Showing posts with label vancouver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vancouver. Show all posts

Monday, April 2, 2012

The 21 Day Vegan Kickstart Begins Today!

Spring is always a great time to re-evaluate where you are at health-wise, especially when it comes to healthy eating. It's time to shake off the rich food that we hibernate with all winter long. If you have been curious about vegan diets, why not join the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart? 


It is a free online program supported by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine and features a free 21 day meal plan, daily celebrity coaches providing tips and support and plenty of surprises. 


I was on BT Vancouver this morning talking about the program. If you are interested in learning more, visit www.21daykickstart.org 



Saturday, June 25, 2011

Lawns to Loaves...Home Grown in Vancouver

In today's Globe and Mail newspaper, there is an article about Andrea Bellamy's Lawns to Loaves Project that examines the impact of city food production and the politics of supporting local food. Andrea is growing wheat in the city - it's not much: enough to make a few hyper local loaves of bread. What I find fascinating is how radical such a project seems to some. 


There was a point in time that growing food was just a part of daily life, like taking out the trash and making dinner. It says a lot about the world we live in that we are examining "the point" of growing food and that some in local politics could think of such a project as "goofy". That our mayor could be ridiculed for caring about local food and not city "basics" shows me that we have lost our way. Feeding ourselves is basic. Without a healthy food supply, our city would wither away and the exciting fabric of creativity and innovation and culture that our city stands for would cease to exist. While it is reasonable to argue that those of sufficient income will never starve, eating a diet that is filled with manufactured food starves our cells and the result is disease, which is not exactly an ideal outcome. And, while not an inevitability, food crisis is always a threat as mother nature doesn't always grace us with the ideal growing conditions to feed a ballooning population.


If we are to reconnect to food and make it meaningful, getting serious about growing within the city limits is vital. As a new mom, I do not want my child to think that food is a sterile commodity. I grew up knowing that blackberry bushes could prick, dirt was good for you and that salt and slugs were a particularly entertaining combination. Food knowledge is fundamental for an evolved society. Our children should be able to see food around them, whether they live in the city, suburbs or country.


Let's spend less time in debate and more time growing, eating and sharing.




Get Growing, Vancouver.
Desiree


Read the full article on Globe and Mail

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Eat...at Habit


Welcome back Habit! For those of you unfamiliar with Habit on Main St...sadly, 10 months ago this great restaurant had a fire and closed down for a while. It is reopened with a refocused theme and menu and finally (I seriously don't get out much nowadays...) my husband and I tried it out this previous Friday.

For those of you who went to Habit version 1.0 - you will be relieved to note that they still have the amazing carrot and brie pierogies.

The room now looks like an ultra sultry take on the 70's rumpus room (kind of how you always imagined it looking as a nocturnal teenager) complete with a comfort food packed menu. The cocktail list features the classics reinvented (sex on the beach, deconstructed bento box style so you can shake your own? YES!) and a big list of Canadian whiskey...because is there a single one of us who doesn't crave a Crown and coke every once and a while?

We started with a smoked onion and white bean hummus...and yum! I love hummus but I never expect that anyone can do anything really that exciting with it. A little extra garlic or spice, but that is about it. Well, the smoked onion gave the dip and incredible flavour and it was served with fry bread. I know that I shouldn't be condoning fry bread but it was so bloody good how can you say no?

For the main course, my husband had tuna casserole (OceanWise of course!) and I had the vegetarian shepherd's pie. Jim loved the casserole, super rich, creamy and indulgent. The shepherd's pie was just what I wanted: silky lentils, rich and filling, topped with a potato-parsnip hash. And enough fibre to ensure your digestive system hums for days afterwards. I promise to start bringing my camera when I eat so I can snap some shots of the gorgeous food.

So if you are looking to support an awesome local restaurant, give the chains a break for the night and get cozy at Habit. 2610 Main St. www.habitlounge.ca