Check out The Toronto Novel Marathon!

Check out The Toronto Novel Marathon!

It is a writing competition held for 72 hours in downtown Toronto, July 29- August 1st.

We have room for a few more writers.

Go to torontonovelmarathon.ca for more information and to register online

This event looks like fun. I have never written for 72 hours with others, I wonder if I would be inspired or stick to solitary writing? Would be a cool experience to try. Defiantly get some great new ideas, meet new people and hopefully be able to share your own writing.

If anyone goes would love to hear all about it.

Want to know the calorie count in your meal when you dine out? Well…you’re about to…

Healthy Menu Choices Act 2015

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Starting January 2017 all restaurants chains with 20 stores or over must have a calorie count for each meal and drink.

Love your double bacon burger? Well before you order you get to find out how many calories your are consuming. Large plate of pasta, count calories before you dig in, especially if you get it with sauce.

Even beverages will not be spared. Cocktails, beer, wine, the fun giant Belini with the plastic toy will must all show the consumer in large print the calorie count.

Why is this being done?

‘The average adult requires approximately 2,000 to 2,400 calories per day, however, individual calorie needs may vary.’ The Health ministry says the Healthy Menu Choices Act, passed in 2015, is aimed at helping families make more informed choices about what they are putting in their mouths and hopefully prevent skyrocketing obesity rates that cost the health-care system an estimated $4.5 billion annually.’ Toronto Star

Eat fish and chips at the Firkin restaurant that is 1,203 calories, not including drink or sauces. The Full Monty burger alone has 1,735 calories.

You do the math on that one. You, on average need 2,400 calories a day, you get over half of that in one burger.

A lot of food chain have a calorie menu, including McDonalds where studies show that the salad, which one would think would be healthy has more calories than a Big Mac.

A lot of this information has been available at the store or online for awhile now. Now with the new act, which hope to help people to eat better by making healthier choices is enforcing companies to clearly display calories to their customers.

Question: would this change how you eat and what you order?

For me, I know that cooking at home is healthier than eating out. I can control what produces I use, how I cook the food, no deep fried, and the salt and spices I use. However, every now and again I want to eat out. I know that the portions will be larger and the food more greasy and not as healthy but well eating out for me atleast is a treat. I walk into the restaurant or now in the summer into the ice cream shop with my eyes wide open and my mouth too.

I think having information is always a great in any situation. The more you know the more you can make a mindful decision.

Eating healthy is extremely important in all areas of our lives, mind, body and soul. We all know this. So when you go out to eat and a giant juicy burger dripping in cheese and bacon is placed in front of you, be mindful when you eat it and than plan for a walk home, maybe a brisk jog.

Be mindful about your choices. Your choice + Your responsibility.

What do you think about this new Healthy Menu Act? Will it improve people’s health or waste of government and restaurant money to implement?

Healthy eating tip:

Hear Me Roar

Reblog from Nurse Kelly….Hear me Roar, listen to your inner voice, go after what you want, you can, one step at a time, go after your dreams let nothing stand in your way

Listen and Silent are spelt with the same letters

Silent and Listen use the same letters

Coincidence or a learning moment?

Maybe both, as for me when I read this quote, I of course first checked to see if they did us the same letters, come on you know you did too, than I began to reflect on the message.

 

 

Silent and listen. To be silent is to not speak, to listen is to not speak. However let’s take it one step further. Often when people are talking, we are planning on what our response will be. A similar story to share, a reaction to their news, a hurry up and finish talking so I can talk.

Silent and listen. Clear your mind, stop the every day chatter and the thinking and planning of what you will say next and simply listen. Be silent in words aloud and in your head. Being present and mindful is to truly listen to each other, hear them more accuatly and on a deeper level where we are not just listening to their words but picking up expressions and body language leading us to better understand what the person is really saying.

Silent and listen. How many of us do this? Try for this week in one conversation to really silence the mind and listen to the whole person. The person you are speaking to will feel heard validated and more connected to you. You will feel as though you truly heard and understood, creating a deeper conversation and connection.

Namaste ♥

Zucchini lasagna with cashew cream

reblog The Lighthearted Kitchen….yummy zucchini recipe, have never made my own sauce before this gives you easy steps to follow, would replace the cashews because of allergies but the rest I so am going to make 🙂

My Lighthearted Kitchen

Yesterday at the market, I found some beautiful zucchinis that I really wanted to cook today. I decided to try out making zucchini lasagna: you use thin zucchini slices instead of pasta. Sounds good, right?

This is a fun recipe because you can really decide on what you want to add as your layers. I went for a more traditional tomato sauce with a lot of fresh thyme and some cashew cream to give it a ricotta cheese feel. It was really good! The only thing I would say it to keep in mind that your zucchinis will give out a lot of water as they cook: make sure the different dressings you are adding are not too liquid or you will end up with a lot of extra sauce!

Here is what you need:

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 5 tomatoes
• 2…

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“I Was Told It Was Genetics”

Reblog from DoctorJonathan…indepth science information about our genes and concrete steps we can take to live a healthy lifestyle.

All About Healthy Choices

Genetics is a very scary topic. It makes people feel like victims within their own bodies producing “lifetime sentences” of disease and death. It has lead to the “justification” for lifetime renewable prescriptions for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and many other conditions. Many doctors have helped remove the “guilt” from patients by misinforming them their condition(s) was based on family genetics and therefore, “out of their control.” It has even lead to the willful choice of mastectomy by some women without the clinical presence of ANY breast disease. This article is NOT WRITTEN IN JUDGEMENT. It is written to provide additional information to help people understand the role of genetics and the role the consumer plays in altering their effects.

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GENETIC PREDISPOSITION VERSUS GENETIC DEFECT.

GENETIC PREDISPOSITION: “A genetic predisposition (sometimes also called genetic susceptibility) is an increased likelihood of developing…

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Book Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mckintosh

I Let You Go by Clare Mckintosh

I was walking back from a beautiful sunny summer day playing at the park with my nephews. My mom was chatting to my sister in law, while my brother and I were catching up. When suddenly the nephews ages, 4 and 6 took off running down the side walk, further and further away from us. My mom said you had better stop them, this is a busy road. My brother turned with a surprised scared look on his face and bellowed after his young boys, ‘boys, stop. You’ve gone to far. Stop, your coming up to a busy intersection….no stop….’

The novel, I Let You Go, is about a woman who was walking her young son home from school when he let go of her hand to race her home. One minute they were laughing and sharing stories of their day, thinking of the afternoon snack to come and the next moment the 5 year old boy goes dashing across in the street, right into on coming traffic. He is struck, crashing into the windshield and body flown to the pavement, with his mother screaming and cradling her dying child.

The driver takes off.

And so the novel begins with the search of the driver. Who are they? Why did they leave? Blame is thrown around as the search contines-the mother should have never let go of his hand. She should have been watching him. What is wrong with that driver? How can you leave without stopping to help? Why aren’t the police doing more to solve this case?

Lives are shattered in an instant. The woman leaves to recreate and/or if possible erase her life and start anew. But can you ever simply disappear from the past?

I Let You go is a thriller that will evoke so many emotions from you, all well delving into each charaters story well they journey through the aftermath of the tradegy.

And just when you think, oh o.k. I know what is happening here, who all of the players are…there is a huge twist. I actually stopped and went wait what? Read back a few pages, than a few more to see if I had the characters wrong. Nope. Great twist, perfectly timed in the story. And the twist takes you on a whole new compelling side of the story.

What will happen to the mother who lost her only child? Will the person who killed and fled the scene be identified and charged? How long can the police continue working on a case? Will the lead detective risk losing his job to pursue this till the end. Or will each character move on and learn to rebuild their lives?

Side note: at first I did not want to read this book as I thought it would be too emotional and sad. The back cover tugs at your heart strings about a boy dying and a mother blaming herself. Thankfully, well emotional it was not heavy on the emotional side, especially with the plot going back and forth between the woman starting over and the investigation. I did not expect to like this book, am so impressed that I do. Don’t want to give to much away as this book is defiantly one to come into cold and just read.

4/5 stars would recommend to others.

This is the authors debut book, have you read it? Were you going to read it but it cam across as being too emotional? Let me know your thoughts J

*My nephews are super smart and awesome and well everything to me, of course they stopped at the edge of the side walk as they knew to do. Also with heart pounding, they did not run far away from us again either. Did this book really open my eyes to how one moment can change everything.

Happy Reading ♥

Lessons from a real and metaphorical mountain climb

Reblog from Alexis Rose. Beautiful insight into the mental and physical climb we are on. Reads like a wonderful guided imagery meditation, could play some relaxing music as you get swept away on the climb…:)

Inner Peace

Reblog Me, Myself and I- Inner Peace, two meditations to help you to be mindful and at peace, enjoy Namaste 🙂

Me Myself and I

How to be happy? Feel inner peace, independent of outer circumstances, too easy. Is it?!

I have found two beautiful videos which immediately but me in a peaceful state. I didn’t have much choice, to be honest. The first video is a talk with a three minute meditation at the end. Just listening to the presenter makes me feel joyous. The second one is a 15 minute meditation on breathing. Wow, is inner peace a memory I had just forgotten?

Happy Mind, Happy Days

Inner Peace Breathing Meditation

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Change – Do you ‘Go with the Flow’ or ‘Swim Against the Tide’?

Reblog from Brillance within, great reminders with inspirational quotes to encourage and empower you to believe in yourself and work towards your goals 🙂 I like the last quote a lot, ‘I can and will. Watch Me’. walk out of your house saying that….awesome

BRILLIANCE WITHIN

Change – the one thing in life that is certain and inevitable.

How you deal with change and make progress in your life in the words of Tony Robbins is key!

It is impossible to go through life without facing ‘change’ – our bodies change as we age, our environment changes, relationships change, jobs change, Governments change etc. etc. etc. You’d think we would be used to it wouldn’t you? Some changes we expect or we’ve planned it and then some changes come along and simply knock us off our feet!

Often we fear change, we worry about what may happen, we try to stay in our ‘comfy slippers’… As Tony Robbins states: “progress is optional”. We can use the change positively or we can try to fight against it…

I’ve learned that when some change occurs that makes me feel uncomfortable or fearful or stressed, that’s often the time when you look…

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