This was a remark presented by Joshua Rosenthal during one of the IIN lectures and it struck a chord with me.

I have always been very hands on and creative... directly mainly through physical activities and the arts whilst at school, college and university. It is only in more recent years as I turned plant-based that the creativity and 'alchemy' of food really took of for me.  

It seems the more 'restricted' my palette the more scope for creativity I had. I had to search for solutions for a creamy dairy free dish or a meat free bolognaise rather than just being presented with the norm.  That philosophy has inspired me more than I ever thought possible! 

That's not to say that those who use more mainstream foods to create recipes are not creative...obviously there are all manner of talented and creative chefs and home cooks out there!  But for me the opportunities within a plant based diet to push boundaries presented itself with a challenge with boundless rewards.

So, for those of you who are plant-based already, or would like to be but are nervous, or simple have no intention to be but are curious (you are reading this blog for a reason!) ...go all out and experiment, try new things, new combinations of flavours, textures and spices. Yes there will be some failures along the way BUT it's all a part of the process of discovery and the highs of creating a masterpiece will always out weight the lows of disasters (plus most disasters are a least edible!)

What is Mantra for Monday?