A New Beginning

1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die

So I have been absent for a while and, whilst I have still been cooking and most definitely eating, I have also been having a lot of thoughts about the direction of my food writing.

It has always been a dream of mine to be able to turn my love of food and cooking into a career, but without having to sacrifice my enjoyment and the pleasure I get from both.

I have spent the last 15 years formulating plant-based recipes for my website, with very modest success, but I have become personally less committed to the vegan lifestyle.

Whilst this is not an apology post, I want to be upfront and transparent, and let you all know that for some time I haven’t followed a plant-based diet.

I understand that this will probably cause many of you to unsubscribe and I totally get that. I hope that Sweeter than Oats as a source of recipes will remain of inspiration to people and I will continue to share vegan recipes on there.

I want to explore all the food in the world and I cannot do this following a plant-based diet. I have started to follow Mimi Sheraton’s 1000 Foods to eat Before you Die and am thrilled and stimulated by the different foods I come across every time I pick up the book.

I am using my Substack to share my 1000 Foods bucket list journey (and it is a journey that will surely outlive me), and I would be so happy if some of you stay and join me on this ride, but I appreciate that many of you will find this sudden swerve to be distasteful.

First and foremost, I envision a community of fellow-minded foodies also sharing in this huge list of foods to try, finding dietary alternatives to many of them (calves brains, ew), or sending me your own recommendations.

This is just one of several difficult decisions I have made this year, and for the first time, I feel that I am following a path that is truly meaningful and authentic for me.

If you do choose to come along for this journey of discovery, welcome and let’s do this! If you choose to unsubscribe, I totally understand, and wish you the best with your own personal food journey.