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Feeling Hot?

Let me help you keep your cool in the kitchen! I will readily admit that summer is my favourite season. I appreciate the virtues of each season and would miss falling leaves, crisp winter mornings and new spring growth, but when it all comes down to it, summer takes the first place prize in my little world.

Having said that, there are a few drawbacks to actually cooking in the summer.

The kitchen is stifiling!

Turning on an oven while the a/c is trying to cool the house seems just plain silly. Last week I actually heard myself saying, ‘Close the door, we aren’t trying to cool the outside!’ That statement comes from a long list of things my parents said that I thought I would never say.

During the warm weather, we make great use of our barbeque. From burgers to grilled veggies and everything in between, a large portion of our cooking happens outside. Try something a little different and add turkey burgers to the menu. You can also give grilling fruit a spin. There is something magical about eating a peach or a pineapple slice that has been grilled. When making chicken on the barbeque, we often grill a little extra to use in lunchtime salads. This helps ensure that your salad is balanced with protein and you won’t be on a snacking mission right after lunch.

Another sometimes forgotten appliance in the summer is the slow cooker. My friends, this is just bonkers! Pull that beautiful kitchen marvel out of the cupboard and use it for summertime cooking. Did you know that the average slow cooker costs under a dollar to run for the whole day? It won’t increase the temperature in the kitchen and it will make you feel like you have the night off in the kitchen. While I will acknowledge that we tend to want to eat lighter in warm weather, there is something so satisfying about a warm curry even in the middle of the summer. If you are feeling adventurous, try this recipe for Slow Cooker Potato Soup. Where is the adventure you ask? Eat it cold! Yes, you heard me. Eat it cold. If Gazpacho can do it, so can this recipe. Cold soup is not my idea. Go ahead and search it on the internet. You’ll find all kinds of interesting ideas.

For those of you who have joined the tribe of pressure cooker lovers, try this recipe for delicious lentil tacos. Pile those babies up with diced tomatoes, avocado and sprouts and you have a winning combination!

I have better things to do…

I want to be outside enjoying the weather, not stuck inside prepping food all day long. For those of you with children, they seem to be hungry all day long. Whether it is a growth spurt, boredom or a bit of both, the kitchen can start to feel like it is always open.

Solve the constant, ‘What can I have to eat?’ conversation by taking the time to cut raw veggies & fruit into ready to eat snacks. Cutting the watermelon up instead of leaving it on the counter where we hope someone else will cut it up is not good enough. This falls into the same category as putting things on the stairs hoping that the owners of said items will independently sort and put it all away. I know I am not alone in this wishful thinking.

Make a plan. I promise you, taking the time to menu plan saves me so much time, frustration and money. I shop more efficiently, waste far less and don’t have to spend all afternoon trying to figure out what we should eat.

Don’t Cook – I Dare You!

Yep, you heard me right. Don’t cook. Hot summer days are the perfect time to skip cooking and turn to simpler meals. Before I knew anything about, ‘charcuterie,’ there were, ‘nibbly lunches.’ This is what my boys and I would call our favourite lunches which included fresh veggies, fruit, olives, cheese, meat and whatever else inspired us. No-fuss and everyone was happy.

Add to that list of no-cooking meals, Life of the Party Hummus Dip, Mango Salsa turned into a salad with leftover grilled chicken and Greek Quinoa Salad.

Well, there you have it – my best tips and tricks for eating well and enjoying the summer with family and friends. What are your favourite summer meal solutions? Please share below!

For many, working from home has come into full effect this past month. Here is the big question though. How do you make working from home, work?

First of all, we let’s all take a deep breath. Working from home is a whole new ball game from working in the office on a regular day. Working from home during a pandemic is also an added challenge to say the least. Take a moment and acknowledge that you don’t need to do all the things, all the time and with perfection. Give yourself a pat on the back for getting up, brushing your teeth and even taking the time to read this.

If you are a parent with kids at home, you have some new co-workers that also require you to adjust your expectations. Family first is my motto. Sometimes it isn’t easy when timelines are pressing, but when all is said and done and I look back on my kid’s upbringing, I won’t be thinking how glad I am that I got that assignment in early at the expense of not giving my kids what they needed.

That being said, work does still need to get done. The kids have school work and we have our job commitments. How can we manage all of it and come out on the other side happier & healthier?

Please join me as I share with you some of the things that I am finding helpful. I fully acknowledge that everyone’s circumstance is different. I feel very fortunate to be able to work from home and also have a husband who can do the same. The ability to trade-off responsibility is a huge benefit in the working from home game. There are plenty of you who don’t have that luxury and please know I am only trying to offer support while understanding that the view from my lens may not look like yours.

Get Up Early

I am finding that I get my best work accomplished in the morning. It is even better when it is before the kids get up. My kids have been sleeping in until around 8ish. I like to get up just after 6 and enjoy the peace and quiet of a still house. Disclaimer: I did not get up early today because quite frankly I needed more sleep. Most days I do, but today I needed that extra shut-eye, which leads me to my next point…

Be Flexible

I am a woman of routine. I value knowing what is coming next and planning my day. I’ve found that my children also function best with routine in place…even though they would deny it if asked. We’ve structured our day to have two separate work periods of time. Knowing that we work hard and focused followed by a break is motivating. That being said, flexibility is paramount. Be willing to negotiate with yourself and your family in terms of daily routines is key to making this whole thing work.

Set Boundaries

I’ve been working from home part-time for thirteen years. During that time, I also completed my nutrition schooling through distance education. I quickly learned that I didn’t accomplish quite as much work-wise if I also tried to do a load of laundry, unload the dishwasher, check FaceBook or Instagram or organize the front hall closet. Once I began practicing nutrition, I needed to consider when I wanted to be available to answer emails and phone calls. I decided to keep this to set hours. Just because I have access to my email 24/7 doesn’t mean that I should be responding to it. Let work time be work time and home time be home time.

Make a List

I work best when I focus for a period of time and just get the work done. I have always been a great procrastinator. I seem to work well under pressure which is kind of a negative reward cycle. I don’t like procrastinating, I just seem to be really good at it. This has taken some effort on my part to actively workaround. My daily calendar is helpful for this. When I jot my to-do list down, I get so much more accomplished. Make sure you keep your daily expectations in check by looking at your list and asking yourself if you would ask your best friend to do it for you. If the answer is no, edit until you could ask someone else to do it for you without any guilt.

You’ve Got This!

Some days are going to be rough. If we can acknowledge this and be kind to ourselves when those days come along, we will also be in a better space to celebrate the good days. We are in this together. I heard someone else use this analogy and I thought it was beautiful. We are all in the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat. Some of us may feel like we are in a luxury yacht at times and then in a sinking boat bailing water, maybe even in the same day. My point here is to be compassionate with your self first and foremost and let that compassion spill out to your children, your partner, your neighbours, your co-workers and the people you meet in the grocery store.

There is nothing quite like a warm evening out in the yard with good friends and a cool drink in hand. What often happens though is that our drinks are filled with refined sugars, artificial flavours & colours. Take your bevvies up a notch with these simple and tasty recipes.

Step 1: Choose Your Base

Kombucha – fermented tea with probiotic activity, supports digestion, even though it tastes sweet, it contains far less sugar than pop

Sparkling Water – carbonated water, no sodium or sugar

Ginger Beer – alternative to ginger ale, often more natural ingredients and less sugar; since it has a stronger flavour, you use less

100% Fruit Juice – avoid fruit ‘beverages & cocktails,’ that often contain additional sugars

Tea – herbal, green, black – look for natural options without added artificial flavours

Step 2: Consider Your Sweetener

Not all mocktail recipes require any additional sweetener. Much will depend on your taste buds and also how much natural sweetener is already present from fruit & fruit juice ingredients.

Stevia – Can be up to 400x sweeter than refined sugar; doesn’t adversely affect blood glucose levels and may be used by diabetics. Stevia has a unique flavour. Along with its sweetness there is also a bitter component. The poorer the quality of the leaf the more bitterness is evident in the taste.

Simple Syrup – 1 cup raw organic sugar to 1 cup water – gently heat mixture to dissolve. Store in a glass mason jar in the fridge.

Tips

• Make ice cubes out of fruit juice to avoid diluting your drink.
• Make ahead and serve in a large glass jar. Use a ladle to serve fruit.
• Frozen fruit is a quick & easy way to make a mocktail in a hurry.
• Left over mocktail? Turn it into a healthier frozen treat option.

Recipes are by the cup unless otherwise noted. Mocktails will become more flavourful with infusing time. Make your drink ahead of time and let sit for a few hours in the fridge. Add any sparking water or ginger beer just before serving.

Cucumber, Lime & Mint Mojito

• 1″ cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lime, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 mint sprig or 5 leaves
• 1 c sparkling water

Ginger Beer Mojito

• 1/2 c ginger beer
• 1/2 c sparkling water
• 3 – 4 lime slices
• 1 mint sprig or 5 leaves

Kombucha Mocktail

• 1 c kombucha, unflavoured
• 1/4 c frozen fruit of your choice – blueberries, strawberry slices

Blueberry Infusion Herbal Iced Tea

• 1 c blueberry herbal tea, steeped & cooled
• 1/4 c frozen berries
• 1/4 c sparkling water
• 1 – 2 tsp simple sugar syrup (see above for recipe)

Watermelon-Lime Mocktail

• serves 4 – 6
• 8 c seedless watermelon, blended
• 1 lime, freshly squeezed
• 1 lime, sliced for garnish
• mint sprigs
• 1 c sparkling water

Sangria

• serves 10 – 12
• 1 litre white grape juice
• 1 c orange juice
• 2 – 3 c sparkling water
• 1 bag frozen mixed berries
• 2 limes – 1 squeezed, 1 sliced
• 1 orange, sliced