10 Components of a Healthy Diet

There are ten components to eating a healthy diet. And by diet I’m not talking about the latest fad or eating low calories for a short period of time and then returning to your normal bad eating habits… here, diet means what you eat as a lifestyle. Here’s 10 things to adapt to your eating…

Easy Swap: Anything but white rice!

Being diabetic, watching my carbohydrate intake is necessary. I don’t cut carbs completely, but reduce them significantly by looking for healthier substitutions. I have a significant blood sugar spike when I eat rice, potatoes, or pasta. So much so, that I become exhausted to the point that I almost can’t function, my focus becomes fuzzy,…

Easy Swap: Ketchup

I don’t use a lot of ketchup, but I was feeling guilty about the sugar when I did use it. I had looked up recipes to make my own, but there’s a shelf life to homemade ketchup of just a few days. I don’t use it up fast enough and felt I’d be wasting food….

Tip Tuesday: The power punch of spinach

Have you noticed that spinach takes on the flavour of whatever you cook it with? That’s my tip this Tuesday. I put spinach into every sauce or meal that I can to up our intake of greens. The kids never complain about spinach. Sure, they won’t eat sauteed spinach, but mix it into spaghetti sauce…

Easy Swap: Soy Sauce

An easy swap for soy sauce is a switch to Bragg’s Liquid Soy Seasoning. It tastes very similar to soy sauce, but is a much healthier option. It is quite strong, so use it sparingly and adjust to taste. Why? According to Ani Phyo, Bragg’s is gluten-free, not fermented or heated and they claim it…

Tip Tuesday: “But, water is boring.”

“I hate water.” “Water is boring.” “Water has no flavour.” Is this how you feel about water? I used to. Now, for the most part, all I drink is water. When I’m thirsty, my body craves water and it’s my first go-to. For me, switching to drinking water wasn’t a slow change. Years ago, I…

Easy Swap: Salt

Many people ask how to get started making healthier choices. Making slow changes is always recommended. For people looking for simple ways to get healthier, I’m starting a segment called “easy swap.” I’ll be giving examples of products I have personally replaced with healthier options. And I’ll also explain why these options are better for…

Chocolate Covered Cherries Smoothie

Sometimes I miss my favourite ice cream flavour – Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia — black cherry and vanilla. Oh, wow, is it good. BUT, since it’s not a choice for a diabetic or someone whose completely lactose intolerant, I had to find another way. I have found that with a little imagination, I can…

Are you a visual eater?

What’s a visual eater? If you add food to your plate, not based on what you should eat, but based on making the plate look full, you’re eating with your eyes as opposed to based on hunger signals from your body. Many in our family are visual eaters and my husband and I worked together…

Planning around “Fun Food”

One of my favourite family activities is to have a backyard fire. And of course the kids want hotdogs or smokies. And sometimes s’mores. Fortunately, I don’t like marshmallows, so s’mores are easy for me to avoid. I make particular food choices on days when I know I’ll be eating a “fun food” meal. It…