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My Food Story

July 13, 2020 · In: General

For me, food is nourishment for the mind, body and soul. Taking care of ourselves and our loved ones through food is one of the simplest, most basic forms of love and self-care.

From being a picky eater as a kid to a teenager who struggled with body image issues, this is an area that means so much to me. I’ve done it all. Obsessing over calories, skipping meals, restricting foods, hating my body, feeling guilty for eating “too much”, constantly trying to satisfy the scale. While I was never officially diagnosed with an eating disorder, my food habits were unhealthy and troubled at best.

It breaks my heart to know that I’m not alone.

Around the age of 23, I started to teach myself about food. It began a lifelong journey in healing, building a strong, healthy body and lifestyle that I love. Food went from stressful to pleasurable. Now, it’s a passion and hobby that I love.

I realized that so many of our so-called “diet foods” are in fact really bad for us. I discovered that mass-produced, industrialized food were causing imbalances to our bodies as well as our planet. That calories on the label are not a good measure of how good a product is for you. That not all calories are created equal. That diet fads are not sustainable. And that counting every single calorie, skipping meals or not enjoying that piece of fresh bread is not a way to live.

I also intimately understand the struggle that many face when it comes to time—especially parents with young children. This way of eating is designed to keep things as simple as possible so that weeknight meals don’t take hours, and to equip your family with healthy habits that they will keep for life.

Through this journey, I became my own guinea pig. I started experimenting with what works and what doesn’t. I became highly attuned to what my body is telling me. To what makes it perform at its best and what doesn’t.

I started reading labels, understanding what was actually in our food. I started researching, reading books and studies. What I learned blew me away. I became an advocate for holistic living, fiercely defending my health and the health of the ones I love at all costs.

As I mentioned, I was a very picky eater growing up. There were so many foods that I didn’t like. But because I wanted to take my health into my own hands, I had to encourage myself to eat things that I didn’t like knowing their benefits. I remember forcing myself to eat steamed broccoli (because steaming preserves nutrients more than cooking). I ate a lot of wild salmon, also steamed (if you know, that can be quite dry). I snacked on raw red peppers and peaches (instead of bars and other man-made snacks).

Over time, those foods that I didn’t like became foods that I couldn’t live without. I also learned how to pick and choose my fruits and vegetables. From my personal experience, I believe that our taste buds are actually very good sensors at what our bodies intuitively like and accept. If it tastes a bad tomato, you won’t like it. If it tastes a good tomato, you’ll love it.

Once you get accustomed to a certain taste, you start to crave it. Your palate changes. That’s why things like refined sugars, fast foods and processed foods become so hard to unlearn. You’re so used to it—the saltiness, sweetness, bursts of flavour. It’s what you know.

But once you take a bite of a sweet, summer tomato, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt… You remember how things once were. Simple. Fresh. Natural.

Today, I eat a mainly plant-based diet filled with lots of seasonal fruits, veggies and herbs. I keep things simple. I love quality ingredients. I enjoy different cuisines. I listen to my body. I eat what makes me feel good. I avoid what doesn’t. My love for food and cooking transformed into a practice in holistic health and wellness. I hope you will love it too.

Through these recipes, I hope to show you that there’s another way to eating. A simpler way. A way that will allow you to eat to your heart’s desire, enjoy every meal without guilt or restriction, and let your taste buds fill with delight with every bite. A way that shows love to your body, that nurtures it and nourishes it from the inside out.

It’s not a diet. It’s a way of life.

Whether your goal is to shed a few pounds, find pleasure in cooking, get more energy or just feel good in your own skin, I hope that my recipes will help you do that.

I believe that life is our greatest gift. Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.

By: Dayna · In: General

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