Whether you are one to commit to a full 40 days of Lent before Easter or just during Megali Evdomada, there is a way to stay true to a clean diet before Anastasi that doesn’t restrict you from your favourite meals.
You’ve probably heard of it as it’s one of the most popular Plant Based food brands in Australia at the moment, but you might not know that it’s Greek and how it came to be.
Evan Tsioukis, Plantein‘s sole Managing Director and food technologist has been in the food manufacturing business since 2004, in the footsteps of his father (Chris Tsioukis) and uncle (George Tsioukis).
It wasn’t until 2015, when his father was diagnosed with bowel cancer, that he decided to completely change the way he lived life.
With his father’s condition being terminal, Evan found himself in Mount Athos, Agion Oros, as he prefers to call it in Greek, seeking guidance on a spiritual and physical level to deal with the grief of his father’s illness, his passing and his own path, a path he needed to change in order to honour his father’s memory by changing the narrative and actively becoming a better man.
“The idea came about when I went to Agion Oros in 2015. A place I wasn’t really prepared to go to,” Evan Tsioukis tells Neos Kosmos. “I went there looking for a cancer treatment for my dad but also for support and whilst being there, praying for my father I started fasting.”
“What they (the monks) helped me understand was general well-being, the way of life, the concentration. There, I understood the purpose of fasting and cleansing. After my father passed away, they helped me understand a more well-rounded way to be a better person. It’s confronting at times but every time I go I gain inner strength and sometimes you’ve got to have ‘pisti and ipomoni’ and go in before you go out. Lessen the distractions. Eating meat is a luxury product but do we really need all the luxury in the world?”
In 2016, Plantein launched its first veggie product, however, Evan decided to enter the market with heavily protein focused products as there was a gap at supermarkets for a non-meat product that could be placed right next to meat.
“I’m not vegan, and I have my habits. Obviously, after going to Agion Oros and spending time with the monks, I changed my view on life. On many things, and of course diet. We are what we eat and the consumption of food, the energy that nourishes us is a sacred act which needs to be done consciously,” Evan explains.
“We wanted an option that would be plant based but would attract the flexitarians, people that consume meat but that for various reasons are reducing it. We wanted to create a new protein category that sits amongst the meat but does not imitate meat. We are a completely new protein category made by plants.”
“We have been following trends closely over the years, realising that in general, the month before Easter we sell the most products,” Evan explains adding that Plantein has been exporting to Greece since 2020, to the UAE and Canada.
“These are great options for anyone wanting to do the Orthodox Wednesday and Friday lent or just wanting to reduce their animal protein consumption. With a close look to Greek tradition and culinary history one can see that at no point in history did Greeks consume as much meat as they do today. This is why, having been in the food industry and part of the meat industry also, creating a clean protein option to stand right next to meat felt essential.”
Taking his experiences at Mount Athos into account, Evan wants to give back to the community doing his bit to make this world a better place for himself and those that will inherit it. It’s a shift towards general well-being and evolution, in order to be able to get value out of food without causing extra harm to the environment or our bodies.
“The planet is essentially not going to grow, the population is,” Evan tells Neos Kosmos.
“Even though we might want meat, it takes time to grow animals and it’s not always sustainable or ethical to do it so quickly and without care. We simply do not have the land, space or supplies to keep growing animals that are treated cruelly and not fed properly.”
Moving forward our focus is to infuse our already existing products with more nutrients, vitamins and minerals that the human body needs. We’re looking at making our products even healthier for the body, mind and soul.”
*Neos Kosmos has selected a plant-based option for a different spin on the classic oven baked chicken and potatoes with a spin!
Check out the recipe below:
ONE TRAY KIEV & BAKED POTATOES [SERVES 4]
INGREDIENTS
2 x Packet Plantein Garlic Kievs
4 Medium Potatoes (washed + cut into wedges)
¼ Cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
2 tsp Salt
½ tsp Ground Pepper
⅓ Cup Parmesan cheese (finely grated)
LEMON HERB DRESSING
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 ½ tsp Lemon Zest (finely grated)
2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
6 Tbsp Olive Oil
¼ Cup Fresh Parsley (chopped)
2 Tbsp Fresh Mint Chopped
Salt + Pepper (to taste)
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a large baking tray/dish with parchment paper.
2. Place the olive oil, spices and Parmesan cheese into a large sealable bag. Place the potatoes into the bag. Seal. Shake to coat the potatoes evenly.
3. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking tray/dish. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and assemble kiev pieces on top. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes (flipping the kievs halfway through).
4. Meanwhile, to make the lemon herb dressing; mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
5. When ready to serve, drizzle over the lemon herb dressing. Serve on a bed of greens (optional). Enjoy!