My Food Philisophy
/I refuse to get involved in the food wars. Don't try to enlist me dahlinks, I'm not taking sides!
When it comes to food, I don't have a set-in-stone food or diet philosophy. And even if I did I would never force it on you or tell you that my way is the only or the best way to health. You're paleo? Vegan? Gluten-and-dairy-free? Hate mushrooms?
Cool. Awesome. I'm not going to lecture, scold or issue you with a stern ultimatum.
It's your body and your choice babe.
But I would like to help you make an appropriately informed choice....
We are all different - physically, emotionally, intellectually, culturally and in so many other ways. What works beautifully for one person may be a disaster for another.
And the diet that appears to work beautifully for one person may not be so wonderful at the cellular level. That “wellness guru” that takes a gorgeous selfie and looks the picture of health may nevertheless be heading into osteoporosis, depositing LDL into their arteries, straining their kidneys or exhausting the beta cells in their pancreas. We just don’t know - because we can't see what is going on inside at the cellular level, and the results of dietary habits can take decades to manifest…. So rather than following a gorgeous insta-guru, I'm following the latest scientific studies in the peer-reviewed literature. And when you do that, you realise firstly that what we know about nutrition and health is constantly evolving, and secondly that there is no one-size-fits-all solution or magic bullet.
To the extent that I have a "food philosophy", it centres around these three principles:
1. EAT MORE PLANTS!
Deprivation ain’t fun dahlinks! As soon as we tell ourselves we can’t have something, what happens? Yup, we feel deprived and start to obsess. White knuckling your way through your day while you are hungry is just torture, and it’s completely unnecessary.
I have a better way…
I much prefer to "crowd out" the less healthy stuff by adding in lots of delicious, nutritious food! And veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans and pulses top my list! The scientific evidence for their health benefits is overwhelming. When you focus on eating more of these nutrient-dense foods each day, you are adding in more vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, healthy fats and fibre! All the good stuff that keeps you energised, healthy and makes your skin glow.
2. SUPERCHARGE YOUR MEALS!
I love bringing together my fascination with science and medicine and my outright adoration of delicious food!! So I'm constantly looking for simple swaps and tweaks to make the food I love to eat even healthier for me! Here are a few of my fave nutrition tweaks right now:
using watercress in my salads;
cooling my carbs (this is my absolute fave nutritional upgrade right now!); and
I add garlic to pretty much everything that doesn't run screaming in the opposite direction (this is my fave garlic recipe of all time!!)
99% of the time, my supercharging tweaks actually make my meals taste better! Adding herbs and spices, small changes in preparation methods and simple substitutions can make a BIG difference, both in flavour and health benefits! I’ll be sharing a lot more "supercharged" recipes, writing a LOT more about simple tweaks to ingredients and preparation methods on the blog, but for now check out my Recipes section!
3. MAKE YOUR OWN FOOD!
If you’ve spent more than 5 minutes on my blog you will know that I LOVE to cook!!! The recipes I share on this blog are all meals we cook in my home, and snapped with my iPad as I’m cooking. There are no stock photos, no food styling sessions, nothing contrived (please remember this if you are feeling judgy about my photo styling!!).
I didn’t always feel comfortable in the kitchen… When I was an overworked, exhausted human rights lawyer I used to rely on takeaways and home delivery. I thought cooking was time-consuming and boring, never tasted as good as restaurant food, and just wasn't worth the effort.
What I didn't realise is just how much extra salt, saturated fat, refined carbs and sugar is crammed into restaurant meals and fast food - but my waistline and cholesterol levels sure let me know!
Here’s the thing: when we make our own meals, we very quickly realise what goes into the food we are eating. That “healthy” muffin actually contains a truckload of sugar and refined flour. That “guilt-free” raw dessert is basically a slab of saturated fat.
I’m the last person who will ever tell you not to eat something. But I am going to urge you to get into the kitchen and start making the dishes you love to eat when you are out and about so you learn what really goes into them…
And here’s the truly exciting bit! Once you start to get comfortable in the kitchen you can go a little bit “freestyle”, start experimenting and make some healthy tweaks so that your fave foods are not only delicious but also much better for you!
Now that I know home cooking can be easy, fast and fun - and above all delicious - I’m on a mission to get more people in the kitchen preparing simple, speedy, scrumptious food!
So head on over to the Recipes section of this website and try whatever takes your fancy! I share at least 2 recipes each week, so check back regularly - or sign up to my mailing list to get my new recipes delivered straight into your inbox!
