Hi, I’m Christal!
Former owner and author of this little space on the web, Nutrition in the Kitch. The website gained a new owner in 2022, but I am still here contributing on occasion!
I started my career as a certified nutritionist in 2010 and began my own private practice for nutritional consulting. I consulted for several years and with the encouragement of my friends, family, and clients I decided to combine my nutritional knowledge with my love for food and put it all together into a blog to share with the world….and so, Nutrition in the Kitch was born!
I believe that healthy, whole foods can not only make you feel fantastic but they can truly taste delicious too. I love taking indulgent recipes and altering them to increase the nutritional value without sacrificing the flavour or beauty, you can search hundreds of recipes here! My “kitch” is the place where I always feel the most relaxed and creating delicious, healthy meals is the best therapy for me!
Work aside, I am married with two beautiful children, as well as two very spoiled rescue cats. I love to travel, stay active, and spend quality time with my friends and family. I do my best to enjoy the blessings of each day by keeping the God at the center of my life and my faith is truly foundational to who I am.
I follow a flexible way of eating that consists of gluten free and dairy free whole-foods, mostly unprocessed, with indulgences here and there (I absolutely love dark chocolate and dairy-free ice cream!). After having been down the road of strict dieting I’ve come to realize that sustainable health must be balanced and enjoyable. I do not diet anymore and I do not promote dieting, I like to instead teach my clients and readers about accountability and sustainable nutrition that works for them, the perfectly unique and wonderful person they are.
I love to help women experience freedom with food and find an enjoyable, non-restrictive, and attainable way of eating that helps them feel energized, joyful, happy-in-their-own-skin, and embrace the most amazing version of themselves, and I love to inspire women and mothers to eat well, cook often, and enjoy life!
Thank you so much for stopping by, I’d love for you to sign up and join the Nutrition in the Kitch Online Community by completing the sign up form in the right sidebar!
You can also follow along my style endeavours at my current website Style Your Occasion, where I share tons of style inspiration with a neutral, minimal aesthetic.
Be sure to check out the online shop to browse my e-books, guides, cookbooks, and wellness programs!
xo Christal.
Hi Christel! There are many people who inspire and delight me on a daily basis and I want to thank you for being one of those! Your blog is refreshing and cool to read and be inspired by it! So keep up the good work!! xo Line
Thank you so much Line!! 🙂
You are light and joy in this world – we love you! And we love your blog… hurray for finding you on Pinterest. Take care and keep up the great work!
Thank you so much Melissa! 🙂
Hey Cristal
Loving your blog. I read today that in excess of 5-6% protein can be damaging. I’ve recently upped my intake of protein so I’d like to know your thoughts on this…?
http://sacredsourcenutrition.com/the-danger-of-too-much-protein-in-excess-of-10/#
Hey Emily, while yes I do believe you can have too much protein, just like any other macronutrient, I don’t necessarily agree with the numbers/percentages in that article. 5-10% in my opinion is quite low as the remaining 90-95% of the diet would then consist of carbohydrates and fats which would be very high percentages of those two, which also would be detrimental on the body. I am all about balance, and I think a fine balance of all micronutrients is best – that’s what has also worked very well for me. Also, another factor to consider which isn’t really talked about in the article is “type” of protein – yes, increased red meat consumption, processed meat consumption, and very high fat meats are all linked to those diseases discussed, however proteins such as fish, chicken, and vegetarian proteins like beans, nuts, seeds, all have very beneficial health properties.
Let’s take a person who consumes around 1500 calories per day (this is typically what I take in on most days – some days closer to 1700) – my “10%” protein intake would equal 37.5g of protein. If I were to have one 5 oz piece of baked salmon for dinner, that would, according to this article, be my alloted protein for the entire day and anything over that would be “too much”, and therefore I would need to fill the rest of my day with carbohydrates and fats. To me, that’s not realistic nor do I believe balanced or healthy for my body. In my opinion, weight maintenance, a great balance of macronutrients is 25% fat, 40% carbohydrate, and 35% protein. These would change for weight loss, or weight gain.
I hope this answers your question! 🙂
That is awesome – thank you! I did the math and it freaked me out! Just out of interest – how would you change up those ratios for weight loss?
Thanks again.
xxx
Hey Emily! Email me at [email protected] and we can chat more about it! 🙂
Hello! Im just interested in your diet. What do you usually consume in a day? What must be included in one’s diet to be healthy? What must not be included? Thanks!!! 🙂
Hi Maria – check out my “What I Ate” posts under the Extras tab – this will show you the many things I eat in a day! 🙂
HI Cristal!
Just found you and your blog looks great! You say you are in the Canadian Prairies and I’m wondering where you are? I’m in Winnipeg, and am always looking for good contacts in the food and massage field!
Hey Sara! THanks for stopping by! I live in Edmonton, Alberta.. a little ways away from Winnipeg, but we are still in the same prairies! Lol!
Oh my lanta, I love your blog! I was perusing the inter-web world of blogs on Sunday, and literally 20 minutes after I started reading, I whipped up 1 of your recipes, the PB & J energy bars. (SO tasty!).. I live in a very small town that does not supply all of the ingredients that you use, but I’m making a trip to the city in the near future so I can start, and in the mean time I’m printing off your recipes left right and centre. Basically- your blog inspires me to the upmost degree, and I thank you for that.
Thank you so much for the kind words and encouragement Paige!! It just reminds me how worth the time spent on this blog really is!! You should check iHerb.com! They have a ton of the ingredients/brands I use for pretty good prices (compared to where I’m from at least!) if the city is rather far from you! Let me know how the other recipes go for you! Thanks again! 🙂
I have been a busy beaver today! And although it was a very hot sunny day here (I’m about 5 hours south east of you FYI), it didn’t stop me from turning on the oven to make some of your delicious vegan pumpkin and sweet potato soup which I enjoyed for lunch. It also didn’t stop me from turning on the slow cooker pretty much as soon as I woke up for some apple pie oatmeal. And if that wasn’t already enough, I made your quinoa mac and cheese for supper and the frozen pumpkin pie dessert with the leftover home made pumpkin pie puree for dessert which my Dad loved! Love love love everything I made today, thank you so much!
(Note: I’m a university student who, for almost the last 8 months, has been eating at a cafeteria. Don’t get me wrong, my caf makes a mean lasagne and has plenty of healthy options, but it’s SO GREAT to be back in a real kitchen making healthy foods that I know (and can pronounce) what the ingredients are. Perhaps this is why I can’t stop gawking at your blog and making all the awesome food you post- leftovers in the fridge and freezer, yay!)
Aww you totally had a “Paige in the Kitch” day! Lol!! Thank you so much for the feedback and making the recipes, I’m truly grateful for the support!!!
I LOVE THIS!
I just found your blog and I am getting into eliminating refined sugar & gluten and I am a vegetarian (most of the time). I’m interested in seeing how you eat well while traveling, because it always messes up my good diet habits. Thanks!~
Hey Lisa! Thanks for reading! Traveling is definitely tough but planning ahead makes all the difference! You can read about my healthy travel on my travel page! 🙂
I was wondering what your background is. I am a registered dietitian and find that it is deceiving when people call themselves a nutritionist without the appropriate education (I spent 4 years after college getting my masters and interning at a hospital). I also attended the institute for integrative nutrition, ,but believe the appropriate title for graduates of this program is “holistic health counselor.”
Hi Carrie! Thanks for asking! I took a 2-year program in Natural Nutrition at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition which earned me my designation as an RHN, or Registered Holistic Nutritionist. As a Nutritionist I do not refer to myself as a dietician nor do I have the same approach to nutrition as a dietician does. That being said I have the utmost respect for Dieticians and the career route they have chosen and appreciate that most Dieticians can also respect the career route I have taken. 🙂
Hi! I just wandered in from Pinterest and I am happy to have found your blog. Your recipes look fantastic and I can’t wait to give several of them a try. I’m in the process of major life-style changes (primarily fitness and diet as I prepare for a second hip replacement—seems like as good a time as any to make these changes), and you are offering a wealth of awesome information and inspiration!
Thank you for the feedback Cindy! Let me know if you make the recipes and how it goes! Your very smart to be proactive in making sure you are in good health prior to your hip replacement! Your healing and the whole process will go a lot smoother! 🙂
I just found your site and am loving it! There’s loads of good stuff to make here and your posts are beautiful!
Thanks Shannon! 🙂