As a digestive health dietitian, time and time again, I seem to conveniently ignore the fact that the liver is considered part of the digestive system…and this episode is my attempt to correct that glaring oversight!  Today we are talking all about liver health with Toronto-based dietitian Andy De Santis, including specific nutrition advice for fatty liver disease and I have to say, even if you haven’t thought about liver health in the past, you will be FASCINATED by this episode…because,...

If there is one diet we talk about most in nutrition, it’s the Mediterranean diet. Year after year, it gets ranked as one of the “best diets” in the world (what the heck does that even mean?!?) but as a registered dietitian, I think there is a lot that goes unsaid about this way of eating.  Namely, that it’s not a “diet” at all…it’s a specific dietary pattern. AND…that it actually has very little to do with the Mediterranean region itself. Curious?  Then you’ll want to listen to this...

If you’re thinking about going vegan as a family, or you’re already vegan and expecting a wee one and wanting to raise them vegan, this is the episode for you! As a plant-based dietitian and mom of 2, this is an episode I’ve been meaning to do for a while! There is a lot of misinformation about feeding kids a vegan diet…and a weird amount of negative headlines that have been attributed to vegan eating that were really parents not feeding their kids properly. So I’m super excited to be...

Need an in-depth update on nutrition for celiac disease? This episode with dietitian Meghan Donnelly and Vanessa Weisbrod of The Celiac Disease Foundation will have you sorted, whether you’re newly diagnosed or have been living with celiac disease for a while now! Celiac disease is truly unique: it’s the only autoimmune disease that is treated by diet. And as a gut health dietitian, I got my start supporting people with Celiac disease in navigating the gluten free diet…but it’s been a while...

Of all the hot topics in nutrition, there are few as loud - and confusing - as protein. As a plant-based dietitian, I’ve seen it all: from a dietitian telling everyone to go on a low protein diet (what?!?) to a trainer telling everyone to eat their body weight in protein (double what!). So in this solo episode, I wanted to do a deep dive on the topic of protein itself - what is protein? and why does the body need it? - to help you figure out exactly how much protein you need to eat in a day...

I’ve noticed how food content on social media has started to veer towards viral food combinations…but making a cake out of mushed up oreos or wraps out of cottage cheese isn’t exactly what you want for dinner.   Creating reliable and exciting plant-based recipes that you’ll use again and again takes a lot of skill and a lot of passion. So I am so excited to be talking with Nisha Vora, the lawyer turned YouTube and food blog sensation behind Rainbow Plant Life, who has an incredible new...

If you’ve been inundated with people talking about hormone health online, you’re not alone… it’s definitely a big trend. And in some ways, I am happy it is. As a dietitian, I know how common reproductive issues like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are and I also know how little we talk about them. But there is another side to this hormone health trend, one that is a little less helpful. Like the misinformation about how soy affects your hormones. Or, telling us we have...

Our bodies are meant to change…which means the way we care for them might need to change too.  For women over the age of 40, who have entered the menopause transition (AKA perimenopause) there are shifts in our minds, muscles and metabolism function that might have us wondering what the heck is going on.  And if so, this is the episode for you. We are welcoming Barbie Boules RD, a registered dietitian with a focus on over 40 nutrition to teach us about how we can transform our nutrition and...

If you’re the proud owner of a pair of ovaries, and you’re “of a certain age” you may have noticed that things are starting to change. Could it be…perimenopause??? It can be hard to talk about perimenopause and the menopause transition…not the least of which is that there is still such a ridiculous stigma about women getting older. Like it’s a “use by date” in society and as a woman in her mid-40s, I want to help contribute to a mindset shift around this important transition in our...

Wondering if you’ve got irritable bowel syndrome? Or, newly diagnosed and trying to figure out what the heck it all means? You’ve come to the right place: as a gut health dietitian with IBS myself, I know that sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming at times.  Particularly because there are just so many damn OPINIONS. About what causes IBS, what you should or shouldn’t eat if you have IBS and just what to do about all those IBS symptoms. But this is a house of science. And as a house of...

Of all of the supplements on the shelf, by far the most complicated ones are probiotics. How complicated? Even health professionals don’t always fully understand them! Because probiotics aren’t just one thing: every individual strain of probiotics - or combination of strains - is a totally unique entity so we can’t just paint them all with the same brush. So I thought it was time to dedicate a whole episode to learning a little more about them with Bailey Hanna RD, a dietitian who has a deep...

This week, we’re talking about how to get present, slow down and truly savour the act of cooking and eating with Murielle Banackissa, author of the new plant-based cookbook, Savouring.  In an always on world, making the time to cook can feel like an impossible task…there’s always another distraction. And as a parent, I know that the relentlessness (and sometimes, thanklessness!) of family food work can make cooking feel more like a chore than a pleasure.  According to Murielle, cooking is...

When the going gets tough, do you get going… right into the kitchen? What is it about baking that is so deeply satisfying and comforting? I mean, eating your baking is deeply comforting but what about the act of baking itself? Why do so many of us reach for our apron when we need to chill?  It was these questions and more that drove my conversation with Amanda Paa, the food photographer, recipe developer and yes, sourdough baker, behind the blog Heartbeet Kitchen.  We talk about how...

As a dietitian on the internet, it’s not lost on me that there is a MAJOR difference in what people want to see versus what will actually make the biggest difference in their health. Case in point: the enormous amount of content debating the “dangers” of oats or the “benefits” of colostrum and how so very few people actually talk about heart health. So, since it’s February and it’s Heart Month…let’s go there. Because heart disease is still the number one killer of adults in the USA and the...

Ever feel like the Instagram version of motherhood is just a little off the rails? Like when you plop your kid in front of a tablet and hope no one’s watching? Or you show up to the bake sale with store-bought cookies? You are in for a treat today…we’re getting into the messy bits of motherhood, entrepreneurship and more with Liz Hammond and Katie Ruddell of Not Your Mommy podcast.  When I created this podcast, I called it The Allsorts Podcast not just because I like candy. It’s also because...

Have you heard of prebiotics before? In this episode of The Allsorts Podcast, we are going to talk all about prebiotics: what they are, how they work in the body and what benefits they might have for us and our gut microbiome.  As a gut health dietitian, every time I talk about prebiotics, someone stops me…don’t you mean PRO-biotics? Nope. Nope I don’t. While probiotics - the beneficial bacteria found in our gut - get most of the press, prebiotics - the energy sources for those bacteria -...

Sugar: the stuff of celebratory birthday cakes and wellness myth. Without a doubt, it elicits some pretty major debate for a pantry staple…and we spend a lot of airspace talking about  how sugar affects the body. So, in this week’s episode, I’m going to put on my Registered Dietitian hat and answer all of your burning questions about the sweet stuff, including, “Is sugar bad for you?” In order to answer that question, we’re going to have to dive DEEP. Starting with what the heck sugar...

Growing up, life happened around my grandparent’s kitchen table. Food formed the rhythm of our days…so I feel a special connection to others who share that love of connecting over a meal. And a few years ago, I had the pleasure of connecting with our guest, Asha Wheeldon, over a meal that she co-hosted with a mutual friend. Especially at this time of year, I think we are all acutely reminded of just how deep our feelings about food are…it’s why certain foods give us so much comfort perhaps...

If you’re one of those folks who shies away from vegan food because you love all the eggy, cheesy, meaty goodness of omnivore life…well, I get it. I was a vegetarian for a looooong time because I couldn’t imagine not eating cheese. I think that’s probably one of the biggest misconceptions about vegans and plant-based eaters: no one goes vegan because they just don’t like the taste of cheese and steak. They do it for their health. Or the animals. Or the environment. And when they crave all...

If you’re at all into food - calling all Bon Appetit groupies and Snaxbois - you probably already have a jar of Fly by Jing’s Sichuan Chili Crisp in your pantry…so you can understand how absolutely stoked I am to be talking with Fly by Jing founder Jing Gao today on the pod. We’ll learn how Jing built a business, reclaimed her name and made everything taste better with her namesake jars of deliciousness. While you already know I’m a big nutrition nerd, I’m also a bit of a nerd for food...

There are few things that unite us as much as a good loaf of bread. Humans have been consuming the stuff for thousands of years, starting with the the preparation of simple flatbreads from wild grains to the large scale production of breads from domesticated wheats in ancient Egypt…quite literally, bread in all its forms, from tortilla to naan to baguettes, is one of the foundations upon which our civilization has sustained itself. And there is something magical about making bread at home,...

Feeling anxious lately? I don’t know about you…but my mental health went down the toilet in 2020. I’ve always been anxious by nature but since turning 40 - which was followed closely by the pandemic - I’ve had to make my mental health more of a priority and I know I’m not alone: according to the world health organization, global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a whopping 25% in the first year of the pandemic. So, um, maybe we should talk about it?   It’s so hard to tease...

Hold on to your knickers: the number of people with irritable bowel syndrome is now roughly 11% of the world’s population. Yep, you read that right. This is something that a LOT of people are dealing with, and as a gut health dietitian with IBS herself, I see everyday how much confusion and misinformation there is out there about what IBS actually is, and what to do about it.  Like, is the low FODMAP diet something everyone should try? How long should you do it? How do you know if your...

If there is one thing that makes people happy, it’s cake. And if anyone knows how to make a cake that is guaranteed to bring people joy, it’s Lyndsay Sung. Lyndsay is the baker and creative mind behind Coco Cake Land, the blog and instagram account filled with cute confections that are sure to bring a smile to your face. Since the early days of blogging, Lyndsay’s kawaii (that’s Japanese for cute) cakes have gone viral more than a few times but one of the things I love most about Lyndsay...