sweet

What I am about to share goes beyond full disclosure, it feels like exposure. It is certainly quite embarrassing but there is a greater purpose than simple confession. You see I have not one sweet tooth but an entire mouthful and until about 2 years ago I allowed those sweet teeth full rein. Just so you understand exactly what that means I offer a day in my life - food-diary-wise - from back in the day:

7:00 AM Eat a cookie (or whatever baked goodie there may be on hand) while preparing a healthy and delicious breakfast for the family.

8:00 AM Breakfast.

9:30-ish - time for a snack. How about a piece of candy?

10:30 - another cookie or perhaps a piece of chocolate.

12:00  Lunch  (maybe ... peanut butter and HONEY?) and a treat for sure!

2:00 PM - candy again??!

3:30 - 5:00 PM there must be something sweet around here. 

5:00 PM snack on ....candy? Again?! (I am honestly shaking my head right this minute. Seriously! what was I thinking?) while preparing (an honestly healthy) dinner.

6:00 PM  Dinner and dessert (of course!)

8:30 PM bedtime snack - you guessed it - something sweet.

You have no idea how lowering it is to recall and write that. I can barely bring myself to look at it. Really - I have to squint before I can. lol. In my (very feeble) defence there just never seemed to be a compelling reason to abstain from all the sugar. Weight has never been an issue (fortunately slim by nature), I did eat fruits, veggies, and all the other good stuff, and I really enjoyed it - so why not? Well, I had a very loud wake-up call and now I know why not. But that is not what this is about.

It is about this! 

As embarrassing as my old (and ridiculously sadly missed) eating habits are .... today I am validated! According to a recent study in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology people who chose dessert (as opposed to a savoury snack or nothing at all) proved to be more likely to help a person in need. The study also showed that the sweet-tooth-types are generally perceived as being kinder than our (perhaps wiser) peers.

I no longer graze my way through the day on sugar but I hope, with all the hope I can generate, that I am part of that demographic. I want to be the person that sees the need and responds to it. I want to be kind today and kinder tomorrow. Honestly sweet through and through. Totally validated and not a bit embarrassed about it.

kitchen scale

I am a reasonably recent convert to the concept that a kitchen scale is something every well-equipped kitchen needs. I have had mine for just over a year now and while I initially used it infrequently, I pull it out pretty much every day now. It is just the handiest little thing! All those recipes from the U.K. are now accessible. Baking is much more reliable since measuring flours by weight is simply the most accurate way to go (and if one is doing gluten-free baking and mixing flours - essential!!). And sometimes things just need to be weighed. You know.

To be sure, I am not any kind of a kitchen-scale-expert. I have only ever had the one I currently have. I cannot claim to have any real hands-on experience in using the many models that are on the market but (since my one outstanding talent - according to a dear friend - is shopping. Sad, I know) I carefully compared what I had to choose from and think that this model from Superstore is the clear and easy winner in all categories that mattered to me. It is compact, sleek, easy to clean (a simple quick swipe suffices - no grooves or buttons), and accurate. It easily weighs items in grams, pounds or mls. Zeroes out. Looks cool. All that for less than 25.00!!!!! Most reliable scales start at close to 50.00 and many are more like 100.00, so I was almost sceptical that this scale could/would deliver but once again the President's Choice label at Superstore has a winner. The products available at Superstore are pretty changeable but I happen to know that they still carry this scale - might be your new best friend in the kitchen :)

Superstore and I have no relationship aside from the fact that I shop there. Just so you know.

walking

I used to walk every day. Summer, winter, rain, sleet, or snow. Okay, not sleet but everything else as long as the temperature was above -14 degrees C (my own arbitrary cut-off). I walked for miles each day and I loved it. I loved the fresh air filling my lungs and cooling my cheeks, the slight burn in my muscles, the way the knots in my mind worked loose and I could figure out what it was that I was thinking. Somehow after Merin died I lost track of that. I stopped walking and forgot to start again. Then the sand of life just sifted into the void that was left where I used to walk. Pretty soon it was filled up and I didn't even notice that there had been a spot for that in my life. Sometimes I would look out the window and think about a walk but the time and the inclination just....well, not there. But in the last few days, with our unseasonably spring-like weather, my walking shoes have been whispering to me again and I heard them. I went for a walk on Monday and the tips of my ears were hurting with the cold wind that blew but it felt so good - to walk. I was out again today. It felt so good again.


I walked by a few women and said hello and we smiled. They each looked like they would be lovely. I had a fleeting thought that it might be nice to walk with someone - to have a walking buddy. Then I thought about how I treasure the time I have with myself when I walk and I know I probably won't look for a walking buddy. I kind of need the time to remember who I am, to figure stuff out. I walk fast - just like my dad - but my mind slows down so that things seem much clearer. I come home feeling smooth and mellow. 


It is good. To go walking again.

reading: Vit K2 and the Calcium Paradox by Kate Rheaume-Blue 
If you take calcium supplements, or you have children, or if you are simply interested in nutrition and optimal health - you need to read this book. It seems there is misinformation out and around about Vit K2. The newest research is fascinating and fills in a lot of 'holes'. Looks like Vit K2 is a vital nutrient that 'activates' and directs other critical vitamins and minerals. Seriously interesting stuff. Easy read too.


I am in awe of the intricate and delicate balances in our bodies  - and the interaction between those balances and the world around us. Add to that the incredible resilience and innate toughness of our physical selves and I am blown away. What miracles we are.

For some strange reason I keep thinking - off and on all day - about the study I posted about yesterday. I have my own 'research' and conclusion to add. My research is not scientifically undertaken but my conclusion - after years and years of research - is that this effect goes both ways. I am absolutely certain that when I hear the voice of any one of my children my cortisol levels drop immediately and my oxytocin levels jump. I wonder if anyone will study this?

bamboo charcoal

When David goes to Japan he always brings me something cool. Or somethings cool. I am so lucky and I love it! One of the best cool things from a recent trip is bamboo charcoal. Although we have lived in Japan I hadn't seen this amazing product before. It can be used in many different applications -  from face towels that are touted to emit far infrared rays to improve blood circulation, to humidity and odor control, to water purification, and beyond. The product claims are more than interesting for sure. The white charcoal slices that he brought home are being put to use in our house as water purifiers and I am very happy with them (please note that no lab tests have been carried out on the water produced -consequently my happiness is based purely on taste - aesthetic and actual). According to all the research that I can find this white charcoal bamboo is practically magical in the abilities it possesses. Check this out:

- absorbs impurities and chlorine from the water

- studies done at Kyoto University  show that far infrared rays emitted from the charcoal break the water molecule clusters into smaller, more organized groups creating an 'energy water' that improves health. (really? I guess...)

- alkalizes the water (from pH 7 to pH 7.3)

- apparently bamboo charcoal water contains more oxygen due to the presence of more negative ions.

- releases minerals (potassium, calcium, iron) to the water.

- bamboo has a microstructure that makes it a unique and efficient natural filter.

I can't substantiate these claims but I can say that the water tastes a lot better than tap water - and Calgary is supposed to have pretty good water! We drink a lot of water. It is the beverage of choice in our house. Although I may simply be picky I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur - laugh at me! And although I can't verify the 'science' I am willing to take a gamble that it is all true. Who wouldn't want it to be, after all?

As well as tasting better, a cool pitcher at the side of the sink looks a lot better than our old Brita did (as awesome as Brita is).

The care and feeding of your bamboo charcoal is quite simple. 

1. Brush off the brand new charcoal slice with a soft brush.

2. Boil in tap water for 5 minutes. Let cool. Then dry.

3. Put one or two slices in the pitcher of your choice, let sit for 8 hours and enjoy.

4. Boil again once every week.

5. Replace after 3 months of use.

The used slices can be crushed and added to garden soil; it will aerate and revitalize the soil - holding and releasing moisture as needed along with minerals.

As if all this isn't enough, adding a slice to a pot of uncooked rice during the cooking process results in fluffier, better tasting rice that has all the advantages of 'devoid of chlorine, bad odor and toxic substances'. Seriously! we all need some.

It took a while for me to glean all of this from the Japanese usage pamphlet that came with the product - being as the way I 'read' Japanese is by looking at the accompanying cartoon-pictures. (David reads it well but is busy so it can take a while for me to tease it out of him.) At any rate, I love this stuff and love having a pretty pitcher of water by my sink. Sometimes I use the white pitcher, sometimes glass, and sometimes a special hammered aluminum one that Merin bought when we went to New York and carried all over Manhattan one afternoon and then home as carry-on. 

(If you want some bamboo charcoal slices and are not planning a trip to Japan, just google it. There are several sources that supply by mail. I would advise the Japanese-made product over what comes out of China. Just my preference.)

laugh

This is my first born - Jonathon. The list of his amazing qualities is very long. I am not prioritizing but one of the things that really stands out is ... Jonathon really knows how to laugh. He has (quite possibly) the best laugh in the world. No really - he does. It is impossible to feel anything less than happy when you hear him laugh. He laughs readily. Honestly. Openly. Joyfully and often. Never at - sometimes with. It is so perfectly perfect. Everyone joins, tears roll, abs hurt. When you catch your breath, life just feels better. It is one of the (many) things that I love about him.

I was reading about laughter and health. Jonathon should live to be a very healthy old man. I am guessing anyone who has the blessing of living around him will live to a happy old age as well. Did you know that when you laugh your heart rate increases, blood vessels expand, and of course you gulp in tons more oxygen. Then blood flow increases, muscles relax, and blood pressure is better. One study found that people with heart disease are 40% less likely to laugh at things than others!!!  Laughter can help relieve pain and reduce tension. It enhances relationships - putting others at ease, increasing tolerance and reducing irritability. Life is just easier to deal with in ever so many ways. I am left marvelling that all too often there are any of us unwilling to let go and laugh.

I love to hear the people I love laugh and to laugh with them. I wish I could laugh 

with Jonathon more often. But even thinking about that wish I feel my kinks unwind and my spirits lift. What a wonderful quality -  to cultivate, to appreciate.


Let's laugh more. 


photo by Dennis Gocer  - The Collective You

Drowning in Tear Sheets

Full disclosure - I like to read magazines. A lot of magazines. Much of my vast (ha!) store of semi-interesting and potentially useful information can be traced to one publication or another. A somewhat frustrating by-product of all this reading is that sometimes (okay, all too often) I can't remember where I read that fascinating statistic or yummy recipe when I want to refer to it with more authority than simply 'I read something about that...', so I started to pull the articles and recipes from the magazines to keep for reference. I fully intended to file them. I did. But the tear sheets piled up. I tried putting them in binders with clear pages but that was too "fiddle-y" and so I always put it off to a day when I had more time (which means never). But being a person that craves order I needed a better solution. One that looks good. And I found one!

It is super-simple - like all good solutions. I bought a file box at the book store, some simple file folders from the office supply store, and used a free printable from Cathe Holden that I found at www.scjohnson.com. I printed it on sticker paper, cut out the labels, applied them to the folders, sat down and sorted the tear sheets, 'floating' handwritten recipes, as well as recipes that I had printed from various favourite sites. Filed everything. And sat back, well-satisfied with it all. And the best part is that it is so simple I keep it up.

So there it sits on my counter, ready to reference or add to, just looking pretty!

You do need to check out Cathe's blog. She has oodles of really great ideas and projects. Super fun!