Although I love cooking healthy dishes, I would not say I’m a particularly good cook. Never have been. For years, regular cooking didn’t interest me at all. Perhaps it was due to never really learning it in the first place. Growing up, my mother went through a very long vegetarian phase which in those days meant beetroot burgers, sunflower seed butter and wholemeal bread which crumbled by the lightest touch. Squash and cakes were not really things we had at home as she was concerned about the effects sugar had on the system. Talk about being a pioneer – this was in the seventies!  Her German upbringing during the war had hardened her eating habits into near ascetic levels, meaning that the Swedish ‘fika’ culture (where you drink coffee/squash and eat buns) was alien to her.  At the time I hated it as I wanted to eat like ‘regular’ kids but today I’s so grateful. She embedded a seed in me about the importance of healthy eating that I am now carrying onwards. My natural setting is on healthy – not sweet.

When I became interested in my health and started to eat like I meant it, everything changed. I have SO much more energy these days, hardly ever get sick and I feel much lighter, both inside and out. And the reason I write about food and health is that I’d love others to feel healthy too. To kick overweight, colds, lethargy, poor digestion and mood swings out of our lives. It takes a bit of determination but anyone can introduce more plant based food into their diet without too much effort. The era of beetroot burgers has past – unless that is your favorite veg food of course.

Which leads me on to my upcoming GreenSwede dinner which I’m so excited about. I’m having good friends around to mine for a Green Dinner Party. Yes, only plant based food is on the menu – plus Prosecco 🙂 It will be lovely to have others come and (hopefully) enjoy veggies in a variety of ways in a dinner party setting. There will be soups and curries, salads and cakes and all of it vegan – apart from a bit of naughty feta cheese. People have asked me what to eat in social situations when you are trying to stay clear of meat, dairy and wheat so this will be a great test. I promise I will report back with full menu and recipes – can’t wait for us all to gather around and tuck in. Happy Wednesday evening to your all. x