Happy Planet, Happy Mama

30799-west-african-squash-cashew   Serving my 2 growing boys healthy food is one of my top priorities on my “Mom must-do list”. The most common barrier to checking this chore off my list is, of course, time. When there is a whole lot of life happening, as it is in all families, sometimes it is hard to construct a healthy meal every single night. When confronted with those busy evenings of late work schedules, kids activities and empty fridges, I don’t grab fast food from a drive through, but I will grab fast food from a grocery store. Here I can find some…

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

If you’re my friend, you know that this is my go-to treat to bring to parties, when I have company, or when I am in need of a little chocolate/peanut butter therapy. I even brought them on The Marilyn Denis Show as a healthy halloween treat last October. Once you make a batch they last for a few months in the freezer, so these bad boys are ready for you when you want a bite or two. With only 6 ingredients that you probably have in your cupboard right now! Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups  Makes 24 minis Ingredients: 2/3…

Vocal Nutrition with Canada’s R&B Queen Jully Black

  I’ve had the pleasure of supporting Canada’s Queen of R&B Jully Black over the past three months in nurturing and supporting her POWERHOUSE voice. She calls me her belly boss. Jully came to me with the desire to support her voice as she ramps up to record a new album. She also wanted to strengthen her body and feel more energy. If you’ve seen Jully perform or simply just been in the room with her, you know that she possesses an incredibly contagious energy. She exudes passion and has channeled her energy into inspiring women to love the skin…

You Put What In There?!

img_1176 Fish oil. Yup, I did. I put it in my frozen treats for the boys and they loved it. Sea-licious Maple Fish oil is so tasty that they’ll pull the bottle out of the fridge themselves and remind me to give it to them. Let’s be clear, I don’t get into great detail of the specific ingredients inside.  They have no idea that there’s anchovy, mackeral, and sardine body oil mixed into these Maple Vanilla Frozen Cups. They just care that it tastes good. And I care that they eat it and get the health benefits. I do tell them…

5 Steps to Reset Your Diet on The Marilyn Denis Show

fullsizerender Today I shared my 5 steps to get on track with your diet on The Marilyn Denis Show.  My biggest take away from this segment is to be kind but firm with yourself when making a change. It takes time to build up enough momentum both physically and emotionally to get into a new diet rhythm. Dedicate time to nurturing your health through the right foods and you will see huge changes ahead. I’d love to hear what’s worked for you, or if you have questions or comments share away!   Watch the segment here Step #1: PURGE THE JUNK…

Springfree CONTEST Win A Trampoline!

  IMG_4546 I can safely say that we’ve spent almost all but two days (we were away) doing something fun with our Springfree trampoline since school was out for summer. We jump, play tag, put the sprinkler underneath on hot days, have dance parties, dunk hoops, play interactive video games and exercise to some pretty intense workouts (thanks to Tgoma) and we’ve gazed at the stars while lying down on the trampoline at night.   I’m able to be in my garden longer and get some outside tasks done without a “mama, mama play with me!” every three minutes. The boys…

10 Superfoods Under $3

IMG_3179 Top 10 Superfoods under $3 that give you the most nutrition bang for your buck: 1. Garlic ($0.50 per bulb) is nature’s anti-biotic. It’s an anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, anti-inflammatory. A few cloves in any dish will help to keep your immune system strong. Mince garlic and leave it out for 10 minutes to release all of its health promoting properties. 2. Ginger root ($0.75 per root) is a powerful anti-inflammatory, which helps to protect from cancer cells and arthritis. It can relieve intestinal gas, prevent motion sickness, morning sickness and can even help relieve menstrual cramps. Use a thin slice in…

Spring Cleansing Smoothie & VEGA Giveaway!

IMG_3596It’s easy to get in a smoothie rut during the winter months as our body doesn’t crave cold and water-dense ingredients. We’d rather be eating heavier, warming foods when the temperatures are below zero. Now that we are in April we are awaiting May flowers, listening to birds sing and ditching the snow tires.  Fresh, colourful, and light are some of the words that come to mind when I think about Spring.  It’s the time we reconnect with nature and our bodies.  It’s important that we help our bodies to “spring clean” and eliminate lingering toxins and other elements that…

Who Transformed My Diet?…Barbara Walters

  IMG_2968   My passion for nutrition was born from struggle.  I spent many years doubled over in pain as a child not knowing why I always felt sick and tired. I was worried with every bite of food I ate because I felt constant nausea, stomach pains, constipation and dizziness. I started out on a pretty crappy diet. It consisted of canned soups, cheese spread on white bread, flavoured chips, crackers and many versions of fast food. I was eating what a lot of the kids in my neighbourhood were eating, but I was always feeling sick. So sick that…

Recipe Renovation ~ Quinoa Raspberry Muffins

Screen Shot 2016-03-06 at 7.49.59 PM MYTH: Using “quinoa” in the title of a muffin recipe automatically makes it a healthy alternative. FACT: If you took out the 1/2 cup of quinoa for the whole recipe, you’d be left with a enriched white flour raspberry muffin, made with nutrient-poor, inflammatory ingredients.   We can do better. Come back this week to see how I renovate this Quinoa Raspberry Muffin recipe to be HEALTHY and TASTY!      …