I was on the bus the other day with Rob and saw the new I Quit Sugar Simplicious book  in the window of a London book store and said “oh sick, her new book has hit the UK” and got a little bit of Aussie pride as let’s face it we are taking over the world; Kayla Itsines, James Duigan, Amanda Bisk and Lorna Jane just to name a few. Anyway that night weidly enough I saw that Sarah announced on her insta that she was holding a supper club IN LONDON whilst on her stay next week, so immediately booked tickets and then informed Rob of our 3 course sugar free date.

We rocked up in an Uber door to door like superstars at @weloveparadise and walked into a room packed with keenos buying her book and lining up for a snap. I caught a glimpse of a babein wavy bob, big black glasses and an even bigger pearly white smile and got a bit star struck. I’ve been a follower and fan of Sarah and the I Quit Sugar books ever since the first one came out years ago but to see her in the flesh was surreal. We took out seats in a very posh looking fancy long table setting dining room and mingled with some randoms (sitting next to a bunch of Aussies – because we are everywhere). Sarah walked in and grabbed the water pitcher on our table, clinked it with someones fork and introduced herself. I turned to Rob and said “OMG that’s actually her… she is really cool” like some little weedy kid but hey its true. She is one of my biggest foodie queens. She is down to earth, funny, honest and, well just cool. No attempt to be over the top or fake, just natural and simple – like her recipes (and boy are they delicious) Blog post >> here from a few months ago about my top 6 inspirational Aussie ladies killing it right now.

She gave us the low down on how she started on her IQS journey, her Heathrow injection experience, Hashimoto disease and why quitting sugar worked for her. There was a raise of hands for a few people in the room who suffer auto immune disease like Sarah and how quitting sugar changed their life. She explained how the book is called ‘I quit sugar’ not ‘YOU NEED to quit sugar’ because it is simply about what she did and how it worked for her so maybe you should also try it out. I myself quit sugar about 3 years ago after trying every bloody diet and food fad on the planet; raw, paleo, 5:2, vegan (who am I kidding that didn’t last a day I love meat too much) dairy-free, gluten-free, carb-free, carb cycling, body building diets, macros, iifym, clean eating, blah blah blah … quitting sugar was the only one that stuck around longer than a fresh tub of peanut butter.

So here’s the best part. The food. First course was the cauliflower popcorn and the inside out sprouted Kitcheri loaf (images above) which we all tucked into straight away. The loaf is great on your gut and made from grated sweet potato, cooked basmati rice, eggs, chia seeds, grated ginger, arrowroot flour and loads of herbs and spices. The fresh ginger had a real spicy kick and we most certainly went back to share a second slice. The bite size cauliflower popcorn florets were light and crispy with a nice turmeric spice and salty flavour served with some micro herbs. The best part about dining with a table of foodies is NO ONE reached for the food until we had all nodded that we were satisfied with our insta pics. Hashtag simplicious !

Mains; we each had our own plate of her Sweet Persian tagine with shredded lamb which was cooked the the ol’ faithful slow cooker. A great way to use the unfashionable and cheap cuts of meat in a fancy way with minimal wastage. The sweetness came from root vegetables which were exactly what we needed on that chilly London night. No one has time for salad and raw food in a London winter. The sides on the table were a celery (leaves and all) and green olive salad and a crunchy buckwheat and broccoli tabboulie garnished with pomegranate seeds which complimented the tagine perfectly. Hot foodie tip; buckwheat is the new quinoa. It is cheaper, more accessible and sustainable and actually tastes better so keep an eye out for it in your next supermarket shop. It added an insanley good crunch factor to the broccoli tabboulie with minimial effort.

And then everyone’s favourite course, dessert; the Chocolate ganache cardamon tart which totally lived up to its expectations… and then some. At first drop I thought the serving size was a tad small but the flavour was so rich and wholesome I was totally satisfied and wasn’t left wanting more. (Although Rob did eat the flower which i am pretty sure was a garnish…) One girl at our table said “if anyone doesn’t finish their tart please pass it my way” and then continued to demolish her neighbours tart leftovers. The tart was gluten free with one hell of a hard crunchy base made with cacao, coconut oil, rice malt syrup and shredded coconut. The smooth rich chocolatey ganache filling was made with coconut milk, 70% dark chocolate and a hint of cardamon and sea salt for that little bit shmancy extra. All the recipes for the meals served are in the Simplicious book. Get the book or sign up for the 8 week program here >> http://store.iquitsugar.com/?a_aid=569f657e0c698 

After the plates were cleared and we chatted some more with our new sugar quitting pals, Sarah made her way around the room for a chat when I reeled her in to sign my menu. We chatted ever so briefly about how she and Rob went to the same high school and College in Canberra and lived in neighbouring little country towns just outside of the ACT. We posed for a quick pic and then she was off to dazzle the next fan before calling it a night.

Thank you Sarah for the opportunity to meet you and eat your simplicious meals. To be honest it was a fricken privilege to be out of the kitchen for once getting served quality sugar free food without the fuss. Would happily dine at your supper clubs again stat.

So in the words of the true sugar free beauty – “Give a fuck” about your health and wellbeing. Don’t eat processed sugary carbohydrates from the centre of the supermarket. Eat the whole food, shop locally and minimize processed crap in your house.

“Each of us is responsible for everything and to every human being! ” – Sarah Wilson

Want to kick sugar in the butt ? Sign up for the 8 week program or buy one of her many books using this link here >> http://store.iquitsugar.com/?a_aid=569f657e0c698 

Katie