When she was nine, food blogger Isabel Boerdam (29) decided:I don't eat meat anymore. She now runs the successful blog De Hippe Vegetariaanse and organizes the National Week Without Meat every year (9-15 March). “The more people eat less meat, the better.”
“That it is less tasty than a diet with meat. Or that vegetarian cooking is complicated. At least half of the participants of the National Week Without Meat said afterwards that it was easier and, above all, more fun than they had thought. If you are open to it and take the trouble to discover new products and try out recipes, you will see that vegetarian cuisine is very surprising.”
Read also: ‘In this way you can inspire others to eat vegetarian‘
“Yes, on my ninth. From one moment to the next I realized:that meat on my plate comes from animals. The light came on, so to speak. I literally had no appetite anymore. Since then I have not eaten meat. I don't miss it at all. I sometimes eat vegetarian balls, also as a snack. And it's also nice that there are now really tasty vegetarian bitterballen on the market."
“As a child I already had something with that, yes. I baked cookies and other things with my nanny. I especially liked to create, to make something out of nothing. You start with an egg and flour and a little later you have cookies. My father was in the hospitality industry and took me to the better restaurants from the age of six. At the end of such an evening I was often allowed to make my own dessert in the kitchen. The conviviality, the good conversations, I have the best memories of it.”
“When I was a student, I had to learn to cook for one person and that was a bit of a hassle. I didn't know what really good, healthy and varied food was. As a result, I gained a bit of weight and I didn't feel comfortable with that. So I started cooking differently, more creatively. During that time, I opened my first can of chickpeas and prepared sweet potato for the first time. I tried different vegetables and used herbs as seasonings, instead of cheese. A world opened up for me.”
“I already do that for 75 percent, but going completely vegan is a bridge too far for me. I enjoy the occasional egg on Sunday or a bowl of cottage cheese. My experience is that you have to eat in a way that suits you. I also tried the low-carb hype, but that just made me grumpy. I missed my rice, pasta and grains.”
“I may have heard 'no' five hundred times. But that word doesn't really exist for me. I always come back with a 'yes, but'. And the persistent wins. When I finally sat down at the table with the CEO of Albert Heijn, I pinched myself, haha!”
“In any case, I hope that it contributes to a long-term change:that more people embrace the idea of eating less meat. More and more companies are joining in with cool innovations and ideas. Who knows, it may lead to a European campaign!”
During the third edition of the National Week Without Meat, from 9 to 15 March 2020, a vegetarian pop-up restaurant will be opened in Explore Muiden in collaboration with top chef Peter Lute. The place to get acquainted with the surprising vegetarian cuisine. In the February issue of Santee you will find a vegetarian weekly menu on page 22.
For more information, visit:Week Zondervlees.nl.
You can read the complete interview with Isabel in the February issue of Santé.
