Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies
"Great cookies!" Someone exclaimed as I passed around the tupperware container. And, as is custom at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, home of the famous elimination diet, they added, "Are they gluten-free?" Little did this particular colleague know,...
On Wholeness
I am currently reading the book Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, MBSR, a mindful meditation program that I am currently taking, and I came across this paragraph that I thought was worth sharing with all of...
How Walkable is Your Town?
As mentioned, walking is the best form of exercise there is. It allows us to move our bodies organically while interacting with our neighbourhood and the people in it. As you've probably noticed, however, some places are more fun to walk around in than others. Taking...
A Message to 1st, 2nd and 3rd Year Naturopathic Medical Students
Dear Students of Naturopathic Medicine in years 1, 2 and 3, I understand that at this point, and especially if you are currently at any stage in 3rd year, you might be wondering: is this all worth it? And, please, feel free to exhale because, from where I'm standing...
Navigating the Elimination Diet
So, your naturopathic doctor or 4th year intern has suggested that you do a 3-6 week elimination diet? While at this stage it might seem like a daunting task to give up all of your favourite foods, here is a run-down of some of the tools you'll need to get it right....
Triple Thick Tropical Green Smoothie
Resolving to be healthier? If you've ever related to the sentiment, "I'm going to start drinking green sh#% and jogging", here's your chance to start (well, minus the jogging). Introducing a summer-appropriate, thick and green (so it must be healthy) smoothie! This is...
Walk This Way
Despite having had a brief love affair with virtually every form of cardio exercise, I still remain attached to my one true love: walking. Once not even considered exercise in many gym circles, we now know it's one of the best forms of movement out there. Here's some...
To Coffee or Not To Coffee?
That is often the health question... On this blog I have openly admitted to loving coffee. Throughout the course of applying my studies in naturopathic medicine to my own life, I've been able to make necessary changes to my diet and have watched the way I eat evolve...
High Park Cherry Blossoms
Every year in High Park, in Toronto, thousands of tourists gather to see the cherry blossoms. These puffy white-pink clouds create a feeling of lightness and cast surreal shadows over the grass. Families park themselves for the day to enjoy the fluffy pink caves of...
A Mindful Commute
One of the reasons I chose to do my undergrad at Queen's University (in Kingston, Ontario) was the beauty of its campus. The ivy-covered limestone buildings filled with me a romantic vision of what a student's life should be. I imaged myself strolling to class among...
The Tiny House Revolution
What does space mean to you? Is it a necessity? A status symbol? A burden? A friend and I recently went to see a documentary at the Toronto Hot Docs festival called Tiny: A Story About Living Small. The doc follows a young couple who embark on the project of building...
Affordable Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto
As you probably know, my classmates and I have completed our 3rd year of naturopathic medical school and are about to embark on our 12-month clinical internship and final year as naturopathic medical students. My brilliant classmates and I start to practice tomorrow,...
How I Managed to Pass NPLEX 1: One Woman’s Success Story and Practical Tips
Congratulations on another completed academic year! Not to rain on everyone's parade but, for many of you, there is a giant basic sciences board exam looming in the not-so distant future. So, there are websites out there on tips for studying for NPLEX 1, but they are...
Ninety
The CCNM class of 2014 started our naturopathic medical education in September of 2010 (or Jan 2011, for the Janbabies). Since then we have written and performed exactly 90 exams (including our board exam, NPLEX 1, in the summer after 2nd year). 90 seems like a nice,...
Spring Detox with Hydrotherapy
Ask any religion or ancient culture: there is nothing more detoxifying than pure, clean water to wash away our sins, whether material or metaphorical. Therefore, no spring cleaning regimen is complete without implementing the detoxifying power of water. Using...
Apple, Carrot and Fennel Spring Salad
Spring is (finally) in the air! For me that means long walks outside with the dog, time spent reading outside a cafe and, of course, fresh fruits and vegetables! While globalization does provide us with fruits and vegetables year-round (who doesn't love watermelon in...
Flourless Black Bean Brownies
So, you've probably heard of black bean brownies before. However, just like "therapist", black bean brownie is not a protected title. There are just as many varieties of recipes as there are hits for "black bean brownie" on google. Some have flour, some barely contain...
Real Food Inspiration
We often talk about eating "whole foods" or "real food". What does that mean? To me it means taking raw ingredients and mixing them together yourself. It means becoming more familiar with what food looks like at every step of its journey to your table: what a coffee...
Physicians Who Listen: the Naturopathic Elevator Speech
What is naturopathic medicine? My colleagues and I are often stumped to answer the question. Not because we aren't aware of what we do but because our philosophy has become so deeply ingrained in our own skin that it's hard to separate it from the rest of us. What's...
Chocolate Chip White Bean Blondies
Our last day of Primary Care, a third year course that is both the most educational course of the year and the bane of our existence, our group decided to have a pot luck. In the spirit of bringing something healthy, guilt-free and yummy to get us through our last...