NICK Knowles is aware he's not what many would picture when the word 'vegan' comes to mind.

"You tend to think that most vegans are petite, small, slim people, and I'm not," states the 54-year-old TV presenter, best known for his 18 years fronting BBC One home-improvement stalwart DIY SOS. "I'm a 46-inch chest, 6ft 2in, 17-stone rugby player!"

If Knowles doesn't look like a typical vegan, some members of the vegan community, who he terms "funda-lentilists" - are at pains to point out he isn't really one anyway.

But that isn't to say that Knowles hasn't tried. His lifestyle has been turned upside down since filming BBC Two's The Retreat last year, which saw him and a diverse group of participants head to a health centre in Thailand, ditching cigarettes, caffeine, alcohol and meat and replacing them with yoga, lots of vegetables and hikes through the mountains.

He lost nine kilos in three weeks, his cholesterol levels fell by a third, and his blood pressure dropped to a healthy level.

Since then, Knowles has maintained a 'flexitarian' diet, meaning he largely eats vegetarian or vegan meals but will occasionally have meat or fish. It's a big change for a man who used to eat a sausage, bacon and egg roll on his way to work, snack on scotch eggs, and regularly go out for steak lunches.

Inspired? Here is a recipe from Knowles' new book, Proper Healthy Food: Hearty Vegan And Vegetarian, to try at home (cheese-free versions optional!).

Winter Veggie Stew with Wholesome Lumpy Dumplings

(Serves 6)

For the dumplings:

50g butter, softened

125g self-raising flour

40g Cheddar, crumbled

1 tbsp thyme leaves

For the stew:

3tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, roughly diced

2 celery sticks, roughly diced

3tbsp plain flour

1tbsp Marmite

1/2tbsp tomato puree

2L hot vegetable stock

3 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunky pieces

4 parsnips, peeled and chopped into chunky pieces

1/2 head swede, peeled and chopped into chunky pieces

3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunky pieces

2-3 rosemary sprigs, plus extra, chopped, to sprinkle

1 bouquet garni (available from good supermarkets)

150g orzo pasta (available from good supermarkets)

80g pack of cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start by making the dumplings. Rub the butter into the flour and mix with the Cheddar and thyme. Add just enough cold water to bring the mixture together to a soft dough and divide into five to six small dumplings.

Preheat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 6. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and fry the onion and celery over a low heat for 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the flour into the pan, whisking constantly to make a roux. Add in the Marmite and tomato puree followed by the stock, a glug at a time, whisking all the while to make a smooth base to the stew.

Throw the carrots, parsnips, swede, sweet potatoes, rosemary and bouquet garni to the dish and bring to a boil. Cook the stew, with the lid off, for five to seven minutes. The vegetables should be cooking nicely but still have a bite to them.

Rinse the orzo pasta well, in a sieve, and then pour into the casserole along with the chestnuts. Season well and place the dumplings on top of the casserole. Sprinkle over a little chopped rosemary and bake in the oven, with the lid off, for 20-30 minutes until the dumplings are puffed up and nicely cooked, and the vegetables are tender.