Close Connections: Lydia & Alma - we changed our lives by going vegan
When their mum became ill after a bereavement, sisters Lydia and Alma took their family on a plant-based journey.
In 2015, tragedy struck the Unsudimi family, with a close bereavement wreaking havoc on their mental and physical well-being. When doctors and medication didn’t bring the improvements the family were hoping for, eldest daughter Lydia, now 28, took matters into her own hands, carving a vegan path to recovery for her mum and siblings.
Lydia says, “After we lost our dad Kitoko, our mum Dollie really suffered. They’d been together since she was 19 and the stress of the bereavement resulted in painful flares of ulcerative colitis and arthritis in her knees, putting her in hospital multiple times. Mum suffered with her mental health, too, after dad died and widowhood was isolating and lonely. Food was a comfort but the choices we were making weren’t great.”
Lydia, sister Alma, now 24, and younger siblings Vanessa, 20, and Messiah, 14, all adored mum Dollie’s ‘Deep South’ American cooking. “We loved Mum’s hot dogs, burgers, macaroni cheese, fried chicken and potato salad, but it wasn’t great for our health.”
Singer Lydia had already been working on healing her acid reflux with dietary changes in order to continue singing, and when Dollie’s medications failed, or came with a high risk of colon cancer, she began to think about making deeper lifestyle changes.
“We were having a lot of processed foods, sugary snacks, and my reflux was painful and affecting my singing voice, Alma’s eczema had been with her since childhood, mum’s inflammatory conditions were debilitating, and Messiah was struggling with asthma.” After researching diets of other cultures and following vegan nutritionists and food content creators online, Lydia devised a plant-based plan for the whole family. After a family meeting, the Unsudimis agreed to clear out the cupboards and make meaningful swaps to give veganism a proper go together.
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“I shared how I was already seeing positive results with the changes I’d made and surely, if we worked together, we’d all feel benefits – but especially mum, whose health concerns were grounding her and making her grief harder to heal from.”
The family began with swapping processed white flour for spelt; white cane sugar for coconut sugar or agave; cow’s milk for coconut, almond or oat milk; vegetable or sunflower oil for olive, pumpkin or grapeseed oil. Within two weeks, the family noticed changes in how they felt and put it down to their revised food choices.
“We all felt digestive improvements, Alma’s eczema cleared up and we had more energy.”
Encouraged by this, Lydia and Alma created a raw kale salad with olive oil, onions, peppers, chickpeas, carrots and radish as a way of helping to support their mum’s iron levels. They also suggested Messiah, then nine, swap his boiled egg breakfast for fruit and toast. Afterwards, he said he felt less congested in the mornings and reported fewer symptoms of asthma. Despite doctors telling Dollie she’d need months of rehab on her arthritic knee to get walking again, she only needed six weeks and Lydia is convinced it was down to her meal plans.
“Mum’s knee pain reduced so much she didn’t need walking aids anymore and the doctors were amazed. They told her to keep doing what she was doing as her low iron levels had boosted significantly.”
The family’s vegan meals brought a welcome improvement in Dollie’s emotional well-being, too. “With her physical health improving, she felt able to move forward without Dad. She began to go out and be social again, starting a support group for other widows.”
These improvements boosted the family’s confidence in the kitchen, with Lydia and Alma finding new ways of cooking old favourites. But packing in lots of flavour remains important. “We still have a southern American culture, which is indulgent. I didn’t want to compromise the quality and taste.”
The sisters learned how to make burgers from beans and pulses, vegan coconut yogurt parfaits, homemade granola (see recipe below), and enjoyed stir-fries with fried jackfruit, oyster mushrooms and banana blossom. They also embraced Congolese recipes their dad had taught them, including pondu stew made with ground cassava leaves, aubergines, onions, peppers, garlic, and served with quinoa or fufu made with semolina, water and tapioca starch.
“Now, Mum comes to us with new ideas to support our well-being. She only needs one medication instead of five, and if she has a flare-up, it’s a day or two instead of weeks and a hospital stay. Alma’s skin has cleared up, and my reflux hasn’t returned.”
A vegan diet may not work for everyone, but Lydia and Alma are committed to it. “Now we’ve seen how life-changing a plant-based diet has been for us, we will never go back.”
Try Lydia and Alma's vegan parfait & granola recipe.
