Sandra Pilkes advocates for small dietary shifts, highlighting how sharing and rethinking food choices, such as embracing legumes and heirloom tomatoes, can lead to greater sustainability, flavour, and community impact.
Sandra Pilkes uses a single tomato story to make a broader point about food, value and small choices with a larger payoff. Writing in Barneveldse Krant, she describes “verwaarden” as the idea of drawing more from what already exists, and uses a large, dark Spanish tomato to show how saving seeds can turn one fruit into many plants. The tomato, known as Mar Azul, also called Tomate Negro or Cherokee Tomato, became the basis for a homegrown experiment that spread well beyond one garden after the seeds were shared with other growers.
That sense of multiplication by sharing runs through her argument for eating more plants. Pilkes says a shift away from meat does not have to mean giving up flavour or nutrition. She points to lentils as a practical example: like meat, they provide protein, iron and B vitamins, while their fibre makes them a filling base for a meal. She also notes that legumes enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen, which can help the next crop that follows.
The recipe she offers fits that thinking: a dahl made from red lentils, served with a tomato salad and crisp aubergine. The method is straightforward, relying on familiar spices such as curry powder, turmeric, garam masala, chilli and lemongrass, along with coconut milk or cooking cream for richness. The salad combines Spanish tomatoes, shallots and lime, while the aubergine is salted, dried and then fried or air-fried until golden.
The piece is less a strict plea for vegetarianism than an invitation to make one small change. Pilkes frames the move as easy, healthy and worth trying, whether that means a meat-free lunch or one day a week without meat. Her closing message is simple: good food can be both generous and practical, and sometimes the most effective way to add value is to share what you have.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
