The Start

After graduating from McGill University , Canada, as a dietitian; Monique Bassila Zaarour brought her knowledge to Lebanon and began her career. Determined to be more than a clinical dietitian; she published books, established her own TV show and created a very popular radio program. She managed a company with 25 employees including 12 dietitians. She is an active person who loves running and swimming, and has completed two marathons!

Her aim was to expand and to franchise in the Middle East, unfortunately the financial crisis and Beirut explosion put a hold on her project for the time being.

She is the Founder and General Manager of Sohi W Sarih (SWS) (2006-Present) where she led a company of twelve registered Lebanese dietitians who have expanded to six clinics across Lebanon forming one of the biggest dietetic chains in the region.

  • She managed privately labelled products including both nutritional and complementary, to include peanut butter, pedometers and more. She developed products that are in line with SWS values.
  • She volunteered her team time to fight childhood obesity by dedicating time to visit schools and do mass BMI screening. All results were then compiled and shared with the stakeholders. This was done over a period of 5 years and results were summarized and compared year on year. All the information was made public and shared for free to raise awareness.
  • Offered BMI screenings for large corporations to help bring wellness to the workplace.
  • Developed a franchise kit capable of spreading to over 14 major locations in Lebanon and the Arab world. She had standardized manuals, quality control plans and the same platform to work on.

Content Producer and Presenter:

  • SWS shows (2002-2020)
  • Recorded for a Lebanese Radio Show every Friday to discuss topics about nutrition and its application in the world. Doctors, health specialists and listeners were invited to interact and ask questions. The show was rated the number one best nutritional show, ten years in a row.
  • Recorded for two TV Shows. The first Al Jadeed, which aired in Lebanon for two seasons and Alaan TV, which aired in Dubai for five seasons. The topics of the show included healthy cooking, supermarket shopping and discussions regarding important nutrition topics with health professionals.
  • In 2010, the SWS cookbook was published and became a top seller in Lebanon. Due to high demand, the book was also translated in English.

Writer and Supervisor:

  • "La Kil Wazn Hkeye" (A Story for Every Weigh) Book (2013)
  • Edited and published a diet book summarizing 18 years of clinical studies about obesity. Documenting stories and regulating guidelines for a healthier lifestyle and solutions to reach and maintain a healthy weight, all based on actual cases.
  • "Nutrition and Celiac Disease" Book (2006)
  • Edited and published a book to support managing Celiac’s Disease. The book markets itself as a nutritional guide for all patients suffering with Celiac’s Disease

January 2021

Monique moved to Canada

Now

Aida is our representative in Lebanon, you can reach her at +961 78 800 097

With so many diets available in the market, Monique dedicates herself to changing lives by working on small behavioral changes, without deprivation nor medications, emphasizing on homemade local cuisine, daily activity and exercise in order to help each one of you reach your targets and keep the weight OFF.

For the past 10 years, Monique has helped more than 30,000 individuals reach their dietary and nutritionally related goals.

MBZ also offers a cookbook to help you cook in less than 30 minutes with a minimal work in the kitchen and maximum taste and health benefits.