Eating healthy food can be hard, and it can be even harder if you’re trying to juggle cooking and eating right with long work hours, a hefty gym schedule, or a family you have to look after! So how can you ensure you’re eating a balanced diet with plenty of variety, without having to spend hours looking for recipes or learning to cook nutritious and tasty meals? Well the answer is here now! Stefanie McLeod is a self-taught cook catering to anyone looking to get in shape, eat better, or who just doesn’t have the time (or skill) to cook for themselves. We met Stephanie to get a look at her beautiful food and see where her passion for healthy food started!
Casa London: When did you get into cooking and healthy eating?
Stefanie: I got into cooking really healthy meals when I had gastric bypass surgery, so I was kind of forced to find healthier ways to eat because my body couldn’t eat the things I wanted it to anymore. That’s when I started making up my own recipes and experimenting. I would just cook for friend’s who came over, and the reception was really great, so I realised “wow I could really do this for a living”. I also wanted to inspire people who had been in similar situations to me before I had that surgery, because I had been over-weight my whole life. So I know it is very hard to eat healthy without eating bland food, that’s why people don’t like to eat healthy food, there is a real stigma to it! But there doesn’t have to be; I think the whole view of healthy eating is changing right now.
Casa London: Why do you think that is?
Stefanie: Part of it is the fact that you can go online and get a crazy amount of recipes. Pinterest is amazing, I can spend hours on their just looking through recipes. Then I will take them and I’ll tweak them – I can take a pretty simple recipe and make it really really sofisticated!
Casa London: When you say that do you mean healthier? Tastier?
Stefanie: Healthier and more well rounded! For example if I see a flatbread pizza, I’ll not make it with dough, I’ll make a cauliflower crust.
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