Odile Chabrillac - CLEAN EATING - WE ARE CLEAN
© Odile Chabrillac

Who are the Clean Eating gurus?

People call them gurus or KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders), a American term referring to opinion leaders. But who are the people who front the clean and healthy eating movement that is Clean Eating?  

In the US, Clean Eating is fronted by an array of celebrities like Tosca Reno, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Ariana Grande, the Hemsley sisters, Ella Woodward, Amelia Freer and Sara Forteil. And the list goes on!  

Though these American stars who are part of the history of Clean Eating spread the good word all over the world, France has its own team of Clean Eating gurus. Women and men who embody the philosophy of clean and balanced eating the French way.

Creative gurus from all walks of life   

 Whether a naturopath, doctor, chef or even psychiatrist, they each embody the philosophy of clean and balanced eating in their own way. Beyond the major fundamentals of Clean Eating, each of them offers a personal interpretation that is a source of creativity. Creativity that’s essential to avoid monotony, routine and boredom. Because without imagination and without desire, there’s no inclination to put the effort into healthy eating. They all have something in common: the wish to pass on the lifestyle of healthy eating… That’s about enjoyment.

The Clean Eating naturopaths   

These naturopath health practitioners have placed healthy eating at the heart of their lives, their guidance and our meals! 

Angèle Ferreux-Maeght 

© La Guinguette D’Angèle | @laguinguettedangele

Ferreux-Maeght is a chef, a naturopath and an author* all at once. Where’s her stomping ground? Rue Daguerre in Paris, in which her studio is nestled. It is from there (among other places) that she draws her inspiration, picking fresh herbs, fruit, vegetables and flowers that she brings together with a delicate touch not far removed from visual arts. But before returning to put down roots in Paris she familiarised herself with Clean Eating in San Francisco, while exploring an organic market, then in Australia where she got into green juices. Having become a passionate defender of healthy food, and by that point an influencer, she decided to train in naturopathy. Her principles: eat local, fresh, seasonal, getting back to good sense and the small treasures of previous generations, but all illuminated by current nutrition knowledge. Her recipes combine indulgence with the fundamentals of naturopathy. Joyful, sparkling, Clean Eating dishes that you’ll find in her restaurants in Paris and in her books! 

*La Guinguette d’Angèle, Délicieusement green and Ma cuisine naturelle pour bébé, all published by Editions Marabout. 

Odile Chabrillac 

As a wellbeing and health journalist for more than 20 years, an author*, a psychotherapist and a kundalini yoga instructor, Chabrillac’s need to eat healthily, and to pass on the principles of that, led her first of all to study naturopathy. Then, a few years later, to set up her own school. At her humanist naturopathy institute [Institut de Naturopathie Humaniste], she trains future professionals who are also healthy food devotees. To pass the message on beyond her school, she runs online family naturopathy workshops, shares recipes on her Instagram account and regularly sets challenges that her community follows avidly. Recently, her green challenge (whose virtues she has outlined) inspired a great many female Instagrammers. Cue recipes for smoothies, salads, soups and medleys of vegetables and pulses… In pretty shades of green. What’s her motto? A healthy mind in a healthy body. Dinner is served… Enjoy!

*Mon cahier détox, new edition, published by Solar.  

Photo :  © Odille Chabrillac | @odilechabrillac

Lisa Salis

Eating a healthy balanced diet is the leitmotiv of Salis, a nutrition and naturopathy therapist and consultant. She takes the view that poor diet is the scourge of our times, and passing on the principles of Clean Eating to a wide audience has become her priority. And boom – whether on Instagram, with more than 20,000 followers, or via Hygie, her online academy, Lisa is a very successful. Plus, “In the best of health” “[Au mieux de ta forme]”, her health, nutrition and naturopathy podcast, is inspiring an increasing number to follow suit. Amid the pandemic, Lisa shares her pieces of advice to make for meals that are not just healthy and attractive to look at, but also turn into a real therapeutic tool. Never thought of as restrictive, and always joyful. In the same vein, she regularly goes live on Instagram to answer questions and share healthy nutrition tips for the whole family. What’s her watchword? Awaken the Hygie that slumbers within you. So who is that? In Greek mythology, Hygia (“health” in ancient Greek), is the goddess of health, cleanliness and hygiene. She symbolises health, of course and preventive medicine. Happiness on a plate, the Clean Eating way!

Jennifer Hart-Smith

Jennifer Hart Smith

Maybe her name does not ring any bells for you? Go and have a browse through her website, under the name Tookies Gambetta. A naturopath and pastry chef at the same time, Hart-Smith went for a crazy punt: offering up really flavourful pastries, with indulgent textures, using only alternative flours (like spelt, rye, oats or buckwheat) and most importantly using plant-based sugars and superfoods. Hart-Smith’s adventure began in 2014, when she decided to launch a range of little shortbread biscuits, customised and bearing poetic messages. But although the art of the pastry chef was fulfilling for her at the time, naturopathy came into its own in an extremely… natural way. Jennifer might never have ended up in the kitchen, since her initial training was at the Boulle school of fine arts and crafts and applied arts. What’s her watchword? There is precious little separating design from beauty on a plate. This guru of healthy sweet treats has proven it brilliantly.

@tookies.gambetta l Photo : © Tookies

The doctors of Clean Eating  

Nutrition forms part of their training, whether it entered their lives right at the outset or as an add-on. Whether in a white coat or jeans, they give patients a welcome helping hand to get them eating a healthy and balanced diet. 

Dr Cyril Laporte and Pierre Joyeau 

Laporte and Joyeau have led their revolution! They have even put it into words in their book La nouvelle révolution alimentaire*. In its pages, there is no indictment or moralising lectures. Just clear explanations and precise, well-illustrated definitions designed to tempt you to switch to Clean Eating mode. Because in their view it’s a certainty. By reviewing the contents of your plate and ousting processed foods from it. By ushering in whole foods, seasonal fruit and vegetables. By orchestrating it all cleverly, with good sense mixed with enjoyment and without hesitating to look at how our forebears lived – you’re following a surefire recipe for success.

They form a winning duo. Cyril is a doctor and oncologist, holding a university degree in nutrition, health and micronutrition, Pierre is an oncological technician qualified in nutrition, health and micronutrition. Having set up Cypios, they offer joint appointments to guide their patients in treading a new path: that of eating healthily to restore full health and prevent cardiovascular and chronic diseases.

What’s their watchword? To foster awareness of the idea that mankind has the keys to beating the metabolic diseases of this century, right on the prongs of his fork.

*La nouvelle révolution alimentaire published by Mango Editions. 

@pierre_joyeau | @cyril.laporte 

Dr Catherine Lacrosnière 

As a doctor and nutritionist, Lacrosnière took part in the setup of the atherosclerosis screening and prevention centre [Centre de dépistage et prévention de l’athérosclérose – CPA]. She is very much in the media spotlight, and has become a real healthy eating influencer. What’s her watchword? To drive home the idea that eating a healthy, balanced, clean diet is not merely the best way to reach a healthy, feelgood weight.

In Lacrosnière’s view, this is the only way to prevent cell oxidation and accelerated ageing. With an anti-inflammatory diet, putting together enjoyable meal plans, you take the very best path towards the prevention of chronic diseases. It’s about combining fruit and vegetables with pulses, keeping sugars in check, favouring essential fatty acids, and sprinkling it all with spices and fresh herbs.

*Les secrets de l’alimentation anti-inflammatoire, published by Albin Michel.  

The chefs of Clean Eating   

You might think that they are only fascinated by its daring nature, inventiveness and flavours. Wrong! In their view, dishes have got to be healthy and full of life. 

Christophe Aribert 

This chef, who holds multiple accolades (two Michelin stars and four Gault et Milhau chef’s hats) is one of the healthy eating leaders. Where’s his stomping ground? La Maison Aribert in Uriage. As the son of a farmer and market trader, Aribert’s vocation was to put together a cuisine that’s healthy and true to itself, against a backdrop of nature as a true philosophy. But above all, in this “establishment”, it’s not only about eating habits. In his view, eating healthily is to be combined with yoga, kinesiology and etiopathy sessions, and massages. For this chef with a difference, who calls himself a chef for the soul, Clean Eating has much to say to those who are prepared to listen. In his view, cooking is first and foremost “a collective human adventure that drives the impetus of a new ecosystem designed to bring together virtuous practices and knowhow around eating habits, agriculture, wellbeing, health, and education”. What’s his watchword? All of the above. A serene, ethical, clean mindset in a body to match.  

Emma Sawko 

Emma Sawko, a businesswoman, author of cookbooks* and healthy food influencer, doesn’t like to shoehorn any old thing under the umbrella term “healthy”. Her personal journey led her from Dubai to Paris. In Dubai, finding it hard to track down good eateries for healthy, light and organic food, she decided to pinpoint what she was missing and make it happen. So she opened a concept store with a little eatery inside, healthy and aimed at women and girls. Having returned to Paris, in 2015 she opened her first Wild and the Moon restaurant. Sawko now heads up some ten establishments. What’s her watchword? It’s possible to eat healthily yet very, very joyfully and colourfully. And by following her recipes, you can even do so at home!

*Wild and the moon, recettes vegan, published by Flammarion.  

@wildandthemoon  

The psychiatrist of Clean Eating  

It’s about what’s going on your plate and in your head. And grasping that is essential. Want to know why? OK, let’s go! 

Christophe André 

So what’s a shrink doing among the KOL of Clean Eating? As an advocate of full mindfulness, this psychiatrist and psychotherapist, and successful author, campaigns gently in favour of full presence. Of the here and now, to enjoy the present moment, and ultimately… life itself. In his view, mindful eating is a basic yet fundamental exercise for good health – both physical and mental. Looking, smelling, tasting, taking in shapes and textures and observing the array of sensations and emotions that they elicit is the path to nutritional wisdom. What’s his watchword? In (really) taking the time to eat a healthy, balanced diet, we get so much more from foods than their mere nutritional value. In his view, meditation changes our relationship with the world around us, and fully mindful eating changes our relationship with food. Clean Eating, augmented edition!

All the author’s books are at christopheandre.com 

The KOL and gurus of Clean Eating? There are a great deal of them, and this is just the beginning. In their view, good, healthy, balanced, joyful meals are a story that is told from day to day. Though the movement originated in the US, Clean Eating the French way can certainly hold its own. 

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