Maisonette Muse: Nicole Berrie

How was Bonberi born?

I launched Bonberi four years ago with a friend with the goal of presenting the world of wellness with a beautiful, editorial point of view. We shared healthy recipes, self-care rituals and interviews with people from all walks of life to uncover what wellness meant to them. Two years later, I took over the site and began to share more of my own journey, living a plant-based, alkaline food-combining lifestyle with a growing family. It’s been amazing to see how my recipes have resonated with so many people, moms and non-moms alike! 

What was the best advice you received as you worked to launch?

The best advice I received was from my mentor Gabrielle Bernstein who constantly reminded me we are here to serve. When you take yourself out of the equation, things get clear real fast. 

What does wellness mean to you? 

Wellness to me means listening to your body’s intuition. This may mean to slow down, speed up, go hard, go easy, whatever it is, in this fast-paced world, we’ve lost the connection to our inner voice that knows what’s best for us. When we pause and quiet the mind we can hear what our bodies are trying to tell us. 

What is one small thing everyone can do to begin living a healthier life?

Start your day with a green juice or green smoothie every morning. That will set yourself up to have an alkaline base for the rest of the day so even if you veer off the path later in the day at least you have a good foundation. This practice will eventually lead you to crave more fresh raw vegetables and fruit throughout the day, which will decrease inflammation, hydrate, and combat the acidic factors we encounter in our lives (ie: stress, radiation, non plant-based foods, etc.) 

Any particular advice to mothers-to-be in particular?

Be kind and patient with yourself. Old health routines may feel foreign especially during the beginning when you can’t stomach the idea of a salad or a workout. That’s ok! This too shall pass. Listen to your body and give it what it wants and know your days of green smoothies will soon return. I also swear by dry-brushing, Epsom salt baths and lymphatic massage to keep circulation going and minimize hormonal bloat. 

What are the best and worst parts of working as a blogger?

Making your own schedule, and making your own schedule! Sometimes it’s hard to find balance when you’re always “at work.” The best is having the freedom to run to a workout class in the middle of the day, but it also means writing or recipe testing into the wee hours of the night. Or always being on your phone since there are no “office hours,” which my husband loathes. Still trying to work on that balance.

Do you usually work from home?

I’ve learned working from home is nearly impossible, unless it’s during naptime. After I drop Jude off at preschool, my “office” is any café that serves oat milk lattes and has free wifi. 

One thing you learned about yourself after having Jude?

That even as much as I try, not everything is in my control and that’s ok. When I was first pregnant, I had the worst morning sickness and was craving things I hadn’t craved in years! It really threw me for a loop, and I felt so guilty and out of control. My friend Latham Thomas who is an incredible doula told me, ‘this is your baby introducing you to motherhood and showing you that you are not in control’. I always think of that throughout his growing phases, whether it’s teething, sleep issues, allergies... 

How did the way you work change after Jude was born?

It’s crazy how more productive I am. What’s the saying, “If you want something done, give it to a busy woman”? So true. The busier I am, the more I get done. I’m just in GO mode. 

Your son seems to love food. How do you encourage healthy eating at home?

Jude actually is allergic to dairy, seafood and eggs but instead of being restrictive, it actually has opened up a world of foods that perhaps he wouldn’t have normally eaten. Lentils, grains, purple and Japanese potatoes, spaghetti squash, seaweed, beet Bolognese, apples with raw almond butter, cucumber and celery sticks, green juice and smoothies - these are all things he eats regularly but the key is seasoning them well and making sure they’re the right texture. Everything is chopped up very well or cooked down soft, since he likes it that way. I would never force him to eat anything. I just try to provide the best options possible and follow his lead. If he’s not into vegetable soup and quinoa one day, it’s all good. That’s what brown rice pasta and Rao’s marinara is for ☺

Take us through a day of your meals, from waking up to going to bed – what do you drink/eat? 

First thing in the morning, I make a green juice. Lately it’s been fennel, kale or red leaf lettuce, ginger, lemon, pineapple, green apple and celery. Then I’ll have an extra hot oat milk latte using my new obsession, Oatly. It’s from the UK and it’s delicious.

Later in the morning, I’ll snack on fruit, maybe more cut up pineapple, honeycrisp apples, super ripe hachiya persimmons if I have them, or clementines. I have A LOT of fruit - I never limit my portions. If I’m at the gym at Tracy Anderson, I’ll make my Bonberi smoothie. It’s so good, they added it to the menu. 

I usually keep raw with juices, smoothies and fruit all day. Around 3pm I’m hungrier for something more hearty, so I’ll have a big arugula salad with cucumbers and other veggies I have on-hand mixed with some quinoa and a vegetable soup, maybe red lentil from the Juice Press or split pea from Le Pain Quotidien. If I’m extra hungry, I’ll add an avocado.

For dinner, it’s another humungous salad. I’ve been really into a big romaine salad with my vegan dulse ceaser dressing. Then it’s either a quick kale and chickpea curry with basmati rice, or baked spaghetti squash with Rao’s marinara. I follow food-combining, which means I always start with a raw salad, and never pair a starch and protein together in one meal, which really helps digestion and vitality. My “dessert” is Garden of Life prenatal gummies, which are amazing. 

What are your go-to toddler recipes?

One is a Bento box concept that I personally grew up with my mom making. My mom is Korean so we always had “weird” alternative lunches at school. She was always giving me a make-your-own-sushi lunch. Jude is obsessed with seaweed and avocado so I’ll make some sticky white rice, avocado, toasted seaweed and raw cucumber sticks. I try to prepare all of Jude’s meals based on the same food-combining principles that I follow so the cucumber is his “salad” and we don’t have any protein, which helps him digest the rice and avocado easily.

Another is more of a sweet lunch and could work for breakfast as well. It’s grain bread toasted with raw almond butter and berries with a fruit salad. We opt for sprouted grain or sourdough bread for Jude since it doesn’t cause inflammation and raw almond butter since roasted almond butter can be extremely acidic. I follow some Japanese mom bloggers who gave me the idea to make them into animal faces. I think it’s super cute but Jude is not that impressed. 

You’re expecting another baby! Congrats! Are there any things you will be doing differently the second time around?

Thank you! Because I have my hands full with Jude and work, this pregnancy has been going much faster and I don’t rethink every little thing! I think carving out self-care time is so important for both mama and babe so I’ve been pretty unapologetic about getting massages and taking long baths after Jude’s bedtime. I take my self-care pretty seriously.