What does your eating pattern look like?
“Everything I eat is completely plant-based. I am very curious, so I always want to taste everything and try new things. Also, I want to eat as many colors as possible, I try to eat the rainbow every day. My job is to make recipes. Because I eat the recipes I make for work myself, my diet is very varied. If I have to eat the same thing over and over, I get bored. I try never to overcook, because I hate wasting food. In our house, food is never thrown away. Because my work is very busy, I don’t have set meals. Fortunately, my body is used to this, and does not protest against it. My husband and I live completely vegan. Our wedding was also vegan. We didn’t want to celebrate love at the expense of animal lives by using animal products on our wedding day. We then had dinner with our guests at an all you can eat vegan restaurant.”
Are you currently at your target weight?
“Yes. Women are always a bit picky, in our opinion it can always be a few pounds more or less. But I’ve learned to love myself and the way I look. I will no longer love myself if I now lose or gain three kilos. I like being healthy. In addition, I eat very healthy, and therefore do not gain weight.”
How did you achieve this full vegan lifestyle?
“I come from northern Spain. My family had a chain restaurant there, The lifestyle in my opinion was not the best food wise, we ate a lot of meat and fish. My parents did a lot of sports, I inherited that from them. I stopped eating meat when I was 12. I began to realize that that piece of meat came from a living animal. When I was seventeen I started living on my own in Madrid. I wanted to make better food choices and reduce dairy consumption. When I emigrated to the Netherlands, I fell in love with this country. Thirteen years ago I went completely vegan. My energy has soared after going vegan. I could never go back to a life that isn’t vegan.”
Is it difficult to maintain this lifestyle?
“No not at all. Thirteen years ago, searching for what to eat was something for someone who was vegan. You didn’t get much further than tofu and vegetables. Nowadays there is an explosion of vegan products, in all shapes and sizes. You can make so many tasty vegan dishes. My husband and I are super culinary and love good food. Every day we are very careful in looking for variation in our dishes.”
How do you view smoking and drinking alcohol?
“My husband and I do not drink alcohol. Not because it’s not allowed, but because we don’t think it’s necessary. We also did not serve alcohol at our wedding. Instead of alcohol, the guests were served ginger shots and cold rose tea in a champagne glass. Smoking is really a sin. You throw your health away on a product that you know is unhealthy. I understand that people go through difficult moments, and that they sometimes want to escape through alcohol and smoking. But before you know it you are addicted. I myself have never smoked, because I love my lungs.”
Do you use medicines or nutritional supplements?
“No, I did when I had just gone vegan. But the animals I see in nature are super healthy, and you don’t see them in the drugstore buying nutritional supplements. If you eat enough fruit and know how to properly prepare your food, you don’t need nutritional supplements. When I go to the doctor to test my blood, my readings are perfect. So it turns out I don’t need anything extra.”
What is your golden tip for a healthy life?
“Being positive is the most important thing. Food is important, but if you’re not happy, your body will react to it too. So look for what makes you happy. Dare to do things to be happy and do what you really like. Find a purpose in your life with which you can make a difference to society. And honor your body, that is your temple.”
What is your greatest sin?
“Chips! That is the greatest sin of mine and my husband. I know it’s not healthy, but if the fries are deep-fried in vegetable oil, it’s healthier again. We try not to eat it too often. And chocolate, I really can’t live without it. Once a month my body screams for chocolate.”
How often do you exercise and what do you do?
“I go to a nice sports club several times a week. Luckily there is a salt water pool there, so I swim a lot. I also do water aerobics and yoga. My husband and I live close to nature and walk a lot. I often do this barefoot, because it is very nice to have contact with the earth without shoes.”
Advice Nutrition Center
Spokesperson Anne Lutgerink of the Nutrition Center says the following about a vegan diet:
“If you choose a vegan diet, you don’t take any animal products at all. When you first follow a 100 percent plant-based diet, a dietitian can help you choose good substitutes that suit your individual needs. When you start with a vegan diet, it is good to make sure that you get enough protein, iron, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B12 and calcium. For example, vitamin B12 is only found in animal products, so we recommend taking vitamin B12 if you do not eat any animal products at all. The body can produce vitamin D under the influence of sunlight, but vitamin D is also found in food, especially in oily fish and with lower levels in meat and eggs, but it is also added to low-fat margarine, margarine, baked goods and some plant-based dairy substitutes. . It can therefore be useful to take vitamin D with a vegan diet.
Eating more plant-based and less animal-based foods is good for your health and the environment. It lowers your blood pressure and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. The vast majority of the Netherlands eats too much meat. The advice is not to eat more than 500 grams per week, but the average man quickly reaches 800 grams per week, and that while eating a lot of meat can increase the risk of colon cancer and type 2 diabetes. This mainly concerns too much red and processed meat, such as hamburgers, cold cuts and sausages. You can also eat healthy without meat if you replace meat with legumes, unsalted nuts, tofu or tempeh, for example. Do you omit all animal products? That too can be complete with supplementation of vitamin B12, but know what you are doing, choose full-fledged substitutes and eat a varied diet, so that you do not build up deficiencies. There are many plant-based alternatives to dairy today. Choose an alternative with enough protein, such as a soy drink, which also has calcium and vitamin B12 added.”
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