NATURAL WOMAN

BIANCA ARANETA-ELIZALDE talks about how she is able to commit to a healthy lifestyle while balancing the demands of professional and family life

While the average person can probably hold off eating red meat for a few weeks or months, Bianca AranetaElizalde has been doing just that for over twenty years now. “I still eat seafood and poultry, so I’m not a fullfledged vegetarian,” she quips. Bianca also hasn’t had a single drop of alcohol or soda in a long time; one can imagine how clean and healthy her diet is.

These choices go beyond making simple dietary decisions or following trends—in fact, one can say that Bianca has championed clean eating even before colorful açai bowls and chia puddings became in vogue. Instead, these decisions underscore her unwavering commitment toward sustainable living to nurture herself, her family, and the environment. Years of healthy living are commendable enough, but Bianca impresses further by creating a successful restaurant concept, The Wholesome Table, inspired by her advocacy. What does it take for someone to be as passionate about one’s causes as her?

NATURE AND NURTURE

Bianca recalls having a close relationship with the great outdoors ever since she was young. “I was that tomboyish little girl who loved playing in the garden,” she reminisces. “I love being around animals. I used to collect cats and go horseback riding. My mom was all right with these, so as long I didn’t bring home a snake!” she quips.

Nature-loving Bianca, however, wasn’t a healthy eater from the get-go. She only got into nutrition in her teens, at the time when she was busy as a print and TV model. “Nobody knew how to eat properly back then, so I relied on what was just fed to me. However, I’d get mad at my mom whenever I ate something that made me look or feel bad after,” she says.

While Bianca enjoyed modeling and photography—a great passion she never pursued, she admits—she felt that drive to something greater and bigger than her current activities. “I had an ‘Aha!’ moment when I established the connection between how I felt and what I ate,” she notes. “When I became more aware of the immediate effects of food on my body, I went into ‘autopilot’ mode, eating dishes that made me feel good while cutting off what made me feel sick.”

It was only later on in life, Bianca says, that she was able to link healthy eating with the environment. “I started tying up everything together, from how and where my food was sourced to how my personal care products were made. I started looking at everything, how I lived my life. And that’s how I gradually made the shift toward organic, ethically-sourced food and items.”

UNWAVERING RESOLVE

Making the decision to go green may be easy, but upholding it with conviction can be challenging. For Bianca, the road toward healthy living was also an uphill climb that she had to surmount. “At first, my mom was having a hard time feeding me,” she recalls. “At the time, there weren’t many stores and restaurants selling organic food items. It was quite expensive to buy them at markets, too. Eating out was also quite a challenge.”

Her dedication also compelled her to drop all the modeling jobs and endorsements that she felt were not aligned with her values. “It got to a point, especially when I started having kids when I said that anything that I touch or get involved in must align with my philosophies,” she stressed. “I specifically told my agent that I wouldn’t lend my name and image to companies I don’t believe in anymore.”

It’s at The Wholesome Table, however, where we get to see Bianca’s advocacy and commitment come alive in a restaurant concept that has been on her mind for years. “My husband still had the space in BGC after he closed down his restaurant, so he asked me if I wanted to do something there,” she says. “I told him about my concept for an organic restaurant that I’ve been thinking about for years now. We knew the industry well, and I wanted to offer something different to the market.”

WHOLESOME EFFORTS, WHOLESOME GAINS

Looking back at her journey with The Wholesome Table, Bianca considers the venture as a character-building experience. “It is difficult and costly to put up an organic restaurant,” she notes. “However, The Wholesome Table is my passion project. It’s like my baby, you know? I built it with my advocacy and dietary requirements in mind.”

At first, Bianca was hands-on with all aspects of the restaurant, adamant with her creative vision and plans for the business. It took some time for her to learn how to delegate and take things a bit easier. “I used to get deeply hurt whenever someone said anything negative about the restaurant. If someone had a complaint, whether on-site or on social media, I had to attend to that. It took a while for me to unlearn taking things personally,” she says.

It also helps, she says, that his husband Juan is there to complement her creative strengths with business acumen. “I get so involved with my ideas. Sometimes, my husband has to step in to help fine-tune our business decisions.” She recalls one time when they had to remove a dish from their menu. “Even if I liked that particular meal, I was the only one having it—it wasn’t selling much every day. So, he’d recommend removing it, even if it was my personal favorite. That’s one way where we get to balance our strengths and work together.”

Ultimately, Bianca considers that the benefits and gains from running The Wholesome Table outweigh the challenges. “I cannot tell you how many times customers have approached me, thanking me for opening an organic restaurant. I’m not exaggerating—we have kept people from leaving the country because we’ve provided them good food options here,” she says. “I get so happy whenever customers would say that The Wholesome Table changed their life, or that they’ve started their healthy eating journey because of us.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY

As with any parent, Bianca wants her children to grow up healthy, happy, and in a wholesome way, “I am not too strict on them, honestly. Sometimes, Juan can get stricter than me!” she quips. “However, our kids have gotten used to our healthy and organic ways, so we haven’t encountered many difficulties with their diet and lifestyle growing up,” she says, citing how, for instance, her 14-year old daughter doesn’t drink soda at all, and that their younger daughters appreciate fruits and vegetables for breakfast. “Of course, they see what other kids eat and ask us about it. They’ve tasted junk food before—we just never make it part of the daily diet, and we do our best to explain why healthier options are better.”

“I always think about what my kids will learn from my advocacies and passion projects,” Bianca emphasizes. “It’s not so much about how they see me or what they think about me. It’s more about how my kids will benefit from the values I inculcate in them. I’ll feel more confident that, as they grow up, they’re more equipped and informed. They’ll look at nutrition facts and sources of food, for example. We just want them to clearly understand why we make the choices that we practice in the family.”