Simply Plants: Simply Delicious!

Plant-based eating made easy with Sadia Badiei

By Michelle Mahoney

On a mission to make a plant-based lifestyle accessible to everyone, Sadia Badiei’s online community, Pick Up Limes, has shown millions of followers that eating more plants doesn’t have to be complicated or restrictive. It can be comforting, satisfying and delicious. 

Now, she is bringing that same philosophy to the pages of her new cookbook, Simply Plants. Filled with beautiful photography and bursting with flavourful plant-based recipes, the book reflects Sadia’s belief that food should nourish both the body and soul. HORIZON caught up with her to talk about the inspiration behind the cookbook, how she keeps things simple in the kitchen and, of course, her favourite recipes. 

H: Many people are curious about eating more plants but feel overwhelmed by where to start. What’s the biggest misconception you hope Simply Plants helps dispel? 

S: They think it’s not going to taste as good as what they’re familiar with, and they think it’s not going to be nutritionally complete. If I were to address both of those things with the cookbook, when it comes to flavour, we are big on flavour. When we’re developing recipes, that’s non-negotiable, flavour comes absolutely first. From the nutrition side of things, because of my background as a dietitian, I’m very intentional with building meals that are nutritionally adequate, thinking about the plate method, or thinking about a protein source, a grain, some veggies, fibre. 

Myself and our teammate, who’s also a dietitian in Canada, have developed an app, and what we’re doing with this cookbook is offering all the recipes in our app for free. It’s a way for people to see all the micronutrients and macronutrients, if they want to. But my whole thing is you don’t have to, nor should you. I always feel like a way of eating is most sustainable if you don’t have to track or think about it.

H: For readers who think plant-based meals are time consuming, what are a few shortcuts for getting healthy meals on the table quickly? 

S: There’s always chopped ingredients at the supermarket or in the freezer section, so those can be shortcuts. What I really like to do together with my husband is peel onions and garlic while we’re listening to a podcast or watching a show or a movie. Then we put it in a container and pop it in the fridge. To me peeling those things is the cumbersome part, and the rest can come together incredibly easily. 

I am also a big fan of “cook once, eat twice” if I can. It’s really nice to just have these things in the freezer and thaw them and quickly cook them, and then you have dinner sorted. Similarly making things like granola or overnight oats, you have breakfast sorted days in advance and you don’t have to think about it. 

H: Simply Plants is all about making plant-based cooking approachable. What inspired this cookbook? 

S: I always feel like you learn by doing, and I wanted recipes that are, as the title would suggest, simple. Really easy things you would want to make for yourself or for your family that are very nutritious, very nourishing and don’t sacrifice on flavour. I think that’s my inspiration, wanting to do something for the audience but also creating something that would have been a support to me when I started to go plant-based. 

H: If someone could try just three recipes from Simply Plants to get started, which would you choose?

S: I think it would first help to share a little bit of our philosophy at Pick Up Limes, which is “nourish the cells and the soul.” What that means to me is to eat in a way that is very nourishing, more balanced, whenever you can. Getting your fruits and veggies and grains and all that good stuff that helps your body thrive and operate at its best. But there’s also always room for nourishing the soul. For me, that’s the connection – eating socially with people, the comfort, the flexibility, the cultural component. 

So, to nourish the cells, one of our recipes I make all the time and I love is called Super Green Butter Beans. It’s just spinach, basil, yogurt and lemon, blended together to make a sauce. It’s vibrant in colour and really fresh in flavour, and you feel like you’ve done so good by your body, but it also just tastes so good. 

The other one I would choose is our Simple Vegan Butter Chicken. That to me is a crossover between nourish the cells and nourish the soul because there’s the familiarity component. We all know the warm comforting flavours of butter chicken. This is a great recipe if you’re trying to bring family members on board who otherwise might seem put off by the idea because they know what butter chicken is. It’s made entirely from plants though, so it’s got the nourish the soul component. But  also the comforting component. It’s rich, it’s creamy, it’s made with coconut milk. You can enjoy it with rice, or my favourite is with garlic naan.

The last one would be either of our cookie recipes. We have a gluten-free tahini chocolate chip cookie recipe or a pecan toffee cookie recipe. To me, that’s really nourishing the soul because sometimes you just want a cookie, and that is also part of a healthy relationship with food. 

H:  Beyond the recipes, what do you hope readers take away from Simply Plants? 

S: There’s so much research out there showing that eating this way is good for your gut, it’s good for your brain, it’s good for your heart, it’s good for your cardiovascular system, it’s good for everything. My hope would be, start slowly, and see what the possibilities are, and then keep going. Keep trying new things and see the ripple effect that it can have on your health. You will absolutely always feel better, and you’re helping out something bigger than yourself too.

Sadia’s Simply Plants Essentials  

5 must-have pantry ingredients 

Favourite weeknight dinner recipe 

“Creamy Tomato Chickpea Curry. It’s made with almost entirely pantry staples, so you don’t really need to have any fresh produce. It’s a one-pot recipe, minimal cleanup, super comforting.”

The kitchen tool you can’t live without

“Hands down, a sharp knife. Not only is it safer to have a sharp knife, but it just makes the process so much easier and more enjoyable.”

Your go-to healthy snack 

“Energy balls. It’s one of those things I’ll batch and put in the freezer, and it lasts a long time. Otherwise, just an apple and peanut butter.”

One plant-based ingredient people should try this year

“Seitan. It has 25 to 40 grams of protein per serving, but it also has a meaty texture. It’s so versatile, you can add whatever spices and flavours you want. Whatever you would do with meat, you could do with seitan.”

*Simply Plants by Sadia Badiei is published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.