Ottawa is becoming a great place to eat out for vegans. As our “Vegan In Ottawa”guide shows, there really is no shortage of decent options in the city. But there is one vegan restaurant that has been serving Ottawa for decades that many people overlook.

Granted, Govinda’s buffet is not what you would call fine dining, but it is my favourite restaurant in the city. It’s set humbly in a Hare Krishna Temple on Somerset St. East (near the university of Ottawa). At $5 for students and $7 dollars for everyone else, anyone can afford to eat there.

Jane and I frequent Govinda’s almost once a week when we both have had very busy days and can’t be bothered to cook. At such a low price, we don’t feel guilty about it either.

But Govinda’s has more going for it than just being economical, there are other reasons Govinda’s is my favourite restaurant in Ottawa.

Govinda’s offers genuinely healthy cuisine. The all-you-can-eat style buffet offers a small selection of bean and vegetable curries, soup, brown rice and salad that are tasty and good for you.

Sometimes, all you want is simple, delicious, and wholesome food to keep you going. Govinda’s never fails to provide this. The buffet is all you can eat, too!

Many other restaurants mean well, but use too much oil and salt for my liking. Often you get served a fat bomb disguised as healthy cuisine. I feel comfortable eating at Govinda’s because the food is prepared much the way I would prepare it at home: High carb and little to no oil.

Instead, Govindas relies on simple staple whole foods and healthy starches such as rice, potatoes and beans spike with traditional indian spices such as ginger, coriander, cumin and garam masala.  The meals health, high-carb , high-energy and low fat for people who are not only interested in eating yummy food, but also fueling themselves to think, work and play. It’s comfort food, and it’s the healthiest way to eat.

The humble restaurant also has a genuinely warm atmosphere. It is run by the friendly, spiritual man, Shankar. But Shankar is not just a Hare Krishna adherent, he is really just a nice guy.

To put the obvious questions to rest, I have been frequenting this restaurant for over 12 years, and Shankar and I have never once had a conversation about religion. One year, on Krishna’s birthday, he did offer me a crisp new copy of the Bhagavad Gita, which I gladly accepted out of scholarly interest and the inquisitiveness innate to a secular spiritualist. He is not trying to spread his religion any further than his religion calls for dispensing kindness to all he meets. His friendship is genuine.

Shankar takes the time to get to know his regular patrons. He will always stop by our table and take the time to ask how we have been doing, and hear about what has been going on in our lives.

Govinda’s is a place to feel welcome. The staff never seems to change, so you will always be remembered and greeted with genuine hospitality.

Govinda’s represents a food style that, in my opinion, is sorely lacking in Ottawa. Occasionally I like the occasional gourmet meal with pickled-this and faux cheese that, but for functional, healthy cuisine, Govinda’s is the real deal. I can fuel on rice, potatoes and bean curries to my heart’s content, and know that I’ll be up for a hard day of work and training the next day.

If you have not discovered this hidden Ottawa gem yet, what are you waiting for?

If You Go

As part of the experience, you should know that you are required to take your shoes off at the entrance of the restaurant. It is, after all, a Hare Krishna temple

The atmosphere is somewhat informal, something sometimes reflected in unexpected closures. To avoid disappointment, you should call the restaurant beforehand to make sure it is open.

Address: 212 Somerset St E, Ottawa, ON K1N 6V5

Phone:(613) 565-6544

Hours:

Monday-Friday 5–8PM

This classic Japanese dish is usually made with meat broth and ingredients but why not make use of the traditional use of miso and vegan friendly ramen noodles to create a vegan version?

A twist on the traditional yields a deliciously simple savoury breakfast, lunch or dinner.

I used forbidden rice ramen and genmai (brown rice) miso. But you could combine regular ramen and just about any miso or miso/veggie soup broth combination.

ingredients

1/2- 1 package of ramen of choice (forbidden rice ramen) (serves 1-2 people)

3 tsp miso paste (I used brown rice genmai miso but you could choose barley, soy bean etc)

Dash of tamari soy sauce

2 cups chopped fresh kale (add or swap veggies as you like)

salt and pepper to taste

method

• Prepare ramen as per package directions *i like to add more water than the directions in order to have more broth
• stir in miso and tamari and adjective to taste
• stire in kale and allow to wilt
• add salt and pepper
• your done!

Serve in a big soup bowl with soup spoon and chopsticks.

If there’s one misconception about the vegan lifestyle that I wish I could clear up, is that it is difficult or complicated. In fact, that’s the main reason I started PlantKind. I want to help people get back to basics and build a solid foundation on simple nutrition and lifestyle habits.

Yet, for one reason or another, many people insist that a simple, plant based diet needs to be some confusing labyrinth fraught with nutritional pitfalls. I cannot tell you how many people ask me what protein powder I use in my smoothie every morning. I can see the look of surprise and consternation on their face when I tell them my smoothie only contains fruit. Just fruit, plain and simple.

People honestly think simple fruit cannot make a meal. Too much sugar, too many carbs, not enough protein, not enough fat, too high on the glycemic index – whatever misconceptions they have essentially complicated things. Most people cannot even tell you where they learned these ideas.

A healthy diet really is simple. Eat a variety of whole plant foods every single day including whole grains, fruit vegetables and beans. Drink lots of water. Get some exercise and plenty of sleep and take your B12.

There is no shortage of people willing to take advantage of the obfuscation of nutrition. Where there is confusion, there are experts waiting to take your money to tell you the “right way”.

Don’t believe me? Nutritional supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry. Protein is the one macronutrient that our culture eats the most of, yet somehow we’ve been convinced that we need to supplement our diets to get even more of it. Because you have no need for all this excess protein, it either has to be excreted or stored as bodyfat. What a scam!

And its more than just protein powder. There is no shortage of pills and powders that people are convinced they need. It’s a wonder we ever survived as a species with all these particularities.

Now consider the diet industry and so-called health authorities. I am embarrassed to call myself a personal trainer every time I hear another trainer tell their client to “be careful” with fruit and whole grains because they “contain sugar”. Do they actually think the obesity epidemic in this country was caused by fruit and whole grain consumption?

Many current diet trends that absolutely defy all common sense, suggesting that bacon and butter are slimming foods. It’s amazing to me that so called “experts” are telling an obese nation that we are that way because we aren’t eating enough butter and bacon. Sounds like the basis of a best selling book right there!

We’ve somehow been taught to believe that there is some sort of magic to sound nutrition, even more so if you are eating a vegan diet. Take your pick of powders, pills and shills – they all have the answers that you apparently don’t. In the end, they get rich, and you don’t get any closer to the healthy life you want to live.

Let’s put it in perspective. The healthiest cultures on earth, the Okinawans and the Seventh Day Adventists of Loma Linda, eat simple diets consisting of whole, plant foods. Contrary to being complicated, a calorically sufficient diet centered around whole grains, fruits, vegetables and beans is as simple and nourishing as it gets.

There is no shortage of research to back this up, though those who would try to complicate the matter will tell you otherwise. Research and theory aside, simple plant-based diets are used in practice to prevent and reverse disease. Consider Neal Barnard, MD’s work reversing Type 2 diabetes and Caldwell Esseltyn MD’s work in reversing advanced heart disease. They do this with nothing more than a simple whole-food, plant-based diet.

In other words, it’s all in the food. Simple. Whole. Natural. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated. Don’t get scammed!

But what if you don’t just want to stave off disease. Maybe you’d like to reach the limits of human performance? Last year, I wrote a piece on the Kenyan Runner diet. These amazing athletes push the boundaries of human endurance living on a largely plant based diet of corn, rice, bananas, cabbage and beans. Nothing particularly fancy there.

Even the bodybuilding crowd can thrive on such a simple diet. Robert Cheeke, one of the most well known natural vegan bodybuilders, has sworn off protein powders in favour of natural, whole foods.

I’m not saying that you might never need a certain supplement, or that you’ll never require the services of a dietician or a nutritionist. All I’m saying is that a whole food diet plant based diet will fit the bill the majority of the time. If you are eating enough fruit and starch to meet your caloric needs, eating a variety of greens and vegetables, avoiding refined foods and oils and taking your B12, it’s not likely that you’ll encounter too many problems.

The trick is to make whole plant foods your foundation of health. It’s like building a house. If you want a study structure, you’ve got to focus on making the strongest foundation you can. You have no business fussing with the interior decorating until that base is strong. What good are the frills if your house sinks into the ground!

Stick to the basics. Eat enough calories from whole plant foods. Don’t overthink it and don’t complicate it. My guess is that in most cases, you’ll be amazed at how well your body responds and how great you will feel. Then, is  some challenge arises, then you can seek out the advice of someone qualified and knowledgeable to troubleshoot for you.

My guess is that you’ll do just fine!