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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Coffee…the good, the bad, the deliciousness…

 

Makoto says:
Yes, I’ll admit it: I am a naturopath, and I am a coffee drinker. Never did touch the stuff until university, with the strategically placed Tim Horton’s located dangerously adjacent to the library that I spent many late nights in during my undergrad. My drink was the classic large double-double, and I would pound several of these back to keep me fuelled and alert while cramming for my biochemistry exams. That comfortingly hot sugar and cream soup was addictive and kept me going.

Both my tastebuds and health awareness have progressed since those formative years. Little did I know that those days would catch up to me and my body would start to become dependent on coffee, depleting me of my energy reserves, and be a culprit in my digestive challenges. I eventually weaned off the cream to milk and then to black, and then cut out the sugar and paired down to a more reasonable medium coffee and limited myself to one per day. Roll up the rim really made it hard to let go of Timmy’s.

True Inspiration


Aileen says:
Only ever so often, you have true wonderful friends that enter your life. Our friend Mike and his lovely wife Elissa (and adorable daughter Edie!) are a perfect example of that. They are hilarious, fun and dependable (not only did they help us paint the clinic but came with homemade tiramisu!!). More importantly, you can just tell that these two love life and share that energy with everyone surrounding them.


We are most thankful to them for constantly inspiring us to enjoy food! Whether they have just come back from honeymooning in Morocco or from the local fish market, they are always trying new foods and recipes and prepare the most authentic and delicious dishes for their friends to enjoy. When it’s tempting to go eat out at a restaurant after work for convenience, we talk about Mike’s pasta that he whipped up for us in less than 10min while Elissa grabbed a handful of fresh sage from their garden to complete the dish. Thanks Mike and Elissa for keeping up inspired to eat fresh, delicious, hearty food!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

A Healthy UFC Night?


Makoto says:
I've been hooked on Ultimate Fighting Championship since a group of us discovered UFC#1 way back in high school on a buddy's illegal pay-per-view box. The big fight night is coming up this Saturday with the welterweight champ, Georges St-Pierre, hailing from Montreal, defending his title. Apparently, per capita, Canada, and Toronto in particular, have the highest density of UFC fans. Even though mixed martial arts was the furthest thing I could possibly think of Aileen finding any morsel of enjoyment in, she has been a trooper and actually cheers and shouts at the TV when GSP is fighting...made me so proud. :)


Here comes the challenge...how do you incorporate a bunch of hungry dudes and a lot of testosterone with something besides just a few bag of cheetos, pizza and beer? If there are no other options around, I know I will be hungry and succumb to the easy but unhealthier choices. Here's where I need a healthy compromise.

These simple recipes are healthy, whole foods that are easy to prepare (by easy to prepare, I mean that I can even prepare them...I am not a natural in the kitchen, so these are guaranteed to be easy). Bonus, is that they are safe enough to serve to friends who don't think a meal of kale, brown rice and lentils constitutes a fun time.

My "Workout"


Aileen says:
I just came home from “working out” at my gym. Lately, “working out” means bypassing all the cardio equipment and going directly to the showers to get myself ready for a nice luxurious steam. Everything seems great until I lie down and feel a wave of guilt flood over me because I know this part should come only after I’ve sweated it out on the treadmill and my abs are still stinging from those crunches.

I usually fall into a steady downswing of self hatred (all while my pores are softening and my skin is being plumped with the much needed hydration). Why does this happen? I just spent all day thinking of the perfect five Beyonce songs that would be my soundtrack during the most amazing fat burning, energy boosting workout of my life. I’ve just spent the day telling my patients about the amazing benefits exercise has on circulation and stress release.

Before I melt into a puddle of self pity, I tell myself that I am just human. It’s optimal to strive for 3-5 exercise sessions per week ranging in the 30-60min time frame but somehow I have had 1 amazing step class this week and 2 extra awesome (minus the guilt) steam sessions. Although my skin is glowing, I know my muscles are begging me to pump some iron. Ok, deep breaths. No dwelling. Tomorrow is a new day. So here are some tips to help you stay motivated and on track with your workout schedule:

Monday, March 22, 2010

Juicy Ammonia Burgers


Aileen says:
Ok…now are you sitting down. I’m going to reveal something that may make you scream out loud and make my patients seriously reconsider that detox I just put them on. I LOVE HAPPY MEALS FROM McDONALDS. Yes. It’s true. I know….groooooooooooooooss!! But I can’t help it. Happy Meals actually make me happy…giddy in fact. I still take the toy and pretend it’s for my little (non-existent) niece but I have a secret stash of Happy Meal toys in a box in our crawl space. It could seriously make me some good cash on e-bay as some of them are circa 1982. The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine is located a stone’s throw away from a McDonalds and when I was a student there, I would wear disguises to go for late night McDonalds runs in the middle of exams week. Of course I know how nutritionally unsound, if not down right harmful for my health McDonalds food is but it used to be on my sacred list of emergency foods for major stress days (only second to extra frozen Haagen Daas Coffee or Chocolate ice cream).
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