Years ago, I interviewed a Victoria’s Secret Angel with a toddler and I asked her how she manages to maintain her diet without nibbling on her wee one’s snacks or meals. In a matter of fact tone, she said something along the lines of, “Oh, I don’t make her food.” Riiiight. So while she has the kind of schedule—and salary—that keeps her immune from making or finishing her little’s leftovers any time of day, most of us have to compromise their recipe wish list for family- and kid-friendly fare, especially at dinner.
What I’ve finally figured out (ta-dah) is that lunch time is my clean-eating time.
Here’s the hitch though…making clean food is a bitch. There’s a lot of slicing, dicing, pureeing, soaking, stewing, rolling, baking and other prep that I don’t have the time or patience for (which Tracey, my blogging partner, has already discovered).
Aviva Allen, a kid’s nutritionist and healthy living pro in Toronto (whose Healthy Moms Facebook group has almost 10,000 members), says she used to get together with a friend on Mondays and make good-for-you meals for the week. Even with her best intentions, she would fall out of the routine and when she did, she relied on Green Zebra Kitchen, a vegan delivery service she trusts because of her personal experience with owners Gregg and Dan Lewis who are both graduates of the Natural Gourmet Institute (established in 1977, it’s a conscious cooking school with a seriously goop-y ethos).
In their own words, the bros bring “100% plant-based, gluten-free and dairy-free whole food goodness” to your door and Aviva appreciates their personal touch. “They really listen to their clients. For example, when I found out grapeseed oil can only be extracted chemically, I let them know and they switched it out with a more natural option. They took my concern seriously…another company might’ve just said they had cost to consider and left it at that.”
So while I eat “dirty” at breakfast (that’s a coffee, a kefir-based smoothie and crisp bread with cheese) and at dinner (I make a mean roasted and flattened chicken with rice), I can feel good about cleaning up my diet at noon with their menu of wholesome foods. It’s only one meal a day but when you’re juggling a daily to-do list and aiming to cook a home cooked family dinner as often as possible, that one meal a day is a triumph and a treat.
…then there’s dessert.
Clockwise from left: Chocolate tahini cookies, pumpkin granola, cacao pumpkin seed butter balls (the kid gladly gobbled these up) and super seed almond butter balls (these made me really happy when I was stuck in rush hour traffic for almost 2 hours). Full disclosure: Green Zebra Kitchen spoiled me with their mains, sides and sweets to try. The salads, stews and bowls were seriously satisfying and delish even for my “dirty” tastebuds that usually seek out gluten, dairy and meat.
The Delivery Details
- Order by Sunday at 10pm for delivery on Tuesday (there’s no commitment; order only when you want it).
- Choose from a weekly meal plan (that’s three small or large mains plus three sides starting at $62) or choose à la carte (there’s a $50 minimum). Check out freezer-friendly options too.
- A small meal plan should last for 4 to 5 meals (try to have it all done by Sunday though).
- Every container is labeled with a number to make it easy to remember what goes with what and when to consume it: A number 1 main is complemented with a number 1 side and should be eaten first. A number 2 main is complemented with a number 2 side and should be eaten next and so on.
- Don’t forget a little something sweet (cos you deserve it).
How-To Eat & Live Green for Less
FYI: Aviva is also the brains behind Healthy Moms Toronto, a Facebook group of green-minded mamas who share their know-how on the regular. Inspired by the thousands of moms who subscribe to her clean-living vibe, Aviva created the Healthy Moms discount card (available for $25 CAD) that helps you save at over 200 environmentally-friendly and natural shops and services in Toronto, Vancouver and on-line, including Green Zebra Kitchen.
