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Issue 11 July/August 2016
In This Edition
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create your summer bucket list with paula onysko
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5 ways to keep our kids healthy
summer tips with dr. melina roberts train like an athlete welcome to the start of summer
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summer camping with amber approved recipes
the path to optimal wellness Evens Dental fitkitchen questions and answers wild n raw questions and answers gluten free calgary mango chicken salad
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market 17 products picks for cooling down spice sanctuary the best summer spice: cardamom summer recipes with wheatfree mom beat the heat with homemade popsicles
Cover Shot: Jennifer Brazil Graphic Design: Fierce Web Designs Stock Photos from ShutterStock
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From the Editor
WELCOME TO AMBER APPROVED Summer 2016 is in full swing, the Calgary Stampede is just around the corner, and many people including myself are getting ready to celebrate the festivities. This edition of Amber Approved Magazine is all about summer, and featuring some of my amazing sponsors in support of the Amber Approved Stampede Breakfast. Many thanks to them, and I hope to see you at the breakfast. Enjoy your summer, try some great new recipes featured in this edition and we will see you in September to prepare for fall. Copyright Š 2016 Amber Approved Amber Approved Magazine is a bimonthly digital publication with limited print copies available in designated markets. Amber Approved Magazine welcomes all contributions. Amber Approved Magazine assumes no resonsibility for content or advertisement. No representation is made as to the accuract hereof and is produced subject to errors and omissions. Eleventh Edition -
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As parents we have a responsibility to take the best care of our children. I know parenting is a tough job, probably the toughest job out there. I want to give you some tips to help you to keep your kids healthy in this fast-paced, ever-changing world. We just need to rediscover the basics. Here are the five ways to keep our kids healthy:
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Eat real food. Our bodies are hardwired to eat real, nutrient-dense food from the earth. The closer it is to coming right out of the earth, the more nutrientdense the food is and the healthier it is for us. Let’s feed our children from the earth, not from a package.
Avoid the toxins. Our foods are filled with chemicals such as herbicides, insecticides, antibiotics, food dyes, additives, preservatives. These synthetic chemicals increase the toxic load in our bodies and our kid’s ability to handle a high amount of toxins from our food and our environment is a lot lower than a fully
mature adult. If our bodies are unable to effectively move these toxins out, then the body puts the toxins into storage in various tissues, which can affect the function of different systems in the body. I suggest to eat organic foods as much as possible, in order to decrease the toxic exposures in our children.
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Fuel up on water. Seventy percent of your body is water. Let’s refuel, replenish, rehydrate on what our body is designed to use as a fuel. This is water not juice or soda. I suggest that kids drink filtered water, as tap water has chlorine and chlorine kills the healthy microbes in your digestive tract which are supporting good overall health.
Eat building blocks. No, I’m not talking about eating toys, I’m talking about the blocking blocks of the human body. We need carbohydrates to make energy in all of our cells, which come from our fruits and vegetables. We need proteins to form our bones and muscles which come from our animal meats, nuts, seeds, beans or legumes. We need healthy fats to form cell membranes and the nervous system, which come from avocados, coconut oil, chia seeds, hemp hearts.
Play outside in the dirt. To keep our kids healthy, they need fresh air, they need to play in the dirt to build up their immune system and they need to stay active. We need to encourage playing, as unstructured play encourages creativity.
Let’s give our kids the health advantage by prioritizing keeping our kids healthy. Dr. Melina Roberts (@drmelinaroberts) is a Naturopathic Doctor, Author of Building a Healthy Child and Clinic Director of Advanced Naturopathic Medical Centre in Calgary. She is a leading authority in the field of naturopathic medicine specializing in European Biological Medicine effectively treating digestive issues, chronic disease and cancer. Dr. Melina Roberts has developed a revolutionary plan that teaches parents how to introduce foods in a way that decreases digestive disturbances, prevents common childhood ailments and builds a solid foundation for long-term health.
When you buy her book “Building a Healthy Child” she will send you three bonuses. Learn more at www.advancednaturopathic.com/building-a-healthy-child/ Eleventh Edition -
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Any symptoms that the body exhibits are signs that your body is out of balance. We need to listen to our bodies and find out what it is trying to tell us. As Naturopathic Doctors, our goal is to uncover underlying causes of imbalances that are happening in your body. Here are FIVE insights to uncovering the underlying cause:
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Energy. Your energy gives us insight into how efficiently your body is functioning. We need to know what your energy is on a scale of zero to ten, ten being the highest when you at your best.
Sleep. It is vital for our survival and plays a key role in every function of our body. During your sleeping hours your body does a lot of its detoxification and repairing of cells. Getting enough, quality sleep is important for improving energy levels, recharging the brain, boosting the immune system, balancing hormones,
stabilizing weight, regulating circadian rhythms and allowing the cells to repair themselves. We need to know if you are having difficulty falling asleep, if you wake up in the night, if you feel rested in the mornings, do you take sleeping pills, how many hours are you sleeping. This gives us insight into the quality of your sleep.
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Bowel movements. Bowel movements give us a lot of insight into what is going on internally, how your digestive tract in functioning and where imbalances are in your body. Therefore, it is really important for us to know how often you have bowel movements and what your stools look like.
Menses. Your menses give us insight into your hormonal balance. We need to know if your periods are regular, how many days of flow do you have, do you experience any symptoms with your menses such as bloating, cramps, breast tenderness, heavy bleeding, clots. We need to know if you are taking an medication
that would manipulate your natural hormone balance such as the birth control pill, hormone replacement or a UTI that releases hormones.
Stress. We all have stress in our lives to some degree, it is a matter of how we handle that stress. We want to know what are the biggest stressors in your life, do you feel overwhelmed or feel like you have control over your stress. This gives us insight into your lifestyle, your stress management techniques and how your physiology copes with stress.
At Advanced Naturopathic Medical Centre our doctors are trained to discover the imbalances in the body and treat the underlying causes. It is only by addressing the underlying cause that true healing can occur.
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Many of us believe that the way to take care of our skin is to stay away from the sun. We’ve been conditioned to think that too much sun will increase our risk of skin cancer. So we wear sunscreen, cover up or avoid going outside all together. Yes, too much sun can put us at risk of skin cancer, but not enough sun can put us at risk of many other health concerns including cardiovascular disease, various cancers, depression, dementia are just some of the health conditions associated with low vitamin D levels. Our skin is our largest organ and it is important that we take care of it. The traditional advice of stay away from the sun may be putting you at even more risk than the sun itself. We don’t need to be afraid of the sun, instead let’s learn real ways to take care of our skin. Here are the SIX ways to take care of your skin:
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Fun in the sun. We need sunlight on our skin to get our natural source of vitamin D. Vitamin D is made in the skin when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D is needed for proper growth and development of bones and teeth, it is needed for hormonal balance and normal immune function. I suggest getting 10 minutes of unprotected sun exposure per day to get your natural vitamin D.
Use non-toxic skin products. Everything you put on your skin gets absorbed into your bloodstream so you need to choose non-toxic sunscreens, body lotions, personal care products and make-up. You need to read the labels and stay away from putting large amounts of toxins on your skin.
Drink water. In order to keep your skin well hydrated from the inside out it is important to drink lots of water. The water should be filtered to take out the chlorine which can have damaging effects on the body.
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Sweat. Sweating either by exercising or going into an infrared sauna helps to naturally move toxins out of the skin. This is a great way to clean up and improve your skin.
Heal from the inside out. Any time you see symptoms on the skin from rashes to eczema, it is an indication that there are imbalances in the body. We need to uncover and treat those imbalances instead of covering it up with creams. It is not until you address it from the internal environment that you will have lasting, sustainable results.
Healthy Burn Care. If, in the unfortunately event, you do get burned, Aloe vera gel and coconut oil help to soothe the skin and helps to speed up the healing process.
Let’s change our perspective of what it means to truly take care of our skin. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Melina Roberts (@drmelinaroberts) is a Naturopathic Doctor, Author of Building a Healthy Child and Clinic Director of Advanced Naturopathic Medical Centre in Calgary. She is a leading authority in the field of naturopathic medicine specializing in European Biological Medicine effectively treating digestive issues, chronic disease and cancer. Eleventh Edition -
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Being an elite strength and conditioning coach means I am around high performance on a daily basis. Athletes trust myself and other S&C professionals to condition their bodies to the highest level, to make them faster, stronger and more powerful. This is not much different to what most weekend warriors strive for…yet I constantly hear from prospective clients that working with an S&C coach couldn’t possibly be the right choice for them.
But lets look more closely at what an athlete needs to get from their training. They need to be supremely strong, which does not necessarily mean more mass. They need to be as lean as possible while still being healthy enough to recover from hard training sessions. In addition to being strong and lean, which thanks to the fitness industry is all anyone wants from their training, all athletes need to become faster, more agile, have better balance and improve their coordination to complete complex physical tasks. These are the unsexy by-products of elite level training that are often unaddressed by most general fitness programs. It’s also no use to a sports coach if I give them an athlete that has chronic injuries or will get hurt while playing. In essence, sports conditioning programs are designed to make athletes more resilient so they can compete harder with fewer setbacks. Hmmmm, sounds like training like an athlete isn’t such a bad idea now. Not only will you get stronger, become leaner, move more athletically, have more stamina, but you will also stop more injuries from happening….sign me up! Wait, never mind, I knew this already. 12 |
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A large problem though is in the application. Too often people are misguided in how to training properly, or see instagram videos of super human performances, or watch a crazy exercise that an athlete is doing on T.V., and get turned off of the idea of training like an athlete. There are however basic fundamentals all good sports conditioning programs should follow, which when applied to the general population can greatly enhance the results of their training program. **Disclaimer. This is by no means a program; consult a certified conditioning coach for assistance with program design and exercise technique.
Performing proper strength training where you increase the weight incrementally with perfect form will improve your ability to stave of injury, improve bone mineral density, increase lean muscle mass and give you the strength to get more out of life. You don’t want to be too weak to enjoy your grand kids or break a hip now do you?
Examples being agility cones, jumping on and off things, track drills, throwing movement etc. These challenge your central nervous system to figure out the most efficient movement patterns to execute a task. This will allow you to use the least amount of energy for a given movement. This turns that weight room strength to useful, real life movements.
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High intensity conditioning like circuits or shuttles are not only time sensitive and burn tons of calories, but they also train your alactic energy system. Training this properly will allow you to work at a maximal effort, and improve your ability to repeat it. Generally not important on an every day basis, but when you have to chase your dog down the street or flee from a bear while strolling through the woods, you’ll sure be happy you did that circuit which made you want to huck.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nick is a Strength and Conditioning Coach at The Athlete Factory in Calgary, Alberta. Obsessive with human performance, he has begun his Professional Masters of Elite Performance in the hopes of changes the world of Sports Science. Besides coaching athletes and clients, Nick enjoys lifting heavy things and putting them back down again, anything coffee related or a nice glass of scotch‌neat. 14 |
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Welcome to the start of summer! - Dr. Heather D. Pritchard I want to direct my words this week to why I became a chiropractor. When I began university I took pre-requisites to become an occupational therapist, a career focused one-on-one helping people. I had completed 2 years of pre-requisites in the Education department and ended the year by submitting two large papers on motor learning and development. My professor encouraged me to apply at the University of Waterloo to the Honours Health Science program based on what I had written. I did apply and was accepted so because the door opened I passed through it to complete that degree with a minor in safety and environment. I then worked for the next 6 years as an operator in industrial settings including sawmills, power plants, oilfield, and pulp and paper mills gaining experience necessary to become a plant safety or environmental supervisor. It was during my time as an operator at the power plant that I visited my childhood chiropractor and he asked what I was doing as he knew my background. I was driving a D9 cat and operating boilers in the power plant. During that visit he asked if I had ever considered becoming a chiropractor. Honestly I had always believed that I was not smart enough or good enough. I am so happy I stepped through that door to begin the journey into Chiropractic Medicine. I have been so very blessed in my 12 year career. My patients do become my friends. I truly enjoy getting to know them as it helps me to better serve. It is a discipline which has enabled me to make many positive changes in the lives of those who have sought my care. My goal each time I see a patient is to ensure they feel better when they leave my office than when they came in. I can honestly say that at least 95 percent of the time that does happen. A headache, ankle pain or back ache will walk into the clinic but will be gone by the time they leave.
The ability to help the body in such a way so as to allow it to heal itself is very fulfilling. Choosing to become a chiropractor has enabled me to help patients feel better and receive more from their lives. Truly rewarding! CONT..... Eleventh Edition -
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR If you have any questions on the above “On-the-Go” Tips please do not hesitate to call Dr. Heather for clarification at 587-353-4569. Dr. Heather D. Pritchard Glow Health & Vitality 1128 - 10th Ave SW Calgary, AB T2R 0B6 email: drpritchard@go2glow.ca www.go2glow.ca
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Warm sunny days, backyard BBQs, bike rides, and camp fires. Aaah, summer – we’re so glad you are here. For me, summer isn’t complete without coffee on the dock and a kayak ride around our little lake. It’s pure heaven when the water is like glass.
WHAT MAKES YOUR SUMMER AMAZING? WHAT DO YOU LOVE? As you begin designing your summer plans, here are five things to try: CREATE A SUMMER FUN LIST: Last year, my family had a Fun List on the go all summer. My daughter created a poster and hung it in the hallway upstairs. Each one of us wrote down things in our own coloured marker that we wanted to do, and slowly we checked things off the list. It was like a Summer Bucket List, focused around one thing – FUN! TRY IT: Engage all family members (including children) to help come up with your collective Summer Fun List. This inspires creativity, imagination and working together. Put the colourful list somewhere where everyone can see and mark things off as you go. The process taught me so much about planning an amazing summer together (and leaving room for spontaneous fun). Surprisingly, many of the things we wrote down didn’t cost that much.
DESIGN A HEALTH GOAL: With great outdoor weather and delicious produce, summer is the perfect time to pick a health or fitness goal. Ideally, have it be one that inspires movement, fresh air and connection – either to nature, friends or just yourself. I like a goal that I can see the cumulative effect – like daily green smoothies, a certain number of miles walked or a certain number of dates with my yoga mat. One year I did a push-up challenge and the next year, a squat challenge. I felt so strong by the end of the summer – the cumulative moves all added up! What could you pick that would inspire you? 18 |
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TRAVEL SOMEWHERE YOU’VE NEVER BEEN: With so much world to explore, choose one place to go this summer that you’ve never been. This could be a day trip, a weekend get-away or a two-week vacation – across the globe or right in your immediate backyard. The point is to explore and see new things. As you do, you create new pathways in your mind and thoughts. You also open your eyes to greater possibilities, ways of being and compassion for all living things. PICK ONE HOUSE PROJECT: Summer is a perfect time to pick one project around your house or yard. Perhaps it’s building a fence or adding a flower bed. If you live in an apartment, you could choose an indoor project such as painting or tackling a closet. TIP: Pick the project that you’ll feel the most satisfaction in completing. Avoid starting a bunch of projects that can overwhelm you. Start one and follow it through to completion. If you feel inspired after that, by all means, choose another! SELECT SOMEONE TO VISIT: Remember the days when people just showed up on your family’s doorstep? No scheduling required. You would invite them in for a drink or meal and pull out clean sheets for them to stay the night. There was always something in the fridge or freezer to serve. People didn’t care how clean your house was or if the décor matched. They were just happy to see you. Think of people whom you’d love to visit. And then, whether scheduled or spontaneous, make it happen!
HOW ELSE CAN YOU MAKE YOUR SUMMER AMAZING? Remember, if you don’t design it consciously, in a snap it’s September. So have fun, be safe and soak up your summertime.
As a success coach and business strategist, Paula Onysko specializes in helping soulful women create happy, healthy money flow. She coaches entrepreneurs and leaders to leap to their next level of success without burn-out or selling their soul.
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Fit Kitchen is a healthy meal store featuring fresh, delicious, and nutritionally responsible food. A mix of customer demand and travelling through the US brought the Fit Kitchen brand to life. We had a number of our customers at The Main Dish requesting meal plans, and macros for what their eating so it was a natural progression for our company.
Yes! About 95% of our meals our gluten free, we also offer many dairy free choices as well. We indicate on all our packaging which items are gluten free, dairy free, or both.
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Anybody can benefit from eating Fit Kitchen meals. We have athletes looking to improve their diet/ performance, individuals looking to lose weight, families that just don’t have time to cook healthy meals.
Yes, city wide delivery is available. Customers can order by calling or emailing the store. We will have online ordering available soon too.
PLEASE EXPLAIN THE BREAKDOWN YOU HAVE BETWEEN THE MEALS, SOME ARE HIGHER AND LOWER CARB, WHY? We offer two different types of meals; performance and lean.
Performance (Red Label) To maximize
everyday well being‌not just for athletes but anyone who leads an active life. Performance meals will include a protein, complex carb, and veg. Those looking for weight/muscle gain can also eat Performance meals.
Lean (Green Label) These meals will be for those looking to lose weight, or generally eat healthier with a focus on medium protein, high veg, and lower carb
Everyone is different so we offer the two lines of meals to meet as many Calgarians needs as possible. All our meals also come in two sizes (small and large) to help fit into different maco requirements. cont.....
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NOW YOU ARE FEATURING SOMETHING NEW…THE FIT JUICE, SHARE A BIT ABOUT THAT AND WHAT INSPIRED THIS? Fresh cold pressed juices offer many healthy benefits and are a great way to get extra fruits and veggies into your diet. We teamed up with our friends at Well Juicery to launch our Fit Juice line.
WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE MOST FAVORITE FIT KITCHEN MEALS? Everyone has their favorites but the top ones seem to be our No Butter Chicken (we place the butter/cream traditionally in this dish with coconut milk), Guinness Beef Stew that we make with actual Guinness, and our protein pancakes that we like to call Fitcakes.
YOU DO BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER…DOES THE MENU EVER CHANGE WITH THE SEASONS? OR IS IT SET THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. We have over 50 items on our menu so there is plenty of variety to try. The majority of the menu is set (faves like No Butter Chicken aren’t going anywhere!) but we are adding new meals with the seasons as well.
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ANY PLANS FOR FIT KITCHEN EXPANSION THAT YOU CAN TALK ABOUT? The goal is to expand across Canada…that’s all we can say right now ;-)
WHAT INSPIRED FIT KITCHEN TO SUPPORT THE AMBER APPROVED STAMPEDE BREAKFAST? We love the Amber Approved Stampede Breakfast for the fact that similar to many Fit Kitchen meals, it takes an eating occasion that is usually an unhealthy indulgence and makes it into something healthy yet still tasty!
WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND FIT KITCHEN ONLINE AND ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
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SHARE ABOUT YOUR NEW UPGRADED MENU THAT TAKES OVER THE WHOLE WALL! WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE THIS VAST MENU OF GREAT OPTIONS? There is so much potential to offer in our little space that the smalI menus we opened shop with weren’t doing justice coming into our second year. After one year in business, I wanted to focus on refining, fine tuning and expanding our menu. It stirs my fire to devote time in the creative role of blending new drinks and playful combinations of our staple superfoods we have on hand. Some of the Fresh Pressed Juices got re-named and half of them are new Wild & Raw recipes that are part innovative fruit/veg combinations and complemented by superfoods/herbs and other ingredients that support the healing benefits of the whole juice. There are also two new mystical Superfood Shakes that are getting some attention, The Unicorn & The Mermaid and few new elixirs and elixir modifications as well. A couple drinks didn’t make the cut, but they only made space for new healthy creations to be enjoyed! The new menu wall is also an expression of the “Wild & Raw” brand vision that has been unfolding in my head since January.
LET’S FOCUS ON WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO INCORPORATE SUPERFOODS INTO YOUR DIET? Existing in the system that is built for us today, many of us rely on the convenience of food being plentifully available at the supermarket.Which is great, except there is a disconnect in who, what, when, where and how it was grown and this generally results in nutritionally depleted food. So we may have nice full bellies and refrigerators, but we may have to seek a little further if we want to fill the cells in our body with all the nutrients it requires to function optimally. At the same time, never in our human existence have we had the opportunity to have so many medicines, foods and gifts of the earth available at our hands, this includes magical superfoods. I’m not the first one to say this (but maybe the first time you have read about it ..). “Superfoods” has been tossed around lately by marketing companies claiming their packaged, usually sugary foods, are superfoods. Yes, Kale and Blueberries can be a superfood in a sense, especially if you don’t consume them on a regular basis, but the superfoods we work with are not your everyday market items. My basic understanding and application of what a superfood is; is an incredibly nutrient-dense substance with a unique profile of health enhancing properties that you wouldn’t find in everyday food, even if you are eating a rainbow diet of sorts. CONT..... Eleventh Edition -
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A superfood will tend to have incredibly high potency in specific vitamins, minerals, efa’s (essential fatty acids) etc that we may be missing from our diet. Many herbs also qualify as a superfood and can deliver ‘medicine’ to your body and cells. On an energetic level, superfoods can also work with the body to combat and reduce stress, parasites, illness and work with the body to detoxify, cleanse and enhance a general sense of well being. My favourite type of superfood is an adaptogen (ie, medicinal mushrooms, rhodiola, schizandra, maca etc ). Adaptogens are so incredible, because they are ‘dualdirection’ and work with the body to increase or lower your energy levels and bring you into a state of homeostasis.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SUPERFOODS? Oops.. Got carried away in the above answer and kind of combined both of these questions.
DISCUSS AND SHARE THE KEY INGREDIENTS OF THE BELOW ITEMS? The Unicorn - Strawberries, Goji Berries, Sacred Lotus Pollen, Rose Essence, Coconut Butter, Coconut Water, Rose Pedals. The ‘girliest’ drink on the menu, The Unicorn, is pink, florally and divine. This feminine focused drink was designed to enhance, evoke and elicit the Yin qualities in all of us. The feature ingredients offering these benefits are: Goji Berries - considered a fruit and a herb, goji berries are packed with antioxidants, are a complete protein and have been referred to as “Fountain of Youth” berries in Chinese Medicine. Sacred Lotus Pollen - Literally the pollen extracted from the centre of the lotus flower, sacred lotus pollen works with the body on both a physical and energetic level to reduce anxiety, soothe excess heat in the body and blood, open the heart and promote a healthy metabolism. It tastes like vanilla cookies and lends a delicious flavour to The Unicorn. 14 Carrot Gold is a well rounded drink made with atleast 14 carrots, lemon, ginger and enhanced with feature ingredients Turmeric, Apple Cider Vinegar and XCT Oil. Perfect juice for everything from pre/ post work out to fighting off unwanted sick days and everything inbetween. Turmeric Root - Turmeric is amazing and packs so much more than just it’s brilliant color and flavour for cooking. It is now classified as more powerful than the average “pain killer” for pain relief and has potent abilities to reduce inflammation in the body. Pretty basic ingredient, but one of the world’s healthiest foods. We use organic, fresh turmeric root, instead of just the powder - so it is even more potent and alive. XCT Oil - XCT oil is the Bulletproof brand’s 6x strength concentration, highly fractionated MCT (mediumchain triglyceride) oil, sourced from coconut oil.I included XCT oil in this juice to enhance the bioavailabilty of the properties in turmeric, which is a fat soluble and better absorbed when consumed with a fat. The XCT oil also is instant fuel for the body and adds a subtle creaminess to this juice. 30 |
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Earth Juice - Likely our healthiest offering, Earth Juice is only available in our juice cleanse kits. Essentially sugar free, this low-glycemic green juice is laden with health properties from nutrient-dense green ingredients and it tastes surprisingly delightful (not like your lawn trimmings). Earth juice contains Kale, Chard, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Fennel, Mint, Dandelion Greens, E3Live, Green Apple, Lime. All ingredients selected for this drink posses detoxifying, energizing nutrients to the body, but our favourite players are: Dandelion - This misunderstood “weed� is not a weed at all, but a very beneficial herb to be consumed. Dandelion greens contain vitamin K, which is hard to source in our average diets and required to build strong, healthy bones. Also, contains Vitamin A and have the ability to purify the blood, detox and protect the liver and settle your stomach! E3Live - A mysterious blue-green algae that grows in only one lake in the world, E3Live claims to be a source of 65+ trace vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. Basically a multi-vitamin with green plant powers! CONT....
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WHAT MAKES EACH OF THEM SO SPECIAL? I combined the next 2 answers into the above to save word count and to reduce repitition. Hopefully that is okay!
TOP 3 HEALTH BENEFITS OR HEALTH SUPPORTS OF EACH ITEM? Smoothie - The Unicorn Juice - 14 Carrot Gold AND/OR - our EARTH JUICE - which is a super low glycemic, dark greens and nutrient-dense green juice we include in our juice cleanse kit. It has Kale, Chard, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Fennel, Mint, Dandelion Greens, E3Live, Lime, Green Apple
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The days are getting longer, and the deck is beckoning, urgently reminding me that these seemingly endless sunny evenings are only here for a very few weeks a year, if you remember that in Calgary, about quarter of summer nights are occupied with thunder and hail, and more than half of them with rampaging wasps and mosquitoes. Early summer, before storm and insect season, is by far the best time of year, so when the sky is clear all day, and well into the night, it’s probably a good idea to find a recipe that will let you spend minimal time in the kitchen, and maximal time enjoying the fruits of the kitchen outside. Mango Chicken Summer Salad has enough heft to it to convince the crowd on your deck that this is actually a meal, not just a side dish – and when you consider it also comes with black beans, quinoa and avocado, you bet you got a meal. Watch them go for seconds… (This recipe will feed six, with some left over. It also has the huge advantage of being endlessly expandable, if people show up unexpectedly to your deck, by chucking in another diced mango, and/or pepper or cucumber. The protein part seems to be able to genuinely welcome extra fruit and vegetables without diluting the overall effect).
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Ingredients: • 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts • A blend of paprika, seasoning salt, rosemary, oregano, thyme, pepper and garlic powder – or Club House One Step Italiano Seasoning, if you don’t want to be bothered blending. • ½ cup (uncooked) quinoa, washed in a sieve before cooking. • 1 cup chicken broth • 2 mangos, peeled and diced into ½ cm chunks • 1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, diced into ½ cm chunks • ½ a long English cucumber, diced into ½ cm chunks • 2 medium avocados, diced into 1-cm chunks for garnish • 1 small can (391 ml) reduced sodium Green Giant corn niblets, drained • 1 19-oz. can black beans, drained and well-rinsed in a colander • Juice of 2 limes (or just use bottled lime juice) • 1 tsp. smoked Paprika • 1 tsp chili powder • Cholula or other hot sauce, to taste • Salt, to taste
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marcus Lemke, GFYYC Blogger Amateur foodie, omnivore, and Grampy. Not celiac - but I get to cook for three celiacs in my house, including my wife, the love of my life. Life’s too short to eat bad food, so my passion is to make gluten free taste as good as anything the rest of the world eats. (Doesn’t always work, but I have a dream...)
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Instructions: • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. • Lightly oil a ceramic baking dish with olive oil. • Place chicken breasts in the dish. Season well with your spice blend. • Put the dish in the oven, and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the thickest part of the meat registers 160 degrees on your meat thermometer. • While the chicken is baking, put chicken broth into a heavy saucepan. Cover and set on medium-high heat until the broth begins to boil. • Add quinoa, stirring to get it all into the liquid. • Immediately turn the heat to low, cover the pot, and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed by the quinoa. • Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and put the pot into a sink of cold water, to cool off. • Go outside. • Come back in when the timer says the chicken is done. Remove it from the oven, and allow it to cool. You can do this cooking part the day before, or in the morning before the day heats up. • When you are ready to assemble the salad, put your diced vegetables and mango together into a large bowl. • Slice the cooled chicken breasts and dice into 1 cm pieces • Add chicken to the bowl, stirring to mix in. You will note the seasoning will start coming off the chicken. No worries – it helps season the vegetables to near perfection. • Add drained corn and black beans, gently stirring to incorporate together. • Taste it. If needed, add smoked paprika and chili powder and salt, to taste. • Hot sauce always makes this salad just that extra bit better. Let the crowd season it themselves, or just foist it on them. Trust me, they’ll like it. • Add avocado chunks as garnish, and splash with lime juice to keep the avocado bright in appearance and savor.
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True Buch’s Mojito Mint kombucha After a long hot day climb into that hammock with a fizzy Mojito Mint from Cochrane, Alberta’s True Buch. Because when the heat is creeping who doesn’t love the zesty citrus and cool mint of a Mojito? The team at True Buch took a twist on this quintessential summer drink by swapping out the booze with probiotics. Kombucha’s live cultures are beneficial to the gut so this is both a healthy AND refreshing tonic! Peppermint, lemongrass, ginger root and lemon myrtle give this energizing and refreshing bevvie not only a lovely fresh aroma, but other neat benefits. Mint and ginger help digestion and achy cramps, while mint on its own has been used for eons as a stimulating aid to mental fatigue and depression. Our market sells True Buch kombucha by draught, but as of this past Spring you can take a single-serve bottle of booch of your very own and hit the road.
Thirsty Buddha coconut water Water is always my drink of choice, but if you’re physically active and sweating profusely coconut water can’t be beat. It’s Mother Nature’s sports drink, praised by the athletes that shop with us (and the Sunday morning hung-over folks, too). The water inside young coconuts is high in electrolytes. Without enough electrolytes in our body we become dehydrated, fatigued, and irritable. In sweltering, sweaty weather a serving of coconut water is awesome to restore your body’s balance of electrolytes. Coconut water is superior to processed sports drinks because it’s lower in carbs and has no high fructose corn syrup or heavy amounts of sugar. I would describe its taste as clean, light and slightly vanillaesque. If the flavour doesn’t ring your bell, here’s some other ways to enjoy: CONT.... Eleventh Edition -
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-Use it in as your smoothie base instead of almond milk or water. -Blend it with lemon and honey and freeze in molds to create homemade popsicles. -Pour espresso over ice and top the cup with coconut H20 for an iced Americano (though the diuretic nature of caffeine may negate any hydration!) We love that Thirsty Buddha (a Canadian company, Hi!) even packages their coconut water in those square little tetra packs – a clever swap for your children’s sugary juice boxes.
Pure PotentWOW Lavender Mister As the temperature starts to rise, I treat my thin, fiery skin with a clever and versatile tool: face mist. Pure PotentWOW makes the most beautiful lavender spray and it’s bottled in Naramata, BC (by some really nice people!) Now yes, a splash of water on the face is bracing, but let me tell you why PPW’s lavender mister is so much better. It contains lavender essential oil, witch hazel, aloe vera, vegetable glycerine and rose hydrosol. These natural anti-inflammatory ingredients will chase the redness from your hot swollen face. A face mist cools the skin and revives the complexion. It won’t wreck your makeup. And one with lavender? The best! Lavender is famous for its stress reduction properties: inhale lavender and calm down, cool off, and soothe a hot temper. It can revive you emotionally AND refresh your skin. Shake Pure PotentWOW’s bottle first to redistribute the essential oil. Pump it three times above your head, then inhale as the dewy drops settles lightly on your skin. This baby earns its keep in other ways: lavender is great to have in a stinky car with hot sweaty feet. (Hey, why not spray it right on your feet? Refreshing!) Or mist it over a stale motel pillow and between the bedsheets. You need this. I have a bottle in my car, by my bedside and one for travelling.
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Known as the Queen of Spices (black pepper being the King!), Cardamom is without doubt my favourite spices of all time. It’s intoxicating yet sweet floral flavor with a really subtle heat really comes into its own when paired with the right foods. Summer berries and fruits paired with cardamom or cream, milk based desserts make it the single best summer spice! Being part of the ginger family, it is no wonder that the queen of spices is an active digestive aid, detoxifier and diuretic, helping to maintain our bladder, kidney and intestinal health.
Being such an expensive spice (second to Saffron), make sure you’re getting the best you can for your money so here are my top 3 tips to getting the best of the best:
Green or Black? Cardamom comes in green and black (the latter giving more smoky and peppery stronger flavor). Usually, green is used in savory and sweet dishes whereas the black is only suitable for savory dishes. When buying green cardamom, don’t be fooled by the colour of the pods as a measure for quality. Ideally you do want green pods but it is what’s inside that matters in terms of both flavor and health benefits.
It’s What’s Inside that Matters All the volatile oils reside in the pods inside and so when you crack open the pods, if your seeds are black or dark coloured, the cardamom is fresh and potent as it should be. Green Cardamom grown in the Coorg region of India produces the best grades of cardamom in the world.
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Pre-Ground Adulteration Many people buy ground cardamom for convenience sake but often the seeds inside are ground with the husks of the pods making for an inferior spice so avoid buying ground unless you know no husks are part of the grinding process.
2 Frozen organic bananas 225g or ½ lb Frozen organic strawberries (you can also use blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination too!) 2 Tbsp Almond or Cashew Butter 1.5 Tsp Spice Sanctuary Coorg Bold Cardamom Ground Maple Syrup or Melted Chocolate to drizzle (optional) Blend all of the above ingredients in a food processor, stirring regularly for a creamy delicious addictive summer dessert!! You can freeze for later too and allow to thaw for about 10 minutes before serving. Trusha Patel, known as Canada’s Spice Queen™, is a former investment banking lawyer turned organic spice purveyor. As founder of the Spice Sanctuary, Canada’s most premium organic spice company, Trusha has quickly become one of Canada’s foremost spice experts and a respected resource in the culinary and healthy living markets, offering advice and recipes on how to integrate good flavour into your foods using the best quality spices, herbs and blends. Trusha is a regularly featured expert on CTV Morning Show and Global Morning and has been a guest on The Social. She shares her ongoing passion and deep-rooted knowledge through her blog ‘Living a Life of Spices’ and as a guest writer for blogs and magazines.
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Smores w/ Mary’s Chocolate Chip Cookie, Giddy Yo Yo dark chocolate, naturally sweetened marshmallows
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Overnight oats with berries, coconut yogurt and nut butter Eleventh Edition -
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Guac, root veggie chips, hummus
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Mango and Avocado Salad
This recipe serves 2
1 orange 1 ripe mango 1 avocado 4 cups arugula or spinach 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped 1/4 cup raw sliced almonds, lightly toasted Juice of 1/2 lime 1/2 cup fresh orange juice 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
In a small jar add the orange juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar. Place a lid on jar and shake well. Peel the orange and cut up the segments. Peel the mango and dice into large chunks. Halve, peel and pit the avocado. Squeeze lime juice over each half and then cut into lengthwise thin slices. In a medium bowl add the arugula or spinach, orange segments, mango chunks, cilantro and almonds. Pour 1/4 cup of dressing over salad and toss. Divide the salad onto 2 plates. Place half avocado onto each salad.
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Strawberry Milkshake This makes 2 small servings or 1 large drink.
1 banana 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries 1 cup coconut milk 5 dates, pitted
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In a blender add all ingredients and process until smooth. Pour into 2 small glasses and enjoy!
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Watermelon Slush Drink
This makes 2 small servings or 1 large drink.
1 cup ice
In a blender add the ice, watermelon, lemon juice
1 cup watermelon cubes
and honey.
1/2 the juice from 1 lemon
Process until slushy.
1 Tbsp honey
Pour slush into 2 glasses.
Fresh mint to garnish
Top with sparkling water.
1 can Perrier or sparkling water
Serve and enjoy!
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Wanda Baker is the author of food & life blog bakersbeans.ca, mom to 2 kids, and wife to Rob. Following a career in marketing and events, Wanda started blogging in 2006 as a way to share adventures and recipes. Her love of food started as a young child baking in the kitchen with her mom. From here she progressed to watching Julia Childs on Saturday mornings before eventually graduating high school and moving to Vancouver where she was surrounded by a food culture unlike anything she’d encountered before. When she’s not blogging, Wanda is recipe testing, planning city wide food events, freelancing as a social media manager, sewing monster patches onto ripped jeans, sneaking chocolate, and dreaming up new recipes to make.
Stay hydrated and cool off on a hot summer day with homemade popsicles. With just a few ingredients and a little time, you can have healthy popsicles any day of the week! Popsicles, like smoothies, can be made using a variety of ingredients. Add in fresh herbs, dairy free milk or yogurt, fruit slices, cold brewed tea, chia seeds, nut butters and more. Make them as simple or complex as you like but be sure to make extra as they won’t last long. These Watermelon Berry Popsicles have only 5 ingredients and a small pinch of salt as an added flavour enhancer. Best made the day before you plan on eating them.
3 cups watermelon, cut up and rind removed 1 cup strawberries, stems removed and chopped ½ fresh lime juice Pinch of salt 1 tbsp fresh mint rough chop ½ cup coconut milk Popsicle molds Popsicle sticks Aluminum foil
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Using a blender or hand immersion blender whiz together watermelon, strawberries, lime juice, a pinch of salt and mint. Pour into molds and fill about ¾ full. Place in freezer for 30-40 minutes. Remove from freezer and place popsicle sticks in middle of each popsicle. Return to freezer for another 15 minutes. Remove and pour coconut milk to the top of the mold. Place back in freezer, cover with tin aluminum foil and let set up at least 12 hours.
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BANANA LAYER CAKE FEATURING SCREAMIN BROTHERS RASPBERRY FROZEN TREAT STEP 1: Make Banana Bread as per below Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
4 large very ripe bananas 1/2 cup coconut sugar
Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with coconut oil
2 cups Bob red mills gluten-free one to one flour 1 tsp aluminum free baking soda
In one bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon In a second bowl mash bananas and add eggs, almond milk, olive oil
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder 1/2 cup Olive oil
Mix the banana mixture with the dry and pour into pan
2 organic eggs 2 tsp Almond Milk
Bake for 50-55 minutes or until it comes out clean with a knife.
Pinch sea salt 1 tsp organic vanilla extract 1 tsp cinnamon
‌go to step 2
STEP 2: Once the banana cake is baked 1. Let cool on rack until banana cake is room temp. 2. Slice cake width-wise into 3 pieces 3. Add 2 layers of Screamin Brothers Raspberry Treat between the Banana cake and serve. Put leftovers in the freezer Serves 5-8 people 58 |
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CHILLED STRAWBERRY SOUP FEATURING SCREAMIN BROTHERS LEMON FROZEN TREAT 16 fresh organic strawberries with stems off 4 basil leaves 3 tbsp maple syrup 1/2 cup coconut milk 1/2 cup Screamin Brothers Lemon Frozen Treat 1. In a blender blend all ingredients until smooth 2. Pour into a bowl and add another scoop of Lemon Screamin Brothers 3. Garnish with basil and enjoy! Serves 2
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