Clean and Green

Why do we pick the coldest, darkest time of year to decide to change the way we eat? If you’re anything like us, “eating better” is lurking at the top of your resolution list. But it doesn’t have to mean sad salads and boring grub – this lot of inspiring clean eaters are here to prove that eating well can taste good and leave you feeling good.

Prepare to bookmark…

Susan Jane White
Only Susan Jane White could describe Cavolo Nero as ?the George Clooney of cabbages?. Even before you’ve made any of her goji-berry bursting, immune-defending recipes, you feel utterly revitalised just by reading her spunky, spirited writing. ?Eating good food sends my hormones into party mode. It’s a sensory pleasure, just like listening to African drums or soaking up a swatch of unexpected sunshine,? says the glamorous health-food blogger – and her enthusiasm is infectious. ?Count nutrients, not calories? is her motto and for anyone wishing to do the same, her book The Extra Virgin Kitchen (Gill & Macmillan, €27.99) is now on its fourth print run.

Picture by Alistair Richardson

David and Stephen Flynn
The Happy Pear is a Wicklow foodie fixture – and “happy pair” could just as easily describe the hale and hearty twins behind the perpetually popular natural food market. For the last decade, Stephen and David Flynn have committed to selling local, organic and seasonal produce – and rustling up wholesome soups and salads in their Greystones shop. Now they’ve published a book – The Happy Pear: Recipes and Stories from the First Ten Years (Penguin, €20.99), so you too can get a slice of their fresh foodie style.

Indy Power
Like many others searching for easy, tasty, healthy dinners, we’ve bookmarked Indy Power’s blog, The Little Green Spoon. Her inventive gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and paleo recipes are always far tastier than you would imagine. The young Trinity student also includes a really informative pantry section, giving you the nutri-lowdown on the LGS’s backbone ingredients, namely coconut oil, agave syrup, dates, almond milk and more.

Derval O?Rourke
You would be forgiven for thinking that recipes from former Irish sprint hurdler and three-time Olympian?Derval O?Rourke are just for the sporty and active, but the success of her best-selling cookbook Food for the Fast Lane (Gill & Macmillan, €19.99) has proved otherwise. It’s full of accessible plant protein-rich recipes and lots of clever ideas on how to replace starchy sugars with superfoods.

Pick up the latest issue of Image Interiors & Living for a selection of comforting, crave-killing recipes that are sure to have you coming back for seconds – we promise!

ICYMI: Check out this recipe for bircher muesli – “a hybrid between porridge and granola, but better.” Yum!

Lizzie Gore Grimes for @image_interiors