Babita Shresta thought she had landed on another planet when she first visited a grocery store in Minnesota. Coming from rural Nepal, where as a child she learned to cook fresh vegetables and simmer lentils alongside her grandfather, she had never seen packaged processed food. Pre-cooked tortillas and roti sold in plastic bags blew her mind. She could not have imagined that frozen meat would one day become part of her diet, yet it did. As a busy college student, she was too busy to think it all through. After some time, she realized that those convenience foods were neither good for her health nor for the planet, and she committed to sharing her deep love of traditional plant-based Nepalese cooking with the world.
Join me in listening to Babita tell the story of her food upbringing and of how travel transformed her perspective, leading her to become a advocate for the kind of food that’s loving our bodies and the planet. You can listen to the interview from any podcast player (Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, etc.) or simply click below:
Listening to Babita should remind us all that another food world is possible. Not only that: another food world exists. Not everyone will want or be able to have the same cooking and eating habits as her, but be prepared to be inspired to engage both more deeply and more simply with your food.
Check out her just-published cookbook Plant-based Himalaya: Vegan Recipes from Nepal and order it from your local bookstore, or ask your local library to add it to their collection. It’s a fabulous introduction to Himalayan vegan cooking.
