By Lailani Mendoza

IF A VEGAN meal conjures boring images of alfalfa sprouts, mushrooms and tofu in your head, then you obviously haven’t met the Brewers.

Phil Brewer, a health coach and lecturer, and his wife Eileen, a vegan chef, have perfected the art of serving delicious plant-based dishes for more than 20 years. They also founded Silverhills, a family-run health resort and spa in Lumby.

Chefs Eileen Brewer and Cecile Gordon compiled the recipes served at the spa into a new internationally inspired cookbook.

Silver Hills Spa Cuisine: Modern Vegan Recipes has everything including recipes for healthy breakfasts, entrees and desserts. It also has recipes for breads, soups, sauces, spreads, dips and beverages.

People who stay at Silverhills are served delicious meals that may include tofu benedict for breakfast, roasted red pepper soup and empanadas for lunch, and a Hungarian potato goulash (a type of stew) for dinner. And don’t forget the dessert. Mouthwatering fruit crepes, black forest parfait or mango pudding are just a few of the options.

Flavour is crucial in developing the recipes. As Phil puts it, “If the food eaten is not relished, the body will not be so well-nourished.”

The cookbook’s international flair came about with the help of guests who have shared their favourite recipes with Eileen over the years. With ingenuity and collaboration in the kitchen, she came up with flavourful vegan dishes by reinventing the original recipes with plant-based products.

To make sure each meal is up to par in taste, Brewer devised the peanut butter and honey test.

“You put at the end of the table a jar of peanut butter, honey and a loaf of bread. If at the end of the meal, everybody goes and gets bread, peanut butter and honey, that tells you that something, flavour or texture, is missing.”

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As Seventh Day Adventists, the Brewers have adopted a vegetarian diet promoted by the church. Although you don’t have to be a vegetarian to be a member of the church, a vegetarian diet is preferred because it is believed to be a healthier alternative due to the way animals are raised.

While misconceptions may turn some off from vegetarian food, people shouldn’t be so quick to judge or they’ll miss out, said Brewer.  

“If you went to Mexico, to the Middle East or the Orient, a large majority of the people are eating a plant-based diet, or close to it. They have fabulous food –  with so many different flavours.”

“Vegetarianism isn’t just taking the meat out. It’s going to some of these countries, like Hungary or Italy, and taking the best they have and producing it.”

There’s more to Silverhills than just the food. The spa also offers five- or 12-day health retreats that teach individuals how to take better care of themselves. Each day, guests go on a hike and listen to a lecture series. They learn the eight natural ways to good health: exercise, water, breathing, good food, sunlight, rest, self-discipline and trusting in a divine power.  

By simply changing your lifestyle, you can significantly improve your health, said Brewer.

“People are too busy to exercise. They’re too busy to prepare proper food. They’re too busy to sleep. Unfortunately, 50 percent of our population is dying of heart disease, 24 percent are dying of cancer.”

“These people are now put in a diet that’s very strict and they’ve got to learn how to prepare it. It’s almost like, we’re too busy – but if we’re stuck, we have to. What we do is inspire people, and teach them to take better care of themselves.”

The cookbook is available at Chapters, Save-on-Foods or through silverhills.ca.

August 2010