Today we’d like to introduce you to Vivianne Guarisma.
Hi Vivianne, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
This has been a discovery and transformative journey. Sweets, food, and baking has been present in my life in one way or another from addiction to healing.
I was born and partially raised in Caracas, Venezuela. When I was a kid, my parents used to owned a coffee shop and I remember that my siblings and I used to go there after school. For me it was so captivating and inspiring when I looked at the pastry case and saw all the different kind of desserts, it was like falling in love more than wanting to eat them.
I feel I picked up this passion from my dad, I remember that he used to have several recipe books with all kinds of sweets and for me was mesmerizing looking at every single page, I was feeding my soul and imagination with every page. I enjoyed looking at baking recipe books more than a fairytale story. There was a recipe book in particular that he had with like 600 pages and on the last pages of the book it had a few pages for notes where my dad used to write down some recipes of his own and some others that he cut and paste from a magazine or from the condensed milk can.
As I was growing up the passion and excitement feeling for food and specially sweets became blurry even though I took baking classes, cake decorating, etc… But I was unconsciously using food as a coping mechanism and it become an addiction. I remember a very specific time when I had the feeling that I “NEED” it to eat something sweet every single day and it wasn’t just a little something it need it to be something that was enough to numb the pain of my emotions. I had the feeling that something was wrong with me, that doing this to myself didn’t feel good it was actually all the way around I was sick with overweight, anxiety, depression, no self-esteem, and feeling miserable. I felt so ashamed to be passionate about food and to be related to it because I was overweight and I thought that was the outcome of that love. So, I buried one of the things that enjoyed and loved the most.
Years went by and I was spiraling down into a vortex until my soul couldn’t take it anymore and it was time for a new beginning, I felt that I wanted to explore myself to know who I was and who I wanted to be, I wanted to deeply love and take care of myself. I knew I wanted to change my relationship with food, so consciously one of the things that I knew from the core of my being is that I didn’t wanted to eat animals anymore or anything that it was made out of them, this never really aligned with me. I’ve felt love for animals and nature since I can remember. As I learn more about the food industry, it became clear to me that I was on my path to heal not only my soul but also from psoriasis a chronic immune system diseases which breakdown and weakness the skin, due to chronic inflammation and an inability of the body to eliminate lymphatic waste.
By that time, I already had family members who had already cut animal consumption but still wanted to enjoy a tasteful healthy birthday cake so here’s when I started exploring, educating myself, and trying out recipes. Once I was satisfied with the outcome of my cakes, I started flirting with the idea to make this a business.
I started selling cakes, brownies, and cookies to neighbors, and co-workers in 2018. A little after that I started selling to my first wholesale account who had three locations at the time. On May of 2020, I was cut off from my corporate job, I remember I cried I was in fear and I didn’t know how I was going to provide for me and my daughter. That gave me the courage to knock on several doors to offer my craft and the response has been magical.
I been a learning, discovering, growing, and aligning with my true self since then.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I belief that we are our on obstacle/challenge, once we are aware of ourselves (limiting beliefs, patterns, traumas, etc..) and we commit to us, to heal form within and cut all of our excuses, we set ourselves free and flow with the process, everything start falling into place and we become more aligned with our true selves and our purpose.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Love Bites?
Love Bites is intentional food especially desserts made with care that brings good vibrations to those who enjoy them. Our line of desserts, from raw to baked, are made from scratch with clean and, high-quality ingredients for guilt-free indulgence. Love Bites is made for everyone. All of our desserts are plant-based (no dairy, eggs, or butter) and gluten-free, making it accessible to all kinds of customers.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
As our consciousness rise as a collective and we become more connected to ourselves, we are more interested and careful of the things that we consume and what’s healthier for our bodies, minds, and souls. I already see more people choosing to go back to nature and choosing real plant-based foods.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.justlovebites.com
- Instagram: @justlovebites
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/justlovebitesmiami
Image Credits
@vivianneguarisma
