Healthy Life Lessons

  Though my children are now 12 and 15, they both still love pillows, blankets and stuffies as a source of comfort. So when Lurera offered to send me their anti-anxiety pillow I knew I had the perfect testers in our house. The Lurera is a soft, plush covered throw pillow that comes with a heating pad and heartbeat machine that can be inserted inside.  I thought the heartbeat machine was a unique idea that does have some science behind it in terms of its ability to soothe.  One kid has a weighted blanket and a 5 foot teddy bear, the other has about a thousand stuffies and blankets on her bed. This kid, the 12-year-old, has been obsessed with soft, furry, plush things since she was an infant. She has just always gravitated towards them. So I guess I should not have been surprised when she snatched up the Lurera and immediately declared ownership. To my surprise, however, she tossed out the heating pad and heartbeat machine and just wanted the pillow as is. The pillow comes ...

I like reviewing supplements but not because I think it will do anything dramatic for me, more because I like to go look at the research and see if its all bullshit. After all, how soon can you see or feel a difference with most of these products anyways? Well, this time I was pleasantly surprised! Flexuron is a combination of krill oil (an amazing source of essential fatty acids (EFAs)), asthaxanthin, an antioxident derived from algae, and hyaluronic acid, which is thought to help lubricate joints. The product is supposed to promote joint comfort. Now my brother is obsessed with asthaxanthin supps for workout related aches  and pains and got me taking it for a few months but I didn't notice a difference...could be the low dose I tried. But within a week I noticed changes from Flexuron. Normally after my Saturday run, my knees ache (which is why I only run once a week). After one week on Flexuron, one knee was completely pain free and the other only ached for a few minutes. After t...

  I realized when I was planning this post that nut butters are one food that both healthy eaters and junk food eaters can usually agree on. Now healthy eaters may go for unsweetened, organic varieties and junk food eaters the sweetened grocery store kind, but still it is a generally universally appealing food. Often people use nut butters as a source of protein in their diet, but it isn't generally all that high in protein. I typically use it as a source of fat. So I was pretty stoked about the idea of high protein nut butters which were sent to me by Bowmar Nutrition . Two tablespoons has 10g of protein compared to about 6g for regular almond butter.  They sent me 3 flavours to try: 1. Cake Pop Cashew 2. Cinnamon Crunch Cereal 3. Apple Pie Almond Even though my kids are not the biggest nut butter fans (I know I just said everyone loves them but my kids are weird), I thought they would like these flavours. But the teenager blows hot and cold with nut butters and the tween onl...

I live with 3 cereal monsters. Adam eats oatmeal every day and likes to snack on cold cereal. The kids like eating cold cereal any time of day. So when Nature's Path offered us samples of the products, I knew this family would be happy to oblige. If you have ever set food in a health food store than you are probably familiar with Nature's Path cereals. All their products are organic and the company is committed to sustainability. As soon as the kids saw the Sunrise Crunchy Vanilla they were excited, even though I don't recall ever buying them that variety before. They devoured the whole box quickly, eating it mostly as a snack by the handful. The 3rd ingredient is sugar, so it is definitely a treat (6g per serving), but at least it is high in fibre. The Heritage flakes are a more adult cereal, but the kids liked them too (5g sugar per serving and even higher in fibre. Before they could get too far into the box, however, I used the rest to make Covered Katie's Butterfi...

  As a psychotherapist, I spend a lot of time talking to clients about nutrition and exercise. Why? Because overwhelming research shows how critical our lifestyle is to not only our physical health, but also our mental health. Most people, unfortunately, do not eat or move in their daily lives in a way that is conducive to wellbeing. One of the main barriers is motivation. Most of us have become so accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle based on the conveniences of modern life - including prepared foods/fast food/takeout, etc., that we have become very reluctant to devoting time or energy to an exercise program or cooking. If you are looking to improve your diet but unwilling to take a lot of time to prepare meals, than Evive Nutrition may be right up your alley. It is a Canadian Company that offers premade frozen smoothie cubes and meals that can be delivered right to your door. There are over a dozen smoothie varieties that all contain at least 3 grams of fibre and 6 grams of protei...

  There is no doubt most of us will remember 2020 as a traumatic year. Whether it's because of the pandemic, resulting economic hardship or loss of a loved one, any one of the many major environmental crises (forest fires, etc.), or the political situation. Trauma, unfortunately, is all around us. Of course it always has been. Trauma does not just refer to things which result in clinically diagnosed PTSD. Trauma exists on a continuum and it is also very individual. Two people may be in a car accident together and one may have no lasting psychological effects while the other could end up with serious PTSD.  I deal with trauma regularly in my counselling practice and do a type of trauma therapy called EMDR. The causal event can be anything from a difficult birth of a child to childhood sexual abuse to the loss of a loved one. Post-Traumatic Thriving: The Art, Science, & Stories of Resilience was written by Randall Bell, a consultant who specializes in disaster recovery proje...