Riverdale’s Camila Mendes shared her struggles with dieting and body image in a powerful post on Instagram this week. Aside from being the sassy and confident Veronica Lodge on Riverdale, she has also been a vocal advocate for those who struggle with eating disorders.
She wrote about how she recently spoke to a naturopath about her food anxiety and obsession with dieting. She said it used to “consume” her and that she “refused to make room in [her] mind for any other concerns.” She focused so much on dieting and with the idea of being skinny that she didn’t allow her mind to focus on “all the pastimes that brought me joy.”
She used the hashtag #DoneWithDieting and tagged Project HEAL, a non-profit that provides support to people suffering from eating disorders. Mendes has always been open about her experience with mental health since being in the limelight and announced her partnership with Project HEAL back in October. She has also openly spoken about her decision to see a therapist and her experience with being in the entertainment industry while recovering from an eating disorder.
In the spirit of not dieting, here's 15 Vegan restaurants you NEED to visit...
15 Vegan Restaurants You Need To Visit
1 of 14Fed By Water
With 4.2 stars on Google, this plant-based restaurant in Dalston serves authentic Italian food. They account not just for fabulous flavour, but nutritional value and environmental concerns. You can also order from them on Just Eat, accessible and ethical, what more could you need?
2 of 14Eat of Eden
Based in Brixton, Eat of Eden specialises in West Indian cuisines fused with European flavours. Their heartly, wholesome meals are sure to leave you feeling full and have your foodie cravings filled.
3 of 14Temple of Seitan
One of the most popular vegan restaurants in London, Temple of Seitan have made a name for themselves serving delicious fast food from macaroni cheese to egg and bacon baps. With locations in Hackney and Camden, they also only pay employees the living wage.
4 of 14Essence Cuisine
Super minimalist and with the most attentive customer service, Essence Cuisine is based in Shoreditch. Collaborating with raw food connoisseur Matthew Kenney, they're menu is miles away from the usual burgers and fries vegan eateries you see. Serving a fabulous all day breakfast and dinner dishes such as raw pad thai, it's an experience in itself just visiting the restaurant.
5 of 14Manna Cuisine
Based in Primrose Hill, Manna Cuisineis a world-renowned restaurant serving vegan versions of classic British food. Missing sausage and mash or your Sunday roast? Try Manna Cuisine, you'll be carrying on veganuary all year round.
6 of 14Cook Daily
With a tonne of celebrity fans from Nick Grimshaw to JME, Cook Daily is a takeaway based in Shoreditch. The BOXPARK venue has covered seating, but the food is reason enough to pop over. It will be a unique experience, with specialities including marijuana inspired sauce...
7 of 14Itadaki Zen
Serving the best vegan japanese food, Itadaki Zen believes in the medicinal power of their organic, far eastern cuisine. Investing in both your taste senses and your day-to-day health, food from them is the treat you deserve.
8 of 14Retreat Kitchen
This adorable Richmond-based restaurant changes it's menu week-to-week, giving you a new plant-based surprise every day. From taco salad to smoothie bowls, they provide both a taste and healthy menu.
9 of 14Redemption Bar
Combining socialising with healthy eating, Redemption Bar serves vegan, sugar-free and wheat-free food with an alcohol-free bar. A fitness fanatics dream, it has two locations, one in Shoreditch and one in Notting Hill.
10 of 14Vegan Express
Garratt Lane based restaurant,Vegan Express is a family run business attempting to make vegan food mainstream. Available on Deliveroo and Uber Eats, they serve tonnes of wholesome goodness from tofish an chips to pea-protein burgers.
11 of 14Wild Food Cafe
Adding a signature wild twist to any dish, Wild Food Cafe is another health based vegan eatery specialising in raw food. Referring to themselves as a 'well-being oasis', you are bound to leave this cafe feeling satisfied.
12 of 14The Gate
With three locations across London (Marylebone, Islington and Hammersmith), this is one of the most popular vegan and vegetarian chains in the city. It's gourmet menu is wide-ranging, and the perfect place for a vegan date.
13 of 14NAMA Foods
Providing artisan raw food, which you can receive as packages if you don't fancy leaving the house, NAMA Foods is perfect for anyone who wants to Instagram their food. With a huge menu of vegan, organic and unprocessed food, they're both ethical and healthy.
14 of 14Gauthier Soho
This award-winning restaurant has received many a fabulous review from various food magazines. It's no surprise that it's quite pricey, but as a pay-day treat this french cuisine based eatery is perfect.
Mendes encouraged followers to join Project HEAL’s conversation by sharing their own stories with the same hashtag on how dieting has harmed their mental and physical health. Fans credited Mendes for making them feel "confident" and determined to embrace this mindset.
She concluded her post with “I’m sick of the toxic narrative that the media consistently feeds us: that being thin is the ideal body type. A healthy body is the ideal body type, and that will look different for every person.
This is definitely something we can get behind.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.