Food for the Season
Swiss steak, garlic mashed potatoes, oven roast veggies, poached pears – Serves 4 Swiss Steak 2 lb chuck steak Salt and pepper as required Flour as required 1 tablespoon oil Cut the steaks into 8 even pieces. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Dust with flour. Heat the oil in a pan large enough to hold the steaks in a single layer. Add the oil and heat the pan over high heat. As soon as the oil is hot add half of the steaks and sear well on both sides. Remove the steaks and repeat with the remaining steaks. Remove the steaks from the pan. Do not wash the pan. 1 tsp oil 1...
Read MoreFood Trends
‘Where are we going? What am I doing in this hand basket?’ It’s looking pretty bleak out there, and many of us are asking ourselves what we can do about it. Well it so happens that changing the way we eat can have a profound effect on the planet. Much of our food is dominated by meat products and processed foods, which require lots of energy to produce, process and package. Worldwide, livestock is the cause of 15% of the climate crisis and it is also responsible for vast areas of deforestation. The Globe and Mail recently reported that 58% of food produced in Canada is wasted or lost...
Read MoreFighting Cold and Flu
Vitamins and Other Supplements to Strengthen Your Immune System When we’re not feeling well, getting enough sleep, drinking enough fluids, and getting plenty of rest is what we need to get better. But what about our diet? How can we change what we eat to get better? And, can what we eat help prevent us from getting sick? In this post I’m joined by University of British Columbia student Alyssa Chai to share what the scientific literature has to say about what supplements to strengthen and maintain a healthy immune system. Fighting Cold and Flu with Supplements Vitamin C Vitamin C...
Read More2019 Canadian Food Guide
The Food guide makes some recommendations specific to all life stages, including for seniors. Specific recommendations on how to meet nutrient requirements and what they are exactly stays a bit murky. To clear that up, the food guide recommends that “Individuals with specific dietary requirements may need additional guidance or specialized advice from a dietitian.” And in here lies the answer. About half of the population 65+ and older have at least one chronic disease, meaning that half of that population indeed may have very specific dietary requirements. This is why staying...
Read MoreWhat is Collagen?
The ever-present buzzword that invades the minds of beauty gurus, health experts, and all who pursue the path of attaining soft and supple skin. Collagen is a protein that is key in skin’s support structure. Therefore, it plays a crucial role in skin’s integrity, firmness, elasticity, and overall functioning. Despite its vital role, the aging process triggers the progressive decline of collagen in the body which leads to the weakening of skin and the development of wrinkles. As today’s beauty standards value younger-looking skin, it is no wonder that this protein is sought after by so...
Read MoreDo I need to Soak Nuts
Recently I was asked: “Is there any truth to the idea that we should be soaking our nuts and grains to make these foods more digestible, more nutritious or to avoid so called ‘anti nutrients’?” Ah, the Internet, such a double-edged sword. I love it – after all, it’s how I’m communicating with you today. And, I hate it. In my 23+ years of experience in nutrition, I’ve never seen people so confused about nutrition. This question is yet another example of how people are confused about nutrition. What’s the source of this confusion? I commonly see two sources. One source is the...
Read MoreDo I have to eat rabbit food?
Okay,so you are 70-something or older. I have heard it all before: “Kale and corn, that’s pig food!” and “There is nothing good in lettuce.” You don’t have to eat bowls full of rabbit food daily to meet your daily requirements. There you have it, I said it. Truth is, not all of us can tolerate, chew or swallow the raw stuff, or stuff that has tough skins and stems in them. However, this does not mean you can eat cookies, tea and toast all day either. You do need to eat a balanced diet with vegetables, fruit and meat or meat alternatives. We all know this, yet, the numbers of...
Read MoreStop the Mid-Afternoon Slump
Do you get that feeling at about 3pm that you just want to crawl under your desk and take a nap? Here’s 1 simple trick to stop the mid-afternoon slump that I use with my clients. And, that I use in my life. What’s the trick? It’s to have your morning coffee with your breakfast – not before breakfast. In other words, don’t drink your morning coffee on an empty stomach. You may be surprized that I’m addressing something in your morning routine when it’s your afternoon energy levels that are the problem. Here’s why. The rate that caffeine is absorbed and reaches peak...
Read MoreFoods To Avoid for Hay Fever
Hay fever. I have it. Do you? Did you know that what you eat could be making your hay fever worse? All human bodies contain histamine. Most of us, most of the time, aren’t bothered by it one bit. However, our bodies have a threshold for histamine. When the level of histamine in our bodies goes above that threshold, we experience symptoms. They are the symptoms that us hay fever sufferers know all too well – itchy eyes, watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose, etc. Histamine in the Body Where do the histamines in our bodies come from? There are three major sources. The first source are...
Read MoreReduce Care Giver Stress
Being a caregiver to a senior often leads to stress and may also weaken physical health. It also increases financial responsibility and pressure. Many caregivers report feeling tired, worried, anxious, overwhelmed, or isolated. Specifically, meal preparation, cleaning and lack of support are the leading causes of stress among caregivers of seniors. In 2009, it was reported that 34% of Canadians aged 65 or older are at nutrition risk. This emphasizes the need to better support family care givers to provide nutrition care to senior parents. Why isn’t it obvious? Many seniors experience poor...
Read MoreThe Bee Man
Winnie the Pooh and I have a lot in common, we both love honey. “I eat my peas with honey; I’ve done it all my life. It makes the peas taste funny, But it keeps them on the knife”. I have always loved honey. I love its texture,its smell and its taste. Each jar when its opened takes me on a journey to where the bees first started the journey of turning pollen into the nectar that we generically know as honey. One smell can take me to the fireweed covered sunny slopes on a mountain or the tangled brambles of a river estuary. The magic of...
Read MorePreserving Gardening History
In my life as a food grower I have always chosen heritage varieties of plants to grow. That’s because I want to be able to collect seeds from my plants for next year’s harvest. I believe that without seeds you are never really food secure, and by choosing open-pollinated varieties you can collect seeds from your garden whenever you need them. Over the years, as my enthusiasm for producing food increased, I have also saved a lot of money by saving my own seeds. There are many food plants that self-seed readily, so you only have to plant them once and they will reappear in your garden....
Read MoreChew your food.
Improve Digestion, Reduce Bloating, and Get More Vitamins with This Simple Step Do you want to get more vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from the food that you eat? Want to reduce bloating and poor digestion? Want to experience more enjoyment from your food? How about feeling more full from eating less food? What if there was one really easy way to achieve all this? Well then I’ve got good news for you. There is one easy way: Chew your food. Yes, chew your food. Okay, I’m being a bit sensationalist. But I have good reason to be. It seems too obvious and too good to be true. But it...
Read MoreTaste Preferences Change
Recently I facilitated a nutrition workshop at a senior community centre about managing chronic disease symptoms. It was a diverse group of seniors and adult children of seniors, and there was no shortage of interesting questions. One daughter and mother team stated that it was hard to cook in the household, because mother does not enjoy what I cook like she used to. This comment resonated with more participants in the workshop, and therefore I like to share this topic with you. Taste changes are common. In our infant years, the ability to recognize and enjoy flavors is developed. As we...
Read More4 Ways to Stop Cravings
If you’re feeling like your cravings are controlling you, you’re not alone. Getting control over cravings is something that I’m asked for help with by almost all of my clients. While there’s all sorts of anecdotes and myths about cravings circulated by word-of-mouth and on the internet, the scientific literature doesn’t have a very thorough understanding of cravings – why we get them or what they mean. So, I’m going to share with you two ways to stop cravings from the literature and two ways that I’ve discovered in my many years of nutrition counselling. Stop Craving Tip #1:...
Read MoreFebruary is W.I. Month
You may have heard of us…we’re famous you know! We make jams and jellies, pickles and preserves (and LOTS of it!) we bake, and bake…and bake! You love our pies and cakes and loaves! We craft, we sew, we knit…we do SO much more than this…but do you know what we REALLY do? Read on…or check out our Provincial website at www.bcwi.ca The Women’s Institute was originally founded by Adelaide Hoodless, with it’s first meeting being held in Stoney Creek, Ontario in 1897. The WI in British Columbia, was started by Miss Laura Rose, in 1909, at the request of the Department for...
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