I’m so glad you found your way to Kind (but Good) Food. I’m Anel Van Der Merwe, plant-based recipe developer, chef, and creator of this blog!
I’m completely bonkers for wholesome, plant-based food and it’s my passion to share recipes, tips, and inspiration with all of you. I almost always cook 30-minute meals (unless it’s the weekend, or…lockdown 2020/2021) and all the ingredients I use are pretty easy to come by. I know that we’re all busy and we don’t need another 3-hour long recipe. What we need is quick, nourishing food that doesn’t break the bank and, most importantly, tastes good. And that’s what you’ll find here!
My Plant-Based Journey
My own journey started about 3 years ago when I became aware of the practices of factory farming (both the treatment of animals and the environmental impact of large scale animal agriculture) as well as the health benefits of eating more plants. It was a slow and steady change: I started focussing on buying organic, pasture-finished meat but this cost a pretty penny which resulted in us eating meat maybe once a week. As a chef and meat lover all my life, I have to say that I was pretty sceptical about cutting out meat and doubted that I’d be satisfied without it from a flavour perspective, but I started following more and more plant-based foodies on Instagram and Pinterest and soon realised that a plant-based diet isn’t just tofu and chips. It actually consists of an enormous world of plants, flavours, and textures to discover that I had no clue about before! It was exciting and truly opened my eyes and my mind to a different way of eating (and as a knock-on effect, a different way of life). I started experimenting in the kitchen and dedicated myself to cooking nourishing, plant-based food, and to hone my craft. Three years later and I am 100% plant-based, the healthiest I have ever been, and I have never looked back.
