We've Got The Scoop On Meghan Markle's New Cookbook — And We're Sharing A (Vegan!) Recipe

It's no secret that Meghan Markle is a wellness-centric foodie. She prioritizes fitness and follows a gluten-free diet that's filled with nourishing chia pudding, green juices, and zucchini pasta—but she doesn't hesitate to indulge either: "I mostly eat fish and veggies, but I'm also a foodie," she said. "On the weekends all bets are off—I think if you deprive yourself of anything, you're just going to crave it more. So for me it's finding that balance. I love burgers and fries—I definitely love good Italian food and Mexican food."

She's also an activist, who's been vocal about her intent to use her new platform as a means of advocating for those with less amplified voices. "Both my parents came from little, so they made a choice to give a lot—buying turkeys for homeless shelters at Thanksgiving, delivering meals to patients in hospice care, donating any spare change in their pocket to those asking for it, and performing quiet acts of grace—be it a hug, a smile, or a pat on the back to show ones in need that they would be all right," she wrote on her now-defunct lifestyle website The Tig. "This is what I grew up seeing, so that is what I grew up being: a young adult with a social consciousness to do what I could, and to, at the very least, speak up when I knew something was wrong."

"Together is a cookbook—but it's also the story of a West London community who gathered in a kitchen and discovered the healing power of sharing food," Markle explains in the official video released by Kensington Palace. "In January 2018 as I was settling into my new home of London, I met a group of women whose community had been affected by the Grenfell Fire. They had decided to get together to cook fresh food for their families and their neighbors."

After the fire, the video explains, the community kitchen was a way to bring back food to the temporary hotel room homes fire victims were staying in, where there was no ability to cook. What began as a practical solution for a problem quickly became a source of comfort and respite for the women.

"And so for two days every week these women were able to cook and share their delicious recipes together," Markle says in the video. It's called Hubb Community Kitchen because, in Arabic, hubb means "love."

"I immediately felt connected to this community kitchen. Like these women, I'm passionate about food and cooking as a way of strengthening communities," Markle says.

The cookbook, which goes on sale on September 25, was Markle's idea, after one of the women noted that they only had enough funding to stay open two days a week. The book features over 50 Middle Eastern, North African, European, and Eastern Mediterranean recipes from the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen, and a portion of the proceeds from sales will help fund the venture.

Serves 4