Melbourne Mum Belle Gibson on Taking the World by Storm with Her App the Whole Pantry, While Fighting Terminal Brain Cancer 3 MONTHS AGO DECEMBER 05, 2014 9:37PM
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Melbourne mum Belle Gibson on taking the world by storm with her app The Whole Pantry, while fighting terminal brain cancer 3 MONTHS AGO DECEMBER 05, 2014 9:37PM Belle Gibson, founder of The Whole Pantry app. Picture: Brent Parker Jones Source: Supplied IF anyone bragged they were a game changer, odds are you’d call them up themselves. But coming from Belle Gibson, it’s pure truth. Gibson is a 26-year-old with many more labels — young mum, cancer survivor, wellness warrior and social media sensation having created a global online community with her app The Whole Pantry. Gibson went from being a 20-year-old in her “boring corporate world” to being plunged into a world of darkness when a doctor diagnosed her vision, memory and walking problems as brain cancer and gave her four months to live. When conventional medicine let her down, she turned to alternative therapies and confounded doctors. It inspired her to develop the world’s first health, wellness and lifestyle app in The Whole Pantry, which encourages healthy eating, positive thinking and a wholesome lifestyle. It’s now a book of the same name containing 80 new recipes and advice on how to live life to the full — something Gibson does every single day. Belle Gibson at the Cosmopolitan magazine's Fun Fearless Female awards in Sydney last month. Picture: Bauer MediaSource: Supplied From an early age, Gibson shouldered big responsibilities. She grew up in Brisbane not knowing her dad and taking on an early caring role for her mum, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, and an autistic younger brother. She says she was severely overweight in her pre-teens, overeating and drinking sugar-packed fruit juice. At only 12 she moved out of home, first with a classmate and then a family friend. At 20, her current health issues began with trouble reading, walking and remembering things. Doctors put her on antidepressants and told her to have her eyes tested. Soon afterwards, she had a stroke at work and three weeks later, was diagnosed with malignant brain cancer and given the grim prognosis she had just months to live. Living in Perth at the time, Gibson moved to Melbourne to be closer to friends and the best medical care. On top of her health battles, she no longer speaks to her parents. “When I was first diagnosed, my mother fell into complete denial and fear and I had to let go of that relationship,” she told a newspaper in September. Belle Gibson with her award at the Cosmopolitan magazine's Fun Fearless Female awards. Source: Supplied After two months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, she gave it up having passed out for several hours alone in a park opposite the Melbourne hospital where she was being treated. She decided “that if all I had was between one hour and a month to live, I was not going to spend it passed out on the hospital lawn, knee-deep in nausea and other side effects”, and chose to change her diet and lifestyle, including immersing herself in therapies such as salt, vitamin and Ayurvedic treatments, oxygen therapy and colonics. Diet wise, she’s a vegetarian who doesn’t eat dairy, gluten, preservatives, GMO foods or sugar. The move worked. The following year, in 2010, Gibson defied doctors again by giving birth to her son, Olivier, now four. But two years later after losing her second child five months into her pregnancy, she struggled to cope with the loss. Feeling “empty and unsupported”, she turned to social media, sharing on Instagram what she’d learnt about health and nutrition since her diagnosis. The response was immediate, with hundreds of people contacting her to offer advice and share their own stories. Feeling like she’d tapped into “this whole world of unsupported, unmotivated, uninspired people” she decided to create a health and wellness app. With a clear vision in mind, she drew on credit cards and borrowed from friends to make it happen. A cute summer fun shot by Belle Gibson. Picture: Instagram Source: Instagram In August last year, The Whole Pantry app was born. It was downloaded 200,000 times in the first month (and has been downloaded another 100,000 times since) and was voted Apple’s Best Food and Drink App of 2013. And in a major coup, when the Apple Watch launches next year, TWP will reach a whole new audience as one of the device’s default apps. All recipes are lavishly photographed and tested a minimum of three times. “Everything is given a high quality of respect,” Gibson says. “People say it’s just an app but we take it seriously. We want content to be at an editorial standard.” When not travelling the globe (she’s just returned from Japan), Gibson works from a community workspace in South Melbourne with her team of eight. She’s looking to put three more people on. When Gibson’s travelling, Olivier is co-parented by his dad Nathan Corbett and Gibson’s current partner Clive Rothwell, who fathered the baby she lost. “We’re all really close,” she explains. “Nathan is still one my best friends. For the benefit of Oli, it’s really important.” Gibson’s personal Instagram account under the name @Healing_Belle also continues to grow, with more than 200,000 followers at last count. It’s in this bio that she calls herself a game changer. Her posts range from what she had for dinner and inspirational quotes to sharing the hard truth about her health. Belle Gibson and son Olivier at the market. Source: Supplied In July, she revealed via Instagram that her cancer had returned. “I have cancer in my blood, spleen, brain, uterus and liver. I am hurting … I wanted to respectfully let you each know, and hand some of the energy over to the greater community, my team and @thewholepantry … Please don’t carry my pain. I’ve got this.” That post alone attracted nearly 9000 likes and a few thousand messages of support (Gibson is waiting on further test results). She tires easily and is understandably a homebody when her health and schedule dictate. Wednesdays are non-negotiable days off when she spends time with her son — riding their bikes along the beach near their Elwood home, playing Lego and just treasuring moments together — with phone and emails off. Gibson’s day usually starts at 5am with Olivier “crash tackling me on the bed,” she says. “I’ll get what he calls a kiss attack where he kisses me all over from my feet to my head. We’ll sit in bed and have a plate of fruit and nuts and a cup of tea and get up when the sun is looking like it exists.” With Olivier off to school, Gibson addresses whatever’s most pressing on her to-do list — meeting with recipe testers or overseeing the book’s launch into the American and British markets in the new year. Her next project is the mammoth task of relaunching the app and tripling its content. She switches off at least an hour before bed time — to wind down, detach from emails and work, shower, have a cup of tea and meditate. “It’s important to have structure around the start of your day and the end of your day,” she says. Gibson might be facing a renewed battle, but as ever she’ll tackle it head on with the infectious grace, determination and spirit that’s endeared her to her thousands of loyal followers. A game changer indeed. The Whole Pantry (Lantern/Penguin, $35) is out now Try these delicious and healthy mushroom burgers. Source: Supplied MUSHROOM BURGERS There’s no need to miss out on burgers if you are vegetarian. These are just as “meaty” and filling as their beef counterparts, plus they’re delicious and so good for you. Serves 4 Gluten and dairy-free, vegan ● 8 large flat mushrooms (about 10cm diameter) ● ½ cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil ● sea salt and ground black pepper ● 1 tbsp thyme leaves ● 2 large roma (plum) tomatoes, thickly sliced ● 1 large (320g) beetroot, peeled and coarsely grated ● ¼ cup (60ml) apple cider vinegar ● 2 avocados, stones removed, flesh diced ● small handful mint leaves, chopped ● 1 Lebanese cucumber, halved lengthways, seeded and coarsely grated Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan-forced). Line 3 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Brush each mushroom cap with oil and place, stem side up, on 2 of the lined trays. Season the stem sides of the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the thyme leaves and drizzle over half the remaining oil. Bake for 25-30 min or until the mushrooms are cooked through and still holding their shape. Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on the remaining lined tray. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over the remaining oil. Place in the oven when the mushrooms have been cooking for 15 min. Roast for 10-12 min or until softened. Meanwhile, place the beetroot in a glass or ceramic bowl. Stir through the vinegar and set aside for 10 min. Drain in a fine-meshed sieve, squeezing out the excess vinegar. Set aside until ready to serve. Place the avocado and mint in a bowl and lightly mash using the back of a fork. Season with salt and pepper then stir in the cucumber. Set aside. To assemble, place a mushroom, stem side up, on each serving plate. Use a wide spatula to carefully top each mushroom with 2 slices of tomato.