Healthy Life Lessons

I hate colds.  They really suck.  Adam is vulnerable to coughs when he gets a cold, but me, I always produce enough mucus to gum up Niagara Falls.  Breathing becomes a chore and I usually end up with a very sore nose from blowing it so much.  Blech!  Honestly, I would rather get a gastro bug than a cold.  Why?  Because if you are barfing, you have no choice but to stay home in bed, and generally those types of illnesses are very brief.  A cold, however, can last weeks, and although they usually make you feel completely miserable, they aren't serious enough to justify staying in bed for their duration.  Consequently, you have to continue on with your day-to-day responsibilities even though you aren't 100%.  Also, most of us are hit with many more colds than we are most other types of minor infections...especially when you are a parent to little germ-bags! These days, there are a bajillion health products on the market...

Let's talk about sex baby, let's talk about you and me... Come on, you know that George Michael song???  Or am I just giving away my age...I was a big fan of his as a kid.  In fact, I fantasized about marrying him until my brother smugly informed me that he is gay.  I was very disappointed. So actually I do want to talk about sex.  I do so every day.  Yep, pretty much.  Because I'm a perv?  No...at least I don't think so.  Because I am a therapist, and it almost always comes up in one way or another with clients.  In particular, with couples facing infertility, a number of challenges around intimacy can emerge.  Often too frequent, timed, high pressure intercourse for the purpose of conceiving, coupled with not conceiving leads couples to associate sex with failure and disappointment.  Men often develop performance anxiety because they need to be able to 'produce' at a specific time.  Women are often so distraught over t...

It's funny how kids are so affected by colour, you know?  Or maybe it's not that weird, I guess we all are.  They've done studies that colours affect our mood, appetite and various aspects of our behaviour.  But kids are particularly funny about colour when it comes to food.  Naturally vibrantly coloured foods (like fruits and veggies!) they often shy away from, while artificially coloured bright foods (like gummy bears and fluorescent frosted cupcakes) attract them like moths to fire.  I have even heard about some kids who won't touch any food of a certain colour under any circumstances.  Normally, like my kids, its foods in the green family that can be a turn off for young people.  Apparently pink foods are appealing.  This is just another reason to love beets!  By the way, aside from being packed with antioxidants, beet juice can improve performance in endurance sports.  So you might just want to dump the cocon...

Are you a new mom in the Toronto area? If so, sign up now for my upcoming Post-Partum Wellness course!!

Is it Monday again already?  Why do weekends go by so quickly?  After some relief from the cold temps, I hear they're coming back this week.  Grr! Well here is a hearty recipe to warm you up.  We enjoyed it for dinner Saturday night.  It is kind of a mash up of African-inspired dishes.  I found the Berbere spice blend I got in Kensington Market a few months ago and realized I hadn't yet opened it.  I started to think about what to make with it.  Traditionally its used to season chicken or meat, or to spice up a pulse stew made from lentils or split peas.  I kinda did both here.  But - maybe because it's winter - was looking for something a bit richer, so I threw in some peanut butter like I do when I make Nigerian Groundnut Stew.  Cabbage, peppers and sweet potato made their way in too because that's what I had in the fridge.  Best of all, I created a dish that is both healthy and delicious, containing meat for my carnivor...

Wow, have mornings been up and down this week!  Unfortunately, when they are bad, they are really bad.  It usually starts with one of the girls waking up in a bad mood and then goes downhill from there.  It's usually Little A who wakes up in a snit (particularly on Mondays, or in the case of 4 day weeks like this one, Tuesdays) but then Big A sees this as an opportunity to taunt her.  There has been lots of fighting.  Big A also gets obnoxious and defiant and complains about the unfairness of her life when asked to simply dress herself or clean up after herself.  The only morning when there was peace and quiet, I discovered (too late) that the girls were playing tattoo parlour with those stupid washable tattoos that actually do not wash off.  They both now look like members of a motorcycle gang.  This morning Little A was positively delightful while Big A had me wanting to tear my hair out with her obnoxious attitude. Oh well, at least t...

I love sundried tomatoes.  If I hadn't met Adam, I think I would marry them.  Every time I make something with them I wonder why I don't eat them more often.  Which is why I came up with this recipe.  It made enough for 3 lunches for me, which meant I got to eat them several times in one week with minimal effort.  Yah for that!  Don't mind my awful photos.  This stuff may look like poop, but it doesn't taste like it.  It tastes fabulous.  I actually found that it tastes better a day after you make it.  The bean flavour kind of disappears and the sundried tomato flavour takes over.  If you use less basil than I did it will retain more of a red, rather than brown colour. I put it on Ryvita crackers, but you can also spread it on bread or in a wrap, or make it a dip for veggies, or just spoon it into your mouth.  It is strongly flavoured, which is how I like it, but you can adjust everything to suit your own taste...

Recently I was sent Developing the Core to review from Human Kinetics .  As a big fan of core training, I was excited to receive it. Core strength is important for pretty much everything we do, whether its high performance sports, or everyday activities.  It affects our posture, susceptibility to injury and our mobility. Unfortunately, the book doesn't have all that much to offer for someone like myself except for detailed anatomical and physiological information about the core.  It is geared towards athletes or individuals training for a particular sport, rather than just a fitness enthusiast like myself.  I guess if I have clients I am training for a specific sport or event it could help me create a training program for them but most of my clients don't fall into that group. Nevertheless, it does what it intends to do very well and if you are, indeed, someone training for a sport or event and need some background on how to use core training to en...

For the next year, you are going to consume nothing but water with lemon juice and cayenne pepper and green juice.  JUST KIDDING! I don't believe in detoxes or cleanses actually.  Why?  The body is designed to detoxify on its own and basically most people use these absurdly extreme diet regimens in the hopes of compensating for a shitty lifestyle.  Well it don't wok that way folks!  There is no evidence these cleanses do anything except maybe lead to a few pounds of weight loss, which will just be regained once regular habits are resumed. That being said, there are many things you can do to minimize your risk from external toxins.  So what's the best way to keep yourself as "Detoxified" as possible?  Don't eat donuts.  And here are some more tips. 1. Exercise .  Sweating eliminates toxins naturally.  You also get all the other health benefits that go along with physical activity.  Get to it! 2. Drink lots of wate...

Today is Family Day in Ontario.  It's a provincial holiday meant for families to enjoy some time together.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of families out there who are not having a happy relaxing holiday today.  Some of them are very close to us, including my friend whose family is gearing up for her post ovarian cancer diagnosis hysterectomy and my friend Megan, who is STILL in the hospital after the emergency last week.  Oh, and, Little A's friend who is still in the hospital, along with his mom, who has been basically living there the past few weeks.  Of course, there are also many others dealing with crises, or who simply don't have the time (they still have to work today) or money to do something special, never mind put food on the table! Just another reminder of how fortunate we are.  We've had a great weekend.  I had clients Friday night, Saturday and even yesterday, but Saturday Adam took the girls skating while I grocery shopped ...

Ah Valentine's Day!  I holiday for retailers to guilt us into buying sappy cards, ridiculously over-priced, heart-shaped chocolates, and red roses grown with toxic chemicals that have poisoned the underpaid pickers in developing countries for our loved ones. As you can see, I grew up in a home where Valentine's Day was not observed.  Neither was Mother's Day and Father's Day really, as my parents see all these holidays as commercialized nonsense. I wholeheartedly agree that they are commercialized nonsense, but the sentiment is nice.  Few of us acknowledge our loved ones as often as we should.  As a counsellor, I often have clients tell me how much they love, appreciate or empathize with various people in their lives, but when I inquire, rarely have they thought to tell that person.  I honestly think that we tend to forget how important this is, or we assume that a person knows how we feel.  Even if someone does know, it always feels g...

  Of course I had to make a healthier version of the standard sugary Valentine chocolates most of us buy!  No way I was buying cinnamon hearts or kisses for the girls.  I knew they'd love the pink filling on these and I was hoping they would make up for the fact that I ate most of the Peppermint Dreams (Oops!). You can flavour these anyway you want, and if you are better at fiddly things than I am, you can make them look beautiful.  I had hoped to find heart-shaped candy molds or silicon molds, but didn't manage to before I made these.  I guess I'll aim to get better prepared for next year. I promise your sweetheart will love these, not just because they taste amazing, but because they won't get a sugar rush from them and they are pretty guilt-free...unless you eat them all at once maybe! Sweetheart Truffles Chocolate Coating 175g unsweetened chocolate 4 tbls coconut butter 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp pure powdered stevi...

  This dish was inspired by the beautiful organic beets my lovely neighbour Lisa gave us last week.  I love beets and I decided they were the perfect ingredient to create a super-healthy Valentine's dish.  Admittedly, my love doesn't get all that turned on by beets...nor by most grains, beans or greens.  These things are more my thing.  But he doesn't have to worry, I will be sure to make him one of his favorite meals (anything involving chicken, pizza or pasta) next weekend, which is Valentine's weekend, after all. Nevertheless, while Adam confessed that he was initially scared by how healthy this dish appeared, he was surprised by how good it tasted.  It's never going to rank up there as one of his favorites, but then he has never been a big fan of quinoa and the most complimentary thing he says about beets is that they are 'fine'. I think this dish rocks, and even the girls were thrilled by the colour, the beets turn everything purple......

Cooking yummy things doesn't have to take a long time.  Really!  And cooked from scratch foods tastes so much better than what you buy premade.  Usually, it's also way healthier. Want an amazingly delicious dish in 20 minutes?  This has just 3 major ingredients, and all you do is stick it in the microwave.  Forget about French fries, this dish made with healthy fats and seasonings blows em' out of the water!! This can be a side dish, or, if you add a can of chickpeas and some chopped kale, it can be an entire, superfast meal. Amazing 20-Minute Coconut Curried Potatoes 4 large potatoes (white waxy or yellow-fleshed baking potatoes both work fine), cubed 1 can coconut milk (full fat works best) 1 tbls curry powder (mild or spicy) 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste Toss all ingredients together in microwave-save baking dish and cover.  Cook on high for 10 minutes and then stir.  Cook for another 10 minutes and serve.

Its the start of another cold, snowy week here, but this morning the sun is shining bright.  I am happy to say our new breakfast rule is continuing to make mornings go much smoother.  We were out the door in good time today, which always puts me in a better mood.  The girls were also in good spirits, partially because they were thrilled to have one of their new favorite treats packed in their lunches. This recipe I made for the girls got me the ultimate compliment from the girls: They thought they tasted as good as all the ones, "Made by big companies".  In other words, just as decadent as the sugar-filled nightmares you get at the grocery store.  Believe me, coming from them, this is a big compliment.  In fact, they taste so sweet and delicious, they were actually a bit surprised I let them eat them.  Well, no sense bursting their bubble and telling them these are healthy.  In fact, they are sugar-free, gluten-free, nut-free and vegan....

First off, I want to wish my Grandma Ruth a Happy 95th Birthday today!  I am sad that her dementia for the past few years has made it difficult for us to communicate, but I am looking forward to seeing her again in March when I go down to New York City for a visit. Compared to a lot of women, I'm pretty low maintenance.  I can very happily live with discount beauty products and clothing.  My beauty products come from the drug store, and my clothes mostly come from H&M, Winners, etc.  You will not likely catch me buying clothes, make-up or accessories in luxury stores or buying luxury brands.  There are a few exceptions, such as fragrance (I am still hooked on Lavanila Vanilla Grapefruit scent) and running shoes - since I workout so much it is really important to have good ones...although I almost always buy them when they are majorly on sale).  Another thing I will never again skimp on is my DermOrganic Argan Oil Leave-in Treatment ! My hai...

When I was offered a sample of Pines Wheat Grass powder, I thought it would be a perfect way to get more green stuff into my kids.  Just 1-1/4 tsp is packed with nutrition.  I thought the simplest thing would be to mix it with a bit of juice, which is a treat for them, and then, at least on days when they've eaten nothing that is plant based, at least I'd know they got some goodness.  If you want to know all about the health benefits of wheat grass, and the value of their products over other on the market, visit the company's website . Here is the nutritional analysis for 1 serving of their Wheatgrass Powder: Nutritional Analysis of PINES Wheat Grass This is not a complete list of the nutrients in PINES Wheat Grass. This analysis simply lists those nutrients shown on our labels. Most whole plant foods, including PINES Wheat Grass, contain hundreds of nutrients, including carotenoids, pigments, trace minerals, and phytonutrients. NOTE: Percent Daily Value (%D...

  I won't lie, no matter how mindful I am, how much deep breathing I do, how much gratitude I practice, weekday mornings are hard. The girls can drive me nuts in a very short period of time.  If one of them wakes up in a bad mood, in particular, things can go downhill pretty fast.  Some days they can't even be in the same room without fighting.  Other days they make a big fuss over the smallest little thing (like the injustice of having to dress themselves or make their beds).  Every day breakfast is an issue.  I've mostly given up on trying to get them to eat what I would like them to eat (oatmeal, fruit, protein, etc.), but the battle is about getting breakfast made and eaten in a reasonable amount of time and me not ending up feeling like their servant. This didn't used to be as much of an issue because they were both - particularly Big A - super early risers.  But lately they are sleeping later, which means they get started with the whole ...

Yesterday actually turned out to be a rather mild, sunny, lovely day.  Today, unfortunately, isn't looking so promising so far and apparently there is a lot of snow coming tonight.  But a good night sleep and a great morning workout have left me feeling full of spunk.  I know I have written about brain health before, but its worth reporting on the most updated research in this area. Lifestyle affects not only our weight and risk of heart disease, Type II diabetes and many cancers, but also our risk of dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.  Wondering what you need to do to minimize your risk? Here are some tips based on the most recent research findings, summarized in the Nutrition Action Health Letter for January/February 2014: Keep your blood pressure in a healthy range; Keep your blood sugars/insulin low (stick to foods that are low on the Glycemic Index ); Perform aerobic exercise regularly; Train your brain (read, play, learn new skills, socialize, e...

  It's the first Monday in February.  Once again we're in for a cold, dreary day.  If you're feeling a little down in the dumps, than this recipe should brighten your mood.  It is one of the most unhealthy/decadent tasting healthy desserts I have ever tried!  Honestly, it is so good.  This one isn't mine, though, but heck, I wish I came up with it!! But before I get to the recipe, we'll talk weekend.  I know my Gratitude Challenge is over, but I have so many things I am thankful for.  First off, my foot.  Yes, my foot.  Friday morning after my workout in our home gym, I tripped over our BOSU ball.  I am the first one to admit I am a total klutz!  My foot rolled in a really not good way and it hurt like absolute hell.  I iced it and taped it and it seemed okay.  I took the girls to school, did some things around the house, and then took public transport to work.  At about 5pm, I was in a session with ...