7 minute read
You would think there would be an obvious link
BUSINESS FOCUS Plant powered & running strong
Advertisement
When Martyn and Liz Williamson attended a seminar in Wellington over two years ago, they never expected to come away with the germ of an idea that would provide food boxes throughout Otago.
It was still early days then but, over several meetings with a person they met there, and the introduction of one other person, Plant Strong Living was borne.
The business partners, Paula Colloty, Nicole O'Neill, Liz and Martyn Williamson, are firm whole food plant-based advocates with a passion to carry the healthy eating message to all who are interested.
At their initial and subsequent meetings, Martyn says they were greatly encouraged by Paula's enthusiasm for plant-based cooking and nutrition. She had been introduced to it by her brother, and she was very clear about the value of its benefits.
Working it out
Liz explains: "We talked about what a business around this could look like. We talked about how we wanted to inspire people and its potential for rejuvenating health. Paula declared that she was brimming with vitality that she just hadn't had prior to making those changes."
In a separate discussion between Paula and himself, Martyn said he was able to outline some of the hopes he had for the future practice of medicine. "As a GP, this had given me the tool with which I could actually cure the diseases that I had hitherto believed were incurable. We can modify them with tablets, but we can not stop their slow and inevitable
30
progression."
Plant Strong Living had its initial beginnings last year with talks and seminars in the local community. "We found that really quite intensive but fun," says Liz, "and we had people coming up to us asking us to talk in their area. We would like to be able to talk to people more widely so we can get the message out as far and wide as possible."
Although very important, the food box, "is just one arm of what we want to offer," she says. "Our goal at the end of the day is for everyone who has received a food box is doing whole food plant-based living themselves. To have that happen, of course, people need to develop new skills. That's what we offer people."
Martyn says continuing the talks will be "really important. Firstly, to get the message out to people and secondly, as a follow up for people who have chosen Food Box and have become interested in healthy plant-based nutrition.
So far talks have been presented to several interested groups in the community "… I've done a couple for the University of The Third Age which is an Otago initiative and is local government funded. Those have gone well. In one sense it doesn't matter to us how many come along to a talk, but we would like to develop a system which funds this kind of thing.”
The business also involves Nicole, who has skills in graphic design.
Nicole and Paula are sisters-in-law and "Nicole cut her own journey into discovering what whole food living was all about," Liz said. "She has her own story, and it's a very powerful one of curing Crohns disease with wholefood plantbased nutrition "
Being value driven
Martyn said when Nicole came on board, the partners began to hammer out what their values were and what they saw as important to the business moving forward. "Obviously we would like Plant Strong Living to earn an income, but primarily we are motivated by health and the people around us, including our communities. We would regard it as a success if we had a lot of people improving their health and their outlook through whole food plant-based nutrition . "We also looked at service development, and one of the services we looked at providing is some online education and also, consultation services."
This means people who have a medical issue will be able to run their concern past Martyn in terms of plant-based nutrition, and "we will also offer some health coaching which is Liz's forte. Paula is interested in teaching people how to cook plant-based. "And Nicole is really keen on helping people and talking to them about her experience with her with young children because she and her husband are whole food plant-based and they have young children who are also now whole food plant-based. She has practical experience
of how to introduce this into a young family.
Because of this experience, the medical knowledge and their nutrition training Plant Strong Living is well equipped to offer a "whole package" as Martyn puts it. "Liz and I have run supermarket visits taking small groups of people around New World here in Alexandra, and that's been good fun. We can offer that in Central Otago, and Paula can offer that in Dunedin."
Virtual supermarket tour
Martyn says they are also hoping to create an online version of a supermarket tour. "We photograph shelves and talk people through the issues, show them food labels, explain what they all mean. Then we can answer fiddly questions like, is tomato sauce acceptable?
One of the discoveries the company has made so far is that people interested in understanding the value of plant-based eating also often desire a more structured programme they can easily follow. "A three-week programme is enough to get people off the ground – we call it our 21 day challenge. It is currently under construction and will include the elements that Martyn is talking about as well as how to create a supportive environment for people to succeed. For instance, how to clear out your fridge and pantry and restock them with tasty healthy alternatives " Liz says. "It’s important to know what staples to have on hand so you can make some things from scratch and know how to sauté with small amounts of water instead of oil. Simple things that people often struggle with.
“We also offer tips and tricks for when people are travelling, how to talk to family and friends to get their support and suggestions fro transitioning youg children. Batch cooking is a trick to ensurethere is always something healthy ready at hand in the freezer to avoid reaching for processed food. It means you have g always got something available to you if you plan ahead.”
All of these are part of a larger course which is being fleshed out in detail but will be available soon once the Food Box system is running comfortably.
Liz says most people will do a well with the Food Box itself and the general advice given but “if someone needs more than that then a one-on -one or virtual consult is available with Martyn, myself or Paula to help through the specific issues they might have.”
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges in developing commercial WFPB services is in ‘packaging’ parts of the message that are common and often freely available. Once they are named and given good graphics, they might look like something being pushed by a television fitness guru. But that’s not the way it is with whole food plant-based eating.
“This really is a way of life,” Liz explains, “the creation of services or packaged products as such does help people identify what they need. And it shortens the timeframe when it comes to identifying what
The Plant Strong Living Team
Dr Martyn Williamson Paula Colloty
Liz Williamson Nicole O'Neill
www.plantstrongliving.co.nz
would best to work on first.”
Health retreats coming In time, Martyn says he would like to see the business offer health retreats and workshops. “They would be centred on plant-based nutrition plus other aspects of lifestyle. Paula, Liz and I have have all done eCornell’s plantbased nutrition course and Liz and I are both studying for certification in Lifestyle medicine. This based on the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. “They have in their textbook whole food plant-based nutrition as the plank of the nutritional approach which really suits us. We are upskilling ourselves as we go. We are also upskilling in terms of personal development. Of course, in the programmes we want to deliver programmes that encourage others, we feel it is import that we are on the same journey.” “Nutrition has a major impact on our overall health, which,when supported by other lifestyle changes, can realise huge gains in vitality“ says Liz “It’s not about being plant-based and miserable and living two unhappy years longer. This is about being plant-based, enjoying your health and really, really making the most of your time,” Martyn said. Liz loves a statement from Dr Neil Barnard, which reflects a similar sentiment. “It’s not about more years in your life. It’s about more life in your years.” Martyn: “Yes, exactly. That really captures what we’re about.” wholefoodliving.life | Winter, 2020
