We love that you’re here! It means that you want to learn more about us. Or you're lost. Either way, welcome!
What is The Primal Desire?
The Primal Desire is a team made up of Holley and Raj, two friends who share a passion for promoting healthy lifestyle choices.
The website is mainly focused on making real food fun and delicious. Most of our recipes are paleo-based (gluten free, dairy free, no processed sugars, etc.) that are accessible to even novice chefs.
We make food interesting with unique flavor combinations, entertaining stories, and a genuine desire to make people's lives better.
We promote all levels of health and wellness: physical, dietary, mental, emotional, social, sexual, environmental, and spiritual well-being are all important in one's ability to thrive.
The Team – Holley and Raj
Where do we even start?
We are both funny (we know so because Raj laughs at all of our jokes).
We're smart (we know this because we're smart enough to realize how funny we are).
Both of us are adventurous and playful.
The list goes on and on and… We are thoughtful and caring and ambitious and… we want to make a positive impact. Our motivations to achieve domination of the world (that sounds way dirtier than simply “world domination”, doesn't it?) are not for power- they are to make a difference, to make people happy and healthy.
- Cheeseboard master builder
- Danced on Electric Circus (and in cages, on bars, on speakers)
- Hosted massive high school parties and was Involved in every club available, including cheerleading
- Worked at strippers (not as a stripper)
- Enjoys nature and gardening
- Makeup lover and Beautycounter addict
- Secretly high strung (it isn’t a secret)
- Who's the Boss? Holley's been the boss her entire life Has 2 middle names and was named after a car part
- Bartended her way through bartending, and is a college drop out.
- Forced her mother to teach her to read and write in preparation for Kindergarten
- Learned to walk and talk before her first birthday Loves classic cookbooks and real ingredients
- Has a solid streak of workaholism
- ¼ Ginger (but you don’t have to work hard to see the red hair and freckles)
Who Is Holley?
Holley has spend a good portion of her life trying to improve and create a healthy relationship with food.
She has a passion for teaching, coaching and healing with real food, preserving and preparing for the sure impending zombie apocalypse, adapting to life with Hashimoto's, and EDS, and learning self care and love along the way.
- Cat whisperer
- +5 “ape-index” (i.e. ridiculous wingspan, great for sports, hugs and reaching the top shelf)
- Seriously considered becoming a pro cuddler
- Seingfeld fan (I think we need the show to come back to address cell phone etiquette)
- Will try any food at least twice
- Enjoys guerilla cooking in other people’s kitchens, exploring mystery ingredients, and making something gourmet out of seemingly no options
- Constantly contemplating the zombie apocalypse
- Smarter than I look
- Cannibal curious
- Never married (close once), no kids
- Unfamiliar with most cultural references after the 90's
- Favourite music is still 90's R&B and rock
- Sun-worshipper, heat-seeker, big-laughter & huge-hugger
- 1/4 ginger (look closely to see the red hairs and freckles)
Who Is Raj?
Raj is one of the few single men in the food blogging community. Tall, dark, some say handsome, and he can make an omelette out of almost anything.
Raj was a pharmacist until he was rear-ended in a car accident which has left him with chronic pain and a very different life trajectory than before, all of which have resulted in many lessons learned about life and happiness.
Our Core Values
Our goal is to have fun with others while educating and helping people while promoting positive healthy lifestyle choices and connecting while being able to explore the world and experience cool things.
Any of that sound like what you want or could use in life? Hopefully, these really resonate with you as well.
- FUN
Enjoy and share with others, building people up. Having and sharing: adventure, new experiences, and playfulness. - HEALTHY
Focus on whole body wellness for ourselves and others. Spiritual, emotional, physical and mental. - EDUCATION
Perpetual growth and lifelong learning, exploring new experiences and curiosity, striving for information and exploration. - CONNECTION & COMMUNITY
Loving relationships and like-minded people to support and nurture and reciprocate. - FREEDOM
To be able to support financial freedom and create abundance in all core values.
These principles help us choose products and companies that we share with you, as part of the useful resources that can help you improve your overall health. Stuff we share with you are the things that we share with our own families and friends. Like Instant Pots. BeautyCounter. Our eBook, I'm Hungry! What Should I Snack On? Programs about healthy lifestyles like the Primal Play Exercise. Meal planning tools like Real Plans. And loads of free real food recipes.
Our Food Philosophy (and origin!)
Even though our healthy eating philosophy is paleo-centric, we recognize that no one diet works for everyone. It's true that a lot of people could benefit from a gluten free, dairy free, refined-sugar free diet, but…
Our larger concern for everyone is that we support real food.
Talking about food is a lot like talking about religion. Both can be very interesting conversations, but it really sucks when someone tries to push their beliefs on you. And similar to religion, there are some common themes within different healthy diets.
Unless you have a symptomatic or medical reason to follow a strict diet, this seems like a healthy balance to allow for fun and experimenting with food, while providing your body with proper nutrition to thrive.
We are not the paleo police, and we aren't trying to pull you in a paleo cult. In our own lives, we generally shoot to eat paleo 80% of the time.
Raj likes to say that he's “foodie first and paleo second.”
Food is love!
Food shouldn't be stressful. It's there to fuel us. Nurture us. It is nourishment. It’s fun. It’s creative. It’s health. It’s social. It’s spiritual. It’s a reason to get out of bed in the morning (or afternoon. …or in the middle of the night). It’s enjoyment. It’s comfort. It's our passion.
Wellness
Holistic wellness – more than just a buzzword.
We are concerned with total wellness – of the spiritual, emotional, emotional and psychological individual. As well as the community and the planet. All three levels have multiple aspects that need to be cared for.
We want to be a positive influence and resource for all levels of wellness. Because all pieces of wellness influence each other.
Everything is connected.
Both of us have experienced life-altering health issues in our lives. Our own experiences include, but not limited to, a car accident, autoimmune disease, chronic pain, Hashimoto's disease, hormone imbalances, depression, identity-loss, weight gain, etc. And then there are the events that important people in our lives have gone through with us at their sides.
Why do we care? And why would you listen to us?
Both of us are empathetic caring people who want to see and help you and others improve their quality of life. Holley feels all the feelings. Raj used to be a pharmacist.
We care.
Connect With Us!
1. The social medias.
We want more connection with you! Show us photos – of what you’re making. Tell us what you’re food-frustrated with – maybe we can help. Or tell us a dirty joke. Touch us through social media @theprimaldesire
2. Get the newsletter
Let us slide into your inbox. We’ll keep you up-to-date with new recipes that you’ll love, as well as events and other things that we think will make you squeal with delight. No spam, that’s just not nice.
3. Collaborate
- Add I’m Hungry!, our ebook full of recipes and tips to make your diet healthier, to your collection of favorites.
- Hire us for a private consultation video call.
- Collaborate on an irresistible brand partnership project.
- Or join us in bringing safer beauty to those who don’t know about it.
4. Lusting for something else from us?
Send us a love letter and special requests via email or the contact form below: info@theprimaldesire.com