My food journey

Plant-based | Gluten-free | Tasty AF

This blog isn’t about whether you should change your diet or lifestyle.

It isn’t about health or nutrition advice. Go and see a qualified medical professional for that sh*t.

And it certainly isn’t about weightloss.

This blog is about helping people who follow a plant-based & gluten-free lifestyle (or people who want to).

Its about eating in a way that feels good, with fresh, seasonal, easy-to-find ingredients.

Its about better free-from food.

I’m Zoe

I write about plant-based & gluten-free cooking, dining & living

Delicious vegan & gluten-free recipes.

Tips & advice for anyone embarking on this lifestyle.

The best places to find free-from food in Leeds.

Fresh, seasonal, everyday eating.

I love to eat.

I come from a family of foodies (my parents ran a vegetarian restaurant back in the ’80s & I’m married to a chef).
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I wake up thinking about breakfast, lunchtime is my favourite part of the day & I’m usually planning my next meal before I’ve even finished the last one.
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Eating good food is my passion.

So why do I eat gluten-free & plant-based?

I eat in the way that feels good for me (& I advocate eating in the way that feels good for you).

Why I eat gluten-free

Way back in 2014, I was having some health issues. Nothing major – bloating, stomach cramps & headaches. Still, not ideal. I tried a basic elimination diet, and those symptoms cleared up within a week of giving up gluten (and come straight back when I do accidentally eat gluten).

In short, I avoid gluten because it makes me feel unwell. I’ve never had any kind of diagnosis for it. Maybe I should go to my doctor and discuss it with them. But for me, for now, it isn’t a big problem.

Why I eat plant-based

I avoid animal products for a whole bunch of reasons, but it comes down to a few concerns. I could spew facts about world hunger and food poverty and battery farming and animal cruelty and food miles and life expectancy and cardiovascular health ’til I’m blue in the face. But I won’t.

I was brought up vegetarian & (to my knowledge) I’ve never eaten meat. I’ve also flirted with veganism for a long time. I’d be a fraud if I called myself a vegan though: I’d say I eat vegan about 99% of the time (with the exceptions usually from having to make a choice between gluten-free or vegan food, in a situation without other sensible options).

About EatsLeeds

I started blogging as EatsLeeds in 2016, to share some of the things I’m learning in my journey towards a gluten-free & plant-based lifestyle, and some of my favourite local eateries.

In 2017, I started my freelance food writing & marketing business. I made the decision to move all my foodie content to my professional site, ZoePickburn.com, in an effort to simplify things.

It did not simplify things.

So, at the start of 2019, I decided to pivot once more. The EatsLeeds blog was relaunched Easter weekend 2019 as the food blog you’re looking at right now. You can read more about that decision here.