About Active Vegetarian

The plant-based eater’s guide to
nutrition, fitness and lifestyle.

Our Mission

“We are committed to uncovering the truth about healthy and earth-friendly living. Our mission is to empower you on your path to vibrant health and help you achieve long-lasting personal transformation.”

Hi! We are Zuzana & Nikki,

– health coaches, founders of ActiveVegetarian.com and authors of the Vegan Weight Loss Manifesto and Plant-Powered Athlete.

Long before becoming health coaches, the two of us have always been passionate about living an active lifestyle and adopting a vegetarian diet. Based on what we were taught, being active and eating more fruits and vegetables would allow us to lead a healthy life. Right? Wrong! But more on that later…

Individually, and long before we met each other, fitness and nutrition had been a big part of both our lives and certainly a passion that eventually drew us to each other. Since we were teenagers we have been drawn to helping others to be healthy through being active and eating more plants. The interest to educate by sharing the knowledge and our personal experience eventually led us to where we are today – coaching, helping and motivating others towards achieving their own health goals by adopting an active plant based lifestyle.

The Awakening

Nikki’s father was diagnosed with stage four cancer in January 2015 and died just 2 months later at the age of 58. It definitely was a traumatic and an eye opening experience for everyone involved. Nobody saw it coming and it all happened so fast. In that short period of time he underwent surgeries, chemo, and even tried holistic medicine but ultimately it was a little too late. Family watched helplessly as his once vibrant, strong, active body quickly weakened and his once sharp-witted mind left days before his body surrendered. This WTF experience was an awaking that helped us realized just how precious each moment, each mental process, and each breath truly is. It sparked a deep desire in us to dive in and uncover the truth behind vibrant health, take better care of our selves and be of service to others by running a mission-driven business that serves our community and makes us profoundly appreciate each and every day.

A Journey To Vibrant Health

Perhaps you may have already embraced a vegan lifestyle. When we say “vegan”, we’re speaking in terms of abstaining from the use of animal products. A vegan diet can reduce your risk of chronic ailments and diseases in itself but it’s not necessarily health promoting. We like to go a bit deeper for those interested in living a fully vibrant and rich life by focusing on mind, body and soul.

Currently, our general population is very sick with ailments ranging from eczema to cancer. You may have come to this website because you or someone you love are suffering from an illness.

According to DNA, you should live about 120 years. Surprised? Fact is, you are designed to be healthy. You are designed to heal from illness.

As plant-based health coaches our position is to show you how you can tap into your body’s capacity to heal. This doesn’t mean we directly heal people but we share with our clients that they have the ability to heal themselves through whole food plant-based diet, regular conscious exercise and improving their self care.

What Will You Find On Active Vegetarian?

Plenty of stuff! Ranging from nutrition and health articles, recipes, podcasts, fitness tips, wellness advice, self care and more!

We do our best to incorporate as much of our joint specialities as possible into the posts which include, but are not limited to:

Whole food plant-based nutrition: vegetarian & vegan lifestyles
Simple to make recipes: all using whole food ingredients
Nutrient density
Sports nutrition
Weight management
Healthy eating habits: creating positive relationship with food
Self care: stress management, mental, emotional and spiritual health

All our offerings are held to a high standard of sharing honest content to educate and connect with you (the reader) to make the most informed decision about your unique health and wellbeing.

What Is Your Expertise?

Both of us have been studying the human body, nutrition, physical fitness as well as living the plant-based lifestyle for over two decades. During this time we have encountered many amazing benefits of a plant powered life. These life-changing results inspired us to dive even deeper into learning about the power of whole food plant-based nutrition, conscious movement, self care and the “secrets” behind living a vibrant life. Over the years our passion has evolved to coaching others towards achieving their own health goals by adopting an active plant based lifestyle.

Learn more about Zuzana

Hi there,

I am Zuzana, a Czech-Canadian currently living my dream in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

My core belief is that everyone of us has the ability to be healthy, happy and fit and when we live by example we create a certain level of awareness.

I started ActiveVegetarian.com in 2007 as a platform to share my love for whole plant-based foods, healthy cooking and active living. My passion became a form of mild obsession and I embarked on a journey to create health in all areas of my life. Over the years I discovered you can’t skip or ignore a facet in your life if you want to create optimal health. So I started surrounding myself with positive, motivated and like-minded people; I explored a variety of movement and exercise that I enjoyed and that suited my body at that time; I continued to learn about the power of plants and nature and made sure to nourish my cells with organic, whole plant-based foods.

Then in early 2010 I partnered up with Nikki. We combined our joint passion for health with entrepreneurship to create a fulfilling business in helping inspire others to take control of their health. Together we made a commitment to create an honest space for people to come and learn how to take better care of themselves through nourishing diet, mindful movement and conscious living.

My Education:

Biology Basecamp with Dr. Zach Bush
Sports Nutrition with Brendan Brazier, PlantLab (Matthew Kenney)
Fundamentals of Raw Cuisine, PlantLab (Matthew Kenney)
Ultimate Raw Nutrition Certification, BodyMind Institute
PTS Personal Trainer Specialist, canfitpro
canfitpro PRO TRAINER, facilitator for certification courses and exams
RYT Registered Yoga Teacher, Jeevmoksha Yoga, Rishikesh India
2nd Degree Black Belt, Premier Martial Arts

Whether you’re looking to improve your health, be inspired to live your best life, or simply feel happier, ActiveVegetarian.com contains information, insights and usable content to help you feel motivated to create abundance in all areas of your life. Trust that you can experience amazing results by making small daily changes in the right direction. The first step might be the hardest, but it’s also the most important one you will take. Do not wait for the perfect moment. Begin NOW!

Dedicated to your health and wellbeing,

Learn more about Nikki

Hello!

I’m Nikki – born and raised in Ontario, Canada. My passion for health and fitness started when I was in my early 20’s. Having both of my parents as an influence and mentor helped guide me toward this amazing path I am still on today!

As I dedicated myself to healthy eating and moving my body daily – soon I discovered how powerful it was in helping me breakthrough life “struggling” moments. The gym and eating nourishing food – became my “outlet”. This led me to understand just how strong the connection of movement, nourishment and a healthy mindset really is.

The universe works in mysterious ways…. Continuing to expand my knowledge and experiences – I started Kickboxing & Muay Thai – that was how I met Zuzana. Instantly our bond was strong, having so many similarities and passions – which made it an easy choice for us to collaborate and grow ActiveVegetarian.com, together.

Here I am today, living in beautiful British Columbia (a place I have always been drawn to)– I am so fortunate and grateful for this life and the ability to practice so many of my expertises and passions… from creating healthy and nourishing recipes, to fitness, spirituality, photography, graphic design, and most importantly acquiring a conduit to share all of this with the world.

My Education:

Nectar Of Devotion 1000hr Lifestyle Program | Shantiseva Yoga Institute | Tina Pashumati James
Functional Nutrition Program, Mindbodygreen | online studies
PTS Personal Trainer Specialist, CanFitPro | Vancouver, BC
RYT Registered Yoga Teacher, Jeevmoksha Yoga | Rishikesh India
Fitness Kickboxing Certification, Premiere Martial Arts International
Restore Human Level 1 Course, Restore Human | Vancouver, BC
Thai Massage Course (20 hours), C & M Study Centre | Koh Phangan, Thailand
Graphic Design, Mohawk College | Brantford, ON
Food Photography School, Minimalist Baker | online studies
Video Production Course, DVworkshops (Aron Ranen) | Los Angeles, California

I feel it is deeply rooted in my soul to inspire and motivate others to be vulnerable, live from a place of love, to slow down, to notice the world around them, nourish themselves (in all ways), and to squeeze every bit of joy & bliss out of this life – to guide them to become who they desire to be – to live full-hearted – with gratitude and passion.

My dedication to ActiveVegetarian.com and to You (the reader) is full of truth, genuineness and love. I vow to continue to evolve my mind by educating myself in different manners and offering it to you and the world. I believe, that when we choose to evolve in one area of life – it has the potential to support and awaken other areas. I will remain open – I will continue to plant seeds, nurture them and grow.

The light in me sees and honours the light in you.

Dedicated to your health and wellbeing,

The plant-based eater’s guide to nutrition, fitness and lifestyle.

The plant-based eater’s guide to
nutrition, fitness and lifestyle.