I'm not sure if you've noticed but, unlike a lot of my Nutritionist peers, my website and my practice is almost completely devoid of recipes. Want to know why? 1. I'm not a chef. Any meal I've ever created for myself or for any of my clients came straight from Google. I'm not qualified - or remotely interested - in developing recipes, especially since the internet is full of them. If you know what to Google, you can find almost limitless recipes for everyone's taste, budget and cooking level. The key is knowing what to Google, and that's really where I come in. I'll help you get to a place of clarity and knowledge with regards to what foods will support your body and which ones to specifically avoid. Once you have that info, Googling recipes is as easy as stringing together a list of pertinent keywords: > "dairy-free home made ranch dressing" > "protein pancakes wheat-free" > "low-goitrogen salad recipes" Unpopular opinion: I actually think it's a waste of money to ask your Nutritionist for recipes. With the exception of Nutritionists who also happen to hold cooking qualifications, it is out of scope for our practice. Like paying your mechanic to detail your car's interior. 2. I don't believe the path to effortless health is paved by dairy-free, vegan protein balls. Whenever I'm asked to lead speaking engagements, seminars, Lunch and Learns, the organizers will sometimes suggest that I bring in a healthy snack to share with the attendees. I can't imagine what a blank expression they get in return from me. You mean, like... eggs? Some veggies sautéed in grass-fed butter? A bag of pumpkin seeds? I work in helping people understand the benefits and the necessity of whole foods. "Healthy" desserts and treats are such a misguided effort to me. Rather than tasting a reasonable-facsimile gluten-free carrot muffin that I painstakingly struggled with in an attempt to get it to taste anything like the real thing, why not get to the root of the fact that you are eating muffins in the first place? Reassign your fuel source toward healthy whole foods and away from muffins. Adjust your palate away from sweet treats and toward actual food that exists in nature. You might think this sounds boring and regimented; to me it sound absolutely liberating! But that's a blog post for another day... I won't concoct healthy treats, because "treats" are not the realm I work in. I always say: there's nutrition, and then there are treats. I'm not talking about "cheat days" or "cheat meals." I'm talking about simply having the awareness to know that 80-90% of your food should be nutritious and if you happen to indulge in a couple of pints of beer with friends or a big slice (with extra frosting - the best part) of your niece's birthday cake, that those choices are simply not nutritious. And that's okay, as long as you own it. If I can get you to understand how best to fuel your body day in and day out, then as far as I'm concerned you can have a REAL honest-to-goodness carrot muffin once in a while and it won't derail you (but I'll bet after a few months on one of my protocols, you'll stop wanting muffins anyway). 3. It's not at all why I became a Functional Nutritionist. I don't love spending a day concocting recipes in my gourmet kitchen. I don't have a gourmet kitchen. I have a regular kitchen, and I prefer to spend as little time in it as possible. And I think the same goes for the overwhelming majority of people out there in the developed world. What's that phenomenon called where social media feeds make it look like everyone is doing life better than you? I see it on my news feed too: expertly crafted meals beautifully photographed in just the right light with the perfect white balance... Is that real? Because that definitely isn't my reality. In fact if you were the Nutritionist in this scenario, and you told me that I had to build food like that, it would be a complete barrier. I wouldn't know where to start. It would be overwhelming and drastic for me to make such a change. I'd fail. Making the decision to get serious about your health is already overwhelming and drastic enough without practitioners encouraging this Pinterest-level of perfection in the kitchen. Wouldn't it be nice if you could actually find the time to try everything you've ever Liked, Shared, Saved or Favourited on social media? Every recipe, every hippy holistic wellness trend (oil pulling, dry brushing, paddleboard yoga), every mindfulness tip and trick? As an ancestral-leaning C.H.N., currently completing my Primal Blueprint nutrition certification, I have to realistically consider the continued evolution of our species - and we are evolving to be an ever busier, even more overbooked animal. You live life on the run, and so do I. We can't always be mindful, no matter how hard we try. Maybe the best thing we can be is realistic. I became a Functional Nutritionist not to make beautiful food, but to help you attain knowledge so as to eliminate the barriers of health, the fear of failure, and the pressure. To help you achieve a beautifully effortless relationship with food.