Parsnips and Pastries 2024: Find Your Balance

DeliveryRank meets Tiffany La Forge - the professional chef, food writer, and author behind Parsnips and Pastries. With a degree in Pastry Arts from a New York City culinary school and extensive experience in renowned restaurants and bakeries, Tiffany combines her passion for seasonal, balanced, and approachable recipes on her blog. Parsnips and Pastries reflects her love for healthy, fresh, and indulgent foods, offering a variety of recipes for every taste. Tiffany's culinary journey began in her grandmother's kitchen and evolved into a professional career, culminating in the creation of her blog in 2015. She continues to inspire readers with her delicious creations and balanced approach to food.

Tiffany's new book, "Feed Your Chakras: Recipes to Restore & Balance Your Energy Centers," was recently released. In this insightful guide, Tiffany offers over 50 recipes designed to help readers identify imbalances and revitalize their energy centers. Drawing on her expertise as a chef and her passion for holistic wellness, she demonstrates how food, alongside yoga and mindfulness, can play a crucial role in maintaining balanced chakras and overall well-being.

Tiffany, your blog, Parsnips and Pastries, celebrates a balance between healthy eating and indulgence. How do you personally maintain this balance in your daily life, and how has it influenced the content you create for your readers?

I think that life is all about balance, both in and out of the kitchen. When it comes to eating and cooking, I believe in real, whole foods and encourage eating the rainbow. However, I also believe in Sunday brunch, celebrating birthdays with delicious cakes, and occasional cocktails. My recipes reflect this, so I don’t really consider my blog a “healthy” blog or a blog focused on just one way of eating. Instead, as a professional chef, I like to focus on seasonal recipes and a balance and variety of foods and recipes!

You have a rich background in the culinary arts, having worked in prestigious restaurants and bakeries. Can you share a pivotal moment from your professional journey that significantly shaped your approach to cooking and baking?

I worked in professional kitchens and the restaurant industry since I was in high school, and this experience had mostly negative impacts on my life as a woman. Hopefully, kitchen environments are much different today, but they weren’t when I was in them. Shifting my career to a different medium was difficult, but it allowed me to continue my passions, carve out space, and remove myself from some very toxic and very harmful situations. My approach to cooking and baking now is that you can do it anywhere. From your home, from a teeny tiny studio kitchen, from working full-time and juggling a million different things. Food can be very simple, and that’s usually when it’s also the most delicious.

Parsnips and Pastries offers a wide variety of recipes, from vegan to paleo to indulgent desserts. What inspires you to create such a diverse range of dishes, and how do you ensure each recipe aligns with your philosophy of balance and approachability?

I create recipes based on how and what I love to eat. I have vegan recipes on my blog because I like to eat plant-based several times a week, and paleo because I do the Whole 30 once a year. It’s nice to provide different options for readers, and some of these recipes are my most popular! When I offer these recipes, I like to make them approachable and familiar. For example, my vegan Italian stuffed peppers, which a lot of meat eaters who are curious about incorporating more plant-based options have loved!

Your assistant, Cocoa, often makes an appearance in your blog. How does having a furry companion influence your work and daily routine, especially when creating and testing new recipes?

Haha! Both Cocoa (my 13-year-old dog) and Kona (my two-year-old rescue) spend the entire time with me in the kitchen when I recipe test. Blogging can be pretty isolating sometimes, since most of us do it ourselves. It’s actually really nice to have their companionship, and they love taste testing!

You mentioned that Parsnips and Pastries started during a medical leave in 2015. How has blogging and connecting with your audience through P+P impacted your personal and professional life over the years?

As I mentioned, life really was not so great for me as a professional chef and woman in professional kitchens 10-20 years ago. Blogging has allowed me to continue my passions through a different medium, which I will always be thankful for, and connecting with my audience has been a deeply fulfilling part of my life. I would encourage everyone to take chances and always keep themselves open to new possibilities in life!

If you would like to find out more about Tiffany La Forge, please visit https://www.parsnipsandpastries.com/

If you are interested in Tiffany’s latest book, see https://www.amazon.com/Feed-Your-Chakras-Recipes-Restore/dp/1577154118