Swish Labs Blog

We design & develop unique mobile experiences

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Introduction to: The Garden Grazer

This week, we'd love to introduce one of the best whole foods bloggers out there - The Garden Grazer! She's got flavourful vegetarian recipes that please both the vegetarian, and the omnivore. We're really honoured to have her as one of our recipe providers - and excited for all of of you to try them out!

Kaitlin writes:

Let me introduce myself so we can get acquainted. I’m Kaitlin, the creator and voice behind The Garden Grazer. I currently live in the beautiful state of Oregon with my husband and 3 month old daughter. It’s such an exciting opportunity for me to team up with Venio and be able to contribute my recipes to such a creative, wonderful company. When they first approached me and asked to use my recipes, I thought “YES!!” This is the very reason I started my website. You see, it wasn’t just for a place to keep track of my favorite recipes, although I love having a virtual recipe book. More importantly, my ultimate goal was to be able share the recipes with others to inspire and encourage healthy eating. I really wanted to show people how delicious, easy, and enjoyable eating veggies can be.

My focus became finding and creating straightforward, healthy recipes that easily fit into your schedule and budget. Simply gather a few ingredients, navigate through some simple steps, and BAM! Before you know it, you’re chowing down on some seriously scrumptious meals that leave your body thanking you all day long. And let’s face it, when your body’s happy, YOU’RE happy. And when you’re happy, you spread that joy to others. And when you spread joy to others, it makes the world a better place. So kiss a kiwi, savor some spinach, and mingle with a mango – do whatever you have to do to EAT YOUR VEGGIES!

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Wasn't that great? Be sure to visit her at: http://www.thegardengrazer.com/

[swishlabs-blog]

Blogger Feature

One of our favouite bloggers, Recipris, wrote quite the flattering article about us. More than anything, we're happy that people are happy about being on Venio. 

Head over to her blog, and check out the awesome stuff she's got going on! www.recipris.com

And stay tuned for our very own interview with her!

[swishlabs-blog]

Venio Meets the AppStore

So it’s been a long time coming - but we’re finally in the AppStore. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the submission process, we’re fairly certain that they made, ate and judged every single meal we have on Venio. How else would the explain how long it took? Us being public doesn’t mean we’ve stopped working. Not even close. We’ve really just started. We’re making Venio better every single day. In fact, we’ve actually just submitted a new version today! They promised us less time for review, so fingers crossed! Here’s a little sneak peak of what the updated version will look like.

[swishlabs-blog]

Why you should plan your meals

For those that haven’t signed up yet – yes, this blog is made for you too - here’s a tip. Spend half an hour on a Sunday, or any day really, planning your meals for the week – and if you’re feeling ambitious, plan for the month. And if you’re felling SUPER ambitious, for your unborn grandchildren. All you need to do then is just spend some time buying the groceries, and you're good to go – as long as you don’t forget something. Venio helps with that too.

On the more extreme end of the spectrum, there are people who spend 8 hours every Sunday, planning AND cooking their meals for the month. We imagine these are the type of people who would spend 6 hours brushing their teeth if it meant they didn't have to do it again for the rest of the year. Come on Colgate - make it happen. Anyway, they store their food in their ginormous freezers, and whenever they're craving a meal, all it takes is for it to defrost. Now we understand that some people won't take it to that level, but the idea is finding a method that fits you. And the more important thing is to make sure that the food you’ve got planned out is right for your body and healthy. Venio helps with that too.

Have we mentioned Venio?

Do you use Venio already? How do you prepare your meals? Way in advance, or do you make every single meal when it’s time to eat it? Share your tips!

Don’t use Venio? Do you think a meal-plan would help you out, or is there some reason you don’t think they’re of any use to you?

[swishlabs-blog]

Being Vegetarian doesn't mean being healthy

So a couple of weekends ago, we attended the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival. We got to see some of the interesting trends and brands that are currently on the rise. But our favourite bit of it was talking to everyone there. We got to know a lot about the different challenges vegetarians face, and what motivates them. Here is the first of 4 blog posts on some of our findings: Being Vegetarian Doesn’t Always Mean Being Healthy Several people actually mentioned they gained some weight when they became a vegetarian. This might prompt some meat-eaters to yell out, “In yo’ face!” - but it’s actually quite common. This is because calories are calories. They come from any type of food, including non-meats. When some turn to a meat-free diet - they assume that they can eat as much as they want, because everything else is healthy. Not true. Quantity still needs to be monitored - probably even more so. People are not as informed on the nutrient possibilities of various non-meats. An important step of becoming a vegetarian isn't just knowing what to eat - it's learning what to eat. What might be the most rewarding aspect to some vegetarians is feeling physically better. Asides from some great aspects like having clear skin (it was really strange - everyone had a great glow to them. The festival could have been held at night without any electricity!), people just generally felt better. Those little kinks in their system were gone. Not everyone had reached that stage yet. Those people have to be aware of what makes a vegetarian diet a healthy diet. Lot’s of people expressed frustration about the lack of information about healthy vegetarianism. There are some resources available to make sure you’re not missing what you need - we try to curate this, and push it through our twitter [shameless plug]. Thinking clearer was the most popular motivational element that kept vegetarians going. I change my mind - this is the most rewarding aspect. There are some studies that show that eating red meat makes people angrier. I THINK THAT’S A LOAD OF - ...just kidding. I don’t know if this is entirely true - there are lots of contradictory studies. However, watching what you eat in general is prone to have this affect on people. It comes down to the fact that you’re aware of everything that goes into your body. You’re actively seeking healthy choices, and making a conscious effort to live a of a healthier life. A healthy mind is a healthy body - absolutely. But a healthy body is also a healthy mind. It’s a two way street we’re going down here. Tune in next week for some of the social challenges and motivations that we heard about.

[swishlabs-blog]

Vegetarian Food Festival

Last week, a few members of the Venio team attended the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival, put together by the Toronto Vegetarian Association. Let me start off by saying, “wow”.

Before attending, we did a bit of research to find out exactly what we’re getting involved in. My colleague Peter made the innocent mistake of searching “vegetarian festival” [WARNING: graphic link] in Google Images. We spent the next hour trying to unsee what couldn’t be unseen. After that, we found out about the 40,000 un-pierced, to moderately pierced people attending the event, which blew us away! We were ready to veg it up.

Friday started off kind of slow with most of the foot traffic being mostly from exhibitors. We loved what we saw though! Some of our favourite booths included Fresh City Farms, Vega, Sweets from the Earth, Live, Culinary Groove, and Front Door Organics. And the samples - oh the samples! I got the chance to break down sample-taking into a science:

The initial “interested” look reading the various marketing materials

Then the look of “surprise” that says, “Oh! I didn’t know you had samples! I guess I’ll take one”

Then the un-insulting, slow backing away from the tent while still looking somewhat interested.

The deceptive overcast weather Saturday morning set a gloomy tone for the beginning part of the second day, but the sun appeared out of nowhere and cheered everyone back up. We got the chance to talk to a few attendees and they varied from the life-long vegetarians, to the newly converted, to the “omnivores” that admitted so in a cute, innocent way. We got to hear about the challenges and motivations of being a vegetarian, which I’ll write about next week! However, 40,000 attendees seemed like a long shot, and I got a bit upset that I was fooled by my own people (Marketers). Then Sunday came about.

Sunday was packed more than a veggie samosa. There was great energy that spread through the Harbour Front Centre throughout the whole day. So many people together in a environment which completely harboured their beliefs, their tastes, their lifestyle. It was inspiring to see - yet sad to see it wrap up.

Great music, tasty food, and good vibes while people were enjoying what seems to be the last warm weekend of the year.

[swishlabs-blog]

4 ways to get the most out of the rest of the summer

The sun is shining, the trees are green, the air is still warm – but you’re starting to notice that slight chill at night, or even in the shade. That can only mean one thing. At the risk of sounding like a character from Game of Thrones…the winter is coming. If you’re anything like me, you’re sad to see this come. But here’s 4 healthy ways to get the most out of what’s left of the summer:

Visit a farmer’s market

Farmer’s markets are truly a gift of the summer. The tables come out, the tents go up, the conversations start buzzing. It’s impossible to find someone frowning at a farmer’s market. I challenge you to find me a picture of an upset farmer’s market visitor! During the last few weeks, pick up your bike, or your walking shoes and go around to see some end of the summer produce that’s around you.

Have a picnic

Everyone throws BBQs during the summer, and we’re all familiar with the Labour Day BBQ that marks the end of the summer. However, very few people are going on picnics these days. Bring some healthy platters and snacks with you, a Frisbee, a couple of yoga mats, and enjoy a day in the sun without having to worry about cluttering up your home. The best seasoning to a meal is some fresh air. Don’t forget to bring sunscreen though!

Go on an outdoor adventure

Are picnics too floofy (yea, that’s right – I just made up a word) for your taste? Do you prefer spending the day in an area where there’s no cell phone signal? Put on your hiking boots, get some bug spray, and find yourself a hiking trail. Bring ready-to-eat foods such as nuts and fruits, and easy-to-prepare foods such as organic peanut butter and eggs - they're ideal for hiking and camping trips. And no matter what you do – please be sure to check your shoes before putting them back on.

Develop a health plan for the fall

Preparation is the key to success. Didn’t reach your goals this summer? Why don’t you spend the upcoming weekend planning on what you can do differently this fall. Sure, you won’t be able to show off your beach body to everyone – but feeling good, and emitting a healthy glow is much better! Motivation during the fall and winter might be hard to come across, so get a head start now.

Bonus tip: Buy some long-johns. I wore them for the first time last winter – and it currently ranks in my top 5 favourite discoveries.

[swishlabs-blog]

Vegetarianism and Veganism Through the Eyes of a Meat Eater

So I’m Karim - if you’re interested in putting a face to the text – check me out, and the rest of my team right here.

I’m a meat eater. On top of that – I’m Egyptian. That means one of my skills as a child was to shovel copious amounts of beef into my stomach – and still have room for dessert: coal-grilled chicken. I was really good at it.

So when I started living abroad, and hearing the words “vegetarianism” and “veganism”, I always gave responses like, “ok, but not even chicken?” and “what if the cow asks you to take its milk?”. It was very hard for me to understand how you can incorporate a diet that doesn’t take into account any sort of meat.

This cow will stare at you till you take its milk

Then I started experimenting – like most do in university. I started focusing on the side dishes, seeing what was available to eat. I went in with an attitude of “the plate is half empty”. Then I realized the plate isn’t empty at all. I would walk into a grocery store – and see the vast amount of produce that was available in the produce section. The variety of beans, and grains, and sauces that I could combine. There were so many dishes that could be crafted and I noticed that I was limiting myself with just the meat options. The meat aisle takes up the tiniest bit of the grocery store – it shouldn’t take up my whole appetite.

I would go back to Egypt to visit in the summer and it would be like someone pulled a veil off of my eyes. The staple meals of Egyptian culture turn out to be vegan friendly. There is falafel, ful (a fava bean based dish), koshary (a tasty rice, pasta and lentil based dish – yes, all in one dish).

There’s a certain glamour that’s built around meat that makes veganism and vegetarianism so unappealing to omnivores - this mentality of “MEAT IS THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD!”. I still eat meat, I still have slices of cheese, but I’m no longer hypnotized by the sizzling of a steak. Honestly, I don’t miss the meat-sweats I used to get. I've started to follow Meatless Mondays - and I no longer look for "lamb" the moment I open up a menu.

So do I think vegetarians and vegans are different? Yes. But who said different was bad? It’s the same thing that I associate myself with when I say “The Beatles were alright”. Embrace it! It's always good to see people taking control of what they’re eating – no matter what way.

Now I know veganism and vegetarianism aren’t the same thing, but take it easy on me! I sense there might be another blog post coming about that. 

[swishlabs-blog]

Our First Step

Writing your first blog post is almost like that feeling of taking the first step into a fresh blanket of snow. Your excitement to make an impact – your plan for what seems like an eternity to take the perfect step. Then you just jump in and do it.

So first – let us introduce ourselves with a question: What is Venio? Let me answer that! Venio is that place you go to when you’re feeling determined, when you’re feeling inspired, when you’ve got it all figured out, or when you have to figure it all out. We’re not an application – we’re a solution.

Venio provides a comprehensive healthy lifestyle solution that listens to your body. Once we learn your goals, body, and preferences, we generate a nutritional plan that finds the perfect balance between your health, and everything else. Use us to monitor and evaluate your progress as you go, and we'll adjust accordingly, making sure you're staying on the path to your goals – no matter what your goals are, or where you’re starting from.

How long before people start deep-frying salads?

But, believe it or not, we’re not here to talk about ourselves – our team does that enough with each other. We’re actually here to talk about talking – more specifically, your body talking. Your body is always telling you things, giving you signals. Your body is not going anywhere; it’s not going to stay quiet, so maybe we should start listening. And no, we’re not just talking about those awkward stomach grumbles when you’re sitting with strangers in a silent room – trust us, once we figure out how to make those stop, we’ll tell you. We’re talking more about those two hours after you have your deep fried chicken, and you start feeling sluggish and unmotivated – that’s your body telling you, “You should have totally made that spinach arugula salad instead”. Or the feeling of a lack of energy along with tired looking skin? That could be your body telling you, “Vitamin-D…I need it”

So this product and blog is made for your body as much as it is for you. We’re here to have a conversation about staying healthy, making the right decisions, delicious food, and ways to make your culinary life easier. We haven’t launched just yet, but we’ll update you on our progress, and when you’ll be able to live easier with Venio.

We can promise you that every other blog post isn’t going to be a sorry-we’ve-been-away-for-a-while post, so we’re hoping you come back frequently and join us in our walk through that fresh blanket of snow.