I am not a nutritionist or dietician, but I do try to consider the healthfulness of dishes and ingredients before I dig into cooking or baking. I have struggled with bulimia for much of my life, and thanks to a recent major upheaval in my diet (namely, eliminating refined sugar entirely as well as trusting God rather than food to fill my emotional needs), I am doing well! In addition to avoiding sugar, I am a picky eater, but in reverse: I love the most darkly colored and/or feared healthy veggies (kale! yum!), but keep away from classic favorites like baked potatoes and bacon.

Like most nutritional philosophies, mine has always centered around moderation. I think it’s best to eat tons of nutrient-dense foods, and also that a sweet indulgence here and there is a lovely accent to a healthy plate! I don’t advocate giving up everything you love, despite my own recent shift in diet, but I do hope you will become aware of what foods really help your body thrive.

I do not include nutritional data for my recipes on this site, partly because online tools for calculating that information can’t produce completely accurate data (i.e., they rely on databases of ingredients that don’t tend to distinguish between raw foods and cooked foods, although nutrients are affected by different types of cooking). That being said, if you would like to calculate nutritional data for any of my recipes, or any other recipe, here is a site I like a lot. And just for fun, here is a lovely guide by Groom and Style about why it is more nutritional (and easy on your budget) to choose to make your food at home than to eat out or buy packaged dinners.

I am not a proponent of any specific diet lifestyle, because I believe different things work for different people. But I do believe in being informed about what we put into our bodies!

If you are interested in learning more about nutrition, here are a few articles that I have found very informative:

on Fad Diets/Diet Lifestyles

Is the Whole30 Just Another Fad Diet? (Verywell Fit)
Ketogenic Diet: Is the Ultimate Low-Carb Diet Good for You? (Harvard Health Publishing)
Should You Be Eating Clean (Science Based Medicine)
What Are the Benefits and Risks of the Paleo Diet? (Everyday Health)
The Gluten-Free Diet: Fad or Necessity? (American Diabetes Association via NCBI)
8 “Fad” Diets that Actually Work (HealthLine)

on Sugar

Added Sugar in the Diet (Harvard School of Public Health)
Is Sugar Toxic? (New York Times Magazine)
Everything You Need to Know about Sugar (Nerd Fitness)
The Truth about Agave (WebMD)
and for a compelling book on the history of the sugar industry and nutritional science, The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes

on Fats

Research Review: Should You Balance Your Fats for Better Health? (Helen Kollias, Precision Nutrition)
Fats and Cholesterol: Out with the Bad, In with the Good (Harvard School of Public Health)
What If It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie? (New York Times Magazine)
Healthy Cooking Oils: The Ultimate Guide (Authority Nutrition)
Does Dietary Saturated Fat Increase Blood Cholesterol? (Whole Health Source Blog)
Dr. Andrew Weil on Fat or Carbs: Which is Worse? (Huffington Post Healthy Living)

on Carbs and Whole Grains

Health Gains from Whole Grains (Harvard School of Public Health)
Carbohydrates (Harvard School of Public Health)
The Safe Carbs: Whole Grains (Precision Nutrition)
Whole Grain Foods Are Not Always Healthful (Scientific American)
Healthy Carbs for Weight Loss (Shape Magazine)

on Eating Colorfully

Eating Colorful Foods Has Health Benefits (Diabetes Forecast)
Eat Colorful Foods for Better Health (Core Performance)
Eat Healthy America: 52 Superfoods (Woman’s Day)

on Eating Seasonally

Eat Fresh Year Round (Everyday Health)
Five Reasons to Go Seasonal (Whole 9 Life)
to find what’s seasonal near you… Seasonal Food Guides (Eat Well Guide)
and for a great book… Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver)

on Eating a Plant-Based Diet

a fascinating book about how foods can heal your body… How Not to Die (Michael Greger and Gene Stone)
The Ultimate Guide to Vegan Protein Sources (Thrive Cuisine)
Meatless Meals: The Benefits of Going Meatless (Mayo Clinic via CNN)
The Right Plant-Based Diet for You (Harvard Health)
Five Risky Diet Mistakes Vegetarians Make, and How You Can Avoid Them (Huffington Post Healthy Living)
What’s Wrong with What We Eat (Mark Bittman on TED)
if you do eat meat… The Truth about Grass-Fed Beef (NPR) and Why Grass-Fed Trumps Grain-Fed (Chris Kesser)

on Fish

The Fish You Can Eat, the Fish You Definitely Should Avoid (BodyEcology)
Fish: Friend or Foe? (Harvard School of Public Health)

on Processed Foods

Nine Ways That Processed Foods Are Harming People (Medical News Today)
Processed Foods: 5 Reasons to Avoid Them (University Health News)
Processed Foods: What’s Okay and What to Avoid (Eat Right)
The Myth of Healthy Processed Food (US News & World Report)
Food Processing—Background Reading (Johns Hopkins)

on Organic Foods

More Helpful Fatty Acids Found in Organic Milk (New York Times)
Organic Foods: Are They Safer? More Nutritious? (Mayo Clinic)
Organic Food No More Nutritious than Conventionally Grown Food (Harvard Health Blog) and Organic Food Isn’t More Nutritious, But That Isn’t the Point (The Atlantic)

and on Other Topics…

Glycemic Index (University of Sydney)
Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Healthy Diet (Mayo Clinic)