They say “Love comes through the stomach”, but even though the phrase is one as old as time, for me it wasn’t that long ago that I got to understand the true meaning of it. To know love is to first know and love yourself and that love affair always begins with the way you treat your body, mind and soul. If you nurture them with the right ingredients, they have a way of showing you what love really is. Neglect them and all you’ll ever know will be life full of rancor and disappointment.
Stefanija Nestorovska, the girl behind the popular Instagram account snestorovskaa knows this all too well. Her stunning photos of healthy food meals, snacks and cookies offer a view into her daily routine, demonstrating how food can actually change lives for the better. Her recipies are vivid depictions of life itself. Her life lessons are wise beyond her years and her honest cooking advices are what made a hard core fast-food junkie such as myself switch lanes and fall in love with the art of preparing a healthy food meal. But what makes her truly special, perhaps it might not be the alluring imagery she so delicately snaps of her little pieces of art, or the cooking itself, although she’s remarkable at it, but her ability to not take her power lightly. Her honest reporting on healthy food brands and ingredients is what make people fall in love with her and quantifies her as a true food connoisseur and influencer worthy of the title. So for this edition of Cool Faces of Bastet Noir, she shares more about her personal life, how she accidentally became an Instagram sensation and women who inspire her to become a better version of herself, not that she needs too, cause in our eyes she’s already perfect.
Who is Stefanija Nestorovska?
Of all things, I think the most important one is that I am daughter of two wonderful parents who I admire every single day and hope I will be as good of a parent as they were to me. I am also a bigger sister to my 12 year old sister and little sister to 27 year old sister who is basically my bff for life. I come from big family so family values are so important to me and I am so grateful for that.
I am also a girlfriend to one wonderful human being that even after 3 years I can’t believe what I did to deserve him. He is my best friend, my support, my rock and my everything.
Work and career wise to be honest I am still figuring out. I do have regular office job which I love and really enjoy so far but I am still not sure that this is it for me. For now I am comfortable where I am now but I do have some major projects and plans for the future which is very exciting and very ME so I am looking forward to that.
What I am the most passionate about though is all things fitness and cooking ‘better for you food’.. I started working out and developing recipes with wholesome real ingredients a few years ago while documenting everything on my Instagram page with no intentions to be nothing more that my own kind of motivation and place where I can keep everything from my progress to recipes. As time passed, people started to show interest in everything I do, asking me for advice, tricks or how I manage to do everything while working a full time job and here we are today. My Instagram community is getting bigger and bigger every day and to this day I’ve never ever taken it for granted. All those people who trust me with their health is so special to me and I am so grateful for that.
I have no interest in making my Instagram page my regular job or to be my main income that’s why I am really picky and strict with choosing who I work with which makes it really hard for me to maintain this as my hobby while still helping people with my content. It takes so much of my time and energy but when I see that someone (even if that is one person) learnt something, changed their life for the better or find it inspiring- well that’s what it’s all about.
I am so passionate about teaching and helping people live a healthier lifestyle, cooking delicious meals with real wholesome ingredients and to be able to show how enjoyable this whole process can be is my passion and I still haven’t figured it out how I can turn this into a business so I can actually make money for a living ☺ but I will because that is my dream and I will work really hard to get there.
Curious to know how your day starts? Any fun morning routine that gets you up and running?
That really depends on whether it’s work day or weekend. From Monday to Friday I have a regular office job so my routine is very basic. Water,coffee,getting ready and heading out the door to get started with my day. As far as the weekend morning routine goes, I like to take it really slow and enjoy every moment. I usually wake up really early and first things first COFFEE. Only this time I want to drink it in bed while catching on some work or just watching my favorite TV show. Then I make breakfast and of course take photos and then it’s either GYM time or I do light stretches at home. I really enjoy stretching lately and I’ve been trying to incorporate in my morning routine as often as possible as it really makes your whole body feel better. And that’s pretty much it. Nothing special but I really enjoy it.
Your Instagram account is a place of endless inspiration filled with recipes and travelling destinations. Do you remember what was your first post about?
Thank you so much — I really appreciate when people find my posts inspiring or helpful. I don’t remember because I never had intentions on starting Instagram account for other reasons than to have my own personal one. So my first post was probably some really terribly edited photo of me ☺. I used to post so much photos of me when I opened my Instagram account it hurts just thinking about it.
What or who made you fall in love with cooking? If you had to pick what’s your favorite cookbook?
I was raised with family who cooks very often. My mom and granny still to this day cook for the whole family so I guess cooking came pretty natural to me.
I really believe that what we put inside our bodies will show on the outside as well as is a huge part of daily productivity and energy. I started researching and learning more and more about ingredients, reading books, google-ing and of course trying my own creations. At first it was really frustrating because I had no idea what I was doing and I had so little knowledge on how food works. But like everything else in life with trial and error, with experience and some more google-ing (seriously I google everything-Google is my best friend ☺) I came to a point where I really feel confident in my kitchen and enjoy spending time in there. So I would say it definitely wasn’t something I fell in love with on the first try, but more like necessity that later developed into passion, as I found a way to really love and enjoy doing it.
Self-care tips
My biggest tip to self care is DON’T be overwhelmed by everything you read and see online. Self care should be simple, effective and whatever works best for you. Maybe that can be going to your nearest spa center for a fancy massage or maybe it can be as simple as turning your phone off and taking a nap in the middle of the day. Something that would make you feel relaxed disconnected from rest of the world and recharged. It can be difficult sometimes to find the time especially with the dynamic life we are leading nowadays, but trust me — it’s worth it. At the end of the day you can’t be productive, effective and give your best if you are not taking care of yourself first. So go ahead and put self care on your to-do list because as soon as you start doing it you will see how good it feels to take even a few moments just for yourself. It’s totally ok to be selfish sometimes especially if it’s for the greater good.
What’s the best, like life-changing advice you’ve ever received?
Hmm.. This is a tough one to answer considering that I am surrounded with so many wise people around me who give me advices that make me think every time ☺.
Depending on the situation, but I really like the one that my dad gave me just recently. Find a job that will make you go to work earlier than you should. Find something that will make you so excited that you will not feel like working at all.
Maybe it’s because I really needed that at that point but it’s a really good advice, don’t you think ?
Biggest failure in life and what you’ve learnt from it?
Dropping out of college is probably something I shouldn’t have done and I am not proud of it. But on the other hand I’ve learnt so much more from working and earning my own money from young age, as well as being so much more responsible. I used to feel so ashamed of that, but as time passed, and everything else I was able to learn and do, I don’t really see that I missed much or that I will be somewhere else in life had I finished it. Well, I guess we’ll never know that for sure but I am grateful for where I am now.
Favorite female empowerment speech or favorite podcast
Emma Watson at HeForShe Campaign
Ahh, there are so many good ones and it’s not even possible to remember them all. But I really like all speeches from OPRAH- I mean that women can really make you feel like you could do anything in life with just a few words. Also let’s not forget Emma Watson and her HeForShe Initiative and everything she does for women around the world. I still remember her speech at the Davos World Economic Forum. If you haven’t heard it — please do. And many many more women who stand up for all of us.
What’s in your Bastet Noir cart?
Black Satin Silk Shirt Dress.
Mark our words when we say this: ‘This girl is going places’ and us for one can’t wait to see what the future holds for her. Secretly hoping it’ll be a restaurant with us having a permanently booked table there for our team, for all the eternity or a food brand is an endeavor we could gladly get behind or perhaps maybe even an organic food farm. Here’s hoping. But truth be told, whatever she decides to do next, we’re sure she’ll execute it perfectly. As for us, we’d be cheering her on every step of the way, as I’m sure a lot of you reading this will too.
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