Confused About Omega’s?

Afke Zonderland, Chef and Founder, Okanagan Rawsome

Afke Zonderland, Chef and Founder, Okanagan Rawsome

A shining star within the gluten-free and health conscious community in British Columbia and beyond is Afke Zonderland, Raw Food Chef and Co-Founder of Okanagan Rawsome.

Afke’s posts on The Celiac Scene have been so popular that we have invited her to be our ‘Resident Raw Foodie!’

Enjoy her personal and professional insights into healthy living – always served with a dose of common sense! Her delicious, easy-to-prepare whole-food, plant-based recipes are a wonderful encouragement to make the healthiest choices for yourself and your family!  Check out today’s recipe for Herb, Flaxseed Oil Dressing! So delicious – so good!


Confused About Omegas?

Most of us have a vague idea about good fats and bad fats.  We also know that we should throw out the margarine and go back to butter.  We also have a sense that deep fried food does harm, while fresh greens and fruit are healing. Evidence that grass fed beef provides us with better quality fats than grain finished animals is also getting our attention.

Confused About Omegas Okanagan Rawsome

Click to view article on OkanaganRawsome.ca

How on earth is the average consumer able to go shopping with words like eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ringing in their ears?  I have listened to a few hours of internet teleconferences on fat, and I think that I understand the basics well enough to put these big words into food choices that are helpful.

I am old enough to be a victim of a daily dose of cod liver oil before we left the house to bike to school in the cold, wet, hail, sleet and windy Dutch winters … I know I won’t get much climate sympathy from kids growing up on the Canadian prairies, but I am guessing that there was a bottle of cod liver oil in their pantry too.

My mother added ½ teaspoon of brown sugar to each table spoon for the six of us, just to make the medicine go down!  Fish and krill oil delivers the valuable Omega-3 oil that is so protective of our heart and brain function.  Flaxseed is the plant based champion on Omega-3 oils, (as long as you grind them) while chia and hemp give us a good dose of the same plus extra fiber and protein.

gluten free oatmealThe importance of plenty Omega-3 fatty acid for brain development of our little ones cannot be overstated.  Replace grains and sugar in an ADHD child’s diet with krill, fish oil or flax oil for two weeks and simply observe the difference. Trying to convince your toddler or 8 year old to have sardines for lunch might be a bit of a stretch. Although I must say that many kids are much more open to try different foods than we give them credit for.   May I suggest oatmeal porridge with a spoonful of butter, some raisins and apples for breakfast?  Sprinkle with a mix of hemp seeds and cinnamon before serving.   (Please boycott those useless, nasty, highly addictive cereals.)

The basic role of Omega-3 oils:

  • Supporting your memory, moods and reducing stress and tension.
  • Supporting a healthy weight while reducing your risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
  • Vegetable oils, sunflower, palm, corn, canola and soy oils are too high in Omega-6 oils.   These are not terrible, but it seems that the ratio of these Omega’s upsets the balance.
  • The ratio between the contenders should ideally be 1 – 1 instead of 20 – 1.
  • Just remember though that all corn, soy and canola oils are GMO products and also should be left on the shelves.

When all is said and done it is best to eat what our grand parents, or great grand parents ate! 

Also by Afke:


Herb, Flaxseed Oil Dressing

Afke’s Herb, Flaxseed Oil Dressing

Afke’s Herb, Flaxseed Oil Dressing

  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon chopped chives
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped
  • 3 tablespoons flaxseed oil
  • pinch of cayenne, real salt and pepper

Afke Zonderland and Co-Founder/daughter Anna, have turned the Okanagan’s apples and carrots into a made-in-BC success story.  They’ve mastered mixing what farmer’s grow in the Interior with carefully sourced spices and sprouted seeds, nuts and fruit. The tincture of time + low temperature results in convenient, portable power-packed crisps in four flavors! Great gluten-free fuel for the health conscious, celiacs and athletes alike! Watch the video!

Okanagan Rawsome

Choose from sweet, savory and even spicy crisps!

    • Purchase Okanagan Rawsome in Victoria and across Vancouver Island.
    • NEW!  Purchase Okanagan Rawsome online and save! Free shipping within Canada for orders over $80. Free Shipping in the US for orders over $160.
    • Okanagan Rawsome is a proud Sponsor of the Canadian Celiac Association’s Classes for the Newly Diagnosed. Details here!

Okanagan Rawsomeraw vegan crispsOkanagan Rawsome CCA Review