los Angeles. I’ve been married to my husband, Virgil for almost 20 years and I am a mom to two girls, Isabelle and Sophia. We have two dogs, Jazz and Chita. When I’m not driving my kids around or volunteering at their school I’m most likely practicing yoga. I practice yoga almost daily. It keeps me grounded and connected. I find that yoga helps me be a better mom, wife, friend, daughter and overall better human being!
Since I was a little girl I always had a love of cooking and it wasn’t until I was much older that I realized I also enjoyed teaching others how to cook. So, with my passion of cooking and the desire to inspire others, I created @IntheKitchenwithSteff on Instagram to do just that! I’ve been creating and posting recipes weekly on Instagram for almost four years and it’s been a great experience.
With the love, support and encouragement of my friends, family and followers I decided to start a food blog where all my recipes can live and breath. My hope is to continue to inspire you with food so you develop confidence in the kitchen.
Thanks so much for being here!
Steffanie
Going Deeper…
Having a food blog is personal. People connect deeply over food. One of the ways I show love is through food. With food being at the center of my life it is ironic that it also became the medicine my daughter needed to live. The year 2023 might go down as the most difficult year of my life so far, but with great struggle comes great growth.
As the roller coaster of my life started to slow down I began to realize that something good would come out of all the trauma and pain that my entire family suffered. I knew that I needed to figure out how to turn everything we went through into something good. If I could help at least one person then maybe it would all be worth it. And so the wheels started turning in my brain and creativity started to creep in and “recipes for recovery” was born!
Recovery from what you ask? Recovery from an eating disorder. My older daughter, Isabelle had been struggling with an eating disorder for several years, but in 2023 it got real and by real I mean real scary, life-threatening, and very dangerous. While the details of her disorder are hers to tell she has given me permission to share that she suffers from Anorexia. Today, she is moving toward recovery and is in a pretty good place.
Recovery from an eating disorder requires a specific meal plan that is created to meet a person’s individual needs. Eating disorders are dangerous mental health disorders with medical complexities. Seeking professional medical help might be necessary. I am not a doctor or a certified expert. I am a mother who has a daughter currently in recovery for Anorexia. I have spent countless hours in family therapy, individual therapy, and dietician sessions. I have also read numerous books, sat in hundreds of support group meetings, and listened to several podcasts on the subject. I am providing this resource for people looking for recipes for recovery.
While eating disorders are not unique, everyone’s journey to recovery is. I have learned over the past several years that this can be a very isolating time for everyone involved. There is a great deal of shame and embarrassment that surrounds the illness- so many people suffer alone. Not only the person with the disordered eating but the families as well. I want to break the shame and silence. I want to talk about the illness without judgment. I want to educate and help those in the throes of the disorder as well as those who suffered alone in the past.
Caring for a loved one with an eating disorder might be the most difficult thing I have ever faced. I am lucky because I am not doing it alone. Not only is my husband right by my side, but we also have a team of professionals who have educated and helped us. I hope these recipes for recovery can take some of the burden off those planning and plating every meal. It’s a hard job, and food can become the bane of your existence. I pray that this helps just a little.
In the Kitchen with Steff is still the same food blog with simple easy to follow recipes that you know and love. It is also home to a new category called Recipes for Recovery where people can go to search for recipes that will help them when feeding a loved one or themselves with an eating disorder. Whether you are doing family based treatment (FBT), in a partial hospitalization program (PHP), intensive outpatient program (IOP), or dealing with an eating disorder on your own this may be something you need.
When I was planning and plating 3 meals and 3 snacks a day it was a lot and it was all consuming. I ran out of ideas and became burned out. I felt like I was serving the same things. When I looked for resources I didn’t find much out there. So that’s when I decided to become a resource. I will continue to grow this category and go into more depth as time goes on. My entire blog can be a great tool for someone with an eating disorder, not just the new category. Look around and you will find plenty of options that will relieve some of the strain when it comes to meal planning.
