Welcome to The Globe’s new series, What’s in My Cart?, where we’re asking Canadians how they stock their kitchens.
Illustration by Kat Frick Miller
It was in the parking lot of North York General Hospital in Toronto where Vanessa Bond, 53, decided she would dedicate her nutrition practice to people with autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
That was nearly six years ago. Bond says the idea to shift her Toronto-based practice, Bond with Health, from a general focus to one centred on autoimmune conditions was actually her daughter’s. She made the decision along with her husband and two children.
Bond’s daughter was diagnosed at 11 years old with chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO), a rare autoimmune disease that causes pain and damage in bones because of inflammation. Hospital visits had become a regular occurrence for the 11-year-old as she and her family searched for solutions to the chronic pain she had been suffering from in her joints.
“I remember my daughter saying, ‘Mom, I’m doing so great, you have to help other people like me,’” Bond recalled.
CRMO was previously thought to affect four in one million people a year, but as recognition of the disease increases, specialists think it’s more common. The disease affects more women than men (75 per cent). It can cause inflammation and pain so severe it affects the spine and vertebrae, leaving some patients in wheelchairs.
Since her diagnosis in 2018, Bond’s daughter, now 17, is in remission. Still, the teenager has a team of specialists at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and nutritionists, says Bond.
As part of her nutritional therapy, the 17-year-old adopted an anti-inflammatory diet called ITIS. It’s a supercharged Mediterranean diet, which includes eating oil fishy, such as salmon, twice a week, and daily sources of monounsaturated fats, such as avocado or nuts, Bond says. While there have been few studies on the ITIS diet, novel research is being conducted on the diet’s ability to help alleviate inflammation in people with rheumatoid arthritis, a common occurrence in patients with CRMO. Some studies also suggest that diets, including the Mediterranean, can help lower c-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation in the body) in patients.
Bond says the diet is easy to integrate into her teenager’s schedule and doesn’t feel too restrictive for a high-school student.
“There isn’t just one diet for people with autoimmune disease; it’s more about what works for the person,” she says.
Here’s how Bond shops for groceries.
How I save: By using food for more than one meal. We’re big on leftovers, and dinner usually becomes lunch. I also freeze produce we don’t eat to add to smoothies, soups, omelettes and stir-fry.
How I splurge: From health food stores, such as Ambrosia in Toronto, I buy select items, including high-quality dark chocolate. We also splurge on organic greens, including kale, spinach and chard, which are sprayed with less pesticides.
The hardest shopping habit to keep up: Purchasing from different stores, which also helps us save money. My family uses three grocery lists: wholesale, specialty and regular, and everyone adds to it throughout the week. It helps us stay organized, but also plan where to buy food in bulk or on sale.
How I’ve changed my eating habits recently: I’ve learned to never go shopping without a list, because otherwise, I leave with things I don’t want or need.
Five items always in my cart:
- Organic whole chicken – butcher or Kirkland Signature – $47.62 for a bag of two: I can make one chicken into three meals for the family. I usually cook a whole chicken once a week, and will use the leftover bones and cartilage to make a delicious bone broth.
- Organic spring mix – Earthbound Farms – $6.99: I enjoy the spring mix for salads, as a side dish with meals.
- Frozen three-berry blend fruit – Kirkland Signature – $19.89: This is a mix of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. It tastes really good on its own, but it also adds sweetness to my daily smoothie, which I usually have in the afternoon as a treat.
- Gluten-free chocolate-chip cookie mix – President’s Choice – $5.99: This is usually our treat. My daughter and I discovered this mix recently and the cookies always come out really tasty.
- Organic coconut milk – Cha – $13.99 for a pack of six: This is an ingredient I started buying recently. We have been making a Thai green curry recipe with lots of vegetables and chicken. This coconut milk makes it creamy.
This interview has been edited and condensed.