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My Week in Food
Born out of a frustration at a lack of lunchtime eating options, two friends Stephanie Johnson and Kristina Komlosiova, supported by Stephanie’s mum Hazie decided to start making food that would help Londoners heal, thrive and feel the best they possibly could. Pollen + Grace don’t believe in diet food; they believe in long term, sustainable, healthy food choices that enrich our bodies – and taste amazing whilst doing it! All of their products use only 100% natural ingredients and are free from gluten, wheat, dairy and refined sugars and approved by an in-house naturopath and nutritionist. Each product is handmade at their Vauxhall kitchen before being delivered fresh to over 50 stores across London (stockist information can be found here ). They also deliver straight to home or work Monday-Friday across zones 1-3, with sweet treats available nationwide. Here, co-founder Stephanie Johnson shares her weekly food diary to give you a taste of life in the fast, healthy food lane...
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Monday
Breakfast: I always crave the ease of grabbing one of our products on a Monday morning so I steal some granola and head to my desk to start working.
Lunch: We have team lunch together everyday, such an important time where the office and kitchen get to catch up. Today we have a mix of beetroot quinoa, lemon hummus and sweet potato hummus, baked squash and a crunchy rainbow salad . Monday team lunches are always my fave – I miss our lunches over the weekend!
Dinner: Tonight we are doing a team yoga class at The Power Yoga Company, taught by my favourite teach Mona Lisa Godfrey – the most calming, grounding woman on earth! Afterwards I am feeling like something light and comforting so I have big bowl of stir fried ginger greens for dinner followed by a cashew, banana and chai smoothie.
Snacks: I have a Rhythm health coconut kefir - I tend to go through a 3 pack per week, they're delicious and so good for your gut! It's really easy to get carried away with all the sweet treats lying around too, so I also grab half a banana with peanut butter to satisfy those sweet cravings.
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Tuesday
Breakfast: I tend to stick to a mix of sweet and savoury breakfasts so it’s avo and a poached egg on lifesaving bread, with a giant cup of tea.
Lunch: We are finalising our new product range, which will be launching at the beginning of May, so there are lots of samples to try at lunch. I have a selection of all the new lunch boxes - my favourite bit is the millet falafels in our new balance box, they are so good with the thai basil dressing!
Dinner: Dinners tend to be light after all the food at work, so it’s Asian noodle broth with leftover tempeh from recipe testing.
Snacks: We have leftover fruit from a catering fruit platter so I grab some melon slices on my way through the kitchen, then go back for strawberries later.
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Wednesday
Breakfast: We're out of the office hosting breakfast catering at French Connection, so we snack on leftover banana bread and berries on the way back to the office.
Lunch: Staff lunch today is a delicious mushroom risotto as well as lots of courgetti, fresh greens and garlic sautéed broccoli. We eat outside (surrounded by building works in Vauxhall…) but it’s great to get some time in the sun!
Dinner: For years, my partner and I have had ‘date night’ every Wednesday. We are both very busy as he has his own business too, so by setting aside a night each week to do something fun together it means we know we will actually get to catch up and spend quality time together during the madness of the week. This week it’s my turn to organise date night so we head to Bistrotheque in Bethnal Green - it’s one of my favourite restaurants, I love the interior. I start with an aperol spritz - my favourite now the evenings are a little warmer.
Snacks: We eventually finalised the new sweet treat so I spend most of the afternoon snacking on that, alongside more tea - I drink at least four cups a day.
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Thursday
Breakfast: Kris (my business partner) and I start the day with our fave class at Frame Victoria so I’m super hungry – I have some almond and cherry compote with coconut yoghurt, peanut butter and walnuts literally the second I walk through the door at work.
Lunch: Staff lunch today is lemon, pea and mint cauliflower rice, hummus (of course), quinoa falafels, turmeric dressing and a sprinkling of sweet goji berries.
Dinner: We're working late so it's lunch leftovers again for dinner tonight. I have a leftover alkaline balance box - I love how light it is for an evening option.
Snacks: I'm OBSESSED with our raw beauty bar at the moment. I grab a few off cuts to power me through the afternoon, along with more tea - always more tea.
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Friday
Breakfast: I crave savoury for breakfast today, so grab some herby quinoa with a boiled egg and seed mix.
Lunch: Today is kale and cauliflower salad with toasted almonds and turmeric dressing - one of my favourite salads!
Dinner: I have friends over for dinner tonight, so I make lime and coconut chicken with coconut black rice and an asian slaw. Cooking for others used to be one of my favourite things to do, but I don’t get the chance as much as I’d like to anymore, so I really enjoy preparing this meal for everyone.
Snacks: Cake Friday has become the highlight of the week in HQ, and today we’re test running a raw cheesecake for a supper club. It’s a tahini/sesame base, with a acai, acerola and beetroot topping. And of course, what’s a Friday without a glass of wine? Now the sun is making a reappearance, we opt for a bottle of white and have a drink in the office before heading home.
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Saturday
Breakfast: I love to start my weekend with a Frame class, so head to the Shoreditch studio for a box train class. I have oat and chia porridge with cherry compote and seeds before I leave.
Lunch: When my partner used to live East, it was a weekly tradition to go to Broadway Market, but now we’ve moved North I really miss it! My sister has just moved to Hackney Wick though, so I meet her at Broadway Market for street food and an Aperol Spritz in the sun!
Dinner: We make the most of the lighter evenings and have a light dinner outside. I make a turkey mince bolognese and serve it with courgetti.
Snacks: I grab a bonsoy flat white from Climpsons - the best in London!
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Sunday
Breakfast: I start the day with a Hampstead Heath run with my partner, then head home for homemade matcha banana pancakes with coconut yoghurt and stewed fruit. I tend to try and keep my fruit seasonal - I can’t wait until berry season soon!
Lunch: The weather is so lovely, so we pack a picnic and head to Alexandra Palace. They have a small farmer’s market on a Sunday so we grab fresh tomatoes, olives and raw chocolate to go with everything we brought.
Dinner: We end the weekend on a healthy note with ginger greens, red curry and lime baked cod.
Snacks: I pick up some extra raw chocolate from the market and snack on this whilst I make dinner - I always end up snacking so much whilst cooking!