Are you a peanut butter fiend seeking fitspiration? If you answered “yes” then you have come to the right place. We chatted to Monica from @mainlymonica to discuss the feel good
pastimes of cruelty-free dessert creation and meeting fitness goals. Monica is mainly found making culinary delights or challenging herself physically, read on to find out more..
What urged you to begin crafting your delectable plant-based recipes and wonderful desserts?
I feel like it all happened very organically. When I first started using instagram I made recipes shared by people I followed and found it really enjoyable. After a while I wanted to get a little bit more creative and experiment some of my own ideas based off other people’s recipes. After lots of practice (and failures) I’ve developed a good sense of when a recipe does and doesn’t work (though sometimes I still just hope for the best!)
You’re a very active person, what motivates you to live such an active lifestyle?
I don’t know any other way to be! I grew up very active, I literally did every sport under the sun…you name it and I’ve probably done it (hockey, cheerleading, netball, softball, swimming, show jumping, high jump, hurdles, gymnastics… just to name a few). Now that I’ve grown up a bit, the main reason is because it just makes me feel good and proud of myself. Also, the people I’ve met along the way is probably one of the best parts.
What’s your favourite plant-based dessert you’ve created so far?
Oooo that’s a tough one! deciding on one is like trying to choose your favourite child so I’ll try and narrow it down to 3. They would probably have to be my Oreo cake, salted caramel slice and wagon wheels!
While you specialise in desserts, are you by any chance looking to craft more savoury recipes ?
I have dabbled with posting savoury recipes in the past, but personally I just don’t find them as fun to develop and sometimes they can be especially hard to photograph (in my opinion at least). It’s a little bit funny though because I actually prefer eating savoury foods…I could live off vegetables and beans alone! I host dinners pretty regularly for my family, but unfortunately I usually just wing it and run out of time to photograph it before we eat!
What’s one ingredient you can’t live without?
Impossible to narrow down to just one ingredient so I’m going to have to say…peanut butter, @macr0mike protein powder and cacao powder/chocolate.
You’re obviously a sweet-tooth. How would you convince a fellow sweet-tooth who’s skeptical about plant-based desserts to give this healthy alternative a try?
I would just encourage them to be open to the idea. There are so many different ways to do just about anything, so making an alternative to typical recipes doesn’t necessarily make it wrong. Maybe you’ll even be surprised, but you never know until you try!
How would you describe @mainlymonica in five words and why?
unique, fun, chocolatey, active and peanut butter. As much as I love sharing all of my different recipes I also enjoy sharing a little bit of what I do outside of the kitchen so there is always a fair dose of what I get up to in the gym. But chocolate and peanut butter is essential so you can never go wrong there.
What’s in store for @mainlymonica in the next few months? Are you working on new recipes right now?
I’m open to seeing where what I’m currently doing might lead… I’m always working on new recipes, so you can definitely expect them to keep coming!
Can you share with us your top 5 food vloggers or bloggers to follow?
that’s hard, there are SO many amazing people doing amazing work. But if I have to name a few of my favourites I would probably have to say; @rachlmansfield @betterbeingsteph @erinireland @thefashionfitnessfoodie @bakeritablog
We love hearing about how people enjoy their Cocobella. What are your favourite ways to use Cocobella coconut water or yoghurt? CocobellaCoconut yoghurt makes its way into at least 75% or my recipes and obviously enjoyed with 100% of them. It’s also the secret extra creamy ingredient in my favourite smoothie bowls! I use the coconut water in my post workout protein shakes and they just aren’t same without it anymore!
Keep up with Monica via her website mainlymonica.com and on instagram @mainlymonica
