My food philosophy

I have eaten a plant-based diet for more than 12 years. It has been a journey filled with continual learning. The pinnacle was attending Living Light Culinary Institute in 2017 to become a certified raw food chef and instructor, but I am still tweaking my approach.

I hope my story will inspire you to try a few new things in your diet, but please do not use it as a yard stick. We all have our own path to follow.

Everything I eat in a day

I eat two main meals a day. I finish eating around 4 pm, then try to fast for 16 hours.

When I wake up, I usually go to the washroom. It feels great to start the day with all my waste eliminated. To further cleanse, I brush my teeth and scrape my tongue.

I start my morning with a mug of warm lemon ginger water, then have a cup of green tea. I usually wake up between 6:30 and 7 am, have my drinks, then eat between 8:30 and 9 am. I try not to drink with my food because I do not want to dilute the digestive juices in my gut, which are needed to properly breakdown my food.

My breakfast consists of sourdough or sprouted grain toast, peanut butter, and fruit. Right now, I am sprinkling pomegranate seeds on top because they are in season, but sliced banana is also a favourite. I also enjoy oats with ground chia, nuts, fruit, a little maple syrup and lots of cinnamon or my sprouted buckwheat granola with either a green smoothie or chia pudding and fruit sauce.

Around 11 am or noon I usually have a snack. It can be a piece of fruit and a few nuts or seeds or depending on my activity level, I may also have a muffin. My everything muffin is a favorite. It is made with sprouted spelt flour and I bulk it up with zucchini, dried fruit, and nuts. I have not cut out treats, but I am conscious of the sugar I use. I prefer whole sugars (dates, maple syrup) or minimally processed when needed (organic cane sugar, coconut sugar). I also use things such as apple sauce, banana or orange juice instead of oil in my baking. For dessert, I love having one on my chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with a cup a tea.

I soak all my nuts and seeds to remove the enzyme inhibitors, so when I eat them, the digestive enzymes in my gut can extract the maximum amount of nutrition. I use purified water for the soaking and then dehydrate the nuts at 115 F until they are crisp. I do large batches and store them in airtight containers for snacking or recipes.

Bean burrito with fermented salsa and cashew sour cream

I try to eat my main meal between 2:30 and 3:30 pm. I choose healthy whole grains, such as quinoa, brown rice, sorghum, faro and kamut. I eat a lot beans, lentils and tofu and I always have a large salad. Greens are so important in your daily diet, so I try to eat a variety everyday (kale, collards, arugula, baby lettuce and spinach). In the summer, I grow a lot in my backyard garden and what I don’t grow, I buy from local farmers. When the price of lettuce went through the roof this fall, I grew a lot of sprouts and microgreens inside, under grow lights to make sure my salads continued to be packed with goodness. I sometimes make dressings, but usually I just use a little salt, pepper and vinegar. I always have a variety of vinegars to choose from, but my fall back is living apple cider vinegar because of its health benefits.

I try to eat at least one probiotic-rich fermented food a day. I have a lot to choose from because I regularly brew kombucha and water kefir, I make sauerkraut, and various other vegetable ferments, I make nut cheeses, cashew sour cream, mustard, pepper sauces and salsa. In the past couple of years, I also started making sourdough.

I cook with minimal oil. I usually sauté in water or broth—I always have vegetable bouillon in my fridge. It is a great way to give your dishes a flavour boost and it makes soup making quick and easy. I use a lot of fresh herbs and spices and prefer Himalayan pink salt, because it is rich in minerals.

I believe good preperation helps you make heathy choices. When I get home from grocery shopping, I wash my fruits and vegetables before I put them away. I cook beans, legumes and ancient grains in large batches and freeze them in 2 or 3 cup servings. They allow me to make a delicious salad, wrap or soup quickly, especially when I am hungry. I avoid using my microwave to thaw, cook or reheat food. It only takes a few minutes longer to use the stove top or oven and you can run frozen food under hot water to speed up the thaw.

When my husband and I travel we often stay in places with a kitchenette, so I bring along premeasured spice packages for a few of my favourite recipes, such as lemon lentil soup, daal, tacos and lentil Bolognese.

I do not count calories, but I am aware of how much I should eat based on my activity level. Most days I make sure I get a minimum of 11,000 steps and at least three days a week I hike. I am fortunate to have a few trails near my home that get my heart rate up and take a little over an hour to complete.

I put a water filtration system in my home. I use it in all my food preparation. I work hard to have a healthy gut microbiome, so I avoid chlorinated water. The chlorine in tap water is needed to kill bad bacteria, but it also kills the good.

Good food is one of the great pleasures in life. I never feel like I am compromising because I choose to eat plants and prepare them with nutrition and health in mind. My food feeds me on many levels. Cooking is a creative outlet and my recipes are often inspired by my childhood and the places I have travelled.