A Spoonful of Sugar...

“A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, the medicine go down-wown, the medicine go down…” The truth behind this iconic song is that sugar has an uncanny ability to improve the taste of any food, even bitter medicine. Sugar is magical, but we often over do it, by using sugar as a coping mechanism for stress. Plus, we have the food industry adding refined sugar to our favourite food products as a preservative, leaving the consumer consciously and unconsciously eating a lot of it!

Holidays, Personal Journey, sugar, tipsJessica PirnakNovember 15, 2018nondiet, Sugar, sugar challenge, refined sugar, spoonful of sugar

Health Up Your Workday

The headlines warned us years ago that sitting was the new smoking, but even as awareness of the problem grows, our behaviour still has not changed! Why? Is it because of workplace culture? Uncomfortable standing shoes? Or nonspecific recommendations regarding how long we should sit for? We could sit here (no pun intended) for hours debating the inner workings of our society but the question still remains what can we do about it? Could a standing desk be a solution to our problem?

Supermarket Dietitian Symposium 8.0

I love my profession but as an unconventional dietitian working in the supermarket I feel lonely sometimes. Retail dietetics is definitely growing in Canada but the States has their shit together. I’m writing this from the annual Supermarket Dietitian Symposium in San Diego, California, whose sole purpose, as a conference is to help retail dietitians share ideas with each other and guess how many Canadian supermarket dietitians are here?

Turkey Transparency

Let’s talk turkey! Before making your purchase of a brightly packaged bird it is important to know where your food comes from and all the people involved in the process. A few months ago, I pulled on my rubber boats and trekked out to Island Bison Ranch to tell you the story behind their farm. Today I’ll introduce you to Rossdown Farms and Natural Foods in Abbotsford. Full disclosure - I thought I was heading to their turkey farm but it ended up being their processing plant, which opened my eyes to the production of poultry.

Holidays, organic food, Personal Journey, proteinJessica PirnakDecember 7, 2017cooking, Farm, protein, Sustainable, turkey

What this Dietitian and You are Deficient in

Lately I’ve been feeling like the last remaining cheerleader for fibre. Everyone with their crazy paleo and keto diets have decided to abandon this amazing nutrient and are now suffering the consequences. Bloated? Constipated? Unexplained diarrhea? Gas? (Sounds like a Pepto-Bismol ad?!?) Well you might just be fibre deficient. Even if your gut is healthy and happy, I’m betting that you’re still not consuming an adequate amount of fibre a day because we all are deficient – even me!

Fibre, fruits & vegetables, Personal Journey, tipsJessica PirnakNovember 13, 2017water, avocado, beans, fibre, whole grain, probiotics

It's Time to Walk the Talk!

As a retail dietitian, I’ve situated myself in an optimal environment to learn exactly where our food comes from and to understand all the people involved in the process. As a consumer of food, which we all are, it is our responsibility to know this information, but starting down this inquisitive path can be overwhelming, especially when reaching out to local farmers and asking them some difficult questions. So, I will start us down this path! Meet farmer Marc from Island Bison Ranch.

Personal JourneyJessica PirnakOctober 1, 2017Farm, protein, iron, Local Farmer, Bison

My First Summer with Community Supported Agriculture

For those of you that have been following along this summer, this is the finale of an 8-week blogging series on my experience with my first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

organic food, Personal Journey, fruits & vegetables, tipsJessica PirnakAugust 20, 2017Local, CSA, Farm

This Week's CSA - Week 7!

There’s nothing better than fresh, locally grown herbs! These tiny tender leaves can elevate any home cooked dish by adding lots of flavour without the added salt or fat. To highlight one of my favourite herbs and one that made its appearance in this week’s CSA box – let’s talk about basil. Basil is a rich source of calcium, potassium and iron. With 85% of your daily-recommended vitamin K intake in just one-tablespoon! Plus basil is a great antioxidant.

fat, fruits & vegetables, organic food, Personal Journey, salt, vitamins and mineralsJessica PirnakAugust 11, 2017Local, CSA, Farm, Basil, Smoothie

This Week's CSA - Week 6!

August is officially here, which means you have a whole month of summer left to enjoy. With that being said, are you ready to change up your palate and get messy in the kitchen? If so, then this is your month! The abundance and variety of fresh, local fruits and vegetables is at its peak in August and I’m so excited to see what the CSA harvest box has in store for me!

fruits & vegetables, organic food, Personal Journey, salt, soyJessica PirnakAugust 3, 2017Local, CSA, Farm