Thanks for stopping by, and welcome! My name is Monique Starks, the founder of Daytime Vegan. I’m a military brat who spent her entire childhood moving every 3 years traveling the globe. Being exposed to different cultures and cuisines quickly grew my love of anything involving food, so from a very young age I knew I wanted to be a chef. My parents sent me to a traditional university in hopes that this chef thing was just a phase, but as you can see….it wasn’t!
After graduating from university I attended culinary school. I worked in several fine dining restaurants and cooked with plenty of butter, cream, bacon, cheese….you know, the good stuff! I never, EVER, thought about healthy cooking.
Daytime Vegan was started after learning I had a disease called Endometriosis, as well as Ovarian Cysts, and Blocked Fallopian Tubes. Doctors told me there was no cure for the endometriosis. They said I would always have to take medicine to control the pain and might even need surgery every few years to control the endometrial growth and ovarian cysts. I refused to accept this information. I knew there had to be a way to heal myself without harmful medicine and invasive surgeries. I began to learn about the healing powers of whole plant foods. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds….this is what the majority of our daily meals should consist of. I read story after story of individuals with all types of diseases who healed themselves by adding more fresh vegan foods to their diet and cutting out the processed stuff.
I began eating vegan for breakfast, lunch, and snacks in between. I slowly cut out the processed food and made vegan meals consisting mostly of fresh, whole, plant foods. For dinner I ate high quality seafood and poultry, along with plenty of vegetables on the side of course! The result? In a few short months I went back to the doctor and there were no cysts showing in the ultrasound! I couldn’t believe it. I had never had an ultrasound that didn’t show cysts! The endometriosis is slowly, but surely, healing and my symptoms have almost completely disappeared. I feel great everyday.
After receiving this exciting news I wanted to share what I had discovered, so I created Daytime Vegan. I gathered a small team of talented individuals, and with their help, we began to create personalized Daytime Vegan daily menus for people in our area who wanted to eat healthy, but didn’t know where to begin. We learn what foods each client likes and dislikes, and tailor Daytime Vegan menus to meet their needs.
Daytime Vegan began doing so well that we decided to expand our services. I am happy to announce that we are officially accepting clients online for our Personalized Daytime Vegan Menu service! We will develop Daytime Vegan menus consisting of a vegan breakfast, vegan lunch, dinner, and recipes for each meal, that will cater to your personal taste. To learn more about our meal plan service please check the ‘Plans’ section of this website. If your goal is to become vegetarian, vegan, or simply to eat more fresh, whole, plant foods and heal your body, then Daytime Vegan is the best place to start!
Accolades
I used to own a very successful catering and personal chef company called NOORISH (pronounced like the word Nourish!). Here are some of my accolades:
- Featured by Emmy Award Winning Reporter, Lauren Hudson, for her “Dreamers and Doers” project
- Featured as one of Atlanta’s Top 5 Chefs by the Atlanta Food Rave
- Asked to cater a celebrity event for an acclaimed music artist by I’Na Saulsbery of the StarFire Group
- Featured as a trusted chef on Angies List
- Featured by Alison Abbey of the Sunday Paper
- Catered for the Metro Atlanta Chamber
- Featured as a top caterer in the social Lilly Bridal Shower Book
- Partnered with Feline Fitness to provide healthy meals for future brides to look and feel their best on their wedding day
- Interviewed by Nick McLain, Associate editor of Angies List
