In Focus | Cayla Joss of Om Grown Nutrition & Holistic Health

In Focus is our gift to the community. A way for us to help show our recognition for the people, businesses and organizations that help make our city great. The team at KelownaNow.com is passionate about this community and the people that make it amazing. We want to show our friends, neighbours, family and colleagues that we notice them and the fabulous things that they do.

What is your name?
Cayla Joss

What do you always find yourself saying?
It's all about balance.

If you could spend one whole day with anyone in the world who is currently alive, who would you select?
Anthony Bourdain. We would spend the entire day eating all sorts of street food somewhere in Vietnam, talking about life, food and travelling the world.

If you were to receive any existing public award, what award would you like to win?
I cannot think of something specific, but something for helping to change our modern food system would be amazing.

If you could spend a day with any historical figure, who would you choose?
The Dalai Lama. He is insightful, charming, humble and goofy yet he commands such presence when he speaks. I would love to just sit and listen to him talk and laugh for an entire day.

Who inspires you?
My mother and my Oma (grandmother in German). They have helped to shape who I am today, and have shown me what it means to be a strong and independent woman.

What are three things on your bucket list?
To travel to every continent on earth, to dine at Dan Barber's farm to table restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns in upstate New York and to have my own published cookbook with my partner who also happens to be a chef.

Please tell us about a defining moment in your life
From the moment I enrolled in Natural Nutrition at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition my life has completely transformed in such a positive way.

If you had an enormous yacht, what would you name it?
Amphitrite. She is the goddess of the sea, wife to Poseidon.

If you could foresee a single day of your future in its entirety, what date would you select?
The day I get married.

What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about real food and sustainability, about living as local as possible and about going back to our roots of living our lives a little more simply. I am passionate about the act of growing my own food, learning about plants, supporting my local farmer and artisans, knowing where my food comes from, cooking new things, questioning our current systems, getting out into nature and treating my body with love and respect. I love to read, write, draw, practice yoga, weight train, eat food, ride my bike, swim in the lake, hike in the mountains and go camping. I love my friends and family (cats included), I have itchy feet and long to travel the world and I strive every day to create my life around what I am passionate about.

What has been your favourite day of your life, up to this point?
I have been lucky enough to have had some amazing experiences, but this past winter my partner and I spent two months in Southeast Asia and India. While in Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand we visited an elephant rescue sanctuary outside of the city that was life changing for me. Getting to walk with these gentle giants, feed them organic food donated from neighbouring farms, bathe them in the river and hear their stories of tragedy and triumph was both heartbreaking and awe-inspiring. The bonds that the females create are for life, and you can see the intelligence and wisdom in their careful eyes. The smell of the rainforest, the mist of humid rain followed by afternoon sun, the feeling of their rough and wrinkled skin on my hands; the entire day remains wildly vivid in my memory.

What has been your proudest accomplishment?
Completing my diploma in Natural Nutrition to become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist with a certificate of merit (an average of 90 per cent or higher). I worked full time while doing this year long, comprehensive course, so I am very proud of myself for the hard work and dedication I put into my schooling, which is also happens to be my passion.

Where is your favourite place to dine in Kelowna?
I have so many it is hard to choose! Smack Dab's patio is the best; Bacaro has the best share plates and cocktails. Quails Gate for fine dining and Pho Soc Trang for my favourite treat, spicy lemongrass Pho.

What is your favourite activity or event in Kelowna?
The Farmers Market is always a highlight of my week; it is where I stock up on fresh local produce and other goodies. The downtown block party is also great. We are fairly small city, and I love to support small local business!

What is the name of your business/organization?
Om Grown Nutrition & Holistic Health

What does your business/organization do?
We provide nutritional consulting along with meal planning and/or preparation to meet your dietary needs, the needs of your family all within your budget. We can also create workplace wellness packages.

Where can people find you or your business online?
http://caylajoss.wix.com/omgrownnutrition

How do people connect with you on Linkedin?
Cayla Joss rhn

Where can people find your business on Facebook?
Cayla Joss rhn

What is your Twitter account?
@CaylaJoss

What is your mission?
To provide knowledge, guidance and real food products/recipes that help to improve the health and vitality of the community. We also want to create awareness of the economical, societal and health related impacts of what it means to eat like a "locavore."

If you could achieve one thing within your field, what would it be?
To have a published cookbook that provides the knowledge and values on how someone can live a vibrant, healthy life through whole food and home cooking.

Where do you want your business/organization to be in five years?
Producing and selling healthy, nutrient dense foods like bone broths and fermented products to the community through local grocers, the farmers market and possibly small food truck. Also to be working actively within the community through various workshops.

Who do you consider to be a forerunner within your field?
Joy McCarthy of Joyous Health. She has really shown Canada how important Holistic Nutrition is in regards to obtaining optimal health.

What three qualities do you feel that your business/organization exemplifies?
Integrity, authenticity and passion.

What would you like to say to your employees/volunteers?
Since my partner and I are the only employees, I would say "continue to pursue your passions and stay true to what you believe in."

How does your business/organization impact the community?
By highlighting the best of what our community has to offer and helping others achieve optimal health.

What makes you successful? Tell us about it.
For my partner and I this not just a business, it's a way of life. We try every day to improve the way we live by doing things like trying out new recipes, doing research and reaching out to our community to make new connections. We have a true passion for health, food and living an active lifestyle. I want to provide services that make that simpler for the average busy person who has maybe put their health at the bottom of their priority list, as many of us do when we have a million and one things to do every day. It is easy to get lost in the blur, but putting yourself first will benefit all those around that rely on you as well.

If you were trapped in an elevator with several wealthy investors from any field, which field would you want them to be experts in? What would say to them/talk about?
I would have to say I would want them to be from the field of marketing. In any avenue of business, the knowledge of knowing how to market yourself or your company is imperative. I would pick their brains on marketing strategies and how best to market a successful holistic business.

If I could change one thing about Kelowna, it would be:
The regulations that make it very tough to have a food truck in the city as well as the need for the trucks to have a pre-set location that they can sell from.

What do you think makes Kelowna great?
It is such a forward thinking, active community that has so much to offer and actually has residents that truly love to live here and are proud of their home. Also, the produce that comes from this valley is of such high quality. As a chef, my partner has worked many places in the world and constantly says that the produce we get here is some of the freshest, highest quality produce he has ever worked with. We are so lucky to live in such an abundant environment that has so much to offer us at a local level.

My nomination for the In Focus spotlight is:
Taylor Morrice of The Hot Box Yoga

Some general comments I would like to share are:
I am currently a member in good standing with The Weston A. Price Foundation, a foundation that promotes a traditional way of eating, including local grass fed meat and dairy, local eggs, lots of ferments and properly grown produce. We are in the process of opening an Okanagan chapter of this foundation, so if this is something that interests you, please contact me to learn more. I write a weekly blog called "Real Food Friday" where I post a healthy, real food recipe with corresponding nutritional facts and advice. You can find it on The Hot Box Yoga's Facebook page. I also make crystal jewelry as a side project! My company is called Salt & Sage Crystal Jewelry and I sell them primarily at The Hot Box Yoga on Bernard, but I will be at Lululemon on July 10th for a pop-up shop. We have some exciting events being planned for the fall so you can follow us on the Facebook page for upcoming workshops and other events!

We encourage you to leave your comments and words of support below, and submit your own nomination by clicking HERE. You are also welcome to submit a form of your own by clicking HERE. Thank you, Kelowna!