If I hadn’t met Briana Southward, I would have never had a reason to feel this awesome about eating Nutella. Not the actual spread that’s sold in grocery stores, but the homemade, non-radio-active version: hazelnut butter + dark cocoa. Seriously, do this and your deepest desires to lick goopy chocolaty spread off a spoon will be totally satisfied. Mine were, and I seriously love Nutella.

Cool tidbits like this can be found on Southward’s site, The Naked Label, where she “undresses” the food we eat, and offers solutions for those looking to make healthier choices (even if you can’t sacrifice Nutella).

The site started in 2008 as Southward’s personal blog, and grew into a platform for nutritionists and health workers to share trustworthy health info. With a background in business consulting, Southward knows a lot of companies will create marketing strategies that aren’t concerned with the actual needs of the consumer, and will manipulate with false advertising just to sell product. Health claims are one of the biggest (and most harmful) advertising ploys used. 

“It really disheartens me to think that people are being duped or tricked into something. At the end of the day people have the right to choose, and if a company wants to create an unhealthy product and someone wants to consume it, that’s their choice, but there should be more transparency in the food industry,” she says. 

She went to school to become a holistic nutritionist, and put her consulting skills to good use promoting nutritionists who are the real deal. Aside from a directory of killer nutritionists, The Naked Label features recipes, substitution ideas, and blog posts debunking health myths (those All Bran cereal bars may not be all they’re cracked up to be, and General Mills Total Blueberry Pomegranate cereal actually contains none of either fruit). Next up on the site will be video courses for every kind of person out there – atheletes, new moms, and those in need of a detox. 

BRIANA’S FAVOURITE EATS:

Kale chips. “My husband used to eat so many potato chips.”

Homemade raw brownies

Giddy Yo Yo Chocolate. “One of my best friends worked with them for awhile. She was a singer and she would go in and sing to the chocolate while it was being made.”

Homemade ice cream. “I make my own ice cream not with cream but with ice, frozen fruit and almond milk and honey.”

FAVOURITE PLACES TO SHOP:

Herbs and Nutrition (572 Bloor St. W.) 

Essence of Life

Trinity Bellwoods Farmers Market

The Healthy Butcher

The Big Carrot

Loblaws on Queen St.  “Every time I go in there I write them a note. Last time I asked them to get the Eden brand of beans because they had 4 different brands of beans, but Eden is the only one that’s BPA free! They actually listened to me this time."

~ Kait Fowlie