Turner - Pixies plates: 70 plant-rich recipes from Pixie Turner

70 PLANT-RICH RECIPES FROM PIXIE TURNER AN ANIMA BOOK www.headofzeus.com First published Head of Zeus Ltd in 2018 as The Wellness Rebel by Plantbased Pixie. This abridged version first published in the UK in 2019 by Head of Zeus Ltd Text copyright Pixie Turner, 2019
Photos copyright Pixie Turner The moral right of Pixie Turner to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. 9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN (PB): 9781789541076 ISBN (E): 9781789541083 Design and lettering by Natalie Samuelson Printed and bound in Spain by Graficas Estella Head of Zeus Ltd
58 Hardwick Street
London EC1R 4RG www.headofzeus.com Lets kick things off on the right foot to avoid any awkward confusion later on: this isnt a diet book, and its not a clean-eating bible, transformation plan or miracle cure. Its about celebrating food in all its glory, because food is something wonderful and delicious and incredible, and all too often its a source of fear and anxiety for people.

We live in a world of misinformation, with sensationalist headlines and misleading influencer posts on Instagram on a daily basis. Its no wonder really that pseudoscience and nutrition myths have been allowed to thrive. We like simple solutions, and were much more comfortable with black and white, good and bad foods; eat this but dont eat that. Its the reason that we, as a general rule, dont follow government guidelines very well. The five-a-day message has been out there for ages now, and yet as a population we arent meeting that. Telling us to eat more of something is far less effective than telling us to cut foods out, and thats where wellness thrives.

Food packaging will proudly display everything its free from (soy, gluten, sugar, eggs, joy) because what you dont eat is now more of a status symbol than what you do. If you look at any famous wellness blogger (or at least their food philosophy), youll find a list of foods that are deemed unacceptable, whether its all animal products, gluten, legumes or grains. Theres always something. Most commonly of all: processed foods, gluten and refined sugar. Hopefully, by the end of this book, youll agree with me that its just bollocks. All of us fall for misinformation sometimes, but thats ok.

Its okay to make mistakes, to admit to being in the wrong, to change and improve based on evidence. Thats good scientific practice and I think we all need to be a little more sceptical and a little more scientific. I freely admit I made mistakes: I fell for pretty much every nugget of pseudoscience handed to me by wellness bloggers, including (but not limited to) cutting out endless food groups from my diet, believing I needed superfood powders to be healthy, thinking refined sugar is toxic, not eating gluten, juicing for health, feeling the need to detox my body and even doing week-long raw vegan cleanses. I attached a moral compass to food. Im not perfect, but Ive learnt from these mistakes; Ive taken on board new evidence and improved my understanding of nutrition and health. Ive definitely made some enemies of those who were not fans of me calling them out on their fearmongering, but I believe if you havent pissed off a few people along the way and caused a little controversy, then you havent really achieved something new and exciting.

To me, its a sign Im doing something right. Im now going to help you do the same using the tools at my disposal scientific evidence, beautiful and delicious food and a dash of sarcasm. Each chapter in this book is going to give you a brief overview of a common nutritional myth that has plagued both the wellness industry and mainstream media everything from gluten and raw food to detoxing and superfoods. Im going to tackle each one with the real science behind the myth, separating fact from fiction, and show you how to put this information into practice in the form of delicious, no-BS, fad-free recipes. In reality, the basics of good nutrition are extremely simple: eat a varied, balanced diet, with a little bit of what you fancy. Basically, everything in moderation.

It sounds boring and thats why its not popular it doesnt sell books, doesnt get TV ratings and doesnt inspire miracle cures or miracle foods. There is no quick or easy solution; its not down to individual foods or nutrients, its down to eating a variety of foods in the long term and not over-indulging in anything even kale! Ultimately, a healthy diet should not come at the expense of a healthy relationship with food theres little point eating the healthiest diet in the world only to end up a one-hundred-year-old miserable person. Because good health comes down to more than just eating well; its having an overall healthy lifestyle including regular exercise, a good sleep pattern, the ability to cope with stress, genetics, good mental health, happiness and a balanced diet. Lack of sleep and high stress levels are often underplayed, when they can have a huge effect on wellbeing. Mental health is overlooked most of all, and socioeconomic factors barely even get a mention. We too quickly forget that the populations who live the longest thrive on vastly varying diets, eat slowly and mindfully, and eat socially.

They are proof that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to happiness and longevity. And this is why I will not tell you that there is one single way to eat, one single way to be healthy and wont give you a list of food rules to follow or foods to avoid. What I can give you is permission to eat foods that make you happy, and to not give a shit about what others think. Eat that cake, but also eat those vegetables, too. The focus here is on celebrating foods that have had a bit of a rough time in terms of PR lately foods like bread, cheese, eggs, and cakes made with caster sugar. Im a firm believer that health is about more than just the nutrients found in food, and that when we celebrate and enjoy food, not see it as something to be feared, it enriches our lives and means were far less likely to overeat and feel guilt and shame.

Are you ready? Lets dive in

Gluten is a group of proteins, composed of mainly gliadin and glutenin. If you suffer from coeliac your body produces an autoimmune reaction to the gliadin part of the gluten protein (in most cases, at least). For the vast majority of the population who dont have coeliac disease, the body simply digests gluten just like any other protein. Gluten is found in grains like wheat, spelt, barley and rye. It gives elasticity to dough, helps it keep its shape and gives a chewy texture. The name comes from its glue-like properties.