nour-ish-blog

[nour-ish-blog]

My three cents on "point systems"

While we're on the topic of calories I've got to say something about point systems. I don't want to name names (you know who you are) but it rhymes with shwait splotchers. 

There is something very disturbing and unhealthy about assigning a point value to a food. A brownie should not be "worth" the same as an avocado. That's crazy talk! There is nothing remotely similar when comparing the two. Refined sugar, flour and chocolate (and not the good kind) vs good fats, protein and nutrients like potassium and lutein. 

I know losing weight can be very frustrating and may seem impossible at times. But, please, my dear friends this is not the answer!  

Using a number system to evaluate whether or not you can eat a food is silly business. You'll forever be keeping track of numbers (that would drive me mental and I'd probably forget half the time), the joy of eating will be zapped right out of you and you won't necessarily be giving your body all of the wonderful foods it needs and deserves.

How about considering these 3 things when determining whether or not to eat a food...

(1) Calories vs nutrition. A 100 calorie brownie snack will never match the nutritional supremeness of a 250 calorie avocado. One will keep you craving more and more as it's devoid in nutrients while the other is a very satiating and delicious snack. 

(2) It's not an equal playing field. By giving every food and food-like product a number it places them all on an equal playing field. But looking at food one dimensionally like that is no bueno. There are so many more things to consider: where it came from, when it was picked (freshness), what it ate (in the case of animal products), actual health value of the product vs what the marketing guys want you to believe, and so on.

(3) Don't count calories. Don't count them because you can't. Who knows how many calories that piece of salmon you just ate had? Better yet, who cares?! 

I hate calories and rarely think of them. I give my body what it needs and wants and that's that. So far so good :)

NOTE: If you're struggling to lose weight, shoot me an email and we'll get you all sorted out and headed down the right track to health (and a fabulous bikini, or banana hammock, body). 

#weight loss #calories #marina cortese #toronto nutritionists #food #healthy eating

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Calories in minus calories out = Healthy?

I used to be in seriously good shape! When I was 10 my mum had us doing just about any sport she could enrol us in (except basketball, which explains why I'm a notorious double dribbler). She'd bribe us with pizza for swimming a kajillion lengths. And it worked. We'd swim until our arms fell off if it meant we'd get pizza for dinner. In high school I was on the field hockey team, the cross country team and the track team. And when I wasn't at practice for one of those teams I was doing ballet. There were days when I'd have back-to-back practices where I'd run 5km for cross country and then do an hour of sprinting up and down the field for field hockey. My post-workout snack was a blue Powerade and 6 Nutrigrain bars.

I didn't know or care about all the sugar and the other crap I was putting in my body. All I knew was that I had burned off a helluva lot of calories and my body needed electrolytes to replace all the ones I had sweated out. I was under the impression that if the amount of calories I ingested was equal to the amount of calories I expended then I was healthy. Not so much!

This is a typical day of food for 16 year-old Marina.

Then

Breakfast: 2 old fashioned glazed donuts from Timmy's

Mid-morning snack: a Rice Krispie square

Lunch: a whole wheat wrap with cream cheese and strawberry jam and a salad

Post-workout snack: granola bar or 6

Dinner: mashed potatoes and soup or Kraft Dinner or a ham and Swiss sandwich from Timmy's.

After-dinner snack: an apple

Not all that healthy but because I was so active I thought nothing of it. Fast forward to today and my diet is radically different.

Now

Breakfast: bowl of organic plain yogurt with hemp seeds, goji berries, dark chocolate & raw honey; shot of E3 Live

Mid-morning snack: 2 hard boiled eggs with S&P and peppers with hummus

Lunch: big green salad with avocado, almonds and cucumber

Afternoon snack: Raw Revolution coconut/cashew bar

Dinner: Pan-seared halibut with lemon, steamed broccoli and spaghetti squash

After-dinner snack: bowl of strawberries

Bit of a 180.

I know it's still a popular mentality that as long as you burn off what you eat no harm will come to you. And it may keep you from gaining unwanted pounds but, other than that, the calorie theory is a thing of the past. I would really like if we all focused less on calories and more on QUALITY.

Because that's what it's all about. Put nutrient-dense foods in your body and it will work wonders. Put junks in it and it won't do its job as well. Obviously exercise is still an important part of a healthy lifestyle. You can't eat the cleanest of diets and be a couch potato. Being active and eating good food are both important, not one or the other. BOTH!

#calories #health eating #nutrition #food #marina cortese #toronto #nutritionist

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What's with the shite foods at sporting events?

Sooo I was at the Jays game last Sunday (where we killed Boston...at least one of Toronto's sports teams is clear that it's not just about having fun...that bringing home a win every now and then is kinda nice too) and as we were approaching the Sky Dome (yah, I said it) the aroma of hot dogs filled my nose. It was intoxicating! I was salivating at the thought of one of those smoky, juicy dogs. Mmmmmmmm...

But that's where it ended. I'm sure they are delicious but there was no way I was going to put back a processed "sad" cow (and who knows what else) tube. And it doesn't stop there. The fluorescent orange nacho "cheese", the soft and sticky wisps of pink cotton candy, the sky blue slurpees (that come in a pretty cool bobblehead glass). There's enough junk at sporting event venues to bung you up for a week and give you the complexion of a 14 year old boy (sorry to any 14 year old male readers!).

Call me a snob, a weirdo or a bitch. Whatevs. I'll admit to eating every single one of those foods at least once in my life (except slurpees, never been a fan). But would it really be that difficult to get some moderately healthy foods in these places? I'd love to watch Jose Bautista hit a homer while munching on some pita chips and guacamole. Or see Rajai Davis steal yet another base while slurping back some sweet and refreshing coconut water. We already pay an arm and a leg for food and bevvies at sporting events so why not spend the money on something that won't put you into a sugar coma or give you the farts for the rest of the day/night?!

And sure, I could bring my own snacks but who really wants to be that person with the plastic baggies of grapes and sesame crackers? Not me. I want to go up to the kiosks and order like everyone else does. The only difference is I'd walk back to my seat with salt and vinegar kale chips and toasted almonds. Surely, I can't be the only person who thinks that the food we're offered is garbage. And, please, don't get me wrong. I love hot dogs just as much as the next guy but if it's getting in this girl's tummy then it better have recognizable ingredients like Buddha Dogs made from happy meat. Which brings us to the ever-present issue of QUALITY! If we demanded foods of quality more often we wouldn't even be having this conversation. I guess it's not as much a conversation as it is a rant to no one in particular. Not the point.

The point is that if we want change badly enough we can sure as hell bring about that change. And I don't think I'm asking for much. Just a little crunchy kale, maybe some carrot, apple and beet juice instead of $10 lemonade. Nothing crazy! I'm sure all the gluten-free peeps out there, the vegans, and people like me who just want to put good food into our beautiful bodies would like to see some alternatives to the usual cast of heartburn causers, blood sugar spikers and constipaters. Am I right? Can I get a hell yeah?

*crickets chirping*

Anyone?

#Baseball #Marina Cortese #Holistic nutrition #Toronto #Sky dome #Rogers centre #Sports #Food #Hot dogs #Nutrition

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Mexican(ish) Black Bean Salad

I made this salad last week for the DivaGirl Conference and it was a hit. It's a great salad for the upcoming summer weather as it's light and fresh but still filling. I promised all the ladies who attended that I would post the recipe so they could recreate the deliciousness in their own kitchens. 

So without further ado, here it is:

(serves 4 as a snack or side dish)

1 cup black beans (I like Eden Organics because they have a BPA-free lining and they're canned with kombu which makes the beans easier to digest so less rumbly tummies for you!)

1/3 cucumber, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, diced

A dozen or so grape tomatoes, quartered

1/4 bunch cilantro (or to taste), chopped

1 avocado, cubed

2 green onions, sliced thinly

1 cup cheese (I like L'Ancetre organic, unpasteurized cheese)

Dressing

1/2 jalapeño (seeds removed), diced finely

Juice of 2 limes

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (more accurately, a couple good glugs)

Sea salt (to taste) 

Directions

Pretty darn easy. Pour all ingredients into bowl. Or if you want to make it pretty layer each ingredient, pour dressing over and then mix just before serving. 

Such a well-balanced (and tasty) salad. Lots of fibre, fat and protein! YAY! You can eat it for lunch, as a mid-afternoon snack or make it as a side dish (it goes great with fish or chicken). 

Enjoy! 

#mexican #food #salad #beans #recipe #marina cortese #nour-ish #toronto #holistic nutrition #nutritionist

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WTF is a "natural flavour" anyway?

Three letters for ya: M-S-G! 

*gasp*

Say it ain't so?!

Big shocker, I know! That ingredient "natural flavour" isn't quite so natural! It's actually a super secret code name for the not so healthy flavour enhancer MonoSodium Glutamate. It alters our perception of how things taste, making it hard to stop at just one potato chip, chocolate, candy, and so on.

Why should we care that it's in our food?

Other aliases MSG goes by are: glutamate, glutamic acid, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, monopotassium glutamate, whey protein concentrate, artificial and natural flavouring.

People who are sensitive to MSG can experience a wide range of symptoms including migraines, ADHD, upset tummies, anxiety and dizziness. So if you've been experiencing weird symptoms such as these and you don't know why this could be* the ticket. 

*Could be doesn't mean it is. This is not a diagnosis. There could very well be something else that explains your symptoms but, regardless, you're still doing your body a favour by avoiding MSG. 

So, next time you're at the grocery store take a closer look at what you're putting in your cart. You'll be surprised to see all the sneaky foods MSG is hidden in. And go take a look in your fridge and pantry. I guarantee there's at least one MSG-guy just waiting to jump down your throat and get to work!

There are two things I hope that you take away from this:

(1) MSG is a big N-O B-U-E-N-O for our health.

(2) If someone tries to tell us something is "natural" then it's a pretty safe bet that it's quite the opposite. Stick to as few boxed foods as possible because that's where things start to get tricky. Apples are apples, beef is beef, but those funky new potato chips with "natural potato flavour"? Best to leave them on the shelf.

Remember: natural isn't a flavour!

#MSG #natural flavor #marina cortese #nour-ish #nutrition #toronto #food #holistic nutrition #nutritionist

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I have no problem spending $27 on shampoo so long as no bunnies were harmed!

Last night Mark and I got into a bit of an argument. A harmless one but, nonetheless, a dispute. Fear not, we have since made up and are happy once again. Read on to find out what happened...

Yesterday I was running errands and thought I'd be a nice girlfriend and pick up some shampoo for my dear man as he was running dangerously low. I walked into Aveda and purchased one of their manly looking shampoos. It came to $27.12. Does it seem a wee bit steep? A bit. But you really can't put a price on quality.

After a few more errands I returned home and Mark asked me how much he owed me. I let him know the amount and he looked just a little displeased. We bickered back and forth for a good while about how outrageous (or not outrageous) a $27 bottle of shampoo was. He just didn't seem to get how the shampoo I had purchased was any different than a $5 bottle you can get at a drugstore and figured it was a waste of money. Fed up, I told him (in a less than pleasant tone) that this one was less likely to make him go bald and give him cancer but if that's what he wanted then FINE! And, no, I wasn't exaggerating! Sodium lauryl sulfate has been linked to hair loss and parabens, phthalates and diethanolamine can cause cancer. And, frankly, I like my men with hair and free of radiation. 

I also told him that they don't test on animals and, for me, that's an absolute must when I'm buying a product. I feel that if humans are going to use a product then it should be tested on humans. Logical, no? I look a whole lot hotter in red lipstick than a monkey does (or at least I hope I do).

Although we settled our disagreement I ended up returning the shampoo. Then, I went onto Aveda's website to find out a little bit more about why they're "so great" so next time I'll be ready with an airtight argument. And this is what I found...

They were the first beauty company to have 100% post consumer PET for skin care and hair styling

They were the first beauty company manufacturing with 100% certified wind power

Their "Soil to Bottle" program ensures fair compensation for the workers they get their ingredients from

They source their ingredients from organic, sustainable or renewable plant-based origins

They have never and never will conduct animal testing on their products

So they recycle, they use alternative energy, their ingredients are fair trade, they strive to get only the best ingredients and they haven't laid a hand on any bee-boppin' bunnies, kitties, monkeys or any other fluff-balls. That's worth $27 to me! 

Aveda isn't perfect (and they acknowledge that) but they are definitely less bad than a lot of brands out there.

To each their own though. Mark can buy his shampoo. And I'll buy mine. But if I catch him stealing some of the good stuff...

...well, hell hath no fury like a woman whose "happy" shampoo hath been jacked!

We all have different reasons for buying the things we buy. It doesn't make one person better than the other - just different. 

I want to know: what factors contribute to you buying or not buying a product?

#aveda #bunnies #cruelty-free #marina cortese #toronto nutritionist #nour-ish #shampoo

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Portlandia - In the Restaurant

Now that is happy meat!

#portlandia #happymeat #nour-ish #marina cortese #toronto

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Moo!

What's with all the cow vids you ask? Well I was on Farm Sanctuary reading about sad animals. Weird way to spend my evening, I know. But who doesn't like baby animals? No one! And who doesn't like it when baby animals, seemingly destined for a short life, are rescued by a do-gooder and find a happy home? Again, no one. 

AW!

I want one!

These would be way more fun (and cuter bath toys) than rubber duckies!

So I didn't get much further than the whole dairy cow debacle. See VIDEO #1.

Read on after you've watched the video or the rest of this won't make a whole lot of sense.

How did we get to the point where that kind of shiznat was acceptable?!

Factory farming, in general, is all kinds of messed up. People who take part in that ridiculousness have a whole lot of bad karma heading their way. They are totes coming back as a dung beetle next time around.

I was left feeling pretty :(

So as a pick-me-up and to prove that not all cow people are bad guys I went to one of my favourite dairy sources (Organic Meadow) and found VIDEO #2.

Here is what I've concluded...

Treating animals like sh*t is unacceptable. PERIOD! Something about "do unto others as you would have done unto yourself" rings a bell. 

If we are going to consume dairy do your absolute best to find out where it came from. A local farmer or a certified organic company are your best bet. 

If your milk/cheese/ice cream came from a farm like the Pronk's or another of the Organic Meadow farmers then chances are those cows are frolicking in the grass, living in non-blucky conditions and aren't immediately separated from their babies

Baby animals and stories with happy endings make me feel all warm and mushy inside. Time to hug a kitty.

Not sure where to find happy dairy?

These are the brands I like: 

Organic Meadow - Their website is full of information on why "organic" is awesome, how their cows are treated (Meet Esther: A Cow Story), information on their farmers and their YouTube site has lots of videos posted by farmers showing their cows being...cows!

Harmony Organic - "Our cows are treated as though they were members of our family"

Mapleton's Organic (Fun fact: I once sold a bike to a farmer who use to work for these guys and he said the cows had better nutrition plans than most humans)

So that's about all I've got for you this fine evening. Remember folks, just because something's cheap or everybody's doing it doesn't make it right. All the cool kids are a) not eating dairy at all or b) eating happy cow products. 

Cool kid Zach Morris likes happy cows!

Oh, one more thing. Just because I support organic dairy products doesn't mean I necessarily support dairy. Big diff! The nutritional side is a story for another day. The point of this post is that if you are consuming dairy then organic, from an ethical standpoint, is the only way to go. 

#moo #cows #dairy #marina cortese #nour-ish #nutrition

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Moo babies can live happily ever after with their moo moms! 

Organic Meadow: you da bomb!

#cows #organic meadow #moo #marina cortese #nour-ish #holistic nutrition #animal rights #happy meat #toronto

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Poor poor moo cows! :(

This video is sad but important to watch and has a happy ending!

See Farm Sanctuary for more deets on animal stuffs of this sort.

#cows #animal cruelty #dairy #marina cortese #nour-ish #education

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OMG! My new fave "fast food" joint. You've gotta try it!

Healthy fast food is pretty limited. Sad but true. Subway, despite what Jared whatshisname says, is not a healthy choice. Not the worst choice but we can do better than that.

Cue IQ Foods. Stumbled upon it one day in the TD Food Hall (downtown) and I never looked back. The guy who started this was a finance dude who wanted to go into the food biz making honest, good-for-you food. Gold star finance dude! You did good!

Their meals combine whole grains (brown rice or quinoa) + lean proteins (tuna, chicken, tofu, lentils) + good fats (avocado, seeds, goat cheese) to make one delicious lunch. You can get gluten-friendly, vegan (if you so choose) meals and crap-free meals. They're completely transparent about what's in their food. For example, they put all the ingredients for their dressings on their website so you know they're not hiding any sugar or artificial flavours.

So far I've only tried their hot boxes which are really bleeping good! My favourite is the marathon. I get mine with quinoa and substitute the meat for extra avocado. 

They've also got salads, wraps (peeps who avoid gluten should avoid these) and soups. And if they're anything like the hot boxes then they're probably dine-o-mite! 

As great as IQ Foods is there are two things I'm not a fan of.

(1) They're only open until 4PM! 

(2) They only have one location!

No bueno! 

However, the lines are super long (but move fast) which means that they're doing something right (and healthy) so I feel that all the demand will encourage them to open a second store stat and stay open until, I don't know, 5ish (hint hint to any IQ Foods' peeps who are reading this).

Here's where they're at! Check them out for lunch today!!

#Iqfoods #marina cortese #nour-ish #toronto #holistic nutrition #food #wellness #health #good fats #lean protein #whole grains

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In the spirit of out with the old and in with the new here's a little ditty by Paolo Nutini to spice up your afternoon. You can't help but tap your feeties at your desk can you?

#paolo nutini #new shoes #marina cortese #nour-ish

[nour-ish-blog]

Bye bye old site. Hello new site.

If you're reading this it means you're on the new nour-ish site! Woohoooo! The old one just wasn't cutting it anymore. 

Sooooo I did a little work and came up with this one...

It's on tumblr so you can get there through nour-ish.tumblr.com orrrrr the good ol nour-ish.ca 

And there are some awesome features to the new design. Like...

The random post button at the bottom righthand of the page. Click on that and it'll pull up a random post (imagine that) for you to read. Great way to read posts because it's a new surprise each time!

The archive button (right next to the random post button). If you don't want to keep scrolling down through posts click on archive and it'll organize all posts by month

The Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn circles under FIND ME. With just a click of a button you can get a whole lot more nour-ish!

The comment section by Disqus under each post (pictured below). You can like (or dislike if you're so inclined), add a comment (maybe about how wonderful the post was, or if you're one of the dislikers maybe you'd like to expand on that thought), you can tweet, like on facebook, like on google and that's about it. Just a really great way to give me feedback both :) and :(

You can still get to all the other content under LOOK AROUND. That'll take you to the information on consults, corporate talks, stuff about yours truly, and so on. Some pages are still being worked on so bare with me :)

Reposting all 101 posts that I've written in the last year and a month was tiring and annoying and gave me a massive headache. Why can't there be an app for that?! But it was good in a way because it allowed me to reflect on all the cool things I've gotten up to in the last year.

Like...

Humiliating my sister with a kale 'stache for KALE WEEK and getting my farm on at YU RANCH and freezing my bleep off at FOODSTOCK while protesting for a great cause.

It's been a fun ride with some ups and downs and some twists and turns but I'm still having fun and you are too...right? Right! And that's all that matters! :) 

#nour-ish #marina cortese #holistic nutrition

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Here's a lovely little ditty by Noah and the Whale called "Give a Little Love". Enjoy and have a LOVEly day :)

#noah and the whale #nour-ish #love #yourself #self love #give a little love #marina cortese

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Happy Love-Your-Self Day

Ugh, Valentine's day. The day of loovveeee. A day of chocolate, flowers, greeting cards, heart-shaped balloons, wine, dinner and, if all goes as planned, some loovvvinnn'. Nothing wrong with any of those things but I think the day is a bit silly. People who are in relationships should show the person they love that they care every day of the year. And people who aren't in relationships hate seeing the lovey dovey propaganda shoved in their faces. I have the best Valentine this year but for many years before this one I didn't. And, to be quite honest, it kinda sucked. I have no problem being a single lady but Valentine's day seems set on making those going solo feel like crap about their status. 

Well I say screw you Valentine's day! There is absolutely nothing wrong with being single. In fact, there are a lot of pluses. You're free to sleep on whatever side of the bed you want. You get to pick the movie all the time. You can stay out to all hours of the night. You can go out for drinks with the ladies without guilt. And, best of all, you have more time to love yourself. 

Loving yourself. It's something I don't think we do enough of and we should be doing regardless of our relationship situation. I'm not talking about loving yourself in that narcissistic "I'm sooo fabulous, everyone should love me and want to be around me because I'm so incredibly awesome" kind of way. I'm talking about loving yourself in a way that allows you to remember or realize that you have worth, that you are a beautiful and special person put on this Earth for a reason, that you deserve good things, that you deserve happiness and that you deserve to be loved. 

Look in the mirror and tell that beautiful face staring back at you, "I love you". Sit on the couch, in your sweatpants, buy a really nice bottle of wine and paint your toenails while watching chick flicks. Go for a massage, and don't you dare feel guilty about it! Take the time to love yourself. It's very easy to keep powering through life and put your self on the back burner. But you're not a chore. You're not something on a to-do list that's just waiting to get crossed off. You are a priority! So today, a day where love is the dominant theme, I hope you remember to give yourself a little love. Scratch that. Give yourself A LOTTTT of love. You deserve it! 

#valentine's day #love #self love #marina cortese #nour-ish #holistic nutrition #wellness #toronto nutritionists

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Banana moppins, nour-ish styles.

My grandparents have a cottage up near Kingston and every summer since I was an itty bitty baby we've gone up there. It's a magical place filled with spiders, bocce ball, water skiing, mini putt and my Nan's banana muffins. Now Nan's no Chef Ramsay (I'm a bad granddaughter for saying that), and she is the sole reason I get nauseous thinking of pork chops (she's of the mindset that if you can still chew it then it's not cooked enough), but boy can she bake a mean banana muffin! She'll bake a couple dozen muffins at the beginning of every stay and because they're in such hot demand we're only allowed two muffins each morning for breakfast (or a third as a snack when she's not looking - hope she doesn't read this as my plan is very much in the open now). They're good cold, they're good hot, they're good anytime and anywhere! The perfect treat!

The only downside is that my Nan makes them with white flour and white sugar and because she can't tolerate gluten she doesn't get to enjoy her delicious creations. And, really, we should all be laying off the white stuff. Soooooo, last night I got down to business and baked some gluten-free, sugar-free (I used honey instead) and dairy-free banana muffins. You'll be pleased to know they didn't taste "healthy" and they are pretty spot on to the original not-so-healthy version. Bonus: they are GOOD FOR YOU! Don't you just love when you can have your muffin and eat it too?! So here's the recipe...ENJOY!

Banana Moppins. Makes 12. 3 cups almond flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder 1/2 tsp sea salt 3 "happy" eggs 3 ripe bananas, mashed 1/2 cup raw honey 1/4 cup coconut oil 1 tbsp vanilla extract Heat your oven to 350F and grease muffin tray with coconut oil (or line with muffin cups). Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Crack eggs (in smaller bowl) and beat lightly. Add bananas, honey, coconut oil and vanilla extract to wet mixture and mix thoroughly. Add wet ingredients to dry mixture and combine thoroughly. Spoon muffin batter into muffin cups. Place tray in oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes. Should be nice and golden on top. Try to resist until cool enough that they won't burn your mouth.  Here you go Nan! These are for you!

#banana muffins #baking #recipes #marina cortese #nour-ish #toronto nutritionists #holistic nutrition #health #wellness #food

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Never go shopping without a list! NEVER!

One of the great things about making my own schedule is that I can skip out to Ikea during a weekday and miss the chaos of the weekends when every Torontonian flocks to the home of self-assembled furniture and $2.99 Swedish meatballs (just as an aside I'm almost certain these aren't "happy" meatballs). I refuse to go to Ikea on a Saturday or Sunday because it turns my enjoyable excursion into an absolute nightmare! Tiny children, left to their own devices run everywhere, darting in front of you, nearly taking you out at the knees. Adults who have no perception of what constitutes "too close" or how to follow arrows (these are probably the same drivers that frustrate the bleep out of us) are allowed to roam free, resulting in the chance of a collision every few seconds. And the LINES! Don't even get me started on the lines! Go on a weekday, though, and it's actually quite a lovely experience, as long as you have a list! Going to Ikea without a list is a financial death wish as you will likely leave the store with one of everything. Literally! Even going with a list doesn't keep you safe. Temptation is everywhere! I barely got out of there alive. I only bought two things that weren't on my "list" (it was an imaginary one) and I justified those by telling myself they'd help me organize my office.  What does Ikea have to do with food? Everything! It is the furniture version of grocery shopping! Just as I nearly left with the entire housewares section (give me a break, I really need new sheets, dishes, a shower curtain, vases in different colours and sizes, a cactus, an apple slicer, a dozen lamps, and so on) many people (maybe even you) have a similar time getting through the grocery store in one piece. But that can be solved by doing one simple thing: WRITE OUT A LIST!

Write out a list when you're still at home and have the opportunity to check through your fridge and pantry. It saves you from buying things you already have. Physically write out a list, don't just make a mental note. When it's an actual list it's harder to ignore.  Once you get to the store stick to the list! Put on some imaginary blinders and ignore the chip aisle, the candy aisle, the ridiculous sales (who needs 12 rolls of aluminum foil? WHO?!) and stick to the list!  Suddenly hungry? Nope, you can't stray and just get "a little something to tide you over". Stick to the list! Because if you don't, before you know it you'll have heaped your cart full of junky foods (that's usually what we crave when we're hungry and are bombarded by sweet after sweet). Make sure you eat before you get to the store so you can't make up any excuses to stray from the list! If you take only one thing from this post (and, really, I've only made one point) write a damn list! Your tummy and your bank account will thank you! Note: I am very good at sticking to a list when it comes to food. When it comes to Ikea I am not. Just looking around my office right now and 100% of the contents (besides my computer, printer and books) are from there. Le sigh.

#ikea #shopping #groceries #shopping list #marina cortese #nour-ish #nutrition