A few people were wondering if I rinsed my canned beans when I made the Hearty Four Bean Stew. Since I truly believe living healthy should be a pleasure, and considering my past experience in cooking without rinsing beans, I decided to rinse them.

It turned out alright. Instead of cooking it over the stove, I put it all in the crock-pot to cook over night. My opinion: it needs more flavour - so I add Frank’s Red Hot Sauce with lime and it ain’t half bad. I hope you try out the recipe, either not rinsing the beans or adding your own flair, and let me know how it turns out.

I don’t want to simply trash this recipe (but I still want to rinse my beans) because beans are super nutritious as they are high in protein, fiber and anti-oxidant properties. And let’s not forget that because beans have a low glycemic index, they sate your hunger long after most foods.

For all you nutritional numbers health nuts, here they are for the Hearty Four Bean Strew recipe:

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About 4 years ago, not only had I started a healthier lifestyle by spending more time preparing healthy meals, I had also just started dating the love of my life. He went to Cuba for two weeks and upon his return, I thought I’d surprise him with an authentic Cuban dish, black bean soup (this isn’t the recipe but I tried this one recently and it was really yummy).

In my excitement and inexperience (and lack of attention), I failed to rinse the canned beans. The soup turned out REALLY horrible. It was a poor resemblance of food, a murky and pasty black bean mush…

A few days later he bought me The Joy of Cooking .

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Correct posture practice increases your body awareness, internal body functioning, confidence, breathing, and alertness, just to name a few. It actually reduces stress, fatigue, and general aches and pains in overstressed joints and overused muscles caused by improper posture, like chronic neck, shoulder and back pain.

Perfect posture also helps prevent unnecessary injury from complex movements (like weight training) to simple movements (like picking up a sock off the floor) because, “good posture involves training the body to stand, walk, sit and lie in positions where there the least strain is placed on supporting muscles and ligaments.” Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Friday night and it’s been a long, challenging and very fulfilling week. I’m exhausted. So what am I doing? Chilling out to some mellow tunes.

Sometime over the weekend, I highly suggest you turn the lights down low and play the following video. Actually, if you close your eyes, you might be able to intensify your sense of sound.

Go ahead, I dare ya: Just forget everything for 4½ minutes. Nothing else exists but you and right now. Get lost in the beats, sing along to the words, move to the rhythm…just forget.

Hmmmm…between the mind and the rest of the body, shouldn’t that have been enough to veto the vote?

Ah, well, it’s the thought that counts. Besides, there’s always tomorrow.

The Canadian Health Network, part of the Public Health Agency of Canada, uses the World Health Organization’s (WHO) widely used and generally accepted definition of health:

“a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

But check this out, the Canadian Health Network goes on to clarify what this definition really means, that health is:

Multidimensional : it is related to physical, mental and social well-being.

Multi-determined : it is affected by many factors, including:

Dynamic : it shifts freely and frequently.

Subjective : each person’s experiences of health can differ widely, even when the “dimensions” appear to be similar.

This definition has been criticized for its lack of boundaries - I guess it’d be difficult to know where to start treatment when there so many possibilities (controllable and uncontrollable).

However, the old definition of health was real loosey-goosey with: “an absence of illness”. This makes total sense when you consider the current state of healthcare – the healthcare system was set up way-back when this definition was accepted.

What do you think would happen if Canada’s healthcare system began changing its policies and practices to include this new definition of health?

An introduction to a raw food lifestyle…mmmm…yummy.

According to this news report, cooked food destroys essential digestive enzymes.

Check it out:

So if these recipes are as tasty as they seem, and if it is true that cooked food results in nutrient loss (I’ve also heard that vitamins are lost during cooking), could you consider living the rest of your life without hot food?

Not only are smoothies a luxurious, party-in-my-mouth, almost orgasmic morning food experience, they are:

• healthy (see nutritional info below)
• quick and easy to make (buy frozen fruit and get a blender)
• ideal for eating on the run (just pour in your travel mug and go)
• easy to digest (by blending, half your digestion is already done)
• full of variety (the only limit is your imagination!)
• customizable (consistency, flavour, sweetness, tartness, milkiness, etc.)

Smoothies were Instrumental to my initial weight-loss during the first part of my individualized health plan and I feel they have helped me maintain since then. The role that protein plays in loosing weight and the importance of including it your meal plans are two separate, future articles.

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Keep your goals in mind and more of these little changes happen seemingly on their own!

Let’s check back with this guy in a month and I bet he’ll have everything he needs to get started walking.

Do you have everything you need (heart-rate monitor, shoes, a plan, etc.) to get started in reaching your health goals?

Think of all the people you consider to be happy and satisfied folk. Everyone has their bad days but there are a few people you know, I’m sure, that have you shaking your head and asking yourself, “What are they on?” and “Where can I get some?”

High on Life?

Keep these people in mind and ponder the following questions:

• Do they have clear skin, radiant smiles and shiny hair?
• Do they hold a steady gaze as their eyes sparkle with delight as you two talk?
• When you part ways, do they leave you buoyant and feeling like a million bucks?

I’m not sure about you but I identify these people as those who have found total health; they are healthy in body, mind and spirit as well as emotionally and socially. They are truly happy and grateful to simply be alive.

Everything in their world is just wonderfully brilliant…and it bursts through their every pore, coats every word and is very obvious in every action.

How Happy People Make YOU Feel Good

Happy people exude their happiness. They have an energy that vibrates at a different level than most and this is what you sense from them. When you come into contact with them, like osmosis, they share their energy (sometimes consciously, other times unconsciously).

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