Amazing Grace

AMOMENTWITH TRU1TANI

INTERVIEW BY Alaeryn Emlu'rathian

Tani, known on social media as “Tru1Tani” , is blessed with the sort of effervescent personality one does not easily forget. A Twitch streamer, professional baker, and dedicated friend, Tru1Tani has a wealth of both bubbly energy and down-to-earth wisdom that has earned her a beloved place in her community’s hearts. Tani is wickedly funny, armed with a razor sharp wit and ridiculous sense of overthe-top humor. However, her penchant for funny is tempered with her incredible capacity for kindness. Tani lives to help others, to extend assistance to those who need it most, and to support the creative endeavors of the Sims community at large.

If this were not enough, Tani has overcome an immense difficulty to run her own bakery business and build a recognizable social media brand. Finding triumph in tragedy, squeezing lemonade from lemons, Tani has grown into an unstoppable force of sunshine and good-natured humor.

Sims Nation Magazine caught up with Tani to discuss her incredible life and her favorite Thanksgiving sweet treats.

Alaeryn: Tani! I’m pleased as punch to have you for Sims Nation Magazine! How are you doing? How is your life, and how excited are you for the holiday season?

Tani: I’m so excited to have this opportunity, I really enjoy this magazine and all it has done since its creation! I’m doing okay, I recently moved and somehow ended up injuring my knee so there was the nursing of that. I tend to get in my own head when it comes to content creation, so the injury made me feel like a content creator failure in a way. So I’ve spent at least three to four weeks trying to get out of my own head. We lost a lot of family over the past couple of years; unfortunately a lot of my family won’t get the COVID vaccine. Because of this, my mother and I will be spending the holidays with just each other. So I’ll probably create content on those days, like my upcoming Princess Week for the March of Dimes November Campaign. I honestly love making content and want to be able to do it consistently.

Alaeryn: Where are you from and where did you come up with your online name?

Tani: Taniku is an original character I made for an online roleplaying forum [during] my college years. It’s a Japanese unisex name but also a type of Japanese succulent. The character Taniku embodies a lot of my personal traits, so her design is special to me. She’s a green Siberian Tigress, blessed with wings and powers to care for others. She has a heart on her forehead, which signifies that she’s compassionate but wise. She’s careful and trustworthy. She has a whole backstory that has nothing to do with me, as well as a story from her time on Wolf Mountain (the roleplay forum’s name) and she has had a few cubs. I think five. She is on my twitch channel and has been registered as a trademark. My channel’s main emotes are Taniku; she’s so good natured and one day I’ll share her little story with the world.

Alaeryn: Our readers know you best as a Twitch

streamer! How long have you been streaming? How has this experience been for you? What are your favorite games to stream?

Tani: I’ve had a twitch account for four years I think. I started streaming September 2019 after my brother passed away and [after] a car accident that left me with a back injury. I was waiting for surgery. I had a lot going on at that time: I was legally homeless and had moved in with my best friend so that I could get back on my feet; I was depressed and needed an outlet. My friend’s husband first allowed me to play The Sims on his account, then I got my own account. One night I just went live, and I can’t remember who first watched me, but I know it was cathartic. After that I streamed after work regularly and then the panini hit (yes that’s what I’ve been calling the pandemic, haha!) I started streaming with intent April 26th and was affiliated shortly after that. The journey has been interesting, I’ve connected with a lot of great people, learned a lot about online personalities in general and made great friends that I bother– I mean talk to– almost daily now. I prefer streaming The Sims 4 when I play games, but my friends got me a switch for my birthday in August, so I’ll be streaming Pokémon Unite and Animal Crossing soon too!

Alaeryn: You’re often found streaming and cooking at the same time. Viewers love your meal prep streams. Why do you meal prep and how can the average person work meal prep into their routine?

Tani: I meal prep because my life is often really busy. If I don't prep, I tend to spend a lot more money on takeout or Doordash. As a person who recently moved and gotten out of homelessness, I [need to know] where and how my money is spent. It is expensive to live in Atlanta, so I manage every penny I earn. [...]

It’s also important to me that I get my health and weight back under control as I want to be able to have a more active life; I’m a dog mom and I want to hike with them once more.

Working in meal prep must be a desire; I would tell anyone to start with one meal, or snacks first. Something easy to manage and make. I like to make fruit cups because store fruit cups have a lot of sugar in them, even the ones in juice. I like to make sure my food is always well- rounded though, so If I do my snack, it won’t all be fruit. My morning snack might be fruit and my night time snack might be protein (chopped chicken) and a veggie. It’s a matter of what you need, what your schedule looks like, and what your budget is. Even if you can’t afford or get fresh food (because food deserts exist and need to be addressed) anything can be meal prepped. I try to meal prep a variety of things on stream so that everyone, no matter their socioeconomic status, can feel inspired and capable. A lot of my food doesn't look professional, properly plated or dressed up, but it’s good, lower in sugar, salts and fats, and uses fresh, canned or frozen ingredients that are commonly accessible, even in food deserts. If someone wants to meal prep, the key is to look at what you CAN prep, not what you WANT to prep. If I can’t afford it that week I won’t get it, but it doesn’t usually stop me from prepping.

Alaeryn: Honestly, I was a meal prepper for years when

I was lifting heavy every day. My gym rat years were beast! But, for me, my Wednesday and Thursday meals get pretty grody in my refrigerator. How do you keep your meals super fresh while preventing meal monotony and freezer burn?

Tani: Fresh fruit and veggies will definitely get grody by day 3 and 4. The key with them is wash and DRY them completely before storage and store them separately from sauce. [...]

Combine them only when you’re about to eat them. You’ll notice when I’m packaging my food up (unless I’m rushing, and I am not thinking) that unless my veggies are cooked, or my fruit are going in a liquid mixture they aren’t combined with any food (meat or sauce) until it’s time to eat. I do that with yogurt and granola. Anything really that once combined you have limited time to enjoy. With my cooked meals I’ll put four in the fridge and three in the freezer; you usually have four to five days in a well-cleaned and ventilated fridge to eat food without bacteria growth on cooked food. So keep your fridge clean and do not overfill it or the freezer. I usually eat from the fridge, and on Wednesday I take my freezer food out and put it in the fridge to defrost. Never defrost or thaw your food on a counter. You can microwave your food directly from the freezer, but you must stop and stir and cover with a moist paper towel. I prefer to warm my food over the stove when I’m home; that way I can cook evenly and make sure my food hits temp. There’s a whole science to eating food!

Alaeryn: Although many folks know you as a streamer, they may not know that you own your own bakery! Tell us about your journey as a baker and business owner. Why baking? Where can our readers support you best?

Tani: The short answer is I love making food pretty; often, meal prep isn’t pretty, so baking can be pretty lol. I started this business in 2017 with my best friend; she had to step down for personal reasons, so I went forward alone. My best friends have been a HUGE support to me since I’ve known them. I honestly never knew love like this could be a thing, just wanted to say that. The company used to be Tani’s Cakes & Desserts, then it went to Tani’s International Desserts, now it’s Tani’s Desserts. I think we’re at a place where this is the permanent name for the business. [...]

I’ve grown a lot and most of the things I started teaching myself I’ve somewhat mastered, and I take online classes at random from time to time. People talk about starting a business in a sort of romanticized way. I think some candid honesty is in order. A business is not for everyone, it takes a lot of sacrifice, pain (physical and emotional) as well as drive. The statistics state that most businesses fail after the first 3 years, and I’ve not been greatly successful yet, but I’ve been consistently alive since 2017, so I’m hoping my launch into self-sustainability is soon! I hope that one day I’ll need employees and a brick and mortar; until then I’m building Tani’s Desserts from absolutely nothing other than word of mouth and dogged determination. We’re 100% online and can ship to all of the North American Continent and some of the islands. If anyone ever wants to support me, you can order desserts here: www.tanisdesserts.com.

Alaeryn: Do you think baking is more of an art or a

science? Or is it a bit of both?

Tani: Baking is both! I used to work with the Boys & Girls Clubs here in Atlanta and I taught cooking as well as cake decorating while there. I always told kids that cooking and baking is science you can eat. Food is chemicals and minerals that you mix with other chemicals and minerals until you get a new type of item that you can eat (in moderation, everything in moderation) and enjoy! I love explaining why I’m using the ingredients I use for baking. I often say why I use them in the quantity I do to myself when I am making orders. It’s important to get the measurements right in science and in baking; too much of one ingredient can make a cake too airy or dense. I am very careful how I measure my ingredients and in what order I add them. Science is one of my favorite subjects; the other was home economics, haha.

Alaeryn: The holidays are upon us! What are your

favorite items to bake during this season?

Tani: During the holidays I love making sugar cookies and cake pops. I love making things pretty and these items allow me to get super festive so you might see tree, wreath, yule log and ornament cookies in this seasonal batch if you order cookies from me between December 1st and Feb 2022

Alaeryn: I gotta ask. Cake? Or Pie?

Tani: CAKE for sure! I’m going to pick the one I can decorate every time, haha!

Alaeryn: What are your top tips for hopeful holiday

bakers?

Tani: If you’re planning on baking this holiday, remember to rest your cookie dough for at least one to twenty-four hours; it’s important! Do not bake immediately! it’s non-negotiable, haha! Also, be considerate for whom you are baking. I offer vegan alterations to many of my recipes because I want many people to enjoy them. When you’re baking for your family, thoughtfulness goes a long way and people will appreciate you if you consider their dietary needs or preferences. Finally, make desserts you enjoy. Baking is a labor of love and people can feel the love in every bite; make sure it’s something you love, and you’ll always make something the crowd will fuss over!

Alaeryn: Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers?

Tani: I want my readers to know that while I was very open and vulnerable in this interview, I’m not looking for anything. I wanted to tell my raw and uncut story in this interview.

I want them all to know that you can still be successful and be depressed; you can still achieve or fight even when you feel like giving up. It is okay to cry, and it is okay to want to scream. I am always going to be one to push people to be open and honest with their mental health because it’s not something to be ashamed of. We are humans going through things, some tough and some easy, some good and some bad; we aren’t infallible, and we need to give ourselves and others grace! I give myself grace. My friends, and family give me grace. I give grace to my friends and family. Love takes work - love for yourself, love for others and love for the things you enjoy- and that’s okay. Cook, eat, and show love!