You gotta love it when a couple joins forces and starts something pretty cool. That is exactly what Tim Ryan and Heather Ryan have done.  Tim is a digital video producer and his wife, Heather is a yoga instructor and personal trainer…she’s also quite the cooking show host as you will see in her debut video of The Herbivore Next Door.  But before we get to the video we asked Tim and Heather to give us a little background and insight on the show.

Q:  What was your inspiration for starting The Herbivore Next Door?

Heather: The first inspiration for the show came as my sister and I were driving to Baton Rouge one day at sunset.  We were passed by an 18 wheeler transporting a group of cows.  I felt so bad for them, and so helpless to do anything to make a difference in the way animals are treated. Moments later it occurred to me that Tim and I could shoot a vegetarian cooking show.

Q: Are you both vegetarians? If so, for how long have you been vegetarians and what’s the driving factor behind your decision?

Heather: I am a vegetarian; Tim will have fish on occasion.  He gave up meat about two years ago, around the same time I gave up fish for good.  I saw the film, Baraka, nearly 16 years ago, that was when I first gave up meat

Q: Heather, you are such a natural…have you done this type of show before?

Heather: Thank you, Ann.  No, I haven’t done this type of show before.  I was pretty nervous, but  I do have a background in both Theatre and Improvisation, which helped.  Tim and I communicate well since we’ve had so much practice after being together for almost ten years. Good direction is key!

Q: What can we expect to come in future episodes? How often do you plan on releasing a new episode?

Heather: Future episodes will include more New Orleans-centric recipes.  We’re so happy to live here and to celebrate the food culture in our own healthful way.  We would love to be able to do an episode a month, even more if we had sponsorship.  Alas, we both have to pay the bills.  For now, we simply enjoy the opportunity to share our skills with each other in a meaningful way.

Alright so with no further ado – here is the first episode of The Herbivore Next Door where Heather shows us how to make Artichoke filled tofutattas served with gluten free, dairy free drop biscuits and a mixed green salad.