Wednesday, July 08, 2009

LolaWusel's Erster Tag in Kanada

Ich konnte die ganze Nacht vor Aufregung kaum schlafen. Lolawusel war unterwegs nach Kanada. Ganz alleine.

JojocheesePig und ich wollten um 8:45 losfahren. Das Flugzeug sollte um 9:20 ankommen. Genuegend Zeit, um rechtzeitig an den Flughafen zu fahren. Allerdings hatten wir nicht damit gerechnet, das das Flugzeug frueher landete...

Zum Glueck hielt sich der Verkehr in Grenzen und wir waren in Rekordzeit beim YVR. Als wir in der vor der Eingangshalle Deutsche Stimmen hoerten, dachten wir schon, wir seien zu spaet, aber zum Glueck war noch keine Lolawusel in Sicht.

Die freundliche Dame bei der Information bestaetigte, dass Lolawusel aus dem Flugzeug begleitet und dann in der Ankunftshalle mir uebergeben wird. Nach ungefaehr 20min Warten, taucht endlich eine strahlende, aus dem Ei gepellte Laura auf. Wir verdruecken ein paar Traenen, die Begleiterin macht Augenkontakt mit mir und Lola verabschiedet sich. Gut gelandet.

Auf der Fahrt nach Hause stehen die Muender nicht still. Lola erzaehlt vom Koffer der erst nicht ankam und dann von den Verstandingungsschwierigkeiten beim Zoll. Einer der anderen alleinreisenden Kinder half beim Uebersetzen. Hunger schiebt sie, da es nur ein Broetchen und Reis mit Huehnchen gab. Die 4 Filme, davon zwei Liebesschnulzen waren dafuer aber toll. JoJo babbelt ununterbrochen und spielt Deutsche Reisefuehrerin.

Die beiden Kusinchen beschaeftigen sich den ganzen Nachmittag...Nagelpflege, Fahrradfahrt ins Dorf, Spaziergang zum Mosquito Creek, Koffer auspacken (danke fuer die tollen Socken, Mama, und die Trikots, Katja) JoJo hat Spass mit ihrer Tasche und Erik mit den Fliegern (einer ist "bis uebermorgen auf Nachbars Dach), Frisbee und Lampe.

Kurz vor dem Abendessen dann ein Nickerchen. Wir bekamen sie fast nicht wach zum Essen und alle Anstrengung sie bis um 19:00 Uhr wachzuhalten, halfen nichts...um 18:30 lag Lola im Tiefschlaf und schnarchend im Bett!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Stress Eating

Some people lose weight when they are stressed. Makes sense to me. Wouldn't that be a natural response. You are stressed and anxious, your stomach gets into a know...you don't eat. This holds not true for me. I eat to fight stress. Funny that this is a fairly new realization of mine. When I am relaxed and don't have a worry in the world, I lose weight easily. When stressed, my thoughts centre around food and I don't have the energy to fight it.

I am quite aware of what my stressors are:
  • Sleep Deprivation: This is huge for me. I have been an insomniac all my life. My sleep is poor, easily disrupted and fragmented. In my younger years, I probably was able to cope better with the exhaustion and sneak in a nap during the day. With the demands of work and my family, naps are out of the question now. I have read that scientists have identified different sleep patterns inherent to specific people. One of the more common pattern were two sleep cycles per day, i.e. sleep from 11pm to 3am and again from 5am to 7am. And here I thought I was an insomniac. The above describes my natural sleep pattern - not that it plays out like that every night... What to do with that information? I am not inclined to get up at 3am and busy myself...too cold and I might wake up the rest of the family.
    For now, I try to be in bed by 11pm. I need 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep to fill my bodies need for sleep. Getting up at 7am allows for an hour of toss and turn...
  • Fighting children: Ever have the feeling after the kids are finally in bed and all the bickering has stopped to just stuff your face? I always feel that once they are tucked in, I am in need and deserve something sweet. Very dangerous. My tactic to fight that right now is to keep busy after dinner. I am also following the rule of no more food after dinner (difficult with a grazing, skinny husband).
  • Abdominal discomfort: this is almost counter intuitive, but I often eat when my stomach/intestines feel irritated, bloated or crampy. I think I have a bit of IBS and when I do have symptoms I tend to put more food into my system to fight the uncomfortable feeling. Weird one. Eating veggies and fruit eliminates my abdominal issues almost completely, maybe because they are easier to digest?
They say that knowing your enemy is winning half the battle, but I have known most of my stressors for a long time...

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Double Dipping Moms

The cooks in this world deserve a pat on their shoulders for staying thin or attempting to lose weight. Think about it, you are supposed to cook healthy, nutritious and tasty meals for your charges, what is more natural than lick a spoon here or sample a little something there. How can you cook without sampling? Don't you have to test your product?

I try to limit my nibbling during cooking, but boy, it's not easy. First of all, I am hungry when I am cooking. It's dinner time after all. And of course, I want to make sure that the dish is balanced and passed my taste buds. Cooking and baking to me is an art. I love experimenting with spices, consistencies and combinations. I hardly ever cook from a cookbook or if I do, I change the recipe to suit our tastes or availability of ingredients. I grow my own herbs and some spices and love to use them. I pick up new ideas from books, conversations or just standing at the grocery check-out looking at the covers of magazines. I am proud of my cooking... and a ruined meal is a stain in my reputation as good cook.

But even if you just try to get dinner on the table without any culinary aspirations, how do you avoid turning into a double dipping mom? During the last couple of weeks of intense dieting, I have stuck to tried and true recipes, where I didn't feel the need to sample before serving. But I know the day will loom when I am tempted to experiment and need to sample. One might say that if you sample during cooking you'll limit what you eat at dinner...well, that has never worked for me.

Come to think about it, I am not just a double dipping mom, but more like a triple dipper...What to do with all the leftovers. I was raised in a time where you ate your peas and finished your plate. Never a problem for me, unfortunately. I admire people who for reasons nebulous to me cut the crust off their pizza or the fat of the meat. Since I raised my children to listen to their hunger indicators in their bodies, I have never forced them to finish what is on their plate...so they regularly have leftovers. Danger zone for me. It just hurts to throw food out. Are you a triple dipping mom? And what are your tricks to avoid the pre and post dinner sampling?

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

To Die For Chocolate Cake

My daughter dug this recipe up (Internet) and we adjusted a bit to replace egg substitute and white flour... Absolutely to die for, moist and rich but not too sweet!

Devilish Raspberry Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

Dough
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/4 cup vanilla yoghurt
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Raspberry Sauce
  • 3 cups raspberries
  • 1/3 raspberry jam (PC or Smuckers)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
Topping
  • whipped cream
Combine all the dry dough ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl using electric mixer mix wet ingredients for 30 sec. Combine both mixtures and mix with electric mixer first on low speed until blended then on high speed for 3 min.

Fill into greased spring form. Bake at 165C in convection oven (180C /350F in normal oven) for 35-40min. Let cool completely.

To make the sauce, slowly heat the raspberry jam. When hot add lemon juice. Add fresh raspberries just before serving. Serve with fresh whipped cream. Yummy!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Fighting Injuries

For the last few month I have been running fairly regularly 2-4 times a week. Injury wise, I stayed out of trouble, but my calves have been getting increasinly tight and for a week or so, the side of my heel bone has been excruciatingly painful at night, early in the morning at at the beginning of my runs. I never have been a great uphill runners, but with my calves feeling like they are bursting on the slightest incline, I hardly have been able to walk uphill yet alone run. It's been a bit frustrating, as my overall running and speed has improved over the last few months.

I did a bit of digging and assessing my routines. The biggest downfall probably has been, that I didn't stretch during and after my run over the winter month (too cold, too wet, etc.). My half hearted attempts at stretching didn't do a thing and when the outside of my left heel started to throb, I knew I had to do something.

Lacking coverage for physio or massage therapy, I tend to self treat...maybe not the best solution, but I've had pretty good success. With a background in nursing and 35 years of running behind me, I've learned a trick or two.

Massage: Proud co-0wner of a Myofascial release ball I started to massage my calves every evening. The first time, I felt I was just trying to figure out which areas responded best. When finished, I was surprised at the feeling of release in my muscles. Definetely working in breaking up tightness.

Stretching: Ahem, I try to stretch extensively each evening before bed. I should probably add 1-2 more sessions throughout the day. Working on it. I go through a routine of common calf stretches, taking about 10 minutes.

Ice: I feel icing the side of my heel, would be benefical. I swear by icing anything that is slightly irritated and half had good success...this time around, I just haven't been to keen putting cold ice on my body...it's been a long winter ;-)

Strenghtening: Once my acute heel pain is under control, I will start on heel drop excersise, sets of 3x20 3 times a day.

Ibubrofen: I don't like taking drugs, but sometimes it helps to get the healing process started.

Wish me luck in getting over this.

Friday, April 03, 2009

Nutrient Values of Some Common Foods

This is a great resource from Health Canada: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/alt_formats/hpfb-dgpsa/pdf/nutrition/nvscf-vnqau_e.pdf

The Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods lists 19 nutrients in 975 foods marketed in Canada. The nutrient values are taken from the 1997 version of the CNF and are given in terms of the common household measure of the ready-to-eat form of the food. The nutrients listed in this booklet are:

  • Energy in kJ

  • Protein

  • Carbohydrate

  • Total Dietary Fibre

  • Total fat

  • Cholesterol

  • Calcium

  • Iron
  • Zinc Sodium

  • Potassium

  • Vitamin A

  • Vitamin C

  • Vitamin B6

  • Folate

  • Thiamin

  • Riboflavin

  • Niacin
Values for total saturated, total monounsaturated and total polyunsaturated fatty acids are given for some foods in an appendix to the main tables.

Use this quick and easy reference as a guide or a teaching tool towards forming better food choices through an understanding of the nutrient content of the foods you eat.

Obtain Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods

PDF Version

You can view or print the PDF version of the publication , Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods. You will need Adobe Acrobat reader to view this file.

Order a booklet:

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Issued by Health Canada
Date: 1999

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Tired of the Auto Industry Mess

I just about choked the other day when I read yet another report about the auto industries demise. No sympathy here. The writing was on the wall. Big, honking SUV's from the big North American Automakers are gas guzzlers, environmental disasters and most people who drive them, only need them to boost their ego not to navigate the rugged back country or transport their tools. I guess the margins where bigger than for smaller, economical cars and why not milk it to the bitter end? But what got really got me was one line where an hourly wage of an autoworker was mentioned. Are you sitting down? $79! You are kidding me. To put it into perspective, a registered nurse makes less than half that. Sorry guys, time to get real and cut those fat pay checks. You had enough time to put away a nest egg or pay down the mortgage and if you haven't, well, welcome to the real world.