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1.24.18

It’s not that we expected Alison to reveal a fridge full of rainbow-layered smoothies, but…no, we did expect that.

Blogger Alison Wu is one of the most impressive wellness foodies on Instagram, popularizing the now ubiquitous layered smoothie (see this story).

We asked the mostly vegan, gluten-free wellness blogger to share her life in the kitchen with us. Rifle through her Coconut Cult and Pressed Juicery filled fridge with us in one of our fave series on the site

Food philosophy in one sentence:

Food is medicine – for our bodies, yes, but also for our minds and spirits.

Always in my fridge:

Matcha (yes, matcha is best kept in the fridge to preserve flavor after opening), fresh herbs, lacinato kale, homemade dukkah, hot sauce, chocolate.

7 recipe staples always on hand:

Greens, lemons, black pepper, garlic, avocado oil for cooking, olive oil for dressings, garbanzo beans.

Must-have munchies:

Fave condiments:

Stone-ground and Dijon mustard. Always and forever.

Ingredient that makes everything taste better:

Must-have pantry staples:

Coconut butter, dates, all the adaptogens, dried apricots, banza, apple cider vinegar, quinoa, cinnamon, coconut oil, high-quality olive oil, ghee and toasted sesame oil.

Go-to proteins:

Roasted pasture-raised chicken, fresh seafood, nuts and seeds, collagen peptides and garbanzo beans.

Best bargain:

Bringing your own glass jars to buy from the bulk bins. Saves money and the environment.

Best label reading tip:

Look out for added sugar (yes, honey counts too!). Also, check sodium content. If there is a low-sodium option, get that. As a general rule of thumb, skip anything with more than ten ingredients.

Fave veggie + what you make with it:

Literally not possible for me to pick a favorite veggie. They are all so different and amazing. I can’t pick favorites here!

Craziest thing I buy:

I have a whole section of my pantry devoted to different types of seaweed.

Sweets and other indulgences:

ZenBunni Gheenache. Also, Freaky Health Chocolate bars and my Pumpkin Pie Dream Bars.

Dairy or non-dairy faves:

Coconut everything always!

Skip labels that read:

I honestly try to limit the amount of things I buy that have labels at all. I tend toward filling up my shopping cart with whole foods – vegetables, fruits, proteins.

Favorite splurge:

$16 chunky almond, cashew, coconut butter from Groundup PDX. I go through a jar a week. I’m obsessed.

For last-minute entertaining:

Snack board with homemade dips and vegan cheeses. Heavy on the veggies. Like this one.

Favorite places to shop:

Portland Farmers Market. Providore PDX. New Seasons. When I’m traveling abroad, I love visiting local markets. I was just in Oaxaca, Mexico and visited Tlacolula Market – one of the best I’ve ever been to!

Simple go-to recipe:

Whole roasted chicken and a giant salad dressed with my go-to mustard vinaigrette.

Best food memory:

My Grandma greeting me with a homemade apple pie every time I went to visit her on Cape Cod as a little girl.

Discover the healthy habits and fresh grocery lists of wellness pros we love here in our ‘In My Fridge’ series.

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Comments


  1. mostly vegan but fav simple recipe is whole chicken…kind of offended…maybe rather say whole food instead of vegan!

    mollypam | 01.24.2018 | Reply
    • Then they should say ” mostly plant based”, not vegan.
      A parallel being, I’m kind of pregnant. You are pregnant or you aren’t.

      mollypam | 02.11.2018 | Reply
  2. Vegan is a lifestyle, agree with comment above.

    gloria refman | 01.24.2018 | Reply
    • nothing “mostly vegan” about it, chalkboard mag.

      carmen | 01.24.2018 | Reply
      • It’s really important to us to support all diets and lifestyles. Alison claims to be “mostly vegan” and shares about it freely above. We support her choice.

        The Chalkboard | 01.29.2018 | Reply
        • Totally agree! Maybe she is “mostly vegan.” Step off your tall horses and don’t give vegans a bad name for being snotty and exclusive. There are grey areas in all parts of life like sexuality, politics, religion. She was being honest. Her lifestyle is mostly vegan….so there you have it.

          kathleen | 02.01.2018
        • It’s not vegan tho. A parallel being… you aren’t mostly pregnant. You are pregnant or you aren’t.

          mollypam | 02.11.2018
  3. mostly vegan. what a joke!

  4. Cheaper to “bring your own glass jars to buy from the bulk bins?” I don’t think so. Glass is very heavy and weights a lot. Bulk foods are weighed at checkout and you pay accordingly. Actually considerably cheaper to buy bulk foods in plastic bags that are provided and transfer to glass containers at home.

    Ally | 01.25.2018 | Reply
    • Hi Ally, At the local grocery stores in Portland, they deduct the weight of the glass jar so you’re paying simply for the bulk food items. Weigh your glass jar before you fill it up, then write it down and the cashier will work their magic. You won’t be penalized.

      Kait Hurley | 01.25.2018 | Reply
      • Exactly, Kait! I don’t think this is just a Portland thing, either. Grocery stores encourage this because it saves them on their packaging and waste as well!

        Katie | 01.28.2018 | Reply
  5. So , what, you cart half a dozen or more glass jars to the store and fill them with rice and beans to make them even heavier and then get them home without having them clunk together and chip or shatter. This is just foolishness. Reuse a paper or plastic bag for goodness sakes!

    deirdre | 01.27.2018 | Reply
    • It’s pretty easy, actually! Kinda like coming home with some jars of pasta sauce — totally possible 😉

      Katie | 01.28.2018 | Reply
  6. Beautiful and yummy! Coconut always forever <3

    Carrie | 01.28.2018 | Reply
  7. woww. Today I know this, it’s great.

    Phongkhamphukhoa | 01.28.2018 | Reply
  8. To each their own right……….mostly vegan…….flexitarian……my life my rules……some like Ford, some like Chevy or other brands………all I can say is Negative Nancy’s mothers should have been stricter on the “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all!

    Sexy Yaya | 02.09.2018 | Reply
  9. Anyone have any thoughts on what kind of refrigerator that is? In the market for a new one and love the layout!

    RACHAEL W | 02.13.2018 | Reply
  10. Is it possible to just read an article these days and take from it what is useful for us and leave the rest? Must we be so critical and judgmental?

    Írisz | 02.21.2018 | Reply
  11. I love this! So many good ideas to try, thanks Alison. I’m trying to switch to more vegan options and this has given me some great ideas 🙂

    cassir | 04.25.2019 | Reply

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