The Allsorts Podcast

As a dietitian on the internet, it’s not lost on me that there is a MAJOR difference in what people want to see versus what will actually make the biggest difference in their health. Case in point: the enormous amount of content debating the “dangers” of oats or the “benefits” of colostrum and how so very few people actually talk about heart health. So, since it’s February and it’s Heart Month…let...

Ever feel like the Instagram version of motherhood is just a little off the rails? Like when you plop your kid in front of a tablet and hope no one’s watching? Or you show up to the bake sale with store-bought cookies? You are in for a treat today…we’re getting into the messy bits of motherhood, entrepreneurship and more with Liz Hammond and Katie Ruddell of Not Your Mommy podcast .  When I create...

Have you heard of prebiotics before? In this episode of The Allsorts Podcast, we are going to talk all about prebiotics: what they are, how they work in the body and what benefits they might have for us and our gut microbiome.  As a gut health dietitian, every time I talk about prebiotics, someone stops me… don’t you mean PRO-biotics ? Nope. Nope I don’t. While probiotics - the beneficial bacteria...

Sugar: the stuff of celebratory birthday cakes and wellness myth. Without a doubt, it elicits some pretty major debate for a pantry staple…and we spend a lot of airspace talking about  how sugar affects the body. So, in this week’s episode, I’m going to put on my Registered Dietitian hat and answer all of your burning questions about the sweet stuff, including, “Is sugar bad for you?” In order to...

Growing up, life happened around my grandparent’s kitchen table. Food formed the rhythm of our days…so I feel a special connection to others who share that love of connecting over a meal. And a few years ago, I had the pleasure of connecting with our guest, Asha Wheeldon, over a meal that she co-hosted with a mutual friend. Especially at this time of year, I think we are all acutely reminded of ju...

If you’re one of those folks who shies away from vegan food because you love all the eggy, cheesy, meaty goodness of omnivore life…well, I get it. I was a vegetarian for a looooong time because I couldn’t imagine not eating cheese. I think that’s probably one of the biggest misconceptions about vegans and plant-based eaters: no one goes vegan because they just don’t like the taste of cheese and st...

If you’re at all into food - calling all Bon Appetit groupies and Snaxbois - you probably already have a jar of Fly by Jing ’s Sichuan Chili Crisp in your pantry…so you can understand how absolutely stoked I am to be talking with Fly by Jing founder Jing Gao today on the pod. We’ll learn how Jing built a business, reclaimed her name and made everything taste better with her namesake jars of delici...

There are few things that unite us as much as a good loaf of bread. Humans have been consuming the stuff for thousands of years, starting with the the preparation of simple flatbreads from wild grains to the large scale production of breads from domesticated wheats in ancient Egypt…quite literally, bread in all its forms, from tortilla to naan to baguettes, is one of the foundations upon which our...

Feeling anxious lately? I don’t know about you…but my mental health went down the toilet in 2020. I’ve always been anxious by nature but since turning 40 - which was followed closely by the pandemic - I’ve had to make my mental health more of a priority and I know I’m not alone: according to the world health organization, global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a whopping 25% in t...

Hold on to your knickers: the number of people with irritable bowel syndrome is now roughly 11% of the world’s population . Yep, you read that right. This is something that a LOT of people are dealing with, and as a gut health dietitian with IBS herself, I see everyday how much confusion and misinformation there is out there about what IBS actually is, and what to do about it.  Like, is the low FO...

If there is one thing that makes people happy, it’s cake. And if anyone knows how to make a cake that is guaranteed to bring people joy, it’s Lyndsay Sung. Lyndsay is the baker and creative mind behind Coco Cake Land , the blog and instagram account filled with cute confections that are sure to bring a smile to your face. Since the early days of blogging, Lyndsay’s kawaii ( that’s Japanese for cut...

Are those gut healthy snacks you’re buying legit? What’s actually in them? And what should you be eating if you really want to take care of your gut? I’m talking all about the basics of good gut health, gut healthy snacks and sourdough with Chicago-based registered dietitian Morgan Murdock on The Allsorts Podcast ! Way back in 2019 I was at Expo West, North America’s largest natural foods expo and...

What is it to live a good life? Because it’s definitely not the glossy perfection that is sold to us in movies and Instagram. How do we navigate the cards we’ve been dealt - and find that balance between consciously creating our world and allowing ourselves the grace to just be? I don’t know that I am very good at this myself. My anxious mind tends to flicker between worrying about things to worry...

I don’t know about you…but I thought a LOT less about my food choices before I had kids. And I am a dietitian, so that’s saying a lot! Navigating baby’s first foods can feel a bit overwhelming because there are so many differing opinions out there: finger foods vs purees, baby led weaning, sippy cups or no…with our first born, we invest so much energy in learning the ropes! We read the books. We g...

Oh hi! It’s me, Desiree, and today on a solo episode of the pod, we’re going to answer that burning question, “why am I bloated?” Before we get going, you need to know that it is TOTALLY NORMAL to get bloated from time to time. Eat a 3 bean chili? We all get bloated. Holiday feast? Yep, all that food takes up space. Part of a healthy digestive system is occasional variations - like how most of us...

How do you know if you want to have kids? As far as adulting goes, having children is the biggest commitment a human can make. I mean, you can change careers, sell that condo, move across the planet or even get help in caring for elderly parents…so it’s kind of interesting that there is relatively little dialogue about the decision to have children. Yes, humanity requires procreation to survive. B...

Are plant proteins really incomplete? Can your body actually tell the difference between amino acids from plants and amino acids from animals? If you are at all curious about whether you can get optimal protein on a plant-based diet - or if you’ve ever heard that plant protein is incomplete - this week’s episode of The Allsorts Podcast is a must listen (or watch)! There is a strong trend on social...

I was not exposed to Thai cuisine much in my childhood, growing up in smaller Canadian towns in the 80s + 90s. But in my early 20s, I spent some time backpacking with my then boyfriend (now husband...yes, we've been together my whole adult life) throughout South East Asia from Singapore up through Thailand, Laos and Vietnam and to say that I fell in love with Thai food is an understatement.  A...

We all know - and perhaps dabble with - not drinking during Dry January or Sober October but the rise of the “sober curious” movement over the last few years has really invited us to start the conversation about our relationship with alcohol and how we use it - and abuse it - across all aspects of life, from “mommy wine” culture to quarantine cocktails. When the Canadian Centre on Substance Use an...

Polycystic ovarian syndrome is one of the most misunderstood - and overlooked - endocrine disorders affecting women and those assigned female at birth. For example, did you know that as high as 3 out of 4 women with PCOS will NEVER be diagnosed ? Or, that PCOS is a close cousin of type two diabetes? My social feeds are being flooded right now with talk of nutrition for hormonal health so I wanted...

As a dietitian, I hear time and time again that healthy eating is too expensive. And these days, with food prices skyrocketing - at times out of alignment with inflation - it is getting harder to feed yourself well on a budget. One of my first pieces of advice for eating well with less money is to eat more whole plant foods such as legumes and whole grains. Plant-based eating can seem expensive if...

Whether you’re 22 or 62, we all have one thing in common: inhabiting a physical body without which we could not live, work or even experience the sights, tastes and sounds of life. And yet, most of us walk around as if our body is an afterthought: nothing more than a fleshy carrying case for our brains…that is, of course, until our bodies decide to assert themselves in an injury or disease state....

Curious about anti-inflammatory nutrition? Well prepare to get nerdy in this solo episode, because host Desiree Nielsen RD is going to tell you everything you need to know about the anti-inflammatory diet. Over a decade ago, the idea that chronic inflammation may be one of the root causes of - or exacerbating - chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease or even skin conditions...

I am so fascinated by athletes and have to admit, hold them up as something quite magical. Who are they? What motivates them? Where did they get their superpowers? And that is why today’s conversation is such a treat. I am speaking with Olympic silver medal cyclist, Dotsie Bausch …who smashes all preconceived notions about who an athlete is and how they are made. Dotsie is proof positive that chan...

To take a page from the legend that is Oprah, if there is one thing I know, it’s that being well is not just about the food we eat. Which is why I called this The Allsorts Podcast…because I wanted to talk about all sorts of things! I truly believe that our sense of purpose, connection to community and a belief in something larger than ourselves impacts how we perceive the world around us, and ours...