Creating Plant-based and Other Lifestyle Shifts Worldwide with Ghanim

Creating Plant-based and Other Lifestyle Shifts Worldwide with Ghanim Al Sulaiti [Episode #994]

This Week’s Episode Special Guest: Ghanim Al Sulaiti

In this episode Ghanim Al-Sulati shares his transformative journey from a traditional lifestyle to embracing a plant-based diet, inspired by Kimberly Snyder’s book the Beauty Detox Solution. He discusses the impact of food on health, the cultural challenges of veganism in Qatar, and the importance of education in nutrition. Ghanim highlights his entrepreneurial ventures, including the establishment of Evergreen Organics, and emphasizes the emotional and spiritual connections to food. He reflects on personal growth, the role of community, and the ongoing journey of self-discovery through food and lifestyle choices. In this conversation, Ghanim shares his journey of navigating challenges during COVID, the importance of building a sustainable business ecosystem in Qatar, and his commitment to giving back to the community. He discusses his deep connection to Qatar, the lessons learned from the desert, and the shift towards mindful eating and home cooking. Ghanim emphasizes the significance of presence in relationships and the evolution of family dynamics. He also outlines his vision for improving health in Qatar, particularly through increased fiber intake and promoting a vegan-friendly environment.

About Ghanim Al Sulaiti

Ghanim Al Sulaiti is a young Qatari entrepreneur passionate about creating a positive impact on society by promoting a plant based lifestyle. By trade, Ghanim is a qualified Engineer. In his spare time, he is a serial entrepreneur, founding his first business—Evergreen Organics—in 2016, and now has over 10 projects currently live or under development.

All of these projects share the same vision and values as its founder—to be vegan, sustainable, and promote a healthier lifestyle. Equipped with a comprehensive understanding of the creative and operational procedures needed to produce excellent brands, Ghanim has a personal interest in developing dialogue about healthy living, veganism and sustainability. With a mind wired for logic and strategy and a desire motivated by the passion of creativity and business savviness, Ghanim is on a mission to help and transform people’s mindsets to live a lifestyle that helps their planet, their health, and their future.

Ghanim has worked extensively with local schools and regional organizations such as Qatar Foundation, Ooredoo Doha Marathon, Qatar National Library, Qatar Financial Center, and the Qatar Investment Authority, producing educational programs to change the status quo. He holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from Drexel University, USA.

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Guest Resources

Website: Evergreen Organics

Social: @ghanim92

Linked IN: Ghanim Al-Sulaiti

Episode Chapters

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Ghanim Al-Sulati and His Journey
03:00 The Impact of Food on Health and Lifestyle
06:07 Transitioning to a Plant-Based Lifestyle
08:55 Cultural Perspectives on Veganism
12:01 Education and Awareness in Nutrition
15:00 Challenges and Support from Family
17:59 Religious and Cultural Considerations
20:56 The Evolution of Food Choices
24:04 Personal Growth and Self-Discovery
27:05 The Role of Food in Emotional Well-Being
30:05 Building a Business Around Veganism
32:59 Future Aspirations and Community Impact
37:09 Navigating Challenges and Opportunities During COVID
38:36 Building a Sustainable Business Ecosystem
40:00 Giving Back to the Community and Empowering Others
41:43 The Importance of Roots and Connection to Qatar
43:50 Embracing the Desert and Its Lessons
44:49 The Shift to Home Cooking and Mindful Eating
46:47 The Energy of Intentional Touch and Connection
49:00 Practicing Presence in Relationships
51:36 The Evolution of Family Relationships
53:35 A Vision for Health Improvement in Qatar

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Transcript:

Kimberly Snyder (00:00.824)
Hi everyone and welcome back to our Monday interview show. I am beyond thrilled for our very special guest here with us today from across the world in Qatar. His name is Ghanem Al-Sulati and he’s a Qatari entrepreneur. He’s passionate about creating a positive impact on society by promoting a plant-based lifestyle. He has created Evergreen Organics, which since 2016 has Qatar’s first and only completely plant-based cafe. He’s working on 10 different projects all across the Middle East to support healthy living and sustainability. I started finding Ghanim when someone sent me a YouTube video and he was talking about all these incredible festivals and things he was creating in the Middle East. At the very beginning, he mentioned that he had read the Beauty Detox Solution, now over 10 years old, and it had an impact on his philosophy. And I was just feeling so honored.

And it’s so amazing that we’re here today. So Ghanam, thank you so much and welcome to our show.

Ghanim (01:03.417)
Thank so much, Kimberly. mean, this is such an honor as well from my side. I’m absolutely happy that finally I get to meet you as well virtually, but also to be able to share kind of my journey that have not only impacted me personally, but also impacted everybody in Doha because I’ve realized that I’ve taken something from your book, but then managed to create something out of it that is, you know,

Kimberly Snyder (01:12.846)
Thank

Ghanim (01:30.947)
creating a wider impact. And I think I’m just so grateful. So thank you so much for, you know, for hosting me here today. And I’m excited to share my story as well with you. And, and let me take you back actually 10, 10 years ago, actually a little bit more 12 years ago, I lived in the States, actually, I lived in Philly. I went to school there. I’m an engineer by profession. And I was actually sitting one morning, watching Good Morning America.

Kimberly Snyder (01:51.063)
Okay.

Ghanim (01:58.745)
in 2013 to be specific. I think it was either January or February of that year. And you came in on the show promoting the beauty detox, the green book. And I remember you were talking about how food changed the way you feel and how it actually inspired you to not only kind of

Kimberly Snyder (02:05.304)
Wow.

Ghanim (02:26.083)
to learn more about how food can change the way you feel, but also the way you look. And something about what you said kind of made me so interested that I actually got up my couch, went to Barnes and Noble, which was a few blocks away, picked up your book, opened the first couple of pages. And I remember the first few pages, you were talking a little bit about the concept of veganism, but not necessarily like actually like pinning it down and something about like not consuming dairy. And for me, it was a

Kimberly Snyder (02:30.413)
Yes.

Ghanim (02:56.291)
someone who never had any kind of, let’s say idea of what you were talking about, I was completely shocked and overwhelmed. So I literally closed the book, put it back on the shelf and I was like, that’s not for me. I don’t think I, I just, I felt there’s something for me, but at that moment when I read it, I remember like just putting it back. The next couple of weeks after that, I started seeing so many signs when I was opening the TV, I was watching kind of let’s say the doctors or

Kimberly Snyder (03:00.757)
Right.

Kimberly Snyder (03:20.813)
Wow.

Ghanim (03:25.293)
couple of these shows where they were talking about plan-based options. I was walking on the streets and there’s big billboards of like this alternative milks. And suddenly I’ve been seeing all of these things that are giving me signs saying like, my God, you need to go back and get the book. I said, you know what, let me just get the book. There’s nothing gonna happen. There’s no harm to read that book. So I took the book, came back home. I was living with my friend at that time. And I decided to read the book in very, like maybe,

I would say loudly in the living room with my friend. And I think I was a bit in a sarcastic mood, kind of like every time I read something, I was pretty much either kind of laughing about it or just saying, that’s never going to happen for me. And I don’t know, something changed when I reached, I think part of the book where you’re talking about experimenting and trying to incorporate more greens and more raw food and

I remember telling my friend at that time, said, there’s nothing wrong with trying. Let’s just get this recipe, the glowing green smoothie. Let’s just go to the supermarket and get the ingredients and let’s do it. And I still have the first green smoothie that I drank. It’s actually on my Instagram archive, like as a picture there. And to be very honest, it wasn’t delicious. And it was a shock for me because like, I’m not used to eating like, you know, all these fibers and kind of the

Kimberly Snyder (04:41.708)
Wow.

Kimberly Snyder (04:51.139)
Yeah.

Ghanim (04:52.057)
for me that time, the bitterness. And it started with a smoothie and then that smoothie became another smoothie and then another smoothie. And then suddenly I started kind of saying, hey, how about incorporating less meat? And then I started taking off meat. And then I said, okay, you know what? I’ve been not eating meat for three months. Let’s take off chicken. And then suddenly fish. And I remember you helped me in the book because in the book you were saying you were kind of

trying to show us how to do that transition without actually telling me to transition because you didn’t want people to actually go vegan. You wanted them to feel better. And I think that’s the philosophy that sticks with me is I was thinking every day, am I feeling better? And if I was feeling better, I wanted to continue doing that. And that’s what kept me going. And then a year later after reading the book, that’s when I woke up one day and I said, apparently I am vegan. I didn’t have any animal product. I didn’t eat anything. I never said I want to go vegan.

Kimberly Snyder (05:32.77)
Hmm

Ghanim (05:51.459)
But I feel great. How about I go for a one year vegan challenge where I actually do it like intentionally and with proper blenders and all of the product that I need. And I never went back since then. And it’s been 11 years since I’ve been vegan. And I always say this to every person that I meet. Yes, veganism was a personal choice, but I still do it today because it feels

Kimberly Snyder (06:07.16)
Wow.

Ghanim (06:20.663)
great and amazing. And the moment I don’t feel great, maybe I might explore something else. But of course, nowadays, I’m vegan for the animals, I’m vegan for the planet. So there’s a lot of other reasons as well to keep me on this lifestyle. But yeah, your book, you know, that was the initial kind of stuff. But then you came up with the next book, and I went on and kind of as well, dug deeper into the research aspect of food and how

Kimberly Snyder (06:33.997)
Yes.

Ghanim (06:50.339)
combination of food. I think you were talking about, you know, pairing certain foods and you know, got it took me a while to actually believe in it because you know, I love bread, even as a vegan, I love bread, I love gluten. And, and just recently I realized that I actually, whatever you were talking about 10 years ago is really makes a big difference if you follow it and they, and that I, sequence. so this is pretty much what happened. So I just want to kind of give.

Kimberly Snyder (06:52.417)
Yes.

Kimberly Snyder (07:02.006)
Yes.

Ghanim (07:20.055)
you know, a little bit of a, want, I want to, I want to say thank you actually properly to you because you, you, you, you, don’t think you will understand how much impact that had on not only me, but also my family, my friends who actually went to try vegan after my transition, how many people I’ve recommended the book to them and actually change their lives. So yeah, it did, it did change my life completely because I started a

Kimberly Snyder (07:44.854)
Wow.

Ghanim (07:49.667)
whole new business. became an entrepreneur and look what I’m doing now. And I think I am very proudly saying that it’s because of you. So thank you so much.

Kimberly Snyder (07:51.182)
Look at what you’re doing now.

Kimberly Snyder (08:00.994)
my gosh. I’m just so grateful and in awe, goosebumps all over the place. It’s one of the best stories I’ve ever heard. I really believe we’re all connected in humanity. We’re brothers and sisters and it just seemed like your heart, you were right there, you were ready. And of course there’s a little bit of resistance because it can feel like, this is really different. And it feels a little bit scary when you’re doing, it’s counterintuitive to how you.

raised or how you would eat before. But the fact that you kept going back and you kept going back means you were, you know, you’re something in your soul is just so ready to go in that direction. And, know, it really resonates with me when you said it’s just about feeling better, because I think sometimes get people get so caught up in labels, and then separation like, I’m this I’m a vegan, I’m an omnivore, all these different things. But really, what we’re talking about is

choosing vitality and choosing nutrient rich foods and choosing fiber. And sometimes for people, it’s not all or nothing, but like you said, you kept going down this path. And the way I started becoming plant-based from the very beginning was when I was traveling actually. And so I love that there’s this through line. We were talking before the podcast, how connection transcends space. Here we are talking across the world, across different cultures, different religions. mean, it’s all this.

know, oneness, these truths, it’s how we digest food. There’s a compassion aspect to eating plant-based, there’s an environmental aspect. And when I was in India, it just felt like, wow, I was reading about meditation and just these ideas of how light you can feel in your body. So for me, in my background, which I’ve talked about in my books, I had so much anxiety and insomnia and things you might not directly relate to food. But when I started lightening up,

diet and freeing up my digestion, it really did feel much better. And then as I shared, I cleared up my acne, all these things on my skin. And I was like, wow, all this stuff works together. It’s pretty profound.

Ghanim (10:00.867)
Yeah, you know, to add to that, think after kind of going through the first few months of following, let’s say, all the recipes and following all the knowledge that you were sharing at that time. I remember waking up every day feeling a little bit, am I doing this? Am I a crazy person? People around me were saying, Ghanem, okay, great, you’ve done this step, but it’s not going to take, you know, it’s not going to, it’s not going to

be forever, you’re doing it for a while, I’m sure you’re gonna bounce back soon. Everybody was doubting me and also I had a lot of questions, especially when it comes to our cultures, our tradition, everybody was saying, hey, as humans we evolved eating animals, so how can I answer those questions? I was not ready, so I actually started traveling. So I actually traveled to 33 countries in the next kind of two years after reading your book and it opened my mind so much.

Kimberly Snyder (10:37.473)
Yes.

Kimberly Snyder (10:52.493)
Wow.

Ghanim (10:58.553)
to not only food, but also the people that are making the food, to actually understanding how food is being made. I started kind of going to cooking schools, learning how to use herbs and medicinal botanical kind of plants. And I wanted to understand then how is our food being grown and went to the farms. And I’ve been to Nepal, I’ve been to Beijing, I’ve been to Singapore.

Kimberly Snyder (11:04.779)
Yes.

Kimberly Snyder (11:10.914)
Mmmmm

Wow.

Ghanim (11:27.417)
Jordan, of course, Egypt, you name it, like all these countries trying to really understand what happened in the last 50 years where we have disconnected completely from nature and especially from our food systems. And I remember every time I used to come back to Qatar, I was thinking, my God, there’s something missing because I’ve I’ve been exposed to all of this information and knowledge and I felt so heavy keeping the knowledge to just myself.

Kimberly Snyder (11:40.6)
Why?

Kimberly Snyder (11:57.452)
Right.

Ghanim (11:57.485)
And I’ve realized that I…

needed to share it with as many people as possible because I’ve learned this from you as well because you were traveling and coming back and sharing that knowledge through your books and through your podcasts. And I was like, I need to do the same. And that’s what I started doing. I started coming back and going to schools and getting invited to do normal public speaking events when I actually wasn’t famous at that time. I wasn’t well known. People just loved me sharing my stuff through Instagram and they loved my

smoothies that I was creating and simple recipes. And it got people so interested that I started being asked to come to schools and talk to kids. And I was 23 at that time and remember kind of talking to a couple of the kids in school. And one question I remember raising a carrot and I said, do you guys know where this come from? And one of the young kid raised his hand and said, this comes from the fridge. And I said,

Kimberly Snyder (12:30.541)
Okay.

Ghanim (12:58.271)
my God, there’s something missing like in our education system where kids think that things comes from a, you know, a fridge and not coming from a, so that’s when I realized that education is very important and I wanted to create a space that can not only raise awareness about this kind of epidemic of nutrition that we have, but also connect people back to our, to the source.

And I felt great eating vegetables. And I think a lot of people will feel great eating vegetables and eating more greens and raw food. And that’s what I did for those years. And that’s how I started my businesses afterwards, because I realized I needed to… People were saying, Ghanim, okay, whatever you say is great. How can we do it? How can we do it? I want to do it. I want to be part of it, but I just don’t have access. I don’t have the recipes. And I was like, I need to create a space that can…

Kimberly Snyder (13:46.368)
Yeah.

Ghanim (13:54.349)
resemble everything that I’ve learned from my travel and maybe set an example so that people can feel a little bit more comfortable to make the switch. since then, we have been pioneering not only the vegan movement in Qatar, but also changing that mindset and making it more normalized, I would say. Veganism is so normalized nowadays in Qatar and it actually became so…

Kimberly Snyder (14:17.07)
Mmm.

Ghanim (14:23.353)
at some point that people felt so cool being vegan, which is completely the opposite anywhere else in the world.

Kimberly Snyder (14:30.414)
Yeah, you got it. I love you know what I can feel even when you’re telling your story, this heart bursting with authenticity and just so much love and so much passion and so much wanting to help that your journey just kept going and you didn’t plan it. It was just like, I’m going to travel similarly to me and then I’m going to do this. I’m going to do this. And people follow that passion. I mean, you’re just dripping with it. So you don’t really have to try. You don’t have to convince. It’s just this.

radiating out of you. Well, in the story, when you started to change over, what did your parents say and people around you? Because at the time, even here, was still, and it did rise up, right? The vegan movement. And now there’s like, there’s pushback from people who feel threatened by it, of course, there’s always opposing ideas and forces. But when you first started, you know, were people saying, you’re not eating, you’re not getting as a protein, like some of the things that we always hear, what were some of the things that you heard?

Ghanim (15:17.785)
Of course. Yeah.

Ghanim (15:29.955)
See, I’ve done it very gradually. So when I decided to do it, I actually didn’t do it like cold turkey. So for me, it took me a whole year to actually make the transition. And I wasn’t pressured at all because my goal was not to be vegan. My goal is to feel better. So for me, it didn’t feel like I was transitioning. And then people around me kind of went with me through that transition because I became obsessed at some point on not eating anything

Kimberly Snyder (15:37.965)
Yeah.

Ghanim (15:59.661)
but only having goat cheese in my food because that’s kind of for me to transition from eating all the kind of cheeses to just eating one kind of cheese. And I think you did mention it at some point, like that you need to narrow down the choices. I think that’s helped me a lot to simplify kind of the options. And I did that for every category until I reached a place where I not eating anything. So people around me, I think kind of in the beginning, they were a bit, again, as I said,

Kimberly Snyder (16:14.294)
Yeah, and simplify.

Ghanim (16:30.041)
thinking that I will just do it for a few months and a few weeks and then suddenly I’m going to go back. So everybody was just on him. It’s okay. It’s just a phase. So don’t, don’t exaggerate. Don’t over, don’t overthink it. And, and, and then I, I, I, I, I saw people around me started kind of wanting to be part of what I was doing. And especially my mom and my dad, they started saying, can you do the smoothie for us? We wanted that. We want to have the green smoothie with you. And then that’s what they started doing. So I started doing the smoothie for them. So they used to have this amazing

Kimberly Snyder (16:52.098)
Wow.

Ghanim (17:01.069)
breakfast in the morning that gave them so much energy. They started feeling better. They started having better bowel movements and having more energy. My mom till today, she only have a green smoothie in the morning. And for me, she’s not vegan, but she took some kind of tips to enhance her diet. And I think one of the tips that she as well taught me that I can eat at that time, let’s say,

Kimberly Snyder (17:13.591)
Wow.

Kimberly Snyder (17:23.01)
Yes.

Ghanim (17:30.359)
whatever I want to eat, have the raw green salad at beginning. And that’s a habit that I still do it till today. I just eat lots of greens and then I eat whatever I want. If it’s something that I’m not comfortable eating or of course for me now it’s vegan, but if it’s like a little bit junky vegan or if it’s a bit too over oily, which I don’t usually eat, but I have to kind of have this beginning. That’s in my house. But then of course, publicly,

Kimberly Snyder (17:34.114)
Yes.

Kimberly Snyder (17:48.206)
Wait.

Ghanim (17:59.513)
You know, people were questioning my decisions and they were coming to me saying, you’re going against religion, you’re going against the culture, you’re going against what your ancestors have done for the last hundred years. And for me, it was. People felt intimidated by me every time I was choosing to eat vegan, even though I’m not making it the subject of the event. And I realized that I needed to be stronger in my

Kimberly Snyder (18:12.649)
It can feel threatening to people.

Kimberly Snyder (18:24.234)
Sure.

Ghanim (18:30.391)
defense, because I was a bit hesitant to get into the conversation. so I did a lot of research into my culture, understanding how my people have eaten in the past hundred years. and I’ve found out some amazing facts that, you know, 50 years ago, Qatar was so poor and, and didn’t have enough resources that actually people didn’t have the luxury to eat animal products.

They were eating lots of starchy vegetables, lots of rice and beans, lentils to be specific. when they want to eat meat, it was a celebration and it was once or twice a year. So it had a different cultural meanings behind it when they have consumed animal products. And I realized that I needed to kind of go back and talk to people and

Kimberly Snyder (18:59.085)
Right.

Kimberly Snyder (19:04.055)
Yes.

Kimberly Snyder (19:16.099)
What else?

Ghanim (19:29.111)
that have lived during those times. And I found amazing facts that our region is, lots of people have eaten plant-based in the 40s and 30s because they had their own farms. That was actually the most sustainable way. They didn’t have access to food. The oil industry didn’t boom yet. So actually only after the oil industry had boomed in the 60s and 70s, that’s when people got access to animal products.

Kimberly Snyder (19:30.798)
Amazing.

Kimberly Snyder (19:43.99)
Yes.

Ghanim (19:58.081)
And the funny part is that I do a lot of work as well in Cambodia to help children eat healthy vegan food. And I remember kind of going to Cambodia in 2017, promoting eating fruits and vegetables and no one wants to eat it. And everybody was so angry with me because they say, this is not good food. This is poor people food. And then that same food in Qatar, I go to schools and I show people the vegetables and I said, this is

Kimberly Snyder (20:20.941)
Yeah.

Ghanim (20:26.241)
rich people food because no one eats organic except the rich people. And I’m like, wow, look at how cultures are so different. It’s like, have people here who don’t appreciate fruits and vegetables. And we have people here who appreciate fruits and vegetables, they don’t think they can access to it. and then I had to change that mindset. And I think that mindset is about, you know, actually plant-based food is the most affordable option out there.

It’s, it’s the simplest food to be, to, to, to be stored, to be, to create, to, cook. Yeah. So.

Kimberly Snyder (21:03.904)
Yes. Well, this is an amazing story. It’s sort of like the Blue Zones too, Ghanim. You know, when you, they’re not trying to be vegan, but that’s what was available. If you lo

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