The Healthful Ideas

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About Me

Hi, I'm Veronika!

Welcome to my little corner of the internet, it's so nice to meet you! Here you'll learn a little bit about me, why I started this blog, and what you can find here at The Healthful Ideas!

A photo of a young woman in a white and red striped shirt holding a chocolate cupcake with pruple frosting on a white backround.

The Healthful Ideas is here to provide you with healthy, plant-based recipes for everyday cooking.

I share both food and drinks and my goal is for you to be excited about trying new recipes whether it's just for you, your partner, or a big family dinner. And if you're hosting a party, definitely check out some of my cocktails!

Crispy golden gnocchi with roasted asparagus, red onion, and pecorino in a white bowl with lemon wedges on the side.
A creamy beige gingerbread martini in a coupe glass garnished with crushed cookies around the rim and whipped cream and a small gingerbread man on top.
Creamy eggplant dip in a grey low bowl with a white edge, topped with toasted pine nuts and fresh herbs served with a toasted baguette on the side.
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About Veronika

My name is Veronika and I currently live in Toronto, Canada. I grew up in Prague, Czech Republic and moved to Toronto in 2017. It still feels like yesterday, it's crazy to think it's been so long. I've gone back and forth a few times but Toronto is what I call home now.

I was always interested in cooking, even at a young age. Whether it was watching my family prepare my favorite meals, help my mom make Christmas cookies, or make my own snacks when I was a kid.

Culinary school - Although I didn't know what exactly I wanted to do, I knew I wanted to do something in the food industry so I went to Culinary School in Prague and graduated in 2012. I was also very interested in nutrition for a while after changing my diet and losing weight before I started my blog between 2011-2014.

From a hobby to a career - I wanted to share what I was learning so initially made an Instagram account, and later this website, as a hobby. It immediately became something I wanted to be doing all the time and after learning it could be an actual job, I knew it was what I wanted to do.

Through the years - After I moved to Toronto in 2017 I became so busy with life that I almost completely stopped blogging until mid-2020 and it wasn't until late 2021 that I really got into it again and now it's what I want to do every day! My goal with this website is to be your source of easy everyday recipes you can trust.

Bright purple smoothie in a tall glass garnished with white dragon fruit with more dragon fruit and passion fruit around the glass.
A short glass with bright orange citrus cocktail on a grey background with more lemons and oranges in the background.
A tall glass with a matcha latte with a layer of frothy milk on the top and a layer of strawberry syrup on the bottom of the glass garnished with a whole strawberry..

What is The Healthful Ideas?

I started this blog in 2015 when I changed my diet and finally lost 25 kg after trying to for years. I initially created it as a hobby because I wanted to share my healthy and mostly vegan recipes with the world to show that you can do it too. I focused on gluten-free vegan food with lots of raw fruits and veggies. I saw how great focusing on plant-based recipes made me feel and wanted everyone to feel just as good.

To go even further back, I actually started my recipe-sharing journey as a hobby on Instagram under the username The Healthy Ideas which was actually also my URL on Tumblr in 2014. There are only a small handful of recipes with photos I took on my Canon point-and-shoot camera before I had a full-frame (it's still out there if you can find it). In 2015 I decided to move the blog to WordPress but the URL was taken at the time so I went with The Healthful Ideas instead and the rest is history.

Lettuce cups with rice, flaked salmon, sliced cucumbers, edamame, and orange sauce on a large white plate.
Quinoa bowl with roasted vegetables, chickpeas, fresh salad, and tzatziki in a white bowl.
Nectarine salad with mixed greens and radishes on a large white serving platter with a black rim on a grey stone background.

What Kind of Recipes Can You Find Here?

Since I'm the only recipe developer at The Healthful Ideas, the recipes I share here very much reflect what I cook for myself every day. As the name of my blog suggests, I focus primarily on healthy plant-based meals.

Over the years I've changed my diet many times. I went from vegan to raw vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian, back to vegan, no milk, no gluten, no bad oils, no white sugar - I feel like I've tried it all.

Nowadays, my diet is less restricted by a specific name and more about listening to my body and focusing on plant-based whole foods with some animal protein here and there.

Crispy cajun fries on a white plate with a small dipping bowl with house sauce in the middle with one fry dipped into it.
Light yellow potato soup in a white bowl garnished with parmesan slices, black pepper, and fresh thyme.
Creamy tomato pasta with shrimp in a low bowl garnished with fresh parsley and two wedges of lemon on the side of the bowl.
  • Main focus - Most of what I eat now and share here is pescetarian and gluten-free, or with the option to be gluten-free. All my recipes are made with simple whole foods, seasonal veggies, and minimally processed ingredients.
  • Drinks - I share a ton of drinks! I focus a lot on cocktails with homemade syrups, mocktails, smoothies, and coffee and matcha drinks.
  • Meat, Fish, and Seafood - There is only one recipe with meat on the blog at the moment (this Croissant Breakfast Sandwich) but I plan to share more chicken and possibly other meat recipes here in the future. I do share a lot of fish and seafood recipes. I love salmon and shrimp! That being said, I will still mainly focus on plant-based recipes and have a lot of vegan and vegetarian options.
  • From scratch - I like to make a lot of things from scratch like various Spice Blends and Flavored Syrups with the exception of using things like canned beans, legumes, and various condiments to save time in the kitchen.

Reader Favorite Recipes

Not sure where to start? Here are four of my most popular posts and my personal favorites you should try! I'm a huge breakfast person so if I were to pick only one breakfast meal and one drink, it'd have to be this Breakfast Scramble Bowl (featuring the crispy breakfast potatoes) and this Rose Matcha Latte, my all-time favorite matcha flavor! Maybe I'd add some Chocolate Chip Pancakes too. See, breakfast foods are just too good to pick only one dish!

Head over to the Recipe Index to see all the recipe categories there are on The Healthful Ideas!

I'm honored to say that my recipes have been featured in various online magazine or newspaper articles over the years. Here is a list of a few of those features.

Light red margarita in a short glass with a salt rim garnished with a slice of lime and a wedge of watermelon.
Light orange smoothie in a tall glass garnished with a slice of pineapple and half of a passion fruit.
Green matcha latte in a tall glass with a glass straw with red roses around the glass.

I'd Love To Hear From You

If you have any questions, concerns, any ideas for recipes you'd like to see on this site, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at hello[@]thehealthfulideas[.]com. I'd love to hear from you! Please be patient, it may take me up to 48 hours to get to your email (weekends excluded).

If you'd like to work together, please reach out to me at hello[@]thehealthfulideas[.]com.

Love,
Veronika