Meet Our Guest 'Grammer of the Week: @Tallulahalexandra
Each week we’re teaming up with a popular food-stagrammer who will take over ourI Instagram feed and fill it with their own delicious pics. This weekend on #TastyTakeovers, Alexandra Dawson behind In My Bowl is our guest. Learn her secret for taking delicious photos in the Q&A below and head over to @YahooFood on Instagram to watch her foodie adventures unfold all weekend long.
Nutritionist and photographer Alexandra Dawson of In My Bowl. (Photo: Alexandra Dawson)
Name/Instagram Handle: Alexandra Dawson, @tallulahalexandra
Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hi! My name is Alexandra Dawson, I’m a Washington, D.C.-based nutritionist and wellness warrior and the writer and photograph behind plant-based lifestyle and recipe website inmybowl.com and Instagram, @tallulahalexandra. I’m an avid yogi, a puppy-mommy to a little white bulldog named Moses Moose, a total anatomy and nutrition nerd, and have successfully bopped my way through a half marathon. I’m extremely passionate about whole body wellness, a balance between a nourished mind, body, and spirit. Our body is one entity; to achieve true healthfulness means conscious and active living, positive, opened, and affirmative thinking, and clean, unprocessed, and mindful consumption. Through In My Bowl and Tallulah, I actively strive to make that philosophy and lifestyle as accessible as I can to every demographic.
(Photo: Instagram/tallulahalexandra)
What first got you interested in food and photography? Where do you draw inspiration from?
With my background in neuropsychology, during my post-baccalaureate program in dietetics and nutrition, I began my website inmybowl.com and corresponding Instagram, @tallulahalexandra, in the late autumn of 2013. It really began as a portfolio for future me, this personal database of my recipes and cognitions that I could share with future patients and clients. Of course, they’ve both grown into so much more! Both are really a tangible, and live-documented manifestation of my everyday, from my bops around town, to travels, to what’s in my breakfast bowl. I draw inspiration from what keeps me nourished and my plant based and unprocessed food philosophies, usually seasonal and local ingredients procured from my local farmers market, budget-friendly options from the bulk section of my grocery store, and the weather. Warmer months, my feed (and life) are a lot sunnier, including more frequent jogs, walks, and lighter more hydrating bites like raw salads and smoothies. During the autumn and winter I am such a hibernator. You’ll find me bundled up with a deep bowl of stew and ten mismatched layers of flannel and wool.
Coconut milk oat porridge with blueberry compote, strawberries, coconut flakes, and almond butter. (Photo: Alexandra Dawson)
How do you take your photos (with a camera or phone)? What are your favorite photo editing tools and/or tips for taking exceptional food photos? Give us the scoop!
I take the majority of my Instagram photos with my iPhone 6s; it’s light and convenient enough to keep in my pocked and have handy for on-the-go documenting. I always make sure to take advantage of natural lighting, paying attention to how the sun and shadows fall, and then edit with VSCO and Instagram. I take my website photographs (which often find their way onto Tallulah) with my Cannon 6D and edit in Lightroom.
Who are three of your favorite Instagrammers? What do you like about them?
Instagram is such an inspiring and impassioned community, I follow Instagrammers in so many different scopes, from the plant-based food photographers, to creatives, ceramists, hikers, adventurers, yogis, and everyone in between. A favorite would be almost impossible to identify, but recently I’ve been drawn to @nude_yogagirl, @samalive, and @talinegabriel – they’re really impassioned creatives and creators, though all in very different realms, with stunning, consistent, and exhilarating content.
Sunday morning farmers market scenes. (Photo: Alexandra Dawson)
What are some of your favorite spots to eat in and around D.C.?
I actually write and feature an ongoing City Guide on inmybowl.com, spotlighting vegan restaurants around D.C. (and around the country) that either offer plant-based and vegan-friendly options on their menus, or are willing to accommodate the vegan eater! D.C.’s plant-based scene has slowly, slowly been growing and some of my favorite spots include Buredo – this pseudo sushi-burrito roll fast-casual – Red Hen, The Dabney, and Barcelona Wine Bar for intimate celebrations, Jetties and Chaia, for super casual veggie packed sandwiches and tacos, and Cava for falafel salads.
Warm quinoa salad with wilted greens, edamame, seaweed and dried nori. (Photo: Alexandra Dawson)
What does #goddessvibes mean to you? How did you come up with that hashtag?
In early 2014 I found myself with this immense online community looking at me for inspiration, guidance, and insight and I wanted to channel that energy into something genuinely positive. #GoddessVibes (what had originally been intended as a month) began in April 2014 on the premise of unconditional self-love, positive thinking, and holistic and natural living. Since then, the goal has been to not only been to spread the vibes around the world — through Instagram snapshots of my life — but I suppose most pertinently, use this mantra to make vibrant, high quality, and health enhancing plant-based food nationally (internationally) accessible.
What’s the best thing you’ve eaten recently?
A few months back I had the pleasure of attending Wanderlust Festival in Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe. After four days of documenting the yoga, hiking, and meditation experience, I had one of the dreamiest, most stunningly vibrant salads of my life. I’m not sure if it was the altitude, exhaustion, or the fact that it was actually simply phenomenal, but think baked falafel salad with miso hummus, bright lemon juice, tahini, and sweet red chili dressing. I could eat that one salad every day and be happy.
Baked falafel salad with miso hummus from Wanderlust Festival. (Photo: Alexandra Dawson)
If you could throw a dream dinner party for any three people — living or dead — who would they be and what would you cook for them?
There’s no way I could limit a gathering to three people, even if they were the absolute coolest three people on the planet – I thrive off of those big, chaotic, happy happenings! Much like Goddess Vibes, I actually host an ongoing meet-up I refer to as the 52nd Gathering, an event series founded on the premise of positive thinking, holistic and natural living, and the communal table. Be it a recurring potluck, or just one weekend of the 52 this calendar year spent sipping lavender tea, the focus lies on consciously gathering — because sharing a meal, a conversation, a moment — is cause for celebration. So far, gatherings have included plant-based menu collaborations with restaurants around Washington, D.C., as well as these magnificent seasonal celebrations of opportunity, accomplishment, self-discovery, and community, and intimate yoga classes.
What’s the best dish you’ve ever made or the dish that you’re known for?
I’d say I’m most known for my bowls — smoothie bowls and cozy porridges adorned with vibrant toppings, and my really hearty, nourishing, seasonally inspired, and budget friendly stews.
Smoothie bowl with banana, blueberry, coconut butter, and maca. (Photo: Alexandra Dawson)
And last but not least — what’s your favorite food (if you had to pick one)?
It is just way too hard to chose, though I am the absolute creature of habit and begin each morning with ‘Banana Avocado Ice Cream’ smoothie bowl. During the cooler months, I find myself most drawn to those really hearty stews and curries. There is something so cozy, nourishing, and healing about them, they draw you into this pseudo hibernation I just can’t get enough of. Winter evenings you’ll find me cuddling up under my favorite wool blanket with a deep ceramic bowl filled with stewed vegetables and warm spices. This past winter I’ve loved my Clean Cannellini Kale Soup and my Creamy Tomato Noodle Soup over warmed basmati rice (SO. GOOD.).
Clean Cannellini Kale Soup that comes together in under 30 minutes flat. (Photo: Alexandra Dawson)
For more drool-worthy Insta pics, visit our Instagram board on Pinterest and get to pinning!
Past guests from #TastyTakeovers:
