Cobrdova - A Whole New Way to Eat: 135+ Feel-Good Recipes from about Life

Step into fad-free whole-food eating with recipes you can trust from the original modern Australian health food providore. A Whole New Way to Eat is the healthy recipe collection all households need. Everyone is welcome at the table with this way of eating whether youre looking for inspirational vegan, paleo or vegetarian recipes or youre simply after truly delicious food that just happens to be good for you. From The Best Turmeric Yoghurt & Tahini Potato Salad to the hands-down most delicious Raw Caramel Slice youve ever tried, your body will thank you from your tastebuds to your gut. Nutritionist and recipe developer Vladia Cobrdova from About Life recreates over 135 of the mouth-watering dishes shes made popular in the stores busy cafs, takeaway and grocery sections.

We both once had corporate jobs that involved a lot of travel, jet lag, and food choices based on convenience. I think we knew our bodies needed to be fuelled but we didnt really understand how to get the best from what we ate. As part of our extensive travels, we both lived in Japan for a while and loved the delicious diet there. I think that was when we first started to genuinely comprehend the relationship between nutritious food and longevity and quality of life. We also experienced the relatively new concept of the wholefood store and started thinking about how we could take these ideas back to Australia, not just as a caf but as a whole new way of eating, a genuine alternative to the traditional supermarkets. Not many people realise this, but About Life has been around since 1996, so were no free-range spring chickens.

It started off as a hundred-square-metre juice bar and caf with a few shelves of natural groceries, situated just across the road from where our thriving Rozelle store is today. The founding principle of About Life has never changed: no food complexity, just simplicity and goodness. Everything we have built stems from this core belief and is the guiding principle in all our decisions; about the people we work with, the suppliers we choose and the way we market ourselves. As the concept has grown, our interests have expanded to encompass a range of environmental and social issues and the range of products we offer reflects that. In 2003, the fabulously talented, smart and creative Vladia Cobrdova entered the About Life story. We could not have found a person more attuned to our food philosophy.

Vladia is the inspirational Wellness Ambassador for the company. Youll find many of the recipes in this book being cooked in the About Life kitchens, and the company would not be the pioneer of healthy food that it is today without her expertise and energy. Vladias food philosophy focuses on the importance of using the best possible natural ingredients, free from chemicals, and in tune with the balance of your body and with the seasons. She loves the flavours of naturally grown vegies, such as the simple pleasure of a sun-ripened tomato eaten with a pinch of salt. The recipes in this book are the culmination of years of knowledge, combining ingredients to create the perfect balance of health, nutrition and taste. Food as medicine remains one of the cornerstones of the About Life philosophy, and Vladias recipes will put a smile on your face and a spring in your step.

But these dishes are also about the joy of sitting around the table with your loved ones, sharing satisfyingly delicious food. Jodie Stewart

INTRODUCTION Welcome to a whole new way to eat! This is a collection of natural, real recipes that your body will love, from your tastebuds to your gut. Everyone is welcome at the table with this way of eating, whether youre looking for inspirational recipes that are vegan, paleo or vegetarian, or simply after truly delicious food that just happens to be good for you. At the wholefoods grocery store About Life, I develop recipes for the cafs and takeaway sections, and ready-made meals that showcase delicious local produce prepared in a way that surprises people by how healthy it is. My hope is that people can relax and be happy about what they put on their plate, recognising the effort that producers of top-quality chemical-free ingredients put in to bring you your food. Where I grew up, in communist Czechoslovakia, the kitchen was the smallest room in the house but it was where the whole family gathered, busying ourselves preparing food, mingling and talking loudly to each other all the while.

Food and its preparation was a joy a family affair with plenty of laughter and experimentation. There was never a sense of some foods being bad or others being good. Living in Australia now, Im blown away by the range of ingredients that are available it still astonishes me that there is so much variety. To me, each season has a unique smell: mangoes and cherries in summer; pears and plums in autumn; cauliflower and broccoli in winter; asparagus and fennel in spring. Its easy to eat seasonally, and its become the cornerstone of my food philosophy. But living here I am also amazed by the fact that so many of us are developing fears and obsessions about the very food we loved as children.

Since when did bread become evil? Sure, common supermarket bread with all its additives and hidden ingredients isnt great for you, but real fermented sourdough and rye breads are basic foods that deserve a place in our daily lives. And why is dairy suddenly on the nose for so many? Real-deal dairy foods that come from happy cows, sheep or goats are so nourishing for us. The most frequently used product in my home kitchen surely must be yoghurt: I include it as an ingredient in or as an accompaniment to nearly everything I cook. And dont get me started on fruit! I just dont understand why so many people are afraid of what I think of as natures sweets. Have you ever eaten a chemical-free locally grown cherry tomato? They taste like confectionery produced by the land to be enjoyed seasonally. But of course youll only get this taste if you eat them when they are naturally ripe and in season.