About Cooked & Loved
Hi, my name is Irena Macri ! Whether you’re new to Cooked & Loved or have been around for a while, I am happy you’re here.
Cooked & Loved is my personal blog where I share easy, delicious and healthy recipes. My focus is on flavour using accessible ingredients and I cover many cuisines and culinary traditions.
I am a published cookbook author with Penguin and have been food blogging and developing recipes for over 10 years. In addition, I have a Diploma in Nutrition & Weight Management. You can read a little more about me below.
I believe in balance! Therefore, as well as many healthy recipes (gluten-free, low-carb, vegan, Whole30, Paleo), you will find some favourite comfort food and desserts.
- Would you like to collaborate? Find out how to work with me here.
- Need to get in touch? Email team@cookedandloved.com
- Check out my cookbooks and eBook here.
- I also publish some recipes for Instant Pot Eats.
- Read my Privacy Policy here.
- Read my Editorial Policy here.
- Follow Cooked & Loved on LinkedIn.
While you can find me on social media, I love connecting with my readers through email, where I share my latest recipes, old favourites, meal ideas, tips and a little behind-the-scenes so you get to know me. I also create special subscriber-only freebies like my eBook 60 Must-Have Flavour Boosters.
Sign-up to receive my newsletter and subscriber-exclusive freebies!Featured In
I am honoured and flattered to have my recipes and work shared in many top publications and websites including Women’s Health, Greatist, Prevention Magazine, Elle, BuzzFeed, Yahoo!Lifestyle, Sainsbury’s Magazine, Australian Gluten-Free Life, Body+Soul, Daily Mail, and The Guardian. I have been featured on Dishing Podcast and Additive Free Lifestyle Podcast.
A Bit More About Me
- I am Ukrainian-Australian, based in Sydney, but I have lived and travelled all over the world so my readers are pretty international. I am also a mom of a super cute toddler. I enjoy running, hiking, climbing and surfing (badly!).
- I am a qualified nutrition coach with an Advanced Diploma in Nutrition & Weight Management certified by the Association of Nutrition. However, I no longer provide individual nutrition advice or work with clients.
- I have a degree in Digital Media and didn’t get to study nutrition until much later in my life. Prior to cooking, I worked as a multimedia journalist at News Digital Media (I even won a Walkley Award back in the day) and as a Head of Digital Strategy at Pacific Magazines.
- I’m 44. I was born and raised in Ukraine, spent most of my life in Australia, lived in Germany, have travelled through the U.S. and lived in London for 6 years. Now, I am back in Sydney, although I am often somewhere in between.
- I’m a mom to a girl called Snow.
- I have spent over a year living and travelling in a self-converted camper van. I am a rock climber. I enjoy running, surfing, hiking and yoga. Basically, the great outdoors and the kitchen are my two happy places.
- I cook and shoot all my own recipes and I love collaborating with other bloggers, authors, and brands.
I am very approachable and you can get in touch with me directly if you have any questions. Please email me at team@cookedandloved.com. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook. Join my private Facebook group here. You can also see my professional profile on LinkedIn.
The Evolution Of Cooked & Loved
With a background in nutrition and years of coaching people in Paleo and low-carb diets, many of my recipes (especially the older ones) lean towards healthy eating.
I have published multiple cookbooks, created popular healthy eating programs, and meal plans, and worked one-on-one with clients to improve their nutrition.
But, after years of only publishing the healthy stuff on the blog, I realised that in order to be completely authentic with my audience (and true to myself), I needed the freedom to share everything I love to cook. That means pasta, burgers and dumplings as well as a good salad.
Because at the end of the day, all good food brings me joy and that’s what I want to bring to the table. My recipes are often inspired by my travels and international cuisines but I like to keep them accessible and family-friendly.
On that note, thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy my recipes!
Way Back When…
Back in 2012, I started a food blog Eat Drink Paleo, to provide inspiration and tools to people who wanted to achieve better health and wellbeing through the paleo diet and lifestyle. I have since internationally published two cookbooks Eat Drink Paleo Cookbook and Happy Go Paleo and developed multiple healthy eating plans, programs and recipe eBooks. From time to time, I speak at events and run cooking workshops and demos.
My personal approach to diet and wellness has evolved over the years and as I became a mom, my priorities changed and I decided to change directions and focus on just creating and sharing good, healthy-ish recipes. My blog is now called Cooked & Loved and I feel like I have arrived to where I am supposed to be.