Welcome to My Kitchen!

Hey, hi, hello there! 

I would like to not only welcome you here, but to officially introduce myself. My name is Tianna Lenore and yes, my (real) initials are TLC, which made it real easy to come up with a brand name. Before you start to explore all the foodie goodness I have to offer, I want to tell you a little bit about myself and why I'm here.

I am currently an Austin, TX transplant, and I relocated here from Greensboro, NC with my fur son, Caine. He is  an 8 yr old, red nose Pitbull, and we have been in the large state of Texas since 2020. I am a proud alumna of both North Carolina A&T State University (Aggie Pride!) and Ohio University (OU Oh Yeah!) I am a vegetarian and I have been since 2003/2004. I am also Gluten-Free/Friendly, as of 2017. 

In case you don't know yet, food genuinely makes me happy! Not like Betty White in those Snickers commercials, (although my mom will tell you, I am exactly like that when I'm hungry) but for me, my enjoyment comes from a place of more than just eating good food. I mean, researching, developing recipes, taste testing said recipes, and of course, cooking for others - is on the short list of how food really makes me happy in life.

I started cooking at a very young age. In fact, the very first thing that I ever made by myself, was the grilled cheese (pictured on the R) and it was my own "recipe." In the second grade, we had to write a transition paper and I chose to write about making a grilled cheese sandwich and then for dinner, I got to put my steps into practice. From there, the rest is history - sort of. 

Growing up, I was genuinely very inspired by watching my grandmother cook.  The way she cooks, even some to this day, without a recipe or measurements or even oven mitts sometimes, always made me feel like the kitchen was a very special place to be. As I have gotten older, it has become one of the places where I have learned the most about myself and others. 

In 2017, I started grad school, which was when I also decided to really take my health serious from an overall wellness stance, given I was both working and in school full-time. In fact, I had a trainer at Gold's Gym, who after reviewing my eating and nutrition habits, suggested that I experiment with a GF diet. As a plant-based vegetarian who drinks a lot of water, I just couldn't get over the hump to ever maintain a healthy weight! I was hesitant at first, because all I had ever heard of eating GF, was that the food was dry, and overall, it just didn't taste all that good. I do not have celiac, but I am gluten-intolerant so believe it or not, reducing my gluten intake, made a HUGE difference in my body - one where I could actually feel the results, and not just see them; but for the most part, the consensus was correct - most GF food didn't taste all that great to me. So it was in that year, my love for food and research were married and I began to play around with the idea that you can have food that is good for you that doesn't sacrifice in taste and texture. 

In 2019, shortly before I completed grad school, I decided to give it a go, (whatever that looked like), and in 2020, the Tender Love'In Cooking Blog was born. Coming from a large family with men and women who enjoy hosting, it is important to me that everyone is included in the meal, so my goal was and is to create recipes that allow for everyone at the table to enjoy the same great meal, curated for them!

Before we get started, there is only one house rule and that is to always add some tender love'in cooking! -TLC