Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hey! My name is Tereza Slancarova, I live in Prague, Czech republic and I am a 20-year-old student of the humanitarian studies at the Charles University. I love being active and my favourite activities are yoga (I am a certified yoga instructor) and running (my greatest achievement so far was finishing a half-marathon!). I am vegan and I love creating healthy plant-based recipes! If you’d like to try some of them, check out my website www.terezasdiary.com or the Instagram @terezas_diary. Apart from that, I love reading philosophical books or listening to podcasts!
When did you start food blogging on Instagram and what inspired you to start?
I created Tereza’s diary two years ago. In past, I struggled with an eating disorder and anxiety but healthy plant-based diet & regular exercise helped me to recover and I found my passion in the healthy lifestyle. That was actually the reason why I started my blog as I wanted to help people going through something similar.
What are the biggest challenges and greatest rewards of being a food/lifestyle blogger?
For me, the biggest challenge is not to eat the meal before it’s captured! Hah, just kidding. People sometimes don’t see it, but in fact, being a food blogger is highly time-consuming. Personally, I work 7 days a week as I am constantly thinking about what to post, what to cook next or what to improve. Also, firstly you have to invent the recipe, buy all the ingredients, cook the actual meal, taste it and if it doesn’t work, you have to do it all over again. If it works, then comes the shooting, editing, writing captions etc. Sometimes it gets pretty crazy!
On the other hand, I would never change my lifestyle and I am extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to do what I love. For me, the greatest reward are the messages from my followers saying that they liked my recipe or that I helped them in any way. Nothing can beat such a feeling!
You are such a positive advocate for plant-based living. What led you to this lifestyle?
My reasons to go vegan were purely ethical. After watching some documentaries I realized that animals are here with us, not FOR US. Now I consider my decision to go vegan as the best one I’ve ever done because both my mental & physical health improved a lot.
Where do you get your recipe inspiration from?
I love to travel so I am being inspired by different cultures and their cuisines. Also, Instagram is an amazing source of inspiration (your guys included!). However, what inspires me the most to create new recipes are the leftovers I find in the fridge!
What is the vegan culture like in the Czech Republic?
I can see some positive changes and the vegan community is truly growing! There are many content creators promoting plant-based lifestyle, supermarkets started offering vegan products and especially in Prague, you can find some vegan option in many restaurants. However, people in other Czech cities and villages are still against/ absolutely unfamiliar with the veganism which means that there’s still a long way ahead of us.
What are some things you like to do in your spare time?
As I’ve already said, I am a very active person! I love doing yoga, running or going for long walks. I love being in nature and spend most of the days outdoors. To unwind, I prefer reading books and listen to podcasts.
If you could live off one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Definitely baked sweet potatoes with a generous drizzle of the cashew butter!
You serve up some pretty amazing dishes in our Coconut Bowls! What has been your favourite so far?
It’s hard to say, everything tastes better out of the coconut, right?! :) But if I really had to choose, I would go for a chocolate nice cream with some crispy homemade granola!
What is your favourite thing about your Coconut Bowls?
You can put whatever inside and always take an Instagram-worthy pic! Also, I love how eco-friendly they are.
We are so excited to have one of your recipes included in our new cookbook ‘Vegan Bowls for Vegan Souls’. Tell us about the recipe you chose and what it means for you to be apart of the book?
Thank you! But It’s my pleasure to be a part of such a positive & empowering community! Every time I have some problem I can reach for help and you guys are always so willing to help...thank you! I still can’t believe that I was given such an opportunity to have my recipe in the book that the vegan world has never seen before. It’s my dream come true!
I named the recipe I created for the ‘Vegan Bowls for Vegan Souls’ the Potachos. To be perfectly honest, it was created one beautiful evening when I came home from my run, opened the fridge and wanted to cook something nourishing from the leftovers I found. I wanted to have all the macronutrients in the meal so I used the potatoes as a source of carbs, black beans as a source of protein and the avocado for some healthy fats! Then I created an easy salsa and there you go - healthy potachos recipe which is so yummy that one coconut bowl is just not enough!
