In retrospect, my health crisis was a divine intervention. A wake-up call that set me on a voyage of introspection and healing. Along the path, I discovered wellness is so much more than the food we feed our body. It’s the thoughts we feed our mind, the beliefs we hold of ourselves and the limitations we impose upon ourselves.
My desire to understand the root cause of illness and how to use food to heal was the driver to (sort of) quit my job and return to school to study at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Vancouver, Canada. At the time (rewind to 2012), nutrition and wellness hadn’t become mainstream yet, let alone holistic nutrition. Unofficially I didn’t end up quitting my job at the time, as my boss Mike encouraged me to stay on and work on Fridays, my day off from school. I ended up working through the weekends to make it work (barely), which was really tough as I was juggling a full-on schedule, seven days a week. Looking back, it was 100% worth it as I felt grateful to have a second chance in life.
Fascinated with the science and relationship between the human body and food, I finally understood why I was always sick in my childhood, suffering from constant colds that immediately became severe bouts of bronchitis, skin problems, infections and more. Endless visits to doctors, specialists, leading to over-prescribed antibiotics and medications which were mostly ineffective and in some cases created more harm than good. I discovered how chronic inflammation is the underlying cause of most diseases and the fascinating connection between our gut, immune system and even our mental well-being.
Although armed with knowledge, as someone who didn’t love salads and vegetables growing up, I knew I had to learn how to make healthier food taste better in order to make real changes in my health and in turn, help others. I discovered a culinary school founded by the late Anne Marie Colbin, renowned as one of the pioneers of the concept of Food as Medicine. The school was in New York City.
My mind gave me a million reasons why I couldn't.
"But you just finished paying off your student loans from University. That's crazy to go into debt again!".
"You're too old to go back to school!"
“What if you can’t get a job in that field?!
“No one even knows what holistic nutrition means!”
Yet, my Intuition spoke very clearly to me.
"You are meant to go. This is your destiny."
Propelled by a feeling in my Gut, I sold nearly everything I owned and officially quit my decade long career to put myself through school (a third time), enrolling in the Chef’s Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute.
The road was far from easy, in a city that can be unforgiving. Yet it was one of the best decisions I ever made as I unexpectedly fell madly, deeply in love with the professional kitchen.
Simultaneously, I also fell in love with farms, where I found myself rescuing…vegetables?