The 2018 session of Culinary Nutrition Expert Program begins in September and we cannot wait! We are just buzzing with excitement around here, and so are our dedicated program coaches who are here to help our students achieve their full potential. Our program coaches live in cities across Canada, the US and Europe and we are pleased to introduce them to the world! Today, they’re sharing their top culinary nutrition tips to help you up your game in the kitchen.

If you’re still thinking about joining us this fall, it’s not too late! Registration closes in September, so hop on over here to find out more.

And, without further ado, enjoy these 16 amazing culinary nutrition tips from our program coaches.

16 Culinary nutrition Tips from our coaches

Sondi Bruner

City: Vancouver, British Columbia
Year Graduated: 2012
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Keep an organized, well-stocked pantry. Menu planning, grocery shopping and cooking become infinitely easier when you already have a stockpile of healthful ingredients at your fingertips.

Nicole Benson

City: Brantford, Ontario
Year Graduated: Fall 2014
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: When starting out with making healthy changes to your eating habits, don’t overwhelm yourself. Pick a few simple snacks for the week. I love cutting up an apple and tossing the slices in cinnamon. You can also dip them in almond butter. So simple. SO yummy. Also cut up some carrots, cucumber and celery, and eat with a hummus or hearty dip of choice. These are great to take on the go.

Laurent Causse

City: Montreal, Quebec
Year Graduated: Fall 2015
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Roll-up your sleeves and get involved in the kitchen, no matter what! Meal planning and food prep have to become a real pleasure and testimony of love rather than a menial chore, day in and day out. Get some inspiration by picking up an enticing recipe from your favourite cookbook or a magazine. Create your own variation of it by including healthy ingredients and a good selection of organic vegetables. Express your creativity and dress your plate so it looks beautiful.

Melanie Connolly

City: Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Year Graduated: Fall 2013
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Make extra portions every time you cook. If you are going to cook dinner, batch cook and make enough for breakfast or lunch the next day, or even better make enough for a few days worth of meals. Store these meals in glass containers so you can see what’s in your fridge and don’t forget about them. You’ll spend less time in the kitchen cooking and won’t have to worry about standing in front of the refrigerator saying, “What can I eat that’s healthy?” Bonus tip: Make sure to include all of the colors in the rainbow when planning your meals.

Click here to learn more about how you can become a Culinary Nutrition Expert

Lyne Desforges

City: Oakville, Ontario
Year Graduated: Fall 2016
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Be sugarless in the kitchen! Use mashed bananas, homemade applesauce or dried fruit to replace added sugar in your favourite recipes. Train you tastebuds to enjoy the natural sweetness of whole foods. Less added sugar in your diet = feeling better physically, mentally and emotionally.

Krista Harrison

City: Kitchener, Ontario
Year Graduated: Fall 2015
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Life is a gift filled with moments of joy, laughter, learning, love and yes struggles too. Each day can be busy and nutrition can sometimes get neglected. So, I make sure I have my ‘5 in 5’ each day to fuel my mind, body and soul: which is at least 5 servings of combined veggies and fruit in less than 5 minutes. Throw a handful of spinach (or half spinach, half kale), a stalk of celery, a chunk of cucumber, a small piece of fresh ginger, a green apple, the juice of 1 lime and water in a blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Caitlin Iles

City: Quispamsis, New Brunswick
Year Graduated: 2012
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Learn to love and appreciate your body exactly where it is in this moment. In order for any healthy changes, such as green smoothies, yoga practice, or a gluten-free lifestyle to stick, you have to love your body and believe that you deserve to feel fit and fabulous every single day. And always make sure to eat fermented foods.

Jennifer Kular

City: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Year Graduated: Fall 2017
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Eat outside the box! Do your best to avoid packaged and processed foods. By cooking from scratch with fresh, whole foods you’ll know exactly what’s nourishing your body. If there’s one in your area, make visiting a farmers’ market part of your weekend routine and buy organic local goods where possible.

Suzy Larsen

City: Kelowna, British Columbia
Year Graduated: Fall 2016
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Have ample protein, fat and fibre to start your day to keep blood sugar levels stable and to provide important starting materials for making key neurotransmitters that help you manage stress. Also, I like to adorn my meals with garnishes like parsley and cilantro.  It’s a visual reminder to eat mindfully and savour each bite.  What’s leftover from your nice bouquet can be thrown in a blender with your smoothie in the morning or even juiced for maximum nutritional impact.

Karen Littlefield

City: Los Angeles, California
Year Graduated: Fall 2015
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Meal planning is a game changer for me. Map out what you want to eat for the week and stick to your plan. Use ingredients in your pantry and only buy what’s necessary. Meal planning will save you money, time and trips to the store if you shop for the week all at once.

Lizette Marx

City: Moraga, California
Year Graduated: Fall 2017
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: When preparing to cook any meal, the most important ingredient to have in your kitchen is love. When you cook from your heart, with reverence and mindfulness your food will be more delicious and more healing. And before you sit down to eat a meal, light a candle. The soft flickering light will help shift you from a sympathetic to parasympathetic state and help you digest your food more effectively.

Jessica Mitton

City: St. John’s, Newfoundland
Year Graduated: Fall 2015
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Meal preparation is such an important part of eating healthy! Having nutritious foods ready to go at your convenience will help ensure you are getting proper nutrition on the go, keeping you energized in your busy life. That being said, don’t forget to take your time and eat slowly so you can enjoy and appreciate the good foods you are taking in to nourish your body.

Click here to begin using these tips in the Culinary Nutrition Expert Program.

Jessica Pecush

City: Calgary, Alberta
Year Graduated: Fall 2015
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Try new foods and ingredients. By expanding your culinary repertoire and deepening your knowledge and understanding of the wide variety of whole foods available, you can support yourself and others in a multitude of therapeutic, nourishing ways. Curiosity and experimentation lend themselves to fabulous new recipes!

Wendy Rose

City: Tilbury, Ontario
Year Graduated: Fall 2014
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Make cooking a priority in your life. Try new foods, or try new ways to cook foods you enjoy. Don’t think of cooking as a chore. Think about how it’s essential to your health and well-being. But most of all…have fun with it! Once I approached cooking with this new attitude, it took away the stress and anxiety of what to do. As someone who lives with food allergies, I started focusing on what I could eat versus what I couldn’t. Food is so much more joyous to me now because I make it fun!

Melissa Torio

City: Toronto, Ontario
Year Graduated: Fall 2016
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Eat fermented foods. Have some kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, non-dairy yogurt or kombucha. A little bit every day helps improve your gut health.

Veronica Jean

City: Kitchener, Ontario
Year Graduated: Fall 2014
Top Culinary Nutrition Tip: Don’t forget your herbs and spices! They are nutrient-powerhouses that are woefully underutilized in North American kitchens. These potent plants add flavour, vitamin, minerals, phytonutrients, and fibre to our meals – all without adding many calories.