“More than anything, I just want to redefine that and show that you can have an absolutely delicious meal that nourishes your body, that connects to the culture - all of those things are possible through plants.” “The diversity of plant foods is just beyond our comprehension,” she said. She scoffs at those who say a vegan diet has to be bland.

She’s recently fallen in love with fonio, a West African grain. On a trip to her parents’ native Jamaica two years ago, she flipped over the taste of breadfruit, star apples and mangoes there.

Thomas is always on the lookout for different flavors and ingredients. “Ultimately we liked the idea that readers could come to the book where they are now and easily start with what they were most interested in, whether it’s food or personal growth or changing the world.” “I loved that she wanted to take this book beyond recipes for food into paradigms for living,” Jones added.

“I thought she could be a major voice of her generation,” Jones said. When Cassie Jones, an editorial director for publisher William Morrow, first met Thomas, she found a mature and grounded teen. And it includes interviews with five other female Gen Z leaders. “Living Lively” also gets a little interactive with blank pages for readers to think about their lives and make action plans. The writing is thoughtful, generous and fun, with Thomas prone to drop zippy lines like “If you know, you know,” “You’ve got this” and “Anyhooo.” “You can eat however many salads or smoothies you want but that’s not going to heal a lot of the inner and external disturbances that we might face.” “Our well-being goes so far beyond what’s on our plate,” she said. “There’s probably hundreds of points of power, but these are really the seven that I feel capture so much of the human experience so we can really start that that self-growth work,” she said. She has distilled them into “7 Points of Power.” That includes advice on things like social media, education, overcoming societal biases and gratitude. Vegan for the past six years, Thomas offers 80 plant-based and gluten-free recipes, ranging from tandoori-spiced sweet potato tacos and key lime avocado mousse cups to creamy beet spaghetti with garlicky greens.īut before readers get to the yummy parts, Thomas outlines what she has learned in the wellness world.

Living lively by haile thomas