Health
Five Ways to Make Your Thanksgiving Healthier
Most Canadians traditionally get together on Thanksgiving for a huge meal and drinks, often ending with a full stomach and waking up the next day feeling a bit unhealthy. Good news –Thanksgiving does NOT have to sabotage your fitness and weight goals. Here are five ideas to help you give thanks to good health this year:
Ten Tips for a Successful Year of High School
This year, I will be both a teacher (at Fernie Secondary School) and a student (in Cranbrook taking weekend classes). I started teaching about a decade ago, so including my years as a student, I have over 25 years of experience in schools. Here are my ten tips for a successful year of high school.
Remember, it is your education
ParticipACTION
After watching Hal and Joanne on The Amazing Race Canada I was re-inspired by their participACTION “get fit and have fun” mantra from the ‘80s. This also reminded me of the 1972-1992 school gym protocol to determine which badge (excellence, gold, silver, bronze) you would achieve and sew onto your K-Way jacket or Scouts uniform.
Luckily for the youth of today, this protocol has been discontinued and participACTION Canada has refocused on getting more people more active.
Harvesting the Fall
Back to school, crisp mornings, warm days, ripe apples, turning leaves – you can smell the change of the seasons in the air. September has always been my favourite month as the year begins to end. The biking is amazing, using my oven again is quite exciting, and canning in the house tolerable. At the end of this month I will also, once again, get into my garden and prepare a bed for my October planting of fall garlic.
Garden: Planting Fall Garlic
Growing your own garlic is quite easy and garlic from the grocery store does not compare to garlic from your own garden.
Packing a Healthy Lunch
It's September again which, for so many of us, is synonymous with the beginning of a new year. For our little ones, it's the start of a new grade, with a new teacher, some new friends, and a lot of new experiences.
Creating Summer Memories
I was recently looking through some old photographs contemplating what life might have been like for my Grandparents when I came across photos of picnics - simple outings along the countryside in the 1920s and '30s with family or as a romancing young couple. There really isn't anything like sharing and enjoying a delicious frugal meal somewhere beautiful.
For a tasty summer picnic sandwich, I enjoy this vegetarian antipasto loaf. It’s been a hit at a few potlucks and I can now make it from memory. You can certainly increase or decrease the ingredients to your liking.
Tabata Training: Anytime, Anywhere
If you’re looking for a fast and efficient way to work out, you may want to explore ‘Tabata’ training. Founded in Japan by Izumi Tabata, this form of high intensity interval training requires you to perform each exercise for 20 seconds, followed by ten seconds rest, eight times for a total of four minutes. This means that in just four minutes, you can efficiently work a muscle group. You can watch a clock, but I find it easier to be guided by a beeping Tabata Timer App that can be downloaded on an iPhone or iPad.
... Does Every Body Good
I am sitting on a plane. After a lengthy delay in Toronto, the plane is en route to the Maritimes. Beside me a woman sits with her boob exposed. The woman is my wife, and she is breastfeeding our two-month old son. Breastfeeding impresses me. My wife has the courage to breastfeed in public in a culture where judgment and awkwardness exist. Despite being quite modest and a wee bit shy, my wife puts the needs of our son first.
A Prescription for Music
As August is the music issue of the Fernie Fix, I thought it might be interesting to explore the role that music plays in our lives and the impact it can have on our health and well-being.
Keeping Your Cool
Our mountain summer is in full swing and our gardens are flourishing in the heat. Kids are out of school, free from schedules and life is all about bikes, exploring, ice filled beverages, getting wet and staying cool.
The Summer Camp Counsellor
I don’t like political attack ads. I get that they sometimes work, but they are an immature approach, trying to appear taller by pushing another down. When a political party thinks their best selling point, is to tell me what is wrong with the other side, I worry. Attack ads work, but at the expense of the integrity of our democratic system. Earlier this year, one political party attacked an individual for being a drama teacher and a camp counsellor.
Parenting 101
So you've found out you were pregnant, gone through pregnancy, had your baby in whichever way your baby was meant to be born, and now the real work begins.
Watersport Workout
With the lovely weather upon us, it’s a great time to add exercises specifically designed to get your core and balance ready to perform on the water. Whether you wake surf, paddleboard, or tube behind a boat, these exercises will not only help you excel but will help prevent injury as well… no guarantees though on preventing wiping out!
Snug as a Bug
The buzz of the oncoming school break is humming at our house! Warmer weather and longer days have slipped us into the rhythm of summer. In the evening, it feels unnatural to call the kids into the house when they are still basking in the long awaited sunshine, a sure sign that it is time to release them from school to take in as much of our short summer season as possible.
Kids Activity: How to Care for a Ladybug
The “Fourth Trimester” of Pregnancy
When I visit the homes of new parents for their first few postpartum visits, I'm always amazed by how much baby paraphenalia they have. These brand new babies have more furniture, clothing, toys, bottle systems, etc.