Toronto’s Julie Daniluk wants to be “the Oprah Winfrey of nutrition.” While she does not necessarily aspire to become of the world’s wealthiest women, she does want to be able to access the masses as effectively to inject her wealth of nutritional knowledge. If anybody can achieve this ambitious feat, it is Daniluk.

This Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Cooking Instructor, Author, Photographer, and PR Rep and Co-Operative Co-Owner of The Big Carrot Natural Food Market believes that “to eat well is to have emotional balance, greater self-esteem, and feel connected to the universe.”

In a world where it seems as if there is a distinct separation between what the general populous perceives as delicious food versus nutritious food, Daniluk wants to show the skeptics that this lifestyle shift can be joyful.

So just how can people shift their reality if their relationship with food has always been superficial? The answer is simple: she thinks everyone should learn how to cook again.

“To feed yourself is to love yourself in a primary way like your mother did,” explains Daniluk, who offers cooking classes such as The Anti-Inflammatory Diet. In this class, she provides a full outline of foods that can increase and decrease inflammation, as well as creative ways to substitute foods that cause inflammation. As The Big Carrot’s resident Nutritional Consultant, she facilitates workshops about immunity, digestion, and detoxification. She has also helped with the production of festivals such as Bio-Diversity with David Suzuki and FoodShare’s Field to Table.

A graduate of the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and the Online Nutritionist for the Women’s Television Network, Daniluk is also working on a series of cookbooks that are specific to different health ailments called Meals That Heal. As somebody with extreme food sensitivities since childhood (the very reason she ventured upon the path of nutritional wellness), she has seen first-hand the need for accessible information about the food that we are putting into our bodies.

At a young age, her mother removed sugar and food additives (common allergens) from Daniluk’s diet in response to her hyperactivity, and she was astounded at how these changes positively and almost immediately affected her well-being. She plans to write and self-publish ten 100-page books of menu plans and recipes on such topics as heart disease, diabetes, and allergies. Her goal is to compile all of the books into one giant volume.

According to Daniluk, her ultimate dream is to be a creative cook with the freedom to play with recipes in her kitchen all day. Though she considers herself to be a nutritionist first, she has more than a healthy dose of creativity at her disposal. Not only is she a well-travelled stage actress, she is also a professional photographer specializing in portraiture. It only makes sense that she will be doing the food styling and photography for her upcoming book.

To Daniluk, the enjoyment of food and its nutritional and healing values can and do co-exist. Ginger, her favourite ingredient to use, “helps to ground us from things that derange us.” Fresh seaweed, her favourite ingredient to eat at a restaurant, boosts the immune system and supplies essential vitamins and minerals. Her signature creation is her Anti-Inflammatory and Immune-Boosting Dip (yes, folks, that’s its name) with a texture and taste similar to hummus. Food is a vital component of life to be used for achieving optimum health that can be enjoyed while doing so.

Daniluk is always thinking about nourishment first. But this does not mean that she thinks any less about how food tastes or where to eat. Some of her favourite dishes in Toronto restaurants include: the Singapore Salad at Lee, the venison at Jamie Kennedy, and the desserts at Live.

Whether she achieves Winfrey-esque star status, Julie Daniluk is definitely a rising star in the food and nutrition arena. And she has definitely found her path.