‘You don’t look like a vegan’: Katy Beskow on why vegan food needn’t be time-consuming, expensive or full of hard-to-find ingredients

Emma Henderson talks to the food writer about convenience food, not shopping at health stores and why making your own plant-based takeaway is a much better option than ordering in

Beskow has been vegan for the past 13 years and was vegetarian since childhood

Your first three books were all vegan and based around making recipes in 15 minutes – where did this idea come from and how easy was it to make a whole book of speedy recipes?

When I first started food writing and teaching cookery classes seven years ago, I also worked full time in a demanding day job, so the food I was cooking up for my own dinner had to be quick and easy.

I developed a repertoire of recipes that were ready in 15 minutes or less, and I wanted to share them with others who need dinner on the table in no time.