Getting To Know Our Clean Start Expert Calgary Avansino

Her book launched yesterday (Thursday, February 11), so we’re super-excited to welcome Vogue Contributing Editor, author and health advocate Calgary Avansino to Dublin for Clean Start at The Marker Hotel on Thursday evening, February 25.

Calgary has a sensible, enviable, delicious approach to eating and living well. A wife and mother of three, she lives a busy life contributing to British Vogue, where she’s worked since interning for three weeks back in 2000.

Believing in the importance of a plant-based diet, Calgary isn’t rigid in her approach to eating, but enjoys the benefits of making great choices and getting in to good habits. Her energy is boundless, her spirit is infectious and her skin glows. She’s exactly the sort of person you want to be around.

In her book, Keep It Real, she offers plenty of great tips to make healthful living an easy reality. We especially love her tips for prep day – seriously helpful suggestions that don’t take much thought or time (who wants to expend either on, say, a Sunday?). Have a look below:

• Wash all your greens and vegetables thoroughly
• Chop your greens – kale, spinach, Swiss chard – so they are ready to be added to stir-fries, salads, soups, smoothies, breakfast, etc
• Chop half the carrots, celery and fennel you’ve bought, and any other similar crudit?-type vegetables, so they’re ready to eat as snacks, take to work, dip in hummus or put in the kids? lunches. Keep in Tupperware boxes in the fridge and they’ll stay crisp for two days
• For salad, once washed, strip the leaves from the lettuce but keep the pieces whole and just put them in an airtight bag with a damp paper towel – you can rip them apart or chop right before you are going to use them
• Hard-boil some eggs so they are ready for snacks
• Soak almonds. You can eat them as snacks, blitz into almond butter or chop and add to muesli, granola or porridge. You could also use these to prepare some homemade almond milk. When stored in the fridge in a tightly sealed container and shaken before use, almond milk will last up to five days
• Make some overnight oats so you have them for the following two days
• Soak then cook some dried beans or chickpeas. These will be helpful to add to salads, meals or, in the case of chickpeas, roasted as snacks
• Toast pine nuts, pistachios and almonds to add to salads, quinoa or your breakfast. Keep in the fridge once they’re cooled
• Deseed a pomegranate to use throughout the week in porridge, muesli or on top of salads
• Prepare a few dips to have with raw veggies, oatcakes or rice cakes throughout the week
• Roast some vegetables – these are as delicious eaten cold as leftovers

Calgary joins nutritionist and founder of Gourmet Fuel Emma Buckley, and Liz Costigan Fleury, ?founder of Postive Fitness Project for Clean Start:

WHERE?The Marker Hotel, Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2

WHEN?Thursday, February 25 from 7pm

TICKETS??45

Join us for chats, advice, healthful juices and treats, the odd glass of vino and plenty of gorgeous gifts.

7:00pm ???????? Arrival, drinks and healthful eats

7:30pm ???????? Panel discussion

8:30pm????????? Informal round-table chats in break-out room to meet our experts;?book signing with Calgary

9:30pm???? – ? ?Luxury, healthful gift bags for all on departure

Keep It Real (Hodder & Stoughton, €31.99), written by Calgary Avansino is out now in all good bookshops.