If you are one of the 64 percent of Canadian adults (69 percent of Americans) who are overweight or obese and you are not happy about it, take heart!  Sometimes all it takes to get you on the path to your ideal weight are a few healthful lifestyle tweaks.  Whether your weight loss goal is to shed 5, 50, or 100+ pounds, the principles and practices that make it possible are fundamentally the same: water, sunshine, rest, air, exercise, and diet. 

WATER

• Water acts as an appetite suppressant and assists in the breaking down and reduction of fat deposits.
• Lipase, the enzyme that metabolizes fat, has significantly reduced function when the body isn’t fully hydrated. Even mild dehydration will slow metabolism by as much as 3 percent.
• A mere 2 percent dehydration can reduce cognitive function by up to 30 percent. This can lead to poor decisions regarding food choices or lack of motivation to exercise, two additional factors in weight management.

SUNSHINE

• ...

It happens to the best of us.

It happened to me yesterday.

Maybe it has happened to you too, at one time or another.

I'm talking about when it's 5:40 p.m.  Everyone in your household (including you!) is hungry.  Maybe even on the edge of "hangry".

But there are no fragrant culinary smells wafting from the vicinity of your kitchen stove. Not a single one.

No promise that "Dinner will be ready soon".

What's a person to do?

One could, I suppose, make a quick and desperate run to the local McFast food joint. (Not recommended.)

Or one could pull out this recipe for Butter Chickpeas. (Highly recommended!)

It's quick.  It's easy.  It's totally divine!

And so, so nourishing! 

Here are five fabulous anti-cancer reasons why:

1. SPINACH

• Spinach contains lutein, which protects us against cell damage.
• Spinach is one of the richest vegetarian sources of folate, a nutrient for which we develop an increased need during illness, injury, surgery, or any time of stress.
• ...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'll be the first to admit it:  I'm a sucker for all things "Valentine's Day-ish": the cards, the flowers, the romance.  Everything!

Including the "red food" as part of the Valentine's Day Dinner menu.

This brings me to today's recipe.

It originated from a "Creamy Cherry Cheesecake" recipe that I occasionally make (non-dairy, of course).  It's quite wonderful too.

But then I got to thinking: The filling is really the best part of this dessert!  Then, as my "what if" wheels began to turn in my head, "Creamy Cherry Cheesecake" became "Creamy Cherry Mousse"!

This recipe will save you the time and the work of making a crust, without having to sacrifice any yumminess whatsoever.  Think of it as my Valentine's Day gift to you!  You're welcome.

Creamy Cherry Mousse

2 cups raw cashew nuts

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2-1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey (depending on tartness of fruit)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Grated zest of one lemon

Happy New Year!  Well, relatively new year.

I’m sorry.  I know I dropped the ball.  And not the “New York's Times Square-on-New Year’s Eve” ball either.  More like the “write-a-blog-for-my-favourite-peeps” kind of ball.

My excuse is that I have been writing a book.  Evidently, I’m not so good at multi-tasking.

The good news is that “the book” is close to being published.  This spring, fingers crossed.  (But you may need to be patient—spring doesn’t come that early in Northern Saskatchewan.)

The other piece of good news is that we still have 336 days remaining this year to work on our health!

We have 336 days to nurture our bodies and spirits.

We have 336 days to take the steps we need to create for ourselves the health we desire.

What new health habits are you wanting to establish this year?

If you’re not sure where to begin, I always say: Begin with water.

Drink water. ...

It’s SPRING!!!  Even in my corner of the world.

In my back yard I can see bare patches of ground…. amidst the shrinking snowbanks.

So, okay, maybe I shouldn’t be calling it “spring” yet…

It is, at least,  “the season after winter” though.

We’ve also entered the season of DETOXIFICATION!

Over the last month, I’ve been diligently drinking daily green drinks and lemon water. (They’re GREAT for cleansing the liver, the hard-working organ that filters about a liter of blood every minute for detoxification – AND performs over 500 other functions!)

 And, last week I completed my annual 15-day parasite purge. (Too much information, you say?  Sorry...)

I’ve also shifted my diet toward cleansing, easy-to-digest, fiber-rich foods. 

That’s why I was so happy to come across this recipe for DETOX TURMERIC LENTIL SOUP. 

I have never seen so many cleansing, nourishing, cancer-fighting...

In a previous blog I had promised to share my NEW favorite recipes with you, as I discover and taste-test them.

Ding ding ding - we have a WINNER!

Easy Asian Quinoa made the cut.  (I made it TWICE in the last ten days!)

Once you try it out for yourself, I'm sure you'll agree that "it's a keeper".  I mean, what's not to like about this salad?  

• It's fast and easy to prepare. 
• It's vegan.
• It's chock-full of nourishing ingredients.
• It's a complete protein and a meal-in-one.
• Its contrasting textures...

Have you ever found yourself in a rut – when it comes to your meal-making efforts?

You know, same recipes… week after week… month after month.

It happens to the best of us.

Around here, we had been starting to see a lot of Vegetable-Lentil Soup… Three Bean Chili…

And on those WHAT!-IS-IT-SIX O’CLOCK-ALREADY? days:  canned sardines on toasted heavy dark rye bread, topped with sweet onion slices. (That’s a balanced meal… isn’t it?  Sort of?) 

THIS year, I decided, to “mix it up”.  My goal is to introduce into my menu planning one new recipe each week.  (I also plan to share the good ones with you!)

I tried a brand new recipe last week.  EEK.  Please don’t make me talk about it.

But THIS week's recipe is a whole other story!

Introducing. . .

NUTTY SHREDDED REDS

ROASTED GARLIC TAHINI DRESSING

1 whole head garlic

2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup tahini

3 Tbsp. lemon...

Whoosh!  And the Holiday Season is suddenly upon us.   Seriously, HOW did this happen?

I’M NOT READY!!!

But I will be. (She says, as she tries to calmly reassure herself.)

There are, after all, still ten whole days until Christmas.  That’s enough time.

. . . Isn’t it? (She asks hopefully.)

At least I have the Christmas Day Dinner Menu all planned out.  It includes Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pomegranate Seeds, a new side dish recipe I recently stumbled upon.

I’m a BIG FAN of Brussels sprouts, so I’m really excited to try this one out.  Plus,  Brussels sprouts, as a member of the Brassica family, are one of the best anti-cancer foods there are (as I’ve told you like a BILLION times…)

Pomegranate (in case you didn’t already know) rates as a spectacular anti-cancer food, too! 

It contains quercetin... ellagic acid... anthocyanidins...EGCG catechin... sterols... gallic acid... caffeic acid......

You and I both know “the problem”.

You want to be healthy.  Therefore, you try to eat healthy.

To point you in this direction, your Nutritional Consultant (maybe even I) may have advised that you sneak in at least one giant green salad into your daily meal plan.

So, you do.  Faithfully...at first.

Then, after days...weeks...months...or years (depending on your constitution), eventually the thought of yet another bowl of romaine laced with an olive-flax oil and apple cider vinegar dressing “starts to get old”.  You don’t want any more salad!

And this is a problem – because, bottom line:  GREENS ARE GOOD!

So, what is the solution?  To cut back on salad to once a week?  To once a month?  Give up salad altogether… and run out to your nearest fast food franchise for a burger and fries?

No.  No.   NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

There is a better solution. 

You simply need to “mix it up” a...

If you want to live a HEALTHY, BALANCED, and VIBRANT LIFE, you gotta take time to REST!!!

That was the take-home message of last week’s blog.  

So, I hope, every now and again, you have been taking  time for yourself to rest!

I have been, too.

Naturally, I’ve also been doing all I can to knit my knee cap back together again – while keeping all my other 205 bones healthy, strong, flexible . . . and fracture-free.

This week, I share with you 7 BONE-BUILDING AGENTS which I have been using (some of which you might never have guessed!)

You don’t need to break a bone before you can try these for yourself.

But first. . . A NOT-SO-FUN FACT

In the five to seven years following menopause, women can lose up to 20% of their bone density.  Yikes!

Even if this doesn’t apply to you, know that after the age of 30, the rate of bone breakdown exceeds that of bone repair and bone building.

Diet and lifestyle can negatively affect bone health. ...