I live in Honolulu on the beautiful island of O’ahu. I met my boyfriend Daniel on my very first trip to Hawai’i in 2015, but we didn’t get together until 2018. Since then we’ve hiked and surfed together all over the island - it truly is our playground. I moved here as a missionary from the metropolis of Sydney, Australia. I also served as a missionary in Fiji and have always loved island life!

I started this blog to share my beloved recipes with you, as well as other lovely lifestyle stuff.

I embarked on a very specific food journey in 2010, when I decided I wanted to make healthier choices, and my close friends would warn me at social functions of food that might not be vegan-friendly, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free. You can imagine how time-consuming and complicated it became to explain all of my food options at every social gathering, so they started to use the term “Sisi-friendly” to identify food that would be suitable for me to eat. As I experimented more with recipes, they dubbed my creations “Sisi-friendly” too.

Before I started eating “Sisi-friendly”, my health was always a struggle. I suffered from heavy, long periods and such severe menstrual pain that it caused me to throw up - a GP gave me strong painkillers and hormone medication to help. I also had arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) that was causing me to faint frequently without any triggers and being regularly rushed to the hospital by ambulance from home/school/work/wherever I was when I fainted unexpectedly - it was bad enough that my cardiologist recommended I either have a pacemaker implanted or start taking medication that I would need for the rest of my life (I was 22 years old when he told me this). I also had extreme eczema (itchy, inflamed skin) that was impossible to relieve without topical steroids. It seemed like every doctor I went to just wanted to give me a drug to ease my symptoms. None of them were trying to ascertain the cause of my sickness.

A visit to an allergist/immunologist (medical doctor specializing in allergies) confirmed that I had candida overgrowth in my gut, I was intolerant to cow’s milk and wheat, and I was allergic to mould. The doctor recommended that I follow a low-sugar, anti-inflammatory diet to rebalance my gut. Contrary to all the other doctors/specialists, he didn’t want me taking any medication at all because it would further disrupt my already imbalanced gut. I had been vegetarian for about a year at this point, but I went completely vegan and cut out all refined sugar and processed foods - as I did more research and watched YouTube videos I realized I had unintentionally adopted a whole foods, plant-based diet. After a few months of following this diet strictly, I experienced my first completely pain-free period. I also realized I hadn’t fainted since I changed my diet (and a decade later, I still have not fainted ever again) and I haven’t had eczema since then either.

I resonate whole-heartedly with this quote: “Let physicians teach the people that restorative power is not in drugs, but in nature. Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health. In case of sickness, the cause should be ascertained. Unhealthful conditions should be changed, wrong habits corrected. Then nature is to be assisted in her effort to expel impurities and to re-establish right conditions in the system.” - The Ministry of Healing by Ellen G. White.

Correcting wrong habits and following a whole foods, plant-based diet changed my life! I’m no longer on any medication and have not been sick in years! My mind is no longer cloudy, I have abundant energy, I’m not riding an emotional rollercoaster every month, I’m pain-free, and I’m stronger than I ever was eating animal protein at every meal. I taught myself how to prepare and cook delicious whole foods, plant-based vegan meals and I absolutely love sharing them with as many people as possible.

All of my recipes are vegan, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, unprocessed, and organic. I prosper by eating the finest possible diet of vegetables, seeds, nuts, fruits, gluten-free grains and legumes - as close to the diet of the Garden of Eden as possible.

In the future, I dream of running a plant-based, whole foods cafe that will double as a soup kitchen for locals who are doing it tough. I also present health seminars all over the world and would love to continue to educate people on how to cure and prevent disease with nutrition.

As well as being a health nut, I’m also a humanitarian, animal lover, and greenie, so the term then caught on with other lifestyle products, as I prefer to use skincare products and wear clothes that are ethical/fair trade, vegan, and sustainable. “Sisi-friendly” has become a whole lifestyle!

I hope my recipes inspire you to love all the things you CAN eat, instead of lamenting all the things you can’t. It’s not about going on a diet as there’s no diet that will do what healthy eating does. Instead, join me on a livet by making permanent positive lifestyle changes. Create healthy habits, not restrictions!

Sisi xo