Making Love in the Kitchen

What fun I had when Wilder Weir from Oh So Cosmo! (airing on Cosmo TV) came back to the kitchen for a visit. Remember the last time he was here? I flirted my heart out with him and it seemed he wanted to come back for more. On the menu were our kitchen fave veggie rice wraps with almond dipping sauce and our conversation quickly went off course. One moment we’re talking flaccid cucumber and the next we chatted ‘poo juice’ and how pooping makes us pretty. Watch my love sweet lovers. Watch, laugh and learn. I often have a tough time watching myself on TV- but this clip even had me giggling. The peeps at Cosmo did a superfantab job of this segment and now I will just wait by the phone to see if I get called for a magical third date with Wilder.

This time, we were talking detoxing.

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I feel like perhaps I am supposed to be embarrassed to tell you that I LOVE Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. I am not sure why. After a day of sunshine and rainbows in the kitchen, where 99.5% of the people who call, or write, or come play in the kitchen are delightful, there is something super fun about kicking back to a flood of F-bombs from old chef GR. What’s even more ridiculous about this affection I have for this show is that I don’t even have a TV. That means the man has to go hunting for an online version and we huddle together on the sofa to watch it on the micro computer screen. Yep. I’ve hit it big time for sure. Just wait ’till my episode of Cribs (yes, I used to watch that too). A wild Thursday night watching a crappy British TV show full of cloudy weather and F-bombs on a computer.

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I wrote the creed in about 10 minutes. For real. I had been thinking about it and when it came to put pen to paper (or index fingers to keyboard- yes, two finger typer over here), it just flowed out. Why? Because I live it of course. Every mindful moment of my day, I do my best to lighten up, smile and always remember that Today, most certainly, is the day. We have been getting emails and letters (and even photos!) from around the globe, with people sharing how they are doing their best to live this creed as their own manifesto. It’s become art on their walls, backgrounds on their phones, wallpaper on their desktop, and of course- their go to tote bag. For this reason, I have something I would like share… in a moment. First- we made a few creed inspired changes around the kitchen (that went with a few changes on my biz site). We took down my old signature decal that greets guests in my kitchen.

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We are all about sharing the love here at Making Love in the Kitchen. When we came across The Giving Keys, we absolutely fell in love with the concept and beautiful necklaces. The awesome powers at be with The Giving Keys are kindly sharing their message with us and giving away one of these beautiful keys! Crystie Bowes in marketing explains…

“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.” – Henry Drummond.
The good we do today comes back to serve us tomorrow. The understanding of paying it forward has been the driving force behind the charity I work for: The Giving Keys. Our organization employs the homeless off the street to make engraved necklaces out of keys. But that’s not all. Once you receive the key with your unique message, you must eventually give it away to a person who is equally in need of the same message and come back to tell your story to the community.

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Written by Odelia Benabou, CNE graduate, writer and lemon lover extraordinaire. Odelia here, reporting for duty on Meghan’s rad web kingdom to share some simple, back-to-basics tips about lemons! True, lemons aren’t terribly sexy or exotic. We squeeze their tart juice into a glass of water each morning for a revitalizing, alkalinizing and detoxifying effect. Yawn. But this new year, I thought it would be a nice change to chat up my folks for something decidedly less complicated than some of the strange extracts, peculiar foods and just plain bizarre beverages that we nutrition groupies often concoct for fun! So when life hands you lemons, do any of the following:

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Only two spots left in our fantabulous 10 week total goodness cooking program and only 4 spots left in our Sweet Tooth Healthy Treats class on February 13th.  Did somebody say Valentine’s Day treats!? Some sad, sad news for you my sweet peeps. It looks like my sweet pink kitchen can only accommodate my classes a [...]

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Social situations can be awkward when you’re trying to be healthy. How do you navigate sticky circumstances without offending your loved ones? Find out how to say no to food without appearing like a self-righteous jerk. Plenty of people don’t see food as nourishment – they view it as a vehicle for socializing, spreading the love and bonding with others. But what is the best way to respond to well-meaning friends, family and coworkers when we’re presented with an item that doesn’t jive with our food philosophy or health style? Do you accept the offering and feed it to the family dog, or do you snort with haughty derision? Unless you have Meghan’s wit and charm, the latter will likely land you alone with only your kale chips and goji berries to keep you warm at night.

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Once upon a time I went to the bar. I lived at the other end of downtown Toronto, by my university and there were martini bars a plenty. Here there and everywhere. There was one in particular that was my go-to. The name escapes me and has since closed down- or so it seemed from my last drive by. But that is where I went on dates. I am sure the old man who ran the place, who took a sweet liking to me (and showed it by adding an extra chocolate kiss into my chocolatini) wondered what kinda lady I was. The place was perfect for first dates- close enough that I could walk there and equally close enough that I could ditch out and get home on my own. I feel like last time I had a real martini may have been on my 21st birthday. And I am pretty sure were I to have one, it would not end well. Yes. Even after just one. To be honest- I can’t even really imagine drinking that- like pure fire to burn down my liver or something. Now, that’s not to say I don’t enjoy a great cocktail once in a while. But who says a cocktail has to be fire on the liver? Not me. Not me! Since Maeve was on the full on Fab Detox last week, I wanted to help her jazz things up. So we made cocktails. Our style of cocktails.

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Yep- so here I am in St. Lucia, leading my 4th annual Nourish Your Soul Retreat (which, by the way, you might want to get on the wait list for next year), and I still have a tail to share from Hawaii. The story includes tofu pot stickers, of all things. Is there anyone out there that doesn’t love a good dumpling? Nope. I didn’t think so. Why is it that things seem to taste better when wrapped in bundles of dough/rice paper/pasta? I am afraid I don’t have an answer for you. When we were in Hawaii- after a long day of adventuring, we split the drive back to our abode up by stopping for dinner at a raved out veg place. On the menu- tofu potstickers and for some reason, I was all over them. I NEVER eat fried food. I never crave it, never like it and definitely don’t usually want it mixed with tofu. The mere idea s totally barftown. For some reason though- maybe a day in the sun, maybe by mass consumption of odd fruits, maybe the holiday spirit, but I ordered them and they were amazing. And then I kept talking about them to the man… until I had no choice, once home, but to make them.

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I came across this on a blog I love, SweetOnVeg, run by Jennifer- a woman I adore over in Vancouver. I had to share. Everyone you meet comes with baggage. Find someone who loves you enough to help you unpack. Image courtesy of Nightwolf Graphics  

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Last week- this whole book thing became very, very, VERY real to me. We shot my book! Yes we did. I had a whole crew in the kitchen with me. My amazing kitchen fairies, my editor and the designer from my publisher McClelland and Stewart, my photographer Catherine Farquharson and her assistant Nicki, Amy Lam, my make-up artist, and Ashley Denton, the food stylist. Wowza did we zip through loads of goodness. It was so much fun. Day 1 of the shoot was all about me in action- playing in the kitchen. Day 2 and 3 we shot all the amazing food shots. On Sunday, I invited some ladies over for a fantastic brunch and we rounded out the four day shoot with a visit to my home to catch my man and I just hangin’. The book is all written. Handed in my last chapters before I left for Hawaii. Now I just have to edit. I can’t believe I have to wait a whole 11 months before I get to show off the prize of all these efforts. Wanna to me a favour and start getting excited right along with me? Maybe these pictures from the first couple days of the shoot might help.
(And before you ask- all clothes from my fave store ever- Anthropologie)

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Did you know that most lubricants can harm those precious little swimmers? Even if you’re using an organic lubricant, the ingredients probably interfere with sperm motility and the pH likely doesn’t support their survival. If you’re not in the market for making a baby, this may be a good thing (although lube isn’t officially a spermicide) but for those trying to conceive, it’s best to switch to a sperm-friendly lubricant like Pre~Seed or YES Baby.
These lubricants are designed to mimic the fertility-enhancing qualities of a woman’s own cervical mucus. Pre~Seed has been around for awhile, so it’s better known by doctors and is often referenced on fertility websites and other resources. However, it’s not the most eco-friendly. It contains parabens, which many of you are probably familiar with (an icky preservative that’s a hormone disrupter and has been linked to health concerns such as breast cancer). Fortunately there’s now an alternative available that’s certified organic and paraben-free. We’re big fans of the company YES. The co-founders Sarah Brooks and Susi Lennox spent three years researching and testing lubricants before they released their line of personal lubricants. Their new sperm-friendly lubricant, YES Baby, is similar to Pre~Seed but is a more body-friendly and eco-friendly option.

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I have had a long time love affair with The Barber’s Daughter ever since I first met Gisele, the artist behind these treasures, and bought this ring. And then Gisele came out with The Book Of Life which I wear as bangles around my wrist, jingling away. My man gifted me a necklace recently with the beautiful “No Mud, No Lotus” quote by Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. And theeeen- just when I thought I couldn’t love Gisele and her work more- I got this in my inbox. I am sharing the love.

In this Month of Gratitude, acts of love are born…

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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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Sit through the storms, for the sunshine and rainbows will follow.

Have you noticed this yet? Have you noticed that even when you think that thing that happened is the worst thing ever in the whole world to ever have happened, you might also be able to find the most unbelievable thing that came from it? That’s what this line of the creed is about. Things happen, and they are icky and sticky and crazy tough at the time, but no matter what, you will learn something, if you want to, and if you look hard enough, you will see the bright spot, you will find your grace and be grateful.You know the phrase “in a perfect world…” or “in an ideal world…”? We use it all the time. Here’s the thing, my little coconut, this is the only world we have. Yes that storm cloud is going to come by once in a while and dump that rain (usually in the form of disaster, crisis, upset, disappointment, illness, pain and struggle) all over us right after we’ve put on our best new party dress. Does this mean then that there is no point getting dressed up? Of course not!

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