The youngest of the three siblings, Pierre, aged 23, is not a dietician, nor a chef. He says he simply is a "healthy foodie" who fell in love with food since he can ever remember. How did that happen?
Born in Miziara, in the North of Lebanon, to a family that enjoys food, it is obvious that relishing the different tastes are passed down from both his father and mother. Let's start with Labib, Pierre's dad, a passionate mathematician who was a managing partner at a successful restaurant in Nigeria. Labib left Nigeria to start a family in Lebanon and engaged in a teaching career since. This has in no way hindered him from experimenting with food. Especially on weekends. Pierre can still smell the bread of the oven-baked cheese pizza with Lebanese zaatar (thyme) on top that was part of the Saturday morning ritual. Sundays' routine was slightly different: it would start with a fight between the boys and their father, following which he would make fried eggs with labneh and tomatoes. After such a meal, guess who would win the fight this time? Exactly! The boys :)
Now about Salma, mother, wife, and hero of the family. This wonderful woman is nicknamed the "Blind Chef" since she lost almost all of her eyesight some 20+ years ago. She has never stopped cooking despite her Retinitis Pigmentosa. She currently has an eyesight of barely 3% and is always smiling and preparing delicious healthy foods. Salma had obtained a diploma in Arabic literature and used to teach. She currently is a poet and has already published two books. The third, which is more an autobiography than a collection of poems, will be released this summer of 2019.
On to Pierre, who used to ingurgitate a lot of junk food as a teenager. Playing basketball daily and practicing sports daily, he never had a problem with his weight and couldn't care less about nutrition or healthy food. It all started in 2012 when at age 16, Pierre injured himself several times and had to undergo knee surgery in January 2017. At first, Pierre kept his food habits the same. Until one day, he realized he had gained about 20 kilos. He felt like he was going to literally explode and this was his wake-up call to turn around and delve into the healthy food lifestyle. He lost 19 kilos within 21 months by first consulting a dietician and working out at the gym 4 to 5 days a week.
Finally, at the weight of 75 kilos, the goal seemed to be easy: maintain the weight that was very close to his fitness target. However, in December 2017, Pierre started enduring diarrhea, vomiting, bloating and many side effects, which led to a weight loss of 14 kilos within 6 weeks. Pierre had no control over his weight loss. And this rapid evolution caused a lot of muscle mass loss. That is how Pierre became very skinny. So he decided to readjust his target to regain weight and muscle mass. When the cause of those effects was certainly diagnosed, it turned out that the weight loss was generated by his gluten intolerance. Thus, Pierre started to learn more about nutrition, and Salma being the loving mother she is, rediscovered her cooking with him. Pierre kept his workout routine at the gym and follows it religiously. 18 months later, Pierre has slowly but surely gained 7 kilos of lean body mass just by adjusting his food style. He uses the Fitness Pal App to keep track of his calorie intake, which he tries to keep at a surplus of 200 over what he burns to gain more lean muscle.
On the journey of discovering a more healthy lifestyle, Pierre learned and experimented with a lot. His creations look and are yummy. He, the "Healthy Foodie", will be sharing with us delicious and healthier food options that he and the "Blind Chef" devise together. He starts today with an oatmeal and a light banana cake recipe. Enjoy and bon appétit!
The Healthy Foodie's Oatmeal recipe (552 calories):
1.5 tsp Honey
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Peanut Butter - Reduced Sodium
6 medium Strawberries
150 ml Organic Skimmed Milk
90 grs Oat Flakes
