For Reals Meals Hosted by Kelly Purkey

This For Reals Meals had a lot of firsts for designer (and host) Kelly Purkey. It was one of the first times she’d cooked in her kitchen. Not just a plant-based meal…but ever. It was also the first time she’d ever met her guests. I always encourage the hosts of FRM to invite people they’d like to get know better, but Kelly took it one step further and invited women who had businesses she admired but had never had as much as an email exchange with. It was one big blind date!

Kelly invited some pretty big-time guests: Kelly Marie Thompson of Fleur, Sandra Holl of Floriole, and Christine Cikowski of Honey Butter Fried Chicken. I really have to hand it to Ms. Purkey. I’m not sure I’d have the courage to cook for some of my favorite chefs or entertain one of my favorite florists. But she did, and the day was a huge success. You know it’s a great party when your guests ask for your recipes at the end!

Take a look at Kelly’s menu:
Lemon + herb hummus
Miso slaw
Quinoa collard wraps with sesame carrot dressing
Brown rice crispy treats

One of my favorite parts of the lunch (besides Kelly’s collard wraps!) was Christine sharing her motto for 2014: F*CK IT. At the start of the year, she realized how hard she was working and noticed that she wasn’t making time for herself – so she started to. I shared that I sometimes have guilt over doing nice things for myself, because I feel that I should be working 24/7 to get ahead of my to-do lists. And her advice was…F*CK IT. If you want to get a pedicure on your lunch break, do it. If you want to see a movie on a Saturday instead of catching up on emails, do it. You have to take care of yourself and allow time to think, breathe, and enjoy life. If you don’t, your work will begin to suffer. She’s a smarty.

Now you. What could you do this weekend to take care of yourself better? What have you been wanting to do just for YOU? What can you do that you’ve set aside because of work, friends, family? Do it for yourself!

Thanks so much, Kelly, for hosting such a great lunch. You truly inspired me to try to do something outside my comfort zone. Here’s to more cooking!

Kelly isn’t just a great chef…she’s a super talented designer too. Check out Kelly’s incredible designs and products on her site.

PS: If you want brown crispy treats as much as I do after seeing the photo above…here’s a recipe!