About Pri and Dee
Masala Paleo is the brainchild of Priya A and Deepshikha G, also known as Pri and Dee! The amazing thing about us is that even though we have a blog together, we have never met in person! We met virtually through a health and fitness community on Facebook and now we both are part of the amazing team that leads and runs the group. Spreading the love for fitness and nutrition to women in our community is a passion we feel very strongly about. We both ended up trying the Whole30 in our journey to heal our bodies through food. One suffering from PCOS while the other with an autoimmune disease called Hashimotos, we started being our own advocates and exploring how certain foods were affecting our bodies. The Whole 30 was an eye opening experience for us, and made us realize that eliminating certain foods from our diet helped us heal in ways that actual medicines couldn’t. Now we both are strong advocates of this food philosophy. Indian food is our soul food, so we have experimented and learnt how to make our soul food Whole 30 compatible. Through our food freedom, we also focus on gluten free Indian Food. During our Whole30, we realized there were very few resources out there for Whole30 India and Gluten Free food, so we decided to share what we learnt out through a lot of experimentation with you all. With Dee being from the very north of India and Pri being from the very south, we cover Indian recipes from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and everything in between. If you thought Whole30 Indian recipes were limited to just chicken tikka masala, you are in for a treat !
Here’s a little bit about us individually –
About Priya (Pri)
Hi, this is Priya, your friendly neighborhood recipe creator for Masala Paleo. I am a mom of three wonderful kids and a former banker. I live with my beautiful family in Canada. I am so excited to connect with you through our blog! It’s a platform to share my love for cooking and an attempt to save the yummy recipes I create. I like to eat delicious food and I realized that the only way to do that while living in multiple countries across the globe was to cook it myself. I have mastered the art of making my food with nutritious ingredients, without compromising on the taste !
My health has also made me look deeper into food and it’s healing powers. I believe that food is medicine and the right kind of food will not only nourish your body but also heal it. My experience with Whole 30 from a couple of years ago created an extensive awareness and understanding of the world of food. Though I have always practiced healthy eating, the concept of an elimination diet through Whole 30 opened up the world of gluten free and paleo Indian recipes for me. Being a South Indian who spent a substantial part of the growing up years in the North of India, I have the appreciation for the healing powers of the food from all the regions of the country. Gluten is not an integral part of the South Indian cuisine, so it makes it easier for me to bring the gluten free options through our traditional grains, pseudo grains, seeds, lentils and spices.
I am also an impulsive and unconventional cook, but at the same time stay connected to my roots. Indian food is my soul food. All my recipes are adapted from family recipes passed on through generations and recipes I have experimented with over the past two decades. I hope my experience helps you with planning your meals and taking the guess work out of making easy, delicious and nutritious meal choices, while healing your body and mind in the process. Much love and healing ♥️
About Deepshikha (Dee)
Hello! I am Deepshikha Ganjoo, the other half of the Pri&Dee duo behind Masala Paleo. I grew up in Kashmir, the beautiful northern most state of India surrounded by the spectacular Himalayas. I spent part of my childhood a peaceful little country called Oman in the middle east. Now I live in Dallas with my wonderful family. I am a full time working mom and have a demanding career as a business leader. I am also a fitness enthusiast and love lifting heavy weights. I am a crossfitter on most days, but I also love my yoga and zumba sessions. I am passionate about motivating and inspiring women to take care of their physical and mental well being.
Amidst the craziness and chaos of my busy life, the one thing that grounds me is food. Food brings me immense joy. I have been a foodie ever since I remember and food has always been my passion. I learnt to cook when i came to the US as a grad student and I haven’t looked back since. I am a very experimental cook and I tend to not follow recipes to the tee. I like to compare my cooking style to brewing a potion in a cauldron, I throw in things , a pinch here, a splash there , till the flavors come together into a finger licking bite of heaven! I also like to keep things simple, long complicated cooking procedures and recipes are not my thing. I understand the challenges of a busy life that most moms have and I have figured out my own system to cook quick yummy nutritious meals for my family. Indian cuisine is my soul food, but I love taking inspiration from cuisines around the world and incorporating them into my Indian kitchen!
In 2019, I did my first round of Whole30 and have been a strong advocate of the program ever since. I have struggled with an autoimmune disorder called Hashitmotos Thyroiditis for over 10 years. Doing the Whole 30 made me realize the central part food plays in healing a body which is fighting inflammation and attacking itself day in and day out. Food isn’t just fuel, it is medicine. Since then I have done the whole30 thrice and learnt something new every time. I have also learnt what my food freedom is. I do not eat gluten and limit my diary and soy consumption. I center my meals around vegetables, fruits, meats, healthy fats, non-gluten grains and of course masalas, the spices that make everything taste multi-dimensional and delicious. My goal is to make simple, nutritious and delicious Whole30 and gluten-free Indian meals , with influences from all over the world. The recipes that I share will reflect my love for food and the passion to share Whole-30 and Gluten Free Indian recipes with you all. I want to bring the dazzling flavors that Indian food has to offer to you, while keeping it approachable and easy. Happy cooking!
