Spread the joy

Connect with your food, understand your body, and transform your health with JoyFull – Radhi Devlukia-Shetty's mouthwatering new collection of effortless plant-based meals

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It almost seems like a modern-day given that we're constantly exhausted-reaching for coffee or sugar to perk us up and keep us going. But wellness influencer and cookery writer Radhi Devlukia-Shetty reckons it can all be solved with food.

'If we're eating foods with almost dormant energy, which actually don't give us the nutrients that we need, of course we're going to feel tired,' says the 33-year-old.

Coming from a long line of vegetarians, the qualified dietitian and wife of monk-turned-life coach and podcaster, Jay Shetty, Devlukia-Shetty says: 'I don't drink coffee. I've tried to not get into things that my body becomes reliant on for energy. Because, when I do crave sugar, I know it's a sign that I'm not getting enough of what I need.' Food, she says, along with our daily habits and thoughts, has the ability to completely transform every aspect of our health.

'All the food we eat should make us feel energised - that's what it's supposed to do, right? Whereas there are lots of foods that we eat that make us feel lethargic, and gloomy, and feel really heavy inside.'

Devlukia-Shetty turned vegan a decade ago and shares plant-based, nutrient-packed recipes with her 2.3 million Instagram followers. And she has just released her first cookbook, JoyFull (Thorsons, £22).

Her famous husband, of the hugely successful podcast On Purpose, is a 'guinea pig' for her dishes. 'I wouldn't say he's someone who enjoys being in the kitchen he's happy washing dishes. But I don't really allow him in there anyway, to be honest!"

Devlukia-Shetty herself hails from Watford, but the couple are now based in LA ('I love a place you can spend a lot of time outdoors,' she says). With Indian parents, the ancient medicine system, Ayurveda, was something she grew up with.