A creative cook, bestselling author and mum to Gigi (with a little boy on the way!), Leah Itsines is passionate about making real food healthy, delicious and accessible to women everywhere.
She’s spent the past decade sharing recipes, kitchen hacks and her go-to tips and tricks with her family, friends and followers, and now, she’s bringing an epic collection of 30 recipes straight from her kitchen to the YogaFokus app.
Having grown up in a big, Greek family that loved to come together over a home-cooked meal, Leah’s food philosophy is big on fresh ingredients, plenty of flavour, balance, variety and bringing a whole lot of joy to every meal.
Like Kayla, she credits her positive relationship with food to being raised in a home where meals were seen as a source of celebration and nourishment and never as something we should be denying ourselves. Being surrounded by strong, female role models like her mum and yiayia also laid a strong, feel-good foundation for years to come.
It’s an approach that Leah’s carried through from her childhood to early adulthood and one she wants to instil in her own kids now she’s a mum herself.
There’s so much joy to be found in food
Whether it’s a birthday, Easter, Friday night happy meal with Kayla and the kids or just a chance to bring the whole family together on a weeknight, food has always been a way for the Itsines family to spend time together and connect, regardless of who’s the one doing the cooking (Leah) or cleaning up afterwards (Kayla).
“Food has always brought our family together, and taking the time to sit down around the table and enjoy a meal together has always been so important to us,” Leah shares. “It’s always brought me a sense of happiness, community and family.”
Fuel yourself towards your goals
Delicious, nourishing meals that support your health and wellbeing goals? That’s what food is all about here at YogaFokus, which is why we’re so excited to bring Leah’s new recipe collection to the YogaFokus Community.
“We were taught from an early age that embracing a healthy, balanced diet is important and that you need food to go about your day,” says Leah.
As she’s gotten older, she’s also realised how important food was as fuel. Knowing how many women have big work days, are busy mums, and are also trying to stick to a workout schedule, Leah appreciates how many people need quick but nutritious and delicious recipes to turn to when life is moving so fast.
“When Kayla and I got older and started going to the gym, this idea of food as fuel took on a whole new meaning. I know now that food supports my body in so many ways, whether it’s for a busy day at work, performing in the gym or now that I’m pregnant again.”
There’s no such thing as “good” and “bad” foods
Good and bad. Healthy and unhealthy. Always and sometimes. These kinds of labels have no place in Leah’s home – and she wants you to ditch them, too.
“There’s a lot of noise out there about what you can and can’t do, what you should and shouldn’t eat, but I think the best thing to do is take it back to the absolute basics and embrace a balanced diet that gives you the nourishment you need to go about your day and allows you to eat meals you actually enjoy.”
Prioritising balance over restriction and saying no to the idea of “food guilt” is also an approach that informs Leah’s parenting decisions, saying that nothing is ever seen as strictly off limits for three-year-old Gigi. It’s more about trying to guide her towards healthier options, as much as she would love to live on lollipops alone.
“I’m never going to say ‘no’ to her food choices but I will take the opportunity to redirect her towards more nutritious options when I need to,” Leah shares, “For example, if she asks for a lollipop right before we’re about to sit down for dinner, I’ll tell her that we need to eat our dinner first and then if our tummy isn’t full we can look at something else to eat afterwards. I hope that by not restricting or labelling her food preferences it sets her up for a balanced approach to eating while learning about the importance of nutrition.”
In Leah’s view, there are no hard and fast rules or a one-size-fits-all approach that will suit every woman. If you’re eating well, fuelling your body and feeling happy and well, that’s the most important thing.
Let your food game change as your life changes
While one of Leah’s favourite pastimes is spending hours in the kitchen testing out a new recipe or preparing a delicious feast for her family and friends, becoming a mum has forced her to rethink her approach to cooking and eating.
Three-hour, 20-step recipes are out, and quick and easy options that are jam-packed with flavour and get the tick of approval from the ultimate taste-taster, Gigi, are in.
“While the essence of my philosophy hasn’t changed much over time, my approach to cooking has had to change since becoming a mum,” says Leah. “When I’m looking at a recipe I’m thinking about how much nutritional value I can add to this meal, how quickly I can get it on the table and whether my family will actually eat it.”
“There’s a big difference between being 20 years old and living at home and creating recipes versus where I’m at now as a mum. They are two different worlds,” she says. “Now, I’m more time conscious, more budget conscious, we’ve got more mouths to feed and I have to be more realistic with the time I have available.”
She encourages you to work smarter, not harder, in the kitchen, whether that’s opting for the microwaveable pack of rice when you need to or having a bag of frozen veggies in the freezer ready to go.
Unlock hundreds of recipes in the YogaFokus app
And fuel yourself forward
Leah Itsines x YogaFokus
No one knows how to whip up a crowd-pleasing meal the whole family will love quite like Leah (sorry, not sorry, Kayla), and her brand-new YogaFokus recipe collection was WAY too good to be kept in the Itsines family group chat.
One word you’ll never use to describe this collection? Boring. Leah’s on a mission to make every meal one full of flavour so you’ll come back to it time and time again.
“I know that these recipes taste good,” Leah says. “I’m so meticulous in trying and testing these things and Gigi is also the harshest critic.”
Take a look at the full line-up in the YogaFokus app today.