1.            Eat breakfast – even if just a very small amount of food, within 2 hours of waking up.

2.            Eat food along with that morning coffee. Coffee alone is not a balanced breakfast.

3.            Take your “energy medicine” (food) in moderate doses every 3 to 4 hours throughout the day.

4.            Make meals balanced: Half the plate as vegetables, ¼ as lean protein and ¼ as whole grains.

5.            Stay well hydrated. Drink 4 to 8 ounces of water every time you eat.

6.            Pack a healthy lunch.

7.            Eat an afternoon snack to prevent overdoing it at dinner.

8.            Practice stopping when full, not stuffed.

9.            Eat more fruits and vegetables overall. Include in all meals and all snacks.

10.            Add more fibre to your life. Read labels and choose foods with the most fibre.

11.            Enjoy a maximum of 1 drink/day (women) and 2 drinks/day (men) or less.

12.            Watch salt intake. 77% of the excess we eat is from processed food, not the shaker.

13.            Buy groceries regularly. A good supply at home means better meals and snacks.

14.            Do an extra produce pickup at least once/week over and above your big shopping day.

15.            Don’t write off restaurant meals. See point 4 and make this work even when dining out.

16.            Limit or totally avoid soda pop and juice.

17.            Be mindful of liquid calories overall – including cream and sugar added to tea or coffee.

18.            Follow the 80-20 rule making healthy choices at least 80% of the time but leaving room for occasional treats.

19.            Get good paring knives, a cutting board and supplies to make healthy food prep easier.

20.            Monitor your total sugar intake and work on reducing it.

You CAN make 2012 your healthiest year ever! I wish you a fantastic year ahead.

Patricia

A baguette dip dish

Take a baguette and cut it into several equal sections.  Then take each one and place it vertically and carve out a little hole for filling in with the dip. Serve them on a plate with vegetable sticks.  Each person take their own little bread bowl of dip and crudités with them!

A layered “verrine” is always a winner

Mash together some avocado and lime and make a layer of the mix on the bottom of some small transparent glasses.  Then, add some mini shrimp or crab chunks and top them off with some pink grapefruit suprêmes.  A beautiful mix, for the eyes as well as the palate.  And to top it off, it’s nice and light so your guests will still have room for the main course!

Asian spoons; a sure-fire hit!

Those big white porcelain spoons that you can find in just about every kitchen supply store nowadays are great for making a nice presentation.  Fill each spoon with: a date that has been cooked in the oven a few minutes to soften it, a bit of room-temperature cream or goat cheese, sprinkle the whole thing with bits of bacon and drizzle with honey or maple syrup.  You will see just how nice it looks when all put together.

Everyone likes a mini brochette
Putting meat on a skewer is an interesting way to “broach” the subject, so to speak.  As well as allowing guests to serve themselves, they are an easy-to-eat option since they don’t require any utensils.  Choose the meat and flavour according to your taste: slices of tenderloin seasoned with paprika and lime; chicken with peanut sauce; pork filet with teriyaki sauce; or perhaps some cubes of honey and rosemary salmon. The options are infinite for satisfying the meat-lovers’ appetites.

What are some winning appetizers that you like to serve during the holidays?

The Research Team

10) I found out I was pregnant and strategically kept talking during wine pairing instead of picking up a glass at the end of the show. (watch me avoid drinks in reruns!) Eventually I shared the amazing news with everyone at work when my growing belly took over and I couldn’t blame it on my large carb intake anymore!

9) Playing “foil ball” hockey with former NHL goalie Kevin Weekes!  (@kevinweekes, follow him on twitter he’s funny)

Being serenaded by the great Colin James (@colinjamesmusic), made me melt like butta! Dream come true!

7) Shooting nutrition segments with my buddy nutritionist Patricia Chuey (@patriciachuey), FYI she keeps her notes in the set fridge for luck! She’s hilarious!

6) Perfecting the art of making pralines for the pumpkin cheesecake, my desserts will never be the same!

5) The return of my buddy funny crooner and what’s cooking fav guest Matt Dusk for our Christmas show!

4) Favourite dance moment: it’s a tie; “the lawn mower” with Rick Matharu and dancing a gig while Fiddler Natalie McMaster played!

3) Opening the show with Warren and making each other laugh right before camera rolls!

2) Richard, Warren and I (and the entire crew) back together on set after a crazy year! And meeting Warren’s new baby Girl!

1) Seeing my husband Andy holding my healthy daughter Tess off camera while I shot my first show after spending 82 days in the NICU!

Thanks for watching the show and all your love, kindness and support! Happy New Year and new beginnings to all of you!

Love Jack and family!

I have a few suggestions to keep you going. Before suggesting some great exercise tips, the first step is reinventing your diet and filling your kitchen or pantry with foods that taste great and are as great for your body. When you go grocery shopping next, it is a MUST to include fruits (blueberries, oranges, mango, cantaloupe, apricots) and vegetables (spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, red pepper) in your shopping cart. But what about everything else in between? Here’s a list of items that can help you keep the pounds “OFF” and turn your health “ON”!

THE SHOPPING LIST

- Whole grain, high fibre Cereals
- High Fibre Instant Oatmeal
- Whole Wheat English Muffins
- Enriched Whole Wheat Spaghetti
- Whole Grain Quinoa
- Lower fat milk 2%, 1% or skim Milk
- Reduced Fat natural cheeses such as Monterey Jack Cheese
- Plain Non-fat Greek Yogurt
- Roasted Turkey Breast
- Green Tea- French Roast Coffee
- Low-Sodium Vegetable Juice- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-  Unsalted nuts
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Extra Lean Ground Beef
- Lean Ground Turkey

If you stick with these items and take the time to enjoy your food and try new healthy recipes, you’ll see some amazing results in no time flat.

THE FITNESS

Sometimes working out in a gym can be confusing, intimidating and overwhelming. One of the best ways to stay in shape is to join a fitness class such as Yoga, CrossFit or Pilates. In any case you should always check with a doctor before starting a new exercise program, just to be on the safe side.

Think big, do more and move faster. If you’re not going to get outdoors this winter and participate in cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, snowboarding, ice-skating or ice-hockey, keep things moving indoors. Forget hibernating! Revving-up your system now makes shredding the pounds and dropping seasonal weight a whole lot easier for Spring and Summer. Be good to yourself and take it to the next level- you’ll feel lighter, stronger and more adventurous for the upcoming year. And you’ll also feel less guilty about having extra sweets over Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Richard

The hot toddy is a tradition that goes quite a way back, and is defined basically as a mixed drink that is served warm (alcohol is optional).   This would be a great way to add some warmth and cheer to your holiday party. There are many versions out there: mulled wine, spiced cider…but if you want to make a visual splash, give this idea a try:

Get out that old, rarely-used fondue pot out of the cupboard, and dust it off.  Make a batch of Cherry Pomegranate Mulled Cider (see below).   Fill the fondue pot and then light the burner, and put the flame as low as it will go, just to keep your punch warm. Then take a bag of fresh cranberries and drop about a cup full into the punch bowl.  The beautiful, red and festive looking berries will float on top, adding a special look to your beverage.   Since most fondue pots are not that large you will likely have to refill it from time to time.

Cherry Pomegranate Mulled Cider Recipe

What You Need:

4 cups water

2 pkt. (3.1 g each) Crystal Light Singles Cherry Pomegranate Low Calorie Drink Mix

4 cinnamon sticks

8 whole cloves

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Make It:

COOK all ingredients in saucepan on low heat 20 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally. (Do not boil.)

REMOVE cinnamon sticks and cloves; discard.

NOTE it wouldn’t hurt to have some dried cinnamon sticks in a mug beside your punch so you can put one in each guest’s glass when serving them a drink.

Do you have any special holiday drink recipes you’d like to share with us? We’d love to hear from you.

The Research Team

Even though Christmas is not celebrated in the Hindu religion, nothing is stopping you from drawing inspiration from the delicious flavours and aromas of Indian cuisine in an effort to put together a meal that will make a lasting impression on your loved ones and guests.  Here are a few ideas for an Indian-style holiday menu to help get you inspired!

To start off right, you can serve some savoury appetizers such as samosas.  These little triangular pastry pockets filled with meat, veggies and spices will have your guests convinced that the flavours of Bombay are the way to go! Accompanied with a little sweet dipping sauce, these little fritters are simple crunchy goodness!

Then, for your main dish, why not prepare a tandoori style chicken; a very popular dish in the land of Gandhi.  Even though the original version is cooked in a clay “tandoori” oven, there are other versions of the recipe that can be made in a regular oven.  Tandoori chicken is made with yogurt, garlic, ginger, curry, paprika, cumin and coriander. You cook it slowly to allow all the flavours to absorb into the skin of the bird.  Add seasoned vegetables, basmati rice and some warm naan bread on the side and you will give the impression of being on a gastronomic voyage of discovery.

For dessert, it might be interesting to offer your guests barfi; a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth Indian sweet treat. If you like spicy yet sweet desserts, try it and you will be won over completely… These little squares made with condensed milk, sugar, semolina, butter and cardamom are quick and simple to make.  You can also substitute the semolina with almonds.

So does that give you a few ideas to get you started? It’s guaranteed to be a special Christmas dinner like no other!  And no doubt you will get some rave reviews!

The Research Team

• Mandarin oranges – loaded with flu-fighting vitamin C and hydrating juiciness.
• Pomegranates – like ruby red jewels, these in-season nutrient-rich seeds add tang and star quality to everything from salads and roasts to desserts and drinks.
• Cranberries – Mother Nature’s medicine. Enjoy light cranberry sauce as a garnish or alcohol-free cranberry spritzers.
• Walnuts – full of healthy fats. Toast and shell whole walnuts to slow you down and keep portions wiser.
• Pecans – right up there with walnuts. Toast and enjoy in salads or crumbled on roasted vegetables.
• Turkey – lean, top quality protein. Dark meat is slightly higher in fat than white but a better source of iron. Enjoy both.
• Dark chocolate – Keep portions to an ounce or two and benefit from the antioxidant nutrients without overdoing the saturated fat.
• Cinnamon – Enjoy this spice on lattes, hot chocolate, roasted pears or warm applesauce.

Like all year, plan to take a moderate approach with the rich treats, but why not make this holiday season the one you focus on what you should eat, as opposed to what you shouldn’t? With this as a goal, there will be less deprivation, less desire to overdo it, far more nourishment and just as much fun.

My best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful holiday season!

Patricia

A couple of episodes ago we had a show called Cookies and Bars Extravaganza, which offered up a few great ideas for holiday presents (you can watch it again in the “Shows” section).  Then on our Christmas show, Jenn Playford demonstrates a great wrapping idea.  Ms. Playford wrote the book on wrapping the Japanese furoshiki style, using a cloth or scarf that you tie around the present in an eye-pleasing fashion.  Here are a couple more crafty wrapping ideas:

The old-fashioned tin cookie can: in keeping with the theme why not use a pretty cookie tin, you can either buy some second-hand ones from the thrift shop or a lot of the larger grocery stores have new nicely coloured and patterned ones that you can buy.  Either way it’s more earth friendly than gift wrap since they will get used again and again.  The furoshiki wrapping method is ideal for these difficult-to-wrap objects like round cookie tins.

Baking pans: In the same vein; why not use a baking tin, like a loaf pan, to pack your cookies or bars? In fact you could even wrap up the bars in the pan that they are baked in.  It would mean, again, procuring yourself some second-hand pans that you won’t mind giving away.  First cover the top with some plastic wrap, then tie a festive ribbon around it, and you’re done!

Chinese take-out boxes:  These days you can find colourful “take-out” containers which are intended for wrapping presents, at all the big craft stores.  These are an ideal way to package your holiday cookies and bars (line it with a little wax paper if you want the receiver to be able to reuse the box).

What other original wrapping ideas are there out there?  Please share!

The Research Team

In the beginning the Yule log wasn’t a dessert, but an actual wood log which was burned in the hearth from the 24th of December until the new year. A really large hard wood log, or old stump, was chosen, preferably from a fruit tree, and it was decorated with ribbons. The head of the household then baptized the log with water and salt – and sometimes with wine.

Once the log was completely burned, the ashes were saved to ward off sickness and bad weather and for fertilizing the soil.

It’s said that this pagan tradition continued well into the final quarter of the 14th century in many regions of the world.

The dessert that we all know today: a cake rolled up with a generous layer of cream or fruit filling inside and covered with icing, was created in Paris at the end of the 19th century as homage to the old tradition. The dessert also became popular in many regions of the world and has now become a symbol of Christmas in its own right.

It remains to be seen if the tradition will maintain its popularity in the years ahead!  If so, what do you think the Yule logs of the future might be like centuries from now?

The Research Team

Rapini is originally from the Mediterranean region. It has been eaten in Italy for a long time, and it was actually Italian immigrants who introduced the vegetable to us here in North America.  That is why rapini is also sometimes called “Italian kale”.

Rapini belongs to the same family as broccoli and cauliflower, without having the same odour and taste. Every part of the rapini plant is edible; the stem and the buds (which resemble small heads of broccoli) are mild in flavour, and the leaves are slightly bitter

Rapini can be prepared the same way as broccoli; steamed, boiled, sautéed, or braised. The only difference is that it will cook more rapidly. Rapini is excellent in pasta with cheese sauce, quiches, and omelettes, also as a vegetable side-dish or drizzled with your favourite vinaigrette.

So does that inspire you to give it a try? This the ideal time of year, seeing as any good grocery store should have it in stock.

The Research Team