2nd Annual Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Day on May 17, 2013.

For the past six months, we at Real Food 4 Life Education Foundation, a non-profit organizaton have been working around the clock to bring you Vaughan’s 2nd Annual Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Day event on Friday, May 17 from 10 AM-3 PM at Petits Chefs Academy.

The Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Day is a global event that aims to bring awareness to the importance of eating real food for good health. Food Revolution ambassadors from around the world will be hosting a variety of events on May 17th, and we will be hosting one of the biggest and best right here in Vaughan!

This year’s theme will be ‘The Circle of Life’ where a variety of professionals representing the different stages of food will be speaking and providing fun activities for children and adults alike! From soil health to cooking to nutrition, you will have the opportunity to learn about all facets of food, from farm to fork!

Take a break from work and come on down to listen to our amazing line-up of guest speakers (see flyer below) and enter to win so many awesome prizes, including a an olive oil gift basket from Sarafino, a gift certificate and recipe book from Grazie Ristorante, and a signed Jamie Oliver cookbook!

Admission for this event is only $5 and the proceeds go to covering the cost of the event and to Real Food 4 Life Education Foundation’s future community initiatives.

Are you a teacher? We have schools coming down to the event for an awesome field trip before the long weekend, and we’d love to see you there as well! Please contact us immediately at info@realfood4life1.com for more information.

Would you like to volunteer? We are looking for volunteers to help coordinate activities on the day of the event. If you are interested, Please contact us immediately at info@realfood4life1.com for more information.

BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE NOW!

No need to road ‘trip’ up on your diet!

I just came back from a fairly sunny and fairly warm week in Florida (the weather wasn’t always superb, but it was certainly better than here!). Instead of flying down and staying at a hotel, we drove down and rented a house on a resort.

Now, if you are trying to maintain clean and nutritious eating while you are away, renting a house is a no-brainer. Far cheaper than a hotel, we had all the amenities of a resort, with the convenience of a home. Having our own fully-loaded kitchen (it was huge too!) meant that we only ate at a restaurant ONCE the whole time. We made quick, simple meals out of fresh ingredients, and the cost savings, as well as the guarantee that we wouldn’t be getting a bad stomach after a meal were totally worth it. Now, I know many people don’t equate ‘vacation’ with ‘cooking’, but it really hardly takes any time to make a simple salad and balsamic organic chicken tenders!

So the challenging part of maintaining healthy eating wasn’t when we got to Florida, it was while we were driving to and from it. If you want to keep up your healthy diet while you are on vacation, (and this especially applies to those with allergies or sensitivities) planning ahead and bringing your own food is a MUST!

Before I go on road trips, I head over to the health food stores to stock up on snacks that are travel friendly. Bars, raw nuts, seeds, and crackers are easy to pack and don’t need to stay cold. Stores like Whole Foods and Nature’s Emporium have so many healthier options for snack foods. I highly recommend you do your shopping for packaged foods at grocers like these, as you will find a large selection of items that don’t contain preservatives, artificial flavours and colours, or refined flours and sugars.

If you have a cooler, you can also bring some chopped up vegetables and hummus as well to snack on. Vegetables are fine to bring across the border, however, fruits are NOT! Once you cross the border, you can stop off at a grocery store (or maybe even a farmer’s market!) and pick up whatever fruits you desire.

As for meals while on the road, this is definitely more of a challenge to prepare for, especially if you don’t have a cooler to bring with you. If you are on a multi-day road trip like we were, packing meals for both days can be an issue. We were lucky and got a motel room for our overnight stop with a refrigerator in the room, so I was able to save my left over quinoa and zucchini pilaf, as well as my roasted organic chicken for the drive the next day. Unfortunately, you can’t really know ahead of time what your are going to get from these motels, so be prepared to have to eat at a restaurant after the first day.

If you have a cooler, you can pretty much pack just about any meal you desire. Some examples are:

- Sprouted bread sandwiches made with grilled vegetables, tempeh, or organic, nitrate-free turkey or chicken

- A whole grain pilaf made with quinoa, rice, millet, buckwheat, or teff

- Grilled vegetables like zucchini, peppers, and eggplant

- A mixed-greens salad with any veggies you desire for topping. Add 2 tablespoons of shelled hempseed to boost the protein and healthy fat content. Pack a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and dijon mustard in a small, separate container so the delicate greens don’t get soggy

- A pasta salad made with whole grain or sprouted grain pasta, veggies, olives, and an avocado, lemon, and olive oil dressing

- Fresh smoothies or juices made right before you head out on your road trip. These are perfect for breakfast on the go, or a mid-morning snack

If you have a thermos, soups stews, and chilli are perfect for having for lunch on the road, as they will still be warm if you pack them up in the morning.

As for drinks, I really don’t recommend anything other than water on the road. You aren’t going to be very active on that long car ride, so we don’t want to overdo-it with the calories. Everyone in the car should have their own re-usable bottle that they can fill up at pit-stops with larger jugs of water that you can buy at the grocery store. Buying larger bottles that passengers can fill up their own with dramatically cuts down on waste.

A special note to those with special diets like gluten intolerance: You better prepare to bring a lot of your favourites with you, because you may not find them in the U.S.A. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful selection of healthful, gluten-free products like breads and crackers here in the Greater Toronto Area. I have found that even at Whole Foods down there in Florida, I could not find many of the products that I purchase here (thought you may find some new and interesting ones!)

Now, if you are on a multi-day road trip and you don’t have the luxury of refrigeration at your motel stop-over, there are still options. The best option is to find the nearest grocer or farmer’s market to pick up some fresh veggies and fruits. Grocery stores often have pre-made salads. Be careful about salad dressings, especially in the States. High fructose corn syrup is a common ingredient in most packaged foods there and it can spike blood sugar and leave you feeling hungrier. Buy, or bring some oil and vinegar from home.

If you want a hot meal, most grocery stores have those as well, and that food will generally be of much better quality than at a restaurant. If you are lucky enough to find a Whole Foods along your journey, you are really in for a treat. They have delicious, nutritious prepared foods all day long, and ALL ingredients are labelled so you know exactly what you are getting!

Road trips should be fun! Seeing new places along your journey can be the most exciting part of your entire vacation. With some thought and preparation, food doesn’t have to become a source of stress on what is supposed to be a relaxing time! Don’t let a road trip ‘trip’ up your diet!

Breeds of Bread

Nothing gets me fired up more than seeing ridiculous advertising from these big food corporations touting their products as “nutritious”, “natural”, and “wholesome” (my, how that word is never properly used!)

Don’t listen to the commercials, just read the labels. You can get the information that you need from the back of the package, more specifically the ingredients list.

So lets take a look at Dempster’s Whole Grains breads, which they say are oh so good for you because of course, they have whole grains. Sure they have whole grains, but they also have a bunch of other junk stuffed in there as well:

Now, let’s take a look at Food For Life’s comparable loaf of bread:

While the Dempster’s loaf is filled with preservatives, Food For Life’s loaf doesn’t contain any. No artificial sweeteners, no fillers, no preservatives. Do you have to keep the bread in the freezer? Yup! Because this bread will actually rot in a few days (like food is supposed to!) Funny thing is that everyone I have asked think this bread tastes much better too!

Spend the extra money and get REAL bread. Your body and taste buds will thank you very much!

Grassroots Art Lessons – A new fun and educational experience coming to Petits Chefs Academy in Vaughan

I am so excited to announce my collaboration with Petits Chefs Academy Cooking School in Vaughan for this great new initiative called Grassroots Art Lessons. 

Grassroots Art Lessons aims to stimulate the imagination and creativity in children of all ages through fun and educational visual art projects that are inspired by themes such as sustainability, the environment, and of course, food! I am looking forward to bringing my education in art and nutrition together with the food expertise of Petits Chefs Academy for these unique classes!

 

Classes start February 4, 2013, and we invite you all to come out to our FREE Preview Day on Sunday, January 27, 12:30-2:30 PM where you can meet the instructor and learn more about the program while your kids do some fun art activities. ‘Like’ us on Facebook to keep up to date! http://www.facebook.com/GrassrootsArtLessons/. You can also follow Grassroots on Twitter http://twitter.com/ArtGrassroots.

SPACE IS LIMITED! REGISTER NOW. CALL 289-553-4445.

Classes are held Mondays (Ages 4-9) and Wednesdays (Ages 10-15) from 6:00 PM- 7:30 PM.

Session 1: Fun Food Stamps- 1.5 hours. February 4, 6
Cost: $25 including materials

Using potatoes and apples, students will carve their own fun stamp designs 
and use paint to create colourful, abstract designs on canvas board. They’ll 
learn basic colour theory and mixing, as well as the principals of design.
Learn how apples and potatoes grow, and get delicious recipe with each of 
those ingredients to try and make at home!

Session 2: Sustainable Sculptures- 1.5 hours. February 11, 13
Cost: $25 including materials
• Bring in 3-5 empty food packages such as cartons or boxes

Everyday, families fill their garbage and recycling bins with containers from pre-packaged foods. Though recycling is better than waste going to the landfill, it still uses a lot of energy. Why not reduce our carbon footprint and make something beautiful? By using a variety of empty pre-packaged food containers and paint, kids will create stunning sculptures inspired by their surroundings. Students will learn how to cut, bend, stick, fold, and paint. They’ll also learn about the benefits of using unpackaged foods for their health and for the health of the environment, and will be given a healthy recipe for a dish that can be made entirely without pre-packaged foods!

Session 3: Sensational Still-Life- 1.5 hours. February 18, 20
Cost: $25 including materials

Your young one can become the next Van Gogh with this 
exciting painting lesson! Students will have the chance to 
paint a fruit and veggie still life, just like the old masters did 
on canvas using acrylic paints. They’ll learn basic and 
more advanced colour theory and mixing, as well as the 
elements and principals of design. Students will also learn 
about how the different colours of fruits and vegetables have
special health-promoting powers! They’ll get to take 
home a special recipe that uses some of the fruits and vegetables 
that they depicted in their still life painting!

Session 4: Art of Baking- 1.5 hours. February 25, 27
Cost: $25 including materials

Using a healthy dough recipe and natural food colours, students will create beautiful, colourful sculptures that are good enough to eat! Students will learn basic colour theory and mixing, as well as the principals of design. Students will also learn about the ingredients to make their nutritious dough and why they’re important for maintaining good health. Students will also get to take home a print-out of the recipe so that you and your kids can make healthy, delicious, edible sculptures for years to come!

Register for all 4 sessions and pay only $20 plus HST/class!
All 4 sessions for $80 plus HST.

It’s time to get back at it!

Happy 2013 everyone! “Eating Season” is now officially over, so it is time to start thinking about how you are going to get back into the swing of things.

At this time of year, it is common to feel bloated, sluggish, and a little depressed as well. Your body is pretty overwhelmed by all the cooked feasts, sweets, and cocktails. Bring your body back into balance quickly with these easy-to-implement tips:

1. If you haven’t tried juicing, now is a good time to start.

Juicing fresh, raw, organic vegetables and fruits is a great way to cleanse the blood and digestive system after some abuse. By removing the fibre from the produce, all those great nutrients are quickly assimilated and brought into the blood stream to do their work. The enzymes found in fresh and raw fruits and veggies are especially important for cleaning up debris left over from that glazed ham or chocolate panetone. Be sure to use lots of greens in your juices, and go easy on the fruits. Greens contain chlorophyl Try having a glass every morning for at least 2 weeks. I recommend checking out My Juice Cleanse’s Mean Green Juice Recipes which can be found here. I’ve tried all of them, and they are all delicious. Even my green-hating boyfriend enjoyed these.

2. If you don’t have a juicer, smoothies are great too!

More people have blenders than smoothies, and since a good juicer can be pretty expensive, smoothies are also effective at taking the burden off the digestive system and getting those cleansing nutrients into the blood as quickly as possible. The difference between juices and smoothies is that smoothies still contain the fibre from the produce. For those will blood sugar imbalances, having a smoothie may be the better way to go. Because all of the fibre is still there, smoothies are far more filling and can be used as a daily meal replacement (in the morning is best) Again, you can find some very nice recipes at My Juice Cleanse. I like the “Brain Energizer Smoothie”. It is perfect for breakfast!

3. Eat more raw.

This goes along the lines of the juices and smoothies. After consuming tons of cooked feasts over the holidays, your body may feel fatigued and sluggish. Because it is winter, eating more cooked and warming foods in the winter is effective for most. However, if we eat mostly all cooked for a period of time, amping up the raw foods to around 80-100% of your total diet for about 2 weeks will help your body swing back into balance tremendously. Don’t worry- it doesn’t have to be simply eating raw carrots and cucumbers all day There are so many delicious raw crackers, cookies, and bars that you can buy now at your health food store to make your life more interesting Also, now is a great time to explore some raw soup recipes. We Like it Raw has some delicious soup recipes. They use a product called Vitamix to gently warm their soups, but you can still use a stove top on the lowest setting. Use a candy thermometer to make sure the soup doesn’t go above 115-130 degrees F so that all those nutrients and enzymes stay in-tact.

As you can see, getting back to reality doesn’t have to necessarily be a huge, painful change. Try one or all of these tips and your energy levels and mood will be back to normal in no time!

Have you seen your child’s school lunches?

What’s in your child’s lunch?

I have been doing workshops in Greater Toronto Area elementary schools for a few months now, and I am not encouraged by what I see. Many students in these schools are subscribed to a catered lunch program (I won’t name any names) that happily state on their website that “You can count on us to offer balanced healthy choices with more whole grains, veggies and fruits, lean protein and less fat, sugar and sodium.”

So far, every lunch I have seen at these schools from this service has been beige, overcooked, and sad looking. Hamburgers with just a beef patty- no fresh lettuce, no fresh tomatoes (but of course they get a packet of sugary ketchup). Breaded chicken fingers that looked about a month old on a bed of undercooked potatoes with bits of corn mixed in there for colour. Are there any vegetables on the side? Nope. Do breaded chicken fingers and a hamburger qualify as a healthy lunch? Nope, but in the government’s eyes, (this catering service claims to follow the Healthy School provincial nutritional guidelines) switch the white bun to whole wheat and you’ve got yourself a healthy meal!

Really people? We can do much better for our kids. Enough is enough with villainizing healthy foods like green vegetables and “funny” grains like quinoa. In my culture, we grew up with these foods and we liked them. Broccoli rabe (rapini) on whole grain pasta for lunch at school? Yup. How about lentil soup? Sure. These were the staples I saw in school lunches when I was a kid.

Kids are getting this sour attitude towards healthy foods from somewhere (us adults), and we are compounding the problem by actually giving them a choice to not eat these foods because they are “icky”. I believe kids do deserve a choice- a choice between having this vegetable or that vegetable, or a choice between having brown rice or buckwheat in their lunch.

We are severely selling our children short by giving into their “no green stuff” rule, and it is already showing. The amount of learning disabilities I have encountered at these schools is staggering and disturbing, and crappy, nutrient deficient heavily processed pseudo-foods are a huge part of the problem. The brain cannot possibly function optimally on these processed, overcooked, nutrient deficient foods. These lunches are especially deficient in a very important brain nutrient- Omega 3 fatty acids. Since nuts are now out of the question in a school environment, flax and hemp seed, fatty fish low in mercury and other toxins, or fresh leafy greens are our best options.

So this catering program offers side orders of salads and vegetables, but they are not mandatory. Why? Because kids won’t eat them and will throw them out. And let me tell you, these side orders are the only redeeming quality to any of these meals, because they are pretty much all junk. Mac and Dogs? Chicken Fingers? Now don’t get me wrong, these two meals can absolutely be made into a much healthier option by using organic, nitrate free meats, organic whole grains, and a whole load of fresh vegetables. Have they done that here? Some dishes do have whole grains, like the spaghetti and meat balls and the hamburger, but where are the vegetables? Where is the organic, nitrate-free meat that is so important because it doesn’t contain harmful hormones and other toxins?

Macaroni and cheese

This company uses Natural Selections meats since they are considered the “healthier” option, and while they acknowledge on their website that this product still does contain nitrates (which are turned into a carcinogenic chemical in the digestive tract), it tastes better so they are going to stick with it. And, you know, turkey is a lean protein, and protein is important, so adding this product to a meal must make it healthful!

What this catering program has done (and what the government has done as well) is focused on single nutrients in defining whether something is a nutritious option or not. The chicken soup is low in sodium! Hurray! Now it is good for you, right? But what’s in the chicken? Are the noodles whole grain? Are there an abundance of carrots, celery, and onions in this soup?

And this problem of focusing in single nutrients is an issue that plagues our society’s mindset, the philosophy of western medical practitioners and food manufacturers and advertisers alike. A pizza with a whole grain crust smothered in hormone filled cheese and a tomato sauce full of white sugar is NOT a healthful food.

I think Dr. David Katz says it best in his Huffington Post Article ‘Why Holistic Nutrition is the Best Approach’:

“A food may be a source of whole grain, but also a concentrated source of sugar and salt. A food may be low in sugar, but high in salt — or vice versa. A food may be low in sugar, but a delivery vehicle for trans fat. It may be trans fat free, because it is comprised entirely of sugar and food dyes. Such a food — gummy bears, for instance — may be organic, without that signifying anything commendable about its nutritional profile.”

The lesson here is that good nutrition requires a multi-faceted approach. By taking an attitude of “Well, at least we made one thing a healthier option” is an attitude of mediocracy, an attitude that says that the government, parents, and schools only care about following guidelines (which are also mediocre, at best) rather than caring about the health of their children.

We know parents care about their children’s health, so it is time parents, for you to start educating yourselves on what health promoting food really is, instead of relying on the government, catering company, or food manufacturer to do it for you, because their priority is their bottom line, and not your child’s waistline.

Sources:

Katz, David Dr. “Why Holistic Nutrition is the Best Approach”. Huffington Post, April 1, 2011.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-katz-md/holistic-nutrition_b_842627.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share

No, it’s not just about eating more fruits and vegetables.

If it were only as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables!

When I think about the fact that my job is to tell people how to eat, I laugh a little to myself. What other species on the planet needs guidance on what they should be putting in their mouths? Squirrels don’t need a nutritionist to guide them through their eating habits, they just instinctually know that acorns are awesome.

Believe it or not, at one time, humans knew what they should be eating for optimal health as well. Certainly we had guidance from our guardians, but how did they know? Knowing what our bodies need to survive is an innate ability that, because of our disconnect with nature that we have developed in the last century, has been turned off.

And things get more complicated from there. Because we have lost our way and have started eating “pseudo-foods”, foods that have been so processed and “chemical-ized” that the body can barely recognize them, we have inflicted many a disease on ourselves. Once you develop an underactive stomach, crohn’s disease, food intolerances and allergies, or more seriously – heart disease or cancer, simply eating more fruits and vegetables just isn’t going to cut it.

Did you know that if you have an underactive stomach (which many people in the western world do, partly due to our very poor diets) and you want to get in more nutrients, eating more nutrient dense foods like fresh fruits and vegetables will have very little effect since your digestive tract can no longer properly assimilate nutrients. The digestive tract will need to be healed first through a combination of food, herbs, and nutrient supplements.

And that is where a holistic nutritionist like myself comes in. Foods, herbs, and nutrients are not just fuel, they are therapeutic and medicinal gifts from nature that, when consumed in the right form, in the right amounts for your unique biochemical make-up, can facilitate healing in astounding ways (and with little to no side effects!)

If you, despite your best efforts, are still struggling to lose weight, still bloated after every meal, still get headaches every 3 o’clock in the afternoon, it may be time for you to see a holistic nutritionist and get your body on the right track so that one day, it will be as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables!

If you would like to learn more about what I do as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, please visit my website at http://www.youreapeach.ca.

Halloween and the Sugar Conundrum

You don’t have to make your child give up their precious trick-or-treeting loot by taking some simple steps!

Halloween was my favourite “holiday” as a child, as it is for many other kids. Dressing up in a costume? Fun! Halloween dance at school? Even more fun! Going out dressed up at night and accumulating a large collection of free candy? Wow… slow down there, my mind is being blown with pure joy.

No parent wants to deprive their children of the same joy that they felt as children, but with an increased awareness of healthy eating, many parents are concerned that Halloween happiness may not be worth the potential health problems of eating that much junk.

The good news is that by planning ahead and taking some important steps, you can let your children enjoy their Halloween treats and not worry (too much) about the health consequences.

1. Follow the 80-20 rule.

Dr. Joey Shulman, chiropractor and registered nutritionist states in her book Winning the Food Fight: A Parent’s Guide to Raising a Healthy, Happy Child proposes following the 80-20 rule, which I find personally works really well. If your diet consistently consists of 80% nutritious, clean, and unrefined foods, your body will be able to cope with the other 20% of the food being of sub-par quality (junk food). While it would be ideal for us to all consume a diet that is 100% healthful, we know that in our society that it is quite unrealistic at this point.

Start prepping your child with the 80-20 rule for the Halloween binge a few months before. And get yourself involved too, because with the holidays coming up, your body could probably use a healthy boost to cope with all those cakes, cookies, cocktails and chocolates as well (why do all these foods start with a ‘C’?)! Start planning your meals ahead of time, which will help you stay on track.

Juicing is a great way to get the pickiest eaters to consume their greens!

A key aspect of sticking to the 80-20 rule is (no surprises here) eating a ton of fresh, organic vegetables and fruits. Incorporate a variety of them and throw them into every meal. If eating greens is not something you or your little one fancy, I highly encourage you to invest in a juicer. I’ve seen even the pickiest eaters actually drink kale, parsley, and spinach because they have been juiced with a little apple or pear. It is a brilliant way to get in those veggies, especially the green ones, which are going to be really important for detoxing the body from all that halloween sugar and replacing those minerals that are lost from eating the white stuff.

If juicing is too time consuming or inconvenient, not all hope is lost. There is a great product called Juice Plus+ that is made from dehydrated juiced fruits and vegetables. They come in either capsule form or in a delicious chewable that is so good your kids are going to think it was part of their halloween candy. Juice Plus+ is certainly not a replacement for eating fresh fruits and vegetables, but it definitely is the next best thing. You can learn more and purchase it from me here.

2. Have your kids choose their favourite treats and throw out the rest.

I absolutely hate it when food gets thrown away, but, lets be honest here, Halloween candy can hardly be considered food, and if you ever read the ingredients on one of those packages, you will soon understand why. Though children take pride in who can fill up the most garbage bags full of candy, it certainly doesn’t mean they have to eat everything they collect. Give your child the option of choosing 5 of their favourite brands and send the rest to their rightful place- the landfill (I don’t think they can be composted). Who likes those Popeyes cigarettes candy, anyway? And Tootsie Rolls? Are you supposed to be chocolate? Because you really don’t taste like it.

3. Just get it over with.

Pacing yourself is usually a good philosophy, but when it comes to Halloween candy, it’s really best to just go crazy and dig in (try not to let the gorging last for more than a week). The sooner you get rid of the stuff, the sooner the junk gets out of their hyper systems. Besides, the inevitable nausea they will suffer from may prove to be a deterrent from eating this stuff in the future.

While they are binging, this is a good time to have the fresh veggies, fruits, juice, and Juice Plus+ at the ready to help deal with the onslaught. While this doesn’t represent a free pass, the fruits and veggies will certainly minimize the damage.

Halloween is a fun time to be had by all, and we certainly don’t want our children to feel left out from all the fun. Taking these simple steps is a great way to keep your child’s health from crashing after a successful night of trick-or-treating. And since one of the first systems to suffer from sugar-overload is the immune system, you definitely want to stay on top of that as we enter cold and flu season!

What’s all the hoopla about kale?

Even non-foodies and junk food lovers alike have heard a lot of talk about kale recently. It’s been touted as the next big “superfood” (I hate that term), even though it’s been laying there eagerly in the produce aisle next to the broccoli since forever.

So what is so spectacular about this dark, leafy green anyway? Well, nutrient wise, it seems to smoke the lot, containing ample amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Manganese, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Vitamin E, Omega 3′s, and over 45 different flavonoids, amongst others. Basically what this means is that if you can only tolerate to eat one type of vegetable, this one should be it. These nutrients are all critical for normal body processes, as well as for preventing cancer of all kinds.

Kale salad- so yummy! Avocados, kale, and lemons are best friends

Kale also shines when it comes to the variety of ways you can prepare this versatile vegetable. There are several varieties of kale, the most popular ones being curly kale (my favourite), dinosaur kale, and purple kale. One of the best ways to eat kale, believe it or not, is in a salad. I especially love it for making salads to bring to work, because, unlike delicate lettuces and other greens, kale doesn’t wilt or go mushy when in a dressing. In fact, it just gets better and better the longer it sits, making it an ideal lunch to have at work. I use lemon juice, grainy mustard, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil to make a nice dressing. Throw in a chopped avocado, some green onion, and any thing else you want, and you have the most beautiful tastiest, most satisfying salad on the planet.

Kale can also be steamed, sauteed, fried in a tempura batter, juiced, blended, baked, or dehydrated. Dehydrating or baking kale at a low temperature makes the most wonderful chips. You’ll be surprised by how well they taste. You can find kale chips in all sorts of flavours at your local health food store, or you can try making them at home. I toss my kale with a little apple cider vinegar and sea salt and pop them into the oven at the lowest heat until they crisp up. Make sure you use just enough vinegar to add flavour- you don’t want your kale to be soaked or else they will just become mushy.

If you are one of the many people who haven’t tried kale yet- I beg you to do so, especially if you aren’t much of a vegetable eater. There are so many ways to prepare kale- you are bound to find one way that you love!

Why is everyone Krazy for Kale?

It’s that time of year again for snotty-nosed school children to spread viruses.

Despite my usual preventative measures at the first sign of danger (oregano oil and elderberry were the only things I had on hand at the cottage this weekend, perhaps some zinc and echinacea would have done it), I have come down with a cold. I don’t get sick very often, but this time around, I’m not too surprised that I am. Our thanksgiving cottage long weekend involves a lot of family members living in close quarters, and I was fortunate enough to sleep on a cot in the living room with five other sick people for two nights. I suppose there was little hope for my immune system this time around.

But not all hope is lost. If you do find yourself under the weather, you can take steps to ensure you are not out of commission for two weeks.

1. Yes, you have to rest.

Would you rather drag yourself along for a week at the office, sniffling, sneezing, with a pounding headache that makes it nearly impossible to get any quality work done (and spreading the virus on to everyone else, temporarily making you the most hated person at work)? Or would you rather take one or two days off just to lie in bed, giving yourself the energy to go back to the office running at at least 85%?

Our body’s energy needs to be diverted to helping the immune system do it’s job, hence why a cold or flu usually brings about horrible fatigue. Take the days off.

2. Put the medication away.

Unless you are absolutely stuck going into work and need to be at the top of your game, forget about the meds. They will make you feel better temporarily, but will prolong your illness. Fever is your body’s way of killing the invader. Unless it gets too high- let it run its course. Get into a warm bed and sweat it out for a while. If you have a headache, try ginger capsules or tea for its anti-inflammatory properties. If your throat is sore, try slippery elm tea for its soothing properties.

3. Drink up.

If you don’t have the time or energy to make your own organic broth, Pacific Foods has some very nice ones available at your grocer.

Your body’s energy has been diverted to the immune system to help fight the invader. Not only is your mind fatigued, but your digestive system is as well. Give your digestive system a break. Limit or eliminate solid foods. Now is the time for warm, high quality, organic teas and broths. Try organic vegetable or chicken broths, elderberry or elderflower tea, and ginger tea.

Today I have taken all these steps, and I’m feeling better already. I certainly have plenty of work to do, so here’s hoping by the weekend I’m back to my normal self.

What do you do to help your body get over a bug? Leave your comments below.