Maciel’s Plant Based Butcher and Deli

By opening a plant-based butcher and deli, Maciel is combining her education in nutrition, passion for health, concern for animals and the environment, and pride in her Mexican heritage. Born and raised in Durango, Mexico, Maciel grew up with parents who were ahead of their time: her father was environmentally-conscious long before Maciel was born and her mother made extra efforts to cook healthy meals and seek out the rare vegetarian workshop in town.

Maciel received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition. She then obtained her Master’s Degree in Health Sciences, studying certain natural components of food that can potentially improve health. She continued down this path by receiving her PhD in Medical Sciences, focusing on obesity and energy metabolism. Upon receiving her PhD, Maciel took a post-doctoral research fellow position at The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York where she focused on the molecular effects and potential benefits of fasting.

Maciel has been making plant-based meats and cheeses for many years and can’t imagine a better location than Highland Park, a predominantly Latino, vegan-friendly neighborhood in Los Angeles, to open up her shop and begin sharing her delicious, healthy food with you.

Our meats are made in-house from whole ingredients.

We use legumes like chickpea and cannellini beans – a rich source of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals – as well as beets and other vegetables as the base for our pastrami, salami, turkey and bacon. We then add more protein by using seitan. Some people have concerns about seitan because it is made from the protein of wheat, which means it has gluten in it, but seitan is actually quite healthy. If someone has celiac disease or gluten sensitivities they should avoid seitan. However, if you’re just worried about carbs, you shouldn’t be, because the starch is washed away, which means the carbs are washed away, leaving only the protein.

A few of our meats are gluten free, though, so we have options for everyone.

Our tasty adobo short ribs have jackfruit as a base, chickpea flour for protein, and are packed with delicious spices.

Our all-too-real crab cakes have hearts of palm and chickpeas as a base.

And our spicy chorizo is soy-based. There is a lot of misinformation out there about soy as well. However, it is a nutrient-dense source of protein and provides many health benefits – especially when eaten as an alternative to red and processed meat.