From health crisis to whole food
For Lauretta, everything began with a body that simply stopped cooperating.
She was very unwell, living what she calls a “half life,” and desperately looking for a way to get better. At first she tried paleo. It did not work. Then she started noticing a pattern in the research. Again and again, the people who reversed autoimmune issues and chronic conditions had moved to a nutrient dense, whole food plant based diet.
She did not want to be vegan. She loved things like beef chow mein and a glass of wine. There was a real emotional tug of war between comfort foods and the possibility of health.
But that nagging little voice would not shut up.
Every time she read another case study, the same thing appeared. Whole plants. No animal products. Minimal processed foods. Eventually she weighed up the price. On one side were her favourite foods and habits. On the other side was the chance to walk properly, play with her two year old, and feel alive again.
It was not an overnight miracle. There was no “I ate broccoli and woke up cured” moment. It was gradual. Along with giving up alcohol, improving sleep, reducing processed foods and working on relationships, the whole food plant based approach slowly began to restore her health.
Sharon came along for the ride. Not because she was forced to, but because she did not want her sister doing it alone and miserable at the dinner table. Much to her surprise, she noticed changes herself. More focus. More energy. More capacity to cope with life. Less brain fog, less slump. She jokes that she is cynical by nature and rolls her eyes at people who say “blueberries changed my life,” but she could not deny the difference in how she felt.
Falling in love with cooking, not deprivation
There is a big theme that runs through this conversation. They did not “lose” food. They discovered more of it.
The sisters strongly distinguish between “vegan” as a label and “whole food plant based” as a way of eating. You can technically be vegan and live off chips and white bread. That is not the diet that turned Lauretta’s health around.
They leaned into whole ingredients. Vegetables, beans, pulses, whole grains, nuts, seeds. Lauretta retrained as a natural vegan chef, focusing on holistic nutrition as well as flavour. They threw themselves into cooking, experimenting with miso, nutritional yeast, tamari, sprouts and all the extra touches that turn a plate of vegetables into a meal that makes you close your eyes with the first mouthful.
When you hear their stories about feeding a big Irish family, you can almost see the plates being passed around. People who thought vegans lived on lettuce suddenly asking for seconds and saying things like “I could be vegan if you cooked for me every day.”
That same joy in cooking is now at the heart of The Detox Barn retreats.
The Detox Barn: detox as nourishment, not punishment
The word “detox” can conjure up images of miserable people chewing on celery sticks and sipping sad juices. The Gavin Sisters work very hard to break that association.
Their retreats in Suffolk and Portugal are built around eating really well. Think hearty dals cooked with ginger, turmeric and white miso. Oven baked sticky style rice. Deeply flavoured curries, beetroot risottos tinted ruby red and finished with creamy coconut milk and nutritional yeast. Twenty a day in every meal. Plenty of protein. Plenty of fibre. Nobody leaves the table hungry.
Most of the food is vegan and largely gluten free, which has two big advantages. Firstly, guests do not hit that heavy, post lunch sleepiness you often get after a standard beige buffet. Secondly, it is inclusive. No one is hovering at the edge of the table saying “I can’t eat that.”
The “detox” is really about removing the common stressors for a weekend. No alcohol. No ultra processed food. No constant busy noise. Plenty of time out, plenty of laughter and plenty of nourishment.
The goal is not to turn every guest into an overnight vegan. The sisters are big believers in small sustainable tweaks. Maybe you leave and decide to have a smoothie every morning. Maybe you commit to cooking three whole food dinners from scratch each week. Maybe you finally realise you do not have to be hungry, bored or cold to eat well.
Funky coffee and the ritual you keep
One thing Sharon really did not want to give up was coffee.
When they removed meat, alcohol and processed foods, she experimented with ditching coffee too, but it left a real emotional hole. That first coffee of the morning was their sacred space. The smell, the warmth in your hands, the ideas that arrive with the first sip. Losing that felt like losing joy.
At the same time, research was starting to show that good quality organic coffee, rich in polyphenols, could support health, especially when combined with mushrooms and adaptogens.
So they went hunting for “the healthiest coffee we could find.”
That journey led them to mushroom coffee. They tested different organic arabica beans, different medicinal mushrooms and different ratios until they landed on a blend that tasted like proper coffee, gave a gentle lift without the jittery crash and delivered those additional benefits from the mushrooms.
They called it Funky Coffee rather than “mushroom coffee” because, as Lauretta laughs, when you ask your brother if he wants mushroom coffee he is likely to say no before he even tries it.
Importantly, it tastes like coffee, not like a mushroom stew. It comes pre ground for cafetieres and coffee makers, and many guests at The Detox Barn drink it black because it is so smooth.
It is a good example of their overall philosophy. Health does not have to mean giving up every ritual that makes life feel good. Sometimes it means finding a smarter, more supportive version of the thing you already love.
Real life, kids and the “V word”
The conversation also dips into the messy, human side of living this way.
Their children are mostly vegetarian at home, but not vegan. They still have meat at their dad’s house. School dinners are a constant battle against bacon sandwiches and beige food. The sisters try not to be rigid or frightening about health, while still being honest about what long term processed eating can do to a body.
There is also a frank discussion about the word “vegan” itself. They point out that there is still a strong negative stereotype attached to it. Angry. Preachy. Humourless. Some brands now deliberately use “plant based” on packaging instead, even when the products are completely vegan, just to avoid scaring people off.
For the sisters, “plant based” feels softer and more inviting, especially for people who are coming primarily for the health benefits rather than animal activism. At the same time, there is frustration that the word vegan is still so loaded that businesses feel pressured to avoid it.
As they say, in London it is “cool” to be vegan now and menus are definitely improving, but there is still a long way to go.
Go to meals and daily choices
Towards the end of the episode we talk about those dependable, soul warming meals that never let you down.
For them, it is things like:
- Rich lentil dals, layered with ginger, turmeric, mustard seeds and white miso, topped with coconut yoghurt
- Big, comforting curries with oven baked sticky rice
- Beetroot risotto made with coconut milk, blended roasted beetroot for colour, chunks for texture, and a final sprinkle of nutritional yeast
These are the types of dishes that show guests, family and friends that vegan food is not about lack. It is about abundance, colour and satisfaction.
They also talk about how, once you have eaten “clean” for a while, you can physically feel the difference when you go out and eat sugar heavy, refined meals. The contrast becomes obvious. Your baseline shifts. You start to notice what food does to your energy, mood and clarity in a very immediate way.
Listening to The Gavin Sisters, you get the sense that change does not arrive with trumpets. It arrives in quiet, repeated choices. The smoothie you make on a morning when you really want toast and jam. The risotto you stir slowly instead of ordering a takeaway. The weekend you give yourself space, rest and whole food instead of wine and screens.
If this conversation stirred something in you, your next step does not have to be dramatic. Pick one small habit that feels doable and kind. Maybe it is trying a whole food plant based dinner twice a week. Maybe it is experimenting with a better quality coffee. Maybe it is simply paying attention to how you feel after you eat.
Then build from there.