Eating Well on the Road With Hemsley + Hemsley

Congratulations on your first book! What was the inspiration behind The Art of Eating Well?

Jasmine: We’ve always loved food and through our busy jobs and traveling constantly, realized the relationship between food and good health. With so many diets and conflicting ideas on clean eating, we wanted to make healthy food that was as delicious as it was good for you. Too often health food is tasteless and uninspiring, but we’re all about taste.

Melissa: We love to make clever use of whole foods to reinvent classics — our fudgy brownies are made from black beans, zucchini ribbons replace spaghetti in our recipes, and we suggest cauliflower or chickpeas in place of flour to make pizza bases.

How has travel influenced your cooking?

M: We grew up with a Filipino mother and an Army father, living in barracks in the UK and Germany. Our family rarely ate out at restaurants, but we loved trying new foods from different cultures. We were both lucky to travel a lot with our previous jobs — Jasmine was a model for 15 years and I was a footwear brand manager — but the long hours, late nights and trying to eat on the go were challenges for both of us. We were just constantly craving nourishing, home-cooked food.

J: These days we’re always adding flavors we’ve picked up on the road to our cooking. We often make a big batch of soup for the week, but stir in some miso, lime juice and chili one night and perhaps toasted cumin seeds and fresh coriander the next. It completely transforms the dish.

What are your tricks for eating well on the road?

M: We always start a trip with a big green smoothie in a cool bag — it’s the best way to concentrate your greens in a portable way and keep yourself full on the move. For the flight, remember to chew well to avoid bloating, and drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol and caffeine.

J: You have to go with the flow when you’re traveling and that’s why we enourage the “better than” rule. Rather than trying to stay in control of everything, just look for the next best options: eggs and fruit over the pastry basket, a bar of dark chocolate over chocolate cake, hot water and lemon over coffee and eating lightly before bed.

How would you redesign airplane meals?

J: Some airlines have made definite improvements with their in-flight offerings, but most of the time you’re still looking at overly sweet and salty foods, processed snacks and sugary drinks. Our airplane meals would be a version of what we pack now: meat and vegetables on short-haul flights, plus something like sardines and biltong to snack on. There should be sweets, too, like 85% dark chocolate, some dried and fresh fruits, or our Paradise Bars. For a filling and nutritious snack, we’ll make Tahini Bliss Balls and Chickpea Crunchies. The bliss balls provide a dose of fats and protein to keep you full on a long haul flight, and the Chickpea Crunchies are great if you crave chips.

What are your favorite restaurants in London?

M: We love Brunswick House in Vauxhall, Elliots in Borough Market, Rochelle’s Canteen in Shoreditch (it’s hidden from the street in a converted school), and Paradise in Kensal Rise. And we’ve just discovered Sea Containers inside the new Mondrian Hotel on the Southbank, which is incredible. The chef, Seamus Mullen, focuses on all seasonal ingredients, and there are beautiful views across the River Thames.

What’s next for Hemsley + Hemsley?

J: We’ll be travelling across Europe for the translated editions of our book The Art Of Eating Well, as well as Australia, and back to America for the US edition. We’ve almost finished writing our second cookbook, which will be out in 2016. Further down the line, we’d love to create Hemsley + Hemsley wellness hubs for teaching and sharing. We’ve already started with our small urban weekend retreats called The Mind Body Reset, which we host with friends Yasmin Sewell and meditation teacher Gary Gorrow, so that’s the focus and the dream!

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