Houston Jennifer - Refresh: contemporary vegan recipes from the award winning fresh restaurants

First, we would like to thank all our Fresh customers who, over the past 15 years, have supported and encouraged us with their daily presence, enthusiasm, feedback and positive energy. You make us all want to try harder, go further and do better every day. We are also indebted to our free-spirited staff of past and present for their hard work, dedication and support, all of which have helped make Fresh so unique and successful.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my Fresh family of business partners, Barry Alper and Jennifer Houston. With all this talk of good health, I am proud and delighted that we have one of the healthiest and most enjoyable partnerships around.

Thank you, Jennifer, for developing and refining the wonderful recipes in this cookbook. Your creativity, wit and perseverance have consistently elevated the Fresh kitchens to a higher level of presentation and taste. And your proofreading skills are unmatched in the Western world.

I would also like to thank the sparkling Jennifer Smith and Leah Fairbank at Wiley for believing in the magic we know as Fresh. Thank you for spearheading the move to launch a second edition of this beloved cookbook and for conjuring up the perfect title: refresh.

The following authors and their informative books have influenced me, and I have great respect for their integrity and scope of knowledge: Sam Graci, Harvey Diamond, Daniel J. Gagnon, Cherie Calbom, Norman W. Walker, Steve Meyerowitz, Ann Wigmore, John Robbins, Paul Pitchford, Michael Murray N.D., Anna Lapp, Bryan Terry and Ann Gentry.

Over the past year we have opened two new beautiful locations with the help of this talented team: Ralph Giannone and Brie Gillespie of Giannone Associates Architects Inc., Paul Syme and Bryan Jin of 3rd Uncle Design Inc., Orest Boszko of Boszko and Verity Inc., Morris Ortolan, Nigel Churcher of Genkey Design Ltd., Howard Dinetz of Dinetz Restaurant Equipment Ltd., Remo Alberico of Remco Mechanical, George De Francesca of Derok Electric and Marcus Grossman, our painter extraordinaire.

Thank you to my spicy family whose patience I continue to test and whose love I have always felt: David and Vered, Ronnie and Vicky, Iris and Michael. And also to my tribe of fantastic, fun-loving nieces and nephews: Adam, Adina, Ari, Carly, Jeremy, Jonah, Leah, Naftali, Shalom and Yoel.

My life is filled with the delightful presence of Bee and Rufus Churcher, Jaclyn Churcher, Stephanie, Chris, Lyndsay and Nigel Eyton. Thank you for embracing me with your warmth, acceptance and good humour from the very first moment we met. I enjoy you all so much.

Thank you to my generous family of friends: Lisa Kelner, Bonnie Beecher, Robyn Levy, Diane Bruni, Jane Loney, Jane Miller, Wende Cartwright, Alison Owen, Rhonda Moscoe, Jane Clapp, Kim Donnelly, Paul Austerberry, Debra Berman, Cyril Kaye, Pheona Wright, Anita Mancuso, Alan Thomson and Carlo Rota. And a big hug to my neighbourly neighbours, Don, Beth, Claire and Patsy Baker.

Finally, Nigel, I would like to thank you for lending your expertise and support to everything I do.

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Seven years ago, when this cookbook was first published, the word vegan was on the fringe, often mispronounced and possibly alluding to a cult. I was encouraged not to use the word in the title. Today, our customer is savvier. The average person seems to know more about healthier eating, possessing a voracious curiosity and a willingness to try new things. This is a refreshing change from the days when potential customers would read the menu, get up and back out the door, apologizing that its just too healthy for them. These days, I often learn about popular dietary trends and nutritional supplements from our customers, who are constantly in search of new avenues to improved health and wellness.

The negative stereotypes associated with a vegan diet (undernourished, protein-deficient hippies and boring, bland health foods) have mostly disappeared. Yoga, meditation, naturopathy and acupuncture are booming along with natural food stores, organic produce, vegetarian restaurants and juice bars. Popular healing techniques, such as Ayurvedic medicine, that treat the body and mind as equal partners in wellness have led to a wider acceptance of alternative paths to better health. In addition, people everywhere are taking responsibility for their own health.

Shelves are bursting with choice for hungry but discerning natural food lovers with assorted food sensitivities. Grocery shopping has never been so exciting! I remember vividly, while on a trip in the U.S., having a near meltdown as I hungrily wandered the packed grocery aisles, searching for something I could eat that didnt have wheat, sugar, corn, yeast, preservatives, transfats or MSG. We want to eat in a way that is sustainable not only to the environment but also to ourselves and our bodies, and trends supporting this style of living are popping up everywhere. Currently, the hot new ingredients are maca protein, E3 Live, matcha green tea, kombucha, goji berries, pomegranate juice, acai berries and pure dark cacao nibs. Witness the appearance of these ingredients on the shelves in cereals, bulk bins, cookies, teas, tinctures and in juice bars and cafs. Of emerging interest is the raw food diet, the 100-mile diet, high-protein/low-carbohydrate diets and slow-cooked foods. Shade-grown, fair-trade organic espresso, organic milks and natural sweeteners are in high demand at local coffee joints.

My dream all along has been to get more people to believe that its hip to be healthy, that having a healthy natural glow, exercising, relaxing and eating right for yourself and the planet could be the new definition of modern, trendy and cool. Being proud of our poor eating habits used to be a badge of honour; now its so uncool.

Obviously, we are all different with varying lifestyles, habits, preferences and dislikes. What works well for one soul may not work for another. One thing is sure though: we all want to feel good, have more energy, enjoy life and live longer. Today, modern conventional Western medicine openly promotes eating a more plant-based diet to get the essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals we need. These nutrients help fight cancer, heart disease and many other ailments in our bodies, while nourishing and invigorating our lives. It is no longer considered alternative to understand these things to be true.