Dr Leila D. (2025)

20/04/2025

Thinking about going plant-based, but uncomfortable with the typical “go vegan” campaigns?

So was I. That’s why I created the PlantEd Guide to Plant-Based Eating.

✨ It’s free, practical, and evidence-based, with no brand sponsorships, no diet culture, and no pressure.

After every talk I gave, people would ask: “Do you have a guide I can follow?”

And the truth is, I didn’t feel good about sharing mainstream resources; many of which are corporate and built on values I don’t share.

Some are even racist and Islamophobic.

So I made something different.

And I invited experienced nutritionist Elena, Health and Food to contribute and review the content to make sure it’s rooted in science and accessible to real people.

Here’s what’s inside:

🌿 Why people go plant-based
🛒 How to shop, cook, and meal prep
🧠 Key nutrients explained + common challenges addressed

🟩 Visit https://plantedacademy.com/planted-guide-to-plant-based-eating/

Or click on link in comment!

09/04/2025

Time to introduce myself

Hi, I’m Leila. I was born in Tehran and grew up in Vienna. Now I live in the UK.

From early on, I knew what it meant to be between things — between cultures, between languages, between expectations.

I was always trying to find a way to belong without losing myself.

I don’t come from privilege, or a family of academics, but my religious grandmother taught me compassion, and my father, generosity and giving 🧡

And my great-great-uncle is the beloved Sattar Khan — an Iranian revolutionary you find in history books (yep, really!) who was known for his sense of justice ✊🏽

I became a doctor because I wanted to help marginalised communities and show people like me that we can make it too.
But navigating that world as a racialised, visibly Muslim woman with an accent came at a cost.

There was no space to rest, to be, to grow.

Eventually, my body gave in and my migraines forced me to quit.

That was the beginning of something else.

I went vegan in 2013 for the animals 🐾

In 2018, I discovered the whole food, plant-based lifestyle and healed my migraines… almost 🥦

I went back to school and studied nutrition📚

Not because I needed more degrees ... but because in this world, people like me are questioned before we’re heard.

With an accent, a Muslim name, and no connections, a degree wasn’t a bonus. It was a shield.

When I started working as a plant-based nutritionist, I thought I had found my people, my tribe, a safe space to thrive.

But then came my burn-the-bridge moments 🔥

First, I was bullied, exploited, and sidelined in mainstream veganism.

Then the livestreamed g*cide of my people and the deafening silence in those same spaces.

That’s when I realised I was never going to belong in colonised wellness spaces.

And I didn’t want to.

I was done twisting myself into shapes for a seat at someone else’s table.

So I shifted ... from plant-based sports nutrition to talking about decolonising nutrition ✊🏽

Because this was never just about food.

It’s about power — who gets to speak, who gets listened to, and who gets erased.

Now I work as a decolonial educator and nutritionist.

I run PlantEd Academy where I create courses, lead workshops, and speak to healthcare professionals and institutions.

A portion of every offering goes to charity, because giving back is how I was raised.

My work is about shifting narratives. About creating space for truth.

About reminding people like us — marginalised, racialised, under-resourced — that we never needed their permission to take up space.

We don’t have to hide or play by their rules.

We get to define health — in our languages, in our cultures, in our bodies.

Right now, I’m still building. Still finding the ones who feel this in their bones.

If that’s you, stick around. Drop a 🌱 and say hi.

13/03/2025

A few years ago, The Game Changers made waves showing how ancient athletes thrived on simple, plant-based foods. But what it didn’t tell you?

📣Western sports nutrition is built on industry narratives, pushing animal protein, supplements, and rigid food rules as the gold standard.

That’s what colonialism does: it imposes strict rules, standardises bodies, behaviours, and even food. But Ramadan proves there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

☞The West says: “Eat protein every 3-4 hours to maximize muscle gains.”
🌙Ramadan shows: Total protein intake matters more than frequency. As long as athletes hit their protein goals between Iftar & Suhoor, they can maintain and even build muscle—without obsessing over protein shakes.

☞The West says: “Carbs before workouts are a must.”
🌙Ramadan shows: The body can adapt to fasted training. Strength and endurance athletes have trained before Iftar for centuries, proving timing isn’t everything—it’s about overall fueling and metabolic flexibility.

☞The West says: “Dehydration leads to poor performance and cognitive decline.”
🌙Ramadan shows: Hydration isn’t just about drinking constantly—it’s about optimising water retention, replenishing electrolytes, and adapting to fluid balance.

Western sports culture treats athleticism as something to be optimised, hacked, and commercialised. But true athleticism is about mental resilience, adaptability, and pushing past limits.

🌙Ramadan redefines strength; it proves peak performance isn’t just physical; it’s mental and spiritual too.

I’m not saying we should stop paying attention to our macros and mealtimes. All I’m saying is there’s more to athleticism than the latest supplement or the "perfect" meal timing.

🏃🏽‍♀️Salwa Eid Naser won gold in the 400m at the 2015 World Youth Championships while fasting for Ramadan.

⚽️Sadio Mané ran more than 10km in a Premier League match while fasting.

If history has shown us anything, it’s that athletes have been breaking records and expectations long before ‘performance hacks’ were a thing…and they’ll keep doing it without them.

07/03/2025

🌅🌙Suhoor isn’t just a meal; it’s an act of resistance. It’s rooted in tradition, in wisdom, and it’s what your body actually needs.

But capitalism and convenience culture have made Suhoor feel optional, convincing you that skipping it is no big deal.

But if you think about it, there’s a reason it’s Sunnah.

Suhoor isn’t just a ritual; it’s fuel. It keeps your energy steady so you’re not crashing by midday. It prevents dehydration because drinking water before bed isn’t enough.

📣So what should you actually eat?

🔥 Kuku Sabzi – Iranian herb frittata, packed with protein and healthy fats. Keeps your energy steady.

🔥 Ful Medames – Egyptian fava beans, packed with protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Keeps you full for hours.

🔥 Lentil soup with whole wheat bread – light but nourishing, easy on digestion.

Skipping Suhoor makes fasting harder than it needs to be. Ramadan isn’t about starving; it’s about being intentional.

Set your alarm. Eat Suhoor. Resist the system ✊🏽🌱🌙

05/03/2025

Ramadan isn’t about weight loss. But if you scroll through social media, you’d think it is.

❌ ‘Lose weight effortlessly during Ramadan!’
❌ ‘How to avoid gaining weight at Iftar!’

Ramadan is NOT a diet plan. It’s about reflection, discipline, and real nourishment.

So instead of worrying about restriction, let’s talk about how to actually fuel your body right.

📣What should you be eating for Iftar so you don’t feel bloated, sluggish, or still hungry?

✅ First, start light. There’s a reason we traditionally break our fast with dates and nuts.
→Dates give you quick energy and important minerals like potassium to help rehydrate.
→Nuts add healthy fats and protein, which slow digestion and keep your blood sugar steady—no energy crash.

✅ Next, hydrate properly. Herbal teas, infused water - great choices. But avoid sugary drinks. They dehydrate you fast.

✅ Then, build a balanced plate. You want carbs + protein + healthy fats to keep your energy stable. That could be:

🥣Lentils + rice + tahini → like Adasi or Mujadara
🍞Chickpeas + whole wheat bread → like Balila
🥬Tofu + quinoa + roasted veggies → like a simple Buddha bowl

✅ And finally: skip the fried, ultra-processed foods. They taste good, but they spike your energy and then leave you feeling drained.

➣Ramadan is NOT about deprivation.
➣It’s NOT a wellness trend.

➣It’s about eating with intention - niyyah 🤲🏽 A word every Muslim knows, and one that means everything during Ramadan.

✨ What’s your go-to Iftar meal? ⬇️

28/02/2025

☪️Last in the Decolonizing Ramadan series, and this time, the focus is on "eating with intention".

For centuries, Muslim communities have nourished themselves with simple, plant-based, whole foods - barley, lentils, dates, and figs in West Asia; black-eyed peas, millet, and okra in North and East Africa; rice, mung beans, and coconut-based dishes across South and Southeast Asia.

But today? Our traditional foods have been pushed aside.

Colonialism and capitalism replaced them with processed imports, industrial meat, and Western fast food. And somewhere along the way, we were told that a meal isn’t “complete” without meat.

🔊That’s not tradition. That’s colonial influence.

Think about it:
🔸 Why are cheap, processed imports flooding our markets while our own, indigenous foods are becoming harder to find?
🔸 Why are fast-food chains and ultra-processed snacks replacing the plant-forward meals our ancestors ate?

🔊This shift wasn’t accidental.

Colonial powers reshaped entire food systems—from British-controlled wheat policies in India to French and Dutch interference in African agriculture. They pushed out nutrient-rich, traditional plant-based diets in favor of cash crops, refined flours, sugar, and industrial animal agriculture—foods designed for profit, not nourishment.

And now, even in Ramadan - a time meant for restraint, reflection, and simplicity - we see overconsumption and commercialization replacing true nourishment.

🌱Eating our traditional, plant-based foods is decolonization in action.�
✨Eating with intention, not overconsumption, is an act of resistance.�
✊🏽Reclaiming our ancestral foods isn’t just about health—it’s about justice.

24/02/2025

Ramadan isn’t about self-denial; it’s about discipline with purpose.

But that purpose isn’t just personal; it’s about how we exist in relation to the world, to power, and to justice.

👉🏽Am I practicing kindness, justice, and mercy, not just towards animals, but towards marginalized people, the exploited, and those struggling under systems of oppression?

👉🏽Do my actions align with my belief in justice, or do I stay silent when it’s inconvenient?

(Justice includes speaking up for Palestine, for workers in the Global South, for the people harmed by the very industries that profit from “ethical” labels.)

👉🏽Where can I show more generosity—not just through donating money, but through action, solidarity, and challenging systems that uphold inequality?

👉🏽Am I rejecting the commodification of veganism, where “ethical eating” is sold back to us as a privilege, while real justice means reclaiming food systems stolen by capitalism and colonialism?

💡Take some time to reflect on how your choices impact others, whose labor is behind what you consume, and how you can move toward justice beyond individual habits.

🔥Resist the systems.
🧡Reclaim our heritage.
✊🏽Rebuild for justice.

19/02/2025

Fasting is both spiritual and political. It’s a way to connect with God, detach from the material world, and for many, it’s a way to resist and protest against oppression.

Islam isn’t the only religion that views fasting as holy. Many traditions have practiced it for centuries.

✨ Hindus fast on special days like Purnima (full moon) and during festivals like Shivaratri.
�✨ Buddhists traditionally fast from noon to dawn as part of their spiritual discipline.�
✨ In Ethiopia, Orthodox Christians fast for up to 252 days a year, including the 55-day Hudadi fast, where they abstain from all animal products.�
✨ Indigenous communities in the Americas fast during vision quests and healing ceremonies.

So, maybe it’s no surprise that activists and revolutionaries from the Global South have used fasting as a political weapon too:

🔥 Gandhi fasted to protest British colonial rule.�
🔥 Cesar Chavez fasted to demand farmworker rights and expose labor exploitation in the U.S.�
🔥 Muslim fighters in Algeria, Sudan, and Egypt fasted as a form of resistance against colonial powers.�
🔥Political prisoners—from Palestinian detainees to South African anti-apartheid activists—have gone on hunger strikes to force global attention to injustice.

Fasting isn’t just about personal self-control—it’s about resisting forces that try to control us. It’s a moment to step back from excess, reject exploitation, and realign with justice.

Fasting is an act of faith AND an act of resistance.

12/02/2025

Ramadan isn’t just about abstaining from food; it’s about mindfulness, restraint, and justice in what we choose to buy and who we choose to support.

There are certain foods commonly consumed during Ramadan across the world. First and foremost, dates - a Sunnah food of Ramadan. But many dates in global markets come from stolen Palestinian land, harvested through forced labor and settler exploitation. Some of the biggest date companies directly fund occupation and apartheid.

And it’s not just dates. Many of the fruits we enjoy during Ramadan - grapes, tangerines, pomegranates - are sourced from Israel and occupied territories. Even hummus, lentils, and grains can come from Israeli companies profiting off stolen land and unethical labour practices.

This Ramadan, before you buy, ask yourself:

🔹 Where do my dates come from? Are they from ethical sources, or do they fund oppression?
🔹 Who grows my grains and lentils? Am I supporting fair-trade, small farmers, or corporate exploitation?
🔹 What am I spending on in Ramadan? Am I over-consuming in the name of tradition, or being intentional with my purchases?

Boycotting unethical brands, supporting ethical food sources, and buying less but better - these are all acts of resistance.

Decolonizing our diets isn’t just about eating plant-based; it’s about knowing where our food comes from and ensuring justice is in every bite.

Consuming with intention is decolonizing Ramadan.

10/02/2025

Ramadan isn’t just about fasting; it’s about reflection, growth, and intention.

It’s a time to realign ourselves with our values. That’s why many Muslims begin preparing a month before, in Sha‘ban, by reflecting and setting intentions for Ramadan.

But reflection isn’t just personal; it’s also about unlearning.

For many of us, colonization and capitalism have shaped how we think about food:
❌ We’ve been told that eating meat at every meal is a sign of prosperity.
❌ That plant-based meals are “poor people’s food.”
❌ That nutritious, whole foods are just another elitist wellness trend.

➤But what if the real privilege is having the choice to eat consciously when so many in the world, especially in the Global South, don’t have access to real food because of exploitative food systems?

➤What if reclaiming our traditional, plant-based foods is an act of justice, not just for animals, but for people too?

This Ramadan, I hope we start rethinking what’s on our plates, not through the lens of trendy, Westernized veganism, but through justice, sustainability, and compassion✊🏽🌱

What’s one way you’ve noticed how colonization has shaped the way you see food?

05/02/2025

The vegan industry loves Ramadan...when it benefits them.

Soon, mainstream vegan organisations will start posting about how you can be both Muslim and vegan. They remind us how “Middle Eastern” cuisine is naturally plant-based, and that Islam is rooted in compassion and justice.

But these are the same organisations that have stayed silent on G-cide. The same groups that ignore Islamophobia, racism, and the injustices Muslim vegans face in these spaces. They borrow our plant-based food traditions without credit, but when Ramadan comes around, suddenly, it fits their marketing strategy.

Mainstream vegan spaces tokenise BIPOC activists to appear inclusive, but refuse to challenge white supremacy, capitalism, and the colonial food system that keeps communities oppressed. Because true justice isn’t about branding—it’s about dismantling these systems.

This Ramadan, we’re reclaiming the narrative - together ☪️🤲🏽

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be talking about Ramadan, fasting and how to sustain an active lifestyle while fasting.

What questions do you have about Ramadan, fasting or decolonizing food? Drop them below! ⬇️

25/01/2025

The belief that meat is the best source of protein - this is not just a myth—it’s a product of colonial history.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Western nutritional science, led by Carl Voit, a German physiologist, promoted animal protein as the “gold standard” for human nutrition.

But this idea wasn’t just about health; it was about power.

British colonizers dismissed plant-based diets as “inferior,” with Oliver Goldsmith, an Anglo-Irish writer claiming, “The Indians have long been remarkable for their cowardice and effeminacy….Many tribes among them eat nothing that has life.”

And the story didn’t stop with the British Empire.

In the American West, Indigenous communities were violently displaced, bison populations were decimated, and cattle ranching took over.

Meat wasn’t just food; it was a tool of erasure and exploitation and soon became a symbol of strength and dominance, shaping the industrial food systems we see today.

Before these colonial narratives reshaped our societies, Indigenous communities in the global south flourished on rich, plant-based diets rooted in tradition.

Dishes like Aasheh Reshteh (noodle soup), Dhal (lentil stew), Mujadara (lentils and rice), Kisir (a bulgur-based salad), and Ful Medames (slow-cooked fava beans) provided a balanced mix of nutrients, including protein and iron.

For example, Aasheh Reshteh, it’s got 5–7 mg of iron per serving. Then there’s Mujadara with 4–6 mg, and dhal offers 7 mg per serving.

For context, a male adult needs 8.7 mg of iron daily, while an adult woman requires 14.8 mg

Decolonizing nutrition means questioning the systems that define “healthy” and reclaiming our plant-based traditions.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our FREE PlantEd Guide to a Plant-Based Eating today: https://plantedacademy.com/planted-guide-to-plant-based-eating/

📷The beautiful photos of the iron-rich dishes on the first slide are courtesy of blogs by 'Plant-Based Arab', 'Plant-Based Persian', 'Zen and Zaatar', and 'Sibel's Recipe'.
You can find the links to the recipes for each dish in the comments.

Dr Leila D.

20/04/2025

09/04/2025

13/03/2025

07/03/2025

05/03/2025

28/02/2025

24/02/2025

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