Healthy Life Lessons

These are easy, healthy and yummy. Savoury 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed (we scooped them all out of our Jack-o-Lantern) 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/4 tsp sea salt Pinch cayenne pepper (optional, if you want some heat) Sweet 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 tsp sugar Toss seeds with seasonings and spread in single layer on non-stick baking sheet. Roast in oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes, checking regularly to prevent burning.

As I had feared, Little A refused to put on her Halloween costume last night. Any mention of it and she would run the other way yelling, "Noooooooooo!" Big A looked terrific as a Fire Fighter and we basically had another great weekend with her. She was relatively cooperative and I was very impressed last night when she told us she would have one treat (a lollipop) and she didn't even ask for any more. On Saturday when we were at our friends' place for dinner and she was having a blast playing with their daughter, she didn't even have a tantrum when we said it was time to go home (she resisted a bit, but nothing too serious). Anyways, back to Halloween. We decided to feed the girls an early dinner before Trick-or-Treating. Big A had a nice healthy dinner of roasted pumpkin seeds we made, a big salad of shredded cabbage with "pink" dressing (i.e. Thousand Island dressing)and some mango chunks. Little A became hysterical when we put her in her high c...

I had a revelation recently. If you're happy and fulfilled, regardless of what you are doing in life, then you're successful. I am at the very least trying to convince myself of this. I have never felt successful on the professional front. Why? Well because while most of my friends have been building work experience, I've been racking up basically useless graduate degrees because I wasn't clear on what I wanted to do for a career. During the periods of my life where I have been working, and even, in some cases, hobnobbing with important people and making good money, I've been miserable and unfulfilled. Now, I am almost completely unemployed (except for my weekly spinning class and occasional seminar I present for the corporate fitness company), for the first time since my undergraduate degree, which I completed 14 years ago. So no income to speak of and back in school for my 4th university degree after which I will be starting a new career, right from the be...

I had a ton of leftover rice from Wednesday's dinner so I decided to make this yesterday. I made it low-fat so Adam can enjoy it without worrying about his cholesterol, but I really wanted to see if the girls would eat it for breakfast. It's actually pretty nutritious (calcium, fibre, protein, complex carbs, etc.) and I used very little sugar considering it made a lot (next time I might add even less). It was a HUGE hit with both girls! You can make it richer, if you want, by using 2% or whole milk and whole eggs. You can also add raisins or other dried fruit, if you wish. 2 cups cooked brown rice 2 cups skim milk 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup egg whites (or 2 whole large eggs) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon Heat milk and sugar in large saucepan over medium heat. Beat eggs in a medium bowl until frothy. Bring milk to a boil and remove about 1/4 cup of milk, whisking hot milk into eggs to temper them. Add rice, vanilla, cinnamon and egg mixture and simmer until mi...

P1: Well I just completed my third course in the Miscarriage/Infertility certificate program, so I'm now officially half way through. I got an A+ in the Counselling Ethics course for my Masters, and am currently enjoying my Counselling Methodologies--Behavioural and Cognitive Modalities course. Still no word from Dr. M at Mount Sinai, inspite of sending her a reminder email last week, so no progress on the research project. Sigh! P2: The parenting consultants warned me that things with Big A might get a lot worse before they get better because she will really start testing the limits with me once I make changes to my discipline system. So I was very surprised when we had an amazingly easy week with her. Therefore, I should NOT have been shocked when she had a major flip out last night. It started when we got in the door at the end of the day and she threw her coat on the floor and ordered me to hang it up for her. I told her that this was rude, and to please pick it up, apol...

Aside from weight loss, the other thing it seems everyone is in pursuit of is more energy. Look at the abundance of energy enhancing products on the market these days. Red Bull, etc. is everywhere and there is also energy gum, candy, and brownies that I have seen. Wake up folks (ha ha, no pun intended!), these are not a good solution. Most of them are full of crap along with that caffeine and mix of "herbs". They can also have nasty side-effects. At the CAN-FIT-PRO conference I got a free sample of an energy shot ( http://www.screamingenergy.com/energy_drink_51.php). I gave it a try and instantly got hot and tingly and broke out in itchy hives all over. Turns out it has a lot of niacin in it, something I am very sensitive to. People claim niacin flushes are good for you but it sure didn't feel good! I had to take a Benadryl to get the hives down. What is the best way to get more energy? * GET ENOUGH SLEEP! I can't stress enough how important sleep is, and n...

The change in my relationship with Big A since the consultants were here is amazing. She really does seem to respect me more and even enjoy my company more. The challenges have not gone away, but they are much easier to manage. For example, she did her usual routine this morning of refusing to put her clothes on, using every excuse in the book and begging me to get her dressed (something the consultants said I have to stop doing altogether). I often have given in because I simply don't want to deal with a tantrum at 6:30am. This morning I told her she had to dress herself. Period. She whimpered and whined and resisted and even yelled at me, but eventually, after about 25 minutes, she was fully dressed. Later, I told her how proud I was of her that she dressed herself and she said, "I'm proud of myself." I guess that says it all. I took Big A to the dentist for her bi-annual check-up yesterday. Everything looked great when the hygienist and dentist cleaned and...