CDAR's Annual Loblaws Tour: Tasty - Healthy - Informative

For the past 3 years, the Ryerson chapter of the Canadian Diabetes Association has partnered with Registered Dietitian Nema McGllynn to host a group tour of Loblaws grocery store. The tour showcases a diabetes friendly approach to diet and meal planning and has been an enjoyable experience for guests year after year. This year, CDAR's Annual Loblaws Tour was held in the last weeks of World Diabetes Month and was a fitting way to end a month filled with diabetes awareness and wellness related events. 

The event was led by Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator Nema McGlynn. Guests were greeted by Nema and her dietetic intern, who lead them through an interactive tour on how to make healthy and diabetes friendly choices in the grocery store.  To start things off, Nema began with the produce section where she discussed choosing fruits and vegetables by using a Healthy Eating Plate, and then moved on to discussing starches and protein sources. Attendees also spent time in the cereal aisles where they discussed what to look for in cereals in order to make diabetes-friendly choices. The tour then proceeded to the dairy section, where attendees learned how to make nutritious choices with dairy products such as yogurt etc. Guests were also excited to be introduced to new products such as Skyr and to learn about different dairy options. Nema also focused on healthy and nutritious eating on a budget for students who were part of the tour. 

After an informative tour, attendees had the chance to try easy, quick and enjoyable recipes. Guests prepped and enjoyed salads with whole grains and greens, pumpkin parfaits for dessert and other delicious eats. The hands-on food preparation experience and a chance to sit and dig in was enjoyed by all. 

Jeroselle Bulanadi, a CDAR executive member who attended the tour says that this year was her third time attending CDAR's Loblaws Tour, which proved to be a very enjoyable experience for her. Jeroselle found it to be a great learning experience and has plans to try new food items introduced to her on the tour. Attendees living with diabetes found the tour to be especially informative and enjoyable. The event was also a great way for students to interact with an Registered Dietitian and a dietetic intern. 

CDAR's 2016 Loblaws Tour was a great success!  A big thank you goes out to Nema McGlynn for leading the tour and to all of the Ryerson community members and guests who attended!