Red lentil soup with curry and coconut milk

This velvety smooth soup with a Thai flavour to it makes as a satisfying meal on its own or can be paired with brown rice and/or vegetables.

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 medium onions, chopped

1 cup red lentils (dry)

3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

14-oz can coconut milk

1 bay leaf

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. curry powder

½ cup cilantro

In medium saucepan heat 2 tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until onions start to soften, about 10 minutes. Add 4 cups water, lentils, carrots, coconut milk, 1 tsp. salt and bay leaf. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, curry powder and cilantro. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add to soup.

Remove bay leaf. In food processor or blender, puree soup in batches until velvety smooth. (A hand blender works well and eliminates the need to transfer the soup.) Taste, and add more salt if desired. Serve hot.

Per serving: 400 calories; 14 g protein; 26 g fat; 33 g carbohydrates; 0 cholesterol; 33 mg sodium; 14 g fibre

Don't be alarmed about the high fat content. The fat, which comes from the coconut milk, is healthy fat. Coconut milk comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and taste can be attributed to the high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. It is unlike the fat from animal sources, the fat from coconut milk is mostly in the form of medium chain saturated fats. These fats are rapidly metabolized into energy in the liver and are used up more quickly by the body, which means less are stored as fat. If you are concerned about your saturated fat intake, try using low fat coconut milk instead.

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do!

Small amounts make a big difference

Nutrition is about keeping things in balance. Too much of one thing can be toxic, but in the right quantities, the same thing can benefit the human organism. Much attention in the media is given to macronutrients: substances that we require in large quantities. These substances include water, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. You might say, large compared to what? Compared to substances like vitamins and minerals. These are required in relatively small quantities and are called micronutrients.

Despite their relatively small size, there are many substances our bodies require in minute portions that make a surprising difference to our health. I could list all the vitamin and minerals our bodies require and their amounts but that information is readily available. What follows is a list of foods that you don’t need to eat a lot of but that will benefit your health in a variety of ways.

Here are my top ten list of foods we only need to have in small amounts:

1. Sesame seeds – contain zinc which is needed especially in times of stress. Also important for the metabolism of fatty acids and for the production of serotonin. They are also an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, and copper.
2. Garlic –has numerous health benefits including acting as an antibacterial, antifungal agent, protecting circulation, detoxifying, antioxidant, anti-stress, anti-viral agent, immune system enhancer, among its many properties.
3. Ground flax seed – a good source of essential fatty acids. Sprinkle on cereal, soups and add to baking.
4. Chia seeds – high in protein and fiber they contain an array of vitamins and minerals, fatty acids and phytochemicals. Add them to morning cereal, smoothies, puddings and baking.
5. Mint – a member of the botanical family that includes basil and marjoram, comes in hundreds of varieties – peppermint and spearmint being the most common. It is useful for upset stomachs, and nervous tension. It helps the body break down fat by stimulating bile flow. Mint has also been shown to increase phagocytes, cells that are capable of destroying pathogens, bacteria, and cancer cells.
6. Spirulina – is a cultivated or farmed micro-algae with one of the richest protein contents of all natural foods. It contains 60-70% complete protein compared with 25% protein found in meat. Spirulina is thought to help control blood sugar and cravings. Mix one teaspoon in juice first thing in the morning to kick-start your day.
7. Sea weed – is an excellent source of iodine. Main Coast produces organic dulse granules that can be sprinkle on soups and in salads. It is also an alkaline food that will help reduce acidity in body.
8. Nutritional yeast – An excellent source of B-complex vitamins, this seasoning can be added to soups, salads, dips, spreads and smoothies. Helps meet the needs of vegetarians looking for a good source of vitamin B12.
9. Cinnamon – has antiseptic properties. It is widely used digestive aid that helps relieve nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and indigestion. It is beneficial for the lungs, heart and kidneys. It has anticancer properties that have been shown to stop the growth of liver cancer and melanoma cells. Cinnamon may also lower blood pressure and helps to metabolize blood sugar, helping to protect against diabetes.
10. Turmeric – is considered a tonic for the whole body. It can help with liver problems and colic; reduce the pain and inflammation of arthritis and prevent gall bladder disease. Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, is a strong antioxidant. Other substances found in turmeric help remove toxic by-products that may contribute to the formation of cancer cells. (Turmeric is not recommended for people with blood clot disorders or are on anticoagulant medications. It also increases bile production so it is not recommended for people with gallstones or obstructed bile ducts.)

Of course the list of beneficial herbs and spices is a long one. There is an herb or spice for almost every conceivable ailment as well as being useful for prevention of various conditions. Hopefully this list gives you some small things to think about adding to your diet on a regular basis, just for the health of it.

Bikes over cars

Some people may wonder why I choose to ride a bike everywhere. For me, the bike is essential; it is my default vehicle, a means to an end. That end may be fitness, recreation, transportation, moving meditation, or, all of the above! The bike is a form of freedom. When you’re a kid, you learn to ride a bike, and suddenly you are free to go places. You cover more ground in less time than you can on foot. You see more than you would travelling by car. Plus, it’s more fun. There's the speed: The wind in your face, the road moving under your wheels, the trees flying past. This is where it starts. 

You learn a new skill, develop good balance, awareness, agility. You try new things like taking your feet off the pedals and putting them on the handlebars. You take a passenger on board. You swerve in a curving pattern testing the limits of your ability to turn sharply without wiping out. 

The bike gets you to school and work, to friends’ places, to the corner store. It’s transportation. It’s fun. It's practical, saving gas, reducing carbon emissions, wear-and-tear on the car. There are no traffic tie-ups. When the car traffic slows, you whiz by unfettered. This is a great feeling!

As you get older you discover greater physical challenges. You take on bigger hills, go longer distances, increase speed. You see more countryside, more new places and from a different perspective. This wider scope increases the satisfaction of riding a bike, being able to enjoy the outdoors on a different level. As the world opens up, your sense of freedom expands. You might look for a lighter, faster, more aerodynamic bike. High functioning. You might spend more money on a better bike simply because it increases the enjoyment.

Eventually, riding a bike becomes a habit. It becomes a way of life. You need to go somewhere, you take your bike. It feels natural. Where we live, the weather no doubt plays a role. The cold, ice, and snow. The elements limit your desire to ride as well as your ability to do so in relative comfort. Hands and feet are the hardest to keep warm. And then there is the safety factor. The road might be slippery. Or the snow too deep. A slushy mess. The elements also limit your bike’s ability to keep working properly. A frozen chain, salt on the metal moving parts, brakes compromised. So if you are determined, you find a bike that can withstand all that. Dressing for the cold can limit your riding distance so the body doesn’t overheat, the feet and hands don’t have time to freeze. I dress to be warm when I leave; there’s no time to warm up. The bike can still be transportation; I just don’t go as far. The body would overheat and the extremities would freeze if I did, but anything’s possible.

You may need more than one bike. You need to get somewhere but it’s too close to drive, too far to walk: so take the bike. Having a commuter bike makes sense. For winter, an old beater bike with single speed and coaster brakes to eliminate the need for cables which would quickly corrode in the slush and salt. To ride hilly terrain you may need a light bike with appropriate gearing. To ride mainly flat roads, you need a compliant frame race fit for distance and speed. To ride off road you need a mountain bike with suspension fork and knobby tires. To test your fitness doing time trials, you need a time trial-specific bike with an aerodynamic and integrated frame, fork and wheels; disc on the back and tri-spoke on the front, and aero-bars to allow your upper body to get low and slice through the wind.

A bike is practical; it’s simple. It's second nature. Step into the garage, grab a bike and go. Get out in the fresh air. Ride for fun, for fitness. Ride with friends. Ride alone and meditate or listen to music. Test your fitness. Enjoy the weather. Get from point A to point B. All great reasons to ride.

While mountain biking and time trials require some driving I prefer rides that begin from home. There are cyclists who like to do remote starts. They put their bike in the car and drive to a desirable location to begin their ride. This makes sense if you want to ride in new territory. But it goes against my affinity for riding from home and not having to drive. Not having to drive is a big motivator. And it’s one less car on the road. Next time you need to go somewhere, before jumping in the car, ask yourself if you can walk or ride. Get some exercise and breath in the fresh air. You'll be glad you did.

Nutritious and delicious: is it possible to have both?

There is a fallacy about nutrition that eating well means choking down food you don’t like. The problem with this approach is pretty obvious: you’re not likely to continue eating foods you find distasteful. To create a food plan that will succeed, you need to select foods that you enjoy or at the very least do not dislike. 

Don’t like broccoli? No problem. Choose an alternative food that offers similar nutrients that you do like. Now broccoli is a super nutritious food containing the following:

Sulforaphane	Vitamin C
Indoles	Beta-carotene
Folate	Lutein/zeaxanthin
Fiber	Vitamin K
Calcium	Iron

However, if you really don’t like broccoli, there are a number of vegetables that contain similar nutrients, including the following:

Brussels sprouts	Collards
Cabbage	Bok choy
Kale	Mustard greens
Turnips	Swiss chard
Cauliflower

If some of these foods are unknown to you, make a point of trying them. You might be surprised. I personally have never been a fan of Brussels sprouts. But every once in a while I will try them to see if my tastes have changed. Or, maybe I have the opportunity to try someone else’s preparation of these sprouts that is different to any I have tried before, making them more palable.

For me cabbage, cauliflower and Bok choy are favourites. I put kale in smoothies and get my indoles that way.

Let’s take another example. Blueberries. I love berries but blueberries are probably the least favourite. I will eat them in a bowl of mixed berries or in a smoothy but eat them less often by themselves.

The nutrition blueberries and other dark berries have in common include:

Polyphenols	Folate
Salicylic acid	Vitamin C
Carotenoids	Vitamin E
Fiber	Potassium
Iron	Manganese
Riboflavin	Magnesium
Niacin	Phytoestrogens

What are the alternatives to blueberries?

Purple grapes	Strawberries
Cranberries	Blackberries
Boysenberries	Cherries
Raspberries	Currents

So you see, there are plenty of choices. If none of these foods excites you, then you may have to train your palate away from non-foods that come in a package with loads of wheat, sugar and hydrogenated fats. You don't have to be perfect. But introducing more of the healthier foods will displace some of the less healthy choices. Sometimes it just takes a change of focus. Looking for the healthy foods and decreasing the unhealthy ones will make all the difference. Eating well and enjoying your food can be synonymous.

Where to start?

It is the beginning of a new year and perhaps you are feeling inspired to begin a fitness program. You want to start feeling better physically, but what should you do? It can be overwhelming to consider all the possibilities.

A friend recently made the decision to start doing core work because his back was giving him constant discomfort and pain. This had been happening for years but it got to the point where he said okay, I don’t want to continue living in pain, I have to do something about it. After decades of long hours spent sitting, his back is only getting worse. He isn’t sedentary. He commutes to work on his bike in the summer and skis in the winter. But he believes he needs to work on his core.

While I wouldn’t disagree with him on that, I did recommend he seek the help of a physiotherapist/chiropractor. I gave him the name of the guy whom I have been seeing for many years now for minor injuries. I was reluctant to give my friend exercises to do without knowing the full extent of his back problems.

If you are currently doing very little physical activity, you likely have aches and pains or at the very least have restrictions and limitations in your movement. It is always a good idea to first get an assessment from your doctor or a trusted professional in the field of chiropractic or physical therapy. Once you are given the go-ahead to begin a fitness regime, what next?

Starting with mobility practice makes a lot of sense. Putting your joints through their full range of motion is a great way to find out how well you move and to wake up your nervous system. Mobility practice will give you a good indication of exactly where your restrictions lie. Not only that, done on a daily basis, joint mobility practice will improve range of motion and keep the joints functioning optimally. It’s basic maintenance for the body.

Next, add on some flexibility work. This does not necessarily have to be boring static stretches. There are several kinds of stretching that are beneficial. The one you choose will depend on your stretching experience, your current flexibility and your fitness level.

For some people, some soft tissue work may be required. Whether from over-use or under-use, your myofascial web, the “outer bag” that envelopes your whole body – muscles, bones, nerves, arteries, veins, internal organs and spinal cord – can become stuck. The myofascial web is actually one single sheath that essentially has pockets, one for each structure. You can think of the entire human body as one muscle with hundreds of insertion points.

Fascial restrictions bind down and exert pressure and stress on the body and its soft tissue structures, causing pain and dysfunction. When this happens it may take extra effort to remove those adhesions and return the muscle to proper functioning. Applying friction by using a foam roller for the long muscles and tendons of the legs can help keep them supple and prevent them from pulling on other muscles. Ball work can work out tightness in the belly of shorter muscles of the calves and feet and shoulders.

Strength training and cardiovascular training are both important. It is important to keep the body strong as you age because your muscles atrophy if they are not exposed to resistance on a regular basis, Those who are sedentary will have a dramatic alteration in body composition, increasing body fat and decreasing muscle size.

Cardiovascular training is necessary for obvious reasons: to keep the circulatory and respiratory systems functioning optimally. Aerobic training is arguably the most important aspect of physical fitness as you age, keeping all areas of the body supplied with oxygenated blood, and keeping the heart and lungs strong.

While no one facet of physical fitness should be neglected I hope this breakdown gives you an idea of where to start and why. If you start out small, and gradually add components, you will not only be more likely to continue, you will become a healthier, more well-rounded human being.

My top 10 health tips from 2015

There may come a day when I can no longer do this. Today is not that day!

It’s the time of year to look back at the year that is over or look ahead at the coming year. In today’s post I chose to select my top ten list of health tips from 2015. This list might not seem like a list of health tips, but I assure you, it is.

1. Practice mindfulness: think before you act - This may sound trendy but call it what you will – consciousness, awareness, being present in the moment – it is a practice that will serve you well in all the things you do. And it does take practice! In the workout world, repetition without awareness is simply movement without a goal. To make progress, movement is not enough, it must be purposeful and determined.
2. Make life-affirming choices - Decision-making can be an onerous task but if you keep this rule in mind, you will make the best decisions for yourself.
3. Show up - You can’t get anywhere in life if you don’t show up. Show up for your job, for your classes, for competitions, for appointments, for commitments. Showing up is the first step to success.
4. Exercise wherever and whenever possible: look at places to go as opportunities to exercise. Walk or ride your bike; take the stairs. Squeeze in some push ups and squats. Do what you can.
5. Eat at the table. Eat slowly, taste and enjoy your food - Eat when you feel calm and relaxed to get the most benefit from the food you eat. Ask yourself are you a stress eater or do you avoid food when feeling stressed. Neither is healthy but being aware is the first step to changing the behaviour.
6. Give up on self-defeating talk - Don’t listen to those negative voices in your head. They are wrong. Nobody progresses by listening to self-defeating talk. Keep things positive, including how you see yourself. Be patient and gentle with yourself.
7. Do the same thing different ways - Your body adapts to new movements after about 4 weeks. Adding intensity, time under tension (speed of movement), volume, load, and varying angles (increasing or decreasing leverage) are all ways to train the same movement in different ways. There are an unlimited variety of ways to perform pushups and squats, two of the boss fundamental bodyweight movements. Doing the same thing different ways equals success.
8. Mobility and flexibility are foundations – If they are weak, you will never be strong. Making flexibility and mobility the cornerstone of your practice will allow you to develop a strong flexible body. You will have fewer limitations as well as fewer injuries.
9. Ask yourself, what’s holding you back from being the best version of yourself? Identify the obstacles that are preventing you from progressing and then work on removing or overcoming those obstacles. It might be lack of flexibility, it might be time management, it might be inertia. Whatever it is, it can be overcome.
10. Always do your best – When working out, you might not always feel your best, but give it your best on that day and your efforts will pay dividends. When making food choices, do the best with what you have. You might not always be in an optimal place or situation to make the best food choices. Do the best with what you have.

Making this list was not easy. There are many more tips that I could have included. However, I hope I have chosen some that resonate with you. If you have favourite tips from the past year you would like to share, please comment below. And if you have ideas for blog posts for 2016, I invite your input. Until then, Have a happy and healthy New Year everyone! Santé!

What’s holding you back?

Are there skills you have not been able to acquire and you’re not sure why. Strength is an obvious hurdle but very often there is something else holding you back. If you can’t do a push up, you need to work on strengthening chest, shoulder, triceps, abdominals, and lower back. Pretty simple (though not easy). How about shoulder push ups? The most difficult version requires not only strength but flexibility as the body needs to fold almost in half like a jack knife. What about single leg squats? Now you’re talking strength, flexibility, mobility and stability.

To move past sticking points you must train your weaknesses. But first, identify what they are. I have limited range of motion in my wrists because my forearms are hyper-flexible in one direction and hyper-inflexible in the opposite direction. This fact severely limits my ability to do straight-arm strength exercises with my hands on the floor, exercises like the straight arm lever.

The physical training pyramid :

7. Endurance

    6. Strength

        5. Stability

           4. Flexibility

              3. Mobility

                 2. Nutrition

                    1.Rest/Sleep/Recovery

The bottom of the pyramid being the first thing that must be addressed before the next level in the pyramid. In other words, if you aren’t getting enough sleep nutrition, mobility, flexibility and so on won’t help you achieve your physical fitness goals.

Today I had a 90-minute personal training session with Sara-Clare of Agatsu in Montreal via Skype. I am working on skills that I will need in order to pass the Level 2 Kettlebell Certification and so I turned to Agatsu for training, the same people who trained me in Mobility and movement, Kettlebells, and overall personal training methods. The skills include: pistol squats, L-sit handstands and muscle-ups. Pistol squats are simple but again, not easy. Not if you lack ankle mobility and have tight calves and lateral hamstrings like I do.

Rather than flogging a dead horse by struggling to do pistol squats, I am going to be working on increasing my flexibility and mobility on a daily basis because these are the impediments to my progress. Strength comes after mobility and flexibility. These elements are slower to improve so they need frequent (daily) attention. In addition I will be neurologically programming my body to get into the positions I need to execute these exercises. I will accomplish this by regressing the movements, breaking them down, and holding those positions for repetitions. Learning which muscles must be activated is another key to successfully performing difficult movements. 

There are other tips that will help you get better at certain movements. The important thing is understanding there is a logical progression to achieving your goals. If you skip important steps, you will be less likely to succeed. There are building blocks and foundational movements that are fundamental to success.

Sometimes we need a knowledgeable and objective third party to help us identify what we need to work on and help us train for them. Anyone can benefit from a trainer, regardless of the level they are at. Sara is world-class and still has someone help her to keep improving. Irrespective of your level of training, enlisting the help of a trainer can help you evaluate your weaknesses and give you advice for improving on them. If you don’t know what’s holding you back maybe you need a coach or trainer to help you achieve your goals.