Wise Bites is a baker and distributor of delicious, healthy food products based in Richmond, B.C. We aim to make it easy for people to make healthy choices. While our products are safe for those with the eleven most common allergies and sensitivities, our made-over versions of classics like the chocolate-chip cookie are designed to help everyone satisfy their cravings for a snack or dessert without negatively impacting their health. Have you had a Wise Bite today?

My Mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was only nine years old. Six years later, it came back as bone cancer and my mother passed away when I was 16.

In my young mind, I decided that cancer was caused by what we eat. I was convinced that my Mother’s rich diet — heavy in meat, gravy and always a very sweet dessert — stayed in her system too long and caused poison in her body. Based on my opinion at age 16, I began to formulate eating habits that stayed with me my entire life. They shaped who I became as a mother, and my road to becoming the Founder of Wise Bites.

I began my journey with eliminating certain foods, including meat, from my diet. My interest in making healthy food for my family continued as I raised my own children.

Then around 2010, as I was reading more and more news stories about food that’s being full of chemicals and fillers that are all harmful to our health, I became increasingly concerned about the offerings on our our grocery-store shelves. I also learned that — despite the media attention about the importance of eating healthy — the diets of Canadian children are still on a decline!

This was of grave concern to me and raised a lot of questions: Why are there is so few healthy packaged foods in the grocery stores? Why are we still eating so much sugar and chemicals? Why do we have an increase in food sensitivities and allergies? We, when it’s established that sugar consumption leads to obesity, which increases your risk of many cancers, do we still find it difficult to acknowledge the connection between diet and serious illness? Why can’t we see the connection between the way we reward our children today — often with sweet treats — and the illnesses they may face in the future?

Well, for starters, I believe we don’t make it easy for people to make good choices. Manufacturers and retailers can have a role, though, in making healthy options readily accessible. Take, for example, the concession stand of any sports arena or ball park where your might have your kids at hockey, baseball, a swim meet, etc. Are there any healthy options here for the people we love? More than likely the only choices are the worst

Is there anything other than the worst possible options on offer? Most items include high sugar, high fat and are full of chemicals and additives?

My continued research led me to be appalled with today’s ingredients; the oils – loaded with chemicals to keep them suspended, the flours with added fillers and way too many chemicals, the ridiculous amount of sugar and sodium which are NOT necessary, the lack of any real nutritional value in the “food” we are feeding our families.