Legal Disclaimer: The information contained in this book, whether in digi-

tal or print format, should not be construed as medical advice or guidance.

Any supplements, ingredients, recipes or other recommendations made in

this book are for guidance only. Prior to implementing any changes to diet,
exercise routine, supplements or medication taken, you must consult a reg-
istered medical professional.

Please use caution and appropriate sanitary practices when handling food
products. The cooking instructions and directions in this book are offered
as guidelines only from the personal experiences of the author. Ensure best
judgment and proper discretion are used when preparing or consuming any
food. Wash your hands and surfaces thoroughly before and after handling
any food product.

The author / publisher of this book cannot be held liable for any harm,
injuries, health issues, errors or omissions in any jurisdiction. The author
makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or
completeness of the contents of this book. Any person who fails to consult
a registered medical professional assumes the risks of their own actions.

Copyright by Layla Al-Naif

Written by Layla Al-Naif
This is a little message to everyone in my life who has made this possible.
I’ll start off with my brother who nudged me down this “health” route
when I was about 18 years old, at first, I chose not to listen – until my own
health came crashing down, and I realized that he was right and I began
my own research and path into nutrition with his guidance. To my parents
who have supported me from day one, thank you. You both will always be
my ultimate source of motivation to do something great in my lifetime.
My sister, someone who challenges me, makes me laugh until it hurts and
takes me outside my comfort zone in more ways than one, and because
of her I am better. My husband, who is new to this lifestyle and has wel-
comed it with open arms, no questions asked or arguments over what I’ll
be cooking for lunch, I love you.
Four years ago, I was diagnosed with Polycystic ovarian syndrome. I was

20 years old and my body was changing in ways I felt I had no control over.

My menstrual cycle disappeared, my face broke out with acne, I was gaining

weight and feeling waves of depression. I’m sure that many people have gone

through similar changes, the kind of changes that every girl fears going into

her 20’s. I remember feeling defeated, because despite the fact that I was

exercising regularly and eating well, or so I thought at the time, nothing was

changing. I was persistent and wanted to get to the bottom of these issues.

After a few tests, my doctor told me I had PCOS along with insulin resistance

which was causing the weight gain and the acne. I visited 5 different doctors

and received the exact same prescription slip for birth control and at that

last appointment, I lost it. I broke down because of how helpless I felt. My

mother suggested I see a holistic doctor in Dubai, who then discovered that

I also had hypothyroidism, a long list of vitamin and mineral deficiencies

and my hormone levels were a lot more imbalanced than I thought. I quickly

realized that my diet and lifestyle needed some serious attention. I started

intensely researching holistic nutrition because I always believed that food

can either fuel you or poison you, which led me to completing a one-year

course online certifying me as a holistic nutritionist.

While I was on several natural medications and supplements, I also knew

that what I was eating and putting into my body was vital. To many people,

I may have and continue to appear as strict or too extreme with how I live.

But I suffered from a condition that many women including myself have been

told: you can’t cure it, you can only manage it with medication.

4
 The course of natural medication that I was on for 18 months were created in a

compound pharmacy tailored to my specific needs at the time, I get asked quite

often which supplements I took to eventually cure the PCOS, but unfortunately

it is not that simple. I have provided the holistic doctors contact information at

the end of this book.

Before you begin reading, I want you to know that I don’t believe in labels. I

don’t believe in labelling my diet because that would suggest certain restric-

tions that never defined what my body needed. I am not “vegan” or “pesce-

terian”. However, each body is different. Everyone’s body requires foods that

suit them best. Personally, the only non-plant-based foods that I occasionally

consume are fish and honey from the right sources, when I feel that my body

needs it. It is important to listen to our body and what it actually needs rather

than caving into bad habits and cravings. For the past few years, I have been

journaling the kinds of food I eat. I’ve changed a lot and experimented a lot.

This is my way of sharing what I have learned and what has worked best for me

in the hopes that I can help others.

For a period of time, I experimented with being completely vegan, gluten free

as well as refined sugar free. For that year, I felt a remarkable change in my

health in all aspects. My energy levels were rebooted, my vitamin and miner-

al intake naturally balanced out which led to an overall better mood, my hair

grew thicker and my skin cleared up.

I have been dairy free since 2013, it never felt right even growing up I would be

uncomfortable after having dairy and never understood why. I choose to stay

away from gluten purely because of the way it makes me feel after having it.

Since I cut out refined sugar about 2 years ago, I haven’t reintroduced it be-

cause of how many incredible alternatives there are to fulfil my sweet tooth.

5 6
 I’m thankful. Not only was I able to cure my PCOS and all of its symptoms

but I feel completely renewed. I am much better now than I ever was before

my health issues. How? I chose to infuse my body with plant-based food and

natural supplements to heal from all of the complications and I continue to

live this way until today. What I will be sharing with you is not only a way

to be mostly plant-based, but also a way to remove refined and processed

foods that are hiding in almost all products you find in supermarkets these

days. It is raising awareness, so you can be wiser about what you are putting

into your body.

When something is labelled as gluten free or vegan, that doesn’t automat-

ically make it healthy, something that is easily misunderstood. There are

many vegans who consume highly processed foods that can be equally as

harmful to our health as animal products. There is a misconception that

being vegan = being healthy, but sometimes that could not be further from

the truth. What is clear to me is that you can be vegan or non-vegan, but If

you are not getting all of the nutrients that your body requires you will be

deficient and out of balance. Depriving your body of what it needs in my

experience is a mistake. Choosing to be completely plant-based does re-

quire a more conscious effort in purchasing more foods and being mindful

of certain supplements you will need to take to make sure you do not end up

deficient or malnourished. As human beings, we need nutrients from all five

food groups, unprocessed, unaltered and preferably organic.

I like to think of myself as 99% plant based, hence the title of this book. I

eat a lot and restricting myself has never been the goal. I indulge in desserts

7 8
 all the time, the good kind. I never count my calories because I find it mis-

erable, however, I am aware of my portions, something that I will guide you

on in Chapter 3. This is the way I ate when I was trying to lose the weight

that I had gained due to the health issues and this is the way I continue

to eat now. It helped me shed the extra pounds at the time and now that

I am at my healthy weight, I’m able to maintain it through this balanced

lifestyle. Your weight might go up and down at first if you are coming

from a diet that is heavy on the animal products, however, with time it

will balance out to your naturally healthy weight. I found that the animal

foods were making me feel and look much heavier than I wanted to be. My

clothes did not fit right and everything felt off, especially my energy levels

and my skin.

9 10
 This meal plan is for those who would like to try something that is actually a

sustainable way to live rather than an unrealistic, restrictive, temporary diet

that probably won’t make you feel very good. This is designed to make you

feel full and filled with energy. This lifestyle is bursting with nutrient dense

foods, vitamins and minerals our bodies so badly need these days. If I am

able to help just one person with this book that is more than enough for me.

This is information that I have gathered over the last 5 years, and I thought it

was time to share it for the greater good. My intention for this book is not to

sell you a fad diet, it is to shed some light on how important it is to consume

nourishing foods and to treat your body like a temple.

I must acknowledge that I am not a doctor nor am I capable of curing illness-

es and health conditions that some readers might be facing. If you are ex-

periencing any health issues such as IBS or any other severe digestive con-

ditions – you might have to adjust some recipes to remove the ingredients

that will disturb you.

These recipes will nourish & heal you because of the amount of nutrients

they contain. If you have serious health conditions, you should still seek

medical attention and not rely on the methods in this book.

11 12
AN INTRODUCTION
 Starting off your morning right will change how you go about your day. You should aim

to give yourself some kind of morning routine. When I wake up, I like to set my alarm

for 30 minutes before I actually have to start my day. I sit in bed, flick through my

emails and take a minute to wake up. This gives your body the time to realize that it

is awake. Maybe for you it’s watching the news, reading the newspaper or doing some

light yoga stretches. Rushing out the door just after you’ve woken up will more than

likely lead you to feeling tired and on edge for the rest of the day.

Once I’m up the first thing I do is drink a glass of water, sometimes warm with lemon,

because of the alkalising and hydrating effect it has on our body. I take my probiotics

tablet on an empty stomach – then I go on making my tea and breakfast.

TONGUE SCRAPING

Before I brush my teeth in the morning I use my tongue scraper. Tongue scraping is an

ancient Aryuvedic technique that I learned about a while back. When I bought a tongue

scraper I never looked back. The benefits of doing this include oral hygiene, it helps

to stimulate our internal organs and improves our digestion as well as our taste buds.

Every morning I do about 7-10 gentle strokes running from the back of the tongue all

the way to the tip, to remove the bacteria and toxins (yuck!) that are found here. You

can rinse the scraper in between each stroke to remove any accumulation. If you do

a little extra research you will find plenty of information that indicates the tongue is

the mirror into all organs in the body. Taking a look at the tongue before scraping to

notice the colour, texture and amount of accumulation will give you insight into your

overall health. I recommend tongue scraping to everyone I know!

15 16
 Gut health is absolutely vital, keeping our guts healthy and clean is everything. Studies show that

an unhealthy gut is the root cause of many serious illnesses. We have two kinds of bacteria that

live in our guts, the good kind and the bad. The bad forms from eating refined sugar, meat, dairy

and yeast. The good bacteria can be introduced through a high quality probiotic supplement.

Something to keep in mind is that too much yeast introduced to the gut can lead to an over-

growth of candida, a strain of fungus that is tied to symptoms such as fatigue, digestive issues and

severe sugar cravings to name a few. Yeast is a sneaky ingredient hiding in so many foods. Taking

probiotics is one of the remedies to help remove any yeast overgrowth in the gut. You can test

for candida overgrowth at your local doctor’s office if you feel you may be suffering from any ab-

normal symptoms. Taking a probiotics supplement is completely optional and I take it to maintain

good gut health.

KOMBUCHA

There is a lot of research out there that links drinking kombucha and eating fermented foods to

good gut health and while they might have certain health benefits, I recommend staying away

from these products. Kombucha is a sweet fermented tea and the reason I recommend avoiding it

is because you don’t actually know what what is in the tea fungus. Studies have shown that it can

worsen a persons candida overgrowth because the kombucha has far more yeast than good bacte-

ria - which is what we are meant to avoid!

WHAT ABOUT THE YEAST FOUND IN BREAD?

I’ve never been a bread person myself, but on the rare occasion that I have it, I actually opt for a

non-gluten free bread. This is because most gluten-free options contain a long list of ingredients

including sugar, plenty of additives, yeast and egg whites to name a few. In this case, I would rath-

er have the gluten than all of those other ingredients. I usually opt for sourdough bread with only If you have candida overgrowth you will need to tackle that issue by following a strict regime before starting on this

a h andful of ingredients such as a wholemeal flour of some kind (spelt, rye etc.) water and salt. lifestyle. This is because the candida diet is different to this diet provid- ed. For example, you should not be eating high

T hi s is always a wholemeal brown bread, never white. You want to make sure that you can count amounts of fruit on the candida diet due to the sugar levels, this worsens the candida overgrowth in your system. If you

the ingredients on one hand, otherwise you should probably get another. need help with this feel free to get in touch with me via email and I can help guide you in the right direction.

17
 Always. Have. Breakfast.

I used to be that person who could not have breakfast. I would wake up

with no appetite and go straight to school with my cup of coffee and that

was fine. As I got older I started realizing how much better I felt when I did

eat something even if it was just a piece of fruit.

Breakfast kickstarts our metabolism and gives us the energy we need to

get through the day. Without it you will probably experience an energy

crash at some point that will likely lead to grabbing a high-carb high-sugar

snack which are usually not good for you. Having a morning meal also helps

stabilise your blood sugar levels and thus reduces sugar cravings later on

in the day.

Your breakfast should be filled with fiber and fruits. I offer some of my

favorite breakfast recipes in this guide. Fiber is what will keep you feel-

ing full all the way until lunch time, which will be explained further in the

coming pages.

20
 In January 2016 I made one of the best decisions of my life to cut coffee out of my morning

routine. I absolutely loved my coffee in the morning just like most people. The smell of it is

what got me out of bed in the morning, until I realized that I was crashing in the afternoons

unless I had another cup. I would feel so exhausted by 3 o’clock that I would be forced to

take a nap or have another.

I decided to cut it out for a month just to see how I felt. I had been drinking coffee since

I was 16 and couldn’t remember what it was like to go without it. The first week was hard

as I could barely open my eyes in the morning to begin with but after you get through that

‘withdrawal’ phase it really is magical to wake up feeling so filled with energy without it.

My energy levels after the first week were completely transformed. Allowing your body to

use its own natural energy is something that I had never done before.

Now, I love my tea. English breakfast or matcha tea is the way I start my morning. I do re-

alize that both of these contain caffeine, but I don’t suffer the side effects of feeling jittery

or anxious, if anything they soothe me!

To my coffee drinkers reading this, I am by no means saying that you must cut it out or

that it is bad, many studies actually prove that the antioxidant levels in coffee are high. I

just chose not to be dependent on something that was manipulating my energy levels and

making me feel slightly nauseous and anxious in the morning.

21
I’m ready for some backlash on this one as I have probably had this debate

about 35 times in the last two years because of how controversial it is. I too

was raised in a home where dairy was the norm, I would drink milk every day

because it was good for me – no questions asked. Our primal ancestors as

adults, never drank milk from any kind of animal, because it was not necessary

and, even if they did, it was raw unpasteurized milk. This of course is no longer

the case when buying it from a supermarket unfortunately. Infants that drink

animal milk, are capable of digesting it due to the specific make-up of their gut

bacteria. They have the enzyme called Lactase, which is able to break down

lactose, until they are able to eat normal foods, but this is not present in adults.

Dairy messes with an adult’s gut bacteria, which is why some people can ex-

perience digestive problems over time such as gas, intestinal cramping, acid

reflux, diarrhea and heart burn. On top of that, dairy consumption can cause

adult acne and also lead to raised LDL cholesterol levels (this is the bad kind

of cholesterol). The reason is due to the high amount of saturated fats in milk

and other dairy products. Most adults have built up a tolerance and adjusted to

their dairy intake, and therefore their bodies no longer react badly to the dairy

they consume – that in no way means that it is doing their health any good.

24
 Here’s a fun fact: we don’t extract the calcium from milk – it actually de-

pletes the calcium from our bodies leading to weaker bones with time.

How? Well, calcium is a great acid neutraliser. Our calcium is stored

in our bones. Like all animal proteins, milk is acidic, when we drink it,

the calcium that is already stored in our body gets extracted from our

bones in order to neutralize this acidic intake. The more dairy you con-

sume, the more calcium you lose. Isn’t that ironic? Dairy is one of the

main causes of Osteoporosis.

A cow’s milk is designed for its calf. Everything in that liquid, the hor-

mones, the fats, the sugars is designed to turn a small calf into a large

bovine as quickly as possible. Once that calf is weaned off its mother ’s

milk – just like breast-fed human babies – it never drinks that milk again.

So why do we drink the cow’s milk? It never really made sense to me.

Some say they drink it for the calcium, or the protein that it contains. I

already addressed the calcium part and as for protein, we must remem-

ber, today, cows are pumped with antibiotics, and growth hormones in

order to artificially get that cow to produce more milk to meet consum-

er demands. That milk then gets heated and processed before it gets

to the supermarket shelves – thus making it poor for our health. You

may be thinking: “if I buy organic milk, then no hormones are involved”.

While that is true, it doesn’t take away from the fact that cow’s milk is

not designed for human beings. The side effects of consuming dairy

from any animal outweigh the benefits.

25
 I don’t think I’ve met a single person in this world who agrees with me on this whole “eggs

aren’t so good for you” thing, except maybe my very-vegan friends. Graphic description ahead:

Human females ovulate once a month, releasing eggs, these eggs are either fertilized, which

leads to an embryo growing inside the uterus AKA pregnancy, or are eliminated from their sys-

tem during menstruation. While hens do not menstruate per say, they still go through the pro-

cess of ovulation and releasing eggs as well and the eggs that do not get fertilized are similarly

eliminated. These are the eggs that are sold in supermarkets. The average breed of hens will

naturally lay around 10-15 eggs per year, during their breeding season. When hens are forced

to lay eggs for mass production, they end up laying 250-300 eggs per year, which is extremely

unnatural for these birds.

Knowing this information was enough for me to realize that as evolving beings we are able to

learn, share and have the ability to choose healthier and better options. It is enough to put me

off consuming another animal’s eggs. Humans consume them because it has become the norm to

do so, but it seems unnatural to me despite the fact that I have read, researched, and heard all

about the benefits that come along with consuming eggs. Anytime I used to have eggs before

I came to this decision, I would get a terrible stomach ache and would lose my appetite for the

rest of the day. Our health is sensitive and while consuming eggs that are protein rich, these

foods can raise bad cholesterol levels, are filled with hormones and antibiotics (because it in-

creases production), will eventually takes its toll on your health. You can get the ALL the nutri-

ents that are in eggs and more from plant foods – so I don’t feel as though I’m missing out. We

have been raised as were our parents and their parents before them in this way believing that

it is the only way. However, in this day and age information is suddenly available everywhere

and so easy to access. Most people have the ability to publish their experiences, their findings,

their results and so on. It is about whether you want to ignore this information and continue on

your path, or acknowledge this information and make a necessary change.

27
 Always. Drink. Water.

It is vital to get through 3 liters of water per day. If you are not used to this

amount, start off with two and gradually build up to three. I remember finding

that amount impossible and I was so overwhelmed with how much I had to

drink. With time, three liters has become my norm and without it my body just

doesn’t feel right! If you are an athlete or you have a high intensity training

schedule (4-7 days per week) you should aim for 5 liters of water per day.

TO NOTE:

You should aim to find the purest water source. You should avoid tap water,

avoid fluoride, and aim for the pH levels to be between 7-9. The only way I

find I can track my water intake, is by carrying a 1.5 L bottle around with me

and making sure I get through 2 of those before going to bed that night.

30
 Water is what allows our bodies to flush out any excess toxins along with

generating new cells which will contribute to clearer skin and healthier hair.

One of the most common mistakes is that we believe we’re hungry when in

fact we’re dehydrated. Next time you’re feeling snack-ish, try drinking a glass

of water and see what happens!

When I was younger, I used to get mild headaches and would complain to my

father about them. He would always say “Okay, first drink two big glasses of

water and wait a while. If you still feel the headache, I’ll give you a painkiller.”

Nine times out of ten, those two glasses of water would do the trick. It was

only once I started my research that I realized headaches are one of the most

common symptoms of dehydration, something no doctor ever told me. Let

water do its job before jumping into the medicine cabinet.

When I reached my 3-liter goal each day, I remember being so proud that I

finally reached that amount. I would be gulping down the water only later to

realize that by drinking it so quickly you’re not giving your body a chance

to actually absorb it all. By drinking quickly, your body rejects whatever it

didn’t have time to absorb and you’ll have to pee every five minutes and your

urine will most likely be completely clear, like water. That is unabsorbed

water coming out. So, pace yourself. Take a big sip of water every 10 minutes.

I’ve never timed it but I imagine that’s about right!

31
One important thing to remember is not to drink too many liquids around

meal times. Our digestion is a fragile process and liquids affect our stom-

ach’s acidity levels required to break down and digest our food properly.

Drinking liquids while eating disturbs this process, so I suggest waiting

twenty minutes before and after eating to drink water, tea or coffee. I

personally struggle with this as I get quite thirsty while eating so I try to

take small sips and space them out as much as possible.

Quite often I see that people drink lemon water or tea immediately after

eating, usually to help them digest. Something that many aren’t aware of

is that while lemon itself is highly acidic, once it is ingested, it actually

has an alkalizing effect on the body. While this is a good thing, having it

around your meals will disturb your stomach’s acidity levels and there-

fore will mess with your digestion.

Start or end your day with a cup of lemon water, just avoid

having it with food!

34
 I only really figured out the science behind it when I started seeing a holis-

tic doctor and I happened to mention that I bloat easily. Heartburn, bloat-

ing and gas can be symptoms of a lack of digestive enzymes in our system.

This means that there aren’t a sufficient amount of enzymes to break down

the food you’re introducing into your body. This can be due to ageing, lack

o f stomach acid, chronic stress or inflammation in the digestive tract. If

you have low stomach acidity levels it is likely that you also lack digestive

enzymes, which was my case at the time. When you’re body isn’t breaking

down the food properly, this means that you are not fully absorbing the nu-

trients from that food either. There is a way to test this with a homeopathic

d oc tor in order to figure out if this is the root cause of your symptoms,

usually through a stool test.

B ec ause I was lacking stomach acid and digestive enzymes, there are two

t yp es of supplements that I was prescribed that are totally natural, which

a ll owed me to solve this problem. The first was a supplement containing

2 t ypes of acid found in the stomach rolled into one tablet, as well as a

digestive enzymes supplement. I then recommended these to my husband

I suffered from bloating for years, thinking that it was just the nor- mal thing to
and he has not suffered from heartburn since he began taking them which
happen after each meal. Even if I had an apple or a salad, I would still feel like
w as almost three years ago.
I s wallowed a basketball. While I thank- fully have never suffered from heart

b ur n, my husband did since he was a teenager. He would get it after each and
If you suffer from these symptoms, a conventional doctor will almost always
every meal, which you can imagine being very uncomfortable and frustrating.
prescribe you ant acids because it leads to fast relief but unfortunately not

a long term solution. You should seek help from a holistic or homeopathic
E ac h doctor we had both gone to would always poo-poo it and make it seem
doctor who will help you get to the root cause of your digestive issues.
like the norm and prescribe an ant-acid, which is used to alkalize the body and

alleviate us from the ‘acidity’ which was causing the symptoms we were having
An important note here is that meat and dairy are highly acidic and also
and yes, they did work. However, we were putting a band aid on the issue rather
much more difficult for our bodies to process and digest. Most people that
than get- ting to the root of the problem.
suffer from these symptoms have diets that are heavy on the animal prod-

ucts. Our digestive system struggles to digest animal meat and a lot of it

gets stuck in our colons and goes undigested, causing these symptoms to

begin with.

*Please keep in mind that I am not a doctor, nor am I capable of advising

everyone reading this to take these supplements. At the end of this guide, I

will list two homeopathic specialists that you can consult with online if you

35 36
 Most forms of stevia are terrible for our health. It goes through extreme pro-

cessing to get to what it is on the shelves (42 step process to be precise) *If

you can buy stevia in its PURE powder form, then that is totally fine to con-

sume as that is natural!

A sugar alcohol that is sometimes added to stevia, usually found in ‘sugar

When you go shopping these days, the marketing of these new so-called- free’ snacks. It does not get digested or metabolized in our bodies and it is

healthy snacks and foods are so tempting! They all have a vegan, gluten made from GMO corn starch.

free and GMO-free stamp right on the front so immediately we grab them

because they’re healthy, right?

I was one of those people too, a few years back, consuming most things

I found that had those labels and I would be so excited for new snacks.

Then, I’d wake up the next day with a zit on my face, or I’d get a really bad

stomach ache for the rest of the day.

What gives packaged foods its smooth, uniform look and acts as an emulsifi-

er. It can cause diarrhea, bloating, and stomach pain. It is an additive to add
There are many more ingredients that we don’t realize are harming our
shelf life to products and, while it is still debatable on whether it is good or
bodies. It is frustrating because at this point you are probably wondering
bad for our health, I try to steer clear of it when I can.
“well, what the heck am I supposed to eat?”. However, I’d rather share this

information so that you can be aware of what to avoid when shopping for

snacks and packaged foods and make wise choices. OTHERS: MSG’s, GMO containing foods, Palm Oil, Artificial flavors, non-vegan

vanilla flavoring, Shortening, White flour/bread/pasta (heavily refined and

contain no nutrients – stick to wholegrains), brown rice syrup, Sodium and

Potassium Benzoate, Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Blue, Green, Red and

Yellow food coloring which studies link to different cancers.

37 38
 BREAKFAST

6:30 – 8:30 AM

LUNCH

12:30 - 1:30 PM

DINNER

6:30 – 8 PM

You should ideally stop eating 2-3 hours before going to bed. On the

occasion that I get hungry again late at night, I like to make myself a big

cup of chamomile tea and drink lots of water, sometimes I have a small

bowl of berries if need be.

40
 If you get hungry between meals, that being completely normal if you’re com-

ing from a diet that is heavy on the animal products, you absolutely should

snack on nutrient-dense foods.

SNACKING TIPS

Have your fresh fruits away from meal times, leave 1-2 hours before and after

your meals before having fruits. This allows your body time to digest your

cooked food before introducing fresh raw foods into your system

Snack on filling foods like raw nuts, fruits or dates. This way you’ll feel fuller

than if you snack on packaged no-nutrient snacks

Snack on raw veggies like red and yellow bell peppers, carrots and cucum-

bers. Having them raw allows you to extract all of their amazing nutrients

You should soak raw nuts such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts for 24 hours

in water before consuming them. This makes them more easily digestible and

allows you to extract ALL of their nutrients

41
It is vital to note that consuming refined sugar (white sugar,

brown sugar, stevia etc.) leads to more sugar cravings. There is

a reason that refined sugar has been labelled as addictive! How-

ever having natural sugar in moderation does not have the same

effect. In fact if you turn to fruit and dates to satisfy your sweet

tooth, you will feel satisfied and won’t get as many cravings for

chocolates and sweets! We’re only human, and sometimes you

just need a piece of cake. I have tried to recreate my favourite

dessert recipes that do not taste too different from the normal

stuff that we’re used to.

I myself have such a sweet tooth and love making my favorite

desserts as healthy as I can. My most successful recipes will be

included in this guide in the recipe section below. I usually make

a dessert every week that is ready in the pantry to avoid turning

to something store bought!

44
FOODS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

46
I grew up in a non-garlic-friendly household. It was absolutely not to

be used under any circumstance in our house because of how much my

dad despised the smell. I started taking an odourless garlic supplement

when I was younger whenever I caught a cold because of the healing

properties that I had been told about. Now I try to take this supplement

daily due to its tremendous health benefits, I don’t cook with it very of-

ten due to its strong smell. However you can choose to supplement it or

eat this food to get all of its benefits, it is a personal choice! It is said

that garlic helps control high blood pressure, has anticancer effects,

treats colds and also regulates our blood sugar levels which diabetics

can benefit from.

The benefits also include being high in antioxidants, it still has equal

nutritional value after being cooked unlike most foods and it helps im-

prove cognitive illnesses.

48
 The Chinese and Indians have used roots like ginger and turmeric to treat all

kinds of ailments and sicknesses for almost 5,000 years. Both of these plant

roots act as highly powerful antioxidants as well as anti-inflammatories. Some

studies have found that curcumin, which is found in turmeric, actually has more

advantages to some prescription medications. They also both strengthen our

immune systems through daily use.

Over the last few years I have been quite prone to injury. I like to consume these

daily in order to reduce any inflammation in my body and also benefit from the

long list of healing properties that come along with each of these roots.

The way that I like to consume them is either in hot tea or cooking with them, as

they both offer such flavour to any dish. For the ginger I like to peel and grate

it, add it to some hot water with squeezed lemon, sometimes I blend it all up to

make it more potent. For the turmeric I blend 1 tsp of powder with warm almond

milk and add a dash of honey.

The benefits of ginger is that it improves digestion, reduces pain, boosts im-

munity, and nausea relief. The benefits of turmeric is that it acts as a natural

antidepressant, reduces pain in arthritis patients , anticancer effects, and helps

reverse insulin resistance .

49
Triphala is an essential part of Aryuvedic medicine. It is a herbal formu-

la that consists of three different fruit powders: amla, bibhitaki and har-

itaki. Individually these fruits are extremely powerful and combined you

get all their goodness. Triphala can be taken in multiple ways, either in

powder form mixed into a warm or cold beverage or as a supplement

taken on an empty stomach in the morning or before bed. Personally, I

take this supplement around travel times only. I take it each night when

I am on a trip to ensure that my system is regulated and balanced out

and a few days after returning home until my routine is back to normal.

Please note that you should follow the dosage instructions on the bot-

tle of Triphala, as each one is different. If you are on any medications

or suffer from any illnesses, you should consult with your doctor before

starting any new supplements.

Triphala has Anticancer benefits, it’s a natural laxative, it’s also a colon

cleanser, it can lower your cholesterol, it’s an antioxidant, an anti-in-

flammatory and can promote weight loss.

OTHER HEALING FOODS TO CONSIDER ADDING INTO YOUR DIET

Basil, Aloe Vera, Chicory Root, Cinnamon, Maca Root, Thyme, Flaxseeds,

Chia seeds, Hemp seeds/oil, Parsley and Coriander, Baobab powder,

Lemon, Cumin seeds, Olive leaves.

52
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
 BUT WHERE DO YOU GET
YOUR PROTEIN?

Have you guys noticed this unusual obsession with protein? People believe

they need to consume animal products in order to fulfil their intake of pro-

tein. What many don’t realize is that most animals that we eat, like chickens

and cows, get their protein from plants. Why eat the cow when you can go

straight to the source? We have to remember the protein that we get from

animal meat is likely to have chemicals and hormones and we know for a fact

that it is high in saturated fats. Also, the minute you cook that protein, you

deplete almost all of its nutrients along with it as well as altering the genetic

make up of that food making it harmful and dangerous to the human body.

Can you imagine building a building with ashes instead of bricks? Your body

feels the same way. Overall, we do need a balanced diet, filled with the essential components for a

healthy operating system. Fixating on one thing, such as protein, is getting us no-

To give you an example, you may get 20g of protein from a chicken fillet. where. I’ve never heard of someone being ‘protein deficient’ but I have heard of

However, a cup of cooked lentils will give you 18g of protein as well as 16g of people who are not consuming enough fiber and suffering silently because of it.

fiber and then you’ll also get vitamins and minerals such as iron, potassium, While there might be a few benefits to eating certain animal meats, most scientific

and vitamin C – something the chicken fillet will not give you. research has shown significant dangers. Protein, fiber as well as essential nutrients

our body needs, are in almost every single plant food. As long as you’re eating a

What we have to realize is that consuming fiber rich foods is equally as im- diet rich in plant foods, legumes and wholegrains, you should not need any extra

portant as having protein. Fiber is what gives our bodies a healthy digestive form of protein.

system, regular bowel movements and it slows down the rate that sugar is

absorbed into the bloodstream preventing our sugar levels from spiking af- Unlike carbohydrates, fats and sugars, protein cannot be stored in the body. There-

ter meals. There should be a lot more concern with our fiber intake as 9/10 fore, our body uses the protein that we eat and removes the rest. It is important to

people that I know suffer from constipation, for that exact reason. note that due to this fact, too much protein can be poisonous to our body.

55 56
 SHOULD I SUPPLEMENT A
PROTEIN POWDER?

Personally, I don’t supplement any protein powders. This is because I get more

than enough protein from plants. Having beans or lentils 3 times a week, as

well as plenty of vegetables and greens, chia and hemp seeds, is enough for

me. However, if you would like to supplement protein, it is totally fine to do

so. An ideal option would be a plant-based protein that only has a handful

of ingredients that you recognize and can pronounce. If there are many long

words and chemicals that you have never heard of the chances are your body

has never heard of them either and does not know where to store them or what

to do with them. I used to supplement hemp protein powder and pea protein

powder in my smoothies when I was younger and doing much more high in-

tensity training. You just need to make sure that the ingredients are clean and

free from the ones that I’ve listed on page 38.

Whey protein is made from dairy, see pages 24 & 25. As I’ve already answered

the dairy question, I won’t repeat that again, however, it is important to real-

ize that whey messes with adults’ gut bacteria. Most people who supplement

whey protein, unknowingly suffer from digestive issues or have stomach aches

after drinking these protein shakes. Whey also has peptides and hormones

which we now know have a terrible long-term effect on the human body

Plant foods high in protein:

Lentils, Black beans, Kidney beans, White beans, Chickpeas, Quinoa, Buck-

wheat, Oats, Spirulina, Pure almond butter, Almonds, Cashews, Hemp seeds,

Chia seeds, Edamame, Kale, Mushrooms, Squash, Collard greens.

Plant foods high in fibre:

Split peas, Lentils, Kidney beans, Lima beans, Artichokes, Peas, Broccoli, Brus-

sel sprouts, Raspberries, Blackberries, Avocados, Pears, Oat Bran, Pearled

Barley, Oatmeal, Chia seeds, Flaxseeds.

58
 DO YOU SUPPLEMENT B12?

YES. I DO!

B12 and D are the only vitamins that are difficult to get from plant food.

Although my B levels from previous blood tests were always regular, I still

choose to supplement a daily dose of B complex that has a higher amount of

B12 in it, as I no longer eat red meat or poultry at all. B vitamins are essential

for maintaining good immunity, hair, skin and nail health, balancing out our

hormones and helping us maintain our energy levels. If your B12 levels are low,

you may feel lethargic and it can potentially lead to anemia. This is the one

thing that you must keep in mind if you are planning to go fully plant based.

It is important to note that when choosing your supplements, choose ones that

are made out of food and plants rather than synthetic materials. The brands

that I stick to are: Pure Synergy & Garden of Life.

My daily supplements:

Vitamin D vegan spray by Garden of life during the winter months only, B-Com-

plex by Garden of Life, Vitamin C by Garden of Life, Probiotics 50 billion by

Renew Life, Turmeric & Ginger by Genessence.

*I conduct a biannual blood test to make sure my vitamin and mineral levels

are normal before re-purchasing these supplements, it is very important to do

this incase you are having too much of something which can be very danger-

ous. If you are taking other medications or supplements you also need to make

sure that it is safe to combine them.

59
 WHEN GOING PLANT BASED CAN I EAT
FOODS LIKE TOFU, TEMPEH AND SEITAN?

In the first few pages of this book, I said that being vegan does not au-

tomatically mean you are healthy. What I meant by this is that there are

some vegans who consume highly processed foods such as tofu, tempeh

and seitain along with other refined foods such as white bread, white pas-

ta and foods that are high in refined sugar too. Tofu and tempeh are both

soy based, they go through quite heavy processing before reaching the

shelves in the supermarket. Processed soy products have been said to

disrupt hormone levels in women and increase estrogen levels in men. I

choose to steer clear from these products because of this. Anything that

has to go through that much processing seems unnatural for me to con-

sume. As for seitan, it is made from pure gluten. I don’t eat gluten, and so

I don’t eat seitan. These products are not exactly natural, and therefore I

would recommend you limit your intake of them as best as you can.

WHAT IS THE RIGHT OIL TO

COOK WITH?

This is something that drove me crazy for the longest time. Every time

I would find out about ‘the best oil to cook with’ I would then find

out all the disadvantages to that oil. So, my two go to cooking oils

are virgin coconut oil for making rice or legumes and avocado oil for

everything else. Both of these have high smoke points and are safer to

cook with than olive oil – which oxidizes when heated, vegetable and

sunflower oils – which are heavily processed and refined.*Olive oil has

so many benefits when consumed cold on salad or toast!

61 62
 HOW DO YOU DRINK ALCOHOL AND STILL
CONSIDER YOURSELF HEALTHY?

When I was in university, I would drink more often – that was just

the way it was socially amongst my friends. Growing up, going

through my medical situation and finding my yoga practice, al-

cohol disrupted that cycle that I spent so much time developing.

However, I do believe in moderation. Like having fish sometimes,

or indulging in a dessert – I drink occasionally. This is typically a

glass of red or white wine at dinner or a social gathering. Drinking

is a personal preference, I went almost one year without having

any alcohol while I was treating my hormone imbalance and now

it’s whenever I feel like it. This in no way says that alcohol is good

for you or encouraging you to drink. I repeat, this is a personal

decision and I get asked about it quite often!

63 64
 IF I STOP EATING RED MEAT WON’T I
BECOME ANEMIC?

I remember going to various doctors when I was younger and they would all say: “you

have to drink milk to get calcium for strong teeth and bones” and “you need to eat

red meat to get iron”. These two statements always stuck in my head, but they are

both false. You get more calcium from vegetables than you do from milk and you get

more than enough iron from leafy greens like spinach and legumes such as lentils,

than you do from a piece of red meat.

Here is a brief biology lesson: Hemoglobin is the main part of our red blood cells that

binds oxygen. If your hemoglobin levels are low, the cells do not get enough oxygen.

Our bodies need iron in order to make hemoglobin, in order to get enough oxygen to

our red blood cells and avoid anemia.

My husband grew up with very low levels of hemoglobin and was prescribed a chem-

ical filled, synthetic iron medication and was advised to eat red meat to solve this

problem. This did not work. His levels went up but were still below the average for a

man. When I met him, he had this grey color to his skin and very dark circles under

his eyes. He was also generally lethargic throughout the day and always took a mid-

day two-hour nap. When he shared his story with me, I advised him on his diet and

told him to eat more plant foods, take a daily scoop of green superfood powder and a

natural food-based iron supplement (he also doesn’t eat much meat anymore). Now,

his levels for the first time ever are above average, he has so much color in his face

and no more mid-day naps. Does that answer your question?

It is important to mention that most conventional doctors who graduate with a med-

ical doctorate, have little to no education on the healing capabilities of nutrition.

There is a lot of information for medical students to learn, however the requirement

on nutritional studies is minimal. The majority of doctors will give you a preventa-

tive, not a cure.

Plant foods that are high in iron:

Spinach, Kale, Lentils, Chickpeas, White beans, Kidney beans, Chia seeds, Linseeds,

Hemp seeds, Flaxseeds, Sesame seeds, Pumpkin seeds, raw soaked cashew nuts

65
 ISN’T IT BAD TO CONSUME SO MANY FRUITS
BECAUSE OF THEIR CARBOHYDRATE AND
SUGAR CONTENT?

This is an interesting question that I see everywhere, most people are con-

cerned with eating ‘too many’ fruits because of their carbohydrate and sug-

ar content. Fruits and vegetables are the most natural foods that we can

consume, they are literally bursting with nutrients, vitamins and minerals

that our bodies need to flourish. The sugar in fruits are natural, not like the

refined sugar you find in gummy bears. I see these comparison photos on

social media where a nutrition blogger has a handful of gummy bears and an-

other handful of berries comparing the calorie count of each, basically insin-

uating that you can have the gummy bears because they have less calories.

To me, that is absolutely ridiculous. It is not about how many calories are in

the fruits, it is about what nutrients you are getting from them, as opposed

to the gelatin, sugar and food coloring found in gummy bears. I’ve been *Diabetics or those who suffer from insulin resistance, which I did for about a year,

eating fruit in large quantities since my health issues. I have days where I have to be mindful of how much fruit they consume and watch their sugar intake.

eat 3-4 portions of fruit for dinner because my body craves it. I do prefer to Yes, that is true. If you are diabetic and have an animal heavy diet, then I do not rec-

have my fruits during the daytime, before having cooked food as it digests ommend you also eat an abundance of fruit. But cutting out the animal products will

better in our system this way. Even when I struggled with the weight gain, I work wonders for every kind of human being – trust me.

never stopped eating large amounts of fruit and it did not prevent me from

losing that extra weight at all. While I do have portion sizes for wholegrains Recent studies have shown that it isn’t sugar that causes diabetes at all, in fact it is

and legumes, I don’t have any for fruit and vegetables! the consumption of meat and saturated fats. The pharmaceutical industry is totally

fine with selling that diabetes is strictly about sugar intake in order to protect the

One thing to note is that, if you have an animal-heavy diet and consume meat and dairy industries. But that’s a whole other controversial topic that is worth-

dairy every day, eating an abundance of fruit on top of this might cause while doing your own research on. If you are coming from a diet that is low carb,

weight gain – because of everything else that you are consuming. However, high protein and you jump into this lifestyle here that is higher in carbohydrates, you

having a mainly plant based diet, your body will crave these fruits because might fluctuate in weight for a bit until your body settles and finds its natural healthy

of the amount of nutrients and should in no way cause you to gain weight. weight, which it will.

67 68
 IS ALL SALT BAD FOR YOU?

This is something I believed for a long time, that all kinds of salt will harm

your health. This is false, only table salt is harmful. That should be thrown

out of your pantry as soon as you read this. Why? Table salt is poisonous. It

is heavily processed and chemically bleached and heated to ridiculously high

temperatures. Long story short it causes severe health problems. There is a

misconception that all salt raises blood pressure, when as a matter of fact it

is the table salt that scratches the insides of your veins and arteries causing

them to bleed, consequently leading to higher blood pressure. The only type

of salt I have in my kitchen is pink Himalayan salt.

Pink Himalayan salt in controlled quantities can be very good for our health, it

has over 80 trace minerals including magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium

to name a few. Too much salt in general can cause water retention, so I limit

my use of it while cooking – most vegetables have enough flavor that I won’t

need to salt them, instead I’ll use lots of herbs and spices. Per day I probably

only use about 1-2 tsp. of pink salt.

70
 IF I CUT OUT COFFEE, CAN I DRINK
DECAF COFFEE INSTEAD?

Decaffeinated coffees and teas have to go through a lot of process-

ing in order to remove most of the caffeine from it. For that reason,

it is actually wiser to just have the caffeinated version because at

least this way it is the more ‘natural’ version of the beverage.

The same applies to full fat and low-fat products. When buying

canned coconut milk, I always opt for full fat because in order for it

to become low fat, it must undergo heavy processing.

I have swapped out coffee for English breakfast tea personally,

but I also drink an Ayurvedic coffee substitute called Vaidya’s Cup

which is a Tridoshic Mucuna Brew. It has the same bitterness and

texture as a cup of black coffee yet it only contains plant extracts

such as wild date seeds and chicory root.

71
THE CLEANSE
 PHASE 1

This cleanse is a first step into this lifestyle. This is not a juice cleanse or something

torturous as it will keep you full and very satisfied. If this is the first time you are doing

this cleanse, you should complete 7-10 days, depending on how you eat. For example, if

you eat meat and dairy every day, then go for 10. If you’re more of a vegetarian and eat

plenty of fruits and vegetables already, then opt for 7. After your first cleanse is com-

pleted, you can then do 5-7 days. I do this cleanse seasonally (about 4 times per year).

Ever since we were able to eat solid foods, our digestive system has been constantly

working hard to break down that food in order for it to be assimilated into our bodies

and used as energy. The food we eat affects us because our digestive system breaks

down some foods better than others. Some foods get stuck in our digestive tract, which

over time causes our system to slow down creating a chain reaction of other problems

in our bodies. As with anything else that has been over used and overly relied on, we

need to give the system a break and clean it out allowing for a boost - a renewed and

more efficient digestive system. Our digestive systems also slow down at night time,

which is why most of my dinner recipes are quite light. Having soup for dinner gives

your system a nice rest from breaking down solid foods, which requires a lot more en-

ergy which you don’t have as much of at night.

The reason for this cleanse is to reboot your system. If you are coming from a diet

that is heavy on the animal products and refined sugars, then your system needs to

be cleaned out before we can introduce new eating habits – otherwise it won’t be as

effective. Imagine a garbage disposal is full of waste and the button is broken so you

can’t flush it out. Now imagine adding more and more waste on top of what is already

in there – it won’t go through the disposal, right? This is how I like to think of it in our

bodies. This cleanse is simple but quite restrictive, however, you will manage. I have

offered this cleanse to people who eat meat at lunch and dinner every day, and they

were able to get through it – so it is possible and should suit everyone!

75 76
 PHASE 1 : STEP 1 (OPTIONAL)

I have been doing an annual colonic since 2015, it is also known as Hydrothera-

py. It was recommended to me by a family member at the time while I was going

through my health issues. Colonics aim to cleanse the colon with warm water

via the rectum. It is a non-invasive procedure and, unlike a colonoscopy, you are

awake throughout the process and do not feel any pain, just a little discomfort

which disappears after the first 5 minutes. It lasts anywhere from 40-60 minutes

depending on how much cleansing you require. You may feel some abdominal

cramping when the water enters your colon, but this is quickly gone once the wa-

ter comes back out – your therapist controls this instantly.

I grew up eating a lot of meat and all other animal products. Meat is not well di-

gested at all. It gets lodged in your colon and rots there for years and years if you

don’t remove it (gross!). This can lead to many diseases with time. Remember, it is

said that all illnesses begin in the gut. I recommend colonics to everyone I know,

before starting this cleanse. It is optional of course as some people find it inva-

sive and strange. However, before starting on this new lifestyle, you first need to

remove any rotting substances from your system! We need to remove that waste

from the garbage disposal!

The benefits of colonics include the ultimate detoxification of the body, protect

against constipation, improve digestion and aid weight loss. *I know of one man

who was slightly overweight, went in for a colonic for the first time and walked

out after about 75 minutes 6 kg (~13lbs) lighter. It just proves how much can just

be stuck in your body, unable to come out on its own.

You should consult with a professional before booking a colonic of any kind. If you

are pregnant, suffering from an illness or disease that might mean it is not safe for

you to proceed with a colonic, so be sure to do a consultation beforehand.

77 78
 STEP 2

Slowly drink a minimum of 3 litres of water per day

Plenty of herbal tea and fresh juices (no additives)

Cook with lots of herbs and spices, limit salt & oils
MEALS
Rest – no vigorous exercise. Yoga, walking, light jogs.

Never let yourself go hungry on this cleanse so keep

Unlimited vegetables
your snacks with you at all times!
1 cup of cooked brown basmati rice (per day) at lunch time
Get plenty of sleep
OR brown rice soba noodles (1 portion)

½1/2 an avocado per day at either meal

2 Tbsp. of cold olive oil per day

For cooking veggies/rice: 1 Tbsp. of coconut or avocado oil

SNACKS

20 skinless almonds

OR 1-2 Tbsp. of pure almond butter Sugar of any kind – 1 Tbsp. of honey is fine, coconut sugar if vegan

4-5 pieces/servings of fruit per day (2-3 for breakfast, 2 for a snack) Table salt – Himalayan pink salt is the only type to keep in your pantry

3 Dates per day (count this as one fruit serving) Tofu / Tempeh / Seitan / Soy products

Caffeine – If you must have something,

1 cup of black coffee in the morning,

English breakfast tea or matcha is acceptable

My recipes that you can have on this cleanse: Mushroom teriyaki, Basella, Eggs & Dairy from all animals

Mloukhiyeh, Brown Rice bowl (no lentils), stir fry noodles, Soba noodles with Legumes (beans, lentils etc.)

pesto, miso eggplant, vegetable fried rice (eliminate the peanut butter & Green bell peppers & corn

remove the cashews) all soup recipes, salad, roasted vegetables. Meat of any kind

Alcohol

79 80
 A TYPICAL DAY ON

Breakfast

Big bowl of fruits or a water based fruit smoothie

Snack

Options:

Fresh Juice, sliced raw veggies or have the 20 skinless almonds

Lunch

1 cup of brown basmati rice and vegetable dish of choice

*Option to have the 1/2 avocado here or with dinner.

Snack

Options:

Fruit, sliced raw veggies, fresh juice, dates

Dinner

One or two of the following:

Big bowl of soup, roasted veggies, salad, or vegetable stew of

choice. No wholegrain’s here.

*Avoid having snacks after dinner, aim for tea and if you want

something sweet have a small portion of berries.

 STEP 3

You might feel a little lightheaded or dizzy on this cleanse because of its detoxing

effect on the body, especially if you’re coming from an animal heavy diet. It is com-

pletely normal to feel dizzy, lightheaded or a little nauseous at times; small breakouts

on your face are also possible and totally normal. These are all signs that the cleanse

is working and your body is detoxifying it from all the nasties that are lodged inside it.

This is why I recommend taking it easy on this cleanse. If you are experiencing these

symptoms, go for walks and do some yoga instead of high intensity training through-

out phase one.

Here are a few quotes from family and friends who have completed this cleanse:

“I managed to stick to the cleanse! It was actually way easier than I expected doing the

full 7 days and I feel so active now! I feel so active that I’m finally rearranging all of my

furniture, I’ve been meaning to do it for ages. I felt a bit dizzy at first, but other than that

I feel light and so much better. I no longer need an afternoon nap; my brain is sharp and

awake which is so beautiful!”

- Anonymous

“After the cleanse I felt more light and full of energy. I was waking up ready to start the

day without feeling tired or sleepy like I used to. I also started to crave more fruit and

vegetables which was nice for a change. Overall, I loved it and I think I will do it again

when I feel the need to.”

- Anonymous

Once you have completed the 7 or 10-day cleanse, you can continue

into the next phase of the guide.

81 82
 PHASE TWO

LIVING MOSTLY

Next you will find my 10-day meal plan. This will give you a good

example of how to eat once you’ve completed the cleanse. It will

show you how to maintain a plant based diet at least when you are

at home and able to make your own food.

Please note that if you choose to continue to eat meat and dairy,

this will affect the portions and meal plan tremendously. You should

aim to be eating what I have written as it includes all food groups.

For example, on the days that I have fish, I wouldn’t eat as much

wholegrain and would eat less healthy fats than usual.

84
 PORTIONS

STAPLES

Choose from one of the following options:

Option 1.

1 cup of cooked wholegrain

Option 2.

1 cup of cooked legumes/beans

Option 3.

1/2 cup cooked wholegrain + 1/2 cup cooked legume

Option 4.

1-cup (raw) brown rice pasta

OR legume pasta of choice

VEGETABLES:

Unlimited amount! Always add GREENS!

FRUITS:

If not consuming animal products, eat as many as you want. If

still consuming animal products, only eat 1-2 pieces per day.

FATS:

2 Tbsp. cold olive oil + 1/2 or 1 whole avocado

Handful of raw nuts per day

85
 PORTIONS

STAPLES

Choose from one of the following options:

Option 1.

Big bowl of Hearty soup

Option 2.

Kelp noodles (at either meal, not both)

Option 3.

Vegetable stew with no wholegrains

(Bean chili, Fasoulia, or Basella from my recipe guide)

VEGETABLES: Unlimited – opt for a large salad portion

FATS: Stick to one avocado at most per day at either meal

88
 PHASE TWO

WHAT ARE

The reason I recommend having wholegrains each day is because

we are able to extract their nutrients better than regular grains

which are usually more refined and processed, meaning they lose

their nutrient base along the way and do not offer us much value. I

choose to have oatmeal for breakfast and brown rice for lunch. You

should switch it up, try not to have rice every day, aim for 3-4 times

a week maximum and then switch to another. You will find your fa-

vorites with time. Here are the most commonly found wholegrains:

Brown Rice, Buckwheat, Quinoa, Oatmeal, Amaranth, Millet

Bulgur (contains wheat/gluten), Barley (contains wheat/gluten)

89 90
 PHASE TWO

WHAT ARE

Legumes are a class of plant foods that include beans. Black beans,

lentils, mung beans, chickpeas and kidney beans – to name a few.

They are high in fiber, protein and contain B-vitamins, magnesium

and folate. They are also low in saturated fat, and keep you feeling

full and satiated.

Green, red, brown lentils, Yellow Moong Dahl, Yellow split peas

Black beans, Kidney beans, Chickpeas, Cannellini beans,

Butter beans

91 92
 DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY 7 DAY 8 DAY 9 DAY 10

Almond Lean Almond

Banana Orange Big Bowl of Avocado Berry Big Bowl of Banana
BREAKFAST butter Green butter
Oatmeal Dream fresh fruits pudding Smoothie fresh fruits oatmeal
pudding smoothie pudding

Red, yellow Carrots,

peppers & Raw nuts Small bowl celery & Handful of Fresh Glow Raw nuts Raw nuts
of goji raw nuts & Fresh fruits
SNACK cucumber & 3 dates cucumber Fruits juice & dates & dates
sticks berries sticks raisins

Mushroom Creamy
Fasoulia Mloukhiyeh Brown Thai green
Curried terriyaki Zesty Veggie Bean mushroom Vegtable
with with rice curry with
LUNCH Dhal with Noodles Chilli noodles fried rice
wholegrain wholegrain bowl wholegrain
wholegrain

2 Chewy Sliced 2 Fudge 1-2 Classic

Dried goji
Chocolate apples & Raw nuts & brownies & Raw nuts Raw Immunity choc. chip
3-5 dates berries &
SNACK Cookies & fresh mint matcha tea lemon & rasins veggies Kick cookies &
matcha tea
matcha tea tea ginger tea matcha tea

Carrot &
Salad & Salad &
sweet Celery Miso Roast Pesto kelp Miso Roast
roast Lentil carrot sweet
potato soup eggplant veggies noodles eggplant veggies
DINNER veggies Soup potato soup
soup

93 94
MY RECIPIES
97 98
 BREAKFAST

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 banana *I didn’t include the amount of liquid, I start

1 cup frozen berries out with 1 cup and then depending on the

Liquid of choice (water,

consistency I want either add more or not!

coconut water, almond or

Place all ingredients in the blender until
coconut milk)
smooth, serve in a large glass/mason jar.
1 Tbsp. Acai powder

2 tsp Maca root powder

1 Tbsp. Baobab powder

1 Tbsp. Flaxseeds

1 Tbsp. Chia Seeds

99
 BREAKFAST

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 small or medium papaya Place all ingredients in the blender until

1 banana (optional) smooth, serve in a large glass/mason jar.

1 Tbsp. Baobab powder

2tsp Maca root powder

1 Tbsp. Flaxseeds

1 Tbsp. Chia Seeds

102
 BREAKFAST

SMOOTHIE

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 ripe banana (option to Place all ingredients in the blender until

use mango or 1/2 an smooth, serve in a large glass/mason jar.

avocado here instead

of banana)

Big handful of kale

(washed & destemmed)

1 cup hazelnut milk

2 tsp manuka honey (if

vegan, use 2 dates instead

to sweeten)

1 Tbsp. almond butter

1 Tbsp. flaxseeds

1 Tbsp. hemp seeds

Optional:

1/2 tsp matcha powder or

1 Tbsp. green superfood

powder

103
 BREAKFAST

JUICE

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

2 bags of celery stalks Make sure you wash all the items well. Juice
(about 12 stalks in total) all the ingredients & add more celery if

1 bag of spinach
you’re using a larger glass. I keep juicing
until my cup is full!
1 cm of peeled ginger

1/2 squeezed lemon

*I make my juices with the Phillips juicer, it
or lime is compact & easy to clean!
1 apple

106
 BREAKFAST

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

2 apples Wash all ingredients. Peel the ginger and

Half a finger sized piece carrots and then chop the apples into slices

of peeled ginger (you can

with skin on. Juice everything, and if your
cup is still not full add in one more apple
add in more if you want a
and one more carrot until it is!
spicy kick)

1/2 lemon squeezed

6-8 large carrots

1 Tbsp. organic apple

cider vinegar

107
 BREAKFAST

SMOOTHIE

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

2 bananas Blend all ingredients, serve in a glass and

1/2 avocado sprinkle some extra hemp seeds on top!

Handful of spinach

1 cup (at least) hazelnut

milk

1 tsp pure almond butter

1 tsp Manuka honey

(optional – vegan: 1 date)

2 Tbsp. Hemp seeds

1 Tbsp. flaxseeds

110
 BREAKFAST

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 ripe avocado Place all ingredients in the blender until

1 cup coconut milk smooth, serve in a short glass & enjoy with

2 tsp sweetener of choice

a spoon!

(Agave, coconut sugar,

honey)

*I use manuka honey

111
 BREAKFAST

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1/4 cup gluten free In a small saucepan add the coconut milk,
rolled oats oats, 1 tsp coconut sugar, vanilla and stir on

3/4 cup (or more) coconut

low heat until soft and cooked.

or almond milk
Serve the oatmeal in a small bowl, cut ba-
2 tsp coconut sugar
nana into coins, top the oatmeal with the
1 tsp high quality vanilla remaining 1 tsp of coconut sugar, the al-
essence paste (optional) mond butter, bananas and optional home-
1 banana made granola. Serve & enjoy!

1-Tbsp. almond butter

Optional: add some of my

homemade granola

(page 118) on top!

114
 BREAKFAST

PUDDING

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

2 ripe bananas Blend together the bananas, almond butter

1/2 cup Almond butter and milk in a blender or food processor un-

1 & 1/4 cups of coconut

til very smooth. Pour the liquid into a small
mixing bowl, and add in the chia seeds and
or almond milk
mix well.
3 big Tbsp. chia seeds

Serve the mixture into 3 small jars, dishes

or mini bowls. Cover each bowl with cling
film, and store in the fridge for 6-12 hours
to set.

115
 BREAKFAST

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

2 cups Gluten free Preheat the oven to 150C.

rolled oats In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients

1/4 cup of raw almonds

together except the raisins. If your coconut
oil or vegan butter is solid – melt it in a small
(chopped)
saucepan on the stove beforehand to avoid
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
lumps in the mixture later. Add in the melted
or pumpkin seeds oil and mix well until properly combined.
1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup dried goji berries Line a baking tray with parchment paper,

4 Tbsp. chia seeds and spread the mixture out evenly and
spread it quite thin. Place in the oven for 10-
3 Tbsp. raw honey or high
12 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven,
grade maple syrup
and add in the raisins - this is to ensure they
2 Tbsp. coconut oil or
don’t burn. Bake for another 5-7 minutes
vegan butter until the mixture is toasted evenly. Remove
1 tsp vanilla extract paste from the oven and cool for 30 minutes. Store

1/4 tsp pink salt the mixture in a jar for future use.

118
Please note, almost all of my recipes call for vegetable stock or paste. It took

me a long time to find a brand that was clean and not full of nasties. It is so

important to find a stock cube or paste that has 0 additives and no hidden

ingredients in there. The brand that I use is called “9 Meals from Anarchy”

which has pure food and spice-based ingredients only.

The ingredients found in this brand are:

​O rganic Vegetables (onions, carrot, celery, leek, fennel, parsley, garlic). Salt.

Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Organic Turmeric. Organic Black Pepper.

If you do not have access to something like this, I either recommend you

make your own at home and freeze it for future use or use water instead and

add in more herbs and spices to the recipe!

 COOKING THE BASICS
JASMINE WHITE RICE

Jasmine rice is not a wholegrain, and I choose to have brown basmati personally –

however I make this for my husband and it is his favorite to have with most

of the recipes in this book!

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 cup of jasmine white rice Using a sieve rinse the rice under cold running water.

(Tilda is my favorite brand) Heat up the oil & salt until melted and combined. Add in the

1 tsp coconut oil rice and mix, until the rice and the oil are mixed. Add in the

1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt boiling water, bring to a boil and then let simmer for 12 min-

1 & 3/4 cups boiling water utes on lowest heat – keep the pan completely sealed the whole

time. Once the timer goes off after 12 minutes, switch off the

heat, open the pan – mix the rice with a fork, and seal the pan

again for 5 minutes to get it nice and fluffy.

COOKING THE BASICS

BROWN BASMATI RICE

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 cup of brown basmati rice Using a sieve, rinse the brown rice well under cold running

(Tilda is my favorite brand) water. Soak the brown rice in room temperature water for 30

1 tsp coconut oil or avocado oil minutes to an hour. Drain, and dispense the water.

1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt Heat up the oil & salt until melted and combined. Add in the

1 & 3/4 cups boiling water rice and mix, until the rice and the oil are mixed. Add in the

boiling water, bring to a boil and then let simmer for 35-40

minutes on lowest heat – keep the pan completely sealed the

whole time.

*I check the rice at minute 35 to check if the water has

completely evaporated. You might have to leave it for 5

more minutes if you see any water remains.

121 122
 COOKING THE BASICS
GREEN LENTILS

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

3 cups boiling water Rinse the lentils using a sieve under cold water.

1 tsp vegetable stock (or use Heat up 1 tsp of coconut oil & a dash of pink salt. Add in the

fresh vegetable stock instead lentils, water and optional stock cube. Bring to a boil, and then

of the water) half cover & let simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes until soft.

Pink salt to taste Stir every 10 minutes.

Any additional herbs and

spices, I like to use 1-2 tsp of

ground cumin

COOKING THE BASICS

PASTA

W ith any pasta that you’re using (chickpea, lentil, brown rice, soba noodles…) you will

n eed a sauce pan, and boiling water. Measure out 1 cup of the pasta that you’re cooking.

Boil your kettle (this makes it a much quicker process) and add in about 1 & 1/2 cups of the

boiling water into the saucepan. Let the water boil, once you see bubbles – add in the raw

pasta. The water should be more than covering the pasta. Mix every minute or so until the

pasta looks cooked, taste it to be sure.

KELP NOODLES

I buy the kelp noodles that are packaged in water, drain the liquid and then add the noo-

dles to a bowl of room temperature water and allow to soak overnight before eating them.

O nce they have soaked for 12-24 hours, I add them to a saucepan of boiling water for 2

minutes to soften even more, then drain and dispense the water, and then add in whichever

sauce you’re using. If you’d like to add these to a salad, you can skip the boiling water part

and just remove them from the overnight water and cut them and serve them cold.

123 124
 LUNCH

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 cup of white beans This is a dish that I grew up with, my Iraqi grandmother would
prepare us a feast every Friday for lunch – this was one of my
(soaked overnight in water)
f avorites and included pieces of lamb. My mother in law re-
1 onion chopped cently taught me how to make it, and of course I veganised it!

1-Tbsp. vegan butter or

1 . Soak the beans in room temperature water for 24 hours –
Avocado / coconut oil this step is very important! Check on them after 12 hours, you
w ill need to add more water. Drain the beans, dispense the
Pink salt to taste
w ater.
Kallo yeast free vegetable 2. Add the beans to a saucepan, and add in boiling water until
b eans are fully covered – bring to a boil, and reduce to low
stock
heat and simmer for 30 minutes until beans are soft. Drain and
2 tsp Ground coriander dispense of the water, set aside the beans in a bowl.

Squeeze of lemon to taste 3. Sauté the onions in the oil until translucent (if using garlic,
add in with the onions until fragrant)
1 tube of organic tomato 4 . Add the beans and salt, shake the pan – avoid mixing with

paste (use enough of it so a spoon as they’ll break apart.

5 . Add in boiling water to the pan - you’ll need enough liq-
the sauce is a bright red
u id to cover the beans fully – about 2cm above the beans. If
color) you’re not using fresh vegetable stock, add in the paste here.
6. Add tomato paste until the liquid is very red. About 1 whole
Optional: 1 clove of crushed garlic
tube. Keep on high heat for 5 minutes with no cover. Reduce
(I don’t normally cook with garlic, t o low heat, and simmer for 45 minutes half covered, stirring
every now and then.
if you’d like to use it, add it in with
7 . Add the ground coriander, salt and lemon. Keep tast- ing
the onions) as you go, add more of whatever is needed. The sauce should
thicken, and the beans should be soft before serving – so make
sure to keep tasting the beans to see when they’re cooked.

126
 LUNCH

NOODLES

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 portion of brown rice ​ 1 ​​ . ​I n a small saucepan bring about 2 cups of wa- ter

soba noodles t o b oil , once its bubbling, add in the soba noodles
u nt i l c ooked, leave them in the water until ready to
Big handful of kale leaves
u se lat er.
(destemmed)
2 . ​In a large deep pan, heat up 1 Tbsp. avocado oil
1 shallot diced
and add in the diced shallots and cook un-til fragrant.
4 large mushrooms sliced Add in the sliced mushrooms until cooked.
1 tsp vegetable stock ​3 .​R educe to lowest heat, add in the 1/3 cup of boiling

paste + 1/3 cup boiling water along with the vegetable paste, and leave it to
s im m er for about 2 min- utes. Add in the bunch of
water
washed​ and destemmed​ kale leaves and mix it up for
3 heaping Tbsp.
about 4-5 minutes until the kale softens.
nutritional yeast
4. Drain the noodles using a sieve, and using scissors
1/2 lemon cut the noodles so that they’re short- er pieces. Add
Pink salt & black pepper the noodles into the pan, fol- lowed by the nutritional
yeast, salt and pep- per and finally squeeze the
lemon in as well.
5 . M ix it all up, taste it here to see if it needs more
s ea s oni ng. Serve & Enjoy!​

127
 LUNCH

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 cup of washed yellow ​1. ​Rinse the dhal in a sieve under cold water for about 1
m in ut e.
moong dhal
​2 . Dice the onion into small cubes​. In a saucepan heat 1 tsp
3 cups of boiling water or o f av ocado oil​, ​a nd once the oil i s hot, add in​ the onions,
s au té until trans lucent.
vegetable stock
​ 3 . ​A dd in th e washed dhal and mix with onions. Next, add
Spinach i n th e boiling wa ter or vegetable stock and mix.
​4 . ​A dd in the spices and salt/pepper​. ​ Bring the mixture to a
1 small onion or shallot
boil, half cover the saucepan and reduce to low heat for 30
1 Tbsp. mild curry powder minutes – making sure to mix every 10 minutes.
​ 5 . ​ W hile the dh al is cooking, peel an d chop the sweet po-
1 tsp cumin powder
tato or vegetable of choice. There is the option to steam or
1 tsp pink salt / herbamare boil them​ in water​ until they’re soft enough to poke with a

salt fork (about 15 minutes). Set aside and keep covered as you
will top the Dhal with them later.
Optional sprinkle of black ​6 . ​A fter 30 minutes, try the beans to see if they are ready –
pepper most of the time they’ll need an additional 10-12 minutes to
soften. If your beans are sticking to the bottom of the pan,
Toppings:
o r if they loo k d ry, you will need to add in 1/3 cup more
1 small purple or regular boil- ing water to make sure it doesn’t burn.
​ 7 . ​ A t mi nute 30 , a dd in a large handful of spinach to the
sweet potato
Dhal and cover with the lid until it softens. Mix well with the
d ha l after a f ew min utes. Repeat this again with a second
hand- ful of spinach. Cover with the lid and cook for anoth-
er 10-12 minutes, add the 1/3 cup of water once the spinach
is in if necessary.
8. ​O pen the pan every few minutes and mix, keep tasting as
you go and once the Dhal is soft it is ready to go!
​9 . ​S erve the Dhal in a bowl on its own with the potatoes on
top, or on a bed or brown rice!

130
 LUNCH

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 brown onion 1. R​​​inse the beans for a few minutes under cold water

1 can of organic white a nd t h e n soak them in warm water for about 10-20
m in ute s , this is said to remove any additional sodium
cannellini beans /
or metals from the beans. I buy the canned beans that
butter beans
a re o r g anic and don’t have any extra ingredients or
1 can of organic black preservatives – only the beans & water. If you want to

beans or kidney beans u se d r i ed beans that have been soaked for 24 hours
b ef ore h and, then this is also an option but please be
1 & 1/2 cups of Diced
m in df u l that the beans will need longer to cook.
carrots
2 . ​W h i le the beans are soaking, ​i n a large saucepan
1 tube of organic tomato h ea t u p the coconut oil and ​sauté the chopped on-
paste i on s u n til soft and transluce nt. Add in the diced car-

1 tsp Vegetable stock r ot s , l et them soften for abo ut 5 minutes, mix often.
​3 . ​D rain the beans with a sieve – rinse them again un-
paste or use fresh
d er c o l d water. Add in the be ans to the pot and mix.
vegetable stock
Add in boiling water with the tsp of vegeta- ble stock
2 tsp oregano paste or use fresh vegetable stock until the beans are
1 tsp cumin covered by about 2cm.
​ 4 . ​A d d in the tomato paste until the sauce is bright
1 large tsp paprika
r ed . A d d in all spices, herbs and salt. All to taste.
1-2 tsp pink salt or
​ 5 . ​C o ok on low for about 30 minutes uncovered until
herbamare salt to taste the sauce has thickened. Taste everything before serv-
1 tsp chilli flakes ing, to see if you need more spices.
6. Serve on a bed of quinoa, brown rice, or buckwheat
– or even enjoy it on its own!​

131
 LUNCH

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 eggplant (serves one hun- 1. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set
aside.
gry person)
2. Slice one eggplant lengthwise into 4 large piec- es,
Avocado oil a nd on the inside of each piece using a knife draw
shallow lines across it creating a grid pattern, scoring
Miso Sauce:
it – be careful not to slice all the way through the skin.
1/4 cup of white miso paste 3. Heat up 2 Tbsp. of avocado oil in a large pan on me-
d iu m heat, and place 2 eggplant pieces facing down
1 Tbsp. of Japanese rice
(flesh down) and allow to cook through (about 2 min-
vinegar utes). You may need to add more oil to the pan if you
1-2 Tbsp. honey (or maple feel the eggplant is burning.
4 . Flip the eggplant on to skin side after 2 minutes,
syrup for vegans) a nd repeat this 4-5 times until the eggplant is com-
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds pletely soft and cooked. Do this with the other 2 slices
o f eggplant until you have 4 fully cooked pieces.
2 Tbsp. water 5. Preheat the oven to 220 C, and place the oven shelf
o n the highest point in the oven in order to broil. (I
rem oved “broil the eggplants”)
6 . Once all four pieces are cooked, line a baking tray
w it h parchment paper and place the eggplant facing
u pw ards (skin on tray) and using a spoon scoop the
miso sauce on to each piece – I use generous amounts
o f the sauce on each one.
7. Once the oven is hot enough, place the baking tray
o n the highest shelf – it will almost be like the egg-
p la nt is touching the roof of the oven – and broil the
e gg - plants for 4 minutes. Remove from the oven,
serve by adding some extra sesame seeds, or chopped
c hi ves – and enjoy!​

134
 LUNCH

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

100g fresh basil Combine all the ingredients in a food pro- cessor/
b le nder, and then check the consistency – I like
4 Tbsp. olive oil
m in e to be creamy, I usually add in a few extra
4 Tbsp. water
tablespoons of olive oil after the first blend. Store
1/3 cup pine nuts t he pesto in a jar in the fridge for future use. 2-3

1 clove of garlic Tbsp. of the pesto sauce per serving of pasta will
b e enough, mix in with pasta of choice or kelp
1/4 cup of nutritional
n oo dles.
yeast

Option to add in vegetables:

H ea t up 1 Tbsp. of avocado oil in a pan on medi-
Optional vegetables:
um heat, add in the diced onions until translucent
5 brown mushrooms
– a bout 3 minutes. Then add in the sliced mush-
(sliced) rooms, and mix until fully cooked. Serve on top of

1/2 brown onion (diced) the noodles.

​P l ease refer to page 123 to see the instructions

o n how to make the kelp noodles.​

135
 LUNCH

VEGTABLE

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 cup of cooked brown rice ​1. ​Mix together all sauce ingredients in a small bowl
a nd s et aside.​
1/2 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup raw cashews ​2 . ​H eat up 1 tsp of sesame oil in a large pan on medium
heat, if you’re using carrots or baby corn – add them in
3 spring onions diced
first until soft – if not, start by adding in the peas and
Optional: add in ½ cup of mix for 2 minutes until no longer fro- zen, then add the
spring onions and sauté for another minute.
diced carrots, baby corn,

or any other vegetables ​ 3 . ​ A dd in the cooked cup of brown rice and mix well
you like! w it h the vegetab les.

Sauce: ​ 4 . ​ N ow add the sauce to the pan and mix, reduce to

4 Tbsp. of tamari or soy low heat and allow the sauce to cook down, mixing the
rice every minute or so. With time the rice will become
sauce s ti ck y as the sa uce heats up, add in the raw cashews
1 Tbsp. peanut butter (I use here and continue to mix the rice for an- other couple
of minutes – try not to let the rice stick to the bottom
whole earth – you can use
of the pan by mixing it frequently.
sun butter if allergic)
5. Serve & top with a few green onions and some extra
3 Tbsp. coconut sugar
cashews!​
(option to use honey)

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

136
 LUNCH

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

2 bags of frozen Mloukhiyeh T hi s is a traditional dish that I didn’t enjoy grow-

(you can buy this at your i ng up, but now it is my go to for comfort food.
M lo ukhiyeh is the Arabic name for the vegetable
local Arabic grocer)
and the dish and it translates to English as “Jew’s
1 tsp Vegetable stock paste M al low” and it is a part of the spinach family.
1/3 cup of boiling water
​1 . ​I n a large saucepan add in the boiling water and
1/2 tsp onion powder
the vegetable stock paste until combined.
Optional 1 tsp of garlic

powder ​2 . ​O pen up the Mloukhiyeh bags and add in the 2

blocks to the water and cover.
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt OR

1 tsp of herbamare salt

​3 . ​R educe to low heat, and every 5 minutes or so,
1/2 squeezed lemon o pe n it to mix, flip over the 2 blocks and scrape

Sauce to go on top: off the soft parts that have defrosted. Repeat this
process until both blocks have fully defrosted and
Handful of finely chopped
you have a soupy mix- ture left.
white onions mixed with 1/4

cup of squeezed lemon juice ​ 4 . ​ A dd in the remaining seasoning and lemon to

the mixture, and taste – add in more of what you
– if you don’t like raw onions
need​. ​M ix together the sauce topping ingredients
feel free to only use lemon
in a small bowl.
juice.

Optional: 1/2 tsp garlic pow- ​ 5 . ​ S er ve the Mloukhiyeh on a bed of rice – I opt
f or b row n basmati – and top with the sauce of
der, or fry 1 clove of crushed
c ho ic e.
garlic in a tsp of oil before

adding in the water in step 1.

137
 LUNCH

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 packet of Portobello 1 . ​Prepare the marinade, and marinate the sliced

m us h - rooms for 1-4 hours in the fridge.​​
mushrooms (about 5

mushrooms serves 1 ​2 . ​H eat up a​ large​ pan without oil, carefully remove

t he m ushrooms f rom the marinade by squeez i ng
person)
away the liquid as muc h as possible prese r ving the
1 tsp vegan butter (I use s au c e in the bowl – an d stir fry them unt i l cooked.
R em o v e from the pan an d set aside in a se p arate
avocado butter)
b ow l .
1 Tbsp. gluten free flour

Marinade: ​ 3 . ​I n the same pan, add in the remaining marinade

o n m e dium heat and stir consistently. Add in one
1/4 cup Tamari t sp o f vegan butter and the gluten free flour and
3 Tbsp. Maple syrup or m ix u ntil sauce thickens.

honey for non-vegans ​ 4 . ​A dd in the mushrooms, cover the pan, reduce to

1 big Tbsp. of grated ginger l ow h eat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

​5. S erve on a bed of quinoa, rice, or noodles of
1 orange juiced c ho i c e. You can add in any vegetables you want to
t hi s dish!

140
 LUNCH

BOWL

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1/2 cup cooked brown P le ase refer to page 121 to follow the instruc-
tions on how to cook the brown basmati rice and
basmati rice
c oo ked green lentils.
1/2 cup cooked green

lentils T ip for the green lentils – what I like to do is in

Bean Sprouts the final 5 minutes of cooking my lentils, I add in

about 2 handfuls of spinach. This gives my lentils
1/2 Avocado
s om e extra flavor and texture!
Chopped tomatoes

Sesame seeds C ut up all your veggies, these are the ones that I
like to put on but feel free to change them up and
g et creative! I recommend keeping the avocado
for some juiciness.

141
 LUNCH

THAI

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 Tbsp coconut oil ​1 . ​I n a deep saucepan, fry the onions & ginger in the
cocon ut oil for 2 minutes. Add the vegetables until
1 can of organic coconut
semi cooked.
milk (full fat – 400ml)
​2. ​Add in the 200ml vegetable stock and coconut
1-2 tsp Vegan green curry
m il k, bring to a light boil and then simmer for 15
paste (or homemade green m in ut es on low heat uncovered.

curry paste)
​3 . ​A dd in curry paste, start with 1 tsp and add 1 more
Pink Himalayan salt if needed for extra flavor and spice. Add maple syr-
Juice 1/2 lime up, salt and juice of 1/2 lime, simmer for 5 more min-
utes. Lastly, add the nuts in the last few minutes of
Handful of raw cashews cooking to keep them crunchy.
200 ml Vegetable stock
4 . Se rve with 1 cup of cooked rice, quinoa or noo-
(200 ml fresh stock or 200 d le s, and top with some parsley & chopped spring
ml water + 1 big tsp o ni on s​

vegetable stock paste)

1 Tbsp Maple syrup

1 Tbsp grated ginger

1 brown onion chopped

1 red bell pepper sliced

Sugar snap peas

Portobello Mushrooms

144
 LUNCH

ZESTY

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

Brown Rice Soba Noodles ​ 1 . ​C ook the noodles as per packet instructions
a nd s et aside (leave them in the water until
5 Portobello or brown
y ou ’r e ready to serve, otherwise they’ll stick
mushrooms sliced
t og et her)
3-4 Broccolini pieces

sliced ​2 . ​P repare sauce by mixing all ingredients

together in a small dish.
1 shallot

Big handful of spinach ​ 3 . ​S lice the shallots, broccoli and mushrooms.

Optional: thinly sliced/ H ea t up a pan with sesame oil, add in the
onions and broccoli until soft.
shredded carrots

​4 . ​A dd in the mushrooms and mix until cooked.

Sauce: A dd i n the marinade and allow the vegetables

2-Tbsp. Tamari t o co ok down in the sauce on low heat, about

5 -7 m inutes.
2-Tbsp. Sesame oil

1 Lime squeezed ​5 . ​A dd in one big handful of spinach and mix it

2 –Tbsp. Coconut sugar until it softens into the sauce.

​ 6 . ​D rain the noodles, serve the stir fry on top

& e nj oy!

145
 LUNCH

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 & 1/4 cups of frozen ​1. In a large saucepan, ​sauté the onions in 1 Tbsp.
o f avocado oil until trans - lucent, add in the diced
organic peas
c ar rots and diced potatoes ​ (I leave the skin on the
1 potato diced p ot atoes)​ and mix for abo u t 2 minutes.

1 onion chopped
​2 . ​A dd in enough vegetable stock (water + paste, or
1 cup of diced carrots f re sh vege table stock) to c over the veggies about
2cm above them, and then add in the tomato paste
1 tsp Vegetable stock
until bright red.
Pink salt or herbamare

salt to taste ​3 . ​C ook on high heat for 5 minutes, and then let sim-
mer on low for about 35-40 minutes half covered.
1 tube of organic Tomato

paste ​4. ​Add i n the frozen peas at minute 30 to avoid

t he m becom ing too soft, once you’ve added the
p ea s cook for the remaining 10-12 minutes.

​5 . ​A dd in salt to taste, and serve on a bed of rice or

quinoa, or enjoy it on its own!

148
 LUNCH

CREAMY

DIRECTIONS
INGREDIENTS

1 cup of raw chickpea * if you don’t have access to oat cream, you can just

pasta (you can add a little u se 1 full cup of almond milk – the sauce might be
s li ghtly thinner and less creamy, but it will still taste
extra about 1/4 cup
d el icious!
if you’re hungry!)

1 Tbsp avocado oil ​1 . ​C ook the pasta of choice per packet instructions in
a small sauce pan​, set aside, see page 123.​
1 garlic clove minced
2 .​ I n a large dee p pan, heat up the avocado oil, and
10 brown mushrooms f ry t he garlic unt il fragrant, add in the sli ced mush-
sliced rooms and sauté until fully cooked. Remove from the
p an o nce cooked a nd set aside in a small bow l, re-
Creamy sauce:
s er ve 1/2 cup of the mushrooms for the sauce and
1 Tbsp. avocado butter /
l ea ve the rest fo r later.
vegan butter 3. ​I n the same pan, add the vegan butter on low heat

2 Tbsp. gluten free flour and once it has melted add in the gluten free flour un-
til it forms a sticky dough texture. Transfer this dough
1/2 cup almond milk
mixture into your blender/ food processor.
1/4 cup oat cream 4.​ Leave the pan on the stove but switch off the heat
1/2 tsp nutmeg f or n ow. Add the rest of the creamy sauce ingredi-
e nt s into the ble nder as well, including the reserved
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup of sautéed mush- rooms, and blend until very
Salt & pepper smooth.
1/4 cup nutritional yeast ​5. A dd the sauce back into the large pan and leave

1/4 cup sautéed to simmer on low heat until it thickens (about 5 min-
utes).
mushrooms
6 . A d d in the remaining ​cooked ​mushrooms to the
sauce. Once the sauce is thickened, add in the cooked
p as t a and mix until fully covered in the sauce. Serve
& enjoy!

149
 DINNER

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

4 Celery stalks chopped C ho p the vegetables. Sauté the veggies in avo-

c ad o oil for about 3 minutes. Add enough water
1 potato chopped
t o cover all the veggies and add the stock paste
1 onion chopped
a nd salt.
Vegetable stock

Pink salt Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for about
3 0- 40 minutes until all the vegetables are very
Lemon
s of t – poke with a fork to tell.

Blend and enjoy!

153
 DINNER

SOUP

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

3 large carrots C ho p the vegetables into medium size cubes. In a

s au cepan, sauté the chopped onions in coconut oil
1 small sweet potato
o r avocado oil for about 2 minutes, add in the re-
1 tsp of avocado oil or
m ai ning vegetables. Add enough water to cover all
coconut oil t he veggies and add the stock and salt.

1 onion
B ri ng to a boil and then simmer on low for about
1 tsp Vegetable stock paste
30-40 minutes until all the vegetables are very soft
Pink salt/herbamare salt to – p oke with a fork to tell.
taste
Add everything into a blender or use a hand blender
t o get the consistency you like, sometimes I leave
t he potatoes in pieces so it’s a little heartier. Add
p in k salt, and a squeeze of lemon to taste.

156
 DINNER

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 cup of red lentils Chop all vegetables and rinse the lentils with cold
water. In a medium saucepan, heat up 1 tsp of av-
1 potato
ocado oil and then add in the chopped onions un-
2 carrots
til fragrant. Add in the chopped carrots, potatoes
1 onion a nd celery and mix. Add in the rinsed lentils and

2 celery stalks mix.

Vegetable stock
A dd enough vegetable stock (boiling water +
Pink salt p as te) to cover all ingredients, about 3cm over
Lemon t he veggies. Bring to a boil, let simmer for 30
minutes until vegetables and lentils are very soft.
Blend & see if you like the consistency of the soup
– you might want to add more hot water to make
i t thinner. Add salt to taste, I like to use herbam-
a re salt which adds more flavor.

157
 DINNER

SOUP

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

3 large leeks W as h & chop the vegetables. In a saucepan, sau-

t é the chopped veggies in 1 tsp of avocado oil for
1 small potato
about 3 minutes. Add enough water to cover all the
1 tsp Vegetable stock paste
veg gies and add the stock and salt. Bring to a boil
Pink salt & lemon to taste a nd then simmer on low for about 30-40 minutes
u nt il all the vegetables are very soft – poke with a
f or k to tell.

Blend all ingredients or use a hand blender – I make

this one very smooth and creamy!

160
 DINNER

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 Potato ​1. ​Pre heat the oven to 200 C. Chop the potatoes
l en gt h wise into 3-4 slices each and score them on
1 Sweet potato
t he i nsides.
A side of steamed spinach
2 . ​I n a large saucepan, bring some water to a boil
o n t h e stove and add in the potatoes for about 7
minutes. This is to soften them, so they roast better!
D ra i n the vegetables and dispense the water.
3 . ​P lace the potatoes on a baking tray that is lined
with parchment paper, using some avocado oil light-
l y g r ease each piece of potato. Sprinkle the white
p ot a t oes with some paprika and herbamare salt.
S pr i n kle the sweet potatoes with some rose- mary
a nd h erbamare salt (you can use pink salt too)
4 . ​P lace in the oven for 40 minutes until the out-
sides of the potatoes are crispy and golden – some-
t im e s it can be 50 minutes.​
5. ​W hile the potatoes are in the oven and are almost
f in i s hed, chop up 1 shallot and using a large deep
pan heat up 1 tsp of avocado oil and add in the shal-
l ot s and cook until fragrant (option to add in some
minced garlic here if you’d like)
6. Add in about 1/2 a bag of spinach to the pan and
c ov e r for about 2 minutes. S auté the spinach until
i t c o oks down and is wilted and soft, season with
s om e herbamare or pink salt and serve on a plate.
O nc e the potatoes are cooked , remove and serve
n ex t to the bed of spinach, enjoy!​

162
 DINNER DINNER

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

10 pieces Brussel sprouts ​1 . ​P re heat the oven to 200 C. 1 Turnip ​1 . P

​ re heat the oven to 200 C.

1/2 a butternut squash 1 carrot

​2. ​Chop the vegetables into cubes. In a large ​ 2 . ​P eel the sweet potato and then chop all the
1 sweet potato
s au ce pan, bring some wa- ter to a boil on the v eg et ables into cubes. In a large saucepan,
s to ve and add in the cubed veggies for about bring some water to a boil on the stove and add
5-7 minutes. This is to soften them so they roast in the cubed veggies for about 5-7 minutes. This
b et te r! Drain the vegetables and dispense the i s to soften them, so they roast bet- ter! Drain
water. t he v egetables and dispense the water.

​ 3 . ​W ith butternut squash, you want to cut it in ​ 3 . ​L ay the veggies out on a baking tray that is
h al f (carefully), peel the skin, and remove all lined with parchment paper, lightly grease them
the seeds on the inside, and then go ahead and w it h some avocado oil and then sprinkle with
c ut i nto cubes. p in k salt and any herbs of choice. I usually go
f or m ixed herbs for this combination.
​ 4 . ​L ay the veggies out on a baking tray that is
lined with parchment paper, lightly grease them 4 . Ba ke for about 40 minutes, making sure to
w it h some avocado oil and then sprinkle with f li p them over half way through so they cook
some pink salt and any herbs of choice. I usually evenly. They should be quite crispy on the out-
go for mixed herbs for this combination. s id e.​

​5. ​Bake for about 40 minutes, making sure to

f li p them over half way through so they cook
evenly. They should be quite crispy on the out-
s id e.

163 164
 DINNER

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 whole Kabocha squash 1. ​P re heat the oven to 200 C. Slice the squash into
t hi n pieces, it is very firm, please be careful when
(AKA Acorn squash)
d oi n g this. You’ll end up with ring shapes once you
rem ove all the seeds from the inside.

​ 2 . ​ P lace the squash slices in a mixing bowl, add in

a bo u t 2 Tbsp. of avocado oil and mix it all up so
t he y are evenly coated. Sprinkle with a little bit of
p in k salt and any herbs you like. I actually do not
season this type of squash with anything because it
t as t e s so delicious on its own!

3 . S p read the slices out on a baking tray lined with

p ar c h ment paper, bake in the oven for 30-40 min-
u te s until you notice that they are cooked through.
At minute 20 be sure to check on them, and using a
s pa t u la flipping them all over so they cook evenly.
They should be slightly browned on the top.​

166
 DINNER

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 large bag of organic mixed A dd all chopped veggies into a large salad bowl,
mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix
leaves
i n with the salad. Add more of anything if needed!
7 cherry tomatoes halved

1/2 avocado

3-4 radishes halved

Shaved cucumber (use a

vegetable peeler to create

long shaving of cucumber

slices)

1 Spring onion chopped

Optional Red / Yellow bell

peppers chopped

Dressing:

Squeeze of lemon

2 Tbsp. organic apple cider

vinegar

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

168
 DESSERTS

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1/4 cup of pure almond ​1 . ​P re heat the oven to 170 C.

butter (I use pip & nut)

​2 . ​M ix together the al- mond butter, maple syrup,
1/3 cup high grade maple
c oc on ut oil & sugar in a mixing bowl – until it is
syrup w el l combined.
1/4 cup of organic extra
​ 3 . ​A dd in the cocoa powder ​1 /4 ​ cup at a time –
virgin coconut oil
until all is combined. Add in the almond flour and
1/4 cup of coconut sugar m ix well until it has a dough textu re to it. Add in
+ an extra 2 Tbsp. t he o p- tional chocolate chips here.

1/2 cup of blanched

​4 . L
​ ine a square brownie tray with parchment pa-
almond flour (you can
per and pour in the brownie batter and spread out
make this yourself by e ve nl y – option to add a few c hocol ate chips on

placing ½ cup of raw t op h ere. Place in the oven on midd le shelf and
b ake for 2​2 -25​ minutes​ (I f ind t hat 23 minutes is
blanched almonds into a
my nu mber for th ese brown ies)​
food processor until it is

flour-like and very finely 5 . Re move f rom t he oven, and u sing the parch-
m en t paper lift the brown ies o ut of the hot tray
grounded)
c ar e- fully and leave on the c ounter in order for
3/4 cup of raw cocoa
them to cool down. After 20 minutes, using a piz-
powder z a cu tter o r a k nife – sl ice i nto squares.​

1/2 cup of vegan

chocolate chips (optional)

171
 DESSERTS

CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1/4 cup coconut flour ​1 . ​M ake the chia egg in a small dish by adding 1 Tbsp. of chia
s ee ds , and 2.5 Tbsp. of water, mix and set aside to thicken
1 cup almond flour
(about 5-7 minutes)
1 tsp. baking soda ​ 2 . ​I n a mixing bowl, add in the almond and coconut flour,

1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt a lo ng with the baking soda and salt.
3 .​ I n another mixing bowl add the vegan butter & coconut
3/4 cup coconut sugar
sugar until well combined. Add in the vanilla & almond but-
6 Tbsp. pure almond butter ter and chia egg.
​ 4 . ​O nce this is all combined, add in the flour mix and stir
6 Tbsp. vegan butter of
i t we ll. Finally add in the chocolate chips. You will need to
choice (I use avocado or
cover the bowl with cling film and store it in the fridge for a
sunflower butter here) m in im um of 1 hour before baking.
​5 . P
​ re-heat the oven to 175C and using parchment paper, line
1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
2 f lat baking trays. Remove the dough from the fridge, and
1 chia egg u s- i ng a teaspoon scoop one heaping teaspoon of dough

1 cup of vegan chocolate into your hands and form a ball, place on to the baking tray.
Add a few extra chocolate chips on to each ball.
chips
6. M
​ ake sure you space them out well because they go very
wide and flat when baking. Repeat this until one whole tray
i s d o ne, and place in the oven for 12-13 minutes. I always
m ake one batch and see how they turn out, before placing
t he s econd tray in the oven.
​7. ​L ift the paper off of the hot tray, and place on to the
c ou n t er to cool. Allow them to cool on the counter for 20
minutes before scooping them off the paper, to avoid them
b re a k ing apart.

174
 DESSERTS

CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

2 cups gluten free flour (I ​1 . Preheat the oven to 175C.

use Bob’s Redmill – you

​2. ​Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking
can also use oat flour)
p ow de r, salt in a large mixing bowl.
1 cup of coconut sugar

1 tsp baking soda ​ 3 . ​ I n a medium size mixing bowl, add in the co-
c on ut sugar, butter​/coconut oil​, milk, and vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
paste and either beat together by hand or use an
1/2 cup of avocado butter e le ct ric mixer. Comb ine wet into dry bowl, and
(or any vegan butter of m ix w ell. Add in the chocolate ch ips.

choice​, ​y ou can use coco-

​4 . ​L ine a baking tray with parchment paper. Scoop
nut oil, al- though I have
1 Tbsp. of the mixture onto the tray and using your
never tried)​ p al m flatten slightl y. Leave spac e between each

1/4 cup almond/coconut/ scoop, you may need to bake in batches.

oat milk
​5 . ​B ake for 9-11 minutes, I usually take mine out at
Dash of salt minute 10 and let them cool to taste them before
1.5 tsp vanilla paste putting my second batch in the oven.

1 cup of vegan chocolate

chips

175
 DESSERTS

CAKE WITH FROSTING

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

Cake: ​1 . ​P re-heat the oven to 175 C​​. ​P repare a non-stick baking

1 cup of shredded Zucchini tray​. I use a loaf pan for this recipe.​
(medium size) *
1/2 cup coconut milk ​2 .​ Wring out all the water from zucchini making sure it’s a
1/2 cup date syrup / maple firm ball with no juice left in it​.
syrup
1/2 cup almond butter
​3 . Add ​t he zucchini​ to a large bowl along with ​t he ​v anilla,
1 flax egg (1 Flax egg = 1 Tbsp.
a pp l e cid er vinegar, a lmond butt e r, flax egg, syrup , and
flaxseeds + 3 Tbsp. water. Mix
m il k . Onc e well combin ed, add in th e rest of the dr y in-
in a small dish and set aside for
gredients and mix well. Pour the mixture into the ​l oaf tin​
5 minutes until thickened)
o r re gula r cake tin, a nd bake fo r 5 0 minutes.
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp organic apple cider
vinegar ​4. W hile it’s baking in the ove n , a dd all frosting ingre-
1 cup gluten free oat flour or d ie n t s to a blender or food proc e ss o r and blend until
plain gluten free flour s mo o t h. P lace in the f ridge unti l r e ady to use. Let the
1/2 cup raw cocoa powder c ak e cool for about an hour befo r e f rosting it.
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1 tsp baking soda
Frosting:
2 very ripe/soft avocados
1/4 + 2 Tbsp. cup raw cocoa
powder
Large 1/4 cup of maple syrup
1.5 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup almond milk
*Optional topping of extra
vegan chocolate chips

178
 DESSERTS

CAKE WITH BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

Cake:
2 1/4 cups of flour (2 cups ​​1 . ​P re-heat the oven to 175 C.
gluten free flour & 1/4 cup
tapioca starch)
​2. ​Mix together all dry ingredients in a bowl, and
1 tsp baking soda & 3 tsp
baking powder
i n a s eparate bowl mix together the wet ingredi-
1 tsp Himalayan Salt e n t s i ncluding the sug- ar.
3 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup date sugar / coconut sugar
​3 . A d d dry to wet ingredients, and once mixed
1 cup almond or coconut milk
1/2 cup melted coconut oil / t o g et h er fold in the carrots.
melted vegan butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
​ 4 . ​B ake for 35 minutes if you’re making a cake,
1/2 cup applesauce (I normally
buy this from the baby food a n d 2 5 minutes if you’re making muffin size (like
section in the supermarket) i n th e photo)
2 big cups of grated carrots
*Option to add in some broken
up walnuts to the mixture ​5 . ​A dd all frosting ingredients into food processor
Frosting: o r bl e nder, until smooth. Refrigerate the frost-
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. raw soaked
ing for a few hours until it t​ hickens. Let cake cool
cashews (soaked in water
overnight)
f o r 3 0 minutes before frosting . Once the cake is
1/2 cup raw soaked raw f ro ste d, store in the fridge.
macadamia nuts (soaked in
water overnight)
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup maple syrup + 2 Tbsp.
coconut sugar
2.5 Tbsp. coconut oil or vegan
butter
Dash of Himalayan salt
2 tsp vanilla
Squeeze of lemon (around 3-4
tsp)

179
I would like to thank you all for your support and for purchasing my E-book,
i t means so much to me that you have taken the time to read this. I hope
that it has helped you and given you more insight into a plant-based life-
style. Be sure to join our #99PercentPlantbased community on Instagram,
so that I can see all of your recipe posts. If you have any questions regard-
i n g the E-book and need further guidance, are confused about any of the
information that I have provided or you need to substitute an ingredient in
a recipe, feel free to send me a direct email, please find my contact
information below.

As I mentioned, I am not a doctor myself and cannot provide anyone with

s e r ious health issues any medical advice, however I have two wonderful
c o n tacts that you can consult with online. Dr. Isabella Tausz is a special-
ist in naturopathic medicine who helped me through my health issues and
stuck by me for almost two years while I naturally healed. Lana Al Mulla is
a dear friend of mine who is a naturopathic nutritionist and can help advise
you individually should you need further guidance at the end of this book.

Layla Al-Naif
[email protected]
@layla.alnaif

Dr. Isabella Tausz

[email protected]

Lana Al Mulla
[email protected]