Viki Frau, from Mallorca, arrived in Lanzarote eight years ago for a vacation and on the fourth day of her stay, she decided to stay and live there.
Since then, she has written the book 'Feed Your Freedom' and created the company Alchemy on your plate, with which she advises on plant-based nutrition for better physical and mental health. For those who don't have time, she also prepares menus at home.
- How did you end up settling in Lanzarote?
I came to Lanzarote for a two-month vacation, but this island has something that hooks you. On the fourth day, I said: I'm staying here to live. And eight years have passed since then.
- How did your healthy eating project come about?
I had been thinking about my alchemy project on your plate for some time, a school of healthy plant-based nutrition, coaching, and home cooking. When I arrived here, I gave it shape.
Alchemy on your plate encompasses three different spaces: school, coaching, and private chef.
"Just as we go to a Japanese restaurant without being Japanese, why not go to a vegan restaurant to try vegan food?"
- What do you offer through the school?
I do courses in plant-based cooking, vegan cooking. And the funny thing is that my clients are usually 98% omnivorous people. Vegan cuisine is not just for vegans. It is a cuisine with a lot of flavor, with many textures.
- What are the advantages of vegan cuisine for the general public?
It is an opportunity to learn to eat in a different way, which also generates more health for you, more health for the planet and for the animals.
Just as we go to a Japanese restaurant to try Japanese food without being Japanese, why not go to a vegan restaurant to try vegan food? Vegan food is suitable for all audiences and is sure to surprise anyone who has not tried it before.
- You who have worked with the little ones, how well do children eat?
I worked doing workshops with children and what I observed is that there is a lack of nutritional education for adults. Children have no power of choice and unfortunately there are many ultra-processed products, loaded with sugar, refined products, fats... that are not good and that are given to them as a quick resource.
Adults need to be re-educated so that children can grow up in a healthier way, with healthier lifestyle habits.
"The book explains the trajectory from the moment you decide to make a change in your diet to make it more plant-based"
- How would you define Alchemy on your plate?
An education in healthy lifestyle habits focused on nutrition. Understanding that food is a super important factor for being in good health. We offer courses, for example with weekly plans or explaining how nutrition relates to emotions.
The objective is to change the vision of food, not only as something that nourishes our physical body but also encompasses a lifestyle, how you perceive the world, the focus or concentration you may have in your day to day. We use plant-based nutrition as a tool for health and personal empowerment.
- You also offer a home meal service. How does it work?
Yes, for all those who want to eat as plant-based, natural and local as possible, but don't have time, we offer a home catering service.
I also cook for events such as a meeting, a retreat or a birthday... and many times, as I have the defect that I like to educate (laughs), well, I stay there and explain a little how I have done it and the nutritional qualities of the dish.
- What is your book 'Feed Your Freedom: Plant-Based Nutrition, Coaching and Awareness' about?
The book explains the trajectory from the moment you decide to make a change in your diet to make it more plant-based, vegetarian or vegan so that this transformation is as healthy as possible in every way.
On the one hand, seeing which nutrients are essential, as well as analyzing what can happen to you along the way. To make things easy for you, the book proposes a weekly planning, tips on how to organize yourself in the kitchen, it also talks about social factors and how to eat well outside the home.
The book includes a part on energetic nutrition, that is, how what you eat directly affects your emotions. It talks about emotional hunger and how foods influence your nervous system.
