Wai Lana Butler — My Journey, Thoughts and Learning

4 min readApr 24, 2018

In my teens, when I thought of healthy food choices, there are a few names and brands in the industry that sprung to my mind. Recently many chefs are coming out in an abundance and they are already famous in television with their shows; I tried to follow them and learn how they are magically turning raw foods to into lip smacking delicacies.

Initially, I started out on small dishes, it gained a very limited appeal. Combing delicious vegan recipes with more traditional recipes was my idea from my little brain. But it wasn’t always easy, and as any amateur will know, it is always about keep on trying your own and learning from experts also.

A Challenging Start

As with many tales of success, my cooking journey started through necessity. My father, Tom suffered a heart attack at the early age of 45. The family was devastated that they could lose him at any moment. It was this traumatic experience that inspired me to look for healthier alternatives to my dad’s favorite dishes.

Tom was a fairly typical construction guy who would grab his food on site when it was available; this meant a very high fat, processed diet that can lead to heart disease. Even after his heart attack, he found it difficult to change his eating habits and would often revert to the unhealthy diet that almost cost him his life. This was when I decided to do something.

Developing a Unique Menu

I decided that if I wanted to keep dad healthy, I would need to get him eating food that he already enjoyed but made with healthier alternatives. I researched and experimented until she came up with a menu that provided the tastes and variety that would ensure not just a healthier heart but also enjoyment.

My recipes were a success with the family. This got me thinking that perhaps there were more people who would benefit from conventional recipes, say a cookie recipe made in a vegetarian style.

From Small Acorns

With the growing success of my food and recipe research, I decided to add a blog under the name Wai Lana Butler where I would give recipes and tasty looking pictures of the results. I am expecting this blog to soon spread from a basic blog into a website where visitors could share their experiences and recipes.

I began to get requests for dedicated menus from health care professionals and others in the Healthy Living market. It was then that I decided to dedicate more time in this enterprise.

Combining Passions

Since childhood, I had always been interested in fashion, environmental causes, and outdoor activities. As a keen golfer and hiker, I considered my health as an asset, the idea struck me that controlling one aspect of your health is great but controlling them all will lead automatically to a healthier and happier life. Beginning with a range of nutritious vegan energy bars and larger packed meals that could be taken and prepared on long days out with minimal effort, I managed to combine my love for healthy vegan food with my passion for an outdoor life.

Creating Her Own Path

I wanted to learn and experiment different dishes and menus, and share them with the world.Hopefully people will like them and it will create a more healthier people and families :)

I do not want to miss any opportunity to get people healthy, so I am also promoting the message to my friends also and some of them have started making changes themselves in their diet.

Living the Lifestyle

For me, the most important part of my life and work is the impact I can have on my family and friends. The shock of almost losing her father has driven me from strength to strength in making not only healthy diet options, but documenting on how to live a better, more fulfilling and healthier life. This is not something I just preach…I try to live it every day.

In her own words: “When you try to live healthy, it impacts every other part of your life. The more you try, the more rewards you get… and your family gets those rewards too by having you around and healthier for longer.”

What’s Next

I am not done yet. I have planned to release a collection of recipes in a form of a book soon.

My family says, my trial endeavor of creating healthy recipes has made a difference in just a few short years to my friends and families. My message has resonated across well i think… and this is just the beginning.

I always love to share this quote with my friends