Healthy Life Lessons

Do you remember your dreams? I have remembered mine vividly since I was a very small child. And they have always been extremely bizarre. So much so, that I would not disclose the details of some of them to anyone I do not know well, for fear that they would think I should be institutionalized. Take for example last night's slumberland escapades. I can't make sense of the first part but I think I had adopted a little boy with some sort of behavioural/developmental challenge and I had hired Sherma to help me take care of him. It was night time and I didn't want him to see me so he would go to sleep...there was also a huge, long slide involved, like a mega water slide. Then Little A and I were at the Boulevard Club (where my bro and sister-in-law have a membership) along with my parents. The club had a pain management clinic and I was there for my sinus headaches. The place was full of all sorts of very rich, important people and I felt out of place. There was an old w...

I don't often cook or bake with butter or white sugar, but I volunteered to make a few things for the bakesale being held by Big A's daycare, so I thought I would go whole-hog. Big A and I made chocolate cereal squares, however, I also felt like playing around with coconut so I created this recipe. For a layer cake, use 2 8-inch round pans. I have to carry this to her school while pushing a stroller, however, so I made it a big single flat cake. You could also make it in a bundt pan, if you wanted. 2.5 cups organic whole wheat flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 2.5 cups coconut milk 1 tbls coconut extract or vanilla extract 1 cup unsweetened, finely shredded coconut Mix together dry ingredients in large bowl and set aside. In medium bowl, beat together butter, sugar, eggs, milk and extract. Add dry ingredients and coconut and stir, just until mixed. Pour into greased pans. Cook at 350 for about...

It is bitterly cold, grey and rainy today. But it might as well be warm and sunny with birds singing. This is the fourth consecutive day without a sinus headache and significantly less congestion because of my new regime of frequent saline rinses. I finally feel like I have my mojo back! And yet I am also feeling somewhat sheepish about the fact that the solution was so simple, painless and much less risky than the approach I was taking before. If only I had really listened to my brother's advice a few months ago! Actually this seems to be a theme in my life lately. The solution to what seems to be a major problem is quite simple. Look at what happened with Big A? Things between us have been so much better since the consultants came. It really is quite astonishing! It makes me wonder if all sorts of common problems and dilemmas we face really have very simple solutions - weight loss, marital problems, debt, etc. and it is just our emotions, prejudices and cognitive distort...

There was an article in the Globe and Mail last week that made me very happy. Titled "The End of Pilates As We Know It" http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/is-this-the-end-of-pilates-as-we-know-it/article1797501/ , it discusses the drop off in popularity of pilates classes and a resurrgence of popularity in intense cardio classes at North American gyms. Now don't get me wrong, I love pilates. I have now replaced my biweekly yoga with pilates sessions in my living room and after a few weeks, I am seeing a real improvement in my pelvis/hamstring. In fact, this past week is the first time that the pain did not increase between physio sessions. Nevertheless, I was very frustrated when pilates became the new fitness trend 5 years ago. Why? Because people replaced cardio classes with it and it is not a replacement for cardio. Sorry folks, you still have to sweat. With the number one problem for most of us being too many calories in and too few out, you cannot ov...

When I was a kid my parents used to always tell me that you continue learning throughout your life. I doubted it though, as I thought of learning only as something you do sitting in a classroom with a teacher blabbing at you. Of course, now I know they were right and I marvel at how much I learn every day. Some of the learning is from school, of course, but lots of it is simply from life experience. Take the past two days, for example. One lesson I learned was that sometimes it makes sense to suspend your own doubts and listen to someone else's advice. When my allergies and sinus headaches re-emerged this fall, I called my brother, who also suffers from the same thing. He recommended I take an antihistamine and decongestant, but he stressed the importance of regularly flushing out my sinuses with a saline rinse. He did not mention any pain relievers. I get the antihistamine and decongestant in the Claritin, however, I was doubtful that a simple saline rinse could do much goo...

At least twice a week we have "low cook" dinners which consist of burgers, sandwiches, salads, etc. and/or leftovers. Burger night used to be veggie or chicken burgers but lately I've become addicted to the wild salmon burgers from our local grocery store. On a whole wheat bun with a side of steamed veggies, it makes a relatively healthy and very quick meal. If you don't like the idea of frozen seafood, you can just get some wild salmon fillets from your fishmonger. Personally, I can't afford that - fresh wild salmon is exhorbitantly expensive. Here are several ideas for how to top your salmon burgers/fillets. Each makes enough for one serving, so simply multiply by number of servings that you need. Simply slather sauce on both sides of bun or if you want to go bunless, just dollop on top of fish or brush it on before broiling/pan frying your burgers or fillets. Sushi Style Sauce: 2 tbls low-fat/fat-free mayo 1 tsp wasabi paste Garnish: Thinly sliced cucumber...

I had two meetings today that made me very happy. First I met with Big A's kindergarten teacher for our first parent-teacher meeting. She is doing fine with her numbers and learning to read and write, but what the teacher spoke at length about was her empathy. She said Big A has a knack of finding the children in the class that need help/companionship/guidance and then she takes care of them. She emphasized what a good person she is and also mentioned that she is very independent. She said that she plays by herself a lot because she is very specific about what activities she likes to do. So unless any other kids want to play her games - and apparently she is always happy to let them join - she just does her own thing. She won't do something she doesn't really want to do just because the other kids are doing it. Wow, empathetic and independent. I'm definitely not a perfect mom, but we must be doing something right. I am so proud of her! Later today I met with t...

I am so tired. I don't know how single parents survive. They must be superhuman. I am counting the SECONDS until Adam gets home tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don't actually know when that will be since they cancelled his flight from Victoria to Calgary today and if he doesn't make it to Saskatoon in time for his flight booked for tomorrow, he may not get back to Toronto. The first night alone this week Big A had a HUGE tantrum. It took over an hour for her to get it out of her system but she finally did. Then Little A got crabby and was screaming at the drop of a hat. This morning Big A got up right after I got on the stairmaster for my workout. I ended up having NO "me" time at all. The good news is she was in a great mood and relatively cooperative. The bad news is she talked a mile a minute all morning and wanted my full attention the whole time. I had had a bad sleep (I can never sleep well when Adam is away) so I was exhausted and grumpy. I tried to r...

The weather is beautiful and I am feeling better about life thanks to a few little developments. On the career front, I have an important meeting on Friday that could get me moving along in my desired direction. J.S., is a well-known therapist in Toronto who works in the miscarriage/infertility field at Women's College Hospital. I didn't contact her before because I was busy getting things moving (or so I thought) at Mount Sinai and have been trying to arrange my placement with S.D., the therapist who is teaching my miscarriage/infertility counselling course. But no one so far is coming through for me so I've got to keep my options open. I emailed J.S. last week and told her I was looking for volunteer counselling opportunities and a practicum placement. She emailed me back yesterday and was VERY enthusiastic. I can't wait to meet her on Friday and see where this goes! Also, Little A will now open her mouth for the tooth brush in exchange for an Elmo sticker. Sh...

I have made this a few times and each time I make it a bit differently, but I think this version turned out best. It is a fusion dish that did not originate in Singapore, that has a million different recipes. I like the addition of coconut milk, but you can substitute chicken broth instead. Traditionally it is made with chicken, bbq pork, shrimp, and/or scrambled egg, but I've opted for just chicken here. A vegetarian version could simply use tofu. Do NOT overcook these noodles or you'll get mush. Use whatever veggies you like best. 250g brown rice vermicelli, soaked in boiling water for 1-2 minutes and then drained 1 tsp peanut or canola oil 1 lb minced chicken, (or chicken breasts or thighs sliced thinly) 2 sweet red bell peppers, thinly sliced 4 cups bean sprouts, rinsed 6 baby bok choys 1 bunch green onions, sliced Sauce 2 heaping tbls curry powder 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup minced or grated fresh ginger 1 tbls soy sauce 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1/4 tsp toasted sesam...

Inspite of all my positive self-talk, I am still feeling increasingly disheartened and pessimistic about my professional life. I passed up several valuable opportunities over the past months, such as applying for a counselling position with Planned Parenthood, because of the Mt Sinai research project, which has still failed to materialize. With no counselling experience yet, I am still very unqualified for my new desired career path. I have so much damn education and so little experience, what a waste of my life...and here I go again with the negative spiral of self-criticism and doubt. Sigh! Many thoughts and ideas have been swirling through my mind in terms of how to improve my situation. My family fitness coaching idea is percolating and I am attending a seminar for small businesses run by the business consultants my friend connected me with. They very much liked my idea and felt they could help me refine my business plan. And yet, like the million of business ideas I have ha...

After last Wednesday's sinus headache from hell, I made an appointment with my doctor. Taking handfuls of Advil and Tylenol is a bad idea AND it does nothing to lessen the pain. Time to get help. She took one look in my nose and said she could see a lot of swelling in my nasal passages. She gave me more steroid nasal spray, which I'd run out of, and a prescription for Naproxen. I woke up today feeling great but now I feel another one coming on so it may be time to see if these babies work. I don't like the fact that I'm a walking pharmacy right now (Claritin, Nasonex, Naproxen, etc.) but I'll do anything to get relief. On Saturday, I stupidly slammed the car door on my pinky finger. The bad news is, it was my left hand, and I'm left handed, the worse news is that I think it might be broken. As stubborn as I am though, I haven't gotten it looked at. No way I'm waiting hours at the ER and what will they do anyways, splint it? But after icing it l...

This turned out as an exceptionally delicious way to use up some of our Halloween Jack-o-lantern, but you can always use butternut squash instead. Serve over brown rice or fill a roti shell/whole wheat tortilla and roll up. 1 lb ground chicken or turkey 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 onion, diced 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbls curry powder (preferably West Indian style) 1 tsp ground allspice 1/2 tsp sea salt Scotch bonnet hot sauce, to taste (optional) 3-4 cups cubed pumpkin or squash, lightly steamed 1 can light coconut milk Large bunch of collard greens, leaves chopped, stems removed Place onion in large skillet or fry pan with vinegar over medium heat. Cook until onion is softened and translucent. Add ginger, garlic, curry powder, allspice, salt and hot sauce (if using). Cook 1-2 minutes. Add ground meat and stir with spice mixture, cooking until meat is no longer pink. If it gets too dry, add another couple tbls of cider vinegar. Next, add pumpkin/squash ...

Since Adam is away this week, I used his absence as an opportunity to make something he won't eat: seafood! The fact that I made this on a night I was alone with the girls, is a testament to how easy it is. Although I made is super spicy, to suit my tastes, Little A gobbled up a lot of the shrimp! It was sooooo good, especially over organic brown jasmine rice. 1 lb fresh or frozen seafood (shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, calimari, etc.) 1 bag fresh vegetable slaw (broccoli, carrots, cabbage) 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbls grated, fresh ginger 1 tbls green Thai curry paste 1 cup coconut milk 2 tbls fish sauce 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced hot chili flakes, to taste (optional) Whisk curry paste with coconut milk in large frying pan, over medium heat. Once smooth, add in veggies, seafood, garlic, ginger and fish sauce and cook a few minutes until seafood is cooked (but be careful not to overcook!). Sprinkle in green onions and chili (if using). Serve over rice.

P1: I FINALLY heard back from Dr. M at Mount Sinai, who promised she will get her part of our ethics proposal completed and will submit to the ethics board ASAP. I feel a bit better but am still anxious to get the project under way. I also inquired about doing my practicum for school with the counsellor who teaches the miscarriage/infertility certificate program I'm doing. She works out of one of the cities most prestigious fertility clinics and also has her own private practice. She would love to take me on but needs to get approval to do so. Fingers crossed!!! P2: The dentist was a nightmare on Monday. Big A screamed through the whole procedure. In fact, she was so hysterical, the dentist would only fill the cavities on one side of her mouth and we have to go back AGAIN. Adam commented that they must have accidently given her crying gas instead of laughing gas since it seemed to have no positive affect on her. The dentist was actually getting pissed with her and kept snap...

Last year I chopped up a ton of pumpkin after Halloween but the frozen chunks sank to the bottom of the freezer and were forgotten. I recently turfed them. This year I vowed not to let our entire jack-o-lantern go to waste. Pumpkin is so incredibly versatile, healthy and delicious. So I've put some aside for a Caribbean stew with chicken and collard greens I'll make this weekend and I made these cookies today to share with my mother-in-law (who is kindly taking Little A to her 18 month check-up today while I take Big A to the dentist). These are huge, soft, cakey cookies my mom used to make us after every Halloween with our left over pumpkin. I don't have her recipe, but these actually taste pretty much the same although I am sure they are healthier (nobody I know was using whole wheat flour or agave syrup back in those days!). 1.5 cups cooked, pureed pumpkin (or canned) 2 eggs 1/4 cup organic canola oil 1/4 cup agave syrup 1 tsp vanilla 2.5 cups organic whole wheat f...

These are easy, healthy and yummy. Savoury 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed (we scooped them all out of our Jack-o-Lantern) 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/4 tsp sea salt Pinch cayenne pepper (optional, if you want some heat) Sweet 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 tsp sugar Toss seeds with seasonings and spread in single layer on non-stick baking sheet. Roast in oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes, checking regularly to prevent burning.

As I had feared, Little A refused to put on her Halloween costume last night. Any mention of it and she would run the other way yelling, "Noooooooooo!" Big A looked terrific as a Fire Fighter and we basically had another great weekend with her. She was relatively cooperative and I was very impressed last night when she told us she would have one treat (a lollipop) and she didn't even ask for any more. On Saturday when we were at our friends' place for dinner and she was having a blast playing with their daughter, she didn't even have a tantrum when we said it was time to go home (she resisted a bit, but nothing too serious). Anyways, back to Halloween. We decided to feed the girls an early dinner before Trick-or-Treating. Big A had a nice healthy dinner of roasted pumpkin seeds we made, a big salad of shredded cabbage with "pink" dressing (i.e. Thousand Island dressing)and some mango chunks. Little A became hysterical when we put her in her high c...