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Owner, "MAP Wellness" - a culinary nutrition and wellness company. Writer. Passionate cook, raw food chef, reiki practitioner, yoga teacher, and LIVE WELL educator. ​do yoga. enjoy good food. run. plant food. cook. savour wine. read books. buy good food. love. grow your energy. find peace. enjoy food. have passion. skip. eat food. do yoga. listen to jazz. have presence. be present. bike. read. see. hear. be. live. love.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Culinary Nutrition Expert!! That's Me!

Phew.  June has marked the official end of my three month in-depth journey of food for health with Meghan Telpner, finding my way through her kitchen, out of the processed food box, and into my own culinary cuisine philosophy. 

In the last few weeks, I have handed in my final essay assignment, completed my apprenticeship hours, and mailed off all of the necessary paperwork.  Complete.  This comprehensive, in-depth Culinary Nutrition Expert Course designed by Meghan, is unique, inspiring, and a real commitment, but man-oh-man is it also super life-changing and SO worth it.  I feel so blessed to have been able to enroll and be one of the 12 fabulous ladies to take away all the brilliant information acquired and now embark on an entirely new journey of my own.  I can do this armed with an expansive arsenal of skills and experience, and feel super-charged to get the ball rolling!

Since early March, myself and a group of like-minded women from all different walks of life congregated in Ms. Telpner's cooking studio to learn the tricks of her trade.  This flock of fabulousness came from a wide range of age groups; from twenty-something’s to retirees, and included a Naturopathic Doctor, Fitness Company CEO, health food suppliers and distributers, PR folk, myself, and many moms.  A group that may not have otherwise crossed paths, but was brought together with one common goal; to learn all that we could about healing our bodies with clean, real, whole food. 

And learn we did.  Meghan is a ball of bravado, with personal experience to back up all of her nutritional beliefs.  Having healed herself of Crohn's disease through diet just five years ago, she has the goods that make her an expert in her field.  Not only does Meghan teach the biological and nutritional reasons why certain foods are great for you, but she also focuses on how to make that same food taste sublime.  Flavour is never forgotten, in fact it is always at the forefront of every recipe she creates.  In class, we had the opportunity to not only taste these creations, but got to try our own hands at whipping them up from scratch as part of the cooking class portion of the program.  And we ate like Queens!

To that end, if I were to say that the research and theory portion of the course was merely adequate, I would be making a massive understatement.  It was in fact, quite expansive, and I learned a truckload.  At the same time though, I was pleasantly surprised by how much nutrition information I already knew!  I guess my years exploring various cuisines, reading countless cookbooks and foodie websites, and flipping through magazine after magazine about health and wellness have really paid off.  I went into Meghan's classes with a strong foundation, but left with the real deal – the ability to build solid recipes and meal plans for health, with integrity. 

Mmm! A few of the tantalizing tasty plates from class, plus me teaching!  

Upon completetion of the course, teacher extraordinaire Meghan Telpner created the below beautiful video.  It is a great inside look at what goes on in her kitchen, and a superb testimonial to the great work that she does and the lives that she changes: 

For her full write-up & reflection on the course, check out her blog entry here:

So what do I plan on doing now?  Now that I am certified?  Well, in addition to my new role as CNE, I have also recently certified as raw food chef via Alissa Cohen's "Living on Live Foods" course. I am a level 2 chef under her guidelines, which means that I am now trained to teach and train others about the lifestyle and foods that are an integral part of this healing way of eating.  My decision to nab these additional qualifications sort of came on whim, but since my first introduction into the raw food way of life back in 2009, I have always held a special interest in the distinct flavour and complexity of living food recipes.  As I follow an entirely plant based diet myself, it was only fitting that I acquire the credentials to share the food I love to make with others, and perhaps turn a few everyday meat eaters into raw food lovers along the way! 


And now what?  Well, I have a few things in the works that include furthering my skills as raw chef in my very own kitchen, and have begun to develop some great new recipes of my own (I’m thumbing my way through Doug McNish’s recipe book “Eat Raw, Eat Well" for inspiration!).  I am also drumming up a few more workshop ideas to pitch around town, and am in the midst of designing a new fancy-pants company logo and kick-ass website to match.

In this moment, I am really looking forward to some down time over the summer and will spend much time cooking, un-cooking, reading and relaxing.  But believe you me, I plan to kick it into high-gear again in the fall when I will officially be launching MAP Wellness, my new company, my new baby.

Until then, stay tuned for the launch of my new URL, and keep coming back here for updates people!

Love, love, love.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Meg,

    I met you at the Raw Vegan Festival (we did not get to talk, but I've seen you at several demo's and lectures) and found you on Twitter. I'm having a blast reading your blog and will make sure to follow your steps. Rawesome!

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  2. Congrats, Ugsy! I am glad to see so many of your goals coming into fruition!

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  3. You are going to be a force to be reckoned with my dear! Congratulations on, well, everything! So excited to watch you grow even more now that you are branching out on your own :)

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