Chef Maria Cooper

Chef Maria Cooper We truly are what we eat. I am inspired to use the clean food that is here naturally to help ground us, root us, and build our relationship with the earth.

Hi dancers! I will be guest teaching for Jackie Diner Wednesday morning this week at 9am at Alchemy of MovementI’ll be t...
04/14/2026

Hi dancers! I will be guest teaching for Jackie Diner Wednesday morning this week at 9am at Alchemy of Movement
I’ll be teaching a low impact SoulSweat class to start the day 🌀

Looking forward to it! 👯💃🏾🕺🏽❤️

Full Moon SoulSweat 🌕✨Wednesday April 1st | 5:20pmAlchemy of MovementWe begin with an astro update from Emily Nelsen t...
03/31/2026

Full Moon SoulSweat 🌕✨
Wednesday April 1st | 5:20pm
Alchemy of Movement

We begin with an astro update from Emily Nelsen to ground us in the energy of this Full Moon. 🌕🌀

This moon is an invitation — to open, to expand, to embody the fullness of who you are in your own unique wildness.

Come move, release, and create with us on the dance floor.
Let it be raw, real, and fully alive. 🦋

Zoom option available ✨

So excited to dance with you this spring. 🦋💜💛Special classes this week…💛Wednesday 10am — subbing for Lucy at the Avalon ...
03/15/2026

So excited to dance with you this spring. 🦋💜

💛Special classes this week…💛
Wednesday 10am — subbing for Lucy at the Avalon for Dance to be Free
✨No advance sign-up needed. Just come dance.

Wednesday evening — New Moon in Pisces ♓️ dance at Alchemy of Movement. 🌙
A space to soften, flow, and set intentions for the new lunar cycle.

All other classes are at Alchemy.
Most classes also offer virtual options (except Desire and WildBeat). Check Alchemy’s schedule for details.

Come dance. Release, renew, begin again. 🌙
us

Full Moon SoulSweat 🌕This Virgo Full Moon and Blood Moon Eclipse 🌕🩸is a release, an exhale…a chance to clear out the noi...
03/02/2026

Full Moon SoulSweat 🌕

This Virgo Full Moon and Blood Moon Eclipse 🌕🩸is a release, an exhale…a chance to clear out the noise and come back to what’s real. 🦋

Virgo ♍️is about tending the small things… your body, your breath, your daily rituals. The eclipse brings movement.
🫴🏼 Shift.
🫴🏼 Release.
So we’re going to dance it. 💫
🌀We’ll sweat.
🌀We’ll ground.
🌀We’ll let go of what’s been building up.

If you’ve been feeling the intensity lately, this is a beautiful space to move it through instead of holding it in.

Come as you are. 👣
Let’s clear some space together. 🌕

Tuesday morning, 9am
Alchemy of Movement

🔥 Paleo Lasagna 🔥I prepared this for a small catering event last week. This is one of my favorite dishes, as it is simpl...
02/22/2026

🔥 Paleo Lasagna 🔥

I prepared this for a small catering event last week. This is one of my favorite dishes, as it is simple, beautiful to present, nutrient dense, easy to digest, and very comforting. 👍

Here’s what I did…

Layers:

🌱Homemade meat or vegetarian sauce (heavy on the meat— or use lots of wild mushrooms to make ✨vegetarian)
🌱Grilled vegetables, sliced thin
🌱Cashew cream *
🌱Fresh Basil

The recipe for the cashew cream is in my cookbook. Happy to send it to you. Just send me a DM.

Add layers of mozzarella, fresh parm, or other cheeses you like, if desired

Kick up the flavors in that meat (or mushroom) sauce. I love using 85% ground beef, but you can also use turkey, or bison.

02/18/2026

I made this luscious dish for a small private dinner this week and served it with whipped celery root and parsnips. It was decadent alongside a crisp green apple 🍏salad with sweet lettuces 🍃and arugula.

I love food ❤️

Here’s what I did. ✨🌸

4-Hour Black Olive Orange Beef Braise 🍊

- 1 4–5-pound boneless beef chuck roast
- Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
- 6 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
- 2 mandarin oranges or tangerines, unpeeled, thinly sliced into rounds
- 1 cup brine-cured black olives, pitted, coarsely chopped
- 2-4 tablespoons rosemary, thyme, sage
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup tomato purée

Cut deep slits in pot roast and insert the garlic. Season beef with salt, pepper, thyme and oregano and set aside at least 30 min.

Preheat oven to 300°F.

In dutch oven, sear meat in chosen fat until seared well on all sides. Remove meat, and deglaze pan with wine until reduced by half then add stock until almost boiling.

Cover, and pop in oven for approx. 3-4 hours until tender

Top with orange slices, herbs and olives during last 20 min.

HI friends 🤍I love honoring the cycles of the Moon through dance — aligning our bodies with the rhythms of the cosmos.🌕🌗...
02/15/2026

HI friends 🤍
I love honoring the cycles of the Moon through dance — aligning our bodies with the rhythms of the cosmos.🌕🌗🌘🌑

This week we welcome a New Moon in Aquarius, amplified by a powerful Solar Eclipse in Aquarius — a portal of fresh vision, awakening, and bold new beginnings. Aquarius invites us to think differently, move differently, and embody the future we’re ready to create.

We’re also celebrating the Lunar New Year as we transition from the Year of the Snake into the Year of the Horse — shifting from introspection and wisdom into momentum, freedom, and forward movement. What a beautiful time to dance into possibility.
✨🦋✨🦋

Citrus & Garlic Baked Wild Cod ✨🐠This was a simple delicate dish I prepared for a client yesterday. Here’s what I did:💛 ...
02/13/2026

Citrus & Garlic Baked Wild Cod ✨🐠

This was a simple delicate dish I prepared for a client yesterday. Here’s what I did:

💛 I softened a few tablespoons of butter and added a couple cloves of minced garlic, chives, and the zest of one lemon.

💛 In a large casserole dish, I popped a few tablespoons of butter and coconut oil and a 425° oven until they sizzled.

💛 I seasoned the pieces of fish with Celtic sea salt, rubbed each piece in the melted butter, and with the flesh side up in the pan, rubbed the softened butter on top.

💛 I baked the fish for 10 to 14 minutes until it flaked open in the middle.

Finished it with some lemon🍋

It was so delicious as I snuck a little bite.😘

We made a late dinner last night, and it was simple and lovely,. 🥚🪤🍄‍🟫🦎Sh*ttake MushroomsFrash Basil & CilantroPecorinoC...
02/02/2026

We made a late dinner last night, and it was simple and lovely,. 🥚🪤🍄‍🟫🦎

Sh*ttake Mushrooms
Frash Basil & Cilantro
Pecorino
Chevre
Local Farm Eggs
Toasted Sesame Vin over Greens

Very occassionally do we splurge on an upscale dinner out. ✨💵✨Well, sometimes sushi of course. 🍣Recently, we did treat o...
02/02/2026

Very occassionally do we splurge on an upscale dinner out. ✨💵✨

Well, sometimes sushi of course. 🍣

Recently, we did treat ourselves for a spesh occassion, at BlackBelly in Boulder. It was SO worth it. Divine. 🥩🌿

Hi friends! ✨I’ll be guest teaching alongside some truly fun teachers this Wednesday (10am) and Saturday (11am) at The A...
01/27/2026

Hi friends! ✨
I’ll be guest teaching alongside some truly fun teachers this Wednesday (10am) and Saturday (11am) at The Avalon Ballroom in Boulder with .us 💛

$20 drop-in | First class free 👍

Join us to move, connect, and support this beautiful nonprofit. Would love to dance with you!

www.dancetobefree.org

Address

2436 30th St
Boulder, CO
80301

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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Chef Maria, Nourishment & Heartful Kitchen

Chef Maria’s recipes and nourishment coaching will support you on your food journey, toward health, flavor, and pleasure in the kitchen!

Check out her nourishment coaching for assistance with special diet needs, food allergies, and trouble shooting food for busy lifestyles!

Heartful Kitchen, a 110 recipe paleo cookbook will be released this winter, packed with nutritious simple recipes, packed with flavor, and aligned with several medical diets such as AIP, GAPS, and FODMAPS. Heartful Kitchen will focus on clean proteins, organic vegetables, and healthy fats, and be free of gluten, dairy, grains, corn, fruit, sugar and legumes.