Santa Monica Observer 1/26- 2/1/2009

Front and Center with the ultimate in Clean Food

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.  – Leonardo da Vinci

January, as we all know, is a time of contemplation.   It is a time to take stock on bad habits and try to evolve into a better person.  Nowhere is this more apparent than when it comes to food.   The American diet is riddled with over processed food high in animal fats and low in fiber that lead to a multitude of illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.   Our country spends more than any other nation in the world on cancer research, yet so much of this disease is a bi-product from our unhealthy approach to life.  We get it: we eat these foods because more than anything else they’re easy.  Overworked and overstressed most of us don’t have the time to run around town to the four different supermarkets and farmers markets necessary to have real farm to table food.  But in an attempt to counteract our over-processed lives, one Santa Monica resident has created a new daily meal delivery service, Simple Clean Food Plan.

“Simple Clean Food Plan is a food service that is at your service. It is the ultimate in health and self-care, designed to never leave anyone hungry and provide freedom from that starve and binge cycle so damaging to our bodies, minds and emotional state,” explains creator Michelle Renee Gentilly.   Gluten free, Wheat free, Sugar free, and Dairy free.  Upon first mention to many it may sound like prison sentence.  But having tasted the wares I am here to report it resembles none of the cardboard consistency of some delivery services; instead it seasoned with the freedom of simplicity.   “So many people are addicted to sugar, and it’s freedom from that,” comments Gentilly.  The parameters are similar to macrobiotic meals, but not as astringent.  There are no processed foods involved; the each meal only uses whole foods, such as brown rice, lentils, and beans.

Taste is everywhere in the food.   “I use a lot of cinnamon which is great for the blood sugar levels and fresh fruit and vegetables is a big part of the presentation. It has to have a lot of colors and textures, be fun and interesting to eat and make you feel energetic after,” explains Gentilly.  Another benefit found in Simple Clean Food Plan that is missing from other meal delivery services are that the portions are really sizable: full of protein, and loads of brown rice.   “For me, I love to eat.  Any food plan for me has to have stuff and weight.  Even people who tell me they hate vegetables like this diet,” explains Gentilly.  “Greens with just chicken doesn’t cut it for me.”

A full day’s delivery consists of six meals made of back to basic ingredients.  “I use a lot of raw nuts and seeds too, and I don’t add oils to anything.  My feeling is that if I am going to have poly and mono unsaturated fats in my diet, I want to be able to chew it. I love raw almonds and eat them twice a day, sometimes more. Most of my snacks are some combo of fruit and nuts like the peach and pecan cup or banana and Brazil nut pudding,” states Gentilly.  “We offer meals like grilled Salmon and Mahi Mahi with mango and papaya salsa freshly made, zucchini linguini, chicken stuffed portabella mushrooms with organic wild rice and red quinoa mix. A favorite for lunch is the grilled tofu chicken salad sandwich with fresh tomatoes and garbanzo beans.”

This verve for simple, clean, honest meals evolved from Gentilly’s past food issues.  “It came about from my own diet, eliminating the things that weren’t healthy. I have had a food obsession for as long as I can remember. I love food, I love to eat and I am constantly wondering, how would that taste together?”  Something that can be advantageous as a health conscious chef, but that also has the potential to lead to the dark side as a consumer.   “This is a trait that became a problem for me,” Gentilly explains, ”when I began to wonder how crunchy peanut butter tastes on pizza and how the texture of cheese melted in vanilla ice cream would be?  Some combos are just better thoughts then they are actions. Trust me, any combo that you can think of, I’ve been there.

She also tried every healthy lifestyle available.  “I spent some Vegan time in Northern Michigan eating Vegan “healthy” brownies. Problem was, there are not enough Vegan brownies in the world for me. Not to mention the boxes of whole-wheat cereal that could of been good for me.  But when you eat two boxes for dinner the health part kinda gets lost during the pass out on the couch and feel groggy the entire next day episode,” she states.  “I was skipping meals all the time.”  It was a constant diet cycle.  “The no carbs thing that had me reaching for the caffeine to keep my eyes open and freezing from poor circulation, only to land me at the sugar-free ice cream dealer, claiming that I have tons of friends coming over to share the half gallon and sugar free fudge with sugar free topping and organic berries.”

Gentilly realized that if she was going to get healthy she needed to get back to basics.  “About a year and half ago, I cleaned my act up and starting eating six smaller meals, consisting of brown rice and chicken.”  The benefits were immediate, but grueling.  “It was the hardest I have been through, getting over my addiction to sugar.  For three months afterward I needed to come home in the afternoon and lay down in bed.  I had to learn how to work without sugar in my body.   Six months later I had tons of energy during the day, and felt really calm, really grounded.”

“My experience is that counting calories was a method to eat as much as possible and still lose weight, which never worked for me and that less is, well, less. Simple Clean Food Plan is a lifestyle that focuses on the serving sizes of vegetables, fruits, nuts, assorted fish and lean proteins and whole grains. Bottom line, we get out of our bodies what we put into our bodies.  Your body needs fats, it needs carbs, it needs protein.  I encourage my clients to be gentle with their bodies and to look at the long term effects of what they are eating, rather then a quick fix,” explains Gentilly.

“I get the ‘food thing’ and understand that we need to have fun while we eat,” she continues.  “Eating has to be a heart felt experience with a stomach filling result that does not drain us of energy and never gets old,” explains Gentilly.  “I love stuff that’s really grainy, that tastes really earthy. Brown rice, quinoa, I can put it in everything! I get really inventive with a few ingredients.”  And she’s very particular about what kind of rice she uses: short grain organic brown rice, she is quick to note it has the most body and is chewiest.  “It’s the most filling to me.  I use it blended to make brown rice pudding.”

During Gentilly’s reorganizing of food priorities friends begin noticing how she benefited from this lifestyle and asked if she would start preparing food for them.  “I started doing at own house.  Just one other person, then two, and then three.   Once I hit five I couldn’t do it in my house anymore.”   This new employment was a little unexpected; Gentilly already has a day job, she’s a buyer for Yogaworks’ retail division during the day.  She views Simple Clean Food Plan as a happy accident allowing her to help people with food issues and find an appreciation for nourishment.  With a background in graphic design, Gentilly used her creative skills to design the logos that are featured prominently on the Clean Simple Food Plan insulated delivery bag and menu stickers that are attached to every Tupperwared breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Some of the other elements of the business have been trial by fire.  Gentilly recently began renting commercial cooking space at Extreme Kitchen, in Venice.  She and three other companies use the space everyday at various times throughout the day.  “It was definitely a different experience, it’s huge compared to my kitchen.”   But within the vastness of space at Extreme Kitchen Gentilly was able find some staff help.  “I met Kim Sanchez, who’s the biggest blessing ever.  I was baffled, trying to do it by myself.  Kim came up to me and asked me: ‘How are you doing?’ and the only thing I could say back was ‘I need help.’”   She continues, “I could not have done this by myself.”

But even with a learning curve Gentilly is loving ever moment of Simple Clean Food Plan, working every day of the week, with nary a day off.  “One part I love is coming up with the names such as the ‘Berry Good Start Bowl,’” which consists of brown rice, egg whites, and blueberries.  “There is nothing that fulfills me more then to let my clients know that I care about how they feel on the inside and that without the inside loved and cared for, there is little hope for the outside.”

“My favorite part of the day is delivering the day’s meals at 5 o’clock in the morning.  Just me, driving around with my Peet’s Coffee to Santa Monica, West L.A, and Venice.  This city seems pretty simple without the complications of traffic in those early morning.”  Just like Gentilly’s approach to food: cut out all the noise and traffic and what you get is simple goodness that loves and nourishes your body to the level it deserves. The result is simply cruise control to the ultimate in health, energy, balance and happiness.

Simple Clean Food Plan Meal Delivery prices run from $45 to $65 a day.  For more information on Clean Simple Food Plan you can call 1-888-MG FOOD4 (888-643-6634)

simplecleanfoodplan@gmail.com

Kat Thomas is a writer and performer.  She can be reached at: kathrynthomas17@yahoo.com