If you want to categorize my eating habits, it would probably fall somewhere between vegetarian and „everything in moderation“. While I do eat vegetarian and vegan most of the time, I found that strictly eating this way can be a bit unsocial at times. That’s why I do not adhere to a strict diet, but I do try to eat healthy most days. By healthy, I mean non-processed, GMO-free natural foods that I can pronounce. I try to omit foods with ingredients longer than 20 characters such as nasty preservatives and artificial or natural flavors of all kind. However, I do not like and I do not want to lecture anyone to eat healthier or even plant-based. I also do not like labels, which is why I do not label myself as vegetarian, vegan or anything else. I feel like labels can be very restrictive, and I have never felt good about labeling myself as anything specific.
I like to eat foods that make me feel awesome, give me enough energy to be active every day, and that do not drag me down. I eat whatever feels good to me, so if I feel like eating fish, meat or greek yoghurt sometimes, then I eat it. Therefore, this is not your typical “vegetarian or vegan blog”, but more so a blog about food and nutrition that makes you feel amazing.
Sugar, the silent enemy of our health
What I do care about a lot is processed sugars. All of my recipes are refined sugar-free, which is something that I deeply care about. Diabetes type 2 is one of the most common chronic diseases of our western society. Books such as “The Blood Sugar Solution” have drastically opened my eyes about what high sugar consumption does to our body. Therefore, I try to avoid processed sugars as much as possible. Instead, I like to sweeten my life with natural sugars from fruits, maple syrup, rice syrup, maple syrup, coconut sugar or dates. These sugar alternatives contain small amounts of nutrients such as magnesium, potassium or calcium. Most natural sweeteners have a high fructose content, however, so I eat them in moderation.
Vegan is not necessarily healthy
Vegan food can be quite delicious, but unhealthy, too. I eat dairy-, meat-, and cheese-free most of the time, but unfortunately eating vegan has become quite a trend recently that it’s more important that food is vegan than healthy. This includes soft drinks, sweets, chips or fried foods such as french fries. Unfortunately these foods have nearly zero nutrients. However, the plant based kitchen can be so colorful and healthy, that it’s actually a shame that so many unhealthy foods are being healthified by labeling them as “vegan”. The recipes on my blog reflect his colorful, healthy, and nutrient-rich side of the vegetarian and vegan cuisine. Most vegan cakes, for example, still contain refined sugars, and butter is simply swapped for a nutrient-less margarine. Whenever I bake, I try to swap the unhealthy ingredients for healthier options such as wholegrain flours, coconut sugar, maple or rice syrup, nut butter or chia eggs. My mission is therefore to increase the nutritional benefits of my recipes, so my body gets its daily doses of minerals and vitamins, as well as macro-nutrients. This includes lean, plant-based protein, healthy fats and wholegrain carbohydrates.
As I already said, I eat about 90% plant-based, but I do love natural foods like raw honey, which has amazing antibacterial properties even though it is not vegan. I also care more about wholegrain and additive-free bread than vegan bread. It’s all about finding the right balance between eating healthy, plant-based and refined sugar free, and indulging in the occational “bad” treat. Nobody’s perfect, right? However, I know that my body does not feel good when I make exceptions, so I try to minimize these occational treats whenever possible.
Gluten-free for celiacs, wholegrain for everyone else
Since my sister is a celiac, almost all of the recipes on the blog are gluten-free or can be made gluten-free. However, gluten free has become yet another food trend recently, but for the wrong reason, I think. There are many people, such as my sister, who suffer from the serious disease called “celiac disease”, where only traces of gluten can have severe consequences for their health. Unfortunately, most gluten-free products are made with nutrient-free flours such as corn or white rice flour. Therefore, gluten-free labelled products are not necessarily healthier than regular products. If you can tolerate gluten, then you can have all the amazing wholegrains such as rye or spelt. I do eat gluten because I can tolerate it just fine, but I try to avoid indulging in simple white carbohydrates such as white pasta or white rice, and instead I rely on wholegrain rice or pasta. They just fill me up so much longer. Or have you heard of courgette pasta or cauliflower rice? I admit that it sounds a bit strange, but trust me, it’s heavenly.
Now I hope you enjoy and love this blog just as much as I do. Have fun exploring and cooking.
Have a wonderful healthy day!
Lynn
