With her acclaimed works “40 Delicious Vegan Recipes” and “Theo the Pig,” Farah has established herself as a leading voice in the vegan culinary world. Her creativity and passion for plant-based cooking shine through in her contributions to national newspaper recipe sections, where she shares her innovative and mouthwatering creations with a wide audience.
Beyond her culinary pursuits, Farah is a devoted mother to three lively young children and a supportive wife. Her dedication to her family is matched only by her success as an awarded businesswoman, demonstrating her ability to balance multiple roles with grace and skill.
Farah’s journey to veganism spans over seven years, during which she has not only embraced a compassionate lifestyle but also deepened her understanding of plant-based nutrition. With a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the prestigious Colin T. Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell, Farah brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her culinary endeavors, empowering others to adopt healthier and more sustainable eating habits.
Through her work and personal example, Farah inspires others to explore the delicious and nutritious possibilities of vegan cuisine, while also highlighting the importance of compassion and mindfulness in our food choices.
Please tell us more about yourself
Busy Mama of Three, Managing Director, Vegan, Entrepreneur, farahs club & Cook Vegan, Wife and Friend
Farah Shammas
I am British-Lebanese living in Cyprus and always laugh that I’m a product of globalization as I also have grandparents from Germany and Syria so a real mix.
What motivated your decision to adopt a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, and how long have you maintained it?
Remember that the world does not need a handful of perfect vegans, it needs millions, even billions of imperfect vegans and people doing their best
Farah Shammas
I have been vegan now for seven years and before that I was a pescatarian for 10 years. Since I was a baby, I have never liked milk, cheese or dairy products.
It has always baffled me that anyone would want to eat cheese, a smelly curdled milk, but I know I am an exception on this and most people don’t just love it, but are addicted. I’m also concious that for many it’s the hardest thing about going vegan, so I’m lucky that I never had to go trhough ‘giving up cheese’ however there were still many other lifestyle changes and habbits to be considered when I became vegan.
My own mother is a cheese lover and we joked that she must have had so much when pregnant with me that I came out and said ‘never again!’ on a serious note I was definitely lactose-intolerant from childhood, but this was not a thing back in the 80s so I was routinely told I would be calcium deficient as I didn’t drink milk. I never was however. In face, most adults now are lactose intolerant but still try to drink or eat dairy which baffles me.
I am from a Greek Orthodox background and it is tradition to fast from animal products every year before Easter for 50 days (there are another three periods of the fasting but Easter is the most important and the one most do). Actually vegans should know that visiting a Greek Orthodox country like Greece or Cyprus before Easter is a dream as there are so many vegan options!
I was fasting for lent from childhood and as a teenager always became vegan during this period by my own choice (my parents never asked me to and neither of my siblings do it), but to be honest felt terrible by the time Easter came about.
I was bloated and usually gained weight. In short I was doing it all wrong and eating vegan junk food, processed flour and alternatives and had no clue about nutrition. At the end of the day, the 90s was all about calorie counting, at least to me. In my early twenties I developed IBS along with other stomach issues, and the fasting period made it worse, I thought this was normal to an extent and I never stopped to think maybe it was all the processed food, flours, sugars, coffees, etc.
So one year I ate fish during the fasting period and by doing this inadvertently didn’t eat as much junk. My intense pain and bad IBS side effects didn’t appear as strongly as a result. I felt better as I began also continued eating more plants and whole foods and started to try to have a healthier diet in general. When Easter came one year after fasting, by then I was in my late twenties, I did not feel like eating meat and without intension realized i became a pescatarian.
I thought I was living a healthy lifestyle until my first child was born in 2013. I started reading more into nutrition and wanted to give her the best. When our paediatrician handed me a pamphlet advising I feed her ham at 8 months (which the WHO had already started was a class 1 carcinogen) I realized something was wrong with our belief systems.
My psoriasis had gotten really bad after the pregnancy and I had a lot of stress at that period, so in my desperation I began reading lifestyle changes, I tried juicing for the first time and signed up for a plant-based nutrition course with eCornell eventually too.
While never perfect, and that’s not the aim, I turned my diet to clean one, and ate predominately plant based whole foods. I did not announce overnight or use the term ‘vegan’ probably until a year into going vegan, but all aspects of my life were slowly changing that year, from the clothes and cosmetics I bought, to what and how I cooked, and so much more.
By then we had our second child, I have read and watched several documentaries, and by the time we had our third child and lockdown hit, I started a Facebook Group called COOK VEGAN which grew to thousands within days, in the aim to share and promote easy to cook vegan food that can be enjoyed by all the family.
I went on to develop a cook book which made it to top 500 on Amazon in its genre, not bad for a first book that was self-published, and then my second book, Theo the Pig, for children hit top 135 on Amazon in it’s genre. I have now published a third book, again a children’s book and it’s not stopping there.
Any interesting stories during this period?
Every vegan around the world, once said ‘I could never give up meat’ – so don’t worry
Farah Shammas
Endless, I think the funniest is all the crazy comments you constantly get and ridiculous questions almost hurled at you at dinners, however I believe being vegan is all about kindness, and this must start with ourselves and fellow humans too. We should not put them off veganism, but rather gently explain and let their curiosity do the rest. We were once them.
What are common obstacles encountered when searching for vegan or vegetarian dining options, or when dining out with friends?
If you are new to veganism, and be prepared to answer the usual questions of where you will get your protein from
Farah Shammas
Plan ahead. I don’t believe in making people feel uncomfortable as this can backfire on the vegan movement, however I do always tell people when I am invited or accept a dinner invitation that I am vegan, I book ahead in travel and I search out places that have vegan options. If in doubt, go Asian! Finally, always carry snacks with you. Fruit, nuts, dates, vegan bars, biscuits, whatever works.
How would you encourage non-vegan/non-vegetarian individuals to explore meatless cuisine?
It is the best way of living as it promotes kindness. This is the true emphasis of veganism, be kind to all kinds, including yourself
Farah Shammas
Give them a copy of one of my vegan cookbooks like ’40 Delicious Vegan Recipes’ and tell them to join my club www.farahs.club to be supported into transitioning into a healthy lifestyle, mind and body, to whichever degree they are capable at their own pace.
How do you select your favorite vegan or vegetarian dining spots? Can you provide examples of some of your top choices, along with reasons why they stand out to you?
Seashells Healthy Living Vegan Restaurant in Cyprus and Golden Monkey Thai Restaurant in Cyprus for some great vegan options.
These are our restaurants in our five-star resort hotel and I’m super proud that our large 272 bedroom resort is the first and only hotel on the island to be part of Vegan Welcome group.
We offer at least 30% vegan choices in all of our 8 restaurants with one being fully vegan, the only hotel in Cyprus to have it’s own vegan restaurant which is also on the beach.
We’ve awards for our sustainable initiatives and aim is to showcase how even big companies and hotels can reduce their carbon footprint. We have just been certified as Carbon Neutral, the first on the island. www.straphael.com
What are common misconceptions people have about vegans or vegetarians? How do you effectively address and educate others to dispel these misunderstandings?
Be kind to yourself, it’s not about being perfect, the world doesn’t need perfect, it needs everyone to do their best. Your best is good enough
Farah Shammas
I think many people think that vegans are extremist, tree-hugging, emancipated and under nourished individuals. Unfortunately, we all know some who don’t help the cause and this is frustrating, but even the so called ‘annoying’ vegans are only doing this because they care.
I started my facebook group Cook Vegan during lockdown to try to break down some of the misconceptions that vegans don’t eat real food, or enough, and that we are annoying, which we aren’t ha ha. It grew so quickly as most members, as in my club, are not vegan and are intrigued, so I believe it worked and got people interested and many are now eating more vegan options and feeling empowered to even become vegan.
If you were offering advice to someone who is transitioning to a meatless diet, what guidance would you give them?
So be kind to yourself and get ready for some fun surprises and stories to look back on as you embark on your evolving journey.
Farah Shammas
Be kind to yourself and remember that variety is key. Try to incorporate as many whole foods into your diet and know that you will feel more hungry and be able to eat more. It’s good to take a multivitamin designed for vegans like VEG1 from the vegan society as many new comers to veganism don’t realize that some vitamins are needed like b12 (which they only got from animal products in the first place as they are usually artificially added to them anyway). It isn’t about being perfect, it’s about doing your best.
Hearing people say ‘I tried vegan but it wasn’t for me and I went back to eating meat’. I always say that they were never vegan, but in reality simply ate plant-based. Once you are really vegan, and you know about the tortures that go on in the animal industry, there is nothing that would convince you or ‘not be for you’ that would make you go back to contributing to it.
Check out my books, 40 delicious vegan recipes, children books ‘A little boy called Noah’ and ‘Theo the Pig’ for more inspiration and recipes. Available on Amazon.
Farah Shammas
Serious business woman having fun on Instagram as a reminder not to take life, or ourselves, too seriously 👍 For what I really do, see LinkedIn 😂
Farah’s Club
Cook Vegan
Strapheal Resort & Marina
all images courtesy of Farah Shammas