Originally posted May 21, 2008, updated on April 21, 2009 and occasionally since then.
Last update: February 2012

I know that some people hate the word “foodie” and I sometimes hate it too but I want to explain why I originally chose it:

Wikipedia says, “…foodies differ from gourmets in that gourmets are epicures of refined taste who may or may not be professionals in the food industry, whereas foodies are amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news. Gourmets simply want to eat the best food, whereas foodies want to learn everything about food, both the best and the ordinary, and about the science, industry, and personalities surrounding food. For this reason, foodies are sometimes viewed as obsessively interested in all things culinary.” – Source. Okay, so it’s still kind of pretentious, but it is what it is.

This describes me, especially the first part.

“Canadianfoodiegirl” is the name I use at the Serious Eats website. It was a nickname that answered, succinctly, who I am.

“Andrea the Gastronaut” refers to a song from my childhood, called “Andrea the Astronaut”. I’m sort of glad “gastronaut.com” was taken because although I didn’t like the “girl” component to “canadianfoodiegirl” as a domain name at first, it quickly grew on me.

Who am I?

• Ontario Public Service employee by day.
• A long time blogger on a variety of topics.
• An advocate of healthy eating and healthy living, food ethics and food sustainability.
• A news and blog junkie.
• One who likes to cook, usually either improvising completely or using recipes as outlines from which I improvise.
• Other interests include IT, social media, environmental issues, natural health, fitness and marketing.
• Jewish, which is reflected in my posts.
• When I started this blog I was vegetarian/pescetarian, a choice that lasted 2-3 years. I knew at the time that it was a phase rather than a permanent lifestyle. I still rarely eat meat and my favourite cookbooks are vegetarian/vegan. I prefer that the animals that I eat be raised naturally without hormones and antibiotics. I prefer that they eat organic grasses etc., and nothing genetically modified. I believe that you are what what you eat eats.

What’s this blog about?

People often ask me this. Is it a recipe website? No. Is is a restaurant review website? No. What the heck is it? Both. General lifestyle with a nutrition angle. I sometimes review items and restaurants. I go to events and write about them. I tweet like crazy. PR companies are welcome to contact me but I don’t accept every offer that comes my way. What will I not accept: Junk food. Processed food. If you’ve got a campaign that involves food and health, contact me.

Favourite cooking gadgets:

My microplane grater, also called a rasp, bought for under $10. I use it mostly for ginger and cheese (better than my cheese grater) and sometimes for garlic. My Vitamix is fantastic but if I did it again I’d buy a Blendtec. I love my toaster oven. I dream of one day owning a stand mixer.

Favourite cookbooks:

Not long ago I would have said, “Cookbooks? Why spend money on cookbooks when the internet is a great resource for recipes?” Now I use a few, including Veganomicon, Get it Ripe and Ripe From Around Here (all 3 are vegan but I’m not).

Disclosure on nutritional claims:
Though I sometimes make nutritional claims here and sometimes provide general advice, I am not a certified nutritionist or health care practitioner. I have never gone to school for nutrition or health, though that’s an option for the future. I’ve learned by living and absorbing, with an interest in nutrition and passion and aptitude for research. Very often I do research while drafting blog entries. The interest in nutrition and natural health is in part influenced by my family and there are many people in my life that share this interest.

My aunt, Dr. Hyla Cass, is one of the U.S.’s foremost authors and speakers on the subject of integrative medicine. A former Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine (was a student of pre-med and med school at University of Toronto), she has incorporated nutrition and natural health techniques into her practice for more than 20 years. She’s an author of books and articles and a Huffington Post contributor. She regularly appears as an expert on radio, TV shows including The View, MSNBC, Dr. Oz, and in publications such as the LA Times, The Toronto Star, Time Magazine, and People Magazine. My mother, sister and I are constantly learning from others and each other. We transfer knowledge and resources.

In addition, I have friends who are nutritionists and my network of natural health experts continues to grow. (Birds of a feather flock together, right? I don’t always meet them in a predictable context.)

When making statements in blog posts I tend to use sources that aren’t primarily trying to sell product (i.e. I mostly avoid websites belonging to product companies) and are balanced and unbiased. When I use family and friends as sources I’m doing so because I truly believe in what they say and trust them as credible sources. Sometimes I make statements based on personal experience or something I may have read in the past but don’t recall the source of. I’m a consumer of natural health products and supplements and can speak from the consumer perspective.