Join us on Thursday, November 30th for a conversation and live cooking demonstration with Agatha Achindu, author of ‘Bountiful Cooking’! Enjoy a lively chat with Agatha and her conversation partner AJ Johnson!

*This event will take place at Semicolon Bookstore from 6-8pm. A ticket is NOT required but please complete the registration form below so that we can ensure enough space!

“With her knowledge of healthy, amazing food, Agatha is a breath of fresh air. Her recipes will not disappoint your tummy or your health!”

—Tamera Mowry-Housley, author and award-winning actress and talk show host

When Agatha Achindu moved to the United States for college, she was puzzled by the aisles of canned foods in the grocery store. Her classmates, meanwhile, were puzzled by Agatha’s glowing skin and the delicious odors wafting down the hallway from her room. Before long, Agatha was teaching her friends to make meals from scratch using fresh ingredients grown from the earth, just like she’d been taught by her parents on the organic farm where she was raised in Cameroon.

Achindu’s work as a certified integrative nutritionist, food activist, and wellness entrepreneur—her company Yummy Spoonfuls was the first organic baby food line to be nationally distributed—is rooted in the food philosophy she learned from her mother: indigenous wisdom passed down through generations in Africa, which Western science is finally recognizing as truth. With BOUNTIFUL COOKING: Wholesome Everyday Meals to Nourish You and Your Family (Hachette Go; 9/12/23; ISBN: 9780306827204) Achindu makes these teachings actionable, accessible—and delicious. Readers will discover:

• 100 fresh recipes, including Shrimp Tostadas & Pineapple Salsa, One Skillet Lemony Chicken, Soufico (Mediterranean Veggie Stew), Sweet-Potato Doughnuts, and many more, organized into breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and snacks.

• “Necessity is the mother of invention” salad, and more inspiration from Achindu’s personal experience eating fresh and healthy, even when time and money have been tight. Recipes also include ways to adapt to accommodate dietary restrictions and allergens.

• An invitation to think more critically about food policy, health, and our own power: As Achindu writes, “We hear all day, ‘Eat your fruits and vegetables,’ yet they aren’t heavily subsidized to make them more accessible and cheaper for everyone, as soybean, corn, and wheat are.” At the same time, Achindu argues, we have more power over our own health than we are often led to believe.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Agatha Achindu is a Certified Integrative Nutritionist and author of BOUNTIFUL COOKING: Wholesome Everyday Meals to Nourish You and Your Family. She is also the founder Yummy Spoonfuls Organics, the first nationally-distributed organic food for kids. As the founder and lead coach of Life Unprocessed™, a wellness coaching and consultancy, Agatha empowers audiences to think critically and independently to unprocess their generational habits and wellness misconceptions to arrive at solutions that actually work, enabling them to thrive on their journey to longevity. Agatha lives in Atlanta with her husband and youngest son.

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER: AJ JOHNSON

AJ Johnson, Chicago's preeminent beauty and fashion expert, has earned national and international recognition as a visionary pioneer. For nearly twenty years AJ Johnson has circumnavigated the globe carving his own lane as a celebrity stylist, hair care professional and entrepreneur. New York, London, Chicago and now Los Angeles AJ has explored and experience the world, doing what he does best, making women look and feel beautiful. AJ debuted and starred in his own reality show "Chicagolicious" on Style Network where he took the world again by storm with his expertise earning him the name Lifestyle & Fashion Guru. He's catered to some of the most prestigious celebrities in the industry and has been featured on the shows from Oprah Winfrey, Wendy Williams to Steve Harvey. AJ Johnson is also currently one of the top fashion designers in California with his new line of women clothing called the "House of AJ", you can find AJ pursuing his television, acting and producer career and is now awaiting a green light for his new scripted reality show airing soon. AJ Johnson is endearingly a humble, very determined and ambitious man with a charming and magical personality with the sky being the limit there's no telling what he can accomplish.