Flo Lavallie’s high energy attests to her theory of life and diet.
In a cookbook she wrote and published this winter, Lavallie encourages people to buy and eat healthy, organic foods. For the past 17 years Lavallie has run a private clinic in Saskatoon that helps people cope with physical and emotional problems using diet and herbal remedies, as well as reflexology (using foot massage to relieve problems in other parts of the body) and iridology (diagnosing ailments by examining the eye.) Out of that work and her own background on a St. Brieux, Sask., organic farm came an interest in healthy food.
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“Diet is really responsible for the way we think, feel and behave,” said the mother of four and grandmother of six. “So I took a good interest in the food supply that’s on the shelf.”
She views food as medicine and when meals are prepared with love, the good vibrations are passed along. She blames poor eating and low quality food for the prevalence of various diseases and conditions, such as children with attention-deficit syndrome.
Good Health is Cooking in the Pot has more than 400 recipes that Lavallie wrote and tested in 1998, mainly using grains, vegetables and fruits. Lavallie does eat meat in small amounts, but has only a few meat and seafood dishes listed in the book.
“Our pigs don’t see the sunlight. That’s a concern of mine and others – the way the animal is handled.”
Another interest that is reflected in her book is cultural cooking. She has travelled the world and has taken five ethnic cooking classes.
She also describes herself as a self-appointed advocate and took part in the campaign to prevent bovine growth hormone from being used in Canada.
Her book lists cooking equipment and sources for organic food. It costs $19.95 and is available at several Saskatchewan bookstores.
Lavallie’s favorite recipe in the book follows:
Flo’s rice paper rolls
1 cup chopped 250 mL
chicken, cooked
1 cup brown/wild 250 mL
rice, cooked
1 tablespoon 15 mL
sesame oil
add celery to taste
2 chopped onions, 2
green
1Ú4 teaspoon ginger, 1 mL
chopped
2 cloves garlic, 2
chopped
Rice paper can be purchased at a Chinese or Vietnamese grocery store. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Soak paper until soft, then wrap a teaspoon of the mixture in a wrapper, deep fry in vegetable oil. Drain on paper towels. Serve with sauce.
Sauce:
pinch of chili
1Ú4 cup cider 50 mL
vinegar
1 tablespoon 15 mL
Watkins barbecue
sauce (honey)
1 tablespoon 15 mL
teriyaki sauce
1Ú2 cup water 125 mL
1Ú4 cup sweet cane 50 mL
Blend ingredients together. Add tomato puree to taste. Thicken in a saucepan on top of stove for about an hour.
