Healthy Life Lessons

Have you heard they now have laugh yoga?  It may sound absurd, but it makes complete sense.  Laughing is incredibly therapeutic and most of us don't do it enough.  Its not new information, but I was reminded of this one day last week when I was feeling particularly stressed out.  I started reading one of those top autocorrect mistake posts like this one .  Because of my silly sense of humour, this kind of shit makes me hysterical.  In no time I was laughing so hard I was crying and I had to put my hand over my mouth so I wouldn't disturb the other therapists in the office working with their clients.  But it felt fantastic.  And I sat there wondering why we don't spend more time laughing.  There are lots of funny things out there!  Similarly, it hit me the other day how weird it is all the things we stop doing when we become adults.  Like cartwheels.  Why do we stop doing cartwheels and hanging off monkey bars?  If we...

So Jamie Oliver has apparently partnered with Sobeys , "... On a mission to bring better food to Canadians ." I have to admit, I was pretty surprised when I heard about this, but given his commitment to get folks eating better, I was optimistic that this could mean good things to come.  We have a Sobey's in our neighbourhood and go there quite a bit for various staples (I actually think they are even better than Loblaws for fresh fish and seafood!). The first evidence of this new partnership was displays of his pasta sauces and pastas and cook wear and serving dishes.  I didn't really pay much attention although I did note that it was a bit weird that all his pastas were made from processed white flour given his commitment to better nutrition. It was the flyer we got in the newspaper this weekend that really shocked me.  It featured all his new products that are now available at Sobeys stores.  He now has his own line of frozen foods exclusively available at...

The fundraiser is over and I am physically and mentally exhausted.  We had an amazing turn out and the bouncy castle and games were a huge hit with the kids.  Believe it or not, I won ALL 3 baking contests!  Mom Who Runs cookie recipe really is the bomb.  There was only one other pie entry to be honest, but hey I'll take 1st place!  I gave the trophies to the second place winners.  The gingerbread houses were sold off at the end. But seriously, stress is so toxic.  Really its so stupid that we all get worked up over what is really such insignificant stuff.  I'm as guilty of it as the next person.  I constantly need to remind myself to put it all in perspective.  But I'm pleased with how it went and am looking forward to a quiet weekend.  Oh wait, its only Wednesday.  Oh yeah, and our upcoming weekend is like insanely jam-packed.  Sigh! Moving on to food. One of the things that is fairly consistent among ...

Tonight is the daycare fundraiser.  I have had butterflies since I woke up yesterday morning.  But now I'm freaking out about something else: One of the board members, and a good friend of mine, was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery yesterday!  Nothing like something like that to put things into perspective!  So what the fuck if the whole thing bombs tonight???  I just hope she's going to be okay.  But it does mean that she and her wife will not be able to come to the fundraiser.  Sheesh, if they didn't want to come, there are easier ways to get out of it.  Ha ha! Anyways, I have had lots of great people helping me so I think just maybe we will be able to pull it off. And in the midst of it all, I was able to bake stuff for the contests.  Along with the gingerbread house, I made these cookies.    I used Mom Who Runs' favorite recipe and just swapped out white flour for whole spelt and brown sugar for coconut ...

Wow, the weekend went fast.  Too fast.  And now it's the day before the fundraiser and I feel like there are still a million things to do.  On the bright side, it's gotten super cold here so the fact that I took the day off work and am stuck at home can easily be appreciated with some hot tea and cosy slippers. At least I got some of the baking done.  Worried that no one else would step up, I signed myself up for all 3 baking contests.  Today the pies get made.  Yesterday I finished the cookies and last week I put the finishing touches on the gingerbread house.  Since all these things were for OTHER people to eat (although my kids are begging to try all of it), I put no thought into the health factor.  That being said, I couldn't resist using spelt flour in the cookies, instead of white, and coconut sugar instead of brown sugar.  Whether those swap outs will make me lose the contest or not I don't know.  In any case, it's all for ...

Its been another nutty week.  Adam was away in Tampa at a conference for a few days, work was busy, I had to shuttle the girls to their various activities, and I've also been trying to make sure that everything is going smoothly in preparation for the daycare fundraiser I am organizing next Tuesday.  This week we started selling tickets and thankfully, they've been selling really well.  This thing might be a success after all! Things are not going as smoothly at home.  The girls won't stop fighting with each other.  It's constant.  They can't even look at each other without starting to bicker.  We've tried all the things the experts suggest and nothing seems to work. One of the things we are auctioning off at the fundraiser next week is a $250 gift certificate for the services of parenting expert, Nanny Robina ...I am thinking that I have to win that thing and get help with these kids!! So there isn't going to be much relaxation this weekend....

Okay, I've really been falling behind in getting out some posts I've been working on, butt I really thought I should squeeze this one out. For some reason, people really don't like talking about anything to do with their butts.  Butt , what's going on down there can be an indicator of your overall health. Most of us know that if you have blood in your stool, you should get it checked out.  We also know that we should start getting screened for colon cancer at some point (depending on family history/personal risk factors). There can also be issues with discomfort while pooping from either hemorrhoids or fissures.  This is no joke man, I can tell you from personal experience.  After both my girls were born, I developed serious fissures that made it feel like I was passing razer blades out of my butt anytime I had to poop.  I thought this was weird since I had 2 C-sections, but my OB said it's not uncommon due to the constipation caused by the h...

Oh yeah, that's no typo...Pineapple Chocolate Chili.  Wait!  Before I lose you, seriously this is SO GOOD!  I mean think about it.  There is chocolate in a mole sauce and if I said I'd made, say, chicken in mole sauce with a side of pineapple salsa, you'd probably think "Yummers!"  Well this is yummers too, I promise. The idea came to me because my mom bought this spicy chili chocolate bar and gave it to Adam because she found it too spicy.  Adam tried it and even HE found it too spicy so he suggested I cook with it.  I thought it would dress up what would otherwise be a pretty standard vegetarian chili and it worked magically, elevating it to out of this world.  The pineapple adds a lot of sweetness, the chocolate more of a complexity to the overall flavour.  A bit of cider vinegar, smoked paprika, cumin seed and chili powder round it out.  Adding additional cayenne pepper to boost the heat factor is optional.  By the wa...

For the past few winters I have been wearing the same coat.  I like how it looks well enough, but it really isn't sufficiently warm.  I always ended up layering on sweaters and vests underneath and even then would end up cold on really bitter days.  After all, weather permitting, I often ride my bike to work and when it is really freezing and/or windy, it's not pleasant.  So I finally decided I should invest in a good coat for winter.  But I also wanted it to look good.  Frankly, I am tired of huge, puffy coats  that make my look like a weeble. I did some research and finally decided on a North Face coat, which I purchased from Sporting Life online.  Supposedly water and windproof, but also pretty streamlined, I loved the way it looked. When the small, light box arrived, I was dismayed.  I unpacked the tightly folded up jacket and thought I had made a huge mistake: There was no way such a thin coat could be warm enough for w...

Food is subject to fads much like fashion.  Certain things go in and out of style.  Gluten-free food is very popular right now, but if one more person asks me to review a gluten-free cookbook, I'll scream.  Quinoa too.  Been there, done that.  I really am only interested in things that are new and different. One of the hottest food trends right now is Greek Yogurt.  The appeal is obvious.  Even low-fat versions are thick, rich and creamy and it contains significantly more protein than regular yogurt, which means it is generally more satisfying.  When I was asked to review The Greek Yogurt Cookbook by Lauren Kelly, I was pleased to FINALLY see a cookbook offering something new and different. Admittedly we don't by Greek yogurt very often, mostly because it's really expensive.  Actually, it's super simple to make yourself, I've done it before...and come to think of it, I should really do it more often!  All you do is take some...

Holy cow have we been having major mood swings in this house...and there isn't even anyone close to hitting puberty yet! Wednesday morning Little A woke up in quite a state.  I haven't seen her in such a snit in a very long time.  Basically everyone and everything made her furious and she wailed almost non-stop from the moment she got up until I dropped her at school.  Of course, her teachers reported that she had a great day after I left.  Not sure what was up with that, but when I asked, she simply said, "I was grumpy."  Yeah, well I was left with PTSD after that kid! Likewise, last night, Big A, who was otherwise behaving great yesterday, had a massive tantrum right after Adam left with his dad to see a concert.  It was like she was 4 again, I couldn't believe it.  Of course, when one kid is having a melt down and getting into trouble, the other kid is sweet as pie...and enjoying every minute of the other's downfall.  I'm telling you, I t...

Among the foods I love the most, cinnamon definitely ranks up there.  It can transform the ordinary into extraordinary, if you ask me.  One of my favorite things to do is roast or simmer fresh fruit with cinnamon.  It ends up tasting like candy.  Even the girls have a weakness for apples, plums and peaches prepared this way.  Of course, cinnamon is also awesome in oatmeal, French toast and baked goods.  Cinnamon raisin bread is a favorite in this house.  Unfortunately, it is really darn hard to find a healthy version at the grocery store.  Most have refined flour in them and they all seem to be full of sugar.  So here is my version.  Not only is it sweet, moist and aromatic (the whole house smelled heavenly after I baked up this bread!), but it also happens to be gluten-free and sugar-free.  You can eat it plain, like you would a quick bread, or you can slather it (toasted or untoasted) with nut butter, jam, honey or your ...

As I write this review I feel like I'm going to barf.  Why?  Because of the revolting stench of Spray Thin's 'savoury' spray . In all honesty, when they asked if I wanted to try it, my plan was to use Adam as my guinea pig because he always complains about being hungry all day at work.  He often snacks so much he can barely eat dinner.  Unfortunately, I forgot that he doesn't have a very good sense of smell (he thinks its from breaking his nose during rugby as a kid). So I decided I'd give it a try.  The Globe and Mail nutrition expert recently wrote about these products and concluded that there are far better ways to control your food intake.  After my experience I have to agree! There are a few studies showing that certain scents seem to make people eat less. They come in 2 scents: sweet (strawberry) and savoury (cheese).  I sprayed a bit of the sweet on my oatmeal one morning.  Can't say it had any effect at all.  I don't really li...

Check out my latest Huffington Post article !

Hey man, how was your weekend?  Ours was pretty good.  Went by too quickly though.  I am pleased to say that as of today, I still have straight hair!  I can't believe how much easier and faster it is to do my hair now.  Yay! You have to be living under a rock to not have heard about the antics of our total moron of a mayor.  If you are flabbergasted that such a man could get into office, believe me, many Torontonians feel the same. On some level it makes sense though, if you know some of the political, economic and demographic history of the city.  Adam gave me a book called, Some Great Idea to read, written by a Toronto journalist, Edward Keenan.  If you are interested in Toronto politics, I highly recommended, it's fascinating. Crazy busy week so I gotta get moving.  In fact, I apologize for this, but things are so busy, I may only post a few times a week for the next few weeks.  In any case, have a fabulous Monday.

So I did something purely for vanity yesterday: I got a Keratin hair straightening treatment!  After my failed attempt several months ago to embrace my curls (it's just never going to happen folks!), I resigned myself to spending every morning blow drying my hair as straight as possible.  Unfortunately, for some reason, my hair holds water like a kid holds candy, and if my hair has any moisture left in it, it just curls up again.  This means that it takes a long time to dry it.  I have to towel dry it very well and then let it air dry for about an hour (no joke!  I usually walk the girls to school with wet hair THEN come home and blow it dry) before I attempt to blow it dry (which takes at least another 5-10 minutes depending on how damp it still is).  Then, of course, I have to apply like 6 different oils, conditioners and potions.  If there is any humidity in the air, I have to put on a hat when I go out initially until the straig...

This was one of the recipes I used the pumpkin butter in...mmm, these are AMAZING!!  Just keep in mind they are delicate, so remove them carefully from you waffle maker (and make sure you've oiled/sprayed your waffle maker well beforehand). Pumpkin Oatmeal Waffles 2 cups oat flour (gluten-free if necessary) 1 cup large flake oats (gluten-free in necessary) 2 tbls stevia baking blend or powdered stevia 2 tbls baking powder 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups pumpkin butter 10 egg whites (or flax eggs) 1.5 cups water Whisk all ingredients together and then let sit for 15 minutes.  Make according to directions on your waffles maker.  This recipe made 5 large round waffles, but it depends on the size and shape of your waffle maker.  Extras can be frozen. This recipe has been shared with Gluten-Free Friday and Wellness Weekend .

The girls had us buy them massive pumpkins for their Jack-o-lanterns this year.  I felt we couldn't just toss them out, so after Halloween was over, I chopped up as much as I could (before arm fatigue set in) and cooked it down into pumpkin butter.  Oh my, this stuff is so good!  I think I'll be doing this every year! This stuff can be used as a topping for pancakes or waffles, as an ingredient in baked goods, smoothies, oatmeal, or just spread onto bread.  Already I've made pumpkin cranberry chocolate chip muffins and pumpkin oatmeal spice waffles with it.  So freakin' yummy! If you don't have so much pumpkin, just half the recipe or reduce as needed. Pumpkin Butter 16 cups peeled, cubed pumpkin 2 tbls lemon juice 1 cup water 2 droppers stevia (vanilla or plain) 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp sea salt Place ingredients in a large pot and cover with lid.  Cook over med/med-low heat until pumpkin is falling ...

  I have been dying to dry jackfruit since I learned you could simulate pulled meat with it.  A fruit that simulates pulled meat?  Um yes please! Unfortunately, most of the time when I was able to find it in cans, it was either in syrup or ridiculously expensive.  Then I finally found it for a really good price at...Shoppers Drug Mart of all places!  So I snatched up 2 cans to try. Jackfruit is cultivated in parts of Asia and Africa.  The flesh is a good source of vitamin C, and the seeds are a good source of protein.  When you get it in cans, there are only a few seeds, so I decided to add beans to this dish to bump up the protein content.  I was a little nervous about how it would taste...it does have a weird texture for a fruit, after all, but I was pleasantly surprised: I really like it!  It doesn't have a strong taste, so you could really flavour it anyway you want. I served this in whole grain wraps with melted cheese (you c...

Good Monday morning!  How was your weekend?  Ours was fun.  Costco.  Loblaws.  Swim lessons.  Baking.  Hebrew School.  A birthday party.  Playdates.  And now we're back to Monday again. Because I love my work, I don't dread Mondays, but boy do I dislike certain things about weekdays.  I hate making the girls' lunches.  It's just another thing to get done every day.  What's even more annoying is how much food comes back uneaten, even if it's food they requested.  This is particularly true of Big A.  I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised by Little A, I thought the whole lunch thing would be even tougher with her, but actually, it's Big A who is more of a challenge.  Little A generally eats most of her food, and if she doesn't finish, she eats the healthy stuff first and leaves her treat over (often eating it when I come to pick her up at the end of the day or even saving it for the next day).  She...

So how was your Halloween? Mine was much less scary than expected, thank goodness. I am really proud of myself though, because I really pushed the limits of my comfort zone.  You may recall that a few months ago I drove to New York State on my own, and this was a huge accomplishment for me, having only become a driver in my 30s, and having never done a highway trip solo before.  Well, yesterday, I went to visit my parents in Kingston (my dad just got out of the hospital after having a hip replacement surgery), and, yup, drove there all by myself!  This trip, although familiar, is almost twice the distance of the New York trip.  In addition, it was horrible weather yesterday.  So much so, that my mom called in the morning to tell me she was worried about me making the drive.  But I had made the decision to do it.  My parents needed me, and I was tired of letting this fear limit me.  I'd done most of the drive before (Adam and I usually sha...