Healthy Life Lessons

I have tried many alternative remedies and nutritional supplements over the years, including naturopathic, homeopathic, vitamin, mineral, and herbal products.  I have not had any success with them. That doesn't mean I think they don't have value.  I just haven't found any helpful for addressing my particular needs.  Anything I have tried for anxiety, insomnia, allergies, hormone balance and immunity has not had any beneficial effects and in the end, I have always felt like I had just flushed my money down the toilet. But I am right now in awe of one supplement: L - Glutamine .  This stuff has CHANGED MY LIFE! I have long known that it is recommended to aid muscle recovery after strenuous exercise, all the body builders, male and female, take it.  But I stubbornly decided a few years ago that I wasn't going to bother trying anymore supplements (the last thing I tried was oregano oil, but honestly I don't think it really helps prevent or treat colds, it...

Tomorrow the girls' daycare is closed for their annual cleaning/prep for the school year day.  Last year I took Big A to The Ex and promised that every year we will try to go on this day.  Unfortunately, now that Little A is also at this daycare, it means I've also got to bring our Little Terror along this year.  To make matters worse, they are predicting temps of 33C for tomorrow, which is typically weather that makes me loathe being outside.  Fortunately, my friend Jenny and her kids are accompanying us, and, thanks to this recipe the girls can fuel up on a delicious, nutritious breakfast before we head down to the mecca of fried foods and bacon-filled creations. Every time Big A requests rice pudding I make it differently.  And everytime I know I say the latest recipe is better.  But this time I really have it nailed.  This one is the bomb!  No starches to thicken, just chia seeds which also add tons of fibre and nutrition.  Some vanil...

These pancakes are so healthy Adam was incredulous when I made them for the girls. "How much spinach did you put in those anyways?" he asked me.  The answer is a lot and the girls didn't notice.  In fact, they scarfed them down in the blink of an eye. 1 cup frozen, chopped spinach, thawed (or 1 cup pureed fresh baby spinach leaves) 2 large ripe bananas, mashed 2 tbls powdered stevia (I finally finished my New Roots stevia in this recipe, so I'll be breaking into my NuNaturals Stevia baking blend soon!) or other sweetener 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbls white chia seeds 1.5 cups whole wheat flour (or spelt, or other whole grain flour) 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1.5 tbls baking powder 2+ cups water or unsweetened non-dairy milk Whisk together spinach, bananas, sweetener, vanilla and chia seeds in a medium bowl.  In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients to bowl with dry ingredients and pour in enough water or milk to make a t...

This was the perfect way to prepare those spicy jerk chicken sausages I bought, but since I am not likely to drive out to Medium Rare again any time soon to buy more of these pricey babies, I think I may make Dreena Burton's amazing looking recipe for jerk chickpeas in place of the sausage next time.  Whether you choose meat or vegan protein, you will love this delicious dish!  It may not be traditional to add kale to Caribbean rice & peas, but it certainly boosts the nutrition and is really yummy. 1.5 lbs jerk chicken or other spicy sausage, sliced (or 1 recipe jerk chickeas )* 1 onion, diced 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp dried thyme leaves 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas 1 large bunch kale, leaves torn into bite sized pieces, tough stems removed 1 can light coconut milk 1.5 cups long grain brown rice, cooked Saute sausage in a large pan or skillet over medium heat until partially cooked.  Add onion, garli...

Happy Monday morning!  It is cloudy and rainstorms are predicted for today, but that's cool with me, assuming it gets rid of the extreme heat and humidity we've had for the past few days.  We had a lovely weekend, inspite of the icky weather, and the fact that Little A may have a bladder infection (still waiting for the lab results) and Big A has strep throat (meds made her feel better pretty quick).  Saturday afternoon we needed an inside activity to occupy the girls so I got them to help me make these bars. For the past few years Adam has been buying the Smart for Life Bars from Costco.  Given his cholesterol issues, they're better than a lot of other similar options that are high in saturated fat, but they are still not great.  They use soy protein isolate and are really high in sugar.  Unfortunately, it's Little A who has really fallen in love with them.  She ADORES them, and she is super picky.  She is almost as likely to turn up her...

Image source There are 4 people in our household.  Three of them are being terrorized by the other one.  The smallest one. Little A is just being a complete nightmare.  Grumpy, surly, unreasonable, irrational and unpredictable.  After several weeks of eating marble cheese like it's going out of style, I put a few pieces on her dinner plate the other night and she shrieked, "I don't like this!" and flung it across the kitchen.  Virtually every night she kicks up a huge fuss about going to bed with ongoing requests for us to come back into her room and hysteria if we don't comply.  She has refused to swim for the last 2 weeks at swim lessons, and she throws tantrums like every 2 minutes.  Why?  Oh believe me, she'll find a reason!  Remember the peeing doll she begged for?  Well, she is now asking for the jewelry box craft activity we'd initially been looking for.  She told me she's now done with the doll, and I can give it away....

This dish only uses half of the chutney recipe, but the leftovers keep in the fridge 1-2 weeks or can be frozen. Apricot-mango chutney 8 apricots, diced 1 large, ripe mango, diced 1 onion, minced 1 chunk fresh ginger, minced 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1/2 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp salt Crushed red chili flakes, to taste (optional) Sweeten to taste, if desired (xylitol, stevia, Splenda, agave, coconut sugar, and honey will all work here) 2 tbls coconut flour or 1 tbls chia seeds 1/2 cup raisins Optional: Chopped dried apricots For ease, mince onion, garlic and ginger in your food processor.  Throw all ingredients except raisins (unless you want them to be really soft and squishy), into a large flat bottomed pot set over medium heat.  Bring to boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes, until everything has cooked down and chutney has thickened.  Remove from heat, add dried fruit and refrigerate until set. Warm Cu...