UCSB Grad Hosts ‘The Posh Pescatarian’

UCSB alumna Stephanie Harris-Uyidi is making waves with her TV show The Posh Pescatarian: Appetite for Adventure!, which highlights the benefits of a plant-based diet supplemented with seafood. After a bout of diet-related health issues, Harris-Uyidi decided to try out the pescatarian diet as a way to encourage healthier eating and, in turn, a healthier way of living. “It started as a personal journey but then soon developed into a YouTube series, then a blog, then a cookbook, and now a TV show,” she said.

The Posh Pescatarian follows Harris-Uyidi as she travels around the country and the world, finding new ways to prepare seafood, engage with local communities, and participate in a healthier and more mindful lifestyle. As host, she pairs food with adventure, whether it’s rock climbing, feeding alligators, swinging on trapezes, or practicing archery before dining on shrimp fajitas or smoked salmon wraps.

Our interview caught our host — between stops touring the bayou in New Orleans and sport fishing in San Diego — filming her show’s second season. Benefits of pescatarianism include the high-protein and low-fat content of various kinds of seafood, and the large range of species diversity that allows for a host of interesting recipes, she said. “I get into moods where I fall into different species. I became obsessed with octopus after I traveled to Portugal. They introduced me to new cooking techniques, and I just had a blast,” Harris-Uyidi explained.

Harris-Uyidi is also currently working with a literary agent on a new book, The Posh Life Plan, which encourages readers to pair healthy foods with healthy lifestyle choices, including daily exercise and meal-prepping. “The long-term plan is to continue to expose people to seafood and to explore the world. I encourage people to travel, but there are some people that can travel even a hundred miles to their local city, even a different part of their county. You don’t need an exotic trip to experience new adventure or new cultures.”

When asked about one of her favorite meals, Harris-Uyidi detailed her famous jicama-shell shrimp tacos. “I use a mandolin to peel the jicama into a taco-shell form; add grilled octopus, shrimp, or salmon; and garnish it with my favorite mango salsa made with fresh red mango, red onion, sea salt, and cilantro,” she said. Ultimately, Santa Barbara has inspired Harris-Uyidi to be “active, fresh, local, and posh.”

To catch The Posh Pescatarian: Appetite for Adventure!, tune into the Z Living Network, where the program airs five days a week in 15 different countries.