You may be thinking that for a vegan podcast we really don't spend much time discussing how to make delicious, simple, healthy vegan food. We thought that too, so this week we are joined by talented chef, co-founder of Wicked Healthy, Director of Plant-Based Innovation at Tesco, and all-around wonderful person, Derek Sarno. Evy and the newest ChickPeeps recruit, MJ, talk to Derek about Buddhism, why he prefers the term 'free from animals' over veganism, and the future of plant-based food. Also on this episode...

• Meet MJ, friend to The ChickPeeps and our very first guest-host!
• What is Varganism? MJ explains the latest craze in the plant-based world.
• Derek explains why he went vegan or ‘free from animals’.
• How losing the love of his life led Derek to Buddhism and a deeper empathy with animals.
• ‘It hurt so bad that I didn’t want anyone else to feel that pain.’
• Derek explains the parallels between going vegan and the five steps of grief.
• Vegan food for meat eaters: Derek shares the inspiration behind the Wicked Healthy range.
• When you’re not a foodie: Some basic recipes and tips for beginner vegan cooks.
• How to train yourself to like gross vegetables: Evy shares a dark vegan secret.
• 'You can find an excuse not to do anything…whatever it is, cleaning your room, veganism… it’s the reasons to do it that really matter.'
• ‘Plant-pushers not meat-shamers’: Derek tells us about the versatility of mushrooms as a non-processed plant-protein and how he hopes the farming industry will embrace them.
• “I don’t need anything to die for me to live a very happy and successful life.”
• We discuss snobbery towards vegans in the restaurant business and how to earn respect from non vegan chefs.
• 'There’s no way that the way we eat now can sustain itself, there’s some immediate actions that need to be happen and it’s not eating animals.'
• Uh-oh, we screwed up! The ChickPeeps receive an update on the fennec fox story from a listener and we are sorry.

Links:

Derek and Chad's website

Preorder the new Wicked Healthy cookbook!

Wicked Kitchen @ Tesco

Wicked Healthy Instagram

Derek Sarno's Instagram

Social Media

Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod

Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod

Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko

Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis

Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr

Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch