Simplicity on the Plate

Rosa Power (right)  and Margo Flanagan say the idea behind Two Raw Sisters has always been about simplifying wellness and helping people feel good through practical, nourishing food.

How Two Raw Sisters are helping New Zealanders rethink food, wellbeing and the cost of living

For Margo Flanagan, the answer to feeling better was never found in another diet, wellness trend or expensive health hack.

It was found in simplicity.

In slowing down. In learning how to use what was already sitting in the fridge. In letting go of guilt around food. In understanding that wellbeing is not about perfection.

At a time when many New Zealand households are feeling stretched financially and emotionally, the message behind Two Raw Sisters seems to be resonating more than ever.

“We promise to give people simplicity in a world that overcomplicates wellbeing,” Flanagan says.

Together with sister Rosa Power, Flanagan has built Two Raw Sisters into one of New Zealand’s most recognisable food and wellness platforms, with bestselling cookbooks, a podcast, workshops and a fast-growing app-based community focused on what they call “food confidence”.

But behind the polished recipes and vibrant bowls of seasonal food is a story rooted in personal struggle.

Flanagan lives with chronic fatigue and endometriosis, while Power’s journey came through elite sport after developing Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) during her years competing for New Zealand.

“Rosa and I both came from very different experiences, but we landed in the same place,” Flanagan says.

“My journey was more about being exhausted, overwhelmed and needing simplicity, whereas Rosa’s was more about letting go of toxic habits and perfectionism around food and health.”

That shared experience became the foundation for Two Raw Sisters.

The pair started with small in-person workshops before growing an online following through their practical, relatable approach to food. Unlike many wellness brands, their messaging has never centred on restriction or chasing an ideal body shape.

Instead, it focuses on nourishment, flexibility and building confidence around food.

“It’s a really confusing time, especially for women,” Flanagan says.

“We’re constantly being told to do different things, and those ‘rules’ change every few months.

“One minute it’s low fat, then low carb, then high protein, then keto. There’s just so much noise.”

Margo Flanagan (right) and Rosa Power have built a loyal following through their grounded approach to food, wellbeing and realistic home cooking.

For women navigating social media, changing beauty standards and the rise of quick-fix wellness culture, Flanagan believes the pressure has become relentless.

“Wellbeing is often perceived as expensive and overwhelming,” she says.

The irony, she says, is that many of the habits marketed as “wellness” can leave people feeling worse mentally.

“Rosa and I have both been in those places where you’re obsessing over food and your body, and honestly, we were the unhappiest versions of ourselves.

“When your physique becomes the definition of wellbeing but your mental health is suffering, that’s not wellbeing.”

Instead, the sisters encourage people to reconnect with their own bodies and strip wellbeing back to basics.

“We’ve forgotten how to listen to ourselves,” Flanagan says.

“The voice in your head whispers, it doesn’t scream. But we’re so busy and distracted that we stop listening.”

That message is landing at a time when many New Zealanders are being forced to rethink the way they eat.

Rising grocery prices have seen more families returning to meal planning, seasonal produce and cooking from scratch, something Flanagan sees as both a challenge and an opportunity.

“A lot of our users tell us they halve their grocery bill simply by learning how to use what they already have and reducing food waste,” she says.

“Eating well is not expensive. It’s about education and confidence.”

That confidence, she says, starts with changing the way people see food.

“We always say everything you need is already in your kitchen. We just help you see it.”

A limp bag of carrots, a forgotten can of chickpeas or vegetables sitting in the bottom of the fridge can all become nourishing meals with the right mindset and a few simple skills.

The sisters’ philosophy revolves around flexible whole-food cooking rather than strict meal plans or rigid rules.

“If eggplants are too expensive, swap them for broccoli. If cherry tomatoes are out of season, use canned tomatoes instead,” Flanagan says.

“It’s about understanding that recipes are guidelines, not rules.

“We teach people how to confidently swap ingredients depending on what’s affordable, seasonal and already at home.”

Two Raw Sisters founders Margo Flanagan and Rosa Power believe small, achievable habits around food can make a lasting difference to both health and wellbeing.

It is, in many ways, a return to the kind of cooking previous generations practised naturally.

Planning meals. Using leftovers. Cooking seasonally. Making food stretch further.

Flanagan believes many of those practical skills have gradually been lost as life has become busier and families more time-poor.

“There’s been this ripple effect where people haven’t necessarily been taught how to cook simple food at home anymore,” she says.

“That’s where education becomes really important.”

Part of that education is what the sisters call their “intelligently lazy” system, designed to reduce food-related stress and decision fatigue.

On Sundays, Flanagan spends around 30 minutes preparing breakfasts and snacks for the week ahead, while dinners are cooked with leftovers intentionally planned for lunch the next day.

“That means breakfast and lunch are sorted, snacks are ready, and the only real food decision left each day is dinner,” she says.

“It sounds simple, but mentally it makes such a difference.”

For Flanagan, cooking has become less of a chore and more of a grounding ritual.

“When people are overwhelmed, food becomes stressful because they’re making decision after decision all day long,” she says.

“But when you create systems around food, it becomes therapeutic.”

She laughs at the idea that wellness has become tied to expensive routines and trends.

“People think wellbeing has to be ice baths, saunas, hot yoga and all these expensive things,” she says.

“But some of the most important things are free and actually really simple.

“Thirty minutes of food prep can save you money, reduce stress and free up time for your family or for the things that actually matter.”

Importantly, the sisters are also trying to dismantle guilt around food itself.

“All food nourishes us in different ways,” Flanagan says.

“A nourishing meal supports you physically, but enjoying ice cream with friends can nourish you psychologically too.

“We really want people to stop labelling foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.”

That balanced approach appears to be striking a chord with women exhausted by years of conflicting advice and impossible standards.

Interestingly, Flanagan says much of the Two Raw Sisters audience sits in the 30 to 45 and 50-plus age groups.

“Many of these women have spent decades hearing different messages about food and body image,” she says.

“They’re tired of extremes and they’re looking for balance.”

The pair’s growing online community reflects that shift. Through the Two Raw Sisters app and podcast, followers share recipes, ingredient swaps, struggles and small wins in what Flanagan describes as a deeply supportive environment.

“It’s not about perfection,” she says.

“It’s about starting small and finding what works for your life right now.”

For some people that might mean prepping breakfast. For others it could simply be learning to eat without guilt.

“You don’t need to overhaul your whole life overnight,” Flanagan says.

“Small changes are what actually last.”

Despite the growth of the brand, the sisters remain deeply protective of their original values.

“We’ll never sell a trend or a quick fix,” Flanagan says.

“If something doesn’t align with our values, it’s an immediate no.”

That clarity of purpose has helped guide the business from small Christchurch workshops to a global online platform, and later this year the sisters will release what Flanagan describes as “a big Two Raw Sisters bible”, their largest cookbook yet.

Still, she says the most rewarding moments remain the simplest ones.

“We tour around the country and people come up to us saying we’ve changed the way they think about food and wellbeing,” she says.

“That’s pretty special.”

At its heart, the success of Two Raw Sisters may lie in the fact that their message feels less like another wellness trend and more like permission.

Permission to simplify, nourish yourself and let go of perfection.

And perhaps, in a world constantly demanding more from women, that simplicity is exactly what people are hungry for.