Enlightened Eater

In my post  Five reasons to put lentils on your plate, I mentioned the 2012 Love Your Lentils Tour  and a fun activity the organizers had in store for us –    a cooking challenge much like those you see on the Food Network.  We, a group of dietitians from both Canada and the U.S., were […]

I just don’t get it.  The miracle of Chanukah is that one day’s worth of oil lasted eight days. How does that translate into eating everything that is fried as a way to celebrate the festival? It simply doesn’t make sense to me. And it’s not because I’m a dietitian. When you consider what Jews […]

If you love salad rolls but have never used rice paper, here’s an easy introduction from my book, The Enlightened Eater’s Whole Foods Guide (Viking Canada). They’re also a tasty alternative to deep fried spring rolls as a pre-dinner party munch. If you like, you can also add a small amount of shredded chicken or […]

Omega-3 fats have certainly been a hot topic lately. Study after study is showing that they offer a host of health benefits including those for heart health, maintaining your smarts and healthy vision.  While many of the health advantages we hear about are those associated with the kinds of omega-3s found in cold water fish- […]

Cooking up a pasta dish doesn’t get much faster than this one.  It’s a traditional combination from Puglia, a region of Italy that offers some of the best examples of cucina povera – the cooking of the poor.  Science is shows, though, that it offers an astounding wealth of health promoting benefits. I visited the […]

This weekend, as we turn the clocks back,  marks the official start to our desire to hibernate.   It’s not the cold weather, as many believe, that ups our desire for heartier fare. It’s the shorter days that send on the hunt for higher calorie options. Outsmart your body, though,  with a bowl of soup. Here’s […]

  If you’re a breakfast skipper and struggling to eat better through the day, science has just provided more evidence  as to the connection. British researchers  found that there is more brain activation in response to high-calorie items when a person has skipped breakfast, compared with when a person has had their morning meal. I’ve […]

As I mentioned in my last post on the Canadian Health Food Association Trade Show, CHFA East –making the connection, I did make some fabulous food finds as I ventured through the exhibits. Coconut  products were among the most popular and a definite trends in natural food offerings.  Firstly coconut oil was everywhere – if […]