Being a work-at-home Mom is blissful for so many reasons—you are able to stay in your pajamas for the better part of the day, the coffee is free and flowing, and you're available for your little ones when they need you (ok, maybe not always so blissful).
During the months leading up to conception, make sure that your body is primed to grow a healthy, thriving baby. There are a few things that you'll want to consider before trying to conceive. Reaching a comfortable and healthy weight for you, making sure that your diet is healthy and balanced for the most part, and including some enjoyable physical activity into your routine (if you haven't already) are all important goals to have in mind when you start getting "baby fever."
Now that summer is here, my days have suddenly filled up with playdates, trips to the zoo, and long mornings at the splash park. With two active kids under the age of four, I always have to have a stash of filling snacks on hand.
Food can be a powerful tool when it comes to parenting.
It can calm a tantruming child, it can be used to coax a child into behaving a certain way, it can create peace when confrontation arises, and it can distract a child when he has fallen and hurt himself.
The nutritional needs of young competitive athletes are different from kids who do not participate in competitive sport. It's still important that these young athletes eat balanced, nutrient-rich diets most of the time to help with normal growth, development, and general health, but on long training or competition days, the priority shifts from nourishing to fueling.
Feeding children can be tricky at the best of times, but when you have a child who participates in competitive sport—whether it is swimming, hockey, dance, or soccer—it can be even trickier to make sure that he is eating and drinking enough to meet his fuel and hydration requirements for normal growth and development, as well as his increased energy needs.
Celebrity Doctor and star of "The Doctor Oz Show" Mehmet Oz very recently attended a follow-up hearing for the Federal Trade Commission’s fight against bogus diet products. Although he attended more as a victim of fraudulent internet marketing, he was in for a big surprise.
When I took my first bite of these homemade lamb burgers, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they were beyond delicious! We don't eat a lot of lamb—ok, we never eat lamb—but I've been trying to branch out a bit in the meat department, and when my Mom mentioned that she made Greek lamb burgers, I was intrigued.
When it comes to food and nutrition trends, I am the biggest skeptic. As most of my readers know, I'm not a fan of eating gluten-free for the sake of dieting or because it's trendy.
I love using Bison (ground or otherwise), because it's flavourful, nutritious, and lean. It's nice to venture away from using beef every once in a while. In fact, we use ground bison a lot more often than beef, because we find it more flavourful. I often experiment when making bison burgers, to find the perfect way to add moisture and tenderness (because bison is leaner than most meats, it can turn out dry).
If there is one food group that kids tend to turn their noses up at, it's vegetables. Veggies—particularly green ones—have a bitter taste, which in hunter-gatherer times, often signaled "toxic" or poisonous.
Cereal is often the number one go-to breakfast choice for parents, considering it takes a mere 30 seconds to throw together and serve, and it is widely accepted by kids. After all, it's crunchy, fun to eat, and often sweet. In fact, cereal is a lot sweeter than most people realize, especially those cereals that are marketed to kids. What may seem like a healthy "whole grain" choice, may actually be the equivalent to serving your kids dessert for breakfast.
I am often asked by family and friends for ideas on quick and easy meals. I will get texts or messages in the afternoon asking for last-minute dinner ideas or for creative and new snack ideas. I love when I get these messages because I get to share my favourite go-to recipes with people that I care about and it also reminds me to try a few new ones out so that I have a steady supply of ideas.
We all know that our kids require certain nutrients for proper growth and development, so when they refuse to eat, turn their nose up to new foods or request the same thing over and over and over again, we start to feel frustrated and defeated.
This recipe was one of those "throw together the ingredients that you have on hand" types of recipe, but turned out amazing. My family and I are currently in between homes right now. We sold our house—the one that we started our family in—about a month ago and don't take possession of our new house until July. So, we are living at my parents' house for a couple of weeks while they are on vacation and then we will be staying with my husbands parents until we take possession of our new home in the summer.
As a mom of a three-and-a-half-year-old, I am no stranger to mealtime battles. Although my son is a great eater for the most part, he is still a typical three-and-a-half-year-old, testing the boundaries at every turn and grasping at any opportunity for independence and control. Eating—something that we do multiple times a day—is, unfortunately one of the areas that preschoolers can and WILL control, and it can be beyond frustrating, and sometimes worrisome for us parents.
My husband and I have recently discovered the beauty of barbecuing a full roasting chicken versus individual chicken pieces. Of course there's nothing wrong with barbecuing chicken breasts, thighs, or drumsticks—some of our favourite recipes call for these—but we've found that we're using whole chickens more often now because there are so many benefits. It's much more economical to cook a whole chicken and there are delicious leftovers for the week.
For decades, saturated fat—also known as "bad" fat—has been labeled one of the leading causes of heart disease. Greasy hamburgers, T-Bone steaks, cheesy pizza and cream sauces have long been avoided because of advice given by nutrition professionals such as myself, health officials, and as laid out by national health authorities and heart associations. But the truth is, there is absolutely no link between saturated fat and heart disease risk. But wait. Don't let this new evidence be your license to gorge on greasy burgers everyday.
We all have friends or family members who are naturally thin, eat whatever they want, and never exercise.
We may be jealous of their slim silhouettes, but in reality, these people may be at a high risk of developing chronic diseases such as Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes Type 2, high blood pressure and Metabolic Syndrome.
