Creamy Aubergine and Asparagus Rice Bowl
Mushroom Quinoa Burger with Black Bean Sauce
Raw Courgetti with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Cashew Cream
Baked Sweet Potato with Lentil Dhal
Rainbow Buddha Bowl with Sweet Potato Hummus
Middle Eastern Pancake with Pomegranate and Avocado
Butternut Squash and Kale Curry
Sweet Grilled Aubergine with Pine Nuts and Sultanas
Grilled Avocado with Vine Tomatoes
Caramelized Onion and Sweet Potato Cakes
Stuffed Mushrooms with Polenta
Sweet Potato Wedges with Smoky Ketchup
Pea Falafel with Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce
Baked Banana with Chocolate Sauce
The world of health and well-being is growing rapidly, and it is such an exciting time as more and more people take a positive interest in leading healthier, more fulfilled lives. There is so much around us inspiring us to be the best versions of ourselves that it has become almost impossible to avoid some sort of consciousness about the way we eat, move and treat our bodies, as well as the planet.
While this engagement in healthy living gets more than its fair share of bad press, I’m with the school of thought that it is undoubtedly a really positive thing to get people moving and thinking a little bit more about what they are eating and where their food is coming from. However, the difficulty is knowing how to adapt what other people are doing to suit your own body, budget and lifestyle. So while it’s great to be inspired by others, the key to a healthy, happy lifestyle lies in the evolution of our own habits, which are relevant to us as individuals.
There is now such an endless number of resources where we can find information about how to live our lives, what to eat, how to work out, and so on, that it has become a total minefield, and it can be hard to know who to listen to or where to begin. Many of us are drawn to take a very prescriptive approach when it comes to the way we eat and exercise in particular. It is often much easier when something is laid out in front of us, so we seek out diet plans, fitness programmes and regimented routines that have been designed by somebody else. Our bodies and lifestyles differ so much that what works wonders for one person just doesn’t necessarily suit the next. It is impossible to create a one-size-fits-all programme that works for everyone.
When I first decided to reassess my diet and lifestyle, I latched onto a specific format of diet and exercise in order to establish a new routine. I thought that by mirroring other people’s efforts I would achieve my goal of feeling my best, only to realize that because we are all so different – physically, mentally and in how we live our lives – I needed to tune into my own body and mind, and adapt to what I needed as an individual.
I began writing this book as a way of sharing simple recipes, but it evolved to include a lot more than food. I have learned so much, not only about myself but about all the amazing ways in which you can help yourself to feel good beyond the way you eat that it seemed only right to share a whole package of holistic well-being.
For me, the three pillars of health and happiness are the mind, the body and the food that you eat. All three must be in balance in order to find a truly sustainable and comfortable lifestyle. When you start to take responsibility for one of these areas – for example, paying attention to dietary habits – over time it becomes