Jill Amery
Jill Amery is a mom of 2 small boys and the Publisher of UrbanMommies, a stylish digital lifestyle magazine filled with fitness, style, health, recipes and savvy mom advice to help you through pregnancy, birth, and raising your kids.
This is a perfect party snack, and with Hallowe’en around the corner, we like the health kick and sticky sweetness. As with any small pieces, though, make sure your children are chewing and swallowing properly to avoid choking. Other than that, dig in! (and have some baby wipes nearby).
This lentil salad can be eaten as is or stuffed into a pita for a sandwich. Super-yummy, and packed with health. Makes 4 servings.
Chilling by a warm fire, or at a summer beach soiree, these will be the hit of the party. And the dipping sauce make prawns extra fun for kids. Makes 20 skewers.
Craving coriander but can’t quite make it to the grocery store, let alone India? Rent a Bollywood film, don a sari and have a family theme night to teach the kids about far away places. And be healthy at the same time.
Have you noticed muddy foot prints tracking across your clean kitchen floor? Have your children started running in circles and whining incessantly? There is no denying that it is time to turn on your furnace and dig into your arsenal of Rainy Day Games to get through the next 6 months. Luckily, we have taken the liberty of compiling some games to help you and your kids combat the rainy day blues. Grab your hot chocolate and check them out below.
- Create your own Memory Cards. Get 24 duplicates printed of your favorite friends and family members. Mount them on that scrapbook paper that has been accumulating dust in your closet. Presto! Instant game. Try out the traditional memory game or maybe introduce you child to the concept of their family tree. Write the names on the cards to encourage word recognition. Your child will delight in seeing all of the familiar faces and might just forget that they aren’t allowed to play outside on the swing set.
- Try battling it out with classic board games such as Battleship or Checkers. Just for fun games like Hungry Hippos and Ker-PLunk are sure to entertain. Or dive into the silly world of more current favorites, Cranium or Apples to Apples. Your kids won’t even realize they are learning valuable concepts like cause and effect. Check out Discovery Toys for more age appropriate educational and fun games.
- Make your own bean bags with old towels sewn into pockets and filled with beans or rice. Tape out a grid on your floor with painters tape and Voila! you have yourself a interactive game of Tic Tac Toe. Take those same beanbags and creating a tossing game that will kill at least 15 minutes and build hand eye co-ordination at the same time.
- Push that antique coffee table to the side to play a game of Simon Says, Follow the Leader or Leap Frog. Give your children space and permission to be rambunctious and loud indoors. It will allow them to burn off some energy and sleep soundly at night. So put your breakables aside, turn up the music and thank me at bedtime.
- Grab your leopard rain boots and get some fresh air. A little rain never hurt anyone. Arm yourselves with some umbrellas and splash pants to have a puddle jumping contest or make some mud pies. Your kids will enjoy getting dirty and it is nothing the washing machine can’t handle.
Being held captive by a rainstorm doesn’t have to be a negative. Build a blanket fort or choose to play some games. Get Creative, have some fun and build memories with your children one downpour at a time.
– Stephanie Raposo likes to sing and dance in the rain.
What’s the most common dental complaint I hear these days? In my Kitsilano practice, where most of our patients are between their twenties and forties, the most frequently mentioned ailment during the initial appointment with new patients is teeth sensitivity. I’ll briefly discuss the top three causes of teeth feeling sensitive with cold, acids, or sweets.
We’ve all been there – about to rush out the door, and we happen to catch a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror. Wow. No Makeup. Wouldn’t it be nice to feel vibrant and productive all day while we were getting groceries and schlepping kids? How much earlier would we have to wake up to make ourselves look presentable in 5 MINUTES. FLAT. (Honestly). Many busy moms don’t even attempt lipgloss half the time even though our appearance affects self esteem and confidence. So we asked the lovely Sarah Norris-Jones from Kiss and Makeup for a 5-minute face for busy moms .
It’s harvest time. So take advantage of fall’s bounty and fill your plate with the season’s freshest flavours and you’ll actually be doing yourself a favour. You needn’t compromise taste or tradition to stay on track this Thanksgiving season.
Some of the season’s most traditional foods are packed with health. Here’s a taste:
Brussel Sprouts: Are a huge source of fiber, containing four grams of equal parts soluble and insoluble fiber. And they are touted for their cancer-fighting properties.
Zucchini: Perhaps best known for its vitamin C content, is also a good source of vitamin A and lutein, which is important for eye health, as well as folate and potassium.
Pumpkin: It’s an antioxidant powerhouse, filled with beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, potassium, and a hefty dose of veggie fiber. The seeds offer a wallop of protein, fiber, iron and potassium. Canned purree is good too, just watch for sugar.
Sweet potato: Coined as a superfood, it is an excellent source of beta-carotene, a very good source of vitamin C, B6, manganese, and a good source of copper, dietary fiber, potassium and iron. It is an antioxidant food that works in the body to eliminate free radicals and is also a natural anti-inflammatory.
Turkey: It’s a very good source of zinc, vitamins B6, B12, protein, selenium, niacin, and the amino acid tryptothan. Roasted skinless, white meat has less total fat, and less saturated fat and cholesterol than chicken, pork or beef. So make sure to go skinless.
- Don’t go hungry. Just because it’s Thanksgiving, make sure to eat a whole grain filled breakfast and lunch. Don’t look at the meal as an endless buffet you are saving up for. Stop the madness of piling the plate. Remember you are celebrating Thanksgiving. So give thanks to your body by not over eating.
- Watch portion size: Go for smaller portions. This way you can sample all the different foods. Moderation is always the key.
- Make a conscious choice to limit high fat items: Remember try to eat vegetables as close to their whole, natural state as possible. Traditional dishes—like fried and creamy dishes as well as cheese or sugar-filled casseroles—are where the high fat lurks. If you cannot control the ingredients that go into a dish, simply limit yourself to a smaller helping size. Again moderation is the key.
- Skip the gravy boat: The gravy is where all the saturated fat lurks. Instead, opt for the cranberry sauce. Cranberries are huge source of antioxidants and promote gastrointestinal and oral health. So skip the boat.
- Keep to the special stuff: No need to graze on the chips, cheese, and other assorted treats scattered around. Wait for the main event.
- Don’t give in to the tryptophan: Go for a walk instead with family or friends and walk some of the calories.
- Don’t cut your favorites out completely: If you indulge occasional, you will be less likely to binge. So go for it, but again, moderation is key.
- Be Mindful how good that first bite is: No other bite will taste as good. You’ll be getting more calories but not necessarily more pleasure. For dessert, leave behind the pie crusts. Ever notice how seconds are nearly as pleasurable?
- Help clear the table: Rather than sitting and picking at leftovers.
The Season’s Best Bets: Skinless white turkey, roasted sweet potatoes, plain vegetables, defatted gravy or cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, wine spritzers.
We work with busy women who are starved for time, hungry for balance and crave more energy. We help them develop and instill individual lifestyle solutions so they feel fabulous while they maximize their time doing what they love. The modern woman can do it all. Nourished will show you how. Alyssa-Schottland Bauman received her training to practice Health Counseling at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, which is the only nutrition school integrating all the different dietary theories—combining the knowledge of traditional philosophies with modern concepts like the USDA food pyramid, the glycemic index, the Zone and raw foods. www.nourished.ca
The Porsche Cayenne as a Family Vehicle: As we begin our roundup of luxury family vehicles, we’re making a few assumptions, like you can afford drop the coin on the hefty pricetags (or like to dream), and also that you don’t care much about juice boxes flinging over the seats and Cheerios smushed into the carpet. That being said, the safety, convenience, and luxury of the cars we’ve been test driving will absolutely make you feel like the super-star Mom you are.