I I grew up in a multicultural family (my father is Norwegian, my mother Bulgarian and Danish) and spent my early years in Tanzania, where, in the 80s, processed foods were practically non-existent. If we wanted pizza, we made everything ourselves, from the crust to the sauce.
My mother made fresh butter and yogurt, and I spent a lot of time with my green-fingered grandmother who lived in Sweden. When we weren’t at the local farmers market, we were in the garden, pickling or making seasonal jams. So this hands-on approach to food became ingrained in me.
My transition to a plant-based lifestyle was driven by personal health issues, including PCOS and endometriosis, when I discovered that what I ate had a profound impact on my physical and mental health, which led me to run wellness retreats in southern Spain. I then moved to London and wrote my first cookbook, Happy Food, and started developing recipes and then running my own Retreat Chef Academy.
Everyone is different, but I think it can really benefit everyone’s health to include more plants in your diet. The more diversity, color, whole foods, fruits and vegetables you eat, the better it will be for you in the long run.
There are so many wonderful ingredients that are underutilized. There is a world of gluten-free plants, like buckwheat, millet, teff, quinoa, that are nutritious and not talked about enough. There are over 40,000 varieties of cultivated rice, but most of us are only familiar with five or six types. Even millet, for example, which is a small-seeded grain and often what I call “budgie food,” is an underrated ingredient that we should be including in our dishes.
The “free from” industry has taken off, and while it’s great for those looking for alternatives, it sadly includes a lot more processed foods. But it’s so important that we try to consume as many different foods as possible. You should really be eating 30 varieties of plants a week, like peppers, spices, and lentils.
If you are new to plant-based eating or are looking to incorporate it into your lifestyle, the first thing I recommend is subscribing to a fresh fruit and vegetable box. There are so many to choose from, they introduce you to products you wouldn’t normally buy and will encourage you to “think outside the box” in the kitchen.
Contrary to popular belief, adopting a plant-based diet does not mean eating less. In fact, you should be eating larger portions. And you don’t even have to give up animal products entirely. If everyone could eat more plant-based meals at home and save animal products for special occasions, that would certainly be a significant step in the right direction.
Ten years ago, it was “the thing” to go to a vegan, plant-based restaurant. Now some people won’t touch vegan food out of pure protest. But I think the problem today is that there’s a big emphasis on labeling, which is a real shame, and that puts people off.
If you make a hummus dip with caramelized onions, you don’t need to label it vegan. We just need to start calling dishes what they are.
The belief that plant-based meals are bland is a common misconception. There are so many ways to transform your meals at home. What I love most about cooking from scratch is that it gives you control over what you put on your plate and allows you to create food that simply makes you feel good. The best plant-based food is unfussy, simple, easy, inexpensive, and speaks for itself.
My favorite thing to do when working on a retreat is raid the fridge. I love taking everything out of the fridge, including the sad little vegetables that have been sitting around all week, and making something delicious. Usually something like a curry or stir fry. Although it can be a challenge to put it all together, these are usually my most creative and delicious meals.
Another thing I teach is the principle of adding “drizzle, spoon, and crunch” to plant-based dishes. It may seem fancy, but imagine a pumpkin soup: it’s a classic but pretty one-dimensional. Now imagine the same soup with some toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch, a drizzle of pesto on top, and a spoonful of yogurt. Brilliant, right?
By adding these layers and textures to traditional dishes, you can take your plant-based recipes to the next level.
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