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A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting Vancouver, Canada for the first time. Our weekend was filled with a variety of tasty bites such as vegan brunch at Chickpea, sashimi from TAKENAKI Uni Bar, and pierogis from Granville Public Market. British influence in Vancouver can still be seen in it’s restaurant scene as the city has many tea houses and Indian restaurants. I received many…

Just recently I had the pleasure of visiting Renee Erickson’s Boat Bar in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Located on the corner of Union and 11th, Boat Bar seats you just below the sidewalk level creating a lofty effect. It’s light aesthetic and sophisticated menu makes it a wonderful restaurant for those with a refined palette seeking a casual atmosphere teetering on elegant. Boat Bar…

like my mothers I prayfor the gnawing in my stomachto distract me from my hunger to be alivefor the high of havinglemon water for breakfastto allow me toaccept my servitude tothe other half ofmy own kind. for if I eat what will I feel?my Body? The only thing thatmother gave me but that herhusband and his sons ensurewill never be mine.will I feel Passion?that is then subduedwhen I enter every…

The taste of cinnamon and coffee have been on my tongue all morning. I can’t shake the craving. I can’t shake the taste. Was it the coconut milk powder that left this taste on my tongue? Or is it because my lips are dry from sleeping outside overnight? Part of me wants to linger with this craving, part of me wants it to disappear. It reminds me of a time when my path in life was much more…

Hip bones that stick out of low-rise jeans. Rib lines that run parallel to hollowed cheekbones. Legs that resemble arms. Thong straps that search for fat to grip onto. So many of us Millennial women don’t need to be reminded of the images of heroin chic that informed our body image. In the early 00’s, “heroin chic” became a “thing of the past”, as evidenced by a newer wave of models who carried…

I have searched for gua bao ever since I had my first bite at a noodle bar in Connecticut. Crispy chicken fried tossed in gochujang, tucked into a fluffy pillow with pickled daikon and carrots, kewpie, and dressed with a single sprig of cilantro. I searched. At a weekday farmers market in San Diego for a midday snack before being lectured about the supernutrients in brazil nuts by a vendor. As…

Although I lived on Post Alley North for almost five years, just 10 blocks up from Pike Place, I had never set foot in the much raved about Pink Door until this fall. With virtually no signage and minimal lighting, I walked right by it at 8pm on a Wednesday in November, despite me having walked by the entrance at least a hundred times before. Despite doing so, the outside is so humbling that…

as featured on substack I sit down at the dining table with my dinner and devices trying to find someone to connect with. My roommates aren’t home. I’m single. My family is in a different time zone. I haven’t had a meaningful conversation with anyone all day. I open the YouTube app on my phone and pull up “How An Ancient Ocean Shaped US History” by PBS Terra. I don’t want to watch it on my…

Tucked in the courtyard of one of the few brick buildings left in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood sits La Fontana Siciliana. The Sicilian-inspired restaurant is located on the ground floor of an old brick building between 1st and 2nd avenue on Blanchard St. Red brick cradles the outdoor patio as you walk under a glass-roofed canopy past the wrought-iron gate. A blue-lined pool of fountains greet…

as featured in The Inquisitive Eater rolling waves of flavordo more than calmthe hungry mouth and soul.they nourish the cellswho speak to the body“when you eatthese dripping greensI am happy.I am whole.” such scientific names–anthocyanin, anthoxanthindo more than protectstrands of DNA.they thrill the eyeslight up the mindwho ponders“I feel like having somethingpretty today.” rising dropletsof…

I would rather be the flowerWho only knows you in the Garden.Who you visit from time to timeTo feel alive as you inhale.Who you share your secrets with in the windAs you watch my petals ruffle andtrust that my roots will grow firm,withstand, and prevail.I would rather be the flowerWho does not shorten her daysTo live in your vaseSo that you can feel in controlOf your own luck.To let me live…

Featured on substack Everyone says that I should love my body, but how can I when it feels like it’s changing everyday? Throughout my years as an eating disorder dietitian, so many of my clients have repeated this exact line. Sometimes spoken loudly, sometimes with tears, and sometimes apprehensively waiting for me to tell them that they’re wrong. That loving your body is easy if you just will…

also featured on substack Spongy moss. Dripping Douglas firs. Droplets of water converging on a pound of flesh. As Aubrey Gordon dips her body into a warm bath amongst Oregon’s natural landscape, Jeanie Finlay opens the film with an image that fat bodies are banned from but fundamentally deserve. One in which they’re creations of nature. The independent film follows Aubrey Gordon, an author and…

“But aren’t tomatoes considered a fruit?” When I first started working as a dietitian, I never expected so many of my patients to ask this question. But now five years into my career, it’s not a surprise anymore. Although my counseling sessions tend to focus on achieving specific goals, my clients also have the space to ask whatever nutrition questions are on their mind. What I would have never…

Mother Earth.Where one’s decayBecomes another’s womb.Although these daysShe breaths a bit heavierAnd closes her eyesShe does so to restAnd fight through the night.Even as her waters become stagnantMay I desire to let mine flow?To let my belly swell and breakThe very dam that lights “my home”.I am Mothers childSo regardless of what I chooseMy body will give life, in my deathSo why can’t I give it…

In recent years, discussions about diet culture have entered the mainstream media. From social media, to magazines, to online medical news sources, more writers are exposing the detriments of diet culture.  Diet culture is a system of beliefs that equates body size and health status to moral standing. It assumes that a person’s “health” habits and status are a reflection of their personality and…