Healthy Life Lessons

Sweet Adam dutifully takes the girls and my shopping list to our Korean market twice a week to get all the produce for my cooking and baking. Unfortunately, because he doesn't cook, sometimes he gets a bit confused. Like last week I asked for cilantro and he brought home dill. What to do with a massive bunch of dill? I wasn't in the mood for the usual suspects: broiled salmon, potatoes, etc. So the dill languished in the fridge. Until yesterday, when I was looking for something to add to my tuna sandwich at lunch. We were out of my usual organic greens and the market was out of stock yesterday too. Fortunately, I spied the dill and figured, "Why not?". It was dillicious! And then it struck me how yummy it would be to try all sorts of different herbs on my sandwiches. I've had some more important decisions to make recently too. Having gotten two practicum placements for school, I had to decide whether to do one or both. The school won't let me do two ...

This is healthy, flavourful and very versatile. I made it last night with brown rice noodles and stir-fried veggies, but you could use it just with veggies, or on fish, seafood, chicken or flank steak. It is also simple to make because you throw everything into the food processor. 1/2 cup unsalted, roasted cashews Large chunk of fresh ginger 4 cloves garlic 1 bunch green onions, ends trimmed 2 hot green chili peppers (optional) A few handfuls fresh cilantro 5oz/142g fresh baby spinach 1 tsp toasted sesame oil 2 tbls low sodium soy or tamari 2 tbls fish sauce 4-6 tbls rice vinegar Place cashews in food processor with ginger and garlic and mix until finely processed. Add onions and chili if using and process again. Add cilantro and repeat. Add spinach to processor a bit at a time until it is all incorporated and then add in all the liquid ingredients. By the end, the cashews should be processed enough to be almost creamy and bind everything together.

In the fitness, diet and beauty industries, false claims are everywhere. Creams that get rid of cellulite or wrinkles, supplements that help you burn fat and exercise gizmos that can transform your physique from Homer Simpson's to Hercules'. In most cases, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. For most of us, looking good and keeping fit and healthy takes some work. You can't smoke, drink, eat Cheetos, and lie around all day and expect to look and feel like a pro athlete. Weeks ago I reviewed Gillian Michael's new DVD: Six Week Six Pack. It is a great video. Very challenging core exercises and some high intensity interval training. It is fun and a nice change from the pilates I was doing beforehand. Now, I did not start doing all this extra core training a few months ago to get six pack abs, I did it on the recommendation of my physiotherapist who thought it was key in helping to rehab my pelvic misalignment, which was supposed to help fix the pain in ...

Like many of my invented recipes, this was inspired by random ingredients I had in the house. In this case, a jar of apple butter and 2 lbs of cubed butternut squash from Costco. I love apple butter. It has no added sugar* or salt, but is full of flavour. It is pricey, but it also isn't hard to make your own. Aside from topping toast, it can be used for baking, and a component in salad dressings and sauces. The natural sweetness of this dish makes it very kid-friendly. This turned out even better than I expected and was delicious on quinoa. 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite sized pieces 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 2 lbs butternut squash, cut into cubes 1 cooking onion, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp olive oil 1/4 tsp kosher salt Fresh ground black pepper 1 tsp Herbs de Provence (optional) Sauce 1 cup apple butter 2 heaping tbls dijon mustard 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 c...

Yesterday was Family Day in Ontario. Or as my friend Nathalie says: Parent Torture Day. A day when all schools and daycares are closed as are most retail businesses and provincial government services AND it is the middle of February when the weather usually sucks. Now in Toronto there are lots of family activities to chose from, but few appropriate for kids under the age of 5. Luckily, Sunday night the girls slept at my in-laws, which gave Adam and I a chance to do something in the morning alone. I convinced my very tolerant husband to go indoor rock climbing - this being one of the things on my 2011 to-do list. It was not nearly as physically taxing as I had expected, nor as scary. We didn't kill ourselves, although Adam scraped his hand and I jammed my stupid pinky...the one I slammed in the car door a few months ago. Will we do it again? I don't know. Possibly with the kids. There were TONS of kids there, as young as about 3!! Our instructor told us that if kids c...

Adam always gushes about how much he loves chicken wings and speaks fondly of his wing and beer binges from his university days. But because they are so unhealthy, I don't know if I've seen him eat wings more than once or twice in the almost 11 years we've been together. I decided to surprise him with a healthier version last night. Personally, I am not much of a wing fan, but I do appreciate a really good, sweet, sticky BBQ sauce. Unfortunately, the ones you get in restaurants or at the grocery store are usually full of sugar: brown sugar, molasses, ketchup, etc. You might as well coat your meat in marshmellow frosting! This recipe has no added sugar, but is still sticky, sweet, tangy and delicious. You can adjust the spice/heat factor to suit your own tastes. It is also super easy to make. 1 cup all fruit/no sugar added jam (I used cherry, but peach or apricot would work well too) 1 can tomato paste 1/2 cup or more cider vinegar 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbls chil...

Today Adam and I are getting a real treat. My in-laws are taking both girls OVER NIGHT! This is a first for Little A and the first time we will be entirely child-free for a night since she was born. As a thank you, I thought Big A and I should bake them something. My mother-in-law loves homemade baked goods, appreciates healthy food, and is a chocoholic, so I thought these would be perfect. They are soft and cakey, with some chewiness from the granola and dried fruit. You can add chopped nuts too, if you like. You could also melt chocolate and drizzle over the top of them for an extra-cocoa kick. 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp sea salt 1 cup granola (I used my homemade with dried cranberries and raisins, but any will do) 3 ripe bananas, mashed 2 whole eggs 1/2 cup agave syrup, honey or maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla extract Heaping 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips Whist together wet ingredients in a large bowl. Sift together flour, ci...

It's funny just how difficult it is sometimes to see the big picture. I am speaking both literally and figuratively here. Like most of the time when we look at a problem or a piece of art or anything really, we end up focusing on certain parts or issues and don't even notice others. What we focus on depends on many factors: our personalities, our experiences, our culture and our education. This is why in academia you often find conflictual relationships between various departments, like, say, political science, economics and history. or engineering, biology and environmental studies. Everyone has their own way of looking at something and it may be no more right or wrong than any other perspective. Just different, and sometimes different perspectives conflict, but other times they may be very complimentary, but the opportunity for real progress and discovery is lost because there is a lack of communication and cooperation. Within the health and wellness field you get this...

As the saying goes, "There is a fine line between love and hate", which to me, simply underscores how easy it is to cause or experience both joy and pain in our relationships with those closest to us. Many of us have experienced this in romantic relationships at one time or another and I would say most of us have experienced these seemingly conflicting feelings towards members of our own family. Although I spent most of my youth being persecuted by my older brother (basically until he left for University when I was 14), the bruises, taunts and insults didn't stop me from worshipping the ground he walked on. There were many, many moments where I hated his guts, but if he was willing to give me the time of day and be nice to me a few minutes later, all was forgiven. Nevertheless, we were not really close, per se, possibly because there were 4 years between us and we were different genders. Therefore our priorities and interests were extremely dissimilar (although Adam ...

Big A had been begging me to make more rice pudding for her breakfast. But I was in the mood to make a different variation. She loves it, although she finds it more filling than traditional rice pudding, for some reason. What's nice about this dish is, it is vegan and gluten free, but also versatile in what you can use to make it. I used coconut oil and almond milk, but you could use butter and regular milk or coconut, soy or rice milk instead. Usually you would use a short-grain Italian rice, like arborio, to make risotto, but I only had Korean short-grain brown rice and it still worked perfectly! 1 tbls coconut oil (or butter) 1 cup short grain brown rice 3-4 cups milk (whatever kind you like - I used unsweetened almond milk) 1/4 cup agave syrup or honey 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp cinnamon Melt coconut oil in skillet or large frying pan over medium heat. Add rice and stir frequently until rice has absorbed all the oil, for a minute or two. Turn heat to medium-low and sta...

It's been so f-ing cold this winter that after my pre-breakfast coffee, I've been switching to mugs of steaming hot tea for the rest of the day. But today it is my favorite weather: about 10 celcius and sunny. The girls were dolls this morning and I'm in a great mood so I decided to make myself a treat after breakfast. I love the kick this drink has because of the cayenne, but if you don't like heat, simply omit it from the spice mix. If you don't have a milk frother, regular milk is just fine. 4 cups steaming hot coffee (dark roast or your favorite) 2 tsp good quality cocoa powder 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon Pinch of cayenne, to taste (optional) 1/4 cup non-fat milk, frothed This will make 2 large mugs or fill 1 giant enviro-mug. I consumed it all myself in my enviro-mug, but feel free to divide between 2 people if you aren't quite as gluttonous as I am ;) Place coffee filter over mug (I simply took one of my unbleached bamboo paper filters and folded edges ar...

The inspiration for this sauce came from a dish created by Chef Michael Smith on his cooking show, "Chef at Home". So if you think it seems pedestrian to make a sauce with pickles, put that in your pipe and smoke it! This is easy to make, great with fish and is kid-friendly. Per person: 3-4 tbls low-fat or fat-free mayo or Miracle Whip 2 good quality dill pickles, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp dried dill or 2 tbls fresh dill freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 tsp fresh lemon zest (optional)

This dish is yummy and very versatile. If you don't like spicy food, just omit the crushed red pepper flakes. It will still be delicious and flavourful. Instead of chicken, you can easily substitute tofu, seafood or beef. You can use any number of your favorite veggies. Besides what I used, other good options are snow peas, carrots, celery, baby bok choy, and/or Japanese eggplant. 200g brown rice vermicelli noodles 1 tsp peanut or canola oil 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite sized pieces 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh ginger 2 tbls lemongrass, minced in food processor or cut into 2 inch pieces and removed after cooking (optional) 1 head broccoli, chopped (steamed a few minutes, if desired) 2 yellow, red or orange sweet bell peppers 2 lb button mushrooms, sliced in half 1 bunch green onions, sliced on bias in 1cm pieces Couple of handfuls fresh coriander, roughly chopped Sauce 1 can light coconut milk 1/4 cup tomato paste 1 t...

Do you have a favorite day of the week? Do you have one that you detest? Like most people, Saturday is my favorite day. Adam is home until at least 6:45am, before leaving for the gym, as opposed to 6:15am during the week. So I occasionally get help getting Big A dressed and breakfasted, if she is up early (Little A rarely wakes up before 7am). Saturday also means I don't have to rush the kids out to get Big A to school. I have time for a second cup of coffee, if I want one, and to leisurely eat my breakfast while reading the weekend newspapers, if the girls allow me to. Sundays are also fun. Adam stays with the girls in the morning while I head off for my one day at the gym. I get to do my intense weights work out for the week, see all my friends and acquaintances at the JCC, and teach my spinning class. After Little A's nap, we usually do family activities (Yesterday we took the girls skating for the first time! It was a big hit with Big A, not so much with Little A). ...

One of my recent assignments for school was going to observe the communication style differences of a minority cultural group and compare it to mainstream Canadian culture. So I chose to go to a local Korean grocery store. I've been there many times, but this time I spent over an hour watching staff and patrons and writing down observations for my paper. So I had to buy something, right? Given my love of ethnic food, I enjoy finding new ingredients to cook with. So I bought a few staples (Chinese five spice powder, Japanese pepper blend, organic edamame for the kids, ponzu sauce) as well as a few new things. I was super excited to find lemon rice vinegar, but unfortunately, I managed to drop my grocery bag and break the glass bottle before I got home. I also decided to buy a huge bag of cabbage kimchi (marinated cabbage), which I have always enjoyed at Korean restaurants. I wanted to make Adam some red meat this weekend, in honour of Valentine's Day, and I thought it woul...

One of my New Year's resolutions was sorting out some of my minor health problems that I was dealing with. There has been some wins and some losses here. My eye doctor has switched me to daily wear contact lenses and I am feeling optimistic that this will improve my vision and avoid the chronic eye infections I had been getting. Things were also looking up in terms of my pelvic/hamstring injury and chronic blisters on my feet. Unfortunately, I've had a major regression in this area. My physiotherapist had gotten me down to one session every two weeks and the pain had improved dramatically. The serious blisters I'd been sporting on my heels had virtually healed altogether. Then the pain started getting worse through my hamstring and last week I had to miss my physio appt because Big A was home sick with me that day. It all went down hill from there. This week the pain was almost as bad as it's ever been, requiring me to get off my desk chair periodically every day...

I have found the answer that parents have been searching for for centuries, or at least since the advent of Cocoa Puffs and Cool-Aid. I will qualify this by saying that it only works if you have more than one kid and if there is some degree of sibling rivalry between them. Ready? Here it is: Don't put the veggies on your kids' plates. Put a small bowl of veggies on the table between them. I swear this works 2 out of 3 times. All of a sudden it becomes a competition between them. I have actually seen my girls fight over steamed cauliflower! Last night Little A was inhaling edamame so quickly, Adam thought she was going to choke. You are so welcome for my brilliant insight.

What the #@#% are tiger nuts, you ask? In whole form, they look like yellowish, shrivelled raspberries. No, not pretty. But they pack a mean nutritional punch. I recently discovered them at the local health food store and was intrigued by the label on the stone ground tiger nuts I purchased, which claims they are "Nature's Richest Source of Fibre". I love fibre but I have become dissatisfied with the effects of my 2 tsp of psyllium fibre I add to my morning Power Porridge every day. So I thought I'd give these a try instead. Don't worry, they are not actually the testicles of large wild cats. In fact, they aren't really nuts either, they are tubers. Not only are they full of fibre, but they are full of good fats, iron, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. The label also said they are appetite suppressing and naturally sweet tasting. I can't really comment on the taste because 2 tsp gets lost in my massive bowl of oats, ground flax, egg whites and c...

Betcha didn't know how important a role temperature plays in your fitness and health? Have you heard of Hot Yoga? This is yoga done in a room heated to about 35 celcius. My first reaction was that I would NEVER survive such a class. Remember, I HATE being hot. Like I wouldn't set foot in a sauna or hot tub...I don't even like summer. At all. But as a fitness professional, I decided I had to see what all the hype was about. I first tried a Bikram class (the original hot yoga) and although I didn't hate it, I didn't love it either. One thing besides the heat though, was that I wasn't too fond of the Bikram series of exercises. Nevertheless, last week we had a bitterly cold day, my hamstring was killing me (I've regressed a bit for some reason) and I had a free pass to a hot yoga studio. No way I would do it in warm weather, so I thought I'd try again. This time, it was a hot hatha class, however, the instructor actually did ashtanga poses. While...

This week was a complete write-off for me work-wise. Big A was home with me because she had a fever and Wednesday the school was closed anyways because of panic over the snow storm, which didn't end up being that bad. Nonetheless, I feel like a lot of significant things happened this week. First, Big A and I spent more time together than we have probably since I was on mat leave with her...and we didn't kill each other! In fact, she was incredibly well-behaved. I believe this is partly due to the fact that she loves being sick and was thrilled to be able to stay home. I tried very hard to be patient with her neediness. While I can (not that I would, hee hee) plop Little A in front of the tv and she'll happily sit there by herself while I shower and cook a four-course meal, Big A wants companionship at all times. This makes it really tough for me to get anything done. But I'm working hard at trying to relax and not worry so much about getting things done, or comp...

I didn't intend to create a new recipe for supper last night but I looked in the fridge and realized I had a variety of random ingredients that needed to get used up. The whole inspiration for this came from the pomegranate seeds Big A begged me to buy. Unfortunately, whenever she does this, she rarely ends up eating whatever she requested. One pomegranate produced about 3 cups of seeds and I think she nibbled 4-5 before she decided she was done with them. This turned out really great. Even Adam loved it and he rarely gets excited about vegetarian dishes. Use whatever veggies you have handy - I just used what I had lying around (1 head cauliflower, cut in pieces + 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut in 1 inch pieces). 1.5 cups quinoa 3 cups water 1 tsp olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 3-4 tbls fresh ginger, finely chopped 2 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed Veggies (cauliflower, asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, carrot...

These are a perfect snow day activity to do with the kids. They are definitely not the healthiest treat, but they are a family tradition. My mom used to make them with my brother and I. I am embarrassed to admit they are known as "Doody balls" in our house because my mom always thought they looked like little turds. Yes, I know, my family has an odd appreciation for bathroom humour. 3/4 cup butter (or coconut oil) 2 cups sugar 1 cup milk, any kind (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk 6 tbls good quality cocoa powder 3 cups oats 1 tsp vanilla Powdered sugar Bring butter, sugar and milk slowly up to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and stir in oats and vanilla. Chill in fridge or freezer until mixture cools and starts to firm up. Make mixture into little balls and roll in powdered sugar. Chill. Enjoy! Today was my second day home with Big A. Yesterday she was sick, today she was all better but the schools were closed. This was a perfect activity to pass the time.

I have been thinking a lot lately about why Big A and I seem to butt heads a lot. I do think there is an element of that child-caregiver goodness-of-fit theory at play. I am not a patient person. I am an obsessive-compulsive goal-oriented person. Big A is very needy with Adam and I. I don't really get it. By all accounts she is outgoing and happy at school and daycare and usually with relatives. But her default demeanor with us is to be defiant, moody, sullen and whiny. I am beginning to understand that this is how she tries to command our attention. The problem is it drives me nuts. I am very quick to get snappy and frustrated. Worse, I've noticed that even when she is behaving and acting happy, I still get frustrated with her because she wants my attention every second. Listening to "Mommy, mommy, mommy" a hundred times a minute quickly frays my nerves. That really isn't fair. What worries me most, is that I remember feeling like I never had my moth...