December 2019
Happy Pear Visit
We'll start off by saying that we are big fans of their Cookbook but we're not Vegan or even Vegetarian. We've have however been delving into their cookbook this year in a bid to eat more veg in surprisingly tasty dishes.
We went to meet the Happy Pear Twins, Dave and Steve, during their November visit to Johnstown not only because of the cookbook but because of something else they talk about deep within their book.
Their Background
The Happy Pear business has evolved over the past 15 years starting from a fruit and veg shop in County Wicklow. They've now received 19 awards, produced 3 best selling cookbooks, 4 retail outlets together, a production facility supplying supermarkets and a coffee bean processing plant too.
They're very engaged with technology with a huge following for online courses and their YouTube cookery and it's all about plant based foods!
To gain a detailed insight listen to any of the podcasts posted on their website https://thehappypear.ie/press-media/
Meeting the Twins.
Once you get passed seeing identical smiling faces, with similar voices who even finish off each others sentences, you experience their warm positivity and genuine enthusiasm for life which is highly infectious.
What also becomes immediately apparent is that they don't try to force their views on you. They've found a happy place and they're keen to teach others what they know, to inspire and to encourage a rediscovery of healthy plant based foods with an appreciation for a better quality lifestyle.
Images from their visit
'Living Happy'
Food plays a critical role in their 'Fundamentals of Happiness'
together with 'Movement', and 'Managing Your Head'.
They dedicate a large section of their latest cookbook 'Recipes for Happiness' to this subject and as we had hoped Dave and Steve talked about 'Living Happy' both during their morning session with Colaiste Na Mi students and at the Smith's SuperValu session.
We didn't need to ask them any questions since they cover it all in the clips.
'Food and Movement'
Where do they get their energy from and what is significantly missing in both our typical Irish diet and lifestyles ?
'Managing Your Head'
Do you feel connected with a sense of belonging to a group?
There are 2 additional sections perhaps particular to them:
'Vitamin Sea'
They really do take a morning dip in the Irish Sea and if you follow them on Instagram you'll see there's a daily group joining them too.
'How to do a Handstand'
And yes there is a guide in their cookbook which really works since I tried it too.
Happy Food
Most people learn the basics of meal preparation by helping parents in the kitchen. With the vast array of international dishes now available to buy or create do we regularly follow advice for the '5 -A-Day' balance or stick to the traditional 'Meat and 2 veg'? Hopefully we're not teaching children how to rip open a 'ready meal' and open the microwave door.
The Twins surprisingly reveal that in reality we have simply not been eating the diet, or minding our bodies and minds, well enough for a long healthy life.
What are we now teaching our children about a healthy lifestyle?
Enjoy Food
The Twins openly say they follow a 99% plant based diet but if there's a chance of insulting their grandma's cooking or depriving a child the magic of an ice cream on the beach then the occasional slip up is ok.
I think we are all interested in trying different dishes and if the babysitter's booked and the restaurant has a free table we do like to try new foods. Let's be honest and say that we usually buy them from a restaurant but dining out is a very rare and an expensive tasting experience.
If you have even the most basic of cooking skills, if you don't want to spend hours preparing complex dishes and simply want to spend less money then the Happy Pear dishes are ones to try. They might also take you into a supermarket aisle that you've never visited before. The ingredients happen to all be plant based so if you've not been getting your recommended dosage each day then this definitely will bring you up to a healthier level.
Getting the family involved in cooking can be fun. The pancake flipping, tasting session and chat captivated the audience in Smith's SuperValu.
Food Tasting
Dave and Steve introduced us to three of their dishes during their Smith's SuperValu demonstration. Although we did film the demonstrations we prefer their YouTube channel so here's links if you missed the demo.
There are 100's more to explore with many referenced in their cookbooks to make following the recipes even easier.
We've also included this one just because it's the very first dish which we tried and it's a regular favourite,
Happy Eating and Healthy Living
They now have 3 cookbooks, a Christmas Ebook and several online courses so we'll leave you to discover them.
Connect with The Happy Pear
