Plant-Based Creative (PBC) is the brainchild and passion project of well-known South African food personality Tamsin Snyman, who has taken her many years of experience within the world of cuisine and coupled it with an intensive amount of careful research and product development to create her plant-based offerings. PBC’s test kitchen in on the property of The Clay Café in Hout Bay and rolls out a range of plant-based/vegan products that are all gluten-free, refined sugar-free and available for purchase directly from the Clay Café, selected stores in the valley on the online shop. Central to Plant-Based Creative is a personalised consulting service whereby Tamsin herself will come to your home and assess what you currently stock in your kitchen, and consume on a regular basis, and advise you on plant-based alternatives that are not only delicious, but also good for you, and the planet too.
Prevention is better than cure
As a food critic, writer, restaurant reviewer, food consultant, author, publisher and entrepreneur (to name a few of my roles) it is important to note that PBC also stands for “prevention is better than cure”, and the reason for this play on the name stems from my very up close and personal battle with critical illness. I lost my mom, Lannice Snyman, to cancer. A few months later my dad passed away and a short time thereafter my husband was diagnosed with 4th stage colon, brain and lung cancer. He sadly succumbed to complications from his intensive chemo treatment. However, during his two year battle, I began researching the effects of diet on our health and consulted extensively with dieticians and wellness experts – adapting my families eating habits accordingly. Chris lived for two years, getting to spend precious time with our baby daughter, despite an initial prognosis of only two to four months! I fully believe that his focused approach to nutrition during his journey with cancer gave him precious extended time with us – and his oncologist agreed. More recently, I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. As a single mom with a young daughter, I was determined to well and truly beat this disease, and so after undergoing surgery and radiation I became a patient at the LifeShine Wellness Centre in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. My time here entrenched what I had learnt while caring for my husband Chris. Our lifestyles – and especially our diets – play a huge role in our health. Years of excess on my part from my career in the world of restaurants and food, coupled with the immense stress and trauma of loss, had made me ill. I came to understand that a predominantly plant-based lifestyle can play a major role in maintaining one’s health and well-being.
