Doing good, one bite at a time with Anouck Serra-Godard

 

At the kitchen counter, Lilou, the eldest, gleefully licks the spatula before her little brother can get to it. Alphi, the middle child, is too focused on meticulously measuring out the dry ingredients for a fruit, zucchini, and sesame cake to notice. Masao, the youngest, scrambles onto a stool to be level with his siblings — no way he’s missing out on the action.

When I ask Anouck if it’s always like this, she laughs and says they didn’t always have such a positive relationship with food. “Before I got into nutrition, we were dealing with a lot of unexplained symptoms, and mealtimes were often a source of anxiety,” she confides. 

Holimmm was born from a long process of trial and error, as she searched for answers to her children’s health issues — and her own. “I never want another mother to feel as alone as I did,” Anouck tells me. “I want to guide other families through that.” Through Holimmm, she wants to help dismantle the modern food paradigm. More specifically, it’s a project that aims to optimize everyone’s individual gut microbiome — for stronger collective immunity, peak mental health, clear and healthy skin, maximum nutrient absorption for boundless energy, and, as she puts it, “elimination powers worthy of an Olympian.”

The turning point came when her second baby, just three months old, began showing alarming symptoms: pain, blood in his stool, and a refusal to eat. After a hospital stay and a series of inconclusive tests, their pediatrician recommended an elimination diet — without much explanation or ongoing support. Exhausted and without clear guidance, Anouck found herself alone in a complex situation. She was caring for a toddler, her partner was often away for work, and traditional nutrition offered no answers.

At the time, she was working in production but on maternity leave. “I wanted to undo what I had unknowingly passed on to my children — the stress and toxicity of our modern lifestyle,” she says. “So I went back to the root of it all. And it ended up being incredibly healing for my family.”

That shift led her to a private institute in Toronto that offered training in holistic nutrition—an approach that considers the whole person and aims to treat the root causes of imbalance, rather than simply masking symptoms. From the beginning, her goal was clear: no shortcuts, no superficial certifications. She didn’t want to be a health coach relying on generic models, but a practitioner with a deep understanding of the body and the tools to respond with precision and care.

In her practice, Anouck often sees clients arrive in search of a quick fix, conditioned by a culture of instant solutions and surface-level self-care. But true healing, she says, requires courage, patience, and consistency. As she puts it, with characteristic candour: “It took years for you to end up in this state — don’t expect to be healed just because you ate cabbage for a week.”

One of the pillars of her approach is what she calls gentle but firm empowerment: helping people learn to listen to their bodies, rather than quieting symptoms with temporary solutions. If your nose is congested, for instance, don’t just reach for a decongestant. Ask yourself why your body is reacting this way. Is it an allergy? Inflammation? Stress?

Every symptom is a signal. Fatigue, digestive trouble, hormonal imbalances, mood swings — they’re often the body’s way of asking you to pause, shift, and tune in.

The sense of renewed vitality and clarity comes from nourishing the body according to its unique needs. That’s the foundation of Anouck’s approach: treating each person as a case study in their own right. And with that level of personalization often comes information that can be surprising — even overwhelming. Some clients feel flooded by everything they uncover about themselves. Others, like Anouck, experience it as a turning point. “That first grocery run can feel never-ending, full of label reading and unexpected discoveries,” she says. “But once you get through it, the benefits come quickly.”

For Anouck, authenticity in this work means living what she teaches. During her training, she was encouraged to try everything on herself before recommending it to others. That same rigour now shapes her everyday life at home, where it’s shared with her family. It’s not that she has more time than anyone else — she simply chooses to make nourishment a priority. She cooks, plans, and stays consistent because she sees the impact: in her own health, in her partner’s, and most of all in her children’s mood, focus, and overall wellbeing.

Her family leans toward a lifestyle free of processed foods. Ingredients are no longer chosen just for taste or convenience, but for what Anouck calls their “healing potential for vitality.” She no longer cooks with industrial flour, for instance, but with grains or nuts she grinds herself. This way of living isn’t rooted in fear or restriction — it stems from a deep understanding of how the body works. “Once you know, it’s hard to go back,” she says.

That doesn’t mean living rigidly. Anouck speaks with humour and ease about the pleasure of enjoying coconut ice cream or a glass of wine now and then. But she does so mindfully, with the intention of supporting her body before, during, and after, thereby softening the effects and staying in balance.

One of the most meaningful parts of her journey is how she’s passed these values on to her children. “My six-year-old daughter can feel how what she eats affects her behaviour and focus at school,” she says with pride. “That’s a huge win for me. It shows she’s starting to understand the connection between food and her overall wellbeing.”

For Anouck, true performance isn’t about physical achievement or material success — it’s about navigating everyday life while staying connected to your own needs. That kind of balance calls for steady presence, solid structure, and a deep understanding of oneself. It’s what she hopes to pass on: routine as a foundation, and self-awareness as a guide.

***

Around the table, mouths big and small begin to water. A farm-raised chicken scented with fresh herbs, a tray of vegetables caramelized in coconut butter, and a vibrant, colourful salad promise to keep everyone’s microbiome happy. Here, the cooking is simple and unfussy — and that’s exactly how Anouck likes it. To her, healthy eating should never feel complicated or performative.

“The recipes I share may not be as polished as what you see on Instagram,” she says with a smile, “but every ingredient has a purpose, a role, a reason for being. I take the time to explain all of that in my posts.”

Holimmm began with a simple desire: to help others nourish their bodies, minds, and families more deeply. Through it, Anouck is forging a different path. She invites us to slow down, to make choices with intention, and above all, to share a healthy, joyful relationship with food across the family table.

As a parting gesture, she offers a simple, nourishing recipe: beet and seed crackers — perfect for boosting vitality… and snacking without guilt.

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Beet and Seed Crackers

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked overnight and drained 
• 1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight and drained
• 1 cup sesame seeds
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 ½ cups ground nuts or leftover nut milk pulp
• 3 tbsp psyllium husk
• ¼ cup ground sumac
• ¼ cup filtered water
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• 2 cups grated beet

Instructions

1. Add the soaked seeds to a food processor and pulse a few times to break them up slightly.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until a thick, uniform dough forms.
3. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Using a spatula or your hands, spread it out evenly to about 0.5 cm thick.
4. Bake at 300°F for 20 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven, carefully flip the cracker sheet, and return it to the oven for another 20 minutes to dry the other side.
6. Let cool completely, then break into pieces.

Serve with homemade hummus and crisp vegetables. A perfect snack to fuel your day — no guilt required. Bon appétit!