I’m ten years old, standing in my grandparents kitchen watching my mother’s facial expression change as she observes my grandmother spread butter on her burnt toast. My mom looks utterly disgusted! I knew, from that moment on, that butter must be bad for me…but is it? My grandmother looked amazing – she was healthy, had a ton of energy, and looked about 45 years old, so again I asked the question is butter really so bad? Maybe I should eat more butter when I’m 75?
Read MoreThis year I had the privilege of attending the Dietitians of Canada National Conference in Toronto. I say privilege because I personally know dietitians who have not had the opportunity to attend and yet here I was, a third year dietetics student, getting to experience such a great event.
Read More20-35% of your total daily calories should come from fat because in addition to providing flavour, texture, and energy, dietary fats supply fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A, D, E, and K). Because fats are more energy-dense than carbohydrates and proteins, they also help us to feel full and satisfied after eating a high-fat meal and may help us lengthen the time between meals.
Read MoreBefore getting into dietetics last September I took ‘cooking lessons’ with the best chef I knew – my grandfather. Considering I started our lessons not knowing there was a proper way to chop an onion, I learnt a lot from him. Yes, I could have taken professional cooking lessons from a fancy school but the hours I spent with my grandfather were priceless and now that he’s no longer with us I will cherish those moments forever. I dedicate this post to my Poppa even though he once called blogs “people’s dirty laundry.” Please enjoy his wisdom as much as I did.
Read MoreAccording to the great Michael Pollan we should only eat foods that eventually rot. To elaborate – food processing began as a way to extend the shelf life of food by protecting it from fungi, bacteria, insects and rodents. The more processed a food is, the longer the shelf life, and the less nutritious it becomes. Real food is alive and will eventually die! So, how can you bring this new knowledge into the grocery store? Try shopping the peripheries of the supermarket.
Read MoreGrowing up, your mom, coach and doctor probably told you to eat a “well-balanced meal.” So, as an adult have you finally figured out what that meant? If not, hopefully this post will help.
Read MoreIn the 1800s, Sylvester Graham traveled up and down the East Coast, praising the virtues of fibre - leaving behind the legendary graham cracker! Unfortunately, in today’s market the graham cracker does not count as a source of fibre, but scientific evidence supports this early promotion of fibre as part of a healthy diet. If you’re like most Canadians, you’re probably not getting enough fibre each day. It’s estimated that most people need twice as much as they’re getting (25g each day).
Read More…the more you eat the more you toot. I really dislike this saying and I think for two good reasons – one, are beans actually a fruit? And two I hate the word toot! Well, according to my sources legumes ARE in fact the dried fruit or seed of a leguminous plant in the leguminosae family and include: peas, beans, alfalfa, soybeans, and lentils. However, in the fresh form, they are used as vegetables. What do ya know – I learned something too!
Read MoreWhat does a deck of cards, a golf ball and a tennis ball all have in common? Well, besides the ability to play with each of them they’re all accurate portion sizes! In this day and age we eat too much but who’s to blame? Is it us and our inability to stop when we are full or is it the food industry, who continues to serve us these huge portions? My goal for this week is to give you the tools you need to eat the right portions when you come face-to-face with a dinner plate.
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