Healthy Life Lessons

  Its Friday and I will end the week with some deep thoughts in this book review. I did not have h igh hopes for this book, ha ha! A book about living a more fulfilling life by a millionaire CEO? Was this going to be about which champagne goes with what type of caviar? Okay, I'm kidding sort of, but I did wonder what this guy, a Canadian named Charles Hanna, would have to say in his new book, Higher , which describes his spiritual epiphany. But I agreed to read it because I am all about figuring how to live a more fulfilling life.  It perplexes and frustrates me to no end that so many of us, living extremely privileged lives are so miserable and full of existential angst.  The more I read and research, the longer I work as a therapist and the older I get in is all starting to make more sense, but still, there is always more to learn. Hanna starts by explaining his origins - he is a Christian Egyptian who emigrated to Canada with his parents when he was young.  Two of h

Happy Hump Day! Its a gorgeous one here, thankfully, after several days of rain.  Perfect for Workout Wednesday. Here is my review of the second Cathe DVD I purchased, and am so happy with!  This one also kicks my butt and I love, love, love it!! It consists of 2-27 minute workouts (about 22 minutes without the cool down/stretch sections).  It also has 2 bonus ab routines, giving you a total of 24 minutes of abs. The first one requires only a mat, which is used as a simple place keeper on the floor that you run and jump over and around.  I actually have been using my step bench instead, which makes it easier in some ways (a step is smaller than a standard mat) and harder in others (adds height). I've been doing this because mats move around on our carpeted floor, so I thought it would annoy me to have to keep adjusting it.  Also, the shorter you are, the harder the dimensions of a standard mat will be for you, and, hey, I'm just barely 5'2! Rather than specific

Here's another recipe I've created for Passover, but is also perfect for anyone looking for a yummy, healthy breakfast or snack idea.  Its also great for restricted diets because it is vegan, sugar-free, nut-free and gluten-free. One of the best things you can do for weight management and to boost energy is to eat a protein-rich breakfast, unfortunately, a lot of people crave sweet, carby foods in the morning.  This granola is super high in protein and good fats and will keep you fueled for hours.  Combine with some yogurt and fresh fruit and you've got an amazing power breakfast. If you aren't a big fan of apricots, you can sub in any other unsweetened dried fruit of your choosing and/or add nuts if allergies aren't an issue. The hemp protein gives it a dark colour, so make sure you keep an eye on it while baking to make sure its not burning, because it may be hard to tell by just peering through your oven door. High Protein Spiced Apricot Granola 180g

  Its Friday! Its also Earth Day, Little A's 7th birthday, and the first night of Passover for 2016.  Whew, that's one big day! Poor girl will forever be plagued by the possibility of having her birthday fall within the parameters of this cake-less holiday.  That being said, she's voluntarily choosing to follow the Pesach dietary rules, along with Big A and her dad this year...though she wants an exception for next Friday, which is pizza day at school. Today I am busy cooking and baking for our big sedar tonight at my in-laws, that my family is also attending (my parents coming in today from Kingston, but are staying with my brother and his family). So I have the night off from work, but will be seeing a few clients tomorrow.  The girls have some of their activities (Hebrew school is cancelled for the holiday), and we've got errands to do.  Now that the weather has abruptly warmed up, the girls are bugging me to buy them sandals. Have a wonderful, hea

  Okay, drumroll please...and the winner of the workout DVDs that finally manage to kick my butt are: Cathe Friedrich !! I will answer to questions you probably have before I share the details.  First, the reason why I don't just put myself through my own self-designed workout every day (since I've been a fitness instructor for 24 years) is that at 5am, I don't want to do that much work.  Also, after I do my cardio or self-defence workouts, I do my weights, which is me training me always. So my brain has to be on for all of that.  Second, many folks have suggested various Beach Body programs.  The problem is, these programs are intended to be complete workout programs, but I am just looking for one specific thing.  I don't want weight training - I do that on my own - and I don't want yoga/stretching - I do Essentrics for that. Furthermore, the programs I have (Insanity, Asylum, etc.), I barely use because they aren't my favorites. So finally I just as

For the first time in a long time I can say good morning on a gorgeous Monday! In fact the weather has been pretty spectacular since last Thursday.  Yay! The weekend was a bit of a blur with Little A's birthday party and all, but everything went perfectly smoothly.  Oh wait, that's bullshit, I must be thinking of an Instagram account I saw.  No, in my real life that's not what happens.  What really happens is my child turns into a birthdayzilla and has a tantrum every time she doesn't get what she wants and then melts down half way through the afternoon and declares that she hates her own birthday party.  Apparently laser tag and bowling wasn't all she'd hoped it would be.  Fortunately, after some atrocious, bratty behaviour, she redeemed herself by generously bringing the remaining of her cookies and cream ice cream cake to the neighbours.  When I suggested it, I fully expected her to shriek at the idea since she only got one little piece at the party.  Bu

  Welcome to Friday! You made it!! We've got big plans this weekend, its Little A's birthday party!  Her actual birthday isn't until the 22nd, but that also happens to be the first night of Passover, so we're doing her party tomorrow.  Basically the next few weekends are going to be nuts because of Little A's party, the Passover holiday, and then Big A's birthday. We're doing her party a bit early too as her birthday is the 10th, which is a Tuesday, so we're having it on the 7th, a few days in advance. Little A asked for a party at Rinx , so she and her friends can play laser tag and go bowling.  After, there is, of course, the usual pizza and snacks, and a cake from Menchies . I can't believe my baby is turning 7...and my big girl is going to be in the double digits!! How is it I've been a mom for a decade now?? Although both of them can make me feel like I'm losing my mind, I am so proud of both of them.  I think they have many

I am very excited to say I finally found exactly what I was looking for, in terms of kick-butt home workouts...but this is not that. So for Workout Wednesday this week, I give you my take on Tae Bo Amped. I still think its worth reviewing because for relative fitness newbies, this might be of interest, particularly if increasing basic upper body muscle endurance is your goal. So I've admitted to falling in love with Tae Bo.  I find it so much fun.  That being said, I don't find it terribly challenging.  I love the workout your abs and legs get, but it doesn't really get my heart rate up much. When I saw this DVD for Tae Bo Amped, I got so excited.  It adds the element of doing Tae Bo with resistance (this 3 lb weighted bar thing he calls the Amplifier). I wasn't willing to order it for $20, but figured I could just use hand weights.  With 3 workouts on the DVD, with names like Fat Burn Accelerator and Full Throttle, I expected it to be tougher than the regula

Good Monday morning! After a great weekend, I'm feeling awesome, despite the weather.  We finally have warmer temps, but its pouring rain, and snow that fell yesterday (yes, more snow yesterday!) has turned into disgusting slush.  Lovely! Okay, time to talk potatoes. Ever since the resurgence in popularity of low carb diets over 15 years ago, the potato has been a much maligned vegetable. That being said, its still one of the vegetables that North American's consume most.  We love potatoes! Unfortunately, its usually in French fry or potato chip form.  These are definitely not good ways to enjoy potatoes.  There is, in fact, research showing a link between fries/chip consumption and obesity.  But potatoes can be part of a healthy diet, and there are actually some good reasons to include these starchy guys in your meal plan. Here are a few benefits of potatoes: 1. They are chock full of nutrition, including lots of vitamins and minerals, fibre and protein! 2. The

  Good morning! Its finally Friday folks, we made it!! The weather this week has been ridiculous.  Snowstorms in April? WTF??? Its like a major return to winter and it sucks!  Its apparently going to continue through the weekend but Monday its finally supposed to warm up...and rain. I recently got a new gig writing articles about relationships for marriage.com, please check it out!   This weekend I have a client to see on Saturday, and one more on Sunday, but there's also some fun stuff planned.  We have friends coming for dinner on Saturday night and we're ordering from Bare Burger .  I'd seen these restaurants in New York and wanted to try them but never got around to it.  I was surprised to see one open near my office here in Toronto a few months ago.  We have a tradition of ordering in when we get together with these friends so no one has to bother cooking, so I thought this would be a good new place to try since the food is relatively kid-friendly.

  Its Workout Wednesday! Which just means its Wednesday and I'm posting about fitness... One of the difficult things about being a mutant fitness warrior is that you find yourself always looking for the next challenge.  Stop laughing at me! Okay, so I'm not an Ironman athlete, but I have to work within my own limitations folks!  Due to my lacking coordination, speed or gift for anything sport-related, not to mention my funny gait (I walk like a penguin, just like my dad - who, by the way, ended up needing a hip replacement by age 50), I can't do intense endurance activities like running, so I really have to rely on HIIT training or plyometrics to get my heart rate up.  And while I may be a klutzy goof-ball, my heart really is highly conditioned...and it takes a lot to challenge me. Of course, the other issue is that I get bored extremely quickly, and need to change up my workouts regularly.  I've gone through Insanity (find it boring, and too repetitive), The

Its Monday and I am not feeling cheery.  Our phone rang in the middle of the night and woke me, and I had a hard time falling back asleep, so I feel tired.  Its also winter again here in Toronto. Like WTF, its April, why are we having a freakin' snow storm??? Time for something yummy to brighten up this day.  These muffins certainly fit the bill. I have never been a fan of cheesecake, but one of my favorite ice cream flavours as a kid was Blueberry Cheesecake and other cheesecake-flavoured things.  I also adore cream cheese frosting.  In the savoury food realm, cream cheese also can't be beat on a bagel, especially with smoked salmon on top. Unfortunately, cream cheese is little more than salt and saturated fat.  Quark, on the other hand, is low in sodium, fat and calories, and high in protein.  It makes a great substitution.  It is used in these decadent tasting, scrumptious muffins, which are surprisingly healthy and very satisfying thanks to all the protein.  Defini

Its not often I am super impressed with new food products.  The food industry continues to find sneaky ways to try and market its products as healthy when they really aren't.  Gluten-free, low-fat, organic...these qualities don't guarantee that something is healthy. Then, of course, you have legitimately healthy products that taste like crap. That's not particularly useful either, especially if you are trying to convince someone to hop aboard the healthy eating train. Fortunately, once in a while you can find a real winner.  PrOATein bars are one of them. Now as you know, I consider the best snacks to be basic, whole foods, like fruits, veggies, nuts and cheese.  But I love me a good protein bar too.  They are great when you need a portable, non-perishable snack, and/or want to satisfy a craving for something that tastes dessert-y.  There are zillions on the market now ranging from nothing more than fruit and nuts or wholesome raw ingredients, to glorified candy bar