There is something just magical about those first baby movements. It all becomes really…real. You think it’s real when you hear the heart beat. You think it’s real when you see the ultrasound image squiggling about, but it becomes startlingly real when you feel those first kicks. There is a living thing growing inside me. How very Sci-Fi. Only 155 more days!
Dill-Inspired Green Juice
Well I certainly didn’t plan on a juice feasting day, but that is what seems to be what’s happened. It’s time to kick this fight against my sinus infection into high gear anyway. Bring on the greens!
This morning, Yuri made over 2 L of green juice to take to U of T Soccer Training Camp. However, the green juice didn’t make it to training camp. I ended up drinking at least 1 L and it was so good that I just made another Liter! It is just amazing how much nutrition you can pack into your day when you include green juices.
Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
To top off my efforts to kill this sinus infection, I finally bought some apple cider vinegar (organic, unpasteurized, with the Mother). If you’ve got sinus issues, get some apple cider vinegar and add 2 TBSP to a glass of water, several times a day. You will instantly enjoy some nasal draining! I am contemplating adding some ACV to water and throwing the mixture into my Neti pot, but I’m still working up some bravery to run vinegar through my nose! I made the mistake of trying hydrogen peroxide in the neti pot…DON”T DO THAT IT BURNS and apparently can do some damage! Rookie move on my part.
Today alone, I have personally consumed the juice of:
1 bunch of dill
1 bunch of parsley
1 1/2 apples
5 carrots
1 1/2 bunches of swiss chard
2 heads of celery
1 lemon
2 inches of ginger root
1/2 a cucumber
Shocking, isn’t it? I bet I have eaten more vegetables today than most North Americans get in a week or even a month! I am officially back on the green juice train. This baby is going to come out green!
Here is the recipe for my new favourite juice. Let’s call it the…
Dill-Inspired Green Juice
1 bunch dill
3 carrots
1 apple
1 bunch swiss chard
1 head of celery
2 inches of ginger root
Juice all ingredients and enjoy approx. 1L of amazing green goodness!
The Culprit. Looks healthy, right?
I am sick. Not with morning sickness, but with a cold. The kind that sits in your throat, your nose, your head, and your ears. The mucus is so thick and disgusting that I can barely breathe. And I can’t taste anything at all.
One of the toughest things about being pregnant is being sick. Your immune system is slightly relaxed due to your little angel of a parasite and little things can get you down. In my case, I think I ate one too many toasted tomato sandwiches. I’m sensitive to wheat, but I gave into the cravings anyway and now my body is rebelling. Fear not body, I will be nice to you from here on in. Most of the time, anyway 
.
Many people believe that whole grain bread is healthy, and while it’s better than white bread, if you’ve got a wheat sensitivity, it’s all the same. It’s a heavily processed food, so it’s not something you should be eating every day like most North Americans do. Toast or cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and pizza or pasta with garlic bread for dinner ring a bell? And it’s not just wheat that can make you sick. If you eat too many processed foods and not enough fresh foods, you will tip the balance in favour of sickness. Sickness is your body’s way of saying “HEY! Give me some respect please or I’ll MAKE you!”
Now, that being said, what do you do when you get hit with a freight-train-type cold? Here is my personal, natural cold remedy. It is good for pregnant, and non-bun-in-the-ovens alike. This is something that everyone should do when they come down with a cold. You don’t need to run to your pharmacy and load your self up with unnecessary drugs.
The Plan:
1. Drink plenty of water. Water helps flush out your body, and keeping it well hydrated will allow your body to get things done. Add a bit of lemon to help flush your liver.
2. Lay off the wheat and the dairy and other processed foods. Get rid of them completely if you can at least until you feel better. Wheat and dairy are the most common allergens and since you’re body’s immune system is already compromised, consuming these foods only hinder it further. These foods are acidic and therefore not health promoting in the slightest. That being said, lay off the beer too! If you are concerned about calcium, go get yourself some kale, broccoli, and swiss chard. Some of the world’s biggest animals are solely leaf eaters. There’s a reason they don’t drink milk.
3. Increase your anti-oxidants. Eat plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables in their raw state. These foods hold the building blocks that will help you overcome any sickness and build a healthy body.
The rebounding puppies.
4. Exercise. I know it’s hard to exercise when you feel awful, and walking from the couch to get the remote knocks the wind out of you, but you’ve got to move. The best exercise tool I know of for this situation is the rebounder. Lightly jog on the spot on a rebounder to get the lymphatic system moving. Put on your favourite music and dance while jogging. 15 minutes a day is a fantastic place to be. Have three 5-minute sessions if it’s what you need.
Ginger tea in a French Press.
5. Use a neti-pot. This delightful contraption can be used in conjunction with sea salt (less than 1/4 tsp) and warm water. You tip the water into one nostril, and tilt your head so that the water runs out the other nostril. Daily use of a neti-pot when you are in good health will keep your body’s first line of defense (your nasal passages) free and ready to defend your body!
6. Drink ginger tea. The easiest and best way to make ginger tea is by cutting up an inch cube of ginger into small pieces, and letting it steep in a french-press (traditionally used for steeping coffee). Ginger is not only effective in relieving morning sickness, but it has many positive effects on the digestive system. It is useful in the treatment of colds and flu because it is an anti-inflammatory and a natural pain killer.
For those of you who are NOT pregnant, I will add taking a few drops of oil of oregano each day and eating a clove of chopped up raw garlic each day to your regime. These are potent disease killers, but are not recommended during pregnancy.
Well, it has been 24 hours since I started taking my own advice. I can breathe, my headache is gone, my ears have very minor to no pressure in them, and my throat is clear of mucus and doesn’t hurt anymore. I can taste my food better and by tomorrow or tonight even, I should be tasting 100% of my food. I used the neti-pot twice yesterday and had about a liter of ginger tea. I used the neti-pot again this morning and rebounded for 15 minutes. So far I have eaten a banana, an apple, 2 cups of spinach, 2 large tomatoes, and plenty of water with a bit of lemon today. Things are looking up. As soon as reinforcements arrive, I’ll be making a green smoothie with apples, banana, greens, ginger, lemon, and water. Yummy!
Tags: healthy pregnancy, Natural cold cure, natural pregnancy
Alright, hopefully this is going to be funny, and not completely sad. Here are a few things I have learned in the last few weeks about being pregnant:
1. You may hike “but not on uneven terrain or at high altitude”…so you may NOT hike? Confusing.
2. Don’t leave the house without eating and/or packing a 5 course meal. You will get sick. Very, very sick.
3. A waffle with ice cream is not an acceptable dinner for baby. Baby will make you throw it up. 5 times.
4. Drink plenty of water…like GALLONS of water…and eat tons of fruit and veg. If you don’t, bad things will happen in the pooping department. Trust me, bad things happen when you drink gallons of water AND eat tons of fruit an veg. So you can imagine…
5. Schedule naps or you’ll be at the will of narcolepsy.
6. Don’t jump up from a seated position. Sudden movements will lay you flat on the floor until your vision comes to and the blood reaches your head.
7. Don’t downhill ski, no matter how much you want to. Only uphill skiing is acceptable behaviour at this point.
8. Don’t jump or dive into pools due to the high risk of this behaviour. Oops…
9. No bicycling on wet pavement. At least it doesn’t say anything about motorcycles.
And last but definitely not least,
10. Don’t try on your skinny jeans. You will cry. For that matter, don’t even try on your fat jeans or you’ll cry harder.
Tags: Pregnancy, Pregnancy Humor, Pregnancy Humour
Note: Pre-pregnancy photo. No inhalation...
Time is flying. Why is it the older you get, the faster it goes? At the end of it all, I want to look back on my life as the best time I could have possibly had. This is why it’s important to take a look at our time on this beautiful planet and ask ourselves one simple question.
Am I happy?
Are you doing what you love on a daily basis, or are you a weekend warrior, working 5 days at a job you hate just so you can have 48 hours of so-called freedom only to be plagued by that inevitable looming MONDAY? I’ve always thought the meaning of life was happiness, so that’s what I’m striving toward. If we’re not happy, then what is the point of all of this?
I strive to find happiness in every moment of every day. Although I don’t particularly like my part-time job, I do know that I am the best damn waitress you’ll ever have. I’ve been served by plenty of waitresses who’ve hated their jobs, their lives, and they make sure everyone else knows it too. That’s not me. If I’m going to do something, I’m going to make the most out of it. If I’m happier, my customers are happier. It’s as simple as that. Do you know that just smiling on the outside makes you more likely to actually feel it on the inside. So go ahead. Smile. If you’re in a job you don’t like, smile. Be the best you can be in all areas of your life.
So, what makes me happy? I love to blog, and I love to take pictures, and I love to experiment in the kitchen – so why is it that I let my life be sidetracked by less important things like torturous, mundane work? Before I know it, months have gone by and I’ve not blogged a single word!
Now that we’re expecting our first baby, everything has been put in perspective a little bit more. There is a certain lifestyle that I want to lead, and it doesn’t include working in a restaurant for the rest of my life while my kids grow up without me. Fortunately, I have a chance to be a stay at home mom, and I’m going to take it head on. I am so excited to leave my waitressing life behind me, but I have to admit that I became a better person having worked in such a busy, customer-oriented environment, so I’m glad I did it. I will take with me the lessons I have learned, and no doubt my tongue-biting patience will serve my children well!
Being a SAHM is a 24/7 marathon of events. I know this, but I also know that once we settle into some sort of schedule, I’ll have plenty of time to do other things…at least until baby# 2 arrives! I can’t believe I am thinking of baby #2 already…
So, although I’m still working, I am giving priority to the things I love. You’ve got to take time for yourself and do the things you love to do, because you’re not going to be happy otherwise. And if you’re not happy, how can you make others around you happy? It’s okay to be “selfish” sometimes!
Eggs Florentine with Potato Latkes
Today I think I really outdid myself. I made the best eggs Florentine I have ever produced. There has been a lot of trial and error over the years and this is the best hands down which is why I have to share it!
I love to make gourmet meals, especially homemade gourmet versions of meals that scare me in restaurants, because you never really know what’s in them! Take Hollandaise sauce for example. In the restaurant I work at, ingredients include MSG and some other pretty nasty stuff.
For example, Knorr brand Hollandaise sauce mix that you can buy at your local grocer lists the following as ingredients:
Modified Food Starch (Corn, Potato), Maltodextrin, Wheat Starch, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Whey Protein Concentrate (from Milk), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Lactose (from Milk), Fructose, Salt, Citric Acid, Onion Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Guar Gum, Spices (Including Paprika), Turmeric (for Color), Caramel Color, Natural Flavor, Garlic Powder.
I mean, SERIOUSLY? What the hell is that stuff? That is DISGUSTING! Is it even “food?” Guess what the ingredients are in a classic hollandaise sauce? Water, egg yolks, butter, and lemon juice. Four ingredients, none of them artificial. FOUR natural foods – not EIGHTEEN chemicals!
Without further ado, here is the recipe:
Eggs Florentine with Potato Latkes (serves 2)
Classic Hollandaise Sauce (adapted from Christine Cushing)
2 tbsp water
2 egg yolks
½ cup butter, melted
3 tbsp lemon juice
Place a mixing bowl on top of pot of barely simmering water. Make sure the bowl is not submersed in water. The idea is to “steam cook” the Hollandaise. Place 2 tbsp of water and 2 egg yolks in the bowl. Mix with whisk until mixture becomes thick. Then slowly add the melted butter while stirring constantly. When mixture is combined and thick, slowly add the lemon juice while stirring. Set aside.
Other Ingredients
2 large handfuls of spinach
1 handful of feta (optional)
Green onion for garnish, diced
You can use a steamer to cook the spinach. Alternatively, put a bit of water in a non-stick frying pan and place a lid over top. Check and stir frequently. Once spinach is cooked, dump it on to a plate covered with paper towel until ready to use.
Set feta and diced green onion aside until ready to assemble Eggs Florentine.
Potato Latkes (adapted from Allrecipes.com)
2 medium Yukon gold potatoes
1 medium onion
1 egg
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sea salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup of vegetable oil for frying (I use organic safflower oil)
Dice the onion and grate the potatoes, placing them into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients (except oil) and mix well. You may have to add more flour depending on how wet the mixture is.
Separate the mixture into 4 equal portions and heat oil to medium-high. As you get ready to place the potato pancakes in the oil, squeeze out any extra moisture. Make a pancake shape and carefully place them in the pan. Fry until golden brown on both sides, turning as little as possible. Once done, place them on paper towels to drain.
Poached Eggs
4 eggs
2 tbsp white vinegar
Pot with roughly 2 inches of barely boiling water
Poaching eggs is an art. It has taken me a long time to learn to poach the perfect egg, so be patient and don’t worry about perfection at first! I break my eggs, one at a time, into a small bowl and slowly pour them into the boiling water. I find this way easier than breaking an egg so close to boiling water because this way I don’t burn myself! And, the fresher your eggs, the better they poach.
Place your pot on the heat source and add the white vinegar. When the water is just boiling, turn the heat down to medium (or whatever your barely boiling temperature is). Add the eggs, one at a time to the water. Once in, take a wooden spoon and carefully move the egg white over the yolk. Hold for about 10 seconds.
By the time I have my 4 eggs in the water, it is usually time to take the first one out because I like my eggs runny. I think they’re in the water for 3-4 minutes at this point. Using 2 wooden spoons, I take each egg out and place them in one small bowl. This way, they stay warm while you are putting together the rest of the ingredients.
Putting It All Together
Place 2 potato latkes on each plate. Cover with spinach and optional feta. Place one egg on each mound and spoon over Hollandaise sauce. Garnish with green onion. Serve!
Final Notes
This recipe takes some time management skills at first. I generally make the Hollandaise first, and set it aside. I then steam the spinach and make the potato latkes. While the Latkes are frying, I start the poached eggs (using the water used in making the Hollandaise sauce) and set the eggs aside while the potatoes are finishing.
“Eggs Benedict” recipes traditionally use English muffins as a base, but my objective is always to use as many whole food ingredients as I can. Enter the potato. Once you have tried these potato pancakes you will be addicted! Obviously, frying them in oil is a nutritional “no-no” but sometimes you’ve got to take one for the team, right? I can’t eat perfectly all the time and I don’t bloody WANT to. Balance, I say.
I live in the High Park area of Toronto, where there is a constant parade of coffee, dogs, strollers, pregnant woman, and pregnant women drinking coffee while pushing strollers with dogs attached. It’s an epidemic, and I’ve caught the virus…or should I say parasite? Well, whatever you call it, in less than 6 months I’m going to join the stroller brigade. However, being that our little one is due in late January/early February, we’ll likely be hibernating for a few months!
I love the High Park area of Toronto. Bloor West Village is arguably the nicest part of the city. We’re close to downtown, yet we have everything we need right here. It’s a little oasis. Plus we have a fabulous park at our doorstep where we can let the dogs run free.
We’ve got Lit Espresso Bar and Crema, two of the best coffee joints in the city, and Mabel’s bakery is right down the street from us. Bloor West Village has Trixie, my favourite clothing store, and where Dundas St. W meets Roncesvalles St. you can find Macklem’s – a baby store with everything I could possibly need to buy for our little munchkin-to-be. They must have about 20 different strollers to choose from. There are also 4 dog stores I can think of off the top of my head within walking distance! But, as the dogs can attest, that doesn’t stop me from forgetting to buy them food occasionally, but they don’t complain because on those days they get salmon for dinner!
Tags: Bloor West Village, High Park, Pregnancy, Roncesvalles, toronto
View From The Terrace
There is nothing better than working at home! My office is the most gorgeous thing I could ever hope for – the great outdoors. I can see Lake Ontario and look out over High Park. I never knew there were this many trees in Toronto! The weather is great and I am busily working on the Total Wellness Cleanse Blog.
Everyone will be excited and surprised to know that I have officially given up coffee! It’s been an entire month now and I feel great. The only caffeine I have these days is chocolate, and I will not be giving that up any time soon! I have Chai tea now and then when I get the coffee craving, but I don’t get the crazy caffeine blues afterward – plus, it’s even more delicious and definitely less “bad” for you.
- Yammy’s Homemade Pizza
I’ve been busy the past few weeks, trying to make food at home instead of going out all the time. I even made pizza from scratch using David Rocco’s pizza dough recipe, a pizza sauce recipe I found somewhere on the internet, and lots of veggies! I took me awhile since it was the first time, but I think I’ve got the process down for next time. No more crap pizza when the craving hits. Only the good stuff. I like knowing what’s in my food. Who knows what chemicals are in chain pizzas!
We want to have kids someday and I’ve always wanted to be a stay at home mom. If my husband makes enough money to support the family and if he loves his life’s work, then I want to stay home with the kids. It’s a full-time job – dishes, cleaning, making meals, laundry, picking up after everyone, grocery shopping, naps, running x amount of kids to x amount of sports/functions etc. Keeping kids occupied without dumping them in front of the TV is a full time job all in its own. In fact, I bet it’s a hell of a lot easier to drop the kids at daycare and go to work than it is to take care of them 24/7!
But already, I am shocked at the lack of respect directed at stay at home moms (and dads). It’s hard work. Why isn’t this acknowledged by some? I’ve talked to people who think that staying at home is the easy way out. They think that all you want out of life is to be taken care of and have no responsibility. They think that you are wasting your life. Worst of all, they think they are better than you and deeply believe that you aren’t contributing anything to the world. But you know what? I think going to work at a job that you may or may not like is wasting your life when you’d much rather be with your kids. They’re only young once. Am I less of a person because this is how I feel? No way!!!
I want to be there for all the bruises, scrapes, cuts, and the hugs and kisses that follow. I want to be there and I don’t want to miss a thing. I’m not ashamed of it one bit. But I also want to be respected by my peers and especially my husband. I don’t know why I care. I shouldn’t care what others think of me when I love what I do, but somehow it seems to matter. We live in a culture where the first question everyone asks is “What do you do?” And if you don’t have a sparkly title to brag about, you are cast aside in the “unworthy of conversation” pile. It’s sad. In other cultures, that question is considered very rude!
I see the problem if you walk around depressed and despise the thought of being a stay at home mom. If you feel you have no job and no purpose that is a problem. But what about if you love it all – the messes, the chaos, the unpredictability? I know enough not to live vicariously through my kids. I’ve seen people do it and it’s no way to live. And when they’ve grown and need you less you let them go. When they’ve grown, you move onto the next phase of life which is just as beautiful as before and during the raising of children. Life is too short. You’ve got to do what you love – whatever that may be
Today I have been thinking a lot about health, and I have come to the realization that there is nothing more detrimental to our health than feeling pretty good. My diet is pretty good, but it can could certainly be better. I feel good, but I could feel better. The problem with having no major health concerns is that you can get away with eating processed foods because you feel fine. Sooner or later, your diet will catch up with you.
I was raised eating crap. It’s not my parent’s fault. I’m not blaming them. I’m not blaming anyone. They didn’t know any different. Blame never solved anything and it never will. If you blame anyone for anything, do yourself a favour and just let it go. Your parents may have been responsible for you once upon a time, but at some point the torch gets passed. The responsibility and the blame become yours. You and I are 100% responsible for our health.
Why do we not value our health as we should? Why is it that we’ll only pay attention to what we put in our mouths when we’re ill? Assuming we are fortunate enough to realize that what we put in our mouths affects our health. Some people go through chemo while eating a highly processed diet (hell, they serve Jell-o in hospitals! WTF?) and end up in the grave without ever being told that what they eat matters. It matters a whole lot. You are what you eat. Everyone has heard the saying but they don’t know it. You are what you eat. Read it, absorb it, know it, and abide by it damn it.
It’s really hard to get around food marketing and the impact it has on us. Companies spend billions of dollars finding out how to get us to buy their crappy dead foods. The food industry is hunting us. If food conglomerates were vampires, we’d be the weak humans who get glamored and eaten alive. But what good is a car, a house, a closet full of clothes, or a family when we’re gone? Fight the food corporations. Eat your fruit and veggies.
The more I think about it, the less I want to feel pretty good and the more I want to feel amazing. So although I am feeling pretty good having the occasional coffee and treat added to my otherwise healthy diet, I want to perform these behaviours less and less because I want my excellent health to continue as I age. I don’t want to hit a wall – ever.
As the year ends and I make my resolution for the next, I’ve decided to take even more responsibility for my health. I’m not going to wait for the new year. I’ve already started. I started to improve my health 3 years ago, so why stop where I am? There is always room for improvement. It’s very simple. Improve your health one decision at a time. My latest healthy decision occurred just a few days ago when I bought tons of loose-leaf organic tea. No more coffee in the house.
What’s your next healthy decision going to be?
Tags: processed foods, responsibility
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