Healthy Habits | Theresa Albert

If there were three simple things that you could do every day that would virtually turn your health around, would you do it? What if all three were easy to do, did not take any time and cost you exactly nothing. Any one of them will help you live healthier, longer and take years off the appearance of aging skin but together they are your little secret to your inner universe. Are you ready? Of course you are!

Life Altering Tip #1

Make yours NEAT!

We are all strapped for time and getting to the gym isn’t on everyone’s wish list anyway. When you think about it, the official exercise regime gets you moving for one hour per day. It is what you are doing the other 15 waking hours that really counts. Now there is “NEAT” or Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Making this change is as simple as increasing all the heat creating (aka calorie burning stuff that you do in a day) and you have a lot of sway in how that goes.

• Find as many ways as you can to wiggle, tap, move throughout the day. Walk one bus stop, take the stairs for at least one flight, sit on an exercise ball for an hour a day while at work or watching tv. The possibilities are endless and they all add up.

• Add weight whenever you can. Fooling your body into carrying more weight around (that isn’t really your own!) builds muscle. A backpack of books, maybe? Carry a basket around the grocery store instead of using a cart or strap on a waist belt for the subway ride standing up.

• Convert your desk to a standing station to reduce all of the sitting hours in your day.

Life Altering Tip #2

Remove liquid calories.

The brain does not process liquid calories the same way it processes calories that must be chewed. When you chew, your human internal food mechanism indicates satiety, when you sip...nada. If you added up all the useless calories that come by way of cream and sugar in your coffee, sodas, alcohol and even juices you would likely find 300 calories each day that you could do without.(Do that for 11 days and you can lose one pound!) And don’t go switching to aspartame laden beverages, they are even worse! Try this juice substitute instead.

Life Altering Tip #3

Add ½ cup of beans each day.

There is now sound evidence that it takes one small serving to make a world of difference in your cholesterol levels and risk of heart disease. Beans and pulses (not green beans!) can come in any form and need no longer be the overnight-soaking-pain-in-the-pants they used to be. Here are some ways to work beans in:
• Serve hummus (made from chick peas)

o as a dip for an afternoon snack

o hummus comes in a variety of flavors so you will never get bored

o It’s easy to make at home in a blender

o add a tablespoon to every wrap and sandwich instead of mayo

• Add drained, rinsed canned beans to any pasta dish

o White navy beans and lentils work best

• Make a crockpot full of lentil or minestrone soup weekly

o store in the freezer in single servings for lunches or appetizers

• Top salads with canned kidney beans or chick peas

• Look for bean based veggie burgers instead of beef burgers

• Snack on roasted soybeans instead of nuts or popcorn

All it takes is a tiny shift in attitude to improve your health outcome. Make these healthy habit decisions once and never look back.

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Theresa Albert takes on the challenge of demystifying myths surrounding food and health. Millions learned just how smart and funny she is through her Food Network Canada Show called Just One Bite! She has authored two books published in both Canada and in the US: Cook Once a Week, Eat Well Every Day and Ace Your Health, 52 Ways to Stack Your Deck.



Read her at http://www.myfriendinfood.com/

The Flu and Your Family

I was recently invited to attend a discussion about the flu with Dr. Marla Shapiro (physician, professor, author and medical consultant for CTV) and Dr. David Greenberg (physician and Chief Medical GP for The Mom Show). Who better to discuss the flu than these two doctors?

What is the flu?

sickness straight away (unlike a cold which comes on gradually)

high fever

diarrhea/vomiting

air born

highly communicable

kids are the epicentre (read: they are germ-pools)

(personal opinion: I have always been anti-flu shot because I have thought that it's better to build up immunity naturally. Plus, my family is in general good health so our risk of the flu has not been immense. However, being pregnant this flu season...I am thinking strongly about flu shots for the family...selfishly because as a pregnant woman the flu would be a bad thing during labour)

The Dr. Shapiro and Dr. Dave discussion focused on a nasal flu spray, approved just this year by Health Canada. Yes, it must be administered by a health care professional. No, it is not covered by OHIP. No, it is not covered by insurance either. No, pregnant women cannot take it. However, for parents who have needle-freaked-out-kids this is an interesting option.*

The spray is called Flu-Mist - produced by AstraZeneca for an ex-factory price of $14.

According to a call to my pharmasist -> the list price for this spray is approx. $75 (ouch!). It is unfortunate that the mark up will put this option out of the reach for many budget-conscious families.

[CLARIFICATION: FluMist must be administered by a healthcare professional, it does not require a prescription. Also, I have checked with two pharmasists and I have been given the cost of $75 from one and $20 from another]

*no, the pharmaceutical company has not made any compensation in return for sharing this information.

Have an experience/news piece/review to share with Parent Club? Send us an e-mail - Parent Club loves to share!

Losing the Cooking Touch

Maybe it's because I'm pregnant and hormonally things are off. Maybe I've hit a bad streak. Whatever it is...I can no longer cook. And it is turning out badly for the kids.

Take the turkey casserole I made earlier this month (someone should have taken it...straight to the garbage...admittedly it was awful). What do you do if you make an awful dinner? Make another one on the spot giving the kids the expectation that Mom will cook something else? Make them eat it* (the casserole wasn't lovely but it wouldn't have killed them either).

Then, there was the homemade Spanakopita (which actually tasted pretty great)...but Thing 1 refused, REFUSED, to try it. (The rule in the house is you need to try - if you don't like it after that - I respect your taste - but at least try it). So since we all knew the rule, there was no big fight. But there were silent tears. An hour and a half of Thing 1's silent tears...sitting alone at the table...putting off trying the spanakopita**. This was not a lovely dinner.

Yesterday (oh - Happy Canada Day by the way). Thing 1 and I made homemade strawberry jam (click on that link for my yummy mummy club article on tips for strawberry picking). One batch turned out beautifully - the second batch is runs like Niagara Falls. See, no touch for cooking...

I'm thinking when one is in a cooking rut...perhaps the most human thing for all at the table is to just order pizza.

*I made them eat a bit. Then made toast. Guilty of being a short-order-cook.
**Did finally try it. A full bite. Didn't like it. Made toast. #Fail

Parent Club Giveaway: Energy Basket

The Ontario Power Authority, WWF-Canada and a major loyalty program have launched a campaign which provides Ontarians with a way to continue the momentum of Earth Hour by pledging to take simple actions that will have lasting financial rewards and help fight climate change.

One example action is reducing "phantom power" - the electricity used by electronics and appliances even when they're switched off - an unknown problem that accounts for as much as 15% of a home's monthly energy use!

Parent Club has TWO gift baskets (worth approx $250 each) to giveaway to help save energy in your house.

Each gift basket contains:

• A power bar with automatic shutoff to reduce phantom power
  
• 1,000 Bonus Air Miles (this could get $140 in grocery gift certificates, movie tickets or even a 3 piece luggage set)
  
• A cute & cuddly toy panda from WWF-Canada
  
• Cold water laundry detergent

TO ENTER:
Write a comment (below) on an action you do in your house to help save energy thus fighting climate change.

THE RULES (because life has rules)

Ontario entries only (sorry rest-of-the-world-friends)

One entry per day

Tweet the giveaway (and comment you did so) = an extra entry

Mom's weight, eating and body image

I have been thinking about this post for a while.  Partly inspired by my friend (you know who you are) and Phat Mummy (aka Maria who writes an awesome blog over at the Yummy Mummy Club about weight and mummydom).

If you know me, have met me, or saw me on the TTC platform - I am a skinny, slight, slender-ish person.  Always have been.  Always.  My confession: I have a digestive disorder, IBS-D, which is unreliable, embarrassing and the ball on my friggin' chain.

So when, someone says "I hate you -  you're so skinny" (hello mom!) I accept it (though - would you say this to someone on the other side of the scale?! "I hate you - you're so fat" no - you wouldn't because it is a faux-pas to talk about someone being heavy - however skinny girls - they are hate-worthy).

See the thing about IBS-D is that I don't get the nutrients of my food.  An exciting event, stress, certain foods...can all make me drop pounds.  I lost 4 lbs at an all-inclusive resort (and don't say "I wish I could do that" because I call liar liar pants on fire - you don't want this - you eat and nothing stays in - you can't go out into the world - you are in pain - you are embarrased - you have no control over your life).  I never know when or for how long an IBS crisis will strike.  So at that all-inclusive resort - I ate rice and chicken - for 7 days - and still the IBS thunderstorm descended. 

Through my teen years, I delt with my IBS by not eating until it was "safe" (read: I'll eat when I get home and there is a bathroom at the ready).  So I got the anorexic tag.  (Elaboration: I still don't eat when I go out - it is years and years of habit management - I don't need comments, advice or snorts about "that's how you stay thin" - no this is how I manage having a life and going out into the world - everyday - of my life).

In September 2007, I weighed 99 lbs (my prince had suffered a pulmonary embolism and the stress of it sent a brutal thunderstorm) - I looked horrible (so my mother-in-law kept telling me).  Weighing so little also makes one really friggin' tired - not good when you busy leading two little children through life.

I've been to a nutritionist, counsellors, doctors and naturopaths.  I have a prince who loves me so much that he points out the washrooms to me whenever we go out in the world.  I have family & friends who don't snort when I have a liquid lunch while they eat at a restaurant. 

I must say - there was a hiccup in my grand food management plan.  When my kids started saying "I'll eat when Mommy eats" when we went on a family field trip (we all know, by now, I'm not going to eat - not because I'm on a diet but because when I have an IBS thunderstorm it is sudden and raging - and that can't happen when I am the only caregiver on a family field trip - I have to have control over my body).  So, I eat a couple bites of a granola bar while I supervise the my kids eating a full and balanced lunch. (and before anyone gets rant-y on me: I eat full & balanced meals all the time - at home - in front of my kids - they know I get thunderstorms - we don't talk about #diets, #weight or #gettingfat.  We talk about #being active, #healthy food and #going out).

I am inspired by my friend and Phat Mummy because I connect on the other-side-of-the-scale to their weight, eating and body images.  I support anyone who makes the decided-effort to take off - or put on - weight in a healthy fashion.  In my little opinion, everyone has an imperfect body and we can chose to accept it, manage it or change it -- but I don't think anyone should be hated because of it. 

I'm trying to teach my kids that weight doesn't matter - it's how you feel in your own skin which counts.

New Post at Campaign for Inside Health

Did you hear the news? I am a Community Manager over at the Campaign for Inside Health (that's Activia people).

No, you won't see me belly dancing any time soon. However, you will read me stirring the pot about healthy living. Y'all know I'm a lazy couch potato - cursed with a sad chronic digestive illness - but I'm taking this challenge to get some Inside Health for myself...and I want you there with me.

More to come on the program...but for now here's a read of my latest Inside Health post...

A Healthy Start

Amber Alerts and Scary Stories

This past weekend we drove through Woodstock. I remarked that there were a lot of radar traps and OPP on the road. When we crossed the border into the states - the U.S. customers officer asked us to open the back door to see the children. I thought - she was matching their faces to their passports - how thorough.

When I saw the news last night - I realized - no they weren't just looking for speeders or routine border patrol - there is a little girl lost. An 8 year old girl, Victoria "Tori" Stafford, has been missing since Wednesday. I remember hearing about her last week, but it didn't register as I don't believe they called an AMBER ALERT.

This is every parent's worse nightmare. Don't you agree? This morning I talked with Thing 1 & Thing 2 about awareness...

• The only people who will pick them up from school is me, my prince or their grandparents. I wouldn't send anyone else. If someone else tells them I sent them to pick them up - they aren't to go.
  
• Tell me our home phone number.
  
• If you - ever - get lost in a store go to the cashier. (a kid used to be able to go to any grown-up but blog knows who is a creep and who is a nice guy these days). Nope - go to the cashier. The cashier definitely works for the store, might wear a uniform to make them stand out from strangers, and will certainly have a telephone nearby.
  
• If anyone does take you (blog forbid) what do you do? Thing 1 said "make noise, scream". Yes, said I. You won't get into trouble for yelling.
  
• If anyone does take you - try to escape to a store or restaurant. "Yes, but McDonald's doesn't have phones to call 911" said Thing 1. Every restaurant and store has a phone - you might not see it - but they have phones...ask the cashier.
  
• Remember, Mommy and Papa will always look for you.

In addition, I think it's good to consider Sharon's comment to the Emergency Plans post about kids being scared of firefighters. Police and firefighters can be intimidating in their uniforms - but kids should know they are go-to people for protection.

No Nonsense Nurse Awards

I, personally, think registered nurses and nurse practitioners are gold. I can get Things 1 & 2 an appointment with our nurse practitioner much faster than our physician.

Therefore, for the appreciation of Canadian nurses - we want to tell you about the...

No-Nonsense Nurse Awards

Canadians to nominate a nurse that has made an impression for their hard work and dedication to the health care industry - whether it’s a friend or someone that has treated you, you can nominate a nurse that has made an impression on your life for some great prizes.

• Grand Prize $5000 to a charity of the nurse’s choice and a day of pampering at a local spa
  
  
• Two runner-ups will receive prizes of $500 to a charity of the nurse’s choice and spa packages

The winners will be decided by a panel of fellow nurses across the country. Deadline for entries is March 31st, 2009 and winners will be announced mid-April.

BlogHers Act Canada and Eco-Guilt

Read my latest enviroment column...

International Women's Day and Eco-Guilt

Dear fellow mothers (and mother-lovers),

In recognition of International Women's Day (Sun. Mar. 8) - let us all - for a moment - get off our environmental-mother-loving-high-and-mighty-friggin'-pedestals. Let us stop the green guilt we lay on each other.

Read full rant at BlogHers Act Canada

If you are the "friend" I refer to in the story and you are reading this...no guilt tripping intended. If Angie or Brit are reading this...I am still...very...sorry

On the Road to Plastic Free

I am on - that yellow brick road - to plastic free (I imagine "my road" the hipper yellow version as shown in The Wiz - with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross). Goodbye Bisphenol A, also known as BPA. What is BPA? (yes, click that - it's important).

Gettin' back on down my road. I've finally gotten around to stainless steel cups. Rewind back; last summer at a play date - a friend had stainless steel cups. ooohhhh said I. smart!. They don't leach. They don't break. Great-environmental-green-living-kid-friendly-product.

I've been looking around for stainless steel tumblers - found on loads of environmental living websites...but here is where eco-mom who tries to incorporate sustainable living in everyday life meets frugal mom who is basically - admittedly - budget-minded.

Long story (and it could be so much longer - as I am currently trying to avoid laundry) - short. I found, bought and brought home stainless steel tumblers yesterday. [Things 1 & 2 think they are pretty darn cool!]

Plastic cups you're as done as the witch of the west. How 'bout you? Are you done with BPA?

Flu Season - Ontario Health Choices

Our house has been hit by a mighty bug (and not the creepy crawly kind). Thing 2 has - what we like to call - the 100 day cough (it lasts about 100 days). A croupy cough which causes THIS from time to time. Others in the house, have gone to bed with the flu (and none of them me!). Achy, chilly, sweaty flu (glad it ain't me!).

Timely, there is a new one-stop-site for Ontario health services; www.ontario.ca/healthcareoptions . Using this site, people can find the nearest walk-in and after-hours clinics, urgent care centres, family health teams, general practitioners and emergency rooms by typing in their postal codes. It uses a google-type map to show you options in your neighbourhood.

Approximately, 40 per cent of ER visits are for non-emergency related issues. This website is a great alternative.

I am, still and always, am great fan of Telehealth Ontario (1-866-797-0000). You may remember, I called a Telehealth registered nurse when we were faced (excuse the pun) with a mystery rash. Simply - a great service.

Apparently a lot of people are getting hit hard with the flu this year (ok except the Agoraphobics) - so remember to wash hands and drink hot liquids. (hmmm...so if you aren't agoraphobic you should be just-a-little-OCD?...)

Throw back to June Cleaver

What the friggin' heck is wrong with us MOMs?! Seriously, this is a cry for help - take me out for a cup of tea and talk some sense into me...and I'll do the same for you.

What I'm bloggin' about here is our insane shame over things-not-home-made. Damn you media-marketing-health-sport-industries. Given, childhood obesity rates are on the increase. Given, trans fats aren't good (though I am completely sure I grew up eating trans fats and I don't have a third nipple). Given, that homemade tastes better. Darn-it-all-I-GIVE!

We are a community of "outside the box". My kids have only ever eaten Kraft Dinner at Grandma's house (and she also gave me the trans fats...and still she's not in jail for these crimes - go figure). I spent hours last week making homemade spinach and cheese triangles. (Spanakopeta if you're Greek - I'm not - so it's spinach and cheese chez nous). I also made-from-scratch mushroom onion cigars. Add in 3 home-made (no, wait 4) desserts for various events. And that's what I call Friday.

What am I thinking? I could have easily bought something out of a box and popped it in the oven. But oh...the guilt! I was at another Mom's house over the weekend, and she home-made everything too (plus froze a few things home-made for later in the week). God love us all.

Would June Cleaver be proud? Shamed? Did Beaver and Wally even care that every friggin' apple pie was home-made? I resent home-made yet am dedicated to it. And I feel guilty when - once every other week - when - I pull out "boxed"-all-white-meat-chicken-nuggets for dinner for Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Are we throwing it back to June Cleaver - eating outside the box but boxing ourselves in the kitchen? What exactly are we doing?

BlogHers ACT Canada - Green Valentine

Check out my new article at BlogHers ACT Canada; Green Valentine

I am, admittedly, a curmudgeon when it comes to Valentine's Day. My thinking is that it is a holiday created by card companies and marketing firms to take advantage of February blahs and boost sales. Valentine's Day - Bah Humbug! That confessed; I am also a hypocrite who partakes in Valentine's Day projects with my kids (damn you Valentine!). The saving grace is that I have some great tips for a Green Valentine...

Continue reading (and you really should at BlogHers ACT Canada

Baking Soda is Family Friendly

This is from the arm & hammer baking soda website under the Just for Kids tag. Remember baking soda is a family friendly and good for green living.

Sneaker Peekers

This fun craft does double duty. Kids will have a blast decorating these zany creatures – and then the ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda will go to work deodorizing those smelly sneakers! (Parent Club Note: this is also a good deodorizer for boots and bedrooms - though not for playing with!)

What You Need:
1 new, white athletic sock (mid-calf size)
1 cup ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 rubber band
6" ribbon or string
felt, markers, buttons, and glue for decorating!

How to Make it:
1. Lay newspaper down on your work surface.
2. Fill the sock with 1 cup ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda.
3. Secure with rubber band.
4. Tie ribbon around rubber band, cut off extra sock (cuff area).
5. Decorate! Use Felt, Markers, Buttons, Sequins, etc. to make your Sneaker Peeker an animal, a monster, a flower! Anything goes!
6. Stick them in your sneakers overnight for fresh shoes in the morning!

Remember the importance of adult supervision, especially with young children.

Terry Fox Run in Toronto

Yesterday, my family and I did the Terry Fox run. Actually, to be precise; dh did the Terry Fox run, I did the Terry-Fox-pull-the-wagon-with-a-kid-in-it-backpack-too-don't-forget-the-umbrella-haul.

The turn out at our usual Terry Fox location wasn't very big - I expect it was because of the weather (hello Ike). I admit, when I woke up...I was not looking forward to my Terry-Fox-pull-the-wagon-with-a-kid-in-it-backpack-too-don't-forget-the-umbrella-haul. It's darn hard work!

Then I thought about who was expecting us at the park. A cousin, who when she was 7 years old (same age as Thing 1 now), stayed for weeks at a time, in Sick Kids because of leukemia. Her parents had to trade off hospital over-nights because there were still two younger children at home that needed them. I can't imagine having a child - so sick. (insert shudder HERE).

No, we didn't want to do the walk yesterday. But, then again, I doubt anyone wanted to have cancer yesterday either. So we put on our running shoes, filled the backpack with granola bars and walked (or hauled in my case).

It was a tiring, hot, hard walk - we commented; that it seemed as though the finished line was a bit further this year...but then, I imagine that the families at Sick Kids must have a more tiring, hotter, harder walk than this.

Kids Clothes - Ugh

Um...are we taking out the long sleeved shirts and jeans yet? Should I still keep some shorts in the drawer? Layers?!...

The winter clothes have just come up from the basement and Thing 1 & 2 are excited about seeing the new clothes (well, mainly Thing 2). I bought super space bags a few years ago for our kids clothing storage solution. Love the fact that I can see the clothes and that I (as a bit of a compulsive person) note the size and season. Don't like that the vacuum seal doesn't work so well. Thing 1 & 2 can see their next "new" clothes - which are not new at all - we have a benefactor family who kindly hands down all sorts of cotton and denim treasures.

Today, I'm drowning in Gap and Children's Place -- trying to find homes for warmer clothes but not yet sending the t-shirts in to storage just yet.

Man, I never knew the bliss I had when everything was infant sized!

Parent Club Tip: Preventing Head Lice

• Advise your children NOT to share hats or hair accessories
  
• After washing hair use a leave in conditioner with tea tree oil (THIS ONE is available at Loblaw in the natural health section). Tea tree oil is a natural germicide. Also like just don't like it.
  
• Use hair products, such as; a light dose of hair spray or gel. Lice only like "clean" hair as they can attach to the shafts. Hair with product is not as appealing to the creatures.
  
• For a natural option; fill a spray bottle with water and a few drops of tea tree oil (available at Shoppers Drug Mart in the Natural health section).

Co-Sleeping; Good, Bad or just plain Ugly?

Thing 2 co-slept for a long time. It was never the plan. As with most parenting, plans have a way of falling down mid-flight. Famous now for childhood sleepwalking, early in life, Thing 2 was also quite famous for sleep vomiting (also projectile vomiting too - we are blessed aren't we?).

It was mainly when there was illness. A fever. A flu. A cough. Concerned about choking; Thing 2 did not sleep alone during an illness. It was tiring. It was messy. It wasn't too comfortable really.

Co-sleeping wasn't the plan. So the plan was altered. A vinyl covered foam mattress unfolds beside the big bed; a welcoming safe haven to any little one with a nightmare or illness. You can be near -- just not that near thank you. It wasn't hard to change the plan. The choice was le matelas or back to your own room. Le matelas has always been chosen.

Co-sleeping is a personal choice. Not my choice. (forget the bonding experience - I need a good night's sleep. We can bond at breakfast).

Sigh...the first bee sting

Ah, the first steps. The first word. The first bee sting?! OK, not a very nice first -- but yesterday we experienced the first bee sting of life.

Well, we now know - with certainty - Thing 2 does not have an Anaphylactic shock reaction to bee stings. Panic attack reaction - yes. HUGE panic attack. HUGE.

Thank goodness for TeleHealth Ontario - those nurses are fantabulous (1-866-797-0000). They asked if Thing 2 had a tickle in Thing's throat or chest. If there was difficulty swallowing. If the swelling extended past the wrist (bitten on the "not polite" middle finger).

The remedy was ice, a water + baking soda solution on a cloth, some acetaminophen to ease the pain and a lot of television.

Beach Wheelchairs - Toronto Beach

In the past, only able bodied families could venture through the sand to throw a few rocks in Lake Ontario. However, some grandparents, parents, caregivers and even children with special mobility needs could not get wheels or walkers through the sand.

Now, beach wheelchairs are available for reservation and borrowing for persons with limited mobility. Get out an explore Woodbine, Ashbridge’s Bay or Kew-Balmy beaches.


View Larger Map.

Reserve a chair at 416-392-7688 or try you luck at picking one up at Donald D. Summerville Outdoor Pool, 1675 Lake Shore Blvd. East (foot of Woodbine Ave.)

You do need an adult companion who is able to push the wheelchair through the sand. (not to worry the balloon tires allow for easy pushing through the sand). Beach wheelchairs also come with umbrellas.

It is great to see the city recognizing that families of all abilities are welcome to enjoy Toronto's beach.