Plant Based Eating - Is It Really Good For You? (Ep 16)

We welcome Becks from The Mindful Kitchen, where her mission is to empower others to deepen their connection to food. She bridges the gap between ancient wisdom and everyday nourishment. 

And a subject everyone loves to talk about, food and maybe you are inquisitive about plant based or eating more plants or perhaps you already eat this way and want to hear from a professional chef how to up your cooking game.

If you would like to try Sarah's latest upskilled cooking you can do that either at our day retreat for Lions Gate in August or our weekend retreat in Glastonbury in September. Check out the details here: 

https://www.holistichealthcollective.co.uk/retreats/

You can check out Becks and here offerings here on her website: 

https://www.the-mindful-kitchen.co.uk

Or here on Instagram if you prefer 

https://www.instagram.com/_themindfulkitchen_

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Transcript

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Yes. Welcome to the Holistic Health Sisters podcast of Wellness and Real Life Sisters Hannah Carr and Sarah King from the Holistic Health Collective. In this podcast, we're going to be sharing our passion for, of course, holistic health, but also spirituality, healings, hormone, plant medicine, seasonal living, our love of nature, and our love of community. So we are gonna invite you to take a pause and take a nice deep breath. And join us on a path of healing, of self-discovery and self-love, and of stepping into the brilliance of who you really are. This is a podcast for the seekers out there. Those of you who know there's more to life than just surviving or going through the motions, and you want more, more health, wealth, happiness, love, compassion, connection, trust, surrender, and more faith, and you want that for others too. So we can make this world a better place for us all to go and grab a cup of ceremonial grade cacao and join us as we explore what moves through us, that which is divinely led, so we can all move from fear to walls, more faith. Thank you so much for being here with us today. So really warm. Welcome to the podcast. I'm really excited. We've got a wonderful guest on. And today's guest is someone who works beautifully, bridges the ancient wisdom and everyday nourishment. She's the founder of The Mindful Kitchen, where her mission is to empower others to deepen their connection to food. Nature and self and to rediscover the joy of cooking with plants. So we've got the wonderful Becks from the Mindful Kitchen here, and she offers personalized Ayurvedic consultations, seasonal cleanses, immersive retreats, and professional trainings, And she guides people towards a more vibrant, grounded, and fulfilling way of living. welcome Becks to the podcast. Oh, thank you so much for having me, Sarah. It's great to have you here. And a subject everyone loves to talk about, right? Food or most people, hopefully. I think it's quite common ground for all of us, isn't it? Absolutely. And so I wanted to actually ask you what have you eaten today or what are you planning to eat? Okay I went to an exercise class this morning. So I had some stewed apple before the class. About an hour before that was just because I was up feeling a little bit hungry, but I didn't wanna overload my digestion, so I just had some nice warm stewed apple and spices. Really good for cleansing the body actually, first thing in the morning. And then I did my class and I came back and I just had a warm, porridge with some spices in it and some raisins, pew nuts on the top. Quite simple food. I always like to start the day. Quite simple. Yeah. Be and I bet it looked a delight to the eyes. Start by saying, Beck's changed my life with food, obviously for the better. Not only the taste of it, but it is pure medicine, I would say the food that you, have taught me to cook and that you've, placed in front of me on retreats as well. Yeah. So do go and check out Beck's Instagram, which is just a library of. Beautiful, curated food. But I wondered if you could tell us a little bit more about, for those that might be completely new to that word, Aveda, how could you describe it in simple terms? Sure. So Ayurveda is it loosely translates to the knowledge of life. It's a Sanskrit term, so this has been around for around 5,000 years. It's a healing system, a very holistic healing system. It's actually the oldest healing system in the world. So it evolved alongside yoga and really the two were meant to be practiced hand in hand. And obviously, of course, most people know what yoga is, and that's become very popular in the west. But not so many people know about ayda. And really ayda is like the foundation for everything. So it looks at the health of the body, in a holistic way. So with the mind, the body, the spirit, the emotions, everything. Everything that we consume in our environment is also food and nourishment. it looks to that as well as what we put in our bodies, from a food perspective. And it's very ancient wisdom, but a lot of The principles can be applied to modern day, so the principles are really unchanging. It talks about things like increases and opposites create balance. For example, if you are feeling cold or you have a cold, then to put cold things into your body would obviously increase that, cold property and make the imbalance worse. So what we would do instead is have warming fuse warmth. Bringing in that warming quality. So really it's quite intuitive knowledge. It is actually a very complex system. once you start delving into Ida, it is an endless. Pool of knowledge. But really it's about that basic intuition, that intuitive way of being, the fact that we're all very individual, that we all require different things at different times. That we are, nature. We are part of nature and therefore we can look to nature for guidance about how to nourish ourselves. And of course, nature is changeable as well. And so are we. So really tuning into what we need on a daily basis, what we need on a seasonal basis, that might be different from the next person. Wow. There was so much there that I could go into. But I think particularly that picking up on, you said it is very intuitive and totally when you say it like that, if it's cold, if the weather's cold, try not to put cold things in the body. Otherwise it's gonna increase that. to away from our natural intuition and we've we get into rhythms and patterns that might not necessarily serve us, but we might have seen on social media or heard friends say, oh, this thing's really working for me. You should try this thing and it might help your help. And we try tend to blindly follow this advice sometimes without stopping and tuning in. So I love that. But you said it's intuitive and when you were speaking about your breath. I think it's nice to give context to say it's the last day of April. Wow. I know. Yeah. In spring now for good. Aren't we really? We finally together and, and your breakfast was really seasonal and what you've taught me is that like we'll have that shift every sort of eight to 12 weeks. We should be thinking about changing. So if you are a person that has por porridge for breakfast every day of the year. Could still do that, but you might wanna add different elements into we, nature, we are the elements and. Yeah, that's so true. And I think as well, we're in a time at the moment, which is what's known in I vda as kafa season, which is the shift from, we've come out of winter in spring. There's a lot of stirring up of the energy because nature's coming alive and the same thing's happening within our bodies. So what can happen is we can get a bit of stagnance. In our system because things are starting to melt and the toxins are starting to be released. So we really need to help that process along. But having said that it's very much based on what you know, today is a beautiful, glorious, sunny day. It's probably about 20 plus degrees, which is actually quite a pitter quality in Ayurveda that more of that fire, that heat. So whilst, we're in kafa season, different days can create different environments and we need to respond to that as well. So for me today, for the rest of the day, I'm gonna be focusing a bit more on the cooling, especially around lunchtime, when the sun's the highest in the sky, more cooling things still warm, cooked foods that are easy to digest, but using cooling ingredients like mint and coriander, cucumber, those kind of, ingredients as well. Just balancing really what's happening in the environment. Yeah, it's like a dance, isn't it? So you mentioned Peter and you mentioned Kapha. So for anyone that doesn't understand those words, would you be able to explain a little bit more about the dos? Sure. So in Ayurveda, we talk about everything from an elemental perspective. So everything in the universe is made up of the five elements, water, earth, fire, ether, and air. So ether is space. And because of that, we are all born with different variations, varying amounts of these elements. And they form these sort of different constitutions. So we tend to be one or more dominant in one or more of these constitutions. So there are three, constitutions that Ayurveda talks about, and these are known as doshas. So we have the Vata, the Pitta, and the Kapha. And the Vata is comprised of the. Ether and the air elements. So if you think about what the qualities of air and Ether are, there's a lot of movement. They're quite cold. They're all up here, really, there's no grounding to them. So if you ask someone who is. born with more Vata, then you are probably someone that would need more grounding foods to balance you out. So more sweet, earthy foods and that will help to balance the air elements. And then with the pita, Pitta is the quality of transformation of fire, of heat in the body. So Pitzer, is made up of comprised of the fire and the water. Elements. And so with that, the nature of fire, very heating, if you're a fiery person, you might be very driven, you might be very ambitious, but you might be prone more towards the anger and the frustration or the jealousy emotions as well. So to balance that, it's more cooling practices, more cooling foods. Herbs, those kind of things that will bring that fire back into balance so that the fire doesn't just burn through the body and, eat all your tissues. And then the Kapha is, the earth and the water elements. So more on the sort of heavy side, but can very ground, very grounded, compassionate. It has this cohesive quality that we see in emotions like love and, compassion. But if you have too much KA or your Kapha is a bit out in balance, then you can maybe become a little bit attached or a bit lethargic, maybe a bit overweight. So we see that, as well that ka I balance and to balance that, obviously you need more of the lighter, more penetrating foods to balance that out. So it's really great to get an understanding of. Your individual constitution, what you tend to be prone towards, because then you can use diet and lifestyle to balance that. And I saw on your website that you offer a dosha quiz, so would that be a good way for somebody to find out their dosha? Yeah, it is a very basic dosha quiz. It's a really great way to just get an insight into where you might. Potentially be, but I would definitely recommend if you really want to understand your, unique constitution that you work with an Ayurvedic practitioner. And I can offer one-to-ones as well, along that basis because it's quite an in-depth thing, but you can definitely get an idea from the quizzes online, as a starting point. Yeah, I think it's nice to dip your toe in and start get to familiar with the words and the qualities and then if you find this is a good lens to look through for your health if you enjoy that, because there's lots of different lenses we can take. And this one really appeals to me at the moment, is understanding your uniqueness, but also that will all something bigger as yoga recognizes unity and union. When Becks was teaching me about Ayurveda that we are, we have our own constitution individually, but this changes throughout life, stages throughout the seasons as well. And so it really asked us to be conscious, very awake to ourselves and our needs, and to be fluid in that as well. I think having that presence. With yourself because there's so much conflicting information out there. You know what you're saying? There's all sorts of different paths you can follow for your health, but really it's about understanding you and your unique nature and what you need, and that does require that presence and that conscious awareness. And everybody knows your body better than you. Even though sometimes we get super busy and we may have had a health flare up and it's been there for a few months and we go to the GP and they say, how long have you been experiencing this? And suddenly we think, oh, I don't know, maybe a few weeks. And it actually, perhaps it's been more, more like a year The way that we have, we always thank the NHS in the uk. Without it, who knows what kind of even more of an existential crisis that we would be in. But I think the reason that this eastern medicine as lasted the test of time is because it really does recognize us, as this not one. Size fits all approach. It really asks you to tune inwards. So I think everybody should, honor your uniqueness and your individuality and celebrate that as well, and know that you are changeable. Hundred percent. Yeah. And so you teach that through, the Mindful Kitchen. You, now just created an incredible training course. Would you just take us back a little bit through your career and how you got into this festival and where you're at now? Sure. So I think I went, I think it was about nine years ago now that I actually turned to a vegan diet. Originally it was really about fueling my body, right? Because I was doing a bit of exercise at the time and I wanted to have those health benefits, but it opened up a whole world because at that time there wasn't really that many plant-based options around. So I was cooking everything from scratch, and I was just getting so excited by all of the different things that you could do with plants and just the creativity of that. And then also, of course. I was feeling a lot more vibrant in myself, a lot more energized. And also I think it really helped to build that compassion as well. And that connection with nature and the connection with others and the connection with myself, it really helped to build, that sort of feeling within me. So I was just really excited by the whole, the whole process of plant-based food, and I really wanted to share that with others. So originally, the Mindful Kitchen, it started as a recipe blog and I started creating healthy treats and selling them on market stores across Manchester. And then what were you making, tell us what treats you were making It was mostly things like energy balls, so like different flavored energy balls, raw treats, using like nuts and seeds and dates and basically just all natural ingredients. So we weren't using Any dairy or gluten or refined sugar. And that was quite a big thing at the time'cause there wasn't really much awareness about that or, people would struggle to get things. So I think it really, appeals to people, especially people who have dietary allergies, things like, gluten intolerance, which is becoming more and more prevalent. Having these options was really valuable to people. I then started to work with yoga teachers from my local studio. They started to ask me to cater for their retreats. So this all happened very organically. I was working in a different industry. I was working in the arts as a fundraiser, in my main job. And then I was just following this passion for food and health alongside. And I started catering for retreats, and that became the main focus of the mindful kitchen. So bringing this plant-based cuisine to people who were practicing yoga in a retreat setting. And then over time, my journey has evolved as well in terms of I studied, healing diets with the School of Natural Medicine, and that really opened me up to Ayurveda. It's where I first heard about Ayurveda and it just struck. Just struck me in my heart really that, this is, this makes so much sense. And it was in terms of the diet as well, I was, even though I'd returned vegan, I was still experiencing some health issues and I couldn't quite figure out why. And, I was eating all the things that you would think would be. Super healthy, salads and, just lots of light foods. But I didn't realize that I was actually causing imbalance in my body by not thinking about all of the different qualities of the food. I started studying Ayurveda as a result of that, and I've been really weaving those Ayurvedic principles into a plant-based diet ever since. And so now I'm at this point where I've been working on retreats for. About seven years and I really wanted to share that knowledge with others. So I set up the retreat chef training program, and this has really been a place for me to share the Ayurvedic principles and how to implement those into a plant-based diet that works for a modern day, audience as well and for modern day live. Congratulations. I've just gone through the first cohort and in April we finished on retreat in, Yorkshire in a beautiful location and there was something that happened when we all cooked together and we'd all been on that journey it is transformational and it is life changing and we go out and we are in our own kitchens and we're feeding other people. And the results that I'm getting are people are eating the food and they're going, what have you done to this food? It just tastes incredible. And these are, meat eaters. These are people that are plate plant based. They're not vegan. And this is the most surprising thing, I think, when you pour your love into the food, when you create a meal with the six tastes, which maybe we should touch on, and you balance everything out that people, so not only just satisfied, they're absolutely delighted by the food. So perhaps we've got people listening that have heard how healthy plant-based can be, or perhaps they've heard, oh, it's unsustainable for a long period of time. Especially for women perhaps going through the time of the perimenopause or the menopause, and they're showing a lot of symptoms around fatigue blood loss and unpredictable cycles, and they might be really interested in bringing more plant-based in, or balancing it out with some of their health symptoms. Should we maybe talk about the six tastes and how we can balance a meal and how it could really work for, a modern day woman or modern day human? Sure. Yeah. So with, the six tastes, when we do the retreat chef training, as Sarah, we really look at how to balance a meal, not just from a protein, carbohydrates and fat perspective, but also from a taste perspective.'cause as per ida, the six tastes are, what creates. Those nutrients in the body that support our tissues, that build our tissues, and that allow all of the systems to thrive. So the six taste is sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, and as stringent. And you can find them across, all of the plant-based foods. You can find all of these tastes when we include the six tastes in our meals, either in one meal or throughout the day, Cravings really because we're, getting everything that we need. And I think what can happen is we can lean a bit towards the sweet, salty, sour taste and not have so much of the bitter, pungent and astringent, and then we just never feel satisfied. We always need more food. We don't ever feel that sense of completion. And I'm sure you've experienced this Sarah as well on the course when we have created those meals with the six tastes. You just feel so full and satisfied in all of the ways without feeling overburdened as well. The body doesn't feel overburdened. So this is what we try and bring in, to the retreat chef training and onto retreats because it helps people to go away feeling really satisfied, really full, really nourished from a holistic, perspective as well. Yeah. Thank you for going into that. And I think you touched in as well, what sometimes when people are thinking about going on a wellness retreat, it is an emotional thing eating, and they do get worried that they might feel hungry, that they might be deprived. Actually, on my first yoga retreat that I went to, I filled my bag with a couple of chocolate bars and felt the need to sneak down to the end of the garden and eat one. But actually I wasn't tuning in. I was very satisfied with the food that I was eating. And probably that was from an emotional hangover from a long time ago. And so I think it's important to say to people that are coming on retreats with a professional chef that's trained in nutrition and Ayurveda, you are gonna be more than satisfied. And what would you say some of the favorite meals are that people say that they eat on retreat with you? Some of your, most popular dishes. So one of the things that people always go away talking about is the almond cheese. So we make this homemade almond cheese. It's very simple process really, isn't it, Sarah? But it's, I think because people always think they're gonna miss the dairy and miss the, they panic a bit, really. the almond cheese always wins people over because it provides that. Satisfaction and also having things like we always add things like pickles or, things that can really elevate food and add lots of flavor. I think people really appreciate that variety. And having all of the different colors and the different things. And one of the things people often say after my retreats is that they felt. Full, but they didn't feel over full and that actually the quantity was perfect. So sometimes we have this tendency to want to overeat. But actually, by including the six tastes and having, a variety of meals on a retreat, people often come away. Feeling really satisfied and they think, oh, I didn't, I don't actually need as much as I thought I did. So yeah, the almond cheese, always the treats as well. We often do things like stuffed dates with, we, we made an almond and orange butter and we fill the dates with that and we cover them with chocolate people always go wild for those. Just having treats that are not completely laid in with sugar and dairy and gluten as well, I think is real. It's really insightful for people.'cause it, you often don't think, or you don't feel like you're eating a treat unless you have those things. To have that satisfaction from the sweet taste without all of the sort of stuff that clogs us up, can really benefit people. I think. Absolutely. And so you are not only never go hungry, but there'll always be a sweet treat on retreat with either Becks or myself or any of your first cohort chefs. So tell us a bit more about the structure of the course, if people are interested and when they can join the next one. So the next course starts on the 31st of August. We've just finished the first program. It's a three month program, and it's a mixture of online workshops. Live workshops, and e-learning videos as well. And then we also have an in-person retreat. So we have six live online days where we spend, the full day together on Sundays, every other Sunday. And we will cook different recipes. We'll also do some the, so we try to balance it really between a mix of. The Ayurveda theory, the practicalities of retreat, catering and what that actually looks like in reality. And then also just getting creative in the kitchen and cooking together. And it's just been such a lovely experience, hasn't it? With, spending that Sunday together in the kitchen with a group of like-minded people and just cooking up beautiful dishes and seeing as well how everybody adds their own spin to the dishes as well. We all share photos in our. Community WhatsApp group as well. And we, I think over the course we've really built, that real strong sense of community between us and there's been a real sense of support. So by the time it comes to, the retreat weekend, which we've just had this month, everybody feels like they know each other a little bit It was just such a lovely experience, wasn't it, to get together in person And on the retreat weekend, you have the opportunity as well to actually cook some of the food that you've learned. So you'll have a project to create a menu for a season of your choice, and then you will choose one of the dishes, to create on retreat. So you have that practical. Experience of actually being in a retreat setting and cooking for a group of people. Which I think is really valuable because you just learn so much more from the actual experience of doing it. I know there is things around, things like timings, things like that can only really be learned from doing. So having that chance to do that before you go off and become a retreat chef, I think is really valuable. the next program starts on 31st August, and it runs until the end of November and it's the same format. So we have the six live sessions, e-learning videos to do in your own time, and then the retreat weekend at the end. Yeah, it's such a beautiful structure. This is 2025. If, anyone's listened this way in the future, Bex will hopefully be on cohort six or something by then. But it's a great format'cause you get to learn how to cook in your own kitchen, which is obviously something so valuable you're doing all the time. And then you're working in that live environment where there's a bit of time pressure, there's other people around, you're in a kitchen where you're not familiar with the utensils or, the equipment. you are building so many skills, within that. I was quite nervous and a little bit unsure, but when you've done it, you can feel a real sense of achievement and you can feel really proud about what you've done. And with the work that I teach a lot of, trauma informed somatic care, I look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs and your basic needs like food and shelter. We are the way that modern day farming is and the time pressure on us. Because of work, we are being challenged with our food. We are not really always getting the nutrients we need. through this course I've been really able to look into some of that self energy, which is that creative side of it, and just the way that you present the food and elevating it with certain sprinkles or flowers that are adding even more nutrients. I could really speak to this, helping to have a clearer mind and more vitality and more vibrancy, but also that, like you mentioned, the community, I just think the era of self-healing on your own is over and that doing it as a community Is amplifying the experience so much. So we've got like a sisterhood circle now, which is great because we're all food is, we love talking about food sharing, food pictures, and I think a few of us messaged to say, oh, I feel a bit lost now it's over. And there was such a sense of connection there. And so I think when you dip your toe into ado you really unlock such a big healing potential within you. And I think it's important to come with that beginner's mindset.'cause it, like you said, it's a big subject and you can only digest a little bit at a time. So it's something that you are a walking embodiment of. You are living it every day And it's taken your life and your business somewhere. I'm sure you could imagine 10 years ago, gosh, no, I had no vision. This just happened really. And I've just followed that flow. And I think that's, that's. Part of the Ayurvedic way of living as well is really just to flow and evolve in that natural way. And like you've said before, tuning into that presence and that conscious awareness of what you need. And I think the brilliant thing about the training program is, like you say, being in a group setting, it can really hold you accountable to yourself as well. So you can learn things along the way, but you've got that structure For the three months where you are, experimenting with new recipes, thinking about how you can bring in those qualities, those Ayurvedic principles, how you can make things more digestion friendly And then the same with this work really as a retreat chef, because you are always thinking about menus and creating food for others, it feeds you as well. It feeds how you live your life and how you create food for yourself and how you nourish yourself. Absolutely. And I think it'd be really nice just to speak about the environmental impact of eating more seasonally. Which, again, like a few decades ago, I wouldn't have had a clue, eating. Frozen fruits in the dead of winter really was aggravating my vata and my mental health was not in a good place. But also when we're eating out of season, eating avocados or strawberries all year round, there is, a negative side effect on the environment. So how does Aveda, support that more environmentally friendly way of living? Ayurveda is very much about that connection with nature and, within that it, really takes into account the environment because it's very much about eating seasonal, unprocessed foods that are from the earth that are local to us. there are other ways of making like guacamoles and things using peas or ettes or things that are more seasonal, for us that you can get really creative with what's available locally. in Ayurveda we really focus on this concept of ahimsa, which is around non-violence, towards all living things. And that also includes nature, includes each other as well. by adopting that principle of ahimsa, we are not necessarily saying, you have to be strict vegan all of the time. Because vegan has different connotations you could be eating lots of junk food from the supermarket that's been processed that hasn't been, created in an environmentally friendly way, but it is really thinking about what impact we're having on our surroundings, on our environment, on nature. So that could be, maybe having. A little bit of meat or dairy or animal products every so often, but where has that food come from? How has that animal been treated? How are you connecting with that? Are you just, shoveling meat down every day or are you thinking actually medicinally right now? I feel like I really need. This product and I'm gonna respect the animal by making sure I support a good farm. Those sort of things as well. But really that ahimsa does encourage us to move more towards that plant-based diet where the majority of what we eat is locally sourced, plant-based, seasonal produce. Yeah. And so the amazing side effects not only the environment, but. For your wallet as well.'cause if you're eating what's in season, it hasn't got the carbon footprint, it hasn't got the air miles there. So it should be, more locally grown, it should be more affordable. And I think it's worth mentioning protein a lot because when I say I am plant-based or I eat more vegan than any other way, people always say, what about protein? I'm sure many vegans will roll their eyes at this one because I find vegan, you do need to think about it, but it is so readily available for a plant-based diet. Would you agree? Yeah, absolutely. There's a huge amount of plant-based proteins that are so nourishing for us. We just have to know a little bit about how to cook them in a way that is absorbable to our body. It is easier to get, like iron and certain nutrients from meat, but then you have a whole load of other side effects when you go down that road. Whereas with plant-based food, if you cook it in the right way. You can really absorb those nutrients really well. So plant-based proteins include things like, lentils, nuts, seeds, and beans, legumes. There's, quinoa is a brilliant one as well. The priority really is about how you digest your food. So when we're cooking with things like lentils and beans, we soak them and we wash them properly and we cook them from scratch. that. makes it more absorbable. And also by adding spices to food as well, it makes the protein more easy to digest. So thinking about how we actually pair ingredients can really help as well. for example, if I'm making a soup. I will always add in like some soaked, lentils or some soaked seeds or, some sort of protein, even just cooked. Quinoa can go in there and I'll blend that into the soup so it becomes a more substantial meal and you're making sure that you're getting all of your. Needs met. It can be easy to forgo the proteins a little bit, but if you are just making sure that you are adding things to each meal, we've made things like sprinkles on the course as well where you have like little nut and seed sprinkles for meals. Just by adding these little things to your meal, you absolutely will get your protein needs met. I think we're in a bit of a world where proteins like the buzzword Everybody's worried about protein, but if you eat a balanced diet, you get your protein needs met. Absolutely. anything in excess is gonna cause imbalance. So whilst you do need your protein, you also need your balance of carbs and fat and vegetables and fruits, and it's just all about moderation. And having that balance of everything, you can get that so well on a plant-based diet. Yeah, and things like eating smarter and, I help a lot of women through the perimenopause years, and it's about having that protein in the morning, which will really sustain your energy rather than snacking all day long, eating carbs. And then. Really feeling hangry and feeling those blood sugar changes and then, really those cravings are kicking in because you are depriving yourself. So things like protein in the morning can be really sustainable for your energy. And Beck's mentioned about, looking at digesting your food in the right way, which we called, acne and Avida, Agni, the Digestive Fire, and, in yoga, we recognize that as well around the solar plexus energy affecting your confidence in your willpower and your ambition. So it's a really powerful center within the body. so many people have got digestive issues. IBS is so common, bloating. And just general discomfort in that area. you share some really simple techniques, certain spices and herbs, and even a bit of circadian eating, when to eat your heavier meals and things like that will have a really big effect. this knowledge. Is quite intuitive like Beck shared. It's just that we tend to follow a structure that might fit in and around work. So this is really just an invitation for you to be a bit more creative and think outside the box and think in a way that works for you as well. And I often hear, people that come on retreat. They eat plant-based for the whole weekend or for the days that they're with us and they say, I really wish I could eat this way at home, but I can't because of my family. So if you've got any suggestions or advice on maybe how just to adapt or make it more family friendly, if you are thinking of going plant-based and you think my teenager's definitely not gonna get on board with that. I think having like a base meal that you can then add different things to. Certain people will eat different things, and will like different things in your family and you might all have different constitutions as well and you might be dealing with different imbalances. But if you can have a base meal, like a soup or a stew that is good for everybody and then you can add things to that. That sort of thing, or making different things that you can build bowls with. So having your, roasted vegetables, your cooked beans, cooked lentils, things that you can create a dish from. Having different dressings, different dips made up if you can create some time to actually batch, make things, then you can add different things to different meals, and it just makes it so much simpler. Especially when you're cooking for lots of different people to have those different options available. Absolutely. And I think that we should, all be eaten slightly differently. Yeah. Because we all have such a unique body and we've all got different health conditions going on as well. So just like Bec said, simplify it. Make a main dish. Or have all the builders, and then you just make your plate how you want it, and then everyone gets to be satisfied and happy and balance their own health as well. So thanks for that. That's, amazing advice. So where can people find you if they want to find out more about Aveda or working with you on retreat or coming to do your chef training? So I'm on Instagram and I am the Mindful Kitchen, so it's at Under the Mindful Kitchen underscore. I do a lot mostly on Instagram and then that feeds through to Facebook as well. So Facebook is the Mindful Kitchen with Becks. And then I have my website as well, www dot. The dash Mindful Kitchen do co.uk. And I'm available on email, so if you go to my website you'll be able to find my contact Detailss on there. And just please reach out if you've got any questions about Ayurveda, about the training course or any other, questions about food. I'm always happy to. Talk things through. the next course, as I say, is coming up, so if you are interested in that, then I'm happy to have a chat about that and just explain a little bit more about what it entails and answer any questions that you might have as well. Thank you so much for creating the Mindful Kitchen and creating the course. Look forward to taking my plant-based knowledge out into the world and sharing it with my community. So thanks for cooking me amazing food and, helping me to be part of your ripple effect. Aw, thank you for having me and thank you for. Just giving your full self to the course. I really, it was amazing to watch that journey for you and I just can't wait to see what happens next. Thank you. And I'd love to share, it really stared something deep inside me because as I mentioned to you, when I landed in Yorkshire from Kent and I had quite emotions stare up in me and I thought, oh, I'm doing this because, I wanna cook better and I wanna, cook for others and it to be really tasty. But for me, I realized actually this connection to. Animals. A lot of us say we're pet lovers or animal lovers. And I'm not saying become fully vegan or become fully plant-based, if that's not for you. But we do need to think about the treatment of animals. With modern day farming, it is really quite stressful on the animals, which then goes into your own body. And like Arabic teachers, we're all connected. We are all the, elements. And so it stirred up inside me how important it is. The plant based concept of your course. So yeah it's been, it's, stirs something up in my heart. So huge. Thank you. And we look forward to, catching you on your stories and following you on Instagram. Thank you so much.