IronMan Canada - Our Journey!

Some of you already know that for the past year my husband has been training for IronMan Canada. It has been a huge goal of his, and as a family we made the decision that he would do it this year. For those of you who are not familiar with this event, it is a long distance Triathlon race organized by the world triathlon corporation consisting of a 4km swim, 180 km bike ride, and then a marathon (42km run). It requires a LOT of training and dedication for an athlete to build up their endurance and stamina to accomplish such an event, and it can be a daunting undertaking. For the last year, I have watched my husband train relentlessly - swimming, biking and running crazy distances, often more than once a day. I have been in awe of his undying motivation. Once he set his mind on the goal, it was like there was nothing that going to get in his way. He just did the work. He put in the time. He never let his daily emotions, mind set or over-all well-being determine whether he would do a work-out...he always seemed to keep the big picture in mind, and didn't miss work-outs (except when he was truly sick). He put to rest many of my own doubts about what a person is capable of. He taught me that it really is just a mental state - you have the choice to make excuses (i'm tired, it's raining, I rather watch tv, I rather sleep in) or to make yourself a priority.
If you had asked me 4 years ago whether he would be here today - i would have said 'no way'. Carlos was not 'built' to be a runner. He was facing the daily go-train commute to toronto back then. Leaving home at 7am, coming home at 7pm. He was mostly sedentary. Our life has changed greatly since then. When we had our first son, Carlos left his job and took the leap of starting his own website consulting and design business. We just believed that it would work out, and we have made it work for our family. We are extremely fortunate to have the flexibility in our jobs to allow for such extreme workouts, but I think most people can fit in 'something' into their daily lives (it doesn't have to be the IronMan!). Carlos first started with short-distance triathalons several summers ago, and gradually got more and more into it. I watched his body completely change over the last few years, it was quite remarkable really. He lost a lot of weight without completely changing his diet (a few modifications were made, mostly with the change in career!).
For the IronMan, Carlos made the decision to workout on his own time - he woke up at 5am to go swimming, and would do his other workouts during his work time, or early on the weekends. Our kids think it's normal that their parents exercise, and they too love riding their bikes, and doing running laps of the playground pretending they are in a race. It has had a very positive effect on them. Anyway, this year has been an incredible journey for our family, and in 2 days we leave for Penticton, BC for the big day - IronMan Canada. I am extremely nervous and excited for Carlos, and hope to write more about the big day upon my return - I feel I have so much to share, but don't have the time to write about it all!
Good Luck Carlos!!

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND.
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Vitality for Life is an integrative health clinic in Barrie, Ontario. We offer the services of a Naturopathic Doctor, Chiropractor and massage therapists.

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!

Mung Bean Soup

Yesterday I winged a mung bean soup (adapted from Delicious Detox) because i didn't have all the ingredients necessary for the exact recipe. It turned out great. A note about Mung beans - because they're small, they're more digestable.
Ingredients:
3 cups mung beans
2 medium onions
3 stalks celery
2 carrots
3 cloves garlic
1 large sweet potato diced
water
oregano, basil, bay leaf, salt and pepper and Bragg's liquid seasoning to taste

Soak your mung beans in hot water for 3 hrs, rinse and strain. In a large pot use a little olive oil to sautee the onion, celery, garlic and spices. After a few minutes add the mung beans, sweet potato and enough water to cover the whole soup by about 3 inches (the mung beans expand). simmer for 30-40 min, puree with a hand blender and adjust the seasonings to taste.
I served mine with a dash of tobasco and a spoonful of my plain home-made yogurt. Yummy!

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND.
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Vitality for Life is an integrative health clinic in Barrie, Ontario. We offer the services of a Naturopathic Doctor, Chiropractor and massage therapists.

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!

My Farmer's Market Inspiration

Saturday morning we headed to the farmer's market before our busy weekend had started. I was inspired by all the beautiful colors of veggies, fruits and flowers that were available this time of year. After talking to some of the farmers about their favorites, I packed up a variety of new veggies that I hadn't tried before. Part of healthy eating is exploring new flavors, keeping an open mind and not being intimidated by new things. If you have never cooked something before, ask! I received lots of tips on the farmer's favorite way of preparing some of these varieties.
As you can see from the pictures, I went home with blue potatoes, pattypan squash, golden beets, a rainbow of various other larger beets, red lettuce, turnip, a rainbow of carrots, a variety of plums (from Niagara)and our favorite local honey (Lavender Hills).
So this week I will be trying lots of new recipes, but also really keeping it simple. On saturday we were heading out to a BBQ, and I was bringing a salad. I made the salad from the red lettuce, red onion, peppers, cucumber and the golden beets (these I peeled and boiled in a salted water like you would a potato - they were tender in about 10 minutes or so, but a larger beet would take longer). I cooled the beets, sliced them and put them on the salad. They looked beautiful! I also ate the rest of them while they were still warm with a pat of butter - the flavor was amazing. My little guy shared them with me.
I made a simple dressing for the salad - olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper, honey.
It tasted great and looked colorful. I look forward to more fresh produce today!

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND.
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Vitality for Life is an integrative health clinic in Barrie, Ontario. We offer the services of a Naturopathic Doctor, Chiropractor and massage therapists.

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!

Making your own fermented Pickles

As many of you know I'm a fan of fermentation for reasons I've already explained in previous posts. Recently I made several batches of traditional Polish pickles, which happen to be fermented! So my old family recipe actually has many health benefits, which is awesome.
Here's what you need:
1 basket of baby cucumbers
6 or so long stems of dill
6 or so cloves of garlic
whole black pepper
water
Pickling salt

This will make approximately 3 large jars. Prepare your brine stove-top. Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the jars you'll be using, and add approximately 2 Tbsp salt for every jar you'll be using (the saltier the brine, the slower the fermentation but less likely chance of molding).Bring to a boil and then take off stove.
Wash your cucumbers. Into the bottom of each jar put 2 slices garlic cloves, a few pepper kernels, and if like spice, some dried chili peppers. Next put 2 whole dill stems (just fold them to fit them into the jar), and stuff the jar with as many pickles as possible (they can't be loose or they'll float to the top, causing molding).
Top each jar with enough hot brine to cover the pickles by at least 1/2". Cover and store put aside in a warm part of the kitchen, but away from sunlight. Let sit at least 5 days, and transfer into the fridge once the pickles are as tangy as you like them! They seem to get better every day, and make a wonderful snack!
For more details, this is a link to a great site on fermenting!

http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=pickles

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND.
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Vitality for Life is an integrative health clinic in Barrie, Ontario. We offer the services of a Naturopathic Doctor, Chiropractor and massage therapists.

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!

Make your own Organic Yogurt!

Since reading the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I've been inspired to hit the kitchen more than normal! I have had this yogurt recipe for months but finally just decided to try it. Patients often complain about the cost of organic dairy products, so this ones a sure hit for those watching their pocket books. I made this recipe yesterday and had my home-made organic plain yogurt with granola for breakfast this morning. It was yummy. It tastes the same, just a bit more liquid than the store bought stuff (but they often use fillers or gelling agents to thicken it).
Here's what you need:
2 L of organic milk (2%)
1/3 cup plain organic yogurt (as a starter)
cooking thermometer
crockpot
ice

Set your crockpot on low or medium to warm it up while you prepare your milk.
Warm the milk in a large pot on your stove-top up to 185 degrees (stir constantly so it doesn't burn), then pour into a glass bowl, which you'll immerse into a sink full of cold/icy water. Cool the milk to 110 degrees (takes about 5 minutes).
Pour the milk and 1/3 cup yogurt into your crockpot, stir, cover, wrap your crockpot in a towel and UNPLUG it. Wait 8 hrs, then stir the contents. It's technically ready to be moved to the fridge, but you can wait 2 more hours or so to thicken it up (it will get more tangy the longer you wait). Transfer to opaque containers, and move to your fridge. It's ready to eat once it's cooled!

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND.
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Vitality for Life is an integrative health clinic in Barrie, Ontario. We offer the services of a Naturopathic Doctor, Chiropractor and massage therapists.

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!