David Flynn - The World of the Happy Pear

To the wonderful people who are part of the Happy Pear story friends, family, staff, customers and well-wishers. You help make our dreams possible. We are beyond grateful. Its been an incredible adventure so far, so thank you for your unending support.

PENGUIN IRELAND

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First published 2016
001

Text copyright David and Stephen Flynn, 2016
Main photography copyright Alistair Richardson, 2016
Front cover and additional photographs ()
by Sen Cahill, copyright Sen Cahill, 2016
Additional photographs: Getty images, 2016 );
Shutterstock ()
With thanks for all photography supplied by the authors, their family and friends

The moral right of the copyright holders has been asserted

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN : 978-0-241-97696-8

It took us ten years to write our first book, The Happy Pear. We never really expected it to travel beyond our family and friends and the Happy Pear customers who had been asking for our recipes for years. We have been amazed with how far it has travelled outside our little bubble in Greystones and the wave it has made.

The positive reaction to the book has only increased our passion for what we do. We feel more inspired than ever to follow our dream of a happier, healthier, more connected world and spread the message of our three-word-manifesto EAT MORE VEG!

In The Happy Pear we told the story of how we started: how we had been complete meat-heads growing up and how it was while travelling separately the year after we left college that we both decided to become vegetarian. Totally independently. Within the same week. True twin magic! We loved what eating a plant-based diet did for us and that translated into a passion for spreading the message when we got home to Ireland. We opened our veg shop in our hometown of Greystones in November 2004 and weve been having fun chasing our dreams since.

Many of our friends thought we were crazy with our little veg shop and clapped-out red van. But in the years since, more and more people have realized that what we put into our bodies has a real impact not just on weight but on everything from energy and concentration levels, to gut health, to making sure the body has the right mix of nutrients to function at its best.

Now we see many people who want to change, to be healthier and to feel better, but feel bombarded by so much info and dont necessarily know where to start. We want to say to people: dont panic! Getting healthier is not an all-or-nothing type thing but a series of stepping stones, making little changes that, over time, will have a real impact on your quality of life. Every step in the right direction will help you to be a better version of yourself. Eating more veg is easy, cheap and a habit worth cultivating. The Happy Pear way of eating is not a fad diet but something really straightforward. It is not focused on cutting out things but on eating more of the good stuff.

So, this book is all about encouraging you to eat more veg (by veg we really mean fruit, veg, beans, legumes and whole-grains). It will help inspire you to make changes you have wanted to make for years that will have a lasting effect on your health and your happiness.

As if that wasnt enough, we always said we wanted to start a food revolution, and by eating more veg you can join our revolution! If that sounds scary, it shouldnt. Eating more veg may sound like a simple thing, but we see it as something that can be the tipping point to so many other good things. Eating more veg means you are more likely to exercise, which will lead to the release of feel-good endorphins in your body and greater energy. Youll probably spend more time outside and meet more people, and generally have a better quality of life and a greater sense of being connected both to the environment and to other people.

We believe that having a sense of community and connection in your life is every bit as important as eating your veg. We all want to feel a sense of connection and this is why community is so vital. Healthy happy communities can help change the world for the better.

Our way of life is about following your dreams, doing more of what you love, eating good food that nourishes your body, getting out into the outdoors, having a laugh with friends, not taking things too seriously, moving your body every day as it feels good. Its not about perfection, its not about being better than anyone else. It is very much about feeling good and creating habits that enrich your life and lead to a happier and more fulfilled you, and, leading from that, a better world for you, your kids, and your kids kids.

Often someones reason for not eating more healthily is that they cant imagine what theyll eat. They simply take meat out of the equation and dont feel very excited about eating whats left on the plate. And they worry that new stuff that theyve never tried before will taste like cardboard or rabbit food. We can totally relate to that! In the days when we were meat-and-two-veg men, we had no idea of the world of tastes and foods that existed beyond our limited food choices and just how delicious healthy food could be.

We guarantee you that the food in this book will stand up taste-wise and will satisfy the most avid carnivore. We have 100 fab new recipes that we think are even better than those in our first book! We have focused more on quicker dinners. From our last book we saw how popular the burgers were, so we have a fantastic selection of veggie burgers () in our Mains section. Breakfast is one of our top three favourite meals, so we have some really great stuff there too! And, of course, because you definitely dont have to deprive yourself to be healthy, we have got lots of healthier desserts!

Weve called our second book The World of the Happy Pear because we want to bring you into our world. By introducing you to members of our family, the Happy Pear team, our friends, neighbours and suppliers, and people who have done our health courses, we hope you will see how we live out our values. And we hope you will also see that eating more veg is for everybody. At the Happy Pear we love the amazing variety of people coming through our doors from young vibrant health enthusiasts to eighty-year-olds getting their daily shot of wheatgrass or a smoothie. No matter what category you fit into, eating more veg improves your life!