Changes are a-brewin'

For those of you who read my blog via RSS (and according to my "Top 40 Most Obscure" tab on my Google Reader there are at least 56 of you - thank you for making me #40!), you probably haven't noticed some of the minor changes that have happened here on the blog.

And by minor, I mean really minor - there are no changes to the themes or colours or anything, but I've added a little cramped bar to the right that makes it easier for you to browse the blog by category and find the specific restaurant reviews and types of recipes that you are looking for. You can also search for recipes by ingredient with my "Ingredient Cloud" on the left... I like how chocolate and coconut are extra huge ;)

Just a quick note about the "Special Diets" labels - I have labelled some recipes that could fall under a category with a little tweak (i.e. using vegetable broth or water instead of chicken broth for a dish to be vegetarian) while with others I have erred on the side of caution and not labelled them (i.e. I assume that commercial broths contain gluten and soy). If you feel a certain recipe has been mislabelled please let me know and I will try to fix it - I'm new at this!

I've also added a new menu bar up top... not much there for now except a link to a newly updated About page.

Geotagging on Blogger is currently on the fritz, but the map widget I used to have was tiny and not user-friendly anyway, so I am in the process of trying to figure out how BlurbBits work. I'm also thinking of getting a copy of MacGourmet so I can start including nutrition info for the recipes on the site! (Any suggestions for better, Mac-compatible programs would be greatly appreciated)

Last but certainly not least, I received a letter about a week ago from the College of Dietitians of Alberta notifying me that the blog puts me in violation of certain sections of their Code of Ethics. Based on my interpretation of the letter, it appears that the College has mostly taken issue with certain sarcastic, self-deprecating comments that I have made in the past that when taken out of context and/or read by someone who is not familiar with me, my style of writing or my sense of humour could cast doubt on my practice and/or professionalism. I have since reviewed every single entry I've written on this blog and have deleted or changed any statement that I believe could be questioned (plus fixed some of the grammatical errors and cut down on the cussing) and will continue to cooperate with the College on this matter.

My letter came with quoted sections of the Code of Ethics that I may be in violation of, and section 1.2(6)c in particular caught my attention:

The dietitian does not use professional titles and initials or make references to being a member of the dietetic profession or the College, or having dietetic education and training when...acting within a personal rather than professional role.

Initially I tried to remove all references to the fact that I am a dietitian from this blog, but I then quickly realized that the fact that I do have a background in nutrition has an impact on my personal experiences and opinions. So as I have noted at the top of the blog (so that long-time and new readers alike can see it) and in my new About page, I will take professional responsibility for the comments made on this blog, keeping in mind that this blog isn't necessarily about the healthiest choices, but about enjoying the experience of food and eating, which I think is an important part of nutrition as well. If you would like any clarification about anything or if you want to get more technical about nutrition, please do not hesitate to get in touch.