A NEWPORT woman has turned her interest in healthy vegan cooking into a business opportunity.

Kirsty Wysome, 22, originally from Newport by now living in Cwmbran, started her business ‘The Green Bee Food Prep’ around 10 weeks ago after gaining an interest in cooking healthy food.

She has balanced her business with working 20 hours a week in a supported living home as a support worker and raising her 16-month-old son Isaac John Callaghan - and on average preps and delivers more than 100 meals on a dedicated business day.

“I enjoy finding meals and making them as healthy and low in calories as possible, while still keeping them enjoyable,” she added.

She then started to learn more about veganism and the benefits it can have on your body.

“I really enjoyed making vegan meals and finding new meal ideas and I was constantly asking friends and family to try my food and they always enjoyed it," she said.

“A few family members asked me to cook them some meals for the week so that they can eat healthy food while working. This slowly gained more interest and then after posting my meals on Facebook it off quite fast.

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“I couldn’t believe the response that I had. I didn’t want to do anything the wrong way so I very quickly applied as a business and contacted an environmental health officer so that I could make sure I was following all of the correct protocols.

“Due to Covid-19 they haven’t been able to visit my premises yet but hopefully it will happen soon so that I can get my hygiene rating. But I follow every correct protocol and work as hard as I can to ensure the highest level of cleanliness.

“I love cooking my vegan food and I love knowing that what I’m eating is natural, unprocessed and healthy. I also love knowing that other people are eating such healthy, beneficial food and enjoying it too.

“I love finding meals that usually require meat and dairy, such as creamy pastas, and turning them vegan. It’s amazing when non-vegans eat them and tell me that they enjoyed them just as much as the dairy version.

“I’ve never been much of a cook – actually it’s a very new thing for me. I only really started learning to cook when I joined Slimming World as I struggled with my weight and health and knew that I had to do something.

“Lots of meal prep companies offer vegan and vegetarian food but the market is predominately meat and dairy based, so I feel like an entirely vegan menu was definitely missing in the market.

“A lot of vegan options are often the same and can easily become quite boring, which is why I always try to change them.

“My food is always prepared on the day that people collect. I cook all my meals on a Sunday morning and afternoon, and they are either collected or sent for delivery on Sunday evening.

“I’m hoping that as my business grows, I can expand my menu and introduce more cooking days, but my food will always be fresh.

“Between running the business, working 20 hours and raising my one-year-old I don’t get much sleep – but I love it!”

To find out some more information, head to the Facebook page @thegreenbeefoodprep.