Babba Rivera

EVERYONE EATS        |        MARCH 10, 2020

Babba Rivera

founder of ceremonia
& co-founder of her-USA

Babba C. Rivera is an award-winning brand marketing professional with experience working with fashion and tech brands in Stockholm, Berlin and New York.

After launching Uber in Sweden, Babba ran the partnerships team for Uber in New York, before taking a position at AWAY as Director of Brand Marketing. She then set out to merge the gap between the agency world and the uprise of fast moving, direct-to-consumer brands.

Today, Babba is focusing on her clean hair care brand Ceremonia, launching this fall!

INTERVIEW BY ROSIE ELLIS
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MOLLY CRANNA

BABBA’S KITCHEN IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Babba whipped up her go-to quinoa porridge for us while we took a peek in her kitchen. She showed us her staples like Elmhurst milks, Magic Spoon cereal, Hu Chocolate, and her beloved Kitchenaid.

BREAKFAST

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals. On workdays I usually prep breakfast the night before, or on Sunday I’ll make a big pot for the week. My favorite weekday breakfast is quinoa porridge, which I slow boil with Ripple milk. Once it becomes porridge texture, I add WellCo chocolate protein powder (mainly for flavor, but it also adds great nutrients and protein). Then I’ll add mashed banana and almond butter.

If I run out of the quinoa porridge, or if I’m too stressed to make it the night before, my lazy version is overnight oats. That I make with Elmhurst cashew milk, oats, mashed banana and cardamom. Actually, cardamom is huge in baking in Sweden, so I put it in everything. It’s so delicious. Sometimes I’ll also add vanilla extract - it’s so tasty, you don’t need any sweetners.

On the weekends, if I’m doing more of a feast, I love doing Swedish pancakes. They’re thin like crepes, but smaller. Another go-to is Swedish waffles which are also thin (not like the Belgian ones). I actually bought a waffle machine from Sweden that I brought here. For both waffles and pancakes I usually put a combination of ice cream, whipped cream (with cardamom, of course), some raspberry jam, bananas and berries.

LUNCH

Lunch is not as exciting. My lunch is really how I optimize my energy for the workday, so I very rarely indulge over lunch. Pre-quarantine, I almost always had the same thing at Spring Place. They have a market bowl of the day with some sort of grain and vegetables with a miso, carrot, ginger dressing. And I always added tofu.

Since Covid, I’ve been defaulting to my local Sweetgreen or a homemade salad.

DINNER

Here I have zero routine. I feel like I’m really healthy and routine-oriented with breakfast and lunch. I’m religious about the time I eat them every day and really eat about the same level of nutrients. For dinner I have no routine.

I’ll either have a work dinner, or a HER dinner, or some sort of event. Or I’ll eat at home with Carl [Babba’s husband]. I would say, if we do cook something during the week, it’s tofu with bok choy and broccoli, usually something Asian. Or we will order Indian. I love Indian for takeout - it’s great for vegetarians.

One of my favorite neighborhood restaurants is called Hibino. It’s a Japanese place – I love their miso soup and their miso-ginger tofu dish with rice.

DESSERT

I love dessert. All of it.

I don’t like when desserts are too sweet though. Like I don’t want cupcakes with a lot of glaze. I like when the flavors feel more real. I love an apple tart (ideally with ice cream), I love an ice cream sunday (Oatly is my go-to these days), I love tiramsu.

SPEED ROUND

Recent food discovery?
It’s technically not food, but I love Caraway kitchenware. It’s really nice, all toxic-free and is super chic.

Dream dinner guest?
Michelle Obama.

 

Last meal on Earth?

Pizza, for sure.

 

Any vitamins or supplements?
Omega-3 from Simris, the Ritual multi-vitamin, Perelandra B12 and iron from Pure Encapsulations.

Best snack between meals?
Lava yogurts. I normally put some Sakara Life granola on top.

Go-to comfort food?
Indian.

Whose routine would you love to see on Everyone Eats?
Ty Haney , founder of Outdoor Voices. I feel like she’s healthy, relatable, a mom and also a boss.

Favorite Swedish dish?
Swedish pancakes.

Most coveted thing in your kitchen?
My Kitchenaid. I had been dreaming of having one since I was maybe, thirteen? When we moved to New York my husband gave me one. It was probably the sweetest thing he has ever done. I wouldn’t change it for anything. I would be homeless with just my Kitchenaid.

Favorite neighborhood spot?
Colonie, for a more upscale night.

Go-to market?
I shop mostly at Key Foods – it’s a very cheap chain. I combine that with going to the farmers market for fruits and veggies.

Favorite seasonal treat.
Clementines.

Any allergies or foods you avoid?
I recently found out I’m very sensitive to gluten and am prone to getting Celiac disease. This has me questioning my own identity because I am a very proud self-proclaimed carb queen. It’s an adjustment, to say the least.

Cooking playlist?
I always listen to the Peaceful Piano Spotify playlist when I’m cooking.

Last item ordered for food delivery?
Pizza. Well, we picked it up. It’s our neighborhood pizza, called Table 87. It’s the best pizza in the world.

Secret food hack?
I put edamame beans in everything because they’re so rich in protein, but are also delicious.

Favorite restaurant?
Cosme, in Flatiron. I love that they showed what elevated Mexican food can be.

Favorite way to work off a big meal?
I love boxing and running. Those always hit a reset for me. I come out on the other side like a new person.

 

Cocktail of choice?

Kin Euphorics. I stopped drinking alchohol a little over a year ago and have just been drinking Kin whenever I socialize.

 

Wierdest eating habit?
I love lemons. I can slice one up and just eat it with salt. Also olives – I can finish a whole jar of green olives in one sitting.

Where do you most feel like The Regular?
Spring Place, where we have our office. I feel like everyone there knows me, and I feel very welcome.

THIRD SCOOP

You were raised with both Swedish and South American cultures influencing what was on the dinner table. How do you continue to bring those influences into your New York home?

Chilean cuisine is unfortunately not super interesting. It’s a very meat-heavy culture, and there are no specific spices you can just apply to veggie dishes. When I told my mom I was becoming a vegetarian she almost started crying. It was as if I told her I had a disease. With that said, I love Chilean bread – hallullas. It's amazing.

I love Swedish food. There is a lot of distinct food culture there. I don’t typically eat any fish or shrimp, but I do eat Swedish shrimp when I’m home. They’re tiny. For our wedding, we really incorporated Swedish food culture into the menu. We brought the South American element out through the dancing and played lots of salsa. We enjoyed mixing the culture in different ways.

As someone who loves to host and is always planning gatherings, how do you think about integrating food into your events.

In marketing, we think about the food component a lot. It’s as important as anything else. It tells a story, regardless of if you’re intentional about it, so you better think about it so it tells the story you want told. We try to be modern and push boundaries on what can be plant-based. We hosted an event for the opening of The Latina Bodega and had a Latin American plant-based feast which spoke to the fact that Latin America was largely plant-based until the Spanish came over.

As someone who used to run a marketing agency and as someone with a large social following, you’re constantly exposed to new brands. What are you most excited about these days?

I love what BEHAVE, Magic Spoon and Ghia are doing. Their branding is beautiful. The products are delicious. And they all offer a more nutritious version of your typical candy, cereal or cocktail. These brands give me so much hope when I think about what I’ll feed my future children.

BABBA’S QUINOA PORRIDGE

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS

2 cups quinoa
4 cups milk – I use Ripple, but any will do
2 servings of protein powder – I use WellCo
2 ripe bananas

PREPARATION

1. Slow boil quinoa with milk of your choice.
2. Once it has turned to a porridge, mix in banana and protein.
3. Top it with a nut butter, granola or berries.

OPTIONAL

1 scoop of almond butter
Granola for some crunch – I like the one from Sakara Life
Sliced fruit or berries

Babba's quinoa porridge, with Sakara Life granola and blueberries.

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