Get to know Plant Based Folk - it started in 2017, when my diet changed after learning many things about our food thanks to the influence of a young family member who one day announced they were on a vegan diet. My initial thought was a roll-your-eyeballs “Really?” little did I know there was a whole world of satisfaction off eating only plants. My new “vegan” diet lasted six months and then I loosened up a little. I switched to plant based diet - if I really feel like a certain food - like kafta! I'll have it on the weekends. Some may consider this a flexitarian, I consider it plant based.
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Hi! I am Janelle. I am pumped you’re here. I wear many hats; I’m a Mother, a Wife, a lover of nature, a Cook and the Founder of Plant Based Folk.
I’m a second generation Australian with a Lebanese background living in my birth-town Sydney, Australia. I’ve always loved food; both cooking and eating. As a teen I gained my Diploma in Hospitality Management where I very much enjoyed and thrived in my cooking & recipe classes, I didn't pursue a career in the industry. Fast forward a couple of decades and it's come full circle - I'm embarking on a journey to share my passion for food; getting creative.
In my previous life, I was a Director of a niche specification marketing agency within the architectural building supplier sector for 15 years, as well as an Investor in a start-up (also within the same industry)
I’m a Director in a platform which assists the architecture, design and building sector with professional development.
After 15 years, I decided I needed a change and here I am, pursuing food, which is something I adore.
When I am not in the kitchen, I am in the garden, amongst nature (foraging wild foods - my hubby always shakes his head at me, haha) or taking photos (it’s a new found passion I am learning). I shoot with a Sony a6400* - mostly with my 90mm f2.8 macro lens* and edit my photos with Affinity Photo or Adobe Photoshop.
I’ve dedicated my blog to creating (or recreating) delicious plant based recipes, specialising in vegan Lebanese recipes. When I initially changed my diet, my first thought was I couldn’t eat a lot of Lebanese foods, I have since proved this wrong and have shared many mouth-watering vegan Lebanese recipes such as my popular pearl couscous Lebanese moghrabieh.
Also I am blessed to have a multi-cultural family, my husband is a second generation Armenian, which I am starting to learn their cuisine. So stay tuned for some yummy vegan Armenian recipes.
Whether you’re on a similar diet or not, there’s recipes for everyone here.
I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU SOME INSIGHT AS TO HOW A PLANT BASED DIET HAS HELP ME.
I've thyroid issues.
Feb 2019, was a particularly bad time for me. My symptoms started a couple of years prior, experiencing a huge flair up of 'not-feeling-well' in early 2018 which gradually faded and I was able to resume life with random 'not-feeling-well' symptoms until Feb 2019. I started experiencing chronic fatigue (some nights I'd sleep for 9 hours and wake up feeling as though I hadn't slept an hour) hair loss, brain fog, tinnitus, also feeling poisoned whenever I ate, insomnia and the list goes on.
I saw several types of doctors, only to be told they didn't know what was wrong with me saying it might be 'auto-immune' (this has recently been ruled out). This is particularly hard to accept - the 'not knowing'. My blood test showed my thyroid was experiencing border-line hormonal issues. My doctor advised not to worry about it, at this point my thyroid was slightly bulging. I insisted on undergoing a check-up, which resulted in confirmation I had a couple of decent sized nodules and a goitre.
THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING.
A shift in my mindset meant I was paying closer attention to the foods I put in my body, playing a major role on how this affects my symptoms and my thyroid. A plant based diet is helping me heal a majority of my symptoms. I could rant for a while about this, but let's get on with it, I'd rather not bore you... haha. You get the picture…
Recently, I have adopted cleansing into my life, this has been an amazing process. You can read my experience with cleansing here Advanced 3:6:9 Cleanse Review
WHAT A PLANT BASED DIET MEANS TO ME?
Plant-based meals are paramount to me. They offer high nutritional content and a wide variation in taste. I choose to eat foods that are made up of 99% plants, with a few foods here and there that may not be. I choose 'veganise' my meals. I still cook with/consume oils, (mostly olive oil) and I still do use packaged foods (from time-to-time - I read labels!). There are many types of definitions of what a plant based diet is. Some chose to be on a whole foods plant based, some incorporate a higher percentage of plants over eggs, dairy and meat.
I believe food is a language that all humans share and feel that recipes need be treasured and passed down to each generation, I know with being of Lebanese heritage, lots of traditional food recipes have been lost through the generations. But I am on a mission to learn and adapt recipes to plant based where ever possible. Nothing compares to a home-cooked meal, the entire process is transparent - I know exactly what is going into my meal.
If you have a treasured recipe you’d like to share, please leave me a comment below. I would be honoured to recreate it, share it with the world and of course credit you. If you don’t have a recipe, I would still love to hear from you, even if it’s a simple hello from wherever in the world you are.
I’d like to end by leaving you with my simple go-to recipe of kidney bean stew Lebanese fasolia. It's the meal I can count of for being quick, hearty and delicious.
I hope to get to know you folk, and look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you for stopping by.
Janelle xx
Let’s collaborate
I would love to work with you, whether you’re a brand, fellow food blogger or anything in between. Get in touch so we can get started. Some of the brands I’ve worked with include - San Remo, Pickld and Dhow Nature Foods.
