In the defence of meat.

(Photo by: Renee Navarro - ovesnynavarro photography)

WARNING: The following photo contains an image that may be shocking or upsetting to full on vegetarians, lacto-ovo-vegetarians, vegans, pescatarians, fruitarians, raw foodists and macrobiotic junkies. Please PETA don't write me hate mail. Allow me to present to you, moi avec le drumstick. Yes, I am a Nutritionist with a special focus in Chinese Medicine, and yes, I love meat and damn it, I'm proud.

Ok, so this isn't exactly the most flattering of photos of me.

I dove into this leg of goodness at a recent meatluck dinner party that my foodie friend Joel had organized. No, it's not just a pot luck, it's a meatluck and that evening, we were all happy little meatheads. From appetizer right down to dessert, the focus was meat and only meat. From brisket in crunchy snack-sized shells to duck wings coated in warm sticky sweet soy sauce goodness, I was in love. Oh and dessert? Just think shortbread with blueberry compote, whip cream and fois gras (more photos to come stay tuned!). Sssssinful.

So while the evening was most definitely a little out of balance in the meat department, I feel as though I must defend meat's honour. Yes, too much of it (more than your fist per serving) is hard on the kidneys (my kidneys were crying that evening), but truthfully, meat in moderation has many benefits.

In Chinese Medicine, you will rarely find a practitioner (especially one right from China) that bashes meat. It builds blood as it has a bioavailable form of heme-iron. After my menses I'll admit to having a little red meat that's trumped by a massive plate of kale and dark leafy greens which helps to build blood. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a proteins and greens girl. I eat minimal carbs (usually only in the morning and a little at lunch) which is likely because I'm a Blood Type O. Don't get me wrong, I still love my grains: quinoa, buckwheat, millet...no, no, no, my little whole grain babies, Mama still loves you. Now I'm not saying my eating habits are for everyone, or that if you're a veg head you need to eat animals versus save them because when it comes down to it, we're all unique. One thing is for sure, buying either organic or naturally raised is the way to go since you consuming all the very unsexy hormones and antibioitcs. For additional information, read more on the top 10 eco-friendly reasons to go organic, with meat.

On the flip side, North America over consumes meat and dairy - this is a fact. Too much of both is hard on the entire system and creates dampness/candida. There are days I'll be completely vegetarian and have four servings of meat per week. Simply put, I advocate balance and finding the love and sexiness for whole food all over again. Many of us have lost this.

Unfortunately, my balance was slightly thrown off the other night, so I do believe I'll be staying away from the beloved animal until my kidneys stop yelling me. I've got two and God damn it, they're loud.

Okay, time to eat an apple...mmmm...sexy apple. Which reminds me, New York, just hours away. Afterall, what better place for a Sexy Food Therapist to visit than the Big Apple?