Ep 32 – Interview With Danielle Arsenault | Pachavega

by Shane Zannella 2018-06-24

Ep 32 – Interview With Danielle Arsenault | Pachavega

Dainelle Arsenault – Pachavega | Photo by Jon Huyer

In this episode, we talk to Danielle Arsenault about her plant-based journey, her raw food chef certification courses at Pachavega Living Foods Education, and her new plant-based TV series Heal and Ignite Across Canada.

About Danielle Arsenault

Danielle Arsenault, founder of Pachavega Living Foods Education, is a lover of many things. She is a passionate Raw Food Chef, Spanish teacher, cave guide, slack liner, rock climber, mountain lover, cookbook author and whole foods nutrition and lifestyle consultant. It is her dream to educate the world about the healing power of plant-based whole foods and a healthy lifestyle rooted in compassion for the planet. Pacha came from Pachamama, which is a native word from the indigenous Quechua people of South America meaning Mother Earth, and Vega is to honour the humble vegetable.

She can become lost in the folds of nomadic travels now and then but still finds time to pursue her passions. For almost 10 years, she travelled the world and discovered isolated corners of over 25 countries (and counting). In 2011 a near-death rock climbing accident gave her the realization that we must honour this one life we live, that we are truly blessed to be here and the sky is the limit. We can achieve anything we put our minds to and that we have the ability to make our dreams come true. Always with an eye for fresh foods, Danielle has discovered endless combinations and hidden secrets in nutrition – especially in raw, living foods. After the accident, she found herself rapidly healing with no lingering pains whatsoever. She attributed this vitality to the food that she was eating and this sparked her passion for whole foods. She knew it was her calling to strive to educate herself in depth about the healing power of whole foods and a healthy lifestyle.

While living in South Korea for years, she collaborated with the lovely Jessica Perlaza by co-creating a vegan, gluten-free cookbook series inspired by seasonal, whole foods. They call themselves the kitchens of pinch and dash and wrote four books together. You can find these cookbooks online. Danielle has also recently published her own recipe book, Heal and Ignite; 55 Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipes to Heal your Body and Ignite your Spirit!

In 2012, she also completed a ukulele-infused, singer-songwriter album under her musical pseudonym, Mustache Fable and in 2016 she became an Ambassador for Salome Naturals, a company based out of Canada that sources pure single origin, fairly traded and equitably sourced moringa. She is also an on-board chef with Sea Shepherd. In the summer of 2018 she joined the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on their campaign in the Caribbean whose main mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.

Looking for some grounding roots, she founded Pachavega Living Foods Education in 2013 to inspire people to take charge of their happiness and health by eating mindfully. She offers whole foods, plant-based catering, nutritional consultation and runs a vegan culinary school that teaches raw food chef certification including a Basic and Advanced Raw Chef Certificate that has over 100 graduates now in a few short years. She is also the co-founder of Live Pure Culinary Institute, a vegan, plant- based culinary institute with courses in Canada, Cape Cod and Costa Rica. Both Pachavega Living Foods Education and Live Pure Culinary Institute are Internationally Certified Raw Food Chef Schools, certified by the Raw Food Chef Alliance. She is currently working on a new television series, Heal and Ignite Across Canada. The first episode was filmed in May 2018 and is now in the editing process.

(Source: http://pachavega.com/daniellearsenault/)