There’s a lot you might not know about Lynda Maximenko, owner of LynDAS Gluten Free & Paleo at Squamish Farmers’ Market.
“Did I tell you I used to have a restaurant in India?” she mentions casually.
She’s also taught yoga for 10 years, run a catering company, is an accomplished weaver, and worked as both an X-ray technician and a professional chef. At 66-years-old, she’s also a pace-setting dragon boat racer and a huge advocate of the paleo lifestyle (no refined sugar, grains, legumes or dairy).
Squamish shoppers may know her best for her paleo and gluten-free market stall. Her cereals, baked goods and handmade treats make Maximenko’s stand a sanctuary for shoppers with (or even without) restricted diets.
She’s one of the original Farmers’ Market vendors and has been there for over 10 years. During that time, her products have evolved with both her own and her customers’ health interests at heart.
More recently a good deal of her customers expressed interest in gluten-free products. However, gluten-free baking had its drawbacks.
“It’s not the easiest way to bake. You have to put all these different flours together – it really puts people off. Plus the flours don’t taste very good, so you have to add a lot of sugar,” she says. “Then I discovered paleo. You’re cooking with one flour (primarily coconut or almond), which tastes delicious, so you don’t have to cover it up with sugar.”
Lynda has now adapted her whole lifestyle to paleo.
“I really feel that it’s the healthiest way to eat,” she says. “It’s low carb and uses really good fats and really good ingredients.”
Plus much of her paleo food is gluten-free.
“The two go hand-in-hand,” she explains.
Her products are popular with everyone from hikers to families.
“My paleo cereal is really popular and contains coconut, almonds, coconut oil, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds,” she says. “I have brownies that are paleo… and I have my Sprunkle, which I’ve been making for years, but this year I call it Super Sprunkle because I’ve added yams. I also do something called coconut crunch, which is ribboned coconut with pecans and maple syrup.”
Lynda has also written two cookbooks containing recipes for re-creating her treats at home – including her bars (a secret she once swore she’d never share).
“All I can say is that if anybody tries the bars, follow the recipe,” she says. “It’s very specific.”
Which brings her on to the subject of retirement, because this summer will be Maximenko’s last market season.
“I’ve been telling people… and it just feels right. This is time to move on,” she says.
But it may not be the last we see of her. In typical Maximenko-style, the ending of one chapter gives rise to another and this time she’s resurrecting her weaving skills.
“I seem to go in 10-year increments,”
she says. “We’ll see if I’ll be back to
the market.”
To catch Maximenko before she paddles off into the sunset, you can find her at Squamish Farmers’ Market on Sept 13, Sept. 27 and Thanksgiving. Her recipe books are available to buy at the stall.
