Kicking Fruit Loops in the face!

It's really sad to walk through a grocery store and realize just how many wheat-based breakfast options there are. Just glance down the cereal aisle and look at the ridiculousness that we feed our children each morning: A box full of sugar, artificial flavour, artificial colour (reminds me of that song "Fruitcake" by the Superions - YouTube it... it's hilarious!) and wheat.

I never questioned it growing up and no one knew any better. I grew up with Kool-Aid, Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops and Kraft Dinner as household staples. Everyone did at the time.

Well my fox friends, there is a much better way to do breakfast but first you need to reinvent the idea of breakfast. First off, it doesn't have to be the "smallest" meal of the day. Nor do you have to wake up an hour early and slave away in the kitchen, taking away from precious sleep.

Last night before bed I chopped up a bunch of veggies, seared some stewing beef and threw it in my slow cooker with some organic chicken broth (by Pacific Foods - one of the only broths without all the extra garbage in it). I set it on low for 8 hours... and when I woke up, the smell of yummy beef stew filled the house and I had the most amazing breakfast waiting for me.

 A small bowl of this before leaving the house and my tummy was warm and happy! I got my protein and my nutrients and a great start to my day. Not to mention the fact that something as hearty as this is really filling. So I won't be having a carb crash at 10 or 11am... nor will I crash at 3pm.

This is what I love the most about Paleo: I have energy back in the morning, and I feel so much better throughout the day. Not to mention the pride I get from making and eating something this good. My stew kicks Toucan Sam in the face!

Think this is too much work? I'll break it down:

1) I set up my cutting board and my chef's knife and lay out all the veggies that I need, while my stewing beef is sitting on the countertop.

2) I keep a compostable bag next to my "work station" to throw peels and scraps in for easy cleaning up as I go along.

3) Chop veggies, throw them in the slow cooker. In this batch I used:
- Carrots
- Parsnips
- Turnips
- Zucchini
- Garlic
- Mushrooms

4) Sear beef on all sides in a pan/pot to lock in the juices, then toss into the slow cooker.

5) Take my tetrapak of chicken broth and pour it over everything. (Okay, so maybe it's more of a soup than stew, but seriously... look how hearty it is... I'm calling it a stew).

6) Set the timer for 8 hours on low. Wake up, season with S&P, and eat a bowl of deliciousness.

There's no reason why breakfast needs to be wheat-based or sugar-based. It's time to boycott sugary artificial cereals and think outside the box (haha). Breakfast can be any food you want!

Paleo challenge accepted

I feel like IBS is a lifelong battle. Most days I feel great (owning to my already 90% clean diet), but that other 10% is so variable. As far as gluten-free grains go, my body can tolerate it's fair share, however, my body has been putting up a fight recently.

The worst part is that I don't actually know what I'm reacting to. Sometimes it's nightshades, and other times I can eat tomato sauce without any consequences.

So least to say I'm getting a bit frustrated. And there's only one thing to do when I get this frustrated: Go back to Paleo.

My "modified paleo" from an earlier blog post is getting an upgrade to "semi-serious paleo".

It means going back to preparing and cooking most meals. My glorious burger at Paradise Farms Beef Bistro will have to be bunless (not even the gluten free buns will suffice). My Mennonite-raised chicken plates will now have to be rice-less. My breakfasts will no longer light up my morning with brown-rice toast. I am toastless.

I'm going back to my paleo recipe books, and a grocery shopping "spree" at Ambrosia in North York has fulfilled my breakfast woes.

Paleo Rules:
1) No grains. At all. Not even rice (which is super heartbreaking... almost as heartbreaking as when a clinic colleague told me that rice is contaminated with arsenic. Not meaning to start a revolt here, but if anyone has this research info, please pass it my way.)

On the upside, just found a company that makes Grain-free cereal. I'm not kidding. Ironic since the company is named JK Gourmet. I saw the packages on the grocery store shelf and it was like I had found the holy grail of cereal. Just nuts, seeds, figs with hemp and chia... pour a little almond milk on top and I have a little bowl of protein and fiber heaven. 

2) Legumes are out. That's an easy one since I really don't appreciate being really gassy and bloated. It's just not my style. I still crave hummus, but it's not worth it if I can't digest it properly. GI tract, you win this battle.

3) Eating lots more fresh veggies. I crave them daily anyway, so now it's just about committing the time to go to farmer's markets and picking up fresh produce every few days.

4) No dairy. Easy peasy. My dairy replacements have always held a special place in my heart... which is basically attached to my stomach... metaphorically of course. I'd be pretty worried if they were anatomically connected. No one wants a hiatal hernia with two fused organs. That's serious BNB (bad news bears).

My latest dairy replacement joys: 

• Cultured coconut milk - just like yogurt, only better.
• Silk True Almond milk - all varieties. The dark chocolate flavour is so delicious! You can even use it when making a protein shake
• Coconut Bliss chocolate coconut ice-cream bars. Dairy Queen, you can't even compare... go drown yourself in the pool. Seriously. If vanilla soft serve is Justin Bieber, then Coconut bliss bars are a genetic hybrid of Rosemary Clooney and Justin Timberlake. Bieber... you are way out of your league. Plus apparently he keeps spitting on people which I really don't understand. Perhaps he's just watched "Titanic" one too many times and is practicing how to "spit lik'a man."

5) Keeping out the potatoes, and limiting tomatoes. Except for sweet potatoes of course. Yams make excellent meal additions or snacks on days when you've had a great workout. Work up a sweat, eat a yam (make sure to sprinkle with cinnamon! Because really, you'd be crazy not to.)

6) Be creative with eggs. I'm so used to eating eggs over-easy with toast that now it's time to switch it up. They're a great source of protein and are Gaston-approved (though I do not recommend eating 5 dozen eggs.... or raw eggs in general... that's just ridiculous.)

7) My goal is to stick to only the following oils: coconut, olive, and walnut

8) Try my best to only buy meats from one of my butchers. Or try to find someone that sells like 1/4 of a whole pasture-raised cow. If anyone knows where to get meat from happy farm animals in the greater Toronto area, let me know :)

So this is what it has come to. I'm going to commit to this challenge as much as humanly possible, but we all know that life is unpredictable. I'll post anything that I find to be ridiculously delicious, and I may blog about any failed meals - just to be fair.

It's hard when your GI tract runs your life, but really, how is the body suppose to run (figuratively and literally) properly if it's not fueled properly? Or if it's chronically damaged and doesn't get the chance to heal properly? It's not rocket science to figure out... just a tough battle with food habits. 

The Great Cardio Debate

There is something to be said about accomplishing a goal. No matter how great, or how small or insignificant, when you decide you want to do something and then finally do it, it's empowering.

Of course there are always things that try to stop us from getting there. Sometimes it's self-doubt; sometimes it's other people doubting us; Or it could be something that just needs more practice, or to work hard enough at.

I had one of these small victories yesterday during my run through the forest. I made it up this ridiculous hill that, to me, is like a mountain, but to others might just look like a speed bump. (I know there are no actual speed bumps in the forest... how ridiculous would that be? Like, how many animals need to be running in the same area to require speed bumps and even then I'm sure the deer would just jump right over it. And if it were an actual speed bump, I'm sure I would have tripped over it.)

But back to my story, I recently read The Oatmeal's comic on "The Terrible and wonderful reasons why I run" . I realized that I am still by no definition a "runner" and that The Oatmeal is far more experienced in this realm. In fact, I think he's a bit nuts, but I also realized that running and exercise in general is a slippery slope - in a good way! So I'm probably not too far from there.

I say it's a slippery slope because the more we exercise, the more tolerant our bodies are of it. Our muscles increase in size and we can lift heavier weights; our cardio endurance increases and we can maintain an 80% max heart rate for longer. The more you "practice" at working out, the more your body adapts and the more you can do over the next few weeks/months.

So why do I run if it's torture? Because really, I'm not running away from anything. I'm not trying to get somewhere faster. I run because in a sick twisted way, it feels great. First off, I run through a forest. There's nothing greater than nature. Who needs to spend hundreds of dollars on therapy when I can just be in a forest, walk on the grass with my bare feet, sit on a rock and put my legs in the creek.

When I run I can think about things. I can process things. I come up with blog ideas... unfortunately as soon as I get home I realize that my blog ideas weren't nearly as good as I thought they were in the forest. Maybe that's because forests are magical. Or nature is magical. Either way, there is universal magic at hand.

When I run, my legs are like energetic puppies and unfortunately my lungs are like an old, wise, asthmatic dog. My legs are hyperactive and caffeinated and want to keep going. They're full of energies and love the impact on the dirt floor. My lungs however, can just never keep up for long. They're learning, but every once in a while I come to that moment where the old dog just needs a break, regardless of the little puppies nipping on him, telling him to keep going (only 2K more!). I can often hear this interaction in my head, but of course, not wanting do die alone on the forest floor, I listen to the old dog and tell the puppies to hold their horses.

We can't forget the whole cardio debate... when you do cardio for long periods of time, you're basically enabling the flight of flight response. You're secreting lots of cortisol to deal with this "stress". But exercise is so good for you! So where am I on the cardio debate? I think running is amazing, but we also need to realize what we're doing physiologically. To some, it feels great to run 10K without stopping, but I'm actually a fan of an interval-style of training. Every once in a while stop, let your heart rate go back down and then do it all over again. OR, make sure to not to limit yourself to just running (no matter how addictive it is... because seriously, it is... ask any runner). Throw in some days of doing weights or resistance training. I love throwing in days of weight aerobics. Doing both within the same week helps to tone muscle as well as increasing endurance. It's a win-win. Otherwise you'll end up like The Oatmeal and have the legs of the Hulk, but the body of... well... just read the comic and you'll understand.

Dance like no one's watching

I've always supported the idea of dancing like no one's watching... and literally doing it. It's one of the ways I deal with the stress of city driving and being in a car for far too long. If I drive alone, I'm usually playing my music at a volume loud enough that I can't hear the squeaking of my car's link stabilizers. I'm wearing my super fun purple Florida sunglasses. I'm dancing in my seat with hands moving (except for the one on the steering wheel), my head bobbing back and forth, singing along as I please.

Well, I finally got caught... by two guys in another car, one of which gave me a huge thumbs-up and completely approved of my car dancing behaviour. And the thing was that I really didn't care. I actually laughed at the whole situation and gave the guy a thumbs-up in return, then continued to enjoy my singing/dancing car time.

Maybe that's one of our problems... why some of us are so self-conscious. When it comes to self-expression, why do we always care what other people think of us?

On Wednesday, some friends and I drove up to Peterborough to see Walk off the Earth at the music festival. Usually concerts are pretty lively, however, due to the nature of this being a free concert in a small northern-ish city (well, it's north of Toronto... so to all the city people you could call it "northern"), it was packed with families and older couples. I have never been to a concert where the crowd was so stagnant. I mean, a lot of people were standing, but hardly anyone was moving, or dancing or really seemed to be enjoying the music. So I danced, because I couldn't not. I think I would actually feel more awkward standing completely still during a good song.

It's liberating to be able to move however you want. And I really couldn't care less what anyone else thought. I actually thought it was soooo weird to have a crowd that huge gathered around to listen to music and no one really looked like they were fully enjoying it.  If they weren't so attentive to what was going on on the stage, you would have thought they were bored. As OMC once said, "How Bizarre"?!

I think there is actually something mentally and emotionally different between those of us who feel free enough and comfortable enough to dance in public, and those who are just too shy or embarrassed. I'm not quite sure where it all stems from, but that whole mentality can be changed. The next time you get the chance, you should try it and notice the difference in yourself on the Bubbliness scale. Dancing to music you love is totally bubbly-making.  I mean, geez... even my Nana does it, and she's one of the most hilarious and happy people I know.

I've just gotten to the point where although I'm trying to maintain a professional image, I also need to keep my soul healthy and happy, and that comes through self-expression. 

Case and point: the president of our school just walked past the student lounge, where I alone am laying on one of the couches laughing out loud while watching How I Met Your Mother on my laptop (and yes, I'm on clinic shift right now). And although I was pretty surprised to see him in this area of the school, it didn't stop me from continuing my morning lounge time.

Sometimes (and I mean everyday) you need to do something that makes you happy, no matter who may be watching.

Dance, because it feels amazing. Laugh, because it will make you live longer.  Put them both together and that's bubbly :)

Weighing in on the clothing size debate

There's been a lot of talk lately about how angry and upset women are getting that popular clothing brands don't carry sizes above a 10 or 12. The latest one I've heard of is a girl getting upset that Lululemon doesn't make pants larger than a size 12 and that their size 12 is actually smaller than women realize.

I've heard much debate and wanted to give my two cents.

First off, I should tell you the story about my own similar problem. Back in the day when I was a 38DD bra size, going shopping was an absolute nightmare. I cried every single time I was in a dressing room. Everyone at my school shopped at LaSenza and could get really cute underthings and all I wanted was to not be stuck in granny bras. You know what I'm talking about. The flesh coloured bras with 4-5 clasps at the back and straps that were as wide as the ones on my backpack.

It might be shallow, but they were the least attractive things I've ever seen. I remember going into Jacob one day and after frantically searching their bras, realized they didn't carry anything larger than a 34C. I was so upset. I mean, they weren't even fancy designed bras, just ones that didn't look so dated. And of course, I went to LaSenza, which luckily had a few in my size, but of course, they all have extra padding for that push-up effect. At 19 years old, and DDs on my chest, I really didn't need any pushing up.

So I can totally appreciate the fact that younger women want to feel attractive and not wear their grandmother's bras. As well, I know how heartbreaking it is when you go into a store that doesn't even make a size large enough for you. But walking out of Jacob that day, I made peace with the fact that I could never shop there. And as you know from an older blog post, I decided to change my body. Because of that change, I've also lost 20lbs (not including the boob tissue from the surgery).

One listener on The Edge radio commented that Lululemon is technically active wear and that (remember, these aren't my words) perhaps these women either don't need fancy expensive clothes to wear while doing yoga, or they should use these sizing limitations as a goal to lose weight in order to fit into those sizes.

This debate can take many sides:
1) Does everyone really need the opportunity to spend $110 on Lululemon pants? When I first started working out post-surgery, I was wearing a sports bra that I had bought from Sears as well as old tank tops and shorts. My comfy pants came from Old Navy... and they were $15.

2) Sometimes we need to get over the fact that a brand isn't made for us. Just like me with Jacob lingerie. It's not the end of the world. There are alternatives.

3) You can't get mad at a company for not catering to every single body type and size. They are running a business, and people come in a bazillion different shapes and sizes. It would be impossible to to make every single human look like a rockstar in one clothing line.

4) The goal is to find a piece of workout clothing that fits you like a champ and stick to it. Lululemon makes many different types of sports bras, but only one style of theirs actually fits me well and stops my boobs from bouncing while running. So I had to make peace with buying one style of bra in a few different colours, because not all of their styles fit. It's the same with other companies.

5) If wearing Lululemon really means that much to you, like it's the end of the world if you can't wear Lululemon pants, then make it a goal to get down to that size. If you take offense to that, then there are probably deeper issues at hand that need to be worked through.

6) Abercrombie and Fitch made some pretty terrible comments regarding who their target market was (only the cool kids in school) and about not making XL sizes. They apologized later for their remarks, but if a company's CEO is a complete asshole, why on earth would you want to support that company in the first place? It's called a boycott, and it's pretty easy to do when their stores wreak of cologne from 50 feet away. How do you not get a headache from just walking in there? (Ditto with Hollister).

Sometimes it's just not worth the energies to fight with these companies. Recognize that we're not all built the same, and that we all can't fit into the same clothing. This isn't Starfleet... Lululemon isn't a uniform that all humans must wear. We should stop letting clothing companies define who the "cool kids" are. Just be yourself, and be happy with yourself. If you're not, then find some help to get to a place and a body size that you're comfortable with.

As the wise Dumbledore once said, "Help with always be given [at Hogwarts] to those who ask for it."

When life's milestones cost gagillions of dollars

I'm at that point in my life where it seems everyone around me is getting married or having babies. Biologically this is the end of the "prime" time, so it's really no surprise. But I find that many of us get tired of the rituals associated with these milestones. We have showers (usually several- both wedding and baby), bachelor and bachelorette parties, rehearsal dinners, and Stag and Doe's (the worst of them all).

Maybe that just applies to being in a bridal party. Because who really wants to spend a month's rent worth for a bride and groom just because you said you'd be a bridesmaid. It absolutely sucks. Not to mention the actual price of a wedding if you're the bride or groom.

Nowadays women are staying in school later, and therefore joining the workforce later. So how do you make it all work when you have no monies?

Seriously. I want to know.

But that's not my real beef today. I actually wanted to bring something to attention that often gets forgotten. We put so much effort into a wedding day, so why not give that kind of attention to your Birthing day? A wedding celebrates the beginning of a marriage, but the birth of your kid celebrates the beginning of their life and yours as a family.

I don't mean that so much in the financial sense, but in a symbolic sense. I believe a woman and her partner should be able to plan for their child's birth as you would plan for a wedding: as a special day in both of their lives. A wedding can be a huge production - in a materialistic show-y kind of way. A birthing day is a huge production in an organic human being sort of way. You seriously just produced a tiny human being and made your family 1 person bigger. That's a pretty big freaking deal!

It's one of my goals as a birth doula, to support mothers to make that day special, and not the dreaded account we see in movies and on TV. We've come so far in society to make giving birth a painful and uncomfortable situation. We joke around to pregnant mothers that "The pain's only going to get worse from here on out" and "You're practically going to be pushing a football through your lady parts." We tell them "Take the drugs! No one should have to go through that pain if you don't have to!"

Why do we build it up like it's the worst thing in the world? From what I've said above, it's like giving birth is equivalent to having all of your teeth pulled out. Who says it has to be that way? Why can't a woman be as comfortable as possible without having to get pain medication? Do you know how many tools we have at our disposal? How many relaxation techniques we have! I'm not saying that deep breathing is a pain killer, but it helps to tolerate the pain better. Stress can wreak havoc on our health, so why would it be any different when you're pregnant or are about to give birth?

What other species do you know gets hooked up to an IV, lies reclined and requires an epidural to give birth? Think of dogs! They have whole litters of puppies and no one gives a dog an epidural (I'm pretty sure anyways... that would be absurd.). There are certain circumstances where an epidural has it's place, but why not try to plan your pregnancy and birth to make it as special as a wedding day?

Have a plan, and have a back-up plan in case something medically concerning should happen. Make yourself comfortable. We all think that you have to go to the hospital to have a baby... but why? Something terrible isn't going to happen every time a woman gives birth. The Birth Doula who ran the workshop course this weekend said something that really hit the mark: give birth where you feel safe. A place that you can trust in. If you feel safer at home, give birth at home if you can. If you feel much safer going to a hospital, then go to the hospital. Either way, the point I want to make is to make sure you're comfortable. Bring things into the room that are comforting to you. Have music playing in the room if you like. Have people around you that make you feel safe. Remember and practice your relaxation techniques. Hire a birth doula! Know that you can ask questions. You are allowed to request the evidence that a certain medical intervention is best in your case. You are allowed to make decisions.

So you need help in making those big decisions? Ask about the risks, the benefits, and any alternatives. And lastly, please, please, please, don't put yourself in the mindset of a victim when it comes to having a baby. You are not a victim, you are a warrior and this is you and your partner's day. You deserve to experience childbirth in the way that you want. And it doesn't have to cost gagillions of dollars... though raising children in general usually does... 

Disclaimer: This is all within the limits of your health status. Any serious health risks may change your original birth plan, but your comfort and relaxation tools should always be available.

self care lecture vs. actual self care

So today we had a lecture on "Physician Heal Thyself" - which is basically self-care and stress management for us future NDs. The breakdown of the workshop actually looked amazing. However, this weekend I took a Birth Doula course/workshop (10-hour days both Saturday and Sunday), and at the end, getting through the last of the cottage traffic, I basically wanted to break down and cry from exhaustion.

And that's pretty much what I did. A good cry and some food and then I just wanted to pass out. I ended up sleeping in this morning - missing today's lecture. But I took today as my own self-care day.

I decided that sleep was so much more worth it. Not getting sleep can turn us into zombies. I mean, that's what happens to me... not sure what happens to the rest of you. Hence why I'm actually starting to take this whole "Zombie Apocalypse" thing a bit more seriously. Take the 2 million plus people in Toronto and deprive them all of sleep for more than 48 hours and see what happens. The city would be up in flames, people drowning in Lake Ontario, screaming and crying heard all the way across the boarder (slightly over-dramatic but also quite possible).

I had an epiphany this weekend during our lunch break at the doula course. I went outside to eat and looked around and all I could see were fast food restaurants and concrete. Everything, including the table I was sitting at, looked so fake. I have never felt more depressed about our society than at that moment when I realized that what was surrounding me looked like Ontario's Saftey Village.

For all of you in other provinces/countries, the Safety Village is this cute place that you go to in kindergarten to learn all about traffic safety. A police officer tells you what the green light and red lights mean; you get to drive around in a little motorized car, go to the fake gas station and drive through the fake McDonalds. It's a miniature fake city.

Then it hit me: I truly don't trust this world. I try to live in this bubble up above everyone else because I'm so afraid of the world we've created. Seeing what we've developed into actually makes me want to cry. So I tend to gravitate towards anything and everything natural in this world.

It explains my passion for naturopathic medicine, why I wanted to be a Birth Doula, why I want to live near water, why I try to eat as naturally (and paleo) as possible, why I'm so obsessed with working every muscle group I have and strengthening my body, and why I've become so interested in energetic medicine and the body-mind connection. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a hippie.

My self-care now has become focused on keeping me grounded to this earth. I mean, I'm still filled with anger but I'm learning how to manage it and how to learn from it.

Today I did go for a run - regardless of the disgusting humidity and 34 degree weather (that's 93 degrees for all of you Americans). Well, because it was so humid it ended up being a tough hike through the woods with some intermittent running, and by the end of it I saw something that made it all worth it:

I went down to the creek/river, threw off my running shoes and socks and upon finding a nice sitting rock threw my legs in the water. It was glOOORRious! I sat for a while, putting my hands into the water, looking up at the gorgeous blue sky and just listened to the the sound of the water.

Now... upon sitting for a while I did notice that my skin was a bit blotchy and itchy... kinda took away from this amazing moment I was having. I'm really hoping it's not poison ivy or some sort of epidermal Beaver Fever. Most likely it was just rashing from the sun and heat, but I'll keep you all updated if I've contracted some sort of new Canadian Wilderness allergy.

In the meantime, I may have skipped class, but I needed my own self-care and to ground myself - remind myself that I can trust the natural world. Other than tripping over some tree roots, it hasn't disappointed me yet. I can't change the entire world. I wish I could, but it's not realistic. I guess I can just teach what I know. And who knows... maybe there will actually be a zombie-ish apocalypse, destroying most of the world and I won't have to worry about the people who work for the evil corporations of the world. And I get it... our economy wouldn't exactly be the same if these big wigs just disappeared one day - but how about not feeding our cows corn. I don't care if it fattens them up... a cow eats grass and should be grazing in pasture. And maybe we should eliminate food additives and chemicals which essentially affect our brain cells, our hormones and are toxic in large doses. And maybe we shouldn't build any more condos until we can expand our transit system and manage our highways/transportation. Just a thought.

I mean, I'm a true believer in Karma. What's goes around comes around (as the great Justin Timberlake would say). If you're going to contribute to the destruction of our earth and of the people on it, be prepared for the universe to shove something ugly up your ass.  - sorry... that's my anger again. I really need to work on that.