Enjoying Food and Separating Diet Fact From Fiction | A Q&A with Pixie Turner

One of our favourite passions in the office is food! We love to catch-up at lunch time and share our home cooked leftovers, or raise the jealously levels as we show off our Instagram stories from last nights dinner!

Earlier this summer we met Pixie Turner, the founder of Plantbased Pixie , a food blog and Instagram sensation with over 120,000 followers.

A qualified nutritionist (MSc) and scientist (BSc), Pixie is a 'wellness rebel' who isn't afraid to be outspoken or even controversial when she speaks to audiences. Indeed, Pixie promotes a no-BS healthy lifestyle supported by evidence-based science.

When British Food Fortnight came around, we got back in touch with Pixie to elaborate on her discussions and ask a few questions of our own!

As it’s British Food Fortnight in September, why is it important for us to get involved in growing, cooking and celebrating home produce?

A lot of us are disconnected from where our food comes from, and I think some experience of growing and cooking produce gives an extra appreciation of these foods, and the hard work that goes into making them delicious. From an environmental perspective as well, it helps if food hasn't been flown far across the world to get to your plate, plus it usually tastes better too.

We love to share our top diet strategies in the office, particularly around summertime. How do we separate fact from fiction?

Generally, if something sounds too good to be true, it almost definitely is. If something is presented as a one-size-fits-all, a panacea, or if it involves buying specific foods and supplements that you can conveniently find at a very high price on the person's website, then it's probably fiction. If it's boring and vague, it's more likely to be fact! Can we make moderation sexy and exciting?!

How can we better educate our children about eating healthy? Do schools need to take more of a lead or does responsibility lie at home?

I think the responsibility is shared. I would love to see critical, sceptical thinking being taught in schools, as well as body acceptance. At home, I think parents are often unaware of how much their critical self-talk and diet talk can impact their children. Making certain foods 'bad' or rewards often only makes those foods more appealing — we always want what we can't have. I think children need to be taught some aspect of healthy eating, but without the fearmongering black-and-white language of 'good' and 'bad'.

If we think about industry events, such as conferences, should event organisers pay more attention to the catering provided to the delegates? Are there foods we should perhaps cut back on, and focus on others instead, to enhance the learning opportunities and audience interaction?

A wide variety of foods is always what I advocate for, without restriction and without exclusion based on fear. Focusing on fruits and vegetables is always a good idea, but not to the exclusion of other delicious foods like dessert! We eat with our eyes, so colour is essential.

When you’re speaking to an audience, what’s the one key takeaway or learning experience that you would want to leave them with?

Food is supposed to be enjoyed, and health is far bigger than just the nutrients in the food you eat.

Finally, and it’d be rude not to ask, what’s your favourite meal of all time?

A proper Italian pizza, preferably with a sourdough crust. Either that or roast potatoes dipped in lots and lots of gravy. Heaven!

That sounds incredible Pixie. In fact, we'd love to have the pizza and roast potatoes together, preferably eating al-fresco in the warm evening with a cold drink to hand too!

For further information or to book a speaker, call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070  or email  info@speakerscorner.co.uk .

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