by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Apr 2, 2013 | Diet, Digestion, Elimination Diet, Food, Health, Nutrition, Paleo, Recipes
Health food needs to be grab-able. I believe that, if people are going to make lifelong changes to their diet and health, eating should be made as simple as possible. I think that many of us start the day off right and, because we forget to plan our snacks, we reach for that bag of salty, greasy potato chips to keep our blood sugar up and keep us going through a long, stressful day. That’s why it helps to have a snack list: a list of things that we can easily prepare and eat when we’re hungry and the only thing we’re crunching is time.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Mar 18, 2013 | Colombia, Dessert, Diet, Digestion, Food, Health, Jungle Medicine, Nutrition, South America
While traveling in South America, people sometimes ask me what I do for a living. Unlike some of the reactions I sometimes get in North America, when I tell people from South America that I’m a naturopathic medical student, I usually get warm, excited responses.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Mar 5, 2013 | Dessert, Diet, Digestion, Elimination Diet, Food, Food Sensitivities, Gluten Free, Health, Nutrition, Recipes
Being on a diet makes it hard to snack, especially when on the road. Any true Canadian will tell you that no road trip is complete without a stop at Tim Horton’s, our favourite roadside coffee hub. And, of course, no Tim Horton’s coffee is truly satisfying without a delicious box of “Timbits”, or assorted doughnut holes, by its side. Every Friday, while teaching English in the summer, I would bring in a box of Timbits for my students to sample some “authentic Canadian cuisine”. They loved them, not surprisingly. Sadly, most people on a naturopathic diet – whichever naturopathic diet you follow – can’t eat Timbits, which are basically little balls of gluten and sugar. But don’t despair, this snack makes a delicious grain-free, whole foods substitute. And the best thing about these coconut-covered balls? They’re good for you!
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Mar 1, 2013 | Cooking, Diet, Digestion, Elimination Diet, Food, Food Sensitivities, Gluten Free, Nutrition, Recipes
This recipe is based on the one provided to me by my colleague Amy, who is currently putting together a cookbook. It’s a fabulous idea for a good-for-you flatbread made of 3 simple ingredients. When my cousin came to visit from Calgary, she brought homemade focaccia made with rosemary and olives. Not being able to eat gluten, I was tortured by that bread for the entire weekend. The sense of deprivation inspired the need to create a gluten-free version of her forbidden bread, using Amy’s grain free recipe as the bread base.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Feb 8, 2013 | Cooking, Detoxification, Diet, Digestion, Elimination Diet, Food, Food Sensitivities, Gluten Free, Nutrition, Paleo, Recipes
My family and I have been doing Natasha Turner’s Hormone Diet for the past few weeks. The diet mainly consists of eliminating all sources of starch (grains and root vegetables, mostly), sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods, and eating a whole foods diet. While we thought it would be hard – there are a lot of rules to follow – it’s not too bad. We’ve helped each other get through it as a family, taking turns cooking and preparing meals. And as a family, we’ve become healthier: I feel lighter, more energetic and have experienced less cravings for sweets or “unhealthy foods”. I also find that my blood sugar is more stable throughout the day.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Jan 18, 2013 | Cooking, Dessert, Diet, Gluten Free, Holidays, Recipes
Wednesday was my mom’s birthday and, to celebrate, I made her a very chocolate-y gluten-free cake. Since cake and chocolate are not exactly naturopathic (although dark cocoa has been shown to modestly lower blood pressure), it’s important that, when eating and preparing dessert, we make sure we create a 10/10 on the delicious-ness scale. Making sure that birthday cakes are as chocolate-y and delicious as possible makes it worth it and justifies the extra sugar and calories. I hope this one was a 10.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Dec 19, 2012 | Cooking, Dessert, Diet, Food, Food Sensitivities, Gluten Free, Health, Holidays, Recipes
Christmas fruitcake. I’ve always hated that dry, brown loaf with its bitter, plastic-tasting chunks of “fruit”. Only my dad would eat it; I guess nothing says Christmas like dipping a piece of dry, tasteless plastic/bread into an espresso cup, and then picking the gummy fruits out of your teeth for days afterward. It’s all a part of the holiday cheer! This Christmas fruitcake, however, is not like that. It’s even (dare I say it)… good!
Now that my family is gluten-free, it seems like the skies have opened and baked goods (baked at home) have become reinvented. Old, store-bought staleness has reinvented itself as warm, moist deliciousness.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Nov 26, 2012 | Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Cooking, Diet, Education, Food, Health, Home Remedies, Nutrition, Recipes
Even when it reflects your passions, it’s not often you find yourself in a truly inspiring lecture while studying for a post-graduate degree; hey, it’s sad, but true. So, imagine my excitement at feeling completely touched by our third year Clinical Nutrition professor, Dr. P’s, incredible Thursday lecture.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Nov 23, 2012 | Blog Awards, Cooking, Diet, Food, Food Sensitivities, Gluten Free, Health, Inspiring Blog Award, Nutrition, Paleo, Recipes
First of all, let me thank Mark at Endless Love and Light for my 2nd Very Inspiring Blogger Award nomination. That makes 4 blog nominations! While I’m not exactly sure what these nominations really mean, I’m grateful for the recognition from the blogging community and appreciate the love that’s sent my way (every time someone hits “like” or leaves a comment, or even reads a post). It’s a wonderful feeling when someone shows that they’ve resonated with a post, picture or thought that you’ve shared and it serves as a great motivating factor to keep on blogging. So, thanks, Mark!
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Nov 5, 2012 | Community, Culture, Dessert, Diet, Family, Food, Food Sensitivities, Gluten Free, Health, Mental Health, Naturopathic Philosophy, Paleo, Recipes, Relationships
While studying at the Lazy Daisy Cafe in Toronto’s east end with some classmates, I came across this inspiring poster in front of the washrooms:
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