Making Love in the Kitchen

So last Sunday, I was feeling the pain. Everyone around me was sick and I could feel the ickyness hovering over me. Had so many plans for the day. I was going to work for a bit, go to yoga, and out for dins with my man and his fam.
But no. There were other plans in store for me. Seems my immune system was the cruise director of my ship and had decided it was going to try and take me down. Na- ah! No way. I had the photo shoot for my book and a million things to get done this week. There was no time for sickness. So instead of doing what we all like to do- push on through until we have no choice but to lay in bed incapacitated, I took a hot, hot, hot long steamy bath and made the grossest concoction that has ever been concocted, and I rested. Now, when I say this drink was gross- I mean gross in the most potent, healing way. You know I am all about delish balancing with healing- but when it comes to the risk of cold and flu, delish goes right out the window. The ONLY thing that allowed me to get this baby down, was my glass straw. This straw is as good as an IV drip when it comes to getting the goods in as quickly as possible. Want to know what was in the mix?

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September 7th 2010, will be a day that I will always remember.

My life changed that day. At 1:30 pm about one year ago, I heard those four words…you have prostate cancer. I guess my life actually changed before the 7th. It was on August 25th that I had my biopsy at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

It was not a pleasant experience.

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This spice has been consumed for thousands of years and has been used medicinally to treat all sorts of health issues. The main therapeutic properties are found in a specific component of turmeric called curcumin. It is the part that gives turmeric that striking yellow color. “If curcumin can stop cancer, what else can it do.” I opened Pandora’s box and discovered a natural powerhouse.

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Sugar, my sweet coconut lovers, is a drug. A delicious one, but a drug all the same. We get hooked as kinder and we stay on the substance all the live long day- only until we grow old enough to add caffeine to the mix. Getting off processed or even natural sweeteners is one sweet challenge and those playing the Fab Uplift Detox are gonna win that game! With a little help of course.

Some argue that refined white sugar is the most addictive substance on this planet. You might even admit this yourself. You have a little, you want a little more and than you find yourself needing your daily fix, whether it be in your coffee or tea, soft drink, muffin, breakfast cereal, bread, pasta sauce, salad dressing, fruit juice or after dinner cookie. Sugar is in everything and we are consuming more than we think.

The average person now consumes roughly 135 pounds of sugar per year. Holy moly! A person’s weight in sugar? Hello obesity epidemic and hello cancer! Sugar is the number one fuel for those pesky cancer cells.

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The four words “You have prostate cancer” are shocking.

I heard those words over a year ago and it has taken me this long to feel comfortable writing about this journey. When most men hear those four words they rush to eradicate cancer from their bodies. They want surgery or some other form of treatment. They pray they’ll be one of the lucky ones who does not experience erectile dysfunction or incontinence. I have chosen a path of active surveillance and hope I will never have to have anything more invasive.

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In his own words, Ron Telpner, my dad, shares his story and experience with prostate cancer. His series, The Four Unwanted Words chronicles his experience from diagnosis to the best health of his life.
Read Part 1: Four Unwanted Words

You are what you eat.

When I was told “You have prostate cancer,” I thought my business career might be over. It was only after doing my homework that I realized that prostate cancer, when caught in its early stages, is not a death sentence. It is more of a condition. Just the same, I was scared.

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Perhaps we’re too extreme? This article was rejected from The Huffington Post.

Is There Something Wrong With Government Regulated Food Guides?

Do you look down at your dinner and see 680 calories? Perhaps a healthy ratio of carbs to proteins to fats? Maybe you see some fibre, vitamin C, beta carotene and just the right amount of Omega 3’s.

This is weird right? Looking at a plate of food without actually seeing the food.

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Oh my, oh my was this homemade ice cream the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. Or in the top 10 for sure.

My bestest friends over at Hamilton Beach Canada sent me the sweetest of gifts and the latest was their 1½ Quart Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Maker. All this time I thought ice cream made in a blender was as good as anything else, but let me tell you- that machine did some magic to our blend of magic.

I was also surprised that there was really not much of a process involved. We blended the goods together in our blender, poured it into our ice cream maker and shazaam alakazaam, a half hour later we were ooing and aahing over the amazing ice creamy creation we had collectively created.

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Castor oil is amazing. A truly wonderous gem of a plant. No to mention how beautiful it is. See? Sweet right!

It is my go-to remedy for almost everything skin and immune related and can be viewed as an alternative to cortisone or antibiotic creams. The ricinoleic acid in castor oil prevents the growth of bacteria, yeast, and viruses. When I have joint pain anywhere, I rub it on the joints, if I have swollen glands, I massage it into neck/gland area, if I am feeling a little backed up- on to my belly it goes (massaged in a clockwise direction- the same direction stuff moves through the large intestine). With a cold or congestion, I’ll mix in a little comfrey and eucalyptus and massage it into my chest. Be warned- it will stain your clothes so put on the old and uglies for this one.

Castor oil has many beneficial uses in health and beauty products as well as in industrial uses. It is however a master at the gentle detox. You know how we love the detoxers that require minimal effort. This is one you need to welcome into your life and here is why.

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October is breast cancer awareness month. Slightly redundant really, as I am pretty sure we are all aware it is out there, our options if we are diagnosed with it and so we can wear pink ribbons, use special pink lipstick, eat pink M&Ms, host pink themed bake sales and even drink a little pink Mike’s Hard Lemonade.

I think we’ve been aware for some time now, and it doesn’t seem to be doing all that much. Between being aware, donating money to who knows where, and stressing our poor nervous systems with all these crazy marathons for the “cure”, maybe we should take a different look at things. We’re all aware, now let’s work on prevention.

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It is a rare treat when I can simultaneously show off the best shower ever and my adorable (or so I proclaim) cuddle rolls all at one go. This was at the Tofino Hot Springs cove last summer.

The photo may be sweet but did the title catch your attention? I hope it did.

Remember a few weeks back when I wrote all about water and how I love to bits drinking my fresh Spring Water? We often get so caught up in the water that we drink, that we forget about the water we are bathing in every single day.

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It’s approaching that dreadful time of year again- saying goodbye to Summer and hello to Fall. Shifting from season to season is a lot like shedding a layer of your earth’s suit. Its time to let go of the past (Summer) and look forward to the future (Fall), but ALWAYS remember to stay focused in the present. One way you can honour your self during this time of transition is to practice yoga.

Read below to learn the top 10 reasons why you should continue to and/or begin practicing yoga!

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We all get them from time to time. They creep up on us and it’s all we can think about for the rest of the day. We get a bit cranky and feel like taking a snooze. We may even resort to digging deep in our pantries to see what we can come up with. I’m talking sugar cravings. We all know that when we get them they’re super beastly and relentless. We often find ourselves giving in just to stop that “need” we feel.

It’s okay to admit you give in. It’s not the end of the world, it just means we need to take a look at why they’re happening and what emotions we’re experiencing and nutrients we’re missing out on that are the driving factors. When we get down to it, stress is often the real culprit here. As Meghan has outlined this week, stress is a huge problem we face in our day-to-day lives. It seems to be especially prominent this time of year when our routines are changing, kids are off to school, and we have a million things on our to-do lists.

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For those of you have joined our 21 Days To Health Challenge, no matter where you are at in it, you likely skipped ahead and noticed the bit where you’re supposed to cut out caffeine.

Now, before you start asking all kinds of questions about whether caffeine is really so bad for you, I will say Yes, yes it is.

Caffeine, unless taken up the bum (yes, that’s what I said), will work against each and every one of your physical, and emotional goals. You can read all about it here, but to summarize:

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Happy Monday!

What a delicious weekend it was. I had a Saturday off! This rarely happens and so what did I do with it? I made our fave Super French Toast breakfast, did laundry, went for a massage and created the most delectable Deluxe Stress Busting latte recipe there ever was with all of my favourite stress busting herbs, foods and magic potions. The recipe and video are coming tomorrow!

For now, the info and best stress busting regiment there ever was.

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