We are almost half a year into our new rental program, Rent the Knorts, and it's been going strong with frequent users renting for various purposes including photoshoots, parties, graduation, vacation, and in Chef Camila Casanas' case...Seth Rogen's Hilarity for Charity event at which she spoke about how nutrition is directly correlated to brain health. We met up with Camila to learn about what makes her tick, speaking at the charity event, and ultimately why she decided to use our rental program. Camila even left us all with a lil gift at the end...bet you can't guess what it is!
(p.s. Camila brought some prepared healthy meals over to the studio...and basically this blog post was written from heaven. Knorts gives her cooking skills a huge stamp of approval.)
Brief intro please?
I'm Camila, an integrative wellness practitioner, holistic chef, herbalist, and all around bad ass if I do say so myself. The bulk of my work that I do is based around utilizing food as medicine, decolonizing wellness, and re-shaping the conversation as it exists now. I'm dedicated to making self care preventative medicine, and making it accessible to all people, while bringing honor back to indigenous cultures that started most of the practices we utilize today.
How'd you get into holistic cooking and herbals?
Growing up, my father was a doctor who practiced integrative internal medicine, so being around healing and wellness was an innate part of my life. I sort of subconsciously began following in his footsteps. Being Cuban and Mexican, cooking is straight up in my blood. Somewhere down the road though, in my late teens, cooking became an outlet for me to express myself creatively. I really wanted to expand my knowledge of how the health of our environment directly dictates the spiritual, physical, and emotional well being of all beings, so I started an herbalist apprenticeship at The Gaia School of Healing. Deepening my relationship with the plants, and the lands as modalities for healing has brought my offerings full circle.
What does a day in the life of Camila look like?
Well, the one thing that’s consistent is that I’m literally all over the place and every one of my days looks different. So I try to incorporate routines that ground me in the morning like making a medicinal tea, burning some sweet grass (kind of like sage, but more sustainable) and I have a very specific beauty routine. Getting ready for me in the morning is how I set the tone of my day. If I put on a fire outfit and some sick accessories and sneakers, I feel really confident throughout my day. So fashion plays a big part of my self care routine.
How does clothing play a role in your life?
I love looking cute, so obviously clothes and fashion really dictate a huge part of that overall auric enhancement. I’ve always been really into pieces that are vintage, one of a kind or just have a timeless vibe to them. I used to shop a lot at fast fashion stores growing up until I realized how hard the production of those goods are on the environment. I buy higher quality garments when that’s financially available to me because I know its a better investment.
What are your thoughts on ownership, in particular when it relates to clothing?
Rentals are HUGE in the food world, especially catering and events. Which to me, makes a lot of sense. We live in a world where “single use” items rule marketplaces, so the idea of rentals just makes sense from a sustainability perspective. There’s a lot of people who buy pieces for events and return them and I always wonder to myself what happens to the garment after somebody wears it and returns it. There's a gap in the marketplace for an official rental program of garments, but looks like Knorts is filling that gap!
You rented our Go Both Ways Dress for Seth Rogen's Hilarity for Charity event. Can you tell us why you decided to rent vs. purchase a new outfit for it?
Knorts was the first company I had come across who offered a rental program. My manager, Amelian Kashiro, suggested this option for the event that I was doing. The process of the fitting for the dress, getting to know Eleanore as she gave me different pieces to try on, was super engaging and refreshing. As a larger bodied woman, I have always felt excluded from the fashion world in a huge way that seemed to shame me for my size. But Knort’s ethos of emphasizing accessibility and inclusivity was a breath of fresh air for me. Cutting edge, conceptual garments that flatter and fit my body - I was fucking stoked - and that radiated through my day and into the evening of the event in a huge way. Swag was on 10/10.
BTW...Seth Rogen? Congrats girl! You gotta tell us about that!
LOL. THAT PART. People love to flex their celebrity clients but I keep it a little more low key because I like to let my work speak for itself rather than rely on the clout of others to validate what I do. However, it does feel good that folks who have access to the best of the best have chosen to have me as their chef and trust me to share my knowledge around nutrition, health and wellness. Also, Seth and his wife Lauren are incredibly gracious and kind, so I’m super grateful to have them in my life.
We love things that serve more than one purpose...especially when it comes to food. For instance, cacao is great for both healthy desserts as well as antioxidant rich snacks. With that said, what's your go-to healthy snack/easy recipe for a quick energy pick-me-up that doubles as a dessert?
I love that you mentioned cacao. Its a great heart tonic that’s stimulating and elevating. One of my favorite go to healthy snacks that’s always a win with pretty much everyone is my Rose avocado cacao mousse. I’ll share the recipe below. Remember to always source fair trade cacao to support farms that treat their workers fairly.
