Healthy Life Lessons

Did ya know that Hulk Hogan is still kicking (throwing people) around?  In fact, he's still wrestling! I only know this because my sweet, brilliant husband loves wrestling.  Yes, he is an enigma. Anyways, I call these Hulk Hogan Veggie Burgers because they are manly, meaty and huge.  No tree-hugging veggie burgers here.  But in all honesty, perhaps I should call them Trish Stratus burgers - after the Canadian former wrestler cum yoga guru, because they are also healthy and virtuous. I am an omnivore, so I tend to like anything with the word 'burger' in it's name to be hearty and 'meaty', but at the same time I aside from wild salmon or chicken burgers, I generally stick with veggie burgers.  I don't think I've eaten a beef burger since 1995 (I think my residence roomies convinced me to go to McDonalds one morning after a particularly wild party, with the promise that it cured hangovers). I tend to stick with a few tried and true brands that I

Recently I discovered a new line of products at Fiesta Farms  : One Degree Organic Foods ! I purchased their organic sprouted spelt flour and I have been absolutely thrilled with the results.  Every recipe I've used it in so far, has baked up absolutely light and scrumptious.  They also have regular spelt flour, regular whole wheat, and sprouted whole wheat.  The company also manufactures breads, seeds and legumes. What's cool about their products is that each bag has a code on the front which you can scan to find out on what farm the item was grown.  Their website lists their farmers, which are mostly in Western Canada, and the U.S. I've started to find their products at Herbs and Nutrition , my favorite local health food store in Toronto, and their website allows you to search for retailers across North America. 

French fries probably rank up there with one of the most popular foods in North America.  Although I always liked them well enough as a kid, they weren't one of my faves, but I certainly remember them being the top choice of most of my peers. I recall many of my friends in highschool buying the fries & gravy from our school's cafeteria, however, I never did.  First off, I don't like deep fried food. The smell really gets me!  Second, I prefer fries with ketchup and only ketchup.  I once tried poutine from Bubba's (if you grew up in Kingston, you know this place!).  Once was enough.  Third, in highschool I was busy satisfying my sweet tooth with oatmeal raisin cookies the size of my head which were also sold by our cafeteria.  But my kids and Adam love fries, and I do enjoy the occasional plate of baked fries, so I set out to make some this past weekend.  Adam also adores gravy on his, so I decided to attempt a healthy, vegetarian gravy that he would love.  Bo

If you love fennel like I do, than you'll love this recipe.  If you are not a meat eater, you could easily make this vegetarian by using crumbled tempeh instead of turkey.  Yummy over pasta or spaghetti squash, this makes a great comfort food meal. 1/2 tsp olive oil 1 large fennel bulb 3-4 cloves garlic 2 cups creamy milk (I used unsweetened, plain soy) or cream 2 tsp fennel seed Fresh grated nutmeg, to taste Salt and pepper, to taste 1 lb ground turkey or chicken (or 350g package tempeh, crumbled) 700ml jar pasta sauce (or 28oz can ground tomatoes) 2 tsp dried basil (or 2-3 tbls fresh basil, chiffonaded) Crushed red chili flakes, to taste (optional) 1 lb whole grain pasta (gluten-free, if desired), cooked al dente Remove fronds (green, leafy parts) from the fennel and finely chop in food processor.  Set aside.  Take fennel bulb, remove core, and thinly slice.  Place oil, sliced fennel and garlic in a large pan or skillet.  Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

While some folks around here are probably grumbling about the chilly weather this morning, I'm delighted.  Farewell Summer, don't let the door hit you on the way out!  It's going to warm up a bit over the week, but even today's 16 celcius is fine with me.  The sun is shining and the air is fresh and beautiful. It was a lovely weekend in our house and it actually seemed to end too quickly.  Friday I had my annual physical and I met my new family doctor for the first time.  My old one, who I loved, moved to Calgary and this woman took over her practice.  She seems great too.  She confirmed that there are some people, like myself, that are complete non-responders to pain medications.  Great!  Friday evening I visited one of my best friends, Sheri, who presented me with some lovely birthday gifts: a pair of earings, and this lovely tea set from David's Tea : A tea cup that you can brew the tea in, and two types of loose leaf tea:   Organic Hot Lips Ginger

Aside from a lot of oatmeal, fruits and veggies, beans and whole grains (oh and lots and lots of cappuccino frosties ), here is what I've been consuming lately: Moon Music I am a loyal reader of Faye Kellerman (and Jonathan Kellerman) mysteries.  They're great for relaxing and not thinking too hard.  But this novel really blew me away.  Interesting characters and a spellbinding mystery that had me hooked and unable to put it down. 50 Shades of Grey I would have ignored all the media hype about this book, but one of my good friends was reading it and couldn't stop talking about it.  I decided I had to check out what all the fuss was about.  It's not a well written book, in fact, some parts had me cringing, but it is definitely entertaining.  But I don't think it's because of the sex scenes - at least not for me - it's the emotional relationship between the characters that's compelling. Ministry of Special Cases This is a fascinating story

Happy Friday and first day of autumn!!   What if you forgot to take out your contact lenses one evening, but still put on your glasses? What if you then couldn't figure out why everything looked a bit funny? What if while watching t.v. with your husband, you took off your glasses and realized you could see the t.v. perfectly? What if you momentarily - before realizing you'd simply forgotten to take out your contact lenses - thought there had been a miracle and your nearsightedness had suddenly been cured? This is all hypothetical of course, it didn't really happen to me last night...really, I'm not that big a dufus...he he...     Anyhoo, on to food.   As I've complained mentioned many times before, Adam generally prefers meat and flour-based carbs (bread, pasta, etc.) to beans and whole grains, however, he is particularly averse to quinoa (which, I know, is technically a seed).  He claims it has nothing to do with not actually liking the t

I just found out I've been nominated for Circle of Mom's top 25 bloggers contest again.  I would be grateful if all you readers out there who enjoy my brilliance and wit could please vote for me once per day (yes, very inconvenient) between now and October 11, 2012.  Thank you, thank you!

                                              Image Source I don't know why, but I seem to be immune to painkillers.  For someone who periodically gets debilitating headaches (mostly allergy-related), this really sucks. Regular or even extra strength over-the-counter drugs like acetomenophen (Tylenol), ibuprofin (Advil), or asceticylic acid (Aspirin) do about as much for me as Tic Tacs.  I watch Adam pop a single Advil and get pain relief and I'm envious.  Even prescription drugs don't seem to work for me.  Toradol, Tylenol 3s, and Naproxen?  All useless.  The low-dose oxycontins given to me after my c-section when I had Little A?  About as effective as Skittles.  I've had short-term success for headache relief by combining some of the prescription drugs, but this never lasts long.  Even the morphine they gave me when I was in labour with Big A (I wasn't dilating so they didn't give me the epidural until 9 hours into serious contractions), did absolute

I came up with this recipe as another 'treat' option to pack in Big A's lunch box.  No one can believe how healthy they are!  Sugar-free, low fat, and whole grain, but all you taste is moist, sweet, fudgy goodness. The one pictured above is still frozen from the freezer (I pull one out the night before to pack in Big A's lunch)...but these are so good you may not be able to wait for them to defrost.  Big A loves these so much, I may be making them again and again. Sugar-Free Banana Brownies 2 ripe bananas, mashed 2 whole eggs 1/4 cup stevia baking blend  (or other sugar substitute) 1/4 cup organic canola oil 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup spelt flour 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt Whisk together wet ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine dry ingredients, and add to wet, stirring just until mixed.  Scrape batter into greased 8x8 square pan.  Bake at 350F for 16 minutes.  Let cool and frost, if desired. Chocolate-Banana Frosting 1 r

The only good thing about the picnic last week was that my chili was a success.  Full of veggies, this dish is flavourful, and satisfying.  Perfect for the 'chili' weather that autumn brings. This recipe makes a large quantity, so you can half it, or make the whole thing and freeze some for a quick meal later on.          Orange Chipotle Chili 1 tsp olive oil 1 onion 3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 4-5 garlic cloves 3 cups sprouted organic bean mix (or red lentils) 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced 2 zucchini, diced 1 red pepper, diced 1 green pepper, diced 2 tbls chili powder 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp salt 2 tbls dried jalapeno or 1 fresh, diced (optional, for extra heat) 8 cups water 1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes 1 can black beans 1 can red kidney beans Juice and zest of 1 orange 1/2 cup fruit-sweetened orange spread (or 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate) Put onion, chipotle peppers and garlic in food processor

This weekend Big A had a playdate with her 'boyfriend' on Sunday.  Oh my goodness, he is such a cutie!  The two of them are so adorable together.    Since his family also celebrates Rosh Hashana, we decided to bake them some new year cookies.  The girls taste-tested them and were smitten.  These incorporate many traditional foods of the season (apples, honey, raisins) and are appealing to kids and adults alike.    I added white chocolate chips so they wouldn't taste 'too healthy', but you can customize them any way you like.     Rosh Hashana Cookies 1.5 cups spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour 1.5 cups large flake oats 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup apple sauce 1 apple, finely grated (don't have to peel) 1/2 cup honey (if you don't eat honey, agave syrup will work too...maybe even maple syrup) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup raisins Optional add-ins: vegan white chocolate chips or butterscotch

It seems everyone is doing some version of chocolate-chip-cookie-dough dip these days.  This doesn't appeal to me much, but lately I've been wondering if it could be one option to expand Big A's limited repertoire of lunches.  Chickpeas dressed up as cookie dough might be the only way to get my girls excited about legumes.  But I have reservations about frequently making her lunches involving chocolate chips.  Like most kids, I think she already gets way too much sugar. So I got thinking...what OTHER kind of 'dough' or baked good flavour could I use with chickpeas as a base?  Then it struck me: Carrot Cake!  No chocolate chips needed and added bonus of some veggies.  I got so excited coming up with this recipe, that I decided to make it for my own lunch instead.  After all, I gotta test it out first to ensure it's kid-friendly, right?? I enjoyed this a lot, simply spread into a whole-grain wrap and rolled up.  But it would be amazing on whole-grain graham

Last night goes down as one of the worst and most embarrassing in my parenting history...except perhaps for this evening . Little A's good mood ended.  Abruptly. Of course, I have no one else except myself to blame, because as soon as I picked up the girls from daycare yesterday she was in full-on meltdown mode and I should have known what was coming.  I should have gone straight home.  But instead, I took the girls and a gargantuan amount of food I had prepared to the picnic at a local park for Big A's school. I was hoping that the playground, other kids, and yummy eats would snap her out of it.  But she was at the point of no return before we even arrived.  Just overly tired, as our little nap-resistant darling is, MOST of the time.  Her behaviour is a perfect example of how critical it is to get sufficient sleep and how simply being tired and sleep deprived can MAKE YOU CRAZY.  It can also make the people around you CRAZY! She basically shrieked and carried on hyster

This is not a sweet dressing, but very flavourful and delicious.  Just a word of warning: because of it's vibrant purple hue, you may not want to wear white when making or eating it! 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries Half a red onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup water 2 tbls balsamic vinegar 1 tbls dijon mustard 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste Fresh ground black pepper, to taste Place berries, garlic, onion, water and balsamic in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Turn heat down and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Let cool.  Place in blender along with mustard and puree until desired consistency is reached.  Add vinegar and seasonings.  Will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Happy Birthday to me!  And what a birthday it's been so far.  Big A woke us up at 3:45am, but then went back to sleep.  Just after I got up at 5am, Little A got up - because of some sort of nightmare involving her elbow, apparently - and did NOT go back to sleep.  The good news is that our 3 year old dictator has actually been in a delightful mood for the past few days.  We'll see what she's like tonight though, if she doesn't take a nap at daycare today like she promised. Unfortunately, today is going to be a pretty typical, busy day.  I am not seeing clients, but I have a gazillion things to do.  With the beginning of the school year, the never-ending requests for baked goods for various events has started.  Today Big A's school is having a tea party for new families, so I volunteered to make muffins.  Last year I started frequently contributing gluten-free goodies for events, and this was much appreciated by many.  This time I decided to go vegan for those fo

Beautiful Monday morning!  This is my favorite kind of weather: sunny but not too hot.  This is why I love autumn.  Unfortunately, by the end of the week, we are supposed to be back up to summer temps.  Guess I better enjoy this while it lasts... We are into the second week of the new school year and so far so good.  Packing Big A lunch and snacks every day hasn't been as painful as I expected, but we are still working with a narrow variety of approved menu options: along with the requisite fresh fruit and veggies, she is okay with: cheese and crackers; hard boiled eggs and home-made muffins; tuna-cheese quesadillas; and veggie dogs.  Thankfully, the school offers a pizza day on Fridays featuring organic, whole grain pizza from a local business.  That leaves me off the hook one day a week at least.  As far as snacks, I've been avoiding the usual packaged/processed items and I've been packing her home-made cookies or other baked goods and home-made microwave popcorn .

While my Hubby cookies taste pretty spectacular in my opinion, they still didn't achieve that crispy-chewy consistency I was going for.  Almost, but not quite.  So I was still determined to continue with my quest to make Adam a decadent-tasting but healthy bakery style chocolate chip cookie.  However I couldn't figure out how, given that to achieve the perfect consistency you need a fat that is solid at room temp.  Butter, coconut oil and even Earth Balance are not the most heart-healthy choices.  Liquid oils, avocado or other fruits just won't produce the right texture.  Than I finally came up with an idea:  Cocoa butter! Although high in saturated fat, the saturated fat in cocoa butter primarily stearic acid, which does not raise blood cholesterol levels as much as other types of saturated fat.  For more on the nutritional value of cocoa butter read this .  I found raw, organic cocoa butter at my favorite health food store.  Just a warning though: It's very price

Since getting the bad news about his cholesterol levels from his last physical, Adam suddenly seems to have developed a renewed appreciation for healthy food. But while I may be getting more compliments than normal for my various chickpea and kale-filled meals, I know what he really loves.  Like REALLY loves: chocolate chip cookies. No nuts.  No cocoa in the batter.  Just your classic plain chocolate chip. While Adam will take just about any chocolate chip cookie, his favorite are the gigantic ones you get from bakeries and cafes that are the perfect crispy-chewy texture, super sweet, and full of chocolate (and butter, sugar and white flour). He can easily handle cookies made with whole grains, but once you start messing with the other less healthy ingredients, for Adam, they start to lose their appeal.  I considered making sugar-free chocolate chips to use in these, but I suspected he wouldn't go for that... Since I have to go to Ottawa today for the CFAS conference, I th

One day I'll have to make some one elses' recipe and NOT change anything.  But then again, often my tinkering ends in deliciousness. This recipe was inspired by Dreena Burton's Almond Roasted Cauliflower, but I was intrigued with the idea of subbing the olive oil and almond meal for almond butter.  I used my father-in-law's birthday bbq last weekend as an opportunity to try it, and even among the 'not-always-fond-of-overly-healthy-food' set, it was a hit! 2 heads cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces 1/4 cup almond butter 2 tbls nutritional yeast 1/2 tsp Herbamare or regular sea salt Boiling water Whisk together almond butter, NY, and salt.  If your almond butter is liquidy, you may only need to add a few tbls of boiling water (Mine was rock solid, because it was the bottom of the jar, so I had to add a whole 1/2 cup or more before I could even start whisking).  Toss with cauliflower and then spread cauliflower on a baking sheet.  Roast at 350F f

I've been having coffee maker issues for the past few months. As I've mentioned in previous posts, my Kitchen Aid, which I got last spring blows. The glass carafe was difficult to clean by hand so I pulled the top off the first week I had it, to put it in the dishwasher, only to learn the top doesn't come off.  I'd broken it.  So I called the company and ordered the stainless steel carafe.  Ironically, this one seemed to suck out the heat from the coffee instead of keeping it hot.  It was also difficult to clean because of it's design.  The machine takes a long time to brew, and you have to put a ton of coffee in to get a strong, rich tasting beverage.  Neither the glass, nor stainless steel carafes pour without spilling...a lot, and I could never get the damn programmer working so that the machine would start by itself in the morning.  All that and I paid $100 for this piece of crap. I bought it because my beloved President's Choice coffeemaker kicked the

Happy New School Year! Today is a big day in our house: Big A starts grade 1!!  The kid is so incredibly confident, she hasn't shown the least bit of nervousness or anxiety.  In fact, when I dropped her off this morning, she eagerly lined up the minute her new teacher called the kids in, and didn't even kiss me goodbye.  She's so different from how I was...I would have been desperately clinging to my parents' legs. I always love this time of year as it really feels like a new beginning and the start of all sorts of exciting things.  It also usually means the end of the scorching summer temps is near, although I have bad memories of it being close to 30C last Thanksgiving... We had a lovely weekend to mark the end of summer holidays.  Friday I took the girls to the Ex.  We met up with my friend Jenny an her kids and went on rides, played games and won stuffed bears, ate too much sugar, checked out the farm animals and completely tired ourselves out.  Saturday we

At the Can Fit Pro conference this year, representatives from Scosche were giving out their new ear buds for people to try.  Free ear buds?  Yes please!  Not for me though.  I rarely listen to music while I work out, however Adam always does, so I thought he could review this new product for me. These ear buds are designed to be worn while exercising and retail for about $30. The company describes them as follows: Enjoy your music while you workout with these sport style earbuds. actionWRAPS II fit securely over your ear and wrap around the back of your head to ensure that they won't fall off during physical activity. Active Use Antimicrobial earbud jackets protect the actionWRAPS II from sweat and other moisture. The 3.5.ft audio cable has been designed to be non-tangling. The reinforced strain relief cable ensures that the actionWRAPS II are durable and can withstand normal tension that occurs during workouts. Compatibility Works with: Smartphones, Android Devices,