004: How Food Can Be Used as Medicine With Elana Horwich

We’ve all been impulsive and adventurous when we were young. It’s a common reason why people suddenly jump into certain decisions, whether it’s a temporary move or a life-long transformative one. 

That’s the same case with Elana Horwich, an entrepreneur, cook, author, healer, and teacher. Her life-changing moment occurred in her 20s as she decided to move to Italy where she found her love and healing in cooking. After five years, she went back to her hometown where she shared her newfound knowledge in food by opening a stress-free cooking school and wrote a cookbook about her Italian journey and the recipes she learned along the way.

In this episode, Elana Horwich talks about the inspiration behind her cookbook entitled ‘Meal and a Spiel: How to Be a Badass in the Kitchen’, being a Jewish woman in today's society, and building an intimate retreat center for healing ancestral trauma. 

Highlights 

[5:34] I think what makes me brave is that I really do often feel fear, and I am willing to work with it and move towards the things that I want. That I think is probably the true definition of bravery.

[15:04] Everybody has the opportunity to become a badass in the kitchen, to really feel empowered in the kitchen, to have joy, to feel the sexiness of it, and to be able to open the fridge and make something amazing from there.

[28:58] So when I look back at when does the magic unfold and when does the magic not unfold, it’s really that place of like, hard trust, you know. Just like being centered in your heart and being open to what comes your way, even when it may not look exactly the way you wanted it to look, and not control the outcome. 

[37:30] If I'm going to be holding space for people to come do healing, I need to be in a strong open space where I can hold the container for others to come and do their work. 

Links

Learn more about Elana Horwich’s stories, recipes, and retreats here and more about her life updates on her Instagram.