This Life is Not a Rehearsal

I am about to embark on the biggest adventure of my life.  Not like those times I went to Europe... Or traveled around the states... Or that road trip I took with my family when I was 12.  This adventure sees me changing the fabric of my life.  As I leave my friends, my community, my lifestyle behind... I wonder what's really next for me.  Every time I tell somebody what I'm about to do, I inevitably get the question "why?".  Every time.  I guess the real reason is: why not?

There are a lot of good reasons: Time for change, itchy feet, because I can, to explore new opportunities, I love a new challenge and an adventure and I'm ready to up the bar on all of those things.  This change offers me all of these things.  The change?  I am taking a permanent vacation to beautiful British Columbia, 4000km from where I was born, in the shadow of the CN Tower.  I have no plans to come back, except for the occasional visit.

I always sort of knew I'd do it eventually.  Some of my very favourite growing up memories take me back to my many visits on Vancouver Island.  I love the fresh air, the mountains, the view, the ocean, the wild seals that do tricks for frozen fish heads and the ones that follow you as you kayak the Pacific.  I love the possibility of year long outdoor sports.  I'm in love with the possibility of creating the life I want for myself.  So, this month I start the road trip to my new life.  This summer, I begin my Pilates teacher training in Van City and in 2015 I return to school for Athletic Therapy.

Why?  Because this life is not a rehearsal.

But How Do You Have the Time!?

... BUT HOW DO YOU HAVE THE TIME!?

This is a question I get a LOT.  People generally assume I either live in the kitchen or have a house elf. I assure you, neither of those is accurate.  You don't have to spend all day every day slaving in the kitchen to get three, healthy, square meals a day... this I promise you.

You want to know my secret??

Cook in batches.

Yup.  That's it.

As I probably spend only a handful of waking hours a week at home, I devote one hour or so per week on the weekend preparing some stuff for the week.  This generally includes:

1.  Cooking one cup of black rice
2.  Cooking one cup of quinoa
3.  Cooking one cup of steel cut oats
4.  Making coconut milk

These are some staples for me.  Admittedly, the steel cut oats are new as a recent visit with my friend/nutritionist opened my eyes to the fact that I wasn't eating enough carbs to support my level of physical activity (total duh moment...)... but all three have similar cooking times and instructions.  I cook them plain and garnish them appropriately for each meal.  There are so very many things you can make out of those 4 main ingredients.  All three can be used in breakfast for porridge by mixing in a little honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup (...or whatever seasoning you like in your porridge) and heated in a bowl in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  When it's heated you can add some fruit, nuts, seeds and enjoy!!  You can make salad with your quinoa.  You can make sushi, fried rice, etc out of your rice.  There are no shortage of options.

Quinoa Porridge

(coconut milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, pinch sea salt, hemp hearts, chia seeds, strawberries)

French Toast Casserole!

Not sure what to do with that leftover loaf of bread from Thanksgiving going stale in your pantry?!  Turn it into this delicious masterpiece!  It's so easy and tasty!  It's also free of white sugar and is vegan friendly!

What you need:

2 tsp chia seeds

1 1/2 cup milk of your choice (I used homemade coconut milk)

5 tsp Water

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp raw honey

2 drops vanilla extract

Pinch sea salt

Loaf of bread of choice

1/2 tsp baking powder

Soak chia seeds in water for 15 minutes, until gelled.  Add coconut milk, gelled chia seeds, 1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, baking powder and vanilla to a blender and blend until thoroughly mixed.  Tear bread into chunks (I used half a loaf of leftover sourdough) and add to a casserole dish and pour batter over bread.  The batter should come almost to the top of where the bread sits.  Top with remaining cinnamon and bake in oven pre-heated to 375 degrees for 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the batter isn't soupy.  If your bread is really stale, you may want to let it soak for a couple of hours or overnight before baking.

Once ready, remove the casserole from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.  Serve with real maple syrup or your favourite fruit syrup!

Bon appétit!

Talia

Crab Apple Cider!!

After a brief hiatus, not for me I've been plenty busy, but for my blog... We've returned with a classic, Canadian fall fan fav (say that 3x fast!).  Hot apple cider, with a little, very local twist!!  Crab apples!!!  Just wait, before you judge... I know crab apples in toronto were the height of annoying.  I remember plodding through tons of these as a kid on my way to elementary school... Feeling the squish under your new kicks and then walking around on the tile floors at school on sticky soles.  I blame this on that gross feeling I get in the pit of my very being when I step on anything that feels squishy.  Or maybe raising puppies. Either way, crab apples were a gross annoyance to a child.  You can't eat them, you can't play with them... What good are they to a kid?!

Maybe this apple cider will change your mind!  Crab apples not only give it a pleasant, almost citrusy note, but they give it an appealing pink colour!  It's super easy, super delicious and is the ultimate comfort on a rainy fall day!

What you need:

3:1 apples of your choice to crab apples

Water

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Raw honey

Cut apples into medium sized slices, put in a pot and add water, enough to cover the apples by an extra inch or so.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for 10 minutes and turn down to a simmer.  Add honey, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.  Simmer for 1 hour covered.  You can even add your own favourite spices at this point!

After 1 hour, remove lid and mash apples.  Re-cover and simmer for another hour.  Strain out apple flesh and enjoy!!  You can even use the leftover apple for apple sauce or in your favourite recipes calling for puréed apple!!

Enjoy!

Like Mr. Noodles? Don't eat'em! Eat these instead!

If you're like me, several Mr. Noodles packs a week was not only acceptable but it was considered a delicacy in university: the early years.  With age (sometimes) comes wisdom and with wisdom (sometimes) comes the knowledge that MSG is disgusting... And the staple ingredient in our favourite freeze dried noodle-y treat!  What if you could make a tasty, savoury, delish noodle bowl that is chemical garbage free??  Here's how!

What you need:

500ml water

1 bundle wakame soba noodles

2 handfuls nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 pinch raw cane sugar

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp minced chives

Add all ingredients to boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes.  Enjoy!!

Bon appétit!

Talia

That time I had an MRI: part 2... The results!!

At a time when most of my friends are posting photos of the insides of their uterus to showcase their growing bundles of joy... I recently spent 1 hour waiting for photos of the insides of my mangled hip joint.  Why?  Because something life altering is happening to me too... Only it's less of a miracle and more of a blow.

I had been operating under the notion, for the past almost 2 years, that the pain, stiffness and other discomfort I was experiencing in my hips/back/groin were related to something, some injury, that I could recover from.  Now I am coming to terms with the fact that the only thing that will fix my problem and prevent further degeneration in my achy hips is surgery.  A surgery which is extremely invasive, not proven effective and has a year long recovery time.

So just what is FAI exactly?  FAI stands for Femoral Acetabular Impingement aka Femoroacetabular Impingement or more simply: hip impingement.  It's not well understood and until about 10 years ago, wasn't even a thing.  So in my case, cam deformity, I was born with the predisposition to develop an abnormally shaped femoral head as my hip joint formed.  What this means is that there is extra bony tissue on the ball part of what makes up the ball (femoral head) and socket (acetabulum) that makes up the hip joint.  Allow me to illustrate:  

What it is NOT: a wear and tear injury.  Running did not cause FAI, dancing did not cause FAI... However, using the joint causes complications, injuries and pain associated with it.  Every time I walk, run, squat, dance, sit, stand, shuffle, walk up stairs... That extra bony tissue is bumping (and potentially causing damage to) the cartilage in and around my hip joint which can cause tears and arthritis... Both of which I now also have.  So, my choices have now become: have a surgery that may not work and takes me out of everything I love doing for a whole year of my life or wait until the hip joint is so damaged that it needs to be replaced and spend 3 months recovering from that surgery.  In my mind, the answer is a no brainer.  I am being referred to an orthopaedic surgeon for a consultation and plan to go into it with open ears and an open mind... However, I am quite sure I have already made the decision to manage the pain until the time comes when, like my father before me, I need a new hip when I'm "way too young". 

Cashew cream

In my quest to find alternatives to everything... You know, just to mix it up... I discovered various recipes online for this bad boy.  Like every other recipe, I can't just do it the way it's written in other recipes, I came up with this based on what I learned, what I had in the kitchen and what I like.

Cashews are a great source of calcium and magnesium, which build and maintain healthy teeth and bones.  They're also a great source of omegas!  Cashew flesh is really soft making it a great nut to play with creating various textures of cashew milk and cream.  Unlike almonds, where if you didn't strain the meat out of your almond milk you'd end up with minuscule cashew pieces that land in the back of your throat and make you cough for several minutes... Cashew flesh blends up totally smooth.

Check out this recipe for vanilla cashew cream!  The texture ends up being similar to yogurt.

What you need:

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews (not roasted)

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 tbsp raw honey

Soak cashews in freshly boiled water for 30 minutes (cover cashews by about an extra inch of boiled water to account for absorption).  Strain out soaked cashews and add all ingredients to a blender.  Blend until smooth.

I would encourage you to play with this recipe!  You can add some orange juice and zest to the mix to create orange cashew cream, for example!

My favourite way to eat this is over fruit for dessert :-)

Bon appétit!

Talia

Delicious, Creamy Coconut Milk!!

I recently started a new job and have had to consider tree nut allergies when I am creating in the kitchen for the next day's meals.  If you've seen any of my recipes, you'll probably notice that I use a LOT of tree nuts.  Cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans... I have many mainstay recipes that require these items.  Not the least of which is my almond milk, which I traditionally use to make overnight oats (my fav!!!).  I enjoy a switching things up and challenging myself to come up with alternatives for things, so I do not view this as a bad thing but rather an opportunity to find new alternatives for my tree nut mainstays.

Enter: coconut milk!
Coconut milk has a really creamy texture which I attribute to the natural oiliness of the coconut flesh you will use to make it.  It's extremely easy to make and there are so many ways to prepare it.  You can even use it to add richness and a hint of coconuttiness to your morning java!

Here's what you need:
1/4 cup raw, unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup water

Simply soak the coconut in water for at least 15 minutes (longer is better).  Put the coconut and the water you've soaked it in into a blender and blend for at least 2 minutes.  This is where coconut milk differs from traditional nut milks.
1. The coconut flesh doesn't need to soak as long as nuts do to make nut milk.  Preparation time for coconut milk is minimal.
2. You do not need to discard the water you soak the coconut in, blend the coconut flesh in the same water you soaked it in.

I like to flavour my coconut milk by adding 1 pitted date or a tablespoon of raw honey to sweeten.  I also add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.  You can also toast the coconut before making milk out of it to mix up the flavour a little bit.  There are so many uses for this: I love adding my fresh, home made coconut milk to my morning smoothies!!

Cookies for breakfast!

Who doesn't love cookies?!  What about cookies for breakfast?  No, this isn't some cruel joke.  What it is is a delicious breakfast treat!

What you need:

1 medium-ripe banana

1 chia egg

1/3 cup equal parts rice/oat flour (I used black rice, but brown would work too!)

1/4 cup almond meal

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tsp raw honey

1 1/2 tbsp natural peanut butter

1/2 tsp equal parts baking powder and baking soda

1 pinch sea salt

1 tsp virgin coconut oil

Chocolate chips or fresh/dried fruit to taste

Bon appétit!

Talia

That time I had an MRI

I'm claustrophobic.  Like, really claustrophobic.  Sweaty palms, panic, racing thoughts... The whole nine.  So, the idea of being slowly pulled into a cold plastic and metal cocoon was not high on my list of fun things to do with a Friday afternoon.  What if this hospital suddenly loses power and I'm trapped in this tube foreverrrrrrrr?!  You might be thinking "you could just crawl out, Talia." - I could... But WHAT IF a piece of the ceiling caves in and I'm trapped?!?  What if there's a... fire!!  What if the technicians forget about me!?!  So irrational.

So, I had an MRI. 

A sports medicine doctor wanted to get a closer look at my hips to try and determine how someone who is as active as I am... And who, as a dancer, once had fairly impressive flexibility and range of motion in my hip joints, suddenly has chronic aching, clicking and restricted range.  After months of waiting, my excitement at possibly getting some answers and maybe a prognosis and a shiny new treatment plan to match was peppered by my irrational fear of small spaces.  But, as always, my determination conquers all.  It's amazing what you learn about yourself when you're pushed out of your comfort zone and have to adapt.  I learned, among other things, that I can rock the Summer 2013 line of burlap hospital gowns... Opening at the back, obv.  I also learned that the experience was much like being inside a beatbox for 1 hour.  Varying frequencies of magnetic pulses sounds something like techno beats.  A few times between shots I could hear the technician saying something muffled to me through my fancy headphones which I imagined to be "REMIX" to which I would respond with fist pumping and "sssssssssick beatsssss".  Ok, none of that happened... But I came close to laughing a few times imagining that it did! (An hour is a long time to be deprived of sensory stimulation)

I didn't panic!!  Big thanks to yoga for teaching me about body awareness, the power of breath, meditation and relaxation.  Without those skills I would have needed to be sedated for sure!!  Now, I wait for the results...

DIY cherry tomato sauce!

In an effort to stay away from processed/premade pasta sauces, I developed this delicious recipe over time (trial and error) and now it's a staple.  It's really easy and delicious and the best part is: this sauce can be made by mostly using things you already probably have lying around the kitchen!

What you need:

1 tsp fresh ground sea salt

1 tbsp Italian style herbs/seasoning (basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, thyme)

2 tbsp minced garlic (or to taste)

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1/4 cup olive oil

1 pint washed and drained cherry tomatoes

Add all the ingredients to a pan over medium heat and allow to come to a simmer.  Allow cherry tomatoes to simmer covered (stirring occasionally) until the skins start to 'pop' and then start to mash the tomatoes with the back of your spatula.  Once all the tomatoes are mashed/have popped, continue to simmer on low for about 5 minutes.  Add spices/seasoning to taste.  Serve with quinoa, rice, on pizza or your fav pasta!

Bon appétit!

Talia

Lemon Poppyseed Overnight Oats

I never really get tired of overnight oats.  Some days I feel as though I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  They're so versatile... some days, they're even the perfect dessert.  Like this one, it's super healthy and also REALLY yummy!

Recipe:
1/2 cup oats
1 cup milk or nut/grain milk
1 tbsp poppyseeds
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 drop vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon zest (I used a cheese grater to grate a lemon peel)
1 tsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed, obviously!)
1 tbsp raw honey

Pictured topped with strawberries and walnut pieces.

Bon Appétit!
Talia

Healthwashing

I feel like everyone is talking about this and I think it's an important topic, so I'm going to talk about it too! So first of all, for those of you who are totally new to this concept, let's think of it this way:

You're driving a car blindfolded (I know, I know, stay with me) 

being guided by a passenger you really don't know very well 

but for some reason this night, you trust him.  

You're heading towards an intersection and your light is red but the 

passenger doesn't see any cars coming so he tells you to keep driving.  

You didn't get in a horrible fatal car accident this time, 

but the traffic cam did go off and you get a ticket for running 

a red in the mail 2 weeks later.

Crazy story, right?

Now, let's think for a second about how we do our grocery shopping.  We're wandering the aisles of our local grocer and we know we don't feel like cooking during the week so we are going to pick up some ready made items that are advertising themselves as: "Gluten-free", "Healthy", "Fat-free", "Sugar-free", "Zero-calories", "Fortified with..."... Healthy, right?

Did you actually look at the list of ingredients?  Probably not.  So now you're kind of like the blindfolded driver from my earlier scenario.  The package tells you it's "healthy" and you trust it.

Let's take yogurt, for instance.  You like your yogurt sweetened right?  I don't blame you... natural yogurt flavour is bitter and to be quite honest: I'm not a big fan myself (I generally opt for the full fat unsweetened option and add raw honey, in case you were wondering).  So you (and me too!!) want sweetened yogurt, but your latest fad diet told you fat and sugar is a big no, no.  Maybe you haven't really given much thought to what gives natural yogurt it's creamy texture, I'm going to tell you... and the answer might make your corneas explode for a second: it's FAT.  *gasp*.  So, if we're taking the fat content out of our yogurt how are we going to replicate that creamy texture?  Here are some options: corn starch, gelatin, pectin, carrageenan.  You can argue both ways for these ingredients (and people obviously have strong feelings both ways) and my goal here is not to start an argument, just present a perspective that maybe gets you thinking about this stuff if you're interested but haven't been inclined to think about this stuff before.  Technically, none of these items are naturally occurring on their own in nature (anyone harvested a gelatin tree recently?) and as food packages never explain where they have extracted these additives from, you really can't be sure where they came from or how natural they are by the time they reach your lips... or what chemicals were used during the extraction process.  The last thing I'll say about these items is that carrageenan is likely a carcinogen that causes inflammation in the digestive system (http://www.nowtoronto.com/lifestyle/story.cfm?content=190988).  Now the sweetness.  If we're not using white sugar (which isn't great for you anyway), let's look at a few of the additives food manufacturers might use in place of sugar: Aspartame, Sucralose (think Splenda), Xylitol... If you haven't been living under a rock, you are probably aware of the controversy surrounding Aspartame.  Aspartame has been linked to cancer, neurological and psychological complications.  While many agencies will continue to preach that Aspartame is safe for human consumption "at current levels", it should be noted that many studies are commissioned by the organizations who will benefit from the use and sale of Aspartame.  Further, it is 100% chemical derived... meaning it didn't originate in an item that was edible in the first place.  Sucralose comes from edible origins, unlike Aspartame, but it is processed using chlorine, which doesn't come from anything edible and is, again, a chemical.  Finally, Xylitol, like Sucralose, does have edible origins but is generally extracted from hardwoods or corn cobs and then chemically processed.

So why are we being fed this garbage?  The answer is simple: supply and demand.  People want to stay thin-ish, but they still want to eat McDonalds and donuts and drink loads of beer and sodas and coffee drinks.  So a lot of times, people rationalize their McDonalds, beer and donuts choices on their "cheat" meals and then load their systems up with chemical garbage that satisfies their basic tastes (sweet, fatty, salty) but won't add to their waistline.

So... now I have thoroughly depressed some of you... how do we free ourselves of this cycle?  We stop thinking of our relationships with food as a cycle of fad diets and start having healthy relationships with our food (shop the perimeter, cook as much as we can, understand what we're eating and where it came from) and treating our bodies well with regular exercise.  This is what our bodies were meant to do.  I know I've just made it sound so simple and if you're coming from a place of chips, ice cream, pop and McDonalds every day, I have to be honest: it really isn't going to be that simple to completely restructure the way you think and feel about food.  You're not alone.  There are a ton of resources available to guide you.  A great starting place is +Meghan Telpner Inc. 's UNdiet , in it, Meghan does a fabulous job of taking you through the process of realigning your relationship to food even if you've been in the junk food world for a long time.  +Alicia Silverstone 's Kind Diet also does a pretty good job of explaining food and how to get what you need out of food.  I should mention that both books are making the case for staying away from animal products and basing your diet on plant-based nutrition and if this is a deterrent for you, I still recommend reading the books and taking what you need out of them in the sense that they provide really solid information about basic nutrition and simple recipes to make your life just a little bit healthier.  They will help give you the building blocks to construct a healthy relationship with food, whether or not you choose to follow the instructions verbatim.

Here's a healthy suggestion to start your day!!  A delicious smoothie!!  .. and this one will satisfy your sweet, salty AND fatty cravings (without aspartame, xylitol, carrageenan or any other chemically derived additive):

1 cup almond milk

1 drop vanilla extract

1 tbsp raw peanut butter

1 tsp raw honey

1/2 banana

1 tsp spirulina (optional)

1 tbsp chia seeds

Add all ingredients to a blender, mix and enjoy in your favourite mug, beer stein, sippy cup or slop trough... :-)

Have a happy day!

Talia

Being good feels so bad! Cookie dough porridge!

Being good never felt so bad... Or so easy!!

Recipe:

1/2 cup rolled oats and barley (3 to 1 oats to barley)

1/3 cup coconut milk

1 1/2 tbsp raw honey

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

2 drops pure vanilla extract

1 pinch sea salt

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 handful dark chocolate chips

Combine all the ingredients (except the chocolate chips, we'll add those later) in a food processor and blend.  Put mixture in oven safe bowl and mix in chocolate chips in with a spoon!

I heated this in the oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, but it's really good cold as well.

Bon appétit!

Talia

Breakfast cobbler in a bowl!

Summer is here!!!  Enjoy this delicious breakfast bowl on a patio, balcony or on your cottage dock.  This recipe will feed one person, double the ingredients to share with the family! (It really is too good not to be shared)

2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar (I would have preferred raw honey, but I used the last of my honey yesterday.  I encourage you to try this with another sweetener.)

2 tbsp flax meal

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup fruit of choice (I used peach slices and strawberries)

1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp shredded coconut

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

1 drop vanilla

1 pinch cinnamon

1 tbsp oat flour

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Put fruit in the bottom of a pre-greased oven-safe bowl (I used coconut oil to grease the bowl).  Toss  the fruit with the oat flour.  Combine all the other ingredients in a mixing bowl (except 1 quarter of the coconut milk) and mix. Evenly layer the oat mixture on top of the fruit and then pour in the remainder of the coconut milk.  Bake for 35 minutes and broil for an additional 2 minutes to crisp the top a bit.

Bon appétit!

Talia

Ehhhhh, wake up, doc! Gluten-free breakfast carrot cake.

I have a confession: Bugs Bunny is my idol.  When somebody points a gun in his face he responds by casually munching on a carrot and wryly saying:

"Ehhhhh, what's up doc?"

He reacts in a way that suggests that not only is he confident that he'll get out of this perilous situation, as he has all the other ones before it, but also that he already has a killer idea up his sleeve for outsmarting his latest foe.  I feel that we should all be more like Bugs in the face of adversity.

Fuel your ability to think on your feet, like Bugs, by starting your day right with this delicious and nutritious, carrot-based breakfast idea!!

Breakfast carrot bowl cake:

1/2 cup black or brown rice flour, oat flour, almond flour (equal parts)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 pinch nutmeg

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

1/4 cup gelled chia seed meal

1/4 cup coconut milk 

1 1/2 tbsp raw honey

5 baby carrots

1 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp poppyseeds

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.  Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add wet ingredients to a food processor and blend until thoroughly mixed then add 4 of the carrots and blend thoroughly.  Add gelled chia seeds to wet mixture and process until just blended.  Shred remaining carrot with a cheese grater and add to dry ingredients.  Combine wet and dry ingredients and put in oven safe bowl.  Put bowl in pre-heated oven and bake for 60 minutes.

Bon Appétit!
Talia

More pancakes! GLUTEN FREE!

I have a weakness.  Well, several, I guess, but particularly for breakfast food.  Brunch is a major past time of mine.  Crafting the perfect breakfast food is one of my life's passions.  I recently created this concoction after discovering black rice.. and these pancakes are GLUTEN FREE!!!  Yes!!

Black rice and oat flour pancakes:
3/4 cup black rice
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp raw honey
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup gelled chia seed meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 drops pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp coconut oil

Grind black rice and oats into flour.  Combine all ingredients and blend until thoroughly mixed.  Cook pancakes in a pan or on a griddle on medium heat for three minutes on each side.  Top with maple or fruit syrup and serve!!

Bon Appétit!!
Talia

An unlikely skincare routine...

Coconut oil is my new favourite tool in my skincare arsenal! I started using it on my dry skin in the winter and had such great results, I wondered what would happen if I put it on my face. I know what you might be thinking... Putting oil on your face sounds nasty... And truth be told, you do have to use it sparingly. Slathering a fistful of coconut oil on your face is definitely NOT what I'm suggesting. Also, you have to be careful. I recommend a patch test because I've heard that some people's skin reacts to coconut oil.

So... Why should you consider trying this? First of all, conventional lotions contain a ton of ingredients that can damage the skin... And even cause further irritation and dryness. This was the appeal of coconut oil for me. I have very sensitive skin that gets angry even 10 feet away from the closest fragrance. I've had to switch to unscented laundry soap because of that... And boy do I miss the clean laundry smell :-(
Things in conventional lotions such as; fragrance, cetearyl alcohol and other "fatty alcohols", stearic acid and parabens, can irritate the skin, cause dryness and can even cause premature aging. So, now when you really think about putting that stuff on your face... Does coconut oil on your face seem so gross?

So, here's how I do it: in the morning I use a wet cloth to exfoliate my face and then massage the coconut oil on wet skin (a dime sized portion, very little). I then rinse it mostly off and pat dry, I find that the towel I pat my skin with will absorb the excess. At night I still use face soap to get the city and whatever makeup I might be wearing off my face... But once I've rinsed the facial cleanser off I repeat the coconut oil on wet skin routine. I've found my eyelashes even like it!! Sometimes in the shower, I'll massage the coconut oil on my face and leave it on while I wash up and THEN rinse it off.

So what's the benefit?
The molecules in coconut oil are small enough that they are easily absorbed by the skin. The texture of the oil is also similar to the natural oils the skin produces. Coconut oil is also: antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial and has vitamins and minerals that your skin will eat up!

Convinced?
I hope so!!

Have a happy day!
Talia

Grain discovery series - black rice

Black rice, also known as purple rice or forbidden rice, keeps popping up in my life. I keep finding it in my research online and people have even started asking me about it. Traditionally, I'm not a *rice lover*, that's why I didn't jump at the chance to try black rice when I first started hearing about it. I like rice for sushi at restaurants, but I make it with quinoa at home... That's pretty well it. It probably has much to do with the fact that a lot of restaurants serve up white rice, which I see as empty carbs... wasteful. You'd be hard pressed to find me ordering a rice dish at a restaurant. If I'm going to order a ton of empty carbs at a restaurant, I'd rather have ice cream. However, black rice intrigued me and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about! So off to Whole Foods I went!

Turns out, black rice is very good for you! It contains more antioxidants than blueberries. It's high in vitamin E, which is great news for our skin and immune systems!! It's said to prevent cancer and protect the heart. It's also low in sugar and a good source of protein and iron.

Black rice has a warm, nutty taste and texture similar to brown rice. It can be used in any dish you would use white or brown rice in. I think I may have discovered some reasons to love rice after all!

To cook black rice:
1 cup rice
1 3/4 cups water

Soak rice at least 15 minutes. Drain and rinse. Add water and rice to a pot and turn burner on high. When the water begins to boil, turn the burner down and simmer until the water is absorbed (about 30 minutes).

Serve with your favourite sauce or stir fry!!

Bon appétit!
Talia

Stepping back

In my life I have been fortunate to have had no limitations. As a kid I was allowed and encouraged to try everything. I started dancing when I was five: tap, jazz and ballet... At 7 it was swimming... When I was 11, I picked up gymnastics... When I was 13 it was Irish dance and synchronized swimming... Then in highschool it was modern dance and various ballroom dance styles, vocal lessons, saxophone and guitar lessons. I taught Irish dance while continuing with my staples: tap, jazz and ballet in my highschool program... Danced on my university dance team... Dabbled in mountain bike riding and finally hopped on a proper road bike when I was 26.

The bike was a gift from my dad, an avid and skilled cyclist himself. A pearl white trek set-up with drop handle bars. My helmet, jerseys and shoes were of course all appropriately coloured: white, lime green and gray, to match. One day while riding my usual route from one of my favourite places on earth, the Toronto beaches, I was cruising down a rec trail and a car didn't see me.............. There is this brief moment of clarity when you face your mortality... I, of course, didn't lose my life that day but for a brief second I accepted that I might. That was enough to have a profound effect on me.

I am a different person now, today, than I was on that day. I have struggled physically which has forced me to face my demons. I don't even feel right complaining about my struggles because I know that there are people who suffer worse than I do every day... But the struggles are there. I have had to learn to cope with (minor) chronic pain and physical limitations for the first time in my life. There are days when I can't do the things I want to do and days I probably shouldn't do some of the things I struggle through anyway and it's changed me. It's put into perspective what's actually important in life, because, for a split second I thought that my life was over and now I am so grateful for every day.

In the end, the journey that started following that accident was a very positive one. I have met really amazing people and learned so much about life and become much more body aware. I've learned not to sweat the small stuff. I still whine and exercise my ferocious sarcastic sass on the regular, but I don't worry about things the way I used to... And that is a blessing!

Seriously though don't sweat the small stuff because everything can change in a split second. Love freely, dance like no one is watching and sing like no one is listening.

Most of all, have a happy day!!
Talia