Healthy Life Lessons

Here is a post about 5 things I'm loving right now.  It's a nice, light post because I feel like there is so much heavy stuff going down in the world right now.  I've got some rosacea stuff happening: redness on the bridge of my nose that spreads to my cheeks if I have any alcohol or get hot (and I'm always getting hot- did I mention its now 30C and 100% humidity here now??).  I've been reading and hearing so much about these new skin serums and how great they are for things like redness, but their prices are insane.  I am still not at the point of being able to spend $50 on a tiny bottle of some beauty product, besides which, my skin is very sensitive so I always worry I'd end up having a bad reaction to said expensive product anyways. Many of these serums are full of vitamins, so when I found an old bottle of Jason Vitamin E Oil in our bathroom cupboard, I decided to give it a try.  I smear a bit on before bed at night and, yahoo, redness has dramatic...

My kids adore frozen treats.  Actually, I consider this a blessing, because it's pretty easy to make healthy frozen desserts that they gobble down.  Frozen bananas in the food processor (aka banana ice cream) is always a favorite, but they love popsicles too.  Unfortunately, the cheap popsicle molds we've been using around here really sucked: 2 our 3 would get stuck and not come out, or they would come out broken, which led to many tears and disappointments. I've been looking around for new ones for a while now, but didn't see anything that looked great until we were in the Distillery District a few weeks ago.  Most of the shops are way too expensive for us (and most people on the planet!), but there is a great design and kitchenware store called Bergo with accessible prices where we found Tovolo Bug Pop Molds . Admittedly, $18 is rather steep for popsicle molds, but I decided it wasn't worth risking buying more useless ones for less and the girls were instan...

Recently I was asked if I would like to review the Nexus 7 Tablet for Staples .  Of course I said yes!  The two Ipads in this house get used non-stop and I was eager to try one designed to work with Google products AND is smaller and lighter than our Apple Ipads. One of the first things I noticed is how simple it is to set up.  It literally took just a few minutes to sync it with my gmail, and get all the apps I want set up: Facebook, Skype, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.  Sweet!  It also happens to be a perfect match to my new Samsung Galaxy 4 phone. I already find it annoying to type on my Ipad, so I figured this would be even worse given it is smaller, but perhaps because I have small hands, I actually find it much easier to type on. Once I had it all set up, I turned it over to the kids to see what they thought.  They are possibly more tech savvy than I am already.  Sure enough, they needed little help figuring things out.  Little A, how...

I have long been a fan of Zevia as an alternative to conventional soda pop.  So when I was offered samples of all the flavours available in Canada, I jumped at the chance. I generally avoid pop, but sometimes there is nothing more palate cleansing than a beverage with bubbles.  While it's hard not to know how bad regular pop is, just because of all the sugar and empty calories, most conventional diet sodas also have many questionnable ingredients and artificial colours. Zevia is sweetened with stevia, and has no artificial colours or flavours.  The flavours available in Canada currently include: Cherry Cola Dr. Zevia Caffeine Free Cola Regular Cola Ginger Root Beer Cream Soda Lemon Lime Twist Ginger Ale Orage Grape Black Cherry I already loved the black cherry and cream soda, but I was excited to try to rest.  In the end, they are still my 2 favorites, by far, although I liked the Dr. Zevia a lot too.  Adam likes the fruit flavours, but was n...

Good Monday morning!  It's a beautiful day and the girls are actually getting along this morning (and singing Taylor Swift at the top of their lungs), so I will not complain about how early they got up. Instead, I'll give you a yummy recipe.  I remember a recipe for Johnny Cake (corn bread essentially) that I made as a kid that used creamed corn.  It was super moist and delicious thanks to the creamed corn as well as butter, eggs and a lot of other decadent ingredients. After coming up with my healthier creamed corn recipe, I knew I had to redo the classic Johnny Cake.  Here it is not only low-fat and sugar-free, but vegan as well!  You can try replacing the regular flour with a gluten-free baking blend, however, I can't vouch for the results as I haven't tried that.  You could also make this into corn muffins, however, you'll have to adjust the cooking time. Johnny Cake 1 recipe creamed corn 1 cup non-dairy milk + 1 tbls cider vinegar 2 ...

Recently I was sent this book to review. I'm thinking that we're pretty over-saturated in the gluten-free department these days and I'm kind of sick of hearing about it.  Yes, celiacs need to avoid gluten absolutely for sure, and there may be some who have true sensitivities, but I'm not convinced that other folks really benefit from avoiding gluten, and there certainly isn't any scientific evidence to support this. Anyhoo, I was curious to see if this book would be novel in any way. Nope. It's certainly a good deal for $20, you get over 500 recipes.  But aside from a few exceptions, I did not find this book particularly exceptional.  Most recipes are Italian or American inspired, with a few Asian ones thrown in for goog measure. There are no photos whatsoever, nor is there a lot of information about how to avoid hidden sources of gluten, although strangely some of the recipes call for 'gluten-free' varieties of a lot of foods I didn't know...

If you are a parent of young children, or are not yet a parent, you may be wondering when to start discussing sex with your kids. As an infertility counsellor, believe it or not, this issue comes up with my clients all the time.  For anyone using donor sperm or egg, there always needs to be a discussion about how to disclose this information to the child and when to do so.  But regardless of whether your children were naturally conceived, the product of donor or adopted, the answer as to when to start talking about sex is the same: as early as possible! Believe it or not, humans are sexual creatures from the day they are born.  We do not suddenly become aware of our bodies or develop sexual urges after puberty.  Also, nowadays children are exposed to sexualized images and messages very early on. Beginning to talk to your kids about sex can begin as early as age 2, and should definitely start as soon as they are asking questions about their bodies.  What y...

I'm stressed.  I've got some important career-related decisions I have to make and I'm struggling with them.  I hate making these kinds of decisions.  Essentially I'm trying to weigh risk versus potential benefits, and, like many people I don't like uncertainty.  Nor am I a big risk-taker, at least when it comes to financial matters. So one day last week I arrived home after a meeting feeling particularly conflicted and anxious so I did what I always do when I feel this way: I baked. I decided to make cookies using some of my sugar-free chocolate chips , and see if I could make some gluten-free ones that would pass muster with my fussy folks. Whoa Nelly, these were a big hit with everyone!  Sweet, soft and super chocolately, no one suspected how darn healthy they were.  Big A declared them,  "Awesome!" See, sometimes stress is a good thing! Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Vegan, Sugar-Free + Gluten-Free) 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 2 f...

So how was your long weekend?  Ours was lovely, thanks. Saturday we cycled to Christie Pits for some playground fun and popsicles.  Sunday we took the girls to an arts festival at the Distillery District . Monday we had a park playdate in the morning and then we took the girls to Vaughan Mills in the afternoon.  Adam took them bowling while I cruised the mall. Now it's back to reality, but at least it's a 4-day week.  And at least I've now found a way to make sugar-free frosting.  Yes, sugar-free frosting. Who doesn't love frosting?  My kids, like most kids, usually gobble it down and then leave the cake. Personally, I like really sweet, sugary frosting, like fondant.  If it's more like sweetened whipped cream, that I don't want any part of it, that makes me gag.  I don't like marshmellow or boiling icings either.  Just the straight up powdered sugar kind. I try to avoid sugar as much as possible, so I don't eat frosting very...

Not only is it Victoria Day here in Canada, but it's Infertility Awareness Week! To kick things off, I've got information on how to maximize your fertility provided by Dr. Victoria Maizes , who has just published a new book: Be Fruitful . Simple Ways to Increase Fertility Seven Tips from Victoria Maizes MD   Age matters! Today many women are putting off child bearing until later in life, and it is affecting their fertility when they do finally start trying to conceive.   Women in their 20s have a 25% chance of conceiving each month while women in their early 40s have only a 5% chance.     Don’t stop eating fish!   While women should avoid fish that contain high levels of mercury, like shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish, other fish are safe and very important to the pregnant woman’s diet.   Fish is the best source of omega 3 fatty acids, which are critical to a baby’s brain development and can even help prevent post-par...

I got pretty darn lucky this week: I got asked to attend TELUS 's First Wellness Learning Centre Session featuring Lyzabeth Lopez and the Samsung GALAXY S4! Me and a group of other wellness bloggers got to visit the TELUS House in downtown Toronto for this fantastic event. TELUS employees who work in this building are lucky to have fabulous, immaculate facilities, including a first rate gym and fitness studio.  I love any company that promotes employee fitness and wellness!! The event kicked off with a butt-kicking workout led by Lyzabeth, and then we were fed a healthy lunch and, you won't believe this...we each got to take home a Samsung GALAZY S4 phone!  We got a presentation about all of this amazing products' features and honestly, I almost fell off my chair.  I called Adam immediately after the session to beg him to let me switch my plan to this phone, and I am thrilled to say, he agreed!‏   Here's some info about the phone: ...

After a week in New York filled with more animal protein, sugar and alcohol than usual, it's back to basics: a mostly plant-based diet!  But even Adam gave this meal high marks.  It's delicious and hearty enough to satisfy the biggest carnivore. Serve in your favorite tortillas along with the stewed peppers and onions, or your other favorite toppings such as cheese/vegan cheese, avocado, chopped lettuce, onions, and tomatoes, etc.   B arbecued Beans 1 cup sprouted bean mix (or any kind of sprouted legumes) 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (or 1.5 cups cooked beans) 1/4 cup bbq sauce (your favorite home-made or store bought variety) 1/2 cup tomato salsa (your favorite home-made or store bought variety) 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 tbls tomato paste 1 tbls mild chili powder 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt Pinch cayenne pepper, to taste (optional) Combine sprouted beans with 2 cups water in a covered pot.  Bring to a boil and then remo...

I have a $25 gift card for SpaFinder that can be yours, redeemable at over 20,000 Spas, Yoga, Pilates, & Fitness Studios Worldwide! For a chance to win, just follow me on Twitter and/or 'Like' my professional Facebook page and then leave me a comment that you've done so.  You get 2 entries if you do both! Just look at this list of over 100 participating yoga studios in the Greater Toronto Area alone.  The gift card is like a free class! This contest is open to EVERYONE.  Contest closes May 31st, 2013.

This made a lovely spring side dish at our family's Mother's Day BBQ.  It's very easy to make too!  I didn't add any salt because I thought it was flavourful enough (Dijon has a lot of sodium already), but season to taste. 2 lb fresh French green beans, washed and trimmed 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved 1/2 cup good quality balsamic vinegar 1-2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning 1/2 cup julienned sundried tomatoes 2 heaping tbls Dijon mustard Zest and juice of 1 lemon Dump beans in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain and put immediately into ice water.  Drain, pat dry and place in a large bowl along with tomatoes. Meanwhile, place vinegar, garlic, seasoning and sundried tomatoes in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and then simmer until liquid reduces by half.  Remove from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients.  Pour over beans and tomatoes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Keep refrigerated for up to...

It's over. We survived. It was a success. I wish we never had to do it again. We probably will.  Every year.  For at least another decade. Oy! But the good news is, we definitely picked the best venue.  Honestly, if you live in West End Toronto, Bob Abate is an amazing place to have a party!  The gym is large, they supply tons of toys, climbing equipment and even a bouncy castle!  There is a kitchen right off the gym, and the staff are incredibly helpful.  It was awesome. Awesome in a kind of, crazy, insane, ridiculous way.  In total, I think there were about 30 kids.  The volume was about 100 decibels, between the karaoke, the screaming, the bouncy castle, and the parents trying to chat over the din.  Given the energy level maintained by the kids over the 2 hour period, I'm actually very surprised no one got seriously hurt.  These kids were on fire! I was, unfortunately, very disappointed with the baked goods....

Adam was originally booked on a later flight home than I was so he could get more work done, if needed on Friday, but he managed to get all his work done at the archives on Thursday.  So he decided to accompany me to the airport to see if he could get on my earlier flight.  He also suggested we start the day with a run in Central Park.  This turned out to be a fabulous idea! We left the hotel at 7am and made our way to the park.  Eventually, we found ourselves on the Bridal Path, which gave us breath taking vistas of the reservoir, framed by trees full of pink blossoms.  I think the best part was that neither of us seemed to be allergic to those trees, which were dropping pink petals all over the place! After our run, we went back to the hotel, showered, ate breakfast, and packed up.  We took a cab to La Guardia, and discovered not only could Adam get a seat on my plane, but we could BOTH get one on the flight leaving an hour before mine!...