The Holistic Approach with Sippin' Live

Sippin' Live is what Sherece Cowan calls "eco-cuisine". She defines it as a fusion of raw and gently cooked plant-based dishes with organic and sustainably sourced ingredients. She has recently added their Sippin' Live Garden, which provides more than 50 per cent of their ingredients.

"We also have a line of products including vegan cheeses, kombucha, sauces and dressings," she added.

Her brand deals with more than food. It is a holositic experience including consultancy services, which include staff training,

food styling, creating menus, gardening or permaculture advice and design. Their events include yoga, art and music.

Cowan did not start out as a vegan chef, but rather a pastry chef but she believes in authenticity and integrity, so when her lifestyle changed, so did the foods she prepared.

 

INTEGRITY

 

"Integrity is very important to me, therefore, as I evolved and became aware of the relationship between food and the body I began serving others the way I would serve myself," she told Food.

She has a genuine love and passion for creating food. Cowan compares it to meditation, and explains that it is like going on a journey. She is fully immersed in her foodie creations.

"I've spent my whole life seeing my family in the food business. Having that experience showed me, that the hectic everyday cooking and serving on a line is not for me and I want to preserve the love for what I do. I like to journey with people and my food, working with smaller groups and helping to create a domino effect of lifestyle shifts," she explains.

She would like to clear up the misconception that living healthy is expensive. She notes that we live in a tropical environment where vegetables and fruits of some sort are available to us. It took her travelling to Africa and working in a restaurant there for her to actually recognise how to create and utilise what is available to her.

Since she is already in food preparation, why not add dinnerware to their achievements, and this is Sippin' Live's current pet project. This 'earth-conscious dinnerware' will be in collaboration with Enbois Originals.

"Enbois has been creating conscious wooden works made from sustainable fast-growing trees. The company partners with the Haiti tree project and plants trees for every product sold, playing a big role in reforestation. With this collaboration, we hope to also partner with a Jamaican initiative to do similar works here on the island and place a greater emphasis on sustainability," she explains as to why she has teamed up with Enbois Originals.

They are also working on fully establishing their garden in St Elizabeth. They have dubbed the experience 'Teach, eat, grow'. It takes guests from exploring the garden to learning techniques about organic farming, herbal aromatherapy to a three - or five-course meal by the waterfalls.

Sippin' Live aims to please. Here are a few recipes of gems that you can experience from them.

Easy Cashew Nacho Cheese (2 to 1/2 cups)

2 cups cashews (soaked

overnight)

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 small garlic cloves

2 cups chopped red peppers

1 jalapeno pepper (remove seeds)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in the blender and process until smooth. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the blender jar with a spatula.

2. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

3. Store in a sealed glass container.

 

Refreshing Green Juice

 

1 cup kale

1 cup spinach

1 cup pineapple

1 cup cucumber

1 thumb ginger

half lemon

1 tsp spirulina/moringa powder

sprinkle sea salt

Directions:

1. Process all ingredients through the juicer or blend with 2 cups of water and strain.

 

Summertime Mango Dressing or Dip

 

1 cup mango pulp

2 tbsps lime juice

2 tbsp cilantro

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth, serve with your favourite salad or use as a dip for vegetables or fritters.