Tauranga medical student and champion powerlifter Shehnaz Hussain has added cookbook author to her resume with Tang, Spice, Crunch.
Profits from the book will go to an orphanage in Chennai, India that Shehnaz's family has had a long connection with.
Shehnazi shares two recipes from Tang, Spice, Crunch - Sundal (a chickpea and coconut snack) and Chilli and Orange-infused Dark Chocolate Tart.
Photo: Supplied
Shehnaz says she only really got into cooking a couple of years ago. In her Mt Eden flat, weekly dinners were taken to "MasterChef-level", she tells Kathryn Ryan.
Then in last year's lockdown, Shenaz was in Hamilton with whānau and meal-making again turned a bit MasterChef.
In lockdown, she had really vivid dreams and some were recipe ideas. She'd write them down at 3am and have a go at making them the next morning.
One recipe that came to her in a dream was a Deconstructed Jelly Tip Cheesecake which features in Tang, Spice, Crunch.
"It was pretty much delivered to me. I don't think I did much work to come up with that one."
For six years, Shenaz has also been a powerlifter and has represented New Zealand three times.
In the last 20 years, women have been told to not touch weights because they make you bulky, she says, so it felt empowering to pick them up as a teenager.
Shenaz says lifting has helped her focus less on her appearance and made her appreciate her body in a whole other way.
She encourages other women to take up strength training, which has many benefits, especially post-menopause.
