Portobello Goodness

I could eat these almost every day ... I have to say it is one of my favourites for the bbq. These are a couple of grilled Portobello Mushroom recipes and links to sites that I got them from. This is one from eatmoreplants website ...

Burger Sized Portobello Caps
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 minced garlic cloves
Hot sauce (optional)

Place Portobello mushrooms in a gallon size sealable bag. Combine remaining ingredents in a bowl. Wisk til oil is well blended. Pour mixture into bag containing mushrooms. Let marinate for 1/2 hour turning occasionally. Grill mushrooms and top with swiss cheese if desired. Serve on buns.

This is from vegcooking ... another site I like.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Steaks
4 large portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

•Remove the stems of the mushrooms and brush off any dirt to clean.
•In a medium bowl or pan, combine the oil, wine, lemon juice, and garlic, stirring until combined. Add the cleaned mushrooms caps and submerge in the marinade. Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
•Remove from the marinade and season with salt and pepper to taste.
•Place the caps on a grill over medium-high heat and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until just tender.
Makes 4 servings

Mare

Sporting My New ID Badge

Here I am ... sporting my new Therapy Dog ID Badge. Things for this are rolling along, we still haven't been able to get out and do any official visits yet ... the people paper work thing seems to be taking a long time.
Schwen and Mare just got their Police Checks back .. they are now being sent to Toronto, to the St. John Ambulance office there .. and then all that is left is getting our 3 supervised visits in with a current St. John Ambulance Volunteer - and then we are all set.
Looks like September is our start, that first week, so this will be good, I am looking forward to it.
After we have 10 visits in, we can go to Fund Raising events, like the Mall - both Conestoga Mall and Fairview Mall have a Volunteer Fair and I will be taking part in those. There is a fund raiser at The Kitchener Ranger Game in January, that will be my first hockey game that I have ever been to.
Also .. yesterday when we picked up my ID Badge, I was told about a R.E.A.D program that I can enter after 40 Volunteer Hours ... I can go to schools and have a child read to me, one that is having difficulty learning to read - it is more fun for them to read out loud to a dog .... so we might do that as well. That involves more testing - but I love being around children, so we will see, that might be another thing I can do.
Lots of exciting things to look forward to this fall and winter!!

Tundie

A Little Sunshine

Week 1 Begins!

Pretty easy common sense things ....

Step 1 - is to clean out your cupboards and fridge and get rid of any unhealthy foods. Get rid of anything with cottonseed in it. Throw out anything that contains partially hydrogenated oils of any kind. Get rid of anything with artificial sweetners (I am safe since we have finished off our case of sugar free Red Bull).

Step 2 - Start eating broccoli this week - twice this week. That is one of our favourite veggies, so we are good with this step. Part of Step 2 is to have fish once this week - if you do not want fish then have flaxseed - grind it (in a coffee grinder, I have one just for seeds, nuts etc) .. and sprinkle it on your food a couple of times in the week.

Step 3 - Take Supplements. The main one is Vitamin C each day ... 250 mg. Exercise - just start with 10 minutes a day - and even if you do other exercises, do the 10 minute walk a day.

Step 4 - Mental/Spiritual. Think about your own healing experience. Make a list of illnesses or injuries or problems you have recovered from in the past two years. Jot down anything you did to speed the healing process. Begin to practice Breath Observation for 5 minutes every day.

Last but not least .... Buy some flowers to keep in your home, where you can enjoy them. The flowers in the picture are from our garden ... I cut them and brought them in the house yesterday - yes, they do put a smile on your face when you see them.

OK - well it is nice sunny day today ... and I will leave off with this picture from last week - the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen - there were 2 of them actually .. one was brighter - but they were both amazing. I am sure the picture doesn't do it justice ... but here you go.

Mare

Back At It

So .. this morning gave me a great wake up call and scare I guess that I needed to really get back on track.
I was walking Thunder .. I became very sick to make a long story short - I didn't even know how I would ever make it home - I was blacking out and felt extremely nauseous, light headed and dizzy. I kept on the grass areas because I didn't want to drop on the sidewalk .. and finally Thunder and I were back home some how and I called Schwen to come and help me - and give him my final wishes (oh the drama I create). I thought I was having a stroke.
We were on our way to the hospital, and by the time we got there (and about to park the car), I was a little better .. so instead of hours of waiting in emergency we called our Dr and he said he would take me right away. The Dr. said my blood pressure was very high (I do take medication for this - and I have had high blood pressure since I was 18).
He gave me a prescription for a diuretic and said that should help flush out sodium from my system and help lower my blood pressure - go home and lay down and take it easy.
He asked me if I had been having a lot of soy sauce ..... I said, well funny enough - last night and this morning before my walk I had some soy products. I usually do not go for the substitute soy meat products, but I happened to last night and had some this morning as well. He thinks that was the cause ... I can't say for sure, but hey - I will go with that - because I have no other answer for that incident.
At the Pharmacy, while I was waiting to get my prescription filled ... I was browsing through the books and I was so attracted to this one ... I have no idea why. I have read one other book by Dr. Andrew Weil) (that might be - I bought one other book of his and partially read it), but I suppose I wasn't really paying attention to it then .... today, wow - it was like a magnet. I bought it along with new Foster Grant 1.25 times reading glasses - I lost my lovely over priced prescription ones ... hmmm .. Foster Grant - $19.99 instead of my $350 Dolce&Gabbana (of course covered by my benefits) ... they were nice though - I will miss them.
I started reading my new book today - and I am fascinated and drawn to it. I love it.
I don't think any one person has the answers - and we need to take little bits from all around us and come up with what works for us ... and anything that I read that takes the approach of Mind, Body and Spirit working together and that they are all connected .. well, that gets my attention - I believe that ... we can't just look at Western medicine .. and I like the idea that I have some spirit guides around me willing and able to help (oohhh ... my spirit guides - I just threw that in there - I don't think Dr. Weil mentions those in his book ... but I believe I have them and now I want to put them to work).
I am in - I want to give this a try .... 8 weeks of trying to tap into my body's natural healing power ..... I think it is worth a shot :)
Stay tuned and I will update on my progress.
Tomorrow is the start of Week 1 :)

Mare

Charlie The House Guest

Look What We Found!!
June 30th at 9:30pm ... little Charlie (that is what we called him, but it was obvious this wasn't his name) was running full throttle up our street. Tundie and I were sitting out the front, and saw this little guy go sailing by. Mare went out driving around looking for him. It was dark and he was obviously lost and scared - actually there were fireworks that night .... and he must have been terrified. Mare didn't have any luck finding him out driving around and came home.

Then 1/2 hour later .. he came back the other way, running as fast as he could. I yelled to Mare and she grabbed one of Thunder's leashes and ran down the street to try and find him (he was heading back towards the park). Five minutes later, I saw Mare walking back up to the house, with yes, a dog at the end of the leash she grabbed.

It was late by the time we got him home ... so of course he had to sleep over. We fixed up another dog bed in our bedroom - and there we were with an overnight guest. Little Charlie was muddy, scared and tired.

The next morning our mission was finding his home ... I drove the 4 of us around the neighbourhood asking anyone that was out if they recognized little Charlie ... all "no's".

Our next stop was the Humane Society ... it was amazing ... first it was amazing that they were open July 1st. Second that they are so wonderful, helpful and caring there .. check it out:

http://www.kwhumane.com

This is our second time this year calling the Humane Society, in May we called because Mare found a Robin in our front yard with a broken wing - she called, and they came and got him hours later. That without doubt saved his life. It made me so proud to live in a country that you can call someone and report an injured wild bird - and they come, take him and care for him.

So - we got "Charlie" to the Humane Society by 10:00 am ... at 3:30pm Mare called and his family had already come and taken him home. How more of a happy ending could you ask for.

Just as a side note .. for any of the Canadian Tire shoppers ... the Humane Society does take donations of Canadian Tire Money to buy supplies - so save it up, donate it, and help some animals.

Schwen

The Cleanse

The cleanse went so so .... we didn't stick to everything for the 3 days - but what I would like to do is try again, in fact do this every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If nothing else, it makes me think about everything I am eating. For the most part I did stick to no sugar, no gluten and no animal products.

It seems as soon as I declared that I wouldn't have something ... I started craving it. Tricky, tricky mind of mine.

I did have a coffee in the morning and a glass of wine in the evening .... so this coming week I will just do better. As Schwen said, that is all part of what this is ... not perfection, but just being a little bit better today than we were yesterday.

Above is a bowl of steel cut oatmeal with organic blueberries, walnuts and a little maple syrup on it - this is cleanse friendly ... and it is soo good.

My other great find was frozen waffles (Buckwheat Wildberry) ... from the health food freezer section in Zehr's. Two of those toasted in the morning with a tiny bit of maple syrup drizzled over was wonderful.

The third day ... for breakfast we had some gluten free rice bread ... toasted ... with Almond Butter on ..... mmmmm.

Another product that is gluten free are corn tortilla's. I went to a little Latino Store and purchased a bag of them .... 3 doz in the bag for $1.99. Basically it is corn, corn flour, water, lime and few preservatives ... they are very delicious - the smell is amazing and reminds me of when we lived in Mexico. The Old El Paso hard tortilla's are gluten and sugar free ... now, not so sure they are entirely healthy .... but it certainly is a nice comfort food .... filled with some nice refried beans, chopped tomatoes, spinach, olives and hot peppers. We also had some left over bbq'd portabello mushrooms, I chopped them up and had them in our tortilla ..... so so so good.

For 2 of the dinners I made a veggie chili .... my mom's recipe .. just without the ground beef. I don't eat meat any longer, but even if I did, I much prefer the chili without the meat. It is Chili sin Carne :) I also made a Cabbage Roll Casserole dish and added some kale to get some greens in there. It was alright the first day, but the 2nd and 3rd days it was amazing. My family can except that at our next get together.

I will find some more great recipe's this week. I will also step things up a notch at the gym - I have been going 2 times a week, but I notice I am pretty easy on myself ... I need to push myself just a little bit more.

Mare

Read more >> Options >>

Taste Buds In Training

OK ... so the book Quantum Wellness has me thinking. It mentions in the book that your taste buds can change in 21 days ... so I looked into that more - my concern is my addiction to salt. So here goes, this is part of an article I read ....

21 Days to Crack the Code by author Sam Graci

Your 10,000 taste buds are replaced every 21 days, but after the age of 40 they are not replaced as efficiently, leaving a person with only about 5,000 taste buds and, unfortunately, a narrower preference for food choices.

Because those aged 40 or older can lose 70 percent of olfaction (smell of food) and 50 percent of taste buds, flavour enhancers in processed foods are not perceived as easily and we need to be extra vigilant.

Issue 25 of the research journal Chemical Senses (2000) published research that demonstrated perceptions of taste as “good” or “bad” are a learned behaviour. In some cultures, grilled meat is considered to be delectable, but in others, nauseating. Others may enjoy ice cream more but prefer to eat organic yogurt for the health of it. Taste is “culturally determined, not scientifically based,” states Nancy Butte, MD, professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.

So ... maybe it is possible that if I avoid salt for 21 days I won't love it as much - and actually think food with salt on is too salty ... could it be? I tell you, some days I think I would be happy with a salt lick .... I love salty food ... and adding salt to salty food. OK ... so for the next 21 days starting today ... no salt ... let's see if I can put a grind to the salt habit:)

Well .. while I am on the subject I do have something positive to say about salt. The only salt I have been allowing myself recently is Himalayan Salt .. I have purchased it coarse and use it in our salt grinder. This can still maybe be an occasional treat once my 21 days are up. Himalayan salt contains all the minerals and trace elements of which our bodies are made. Natural salt is crucial for maintaining vital functions in the body. Himalayan salt has no preservatives or additives. Doctors and alternative therapists agree that Himalayan salt is the cleanest salt available on the planet to deliver remarkable health benefits. Himalayan crystal salt is pristine and natural. It consists of the most perfect geometric structure possible in rock crystals, the result of millions of years of compression under the Earth’s surface. Its has precise mesh with our body's inner workings because Himalayan crystal salt contains an almost identical set of elements to those found inside the human body, 84 of the possible 92 trace minerals, in the same proportion as naturally exists in our blood.

We also have a Himalayan Crystal Salt lamp by our front door ... pictures to come.

Mare

Another Book Added

It seems I just needed another book to add to my list of "three" ... I am just about finished reading this book, and the message is right in line with the path that we are wanting to follow.


"The ultimate guide to complete well-being, Quantum Wellness is an instructive book on how to reach the highest level of health and contentment through small, focused changes."

The is an excerpt from the book:

"One step at a time, one choice upgraded after another, until we find ourselves moving jauntily along our path of all-around wellness. And then, as with all things quantum, suddenly you find yourself living at a new level with hardly a disruption at all".

This is about progress, not perfection! It is all so much easier when making changes to think this way, it is just small little steps going towards something ... wellness ... that makes it attainable.

"As you increase your knowledge of what it is to be well, everything that is not well will reveal itself. You will be more readily able to identify that which needs your attention".

Schwen and I will try out a 3 day cleanse next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. For these days we will avoid the following:

• sugar
• alcohol
• caffeine
• gluten
• animal products

This seems reasonable to do for the 3 days. The sugar is likely the easiest of this list to give up, followed by caffeine .. since at least for me, I have very little of these things.

Mare

Food For Thought

Organic!! These are our wonderful organic lemons. We have for about one month now been getting an "organic basket" delivered to us on Wednesday mornings. It is like Christmas every Wed. I love the idea of not knowing specifically what will be in the basket, it is what they have available and the freshest for that day.
The store is Pfenning's Organic & More, they are located in a small village close to us, and deliver free to Kitchener/Waterloo and surrounding area.
This is their Philosophy:
" We emphasize affordable real food — fresh, certified organic fruits, vegetables & groceries rather than supplements and processed “health foods”. For convenience, we carry some of these & other miscellany. Through our on-line Food Baskets, we strive to deliver our Philosophy to your door."

They have a family farm, organic, so as much of their produce as possible comes from their farm, along with other farms in Southern Ontario, and then of course, there is produce that is not local, but all is organic.

Hot water and lemon is from what I have read, one of the quickest ways to alkalize your body. I will try to replace this each morning with my coffee. Well, maybe not each morning, but the worst case maybe would be having this after my coffee :)

This is paraphrased from a book I was reading over yesterday: (The pH Miracle for Weight Loss):

"Acids stored in the body over a long period of time show up as congestion, swelling, inflammation and then stiffness and tissue degeneration. Highly acidic foods create a pH imbalance and cause congestion in the colon, the leading cause of disease.

It's not that acid forming foods are bad, they just need to be balanced out with alkalizing foods. We need both because of the nutrients/minerals they provide.

The rule of thumb for acid/alkaline ratio is 70-80% alkaline to 20-30% acidic.

The average North American diet is the reverse. Most North American's are eating 80% acidic foods and only 20% alkaline.

The average American man eats 175% more protein than the recommended daily allowance - this was from a 1988 Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health.

All the aminos you need for your body to make complete proteins are found in plant sources."

Drinking milk (dairy products) does not prevent bone loss. That is because bones loss is caused by too much protein intake. In 1986 Science magazine called dietary protein the most important contributor to osteoporosis. Dietary protein increases the production of acid in the blood which can be neutralized by calcium mobilized from the skeleton". A study in the Journal of Nutrition in 1981 found that doubling your protein intake, doubled your calcium loss".

So much "food for thought" ...... so much to learn and discover. I had tried the Atkin's diet some years ago ... maybe a week - I just couldn't do it, I just craved fruit and something in me thought it wasn't right - a diet that said you can't have fruit (well so little fruit).

This is all part of our Mind, Body and Spirit journey. The best thing I have done this year so far is stop eating meat. It is something that has been in the back of mind for years and years - but I really thought there wasn't a way to do that - that I would miss having meat too much, it is such a big part of the diet in North America. Much to my surprise, it has been no effort at all ... it just clicked, and I have no desire to have it back in my diet again.

Well, we are off to get ready to do our Meals on Wheels deliveries. It is our Sunday ritual, one that brings so much satisfaction :) They always need volunteers .... so, if anyone ever has a few hours to spare, this is a great way to spend it, and do it as a family. Schwen drives and navigates, Thunder comes with us ... and some of the times all three of us take the lunch in and have a short 5 minute visit.

Mare

Tundie's a Star!!

So .... it is official - Thunder will be a St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog. We could not be more proud of him!! (follow the link for details about the program ... it is wonderful).
Today was evaluation day. Schwen and I had to be assessed separately with Thunder as handlers - Schwen and Thunder went from 9:45 - 12:00 and I went from 12:45 - 3:00.
The dogs are really put through the paces .... how they react to all kinds of situations: wheelchairs, walkers, a crowded room, people running, things dropping - and how they react to the other dogs in the evaluation as well is taken into account. One growl or any sign of aggression they are out immediately. They are not suppose to lick, jump, bark or growl.
There were 8 dogs being evaluated in the morning and 8 in the afternoon.
In the morning class, I waited outside and thought I would read in the car. Within 5 minutes I saw a dog and his "owner" come out ... then another in the next 5 minutes. OK ... I was nervous now .. 2 were already rejected.
So time passed, 12:00 came .. and out came my boys - yes they passed. Four in the morning class passed, 2 were conditional on how they do with their supervised visits. Tundie and one other dog were without issues ... and as Schwen said when he came out ... "Thunder was perfect!!".
OK - lunch time ... who could eat.
We went to the park, walked Thunder - gave him some water and then time to get back. Even though Thunder passed with Schwen, if in the afternoon session, there were any signs of aggression - then Thunder would be out of the program. Anything else that went wrong ... I would have been turned down as a handler, but Schwen and Tundie would still have been ok.
12:45 .... we head into the room.
To sum it up - one failed on the first test ... then by the 3rd test another dog was asked to leave - another test, another dog gone. Yikes!
At the 3:00 mark ... 4 were gone, 3 passed with a probation as long as they do alright on their supervised visit .... and last .. but certainly not least ... they came to us .. and the evaluators said "try as we might, we can't find any issues with Thunder at all - he was perfect!" Tundie was the only dog in the afternoon session without any issues whatsoever!
So .. the proud little family had a great Saturday ... when we got in the house Schwen said to Thunder "I wish you drank champaign, I am so proud of you". We are both just so proud and excited!
Thunder is sleeping now .. we are going to have a nice BBQ and have a relaxing Saturday night.
Today meant a lot to Brian and I, we have wanted to be in this program since last October (there are only 2 assessments a year ... so that makes today even more special).

Mare and Schwen

The Three Books

I have three books in particular - sort of 4 - that I intend to use as guides for our road ahead.
The book from Grail Springs is sort of a summary of the three books (that is the 4th I referred to).

The New Detox Diet by Elson M. Haas
Quantum Success by Sandra Anne Taylor
The Best Guide to Meditation by Victor N. Davich

The New Detox Diet Book was purchased at Grail Springs 3 years ago, when Schwen was there for a week on his own.


The Best Guide to Meditation was recommended to us by Madeleine (the owner of Grail Springs).


Quantum Success. This book I purchased last year on Hay House website. This is a book that teaches about energy. It is based on the fact that everything is made up of vibrating strings of energy. Human will and consciousness have influence over these energetic vibrations. The first 7 chapters discuss the seven universal laws of success.

This is a great line from the book:
Let go of things .... negative thinking will never produce positive results. I'm trying, I'm trying.

I don't take the title of Quantum Success as meaning material possessions, although I suppose that is fine too ... but that is not what I view success as.

I will feel successful, if one day I believe I have found my path, followed it and learned my lessons I came here for. Along the way I hope to make positive impacts on those around me. What more could someone want?

As Wayne Dyer would say "how may I serve?".

This life I am living is not about me, I used to think it was ... and if you can really live that - wow - that to me is what it is all about. The ego can be tricky .... so that is the challenge.

So we are working on things in parallel - working on Mind, Body and Spirit.

To sum up the Detox Diet, this is based on keeping a PH Balance in the body - to achieve this, food that you have should be in the ratio of 75% Alkaline, and 25% Acidic. Bacteria & disease love an acidic environment, but can not flourish in an Alkaline environment. I made a start to this Alkaline way of eating March 30th (it was 2 days after seeing Wayne Dyer in Toronto) ... I stopped eating meat, well except I will have fish sometimes ... I have a particular love of smoked salmon. That same day (March 30th) I ordered from Hay House 2 other books, one Vegetarian cookbook and one other book by Doreen Virtue - "Eating In The Light" .. making the switch to vegetarianism on your spiritual path. I love the book and carry it with me all the time.

Within the next week Schwen and I will start small with a 3 day body detox. It is suppose to be done at the start of each season, so I guess we will begin with "Summer". I see a lot of organic fruits and veggies in our future!

Mare

Spiff-A-Roo

Tundie is in on this too ........ June 3rd Thunder went to the groomers. He has a wonderful haircut ... new bandanna - and is all handsome.

Thunder goes for an assessment at St. John Ambulance next Saturday. We have signed him up as a Therapy Dog, and we will go once a week or so to a Nursing Home to visit with the residents.

We are excited about this, it will really be fulfilling to us if we can help in making someone's day a little happier.

So that is the plan. It is a 3 hour assessment, but because we are both going to be assessed with the dog we do 2 separate sessions - one of us in the morning and one of us in the afternoon.

Our interviews are the same day, so we should know June 14th if we will be in the program.

No pressure Thunder ... it is just all up to you now :)

Schwen and Mare

Mare Started

OK .... so as Brian (Schwen) said, this was our start. I went to the gym Tuesday - I joined this gym 2 years ago this coming July, and Tuesday was my 2nd time there. It was just a quick 20 minute cardio session .... but it was a start. I have an appointment next Tuesday for an "assessment/orientation" and then I guess I will actually be going.

Our real start to this "quest" we are on now began 2 years ago this past April.

My mother in law passed away suddenly ... it was such a difficult time. Schwen was super stressed at work as a VP of Sales and Marketing ... things were building up for him at work to an all time high level of stress .. and then him Mom died - suddenly of a heart attack.

Brian went on a stress leave from work ... and just before it was over and time for him to go back to work, I had the idea that we would go to Grail Springs in Bancroft, ON.

It started us on a new path -- actually more of a 2 year journey of reflecting, gathering information, knowing what to do - but not totally putting it all into play.

I needed to mention all of that to have meaning into why we are so attached to Grail Springs. The owner of Grail Springs has just published a book, and we will use this to continue to inspire us .. and guide us. It covers what we want to focus on ... Mind, Body and Spirit.

We first heard of Wayne Dyer at Grail Springs .. and that has lead us to many many wonderful authors at Hay House ... and so it goes and we are equipping ourselves with great things ---- so this blog is really about putting them into action.

That sums up my start ...

Mare

A journey begins with a single step!

We have been doing a lot of dry runs, practiced how we would and should take our first step and done much research on how to do it.

I believe the time is now and the saying that "nothing changes if nothing changes" couldn't be more applicable. We're armed with much good stuff like listening to or reading most of Dr. Wayne Dyer's wonderful books and seminars, even traveled to Toronto to see him end of March of this year. I'm sure we'll be talking alot about him and his wonderful influence on our lives.

June 3rd will be our official start of our life changing journey.

Schwen