Healthy Life Lessons

I think it is FINALLY spring around here!  It is a beautiful, warm sunny start to the week.  How was your weekend?  Ours was great except for the civil war that occurred. The biggest challenge in this house is dealing with the girls' fighting.  Screaming, yelling, door slamming, crying.  It is so constant and so completely absurd (the two of them would fight over a who gets to eat a dead mouse if it was the only thing to fight about), that it makes me absolutely crazy. I've tried ignoring it, getting them to settle things themselves, and all the other strategies the experts recommend, but nothing seems to help.  I always tell my parents about their squabbling and this past weekend they got to witness it.  Now they know I am not at all exaggerating!  As my father pointed out, their fighting was the only blight on what was otherwise a lovely family weekend. I worked Friday evening and Saturday morning and my parents arrived on Saturday around lunch time.  Later that after

Before I left for New York, Big A and I were at each other's throats.  We'd both had enough of each other.  She was being defiant and utterly rude and obnoxious so even when I was trying to get along with her, she was goading me into fights.  It was making me nuts!  Well, as she said, we did need a break from each other, and actually we have been getting along much better since I got back from my trip. Little A, however, is another story.  Now she can never be described as an 'easy' child, but she has been so outrageously difficult this week, Adam and I even began to suspect she was coming down with something.  She has been having major fits, often because she has made completely unreasonable demands that I refuse to meet, or because Adam is not around (maybe she got too used to having him around last week?).  But sometimes the fits are triggered by things so ridiculous, I am left seriously wondering if this child has suffered a brain injury.  One morning it was be

Lately, I have been very bad about writing down my new recipes right away, and, consequently, have been forgetting them before I get a chance to do so.  Ohh I hate that!  So this one I got down right away.  And yes, I realize that's what I should always do.  But who said I always do what I should?  Hmm, could that be where the girls get that trait from?  No, of course not, they must get that from Adam. These are super simple to make and delicious.  My intent was to make a healthy, high protein snack to have around, and one without nuts, so that they could be packed into the girls lunches.  I am thrilled to say that the girls love these, so they are definitely a success in my book. If you can't find or don't like dried blueberries, you could add cranberries or another dried fruit, or sugar-free chocolate chips, if you prefer.  Make sure you use a protein powder that tastes good! 4-Ingredient Blueberry Muffin Protein Bites 1/3 cup coconut oil, softened 1/2 cup veg

After my very positive experience with the products sent to me by Seabuck Wonders , I enthusiastically agreed to try some of their other items when they asked me to do another review recently. This time, I was sent their facial serum, and the Sea Buckthorn seed oil softgels. I always try to take an omega-3 fat supplement, but recently I have been having a really bad reaction to fish oil pills: serious fish burps!  The capsules they sent are the perfect solution.  They are smaller, easier to swallow than fish oil pills, and NO FISH BURPS! I also love that they are organic. Here is some additional info on these softgels: High content of Omega 3, 6, 9, vitamins A and E, and numerous nutrients, including unsaturated fatty acids and minerals, makes this product very unique. The synergistic effect, like that of all seeds of plants, is extremely regenerating and potent. Whether you want to maintain or improve your health, if your target is your immune system, heart, brain, liver, ski

When I was asked to review The Athlete's Cookbook , I agreed, but kinda figured it would be pretty unexciting...I expected it would be a meal plan and recipe book similar to what is often included in the DVD fitness programs like P90x, etc. In fact, it does something a little different and unique: it tailors meal plans depending on your specific fitness goals: endurance, fat loss or strength building.  I have to admit, the book arrived at the perfect time. Now, as I've said before, I have always had an unusually large appetite, especially considering my diminutive size (something I get teased about a lot), but for the past 2 months, even the usual massive amount of food has been leaving me with a gnawing hunger.  Even I have been astounded by my appetite.  It's been so significant, that I was actually starting to worry maybe I had some sort of parasite.  It finally hit me though: its the weight lifting!  In September I rejigged my fitness routine to include less ca

Good Monday morning! My little jaunt to NYC last week was just what I needed.  I never get sick of that wonderful city.  The history, the energy, the food, the friendly people... The trip in was a little nuts.  It was St Patrick's Day.  Adam warned me it might not be the best day to travel, but I said, "It's just St Patrick's Day, its not like its some major holiday or something!"  Hehe, I was so wrong!  Between getting off the plane and getting to my hotel, it was 3 hours!  That's mostly thanks to closed off streets in Manhattan for parades, performances and crowds of drunken revelers wearing green.  Even the airport shuttle driver was dressed up and, frankly, he was so short and squat he really did look like an Irish leprechaun...with a German accent.  It's a miracle I didn't barf because he drove like a complete maniac and some of the other passengers brought in fast food to eat, which stank up the whole vehicle.  Gag! Fortunately, things went

Guess where I'm going next week???  Did the picture give it away? Yay, I'm off to my favorite city!  And this little vacation couldn't come fast enough. Adam has been away this week for work and its been a bit trying.  Every night he's been away, Little A has a big "I want daddy" fit before bed, which means she is NOT going to sleep and she is keeping Big A awake, which means long after the time I'd hoped not to see their faces again until morning, they keep coming out of there rooms making me feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole. And, of course, even though there's been less time pressure in the mornings since they are on March break, I've been busy with work and they've found no end of ridiculous things to fight over.  Well, next week they are Adam's problem.  The only thing is, they LOVE when I go away, so he won't get any crying fits, in fact, I bet my name will barely be mentioned while I'm gone.  It's alright, I

Daiya vegan cheese products are all the rage these days, but I have never purchased any of them.  Why?  Because while they may be dairy-free, they are also basically nutrition free.  They are low in protein and contain mostly various oils and starches. This spread, however, is packed with protein and nutrition, and is still creamy and cheesy thanks to nutritional yeast and white beans.  Delicious spread or crackers or bread, or if you thin it out with a bit of non-dairy milk, you can make it a dip for fresh veggies. I forgot to add the turmeric to this batch, so that's why its not as orange as it should be.  I was so mad because turmeric also has so many amazing health benefits, so I love to throw it into as many recipes as I can.  Oh well, that's what happens when I try to multi-task in the kitchen.  I was making gluten-free chocolate orange cake balls (will try to get that recipe out at some point).  Not only is this spread yummy, its also super easy to throw togeth

Woe is me! It's hard to live with 2 picky kids and a husband who much prefers meat and chocolate chip cookies to much else.  Adam claims its me who is the weird one for loving fruit, veggies, whole grains and legumes as much as I do.  But I think he's the weird one. When he saw this meal he said, "That looks very full of fibre."  Yes, well it is, but it is also incredibly delicious.  And after trying it, my dear husband admitted this one is super tasty. Hearty dishes like this full of veggies and legumes in a rich, flavourful sauce are total comfort food for me.  And right now, thanks to this brutal winter, I need some comfort!  After a gorgeous spring-like day yesterday, we're apparently in for a big snow storm today.  Enough already!! This makes a large amount so feel free to half the recipe, or freeze leftovers for future meals.  If you like your beans on the softer side, start soaking them the night before.  As you can see from the photo, I kept the ve

There was a time when I thought it was not possible to get fit without a well-equipped gym.  Until the end of my pregnancy with Big A, I spent a whole lot of time in them, teaching fitness classes and training.  Spin classes, step, weight training, cardio machines...I did it all. But after having a baby, it was no longer feasible to get there every day, let alone stay to teach 2-3 fitness classes and lift weights.  I did manage to get there 2x week thanks to the JCC's babysitting service, and then I did some running outdoors or on our treadmill, and taught a spin class or two.  After a while, I realized I was actually fitter than I had been before I had Big A!  Then I had Little A and it got even more difficult to get to the gym.  Little A's nap schedule kept me relatively housebound for months, and she would not hear of me leaving her in a babysitting service (seriously, once I had the staff come and interrupt a spin class I was teaching because she was screaming so loudl

And...its Monday again!  This is the first Monday in months where its actually above freezing at least.  Given the balmy temperatures (ha!), its a perfect time to start thinking about salad. As a teen, I thought Caesar salad was the healthiest thing to order on a restaurant menu.  Oh how misguided I was!  The traditional dish is just a big mess of egg (raw), cheese, bacon and (white flour) croutons, with a little bit of lettuce thrown in. This version is low-fat, high protein, and packed full of nutrition.  You can dress it up with more veggies and additional protein, as desired, or keep it simple.  I am so going to be making this again!!! Creamy Kale Caesar 1 bunch kale, torn or chopped 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved Creamy Caesar Dressing 1-340g package soft, silken tofu 2 tbls Dijon mustard 2 tbls Worcestershire sauce (regular or vegan) 2 tbls anchovy paste or umeboshi plum paste (for vegan) Juice of 1 lemon 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp nutritional yeast Fresh

Are you heading somewhere beautiful for March Break?  If so, you suck!  Just kidding.  At least its supposed to be warming up a wee bit around here for the next few days, so I can't complain too much about going nowhere for the break.  Besides, my kids have daycare all week, so its not like I have to stay home from work and entertain them, like some people do.  If that's the case for you, check out some of these activity ideas for keeping your kids busy from Cityline . Adam is going on a business trip next week, so I am actually very happy its March Break, because at least I don't have to worry about getting the kids to school on time in the mornings.  The mornings are still a challenge.  But this week I challenged myself to trying to stay calm no matter what goes down and I am happy to say I did well...or at least better.  Its required a lot of positive self-talk and ignoring what's going on with the girls.  I feel like such a horrible parent a lot of the time b

I am so beyond excited that Loblaws seems to have gotten on board with the whole stevia thing! While the world has been obsessing with the amount of sodium we eat, we seem to have overlooked all the sugar we consume.  The latest research suggests that all this added sugar is just as bad, and very possibly worse for us, than the sodium.  Sugar is linked with not only diabetes and obesity, but also cancer and Alzheimer's disease.  Time to get it out of our diets! Sugar is added to everything these days from bread and cereal to spaghetti sauce, salad dressing and mayo.  It makes me cringe frankly.  I try to do anything and everything I can do to cut down on the sugar we eat in this house.  Unfortunately, I think my kids still get way too much when they are out of the house.  Although full of lycopene, ketchup is a huge source of sugar.  It's also a favorite among all of us.  It was actually one of the foods I craved like crazy during both my pregnancies, so I guess it sho

I generally eat a hot lunch everyday.  Adam makes fun of me, because while he ALWAYS eats a couple of sandwiches, apples and carrots for lunch at work, I concoct elaborate noodle dishes, stir fries, or platters of roasted fish, sweet potatoes and steamed veggies for myself.  Sorry, a cold sandwich - particularly in this weather - just doesn't cut it for me. This meal turned out very warm and comforting and just what I needed this week.  The picture gives you an idea of just how big my lunch usually is (I had a massive bowl of cole slaw on the side of those 2 tacos).  Yes yes, I know, it's unbelievable that someone as little as me eats so much.  I hear that all the time.  It's gotta be the weight lifting.  Although, considering that Little A ate more than her body weight in oatmeal this morning, maybe its a genetic thing. This whole recipe was devoured by moi over 2 lunches, but I'm guessing most people with puny normal appetites could stretch this to 3 or 4 meal

Oh She Glows featured a recipe for double chocolate cookies last week. I instantly knew, with a few tweaks, it was going to make the perfect cookie to pack in the girls' lunches this week.  It's nut-free, which means its safe to take, and chocolate, which means bliss for them (and for Adam, who we told was not allowed to eat these...).  It was a cinch to modify them and make them sugar-free...which makes me happy. I'm guessing my finished product has quite a different consistency than the original recipe since Angela's spread more than mine did.  I don't know if that's because she used sugar, or because I beat the batter by hand, rather than using an electric mixer.  Either way, these turned out great.  I also made small, rather than big cookies for the girls, so I ended up with 2 dozen, instead of 1 like in the original recipe. Chocolate Chocolate Chip Lunchbox Cookies (Vegan, Sugar-Free & Gluten-Free) Adapted from this recipe Wet ingredients:

Well good morning on this bloody cold March Monday.  How was your weekend?  Ours was nice and quiet aside from some sledding, swimming (indoors!), a birthday party and errands.  I didn't even have to work Saturday.  Word on the street is that this may be the last week of freezing cold temps.  Thank goodness, because like every other North American, I'm freakin' sick of this, and ready to enjoy a few days of spring before we move right into the blazing hot summer (which I'll complain about just as bitterly). Now onto discussing butts. Since I now do almost all my workouts at home, I love getting new ideas for how to change things up.  So I was thrilled to receive a review copy of Ultimate Booty Workouts. The author, Tamara Grand, is a PhD, a certified personal trainer, a mom and a Canadian with her very own blog !  Ha, turns out we have a lot in common!  Of course, her blog is a whole lot prettier than mine.  Unfortunately for me, she lives across the country in