Great Ones is a celebration of humans we admire — and an exploration of why they cook, not just how. Elizabeth Stein is the founder and CEO of Purely Elizabeth, a granola brand she founded in 2009 before chia seeds or wellness was a “thing.” We caught up with Elizabeth in her kitchen in Boulder, Colorado, to learn more about her journey as a founder, how she builds confidence in the kitchen, and what cooking and baking mean to her now.
For me growing up, my mom was always the cook in our home. I started cooking and baking alongside her, and to this day that’s still our bonding moment together. It wasn’t until college that I started to get into the kitchen. In college I had a lot of friends who were trying crazy fad diets, and I was always into eating whole foods — that’s been a through line in my life.
Cooking and baking to me now is total meditation. After a long day or week, the idea of getting into the kitchen brings me joy. It’s definitely my creative outlet. I’m not baking granola every day, but I don’t ever feel like I get tired of cooking.
After a long day or week, the idea of getting into the kitchen brings me joy. It’s definitely my creative outlet.
I like to get creative, and I’ll look at the fridge, see what vegetables I have, and I’ll go on a whim looking at what I have and what I’m craving. I think of recipes as I go to the store, but, for the most part, I make those decisions based on what I’m feeling that day and being in tune with my body.
When it comes to being confident in the kitchen it’s all about practice. It can be daunting to think about making a meal for several people, but I always find that getting in there and making things for myself is the best way to build confidence for myself before sharing with others. And if something doesn’t work, you just try it again and move on.
When it comes to being confident in the kitchen it’s all about practice.
I started Purely Elizabeth in 2009. Prior to that I lived in New York City, and right out of college I worked for a handbag company, doing sales and marketing. While I was there I started to do a lot of marathons and triathlons. I had this new sense of health and well-being and wanted to find a career that was aligned with this new passion I had.
In 2007, I did the holistic nutrition program at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition. This was so ahead of the trends at the time. We were talking about gut health, food as medicine, chia seeds, ancient grains, and ingredients that were not known or used in 2007. While I was in that program I started working with clients, teaching cooking classes at my sister’s apartment in the city, which was crazy and cramped.
I thought there was an opportunity to marry culinary tastes with all of these superfood, nutrient-rich ingredients I’m learning about.
Along the way, I worked with clients who were eating gluten-free. When it came time to recommend products they could find at the store, a lot of the products came with refined flour, starches, cane sugar, and they also didn’t taste great. In the back of my mind, I thought there was an opportunity to marry culinary tastes with all of these superfood, nutrient-rich ingredients I’m learning about.
Ultimately, I went to a local triathlon to participate in the race, but also to have a booth to promote my nutrition practice. On a whim, I decided to make a batch of blueberry muffins that incorporated all of these ingredients. I had a few people sign up for my nutrition practice, but most people were just intrigued by these muffins and the taste and ingredients. They all wanted to know where they could buy these muffins, and that’s when the lightbulb went off. It was so fascinating to see that there was such an interest in delicious, healthy products that didn’t exist at the time. I went back a year later and thought this would just be a side hustle, but I ended up getting a ton of press, $10,000 in orders, and that’s how it started.
I had a few people sign up for my nutrition practice, but most people were just intrigued by these muffins and the taste and ingredients.
I feel so fortunate to have worked with so many amazing women over the past 15 years I’ve been doing this. So many chefs, brand owners — there are so many incredible women in the industry whom I look up to.
Today, I made strawberry cheesecake bars utilizing our chocolate-chip-cookie granola as the crust and a cashew filling, so it’s vegan and absolutely delicious. This is one of my favorite recipes to use with our granola. This was the first time I’d used our cookie granola for the crust. You start by mixing it with some coconut oil, and it creates this amazing flavored crust that is delicious and gluten-free. The raw cashews get soaked and combined with vanilla and syrup, and it’s an amazing replacement for cheesecake filling. Then we top it with some strawberries, which are the perfect complement to chocolate chips. I’ve been such a fan of Great Jones, and it was the perfect size for this crust.
