Hi class! 

I am so thrilled you are visiting this page. It was great to speak with you in person and I hope what I had to say was helpful to you. Please remember that I’m here to chat if you need me. Email me anytime (erin at itstodiefor dot ca). I mean it! You can also tweet at me: @erinireland.

Here are a few lists you can refer to if you’re wanting to seek help for disordered eating, focus on your health, dine out at a restaurant, or read up on body image, eating disorders, etc. If you have any info I should consider adding to this resource, I would love it if you’d share with me.

1. Super foods & how to eat them: try to pack as many of these into your diet as you can

• Almonds – eat alone or sprinkle on salads (great snack on-the-go)
• Apples – slice & sprinkle with cinnamon
• Avocado – smash & use as condiment in sandwiches & as dip
• Bananas – the easiest fruit to eat on the go
• Beans & Lentils – add to soup recipes or eat plain drizzled with olive oil and salt
• Beets – juice them! Or slice up and bake into a chip
• Brocolli – steam and drizzle with fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper
• Blueberries – sprinkle on oatmeal or eat alone, drizzled with almond milk
• Cashews – eat alone or sprinkle on salads (great snack on-the-go)
• Cauliflower – steam, then smash into mashed cauliflower (instead of mashed potatos)
• Chia seeds – sprinkle one or two teaspoons onto oatmeal 
• Cinnamon – sprinkle on pretty much anything! (eg. oatmeal, yogurt, apples etc.)
• Dark chocolate – you know what to do
• Fish – filled with healthy fats; bake your filet to avoid excess frying oil
• Goji Berries – sprinkle on oatmeal or eat coated in dark chocolate
• Hemp hearts – sprinkle one or two teaspoons onto oatmeal
• Kale – use as lettuce in salads, or toss with olive oil & bake ‘til crispy for kale chips
• Lemon – drizzle on all veggies, salads, etc.
• Oatmeal – a great daily breakfast (avoid the sugary instant packets)
• Olive oil – a healthy fat that you can use in the place of butter almost everywhere (baking, too)

2. Easy tips on becoming a healthier person – try focusing on one of these per day

• Focus on types of calories you consume, not number of calories you consume.
• Everything in moderation – it’s okay to ‘cheat’ sometimes.
• Drink eight glasses of water a day – often your body mistakes thirst for hunger, which can lead to overeating
• Keep your fruit bowl and veggie drawer stocked at all times to prevent reaching for unhealthful foods when hungry
• Keep in mind, you can pretty much eating as many fruits and veggies as you want without gaining weight
• Eat a big, healthy, energy-packed breakfast (like oatmeal with fruit) – morning is the best time of day to consume these types of healthy sugars
• Avoid mass-produced, packaged foods – stick to homemade instead
• Buy a juicer – great way to painlessly drink your vegetables
• Reduce your intake of animal based foods – focus on a plant-based diet
• Almond or coconut yogurt & milk instead of dairy yogurt & milk
• Daiya Soy Cheese instead of dairy cheese
• Tofu and beans instead of meat

3. Healthy Cooking Tips

Baking (eg. pancakes, muffins, cookies, loaves)

• sub gluten free flour for white flour
• sub coconut sugar or agave syrup for white sugar
• sub almond or coconut milk for regular milk, buttermilk or cream
• sub apple sauce, mashed banana, coconut oil or olive oil for butter double the fruit!

Steam veggies instead of frying

Use coconut oil when frying, instead of butter or veg oil

Drizzle veggies with fresh squeezed lemon instead of butter

Use more egg whites than yolks in your scrambled eggs (or try to limit yourself to two yolks per day)

Use soda water instead of 7-up to ‘fizz’ your drink

Use raisins or dried fruit to sweeten your oatmeal instead of sugar

Use nut-based milk instead of high-fat dairy milk

Use half water, half milk for your homemade smoothie

Try popchips or baked chips instead of regular oily chips

Eat fruits and veggies as snacks as opposed to process / packaged foods

Choose whole wheat ‘brown’ or gluten free carbs instead of wheat (eg. brown bread over white bread, brown rice over white rice, etc.)

Find great gluten free flours, like ‘Cup4Cup’ at specialty grocery stores like Choices Markets, Whole Foods etc.

4. Restaurants Offering Healthful (and Vegetarian) Options

• Eternal Abundance – restaurant, juice bar, produce store
• Sejuiced – juice bar and restaurant (1958 W. 4th Ave.)
• Gorilla Food – vegan raw restaurant (436 Richards St.)
• East is East – (4413 Main St)
• Chau Veggiexpress – veg restaurant (5052 Victoria Dr.)
• Gluten Free Epicurean – gluten free bakery cafe (633 E. 15th Ave.)
• The Parker – veg restaurant (237 Union St.)
• The Juice Truck – food truck (corner of Abbot & Water in Gastown)

5. Extreme Dieting / Eating Disorder Resources – Where to Search for Support

• Legacy Eating Disorder Prevention 
• Looking Glass Foundation For Eating Disorders 
• Your school’s public health nurse or a Vancouver Coastal Health dietitian: 604-983-6700
• Dr. Sue Stock, paediatrician: 604-924-3133
• Dr. Glenn Robertson, female paediatrician: 604-924-3133
• Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre: 604-875-2084
• HealthLink BC: Call 811 to speak with a nurse, pharmacist, or dietitian to get healthy eating advice 24/7
• National Eating Disorder Information Centre 
• Woodstone Residence – eating disorder clinic on Galiano Island 
• VCH Eating Disorder Program – 604-675-2531, 2750 East Hastings St.
• Erin Ireland – erin at itstodiefor dot ca

6. Viewing material

Miss Representation
Vegucated
Forks over Knives
Hungry for Change 

7. Reading Material

Unbearable Lightness - by Portia de Rossi
Fat is Not a Feeling