I totally forgot about having muesli for breakfast until my good friend Jane reminded me by asking for a recipe!
Jane just got back from beautiful New Zealand and had mentioned a typical breakfast for her and Scott was muesli. She wasn't able to find a good muesli here and asked if I had a recipe. Sure enough I did and used to do this once in awhile. Give this a try if you want something different for breakfast.
The night before you want to have muesli, take 1/2 cup of large flake oats and soak in water in a bowl (cover with 1 inch of water). In the morning, grate an apple into the oats and mix in 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup plain yogurt or rice milk or soy milk, 1 Tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds, 1 Tbsp sunflower seeds, and 1 Tbsp toasted sliced almonds, and 1/2 fresh berries. Stir together and enjoy! You can always substitute any of the nuts and seeds or the berries for different fruit.
About Me
Friday, April 25, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
OAND AGM
I just got back from the OAND AGM. The OAND is our professional provincial association and it holds an annual general meeting every year. 2007 was an exciting year for our profession as The Naturopathy Act was passed in provincial legislature. Essentially the Naturopathy Act puts us under the RHPA (Regulated Health Professionals Act), with other healthcare professionals such as medical doctors, chiropractors, speech pathologists, and massage therapists, among others.
The OAND is our only connection to the policies and framework that the provincial government will be putting into place with the Transition Council. Every month the association collects dues that essentially allow them to continue working on our behalf to make sure we are allowed to safely and effectively educate and treat our patients to the best of what our many years of education and training have given us. Who would talk to the government if the OAND wasn't around? I wish more of my colleagues across Ontario realized the importance of having a provincial association - healthcare in Canada is provincially regulated!
There should be no reason why everyone in Ontario shouldn't want to have a Naturopathic doctor as part of their healthcare team. I have no doubt that much of the burden on the healthcare system we have provincially, would be lifted if more people saw Naturopathic doctors.
Again.... I love what I do. Oh and I love that Aileen and Makoto introduced me to Bulldog this morning before the AGM.
Ok off to enjoy the sunshine!
The OAND is our only connection to the policies and framework that the provincial government will be putting into place with the Transition Council. Every month the association collects dues that essentially allow them to continue working on our behalf to make sure we are allowed to safely and effectively educate and treat our patients to the best of what our many years of education and training have given us. Who would talk to the government if the OAND wasn't around? I wish more of my colleagues across Ontario realized the importance of having a provincial association - healthcare in Canada is provincially regulated!
There should be no reason why everyone in Ontario shouldn't want to have a Naturopathic doctor as part of their healthcare team. I have no doubt that much of the burden on the healthcare system we have provincially, would be lifted if more people saw Naturopathic doctors.
Again.... I love what I do. Oh and I love that Aileen and Makoto introduced me to Bulldog this morning before the AGM.
Ok off to enjoy the sunshine!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Spring Is FINALLY Here!!
I feel great today. The sun is out, and Spring is in the air! This time of the year reminds me of so many things.... the first of course, having grown up on a farm, is the smell of the freshly ploughed soil and the second is actually a Traditional Chinese Medicine course I took with a couple of friends/colleagues while we were still at CCNM.
It was a course on the five element theory of Chinese Medicine. It was the day I realized nothing can change who I am - I was born a "wood" and will always be a "wood". Every element has a season associated with it, a colour, a set of characteristics, an organ, health concerns and tendencies....
I am the wood element, which is associated with the liver, and with Springtime. Spring rejuvenates me and gives me the energy I need to grow and work hard. The two friends I went to the course with were "fire" and "water" and we learned what each of us gives each other and what we have to be careful doing to each other. Fires are full of energy. Fires need wood to spark them and to give them ideas/ thoughts to keep burning... but that isn't always good. Sometimes it's too much for a fire and they can get out of control and burn out easily. I also learned that I tend to surround myself with "earth" people. My two best friends, Noreen and Andrea are both "earths" - I guess they stabilize me and ground me. Thanks guys!!! I'm off to visit my "fire" friend, Anna, tomorrow! Always an adventure.
It was a course I will never forget as I learned how to look at myself differently and how the people around me affect me, my thoughts, and my actions. One of the teachers wrote in my textbook something I will always remember - "Remember that you must learn to be patient and bend like bamboo."
It was a course on the five element theory of Chinese Medicine. It was the day I realized nothing can change who I am - I was born a "wood" and will always be a "wood". Every element has a season associated with it, a colour, a set of characteristics, an organ, health concerns and tendencies....
I am the wood element, which is associated with the liver, and with Springtime. Spring rejuvenates me and gives me the energy I need to grow and work hard. The two friends I went to the course with were "fire" and "water" and we learned what each of us gives each other and what we have to be careful doing to each other. Fires are full of energy. Fires need wood to spark them and to give them ideas/ thoughts to keep burning... but that isn't always good. Sometimes it's too much for a fire and they can get out of control and burn out easily. I also learned that I tend to surround myself with "earth" people. My two best friends, Noreen and Andrea are both "earths" - I guess they stabilize me and ground me. Thanks guys!!! I'm off to visit my "fire" friend, Anna, tomorrow! Always an adventure.
It was a course I will never forget as I learned how to look at myself differently and how the people around me affect me, my thoughts, and my actions. One of the teachers wrote in my textbook something I will always remember - "Remember that you must learn to be patient and bend like bamboo."
Friday, March 7, 2008
I-Channel, @issue
Yesterday afternoon I left the clinic early to tape a show for a health series on I-Channel (Channel 197 on Rogers Cable) called @issue. Zoltan Rona, MD and author, and Kelly Rabazzo, a chiropractor, and myself were part of a round-table discussion on alternative and complementary healthcare. This station or network or whatever you call it, was very well organized and the host, Catherine, was really good at keeping everyone at ease and keeping the conversation moving along.
It was a pleasure to meet Zoltan Rona as he has definitely jumped outside the conventional medical box by looking at how effective natural therapies are and by being a leader in environmental toxin testing and treatment.
We discussed how important nutrition and exercise are in people's lives and how poor lifestyle choices can put someone down the track of chronic disease like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. We also discussed who our patients are and what kinds of health concerns we see. We finished off with a fiery topic for all of us - regulation for NDs, what OHIP covers, and what the provincical and federal governments need to know and do to help today's society live a healthier, longer life.
I'm not sure when it's going on air. Hopefully they'll let me know!
It was a pleasure to meet Zoltan Rona as he has definitely jumped outside the conventional medical box by looking at how effective natural therapies are and by being a leader in environmental toxin testing and treatment.
We discussed how important nutrition and exercise are in people's lives and how poor lifestyle choices can put someone down the track of chronic disease like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. We also discussed who our patients are and what kinds of health concerns we see. We finished off with a fiery topic for all of us - regulation for NDs, what OHIP covers, and what the provincical and federal governments need to know and do to help today's society live a healthier, longer life.
I'm not sure when it's going on air. Hopefully they'll let me know!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Snack Idea Before Dinner
It's been busy since I've been back from Edmonton and my body is in yoga withdrawal. Getting lunches and dinners together has been difficult this week as Chris and I have been getting home late.
Yesterday I was able to pop into TNT (an Asian supermarket) down the street between patients to pick up some edamame or soybeans. It was so easy and quick that it was the perfect snack when we got home starving and we had to wait for our veggie stir-fry to finish cooking. Threw the frozen edamame in some salted boiling water for 2 minutes, drained them, and then shook them with some large sea salt crystals and a mix of hot spices. We munched away while our dinner was cooking! Almost as tasty as the edamame we love at Kinki (sushi restaurant) in Ottawa.
My dad would be shocked seeing us pay for and eat a bag of soybeans, a crop that caused him so much stress over the years!
Yesterday I was able to pop into TNT (an Asian supermarket) down the street between patients to pick up some edamame or soybeans. It was so easy and quick that it was the perfect snack when we got home starving and we had to wait for our veggie stir-fry to finish cooking. Threw the frozen edamame in some salted boiling water for 2 minutes, drained them, and then shook them with some large sea salt crystals and a mix of hot spices. We munched away while our dinner was cooking! Almost as tasty as the edamame we love at Kinki (sushi restaurant) in Ottawa.
My dad would be shocked seeing us pay for and eat a bag of soybeans, a crop that caused him so much stress over the years!
Monday, February 25, 2008
My Personal Yoga Boot Camp
Wow. I'm just about to leave Edmonton after an intense 5 day personal yoga boot camp. I feel amazing. I came out on Thursday to visit my sister and check out her new Moksha yoga studio. Little did I know what I was in for! I ended up making the visit a little personal challenge - I did 2 classes a day for the time I was here and by the last class I took today, I could noticeably see and feel the difference in my flexibility and strength.
More importantly, I think it's important to sometimes step out of the regular hustle and bustle of life and challenge yourself to reawaken your health, vision, and goals. It doesn't even have to be yoga.... I guess it could be to challenge yourself to sit in stillness for 15 minutes a day, quit drinking pop for a week, write down what you are grateful for everyday for a month, or walk everyday for 20 minutes for a month.
I am grateful that I had this opportunity and thank Ang for kicking my butt everyday for the last 5 days..... my thighs and triceps thank her as well.
Namaste.
More importantly, I think it's important to sometimes step out of the regular hustle and bustle of life and challenge yourself to reawaken your health, vision, and goals. It doesn't even have to be yoga.... I guess it could be to challenge yourself to sit in stillness for 15 minutes a day, quit drinking pop for a week, write down what you are grateful for everyday for a month, or walk everyday for 20 minutes for a month.
I am grateful that I had this opportunity and thank Ang for kicking my butt everyday for the last 5 days..... my thighs and triceps thank her as well.
Namaste.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Artificial Sweetners Make You Fat!
I was so happy, (almost vindicated!), when I read the Globe this morning and in the Life section there was an article explaining why artificial sweeteners make you fat.
When patients come to see me for weight loss, a common thing I see in their diet diaries is diet pop or low-fat, fat-free stuff - things with artificial sweeteners - even with Splenda, the sweetener many try to convince me that is "good". I always try to explain how I would rather see them eat/drink real sugar because at least your body knows what to do with sugar. Artificial sweeteners confuse the body's messaging systems - your body doesn't know how to react! I could rant forever.....
You can't fool nature.... Switch your pop for water and you will start to feel better!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080211.wlsweetener11/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home
When patients come to see me for weight loss, a common thing I see in their diet diaries is diet pop or low-fat, fat-free stuff - things with artificial sweeteners - even with Splenda, the sweetener many try to convince me that is "good". I always try to explain how I would rather see them eat/drink real sugar because at least your body knows what to do with sugar. Artificial sweeteners confuse the body's messaging systems - your body doesn't know how to react! I could rant forever.....
You can't fool nature.... Switch your pop for water and you will start to feel better!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080211.wlsweetener11/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home
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