A NOTE FROM ARUNA TUMMALA
The above pic was taken on the day of my engagement, back in January 2003. The little mischievous imp sitting next to me in this picture is my niece by marriage, Trisha. As soon as we were introduced that day, we fell in love with each other?
Barely 3 years old, she made her affection for me evident right from the beginning! How could I resist such a sweet bundle of joy and mischief! Over the years, I have watched her blossom into a thoughtful, kind, very creative, compassionate young woman – in short – an amazing young lady!
Now, in college, she is also an accomplished Chef – and she learned it all by trial and error at home. When she began to experience some minor health issues (acne, anyone?); she turned to me, her Aunt, for advice and has since embraced a functional medicine approach in her lifestyle.
And she has taken it much farther than I can do or even imagine.
So, naturally, I suggested she start a cooking blog with her amazing dishes that are Functional Medicine friendly and therefore, perfect for our patrons. While I had been posting some recipes of my own with hastily put together pictures, you will see why I turned to her. Her attention to artistic detail, simplicity of instructions and the very professional-looking pictures (she is the one who creates all this), is a treat to watch and be inspired.
I hope that you will follow Trisha’s cooking blog and be inspired as you journey with us towards your health and wellness!
MEET TRISHA
Trisha is a student pursuing a four-year Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts (BFA) – Animation, from Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture & Fine Arts University (JNAFAU)- Hyderabad, India. She is an Artist & Designer.
The recent COVID-19 lockdown has helped her reflect and act on some of her long-pending personal interests.
Trisha is a healthy and mindful recipe developer. She uses natural ingredients. Her expertise is in Global cuisine with an Indian touch, made gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, refined-oil free and refined sugar-free. She advocates the use of organic, free range & antibiotic-free meats and eggs.
She is a connoisseur of good food. She believes that there is no substitute to clean eating. With this mindset, she carefully develops clean-cook recipes.
Growing up, she had access to and preferred home cooked food. However, for a couple of years in her late teens, to bond with friends from college, Trisha started to eat out often, which affected her gut and caused inflammation in the form of acne, food allergies and gained weight (about 10kgs over a period of three years).
To heal the gut, her first step was to eat clean by doing a disciplined gut cleanse for a period of 3 to 4 months. Eating clean coupled with a good fitness regime & dietary supplements healed her gut, resulting in clear skin and increased metabolism. Today, eating clean every single meal is a change Trisha made for life (with a rare occasional binge).
Apart from this, Trisha leads an environment-conscious life with a minimalistic approach. She buys package-free groceries & essentials from zero waste stores, composts kitchen waste at home and strives to reduce plastic usage.
She uses only eco-friendly soaps/shampoos/detergents such as soap nut (Acacia concinna) and reetha (Sapindus mukorossi) and routinely makes bio-enzyme at home with Citrus peels and Neem leaves (Azadirachta indica). Trisha share this natural cleaner (bio-enzyme) with friends & family. Trisha leaves no stone unturned to influence people around her to:
- Rethink one’s choices
- Refuse single use
- Reduce consumption
- Reuse everything
- Refurbish old stuff
- Repair before you replace
- Repurpose to be creative and reinvent
- Recycle as a last option
Trisha’s motto is to eat-clean, lead a chemical-free & low-waste lifestyle. Follow her recipes for more information.