Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Watson.
Hi Alicia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My interest in adding plants to my diet happened while training and competing for the Ironman Triathlon Series. I began eating raw vegan as a way to compete. I really enjoyed how adding plants to my diet made me feel and how I was able to compete without injury.
As a home health occupational therapist, I began to explore what I could do to maximize the benefits of therapy for my patients by addressing hydration and nutrition.
I realized at this time that food was medicine and decided to change my life by going to culinary school and becoming a chef. Today, I believe food is medicine and basically, everything you eat affects your body in a positive or negative way.
I don’t believe in the idea that you have to be vegan or vegetarian to improve your health outcomes. Simply adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet helps reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease. Small changes make big differences.
Change your plate/ change your life.
Today, I am the chef-owner of Vito and Vera, a culinary wellness business. We are female-owned and chef-driven sourcing our ingredients seasonally from local farmers in a 60-mile radius. We are currently doing meals to do, in-home catering, and culinary wellness education to medical professionals who are motivated to use food as a treatment avenue.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Opening a plant-based business in Arkansas presented several struggles as well as starting the business one week before the COVID shut down. I remain passionate about cooking plant-based food that is as good for your body as your eyes. I believe we deliver beautiful, local, and super flavorful food every week to our clients.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Vito and Vera is a culinary wellness business named after my grandparents who immigrated to this country.
Our mission is to meet people wherever they are on the plant-based continuum and change their health outcomes by providing ways to add plants and vegetables to their diet. I am proud to be a certified women-owned business and I am proud of the way we source our food and maintain a seasonal, locally sourced diet.
What sets us apart from the others is that our food is beautiful as you eat with your eyes first but secondly we deliver with flavor. There is nothing boring or bland on our menu. All the while, our customers feel confident counting the plants they are eating versus calories.
Currently, you can follow us on Instagram where we provide tips, videos, and recipes. Education plays a large part in our story because when you know better you do better.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Vito and Vera locally sourced chef-driven sustainable practices in the front and back of the house meeting customers where they are
women-owned.
WE BELIEVE FOOD IS MEDICINE AND WE BELIEVE WE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE WITH SMALL CHANGES TO YOUR DIET.
Contact Info:
- Email: alicia@vitoandvera
- Instagram: @vitoandvera
