Red Valley Natural Foods chef creating reasdy-to-eat meals

This is a quote attributed to the Greek physician Hippocrates that Paula Khatchatourian likes to repeat.

In fact, the concept of healthy foods has become a way of life for the Sioux City transplant who was born into an Armenian family of restaurant owners.

“I grew up in Orange County, California and was always surrounded by food,” Khatchatourian said.

Yet the beef, lamb and chicken favored by her parents was making her sick.

“When I was 10, my parents took me to doctors who said my body couldn’t tolerate meat,” Khatchatourian explained. “Some people developed food allergies that they grow out of as they get older. My allergy to meat happened gradually and it was something I never grew out of over time.”

Indeed, veganism is a central theme in both Khatchatourian’s personal life as well as in her position as the chef at Red Valley Natural Foods Co., 600 Water St.

“While I will cook meat for other people, it must be all-natural,” she said inside of the store that specializes in locally-raised meats, produce, canned ingredients and nongrocery items. “Plus I make sure to give our customer plenty of vegan options.”

This included Khatchatourian’s sugar cookies that were not only vegan but also gluten-free. She uses oat milk in place of dairy milk and different binding agents to give it a more cookie-like consistency.

For spring rolls, she simply uses a multitude of fresh veggies rolled into a translucent wrap.

“You don’t need to look hard to get ingredients in order for a more nutritious diet,” Khatchatourian said. “Fresh fruits and vegetables are both healthy and easily accessible.”

It also helps if the food comes with a flavorsome sauce, like her spring roll does.

“People like the spring rolls but they go crazy over my homemade sauce,” she said. “I can’t give you the ingredients because they’re top secret, but everything that goes into it is vegan.”

Since setting up shop at Red Valley Natural Foods Co., Khatchatourian has developed a small menu of ready-to-eat meals, including everything from pizzas to tacos to lasagnas.

Even though they may taste similar to food you could find at a more conventional outlet, Khatchatourian steers clear of heavily processed ingredients.

Although she is a newcomer to Red Valley Natural Foods, Khatchatourian is developing something of a fan base, according to Vianna Hobbs, who owns the store with her husband Jordan.

“We get a lot of travelers off of the Interstate who discover our store,” she explained. “They’ll ask if there is any place that offers vegan food and I’ll say, well, we just happen to have a professional chef Paula who would be happy to chat with you.”

Khatchatourian chuckled after hearing Hobbs’ enthusiastic praise.

“There seems to be more vegans out there,” she said. “More importantly, people are simply more knowledgeable when it comes to food.” 

Even though she came into veganism due to health concerns, Khatchatourian has long maintained food tastes better when you know the source.

“Things just taste better when they’re all-natural,” she reasoned.