Getting Bare With Elise & Sarah Mae

We love having Sarah Mae and Elise, the very stylish brains behind ‘The Poor Girls Pantry’ on board at Bare Blends.

Not only do their recipes look amazing, but they’re full of flare and flavour. These girls are witty, vivacious, and full of potential, and we’re enjoying watching them grow into the food gurus that they are.

Give us a short character description of each other.

Sarah Mae: Elise knows how to annoy me like no other person on the planet. We live together and are together 90% of the time, so we literally know each other inside out. We're best friends like Timon and Pumba, obviously I'm Timon and Elise is Pumba (Elise doesn't approve of this comparison AT ALL).
If she hasn't exercised she gets really cranky… but then she gets even more cranky when she does. She loves leaving glasses half full of water all over the house, and is one of those people who will watch a movie/tv show and say 'omg that’s me' whenever someone does something funny.
You will rarely find her without music playing (she runs to it, cooks to it, showers to it and goes to the bathroom with it) and when we go out, she dances so much that a circle will always be made around her on the dance floor.

She rarely shows her emotions but is the best person to talk to when you're feeling sad.
I love her, I hate her and I wouldn't change a thing about her.

Elise: Sarah Mae knows how to annoy me like no other person on the planet as well. I generally describe her to people as tall. Just tall. But I will go into a bit more depth here. I have never met a person who can make me so happy and so mad at the same time. She is a whirlwind of emotions and cries generally over nothing, which worries me. She tries to act like my mother, which is annoying as hell, but I'm also grateful for it, because I'm horrible at making life decisions.
She loves watching David Attenborough and drinking tea. LOVES TEA. She also loves to have quiet time and be alone, but it's a laughing matter because her room doesn't have a door haha, jokes on you Cheryl. She's the one with the best awkward stories, and I couldn't have asked for a better human to have walked into my life. She has made my passion for hommus grow, she will always stand up for what's right, and always have my back.

We fight and bicker like an old married couple, and half the time I want to punch her in the face, but at the same time she's one of the few people I know will be in my life until the end.
She is motivated, driven, positive (most of the time), quiet, hard working and has a heart of gold. This earth would be a lot duller without Sarah.

What motivated you to start ‘The Poor Girls Pantry’?

Elise started The Poor Girls Pantry as an instagram page, and was initially really shy about it. Once it started gaining momentum she realised she couldn't do it alone so she asked me (Sarah Mae - the organising queen) to join her.
Because we're both broke, love food and have to cater for various food intolerances, we are both in the same boat and on the same page. We agreed on a vision and made it happen. We want to inspire people to live healthier by showing them that you don't need a lot of money to do so. We decided to leave our full time, stable jobs to pursue this and it's been the best and most terrifying thing we've ever done.

Why is food and nutrition so important to you?

It's kind of a necessity for us to function without feeling crook. Whenever we eat 'bad' foods, we suffer the consequences. We both have different food intolerances / dietary requirements that have taken years to figure out and adapt to. We're still trying to figure this out. For example, Elise has lived off rice for so long, and recently stopped eating it for a bit, and now when she eats it she doesn't feel good. It's all a learning curve and finding what's right for us.
This makes food one of our main focuses in life, and is the reason why Poor Girls started. We've created a variety of different meals that taste amazing, and cater to our allergies.

What do you most like about collaborating with Bare Blends?

We really enjoy collaborating with companies that we feel are aligned with our beliefs, and have good intentions behind their products. It's been a bit of a learning curve for us, so we've had to learn how to say no to products that we don't agree with. What we love about Bare Blends are of course the variety of powders (that we use daily), the ethics behind the products sold, the way you guys support other small growing businesses, and the mantra that is Bare Blends.

How would you describe your cooking style?

Never knowing what to expect (we've only just started using measuring cups), unique, limited, messy, unplanned, with a dash of luck.

How do you get your food looking so beautiful?

To be honest, it's just a gift (we sound cocky but it's true). We are getting better as time goes on, so we guess practice makes perfect. We believe that eating has to be a ‘mind, body and soul’ kind of thing. If things look looks pretty, then you're eating with love and happy thoughts. We put so much positive energy into our cooking so people can taste the love, and it's even better when it looks amazing.

Be honest, how long do you spend on presentation?

Honestly, no time at all. One example is when we were trying to get pictures for our eBook the other day, and Elise accidentally knocked over some powders (as per usual), and it turns out the way the powders fell looked epic, so we decided to go with that haha. (Sarah Mae had to clean this up as per usual.)
We both come in hot and do our thing, and combined we create something special. We usually don't speak when we're cooking or presenting food, we just flow with each other. We must be channeling something because we literally do everything on a whim, and it works out.

Do you ever have recipes not work out? What’s been the biggest disaster?

Umm, yes. Not a lot, but when they don't it's usually because Sarah Mae has cooked it (we call her style of cooking 'kooking it') or Elise has had a moment.
The biggest disaster to date was the loaf of 'buckwheat sourdough' that Elise decided she would make. It was literally the grossest thing we have put in our mouths and the biggest waste of ingredients ever! We had to throw the whole loaf out. It was rank.

What is your favourite recipe at the moment?

We are LOVING smoothies at the moment! Literally, we're obsessed. We love them in cups, bowls, jars, mugs, the list goes on.

You're good friends, so it's time to spill the beans: who is the messiest?

We found the other questions hard to answer, but these are easy - Elise is the messiest, by far.

Who is the laziest?

After a strenuous day of doing nothing, Elise was too lazy to even answer these questions. She is the laziest.

Who is the most adventurous?

Elise talks about being adventurous all the time, but doesn't actually go anywhere, so Sarah Mae gets this one for sure.

Who is the better cook?

Elise, also known in our house as Nonna, is the better cook for sure.

What is your favourite Bare Blends product?

We love the Organic Raw Peruvian Maca and we love the Bare Berries powder because it actually really tastes good and makes everything a really pretty colour! Elise also loves the Bare Greens, she uses it every day.

Follow The Poor Girls Pantry

Instagram: @the.poor.girls.pantry

www.thepoorgirlspantry.com