The True You Diet - Jyotish Patel

Jyotish Patel

Jyotish Patel

I love food! From my early years growing up in Africa in an Indian family good home cooked food which consisted dishes from goat’s meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, grains, lentils and pulses was a way to bring together family, friends and community. Meal times were a time of laughter and celebration and to cook for yourself and another was an honour and joy. Although it was my sisters who had the privilege of being taught by my mother how to cook from a very early age, I recall hanging out in the kitchen whenever I could. The men would relish assisting the women at weddings and community celebrations which was my first exposure to pure vegetarian food, where cooking for couple of thousand people was made to look as easy as preparing a Pot Noodle! I loved the colours of the spices, the different smells and the feeling of creating something together and to this day I still have that association with food.

At the age of 25 I travelled to India for the first time and spent six months travelling. It changed my life in many ways but one significant change was it was there I became vegetarian. It happened by chance, whilst I enjoyed the delicacies and styles of the different states and regions, meat wasn’t always on the menu. This was because refrigeration wasn’t always available so there was only fresh meat on specific slaughter days. I realised I had gone months just eating vegetarian food. I felt well, healthy and vital but the biggest impact was on my temperament which needed attention at that time. I know there were other positive influences that contributed but to this day I am convinced changing what I ate kept me out of trouble. I do not advocate vegetarianism for everyone, but I do believe we are all unique and different and should honour what is appropriate for us.

In our modern day world microwaved food, eating on the go, TV dinners and fast food have become the norm. Cooking is seen as a nuisance and a chore. How can it be a chore to feed ourselves, to give ourselves life? How can we be truly happy, healthy and connected to our community and nature when we don’t even have the time to nourish the bodies that we live in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

Food is something to be honoured and respected, it comes form the earth, our Mother, and if treated with respect maintains the love, healing, energy and therefore the nutritional properties on which our bodies thrive growing strong, healthy and happy.

My aspiration is that we begin to cherish and honour food once again, that meal times become the ritual of daily celebration. Good food and pleasure of nourishing oneself and the people around us can lead to personal transformation and therefore have a profoundly positive impact on the world.

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