I wasn't sure what to expect when one of my friends arranged a dinner party at the newly opened Rawlicious raw vegan restaurant in downtown Ottawa. As a nutritionist, I really appreciate the immense health benefits of incorporating more raw, live foods into one's diet. As a foodie, however, I will admit that raw vegan fare rarely tantilizes my taste buds. Raw vegan food can absolutely be delicious, but I have found far more to be ho-hum than scintillating. Still, I went to dinner ready to be impressed. And it is a good thing I did because was I ever!

Ottawa resident Natalie Papineau deserves high praise for the incredible job she has done with this restaurant. From start to finish, my impression of Rawlicious Ottawa was exceptional. 

Rawlicious is located at 381 Cooper Street in what appears to be a refurnished brick and stone house. Walking up the stairs to the restaurant, I felt like I was going into a friend's home. As I opened the door to the restaurant, my feeling of joy and content...

One of my favourite things about health shows is that I never know precisely what fun new products and/or services I will stumble across. Yesterday, at the Living the Smart Way Expo, was no different. I am usually a highly chipper person ("terrifyingly chipper" some might even say), but there is something about health shows that makes me feel like a child in a candy shop. If you attended the expo yesterday and saw a dark-haired woman skipping happily through the aisles and smiling broadly, odds are it was me.

Here are some of my favourite things that I came across at the show yesterday:

MAPLE FLOSS

Maple Floss looks like cotton candy, but it's so much better than that. It’s 100% pure organic maple sugar spun into a delicious floss. Completely natural with no chemicals or artificial colours, when consumed in moderation, this fabulously candy-like treat can absolutely be part of a healthy diet. What's more, each 15 gram serving (which equates to approximately 2 cups) only contains 60 calori...