Healthy Life Lessons

A year or two ago my mom read a book about death, Being Mortal , that she raved about. She gave the book to Adam, who read it, and raved about it. They both told me I had to read it, but I put it off until now. Like many people, death is something I try to NOT think about. I am not concerned about what will happen to me after I die. I am more concerned with how and when it will happen. But because this is something I can easily get anxious about, I wasn't eager to read the book in case it got me all worked up. Fortunately, it did not. I even read it as my nighttime reading, which is unusual for me, because normally I reserve that time for fiction. But I am here now to rave about it and tell you you need to read it too! To be more specific, the book is about how we view death and how death is treated in Western Medicine. Its written by an American surgeon, Atul Gawande, who I now worship. It examines what is really important, and what we should really focus on at the en...

The topic of beverages is a hot one. Even when we are talking about cold ones (ha ha). You must live under a rock if you are unaware of the health risks of drinking sweetened beverages. Pop, and even juice are linked with obesity and Type II diabetes. Even diet drinks, however, are now on the hit list for many health conscious consumers. Some experts have raised concerns that artificial sweeteners may actually increase blood sugar, and promote overeating or weight gain, though the evidence is still weak. Just last week the media blew up over results of a new study from the University of Manitoba with headlines claiming that artificial sweeteners may "...cause weight gain and increase risk of heart disease." Here is the reality. It is a meta-analysis, which means it used past studies as units of measurement. Few of the studies done on this topic, and used in the analysis, are randomized, controlled studies, and even the researchers who conducted the review admit that th...

Indian food is SO DAMN DELICIOUS! Aspects of it are very nutritious: lots of veggies, legumes and spices. But Indian food can also be very high calorie thanks to liberal amounts of ghee, cream, coconut, etc., and very high carb, thanks to lots of rice and breads served with most meals. Its not always a good choice for those struggling to lose weight or manage Type II diabetes. Your best bet is to skip the Indian restaurant meals, and cook your own Indian cuisine at home, where you can control what goes in it. If you don't know where to start when it comes to Indian cooking, let alone healthy Indian cooking, a good place to start is with the Indian Cuisine Diabetes Cookbook, published by the American Diabetes Association . Its written by May Abraham Fridel, a food literacy advocate, author and spice company owner in the U.S. The book is a comprehensive guide to both popular and more exotic Indian dishes. It starts with a guide to the spices, staples and cooking techniqu...

If you avoid protein bars because you worry about the ingredients, don't like the taste of most of them, or can't afford the expense (These days the good ones are over $3 each!), than make your own. These are so super easy and you can customize them to your taste and nutritional needs. Using Vitafiber syrup makes them high in fibre. Using a plant-based protein powder will keep them vegan, and if you use coconut flour, instead of almond flour, they are nut-free. If you don't want strawberry flavour, you can sub another type of freeze dried fruit. You can also make them a bit more decadent by drizzling melted chocolate over top. But in warm weather, that will make them a bit messier if you are eating them on the go. Homemade Strawberry "Quest" Bars 1.5 cups Vitafiber syrup (or other IMO syrup) 2 cups vanilla or berry flavoured protein powder, sugar-free 1 cup freeze dried strawberries, whirled in blender 8 tbsp coconut flour (or 10 tbsp almond flour...

I know Canada's birthday was Saturday, but its still a national holiday here today. So yay for long weekends!! Its been great so far. Adam's brother and his family are visiting from Vancouver. Though I had to work Friday evening and Saturday morning, everyone came over to our place Saturday evening for a BBQ, and yesterday we went to Adam's sister's son's birthday party, so there has been lots of celebrating. I have the day off until tonight when I have a Skype counselling session with clients. There has been a whole lot of controversy surrounding the celebration of Canada's 150th birthday due to our colonial history. We are certainly not the only country who have a sordid history in this regard. What's more troubling is how horrible conditions continue to be for our indigenous peoples. That being said, I do strongly believe we have a lot to be proud of as a country. I have clients from all over the world who immigrate to Canada because of our accep...

My long time readers know I am a Freezer Fanatic. If you care about your health, and time and money, you should be too. Filling your freezer with the right foods means you always have ingredients on hand to make healthy, tasty meals. It is also a great way of reducing food waste. Here is what to stock up on: Frozen fruits and veggies (they are just as healthy - sometimes even better - than fresh) Meat and fish (I mostly buy fresh and then freeze, but also buy frozen chicken breasts from Costco and frozen seafood) Whole grain bread, pita, wraps, etc. that you are not using immediately. (They will get moldy quickly at room temp, and get stale in the fridge) Leftovers (if you've made a huge batch of chili, pasta sauce, soup, etc., freeze in individual or family serving size containers for a meal when you have no time to cook) Basically any food you aren't using can be frozen instead of letting it go off and then having to throw it away. This includes fruit and ve...

I am going to admit upfront that we (mostly me) are food hoarders.  The photo above is NOT our pantry. Ours doesn't look photo worth. We like to be well stocked with our staples, and when we find our favorites on sale, we stock up big time. We also have a Costco membership, and, well, you know how that goes! If you want to make it easy to be able to make quick, healthy meals at anytime, here are some things to make sure you have on hand (and these are the things you will find in our pantry...and massive storage room): Canned beans and lentils and dried beans/lentils Canned tuna, salmon and/or sardines Soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and other condiments Dried herbs and spices (buy in small quantities as they lose their flavour quickly, unless you use them a lot) Dried pasta, rice, oats, quinoa and/or other grains Jarred salsa and pasta sauce Nut butters Whole grain flours, cocoa powder, sweeteners (coconut sugar, xylitol, stevia, etc.), and other baking ingredie...