Strategic Pivot

Written By Abby Steketee

LAFFlines #27

Four women on Northwestern crew racing in the Head of the Charles Regatta in the women's four boat

In 2001, our Northwestern crew placed fifth in the Women’s Four in the Head of the Charles, the world’s largest three-day regatta.

You may notice that the arrangement of our oars—the “rigging”—is a little odd. Our coach “bucket rigged” our boat to maximum our leverage around the course’s famous turns under the Weeks Bridge and Eliot Bridge. Bucket rigged means that instead of alternating one oar on the right and one of the left, you have two oars on the same side in the middle of the boat.

Speaking of right and left: Rowers move backwards down the river…

20 year old granddaughter and 80 year old grandfather stand arm in the arm, smiling at each other in the beach in swimsuits

Because of that, from my perspective, the bow was the back of the boat, the stern was the front of the boat, port was right, and starboard was left. I rowed on starboard, meaning that my oar was on the left.

Pops—pictured here with me at Emerald Isle in 2002—got quite a chuckle out of my “perspective.” He’d been a radiologist in the Navy during the Korean War and informed me that being starboard actually meant my oar was on the right.

20 year old woman in a jean skirt and blue leopard spotted tights buttering bread in the kitchen of a college apartment

One indication of being alive is having the capacity to learn. I’ve learned a lot since rowing on the “left” and buttering bread in the crew apartment back in 2002 (in a shirt I wore just the other week). And I’ve learned a lot since April 2024 when I incorporated LAFFkitchen.

Those lessons informed my decision to “strategically pivot,” as the start-up gurus say. Selling seitan was becoming less of a business and more, in the words of my mother’s friend, “expensive hobby.”

So I’m pivoting from plant-based production to plant-based teaching and coaching. Before I taught undergrad classes at Virginia Tech, I was head coach of Women’s Swimming and Diving at Northwestern and (before that) at the University of Nevada, Reno. Along the way, I’ve become a certified yoga teacher and adopted handstands as a holistic movement practice.

A woman doing a handstand with her legs crossed in lotus position

So, here are the changes:

  • I’ve posted the first series of waffle recipes in a user-friendly format that’s easy to print and includes a “cook mode” option. Details below about the CRAZY GOOD waffles series.

  • I’m exploring options for teaching people how to make their own seitan. For example, I may add a DIY plant-based protein course to the website or develop a spiral-bound seitan kitchen playbook.

  • I changed the website from laffkitchen.com to literallyupsidedown.com to align with my Instagram presence - @literallyupsidedown.

  • I’ll continue practicing, developing, and teaching my holistic approach to movement. By “holistic movement,” I mean fitness beyond fitness; I mean using the body to generate multifaceted wellness (“flourishing”) that’s more than physical health; I mean embracing the phenomenon of having a body.

  • I’ll dedicate more energy to improving animal welfare at the systems level through effective factory farm reforms such as replacing male chicken culling with in-ovo sexing.

Spiced clementine chocolate chip waffle that's plant-based, vegan, gluten-free, healthy, and no-fuss

Why waffles? Because they’re scrumptious, wholesome, no-fuss, fantastic for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, dessert, pre-workout snack, post-workout snack, midnight snack…and, most importantly, they’re a delight to share.

The waffles in the CRAZY GOOD series have the same oat-based batter made in a blender. The links below take you directly to the recipe cards. There are essay-ettes and photos after the recipe cards, but I placed the cards first so that you can get right into it.

Vegan Gluten-free cinnamon apple waffle that's healthy, no-fuss, and plant-based

The print button is in blue near the top of the card; when you press that button, you’ll have the option to print without photos. The cook mode button prevents your phone from going dark if you’re cooking straight from your phone.

Spiced Clementine Chocolate Chip - pictured above

Apple Cinnamon - pictured to the left (Steve’s favorite)

Ginger Pear - y’all know I love ginger

Banana Oat - the original CRAZY GOOD waffle

Long-haired red miniature dachshund in a purple leash and harness

The last change is the timing of this newsletter. I’ll send out the newsletter once a month OR when there’s new content on the website…but not more than once a week!

As always, thank you for reading. If there’s someone in your life who would love waffle recipes, inspirational content, or to connect about holistic movement, please send them my way through the website, Instagram @literallyupsidedown, or email - abbystek@gmail.com

Cheers,

Abby

Abby Steketee

I’m a holistic movement coach passionate about plant-based food, handstands, and helping people flourish. I share free, vegan waffle recipes that are delicious, wholesome, no-fuss, and delightful for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, pre-workout snack, or post-workout recovery.

https://www.literallyupsidedown.com
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