Gluten Free Favorite Recipes

December 29, 2016

These Apps Make It Easy To Actually Stick To Your New Year Resolutions

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Don't just use technology for social media -- it's a great way to record and track your goals.

Whether you're a conscious goal setter or not, most people have one or two things in mind they'd like to improve on in the new year. Maybe you want to learn to save a bit better, or vow to get out and travel more.

Whatever it is, it's much easier to keep track of those goals when you record them. Instead of using the old pen ad paper, download an app and keep your goals right there with you in your pocket.

If you want to be mindful

Insight Timer

With a dynamic worldwide community, Insight Timer is a fun and connected way to support your meditation practice. If you're new to meditation you'll find more than 2,000 free guided meditations and a community you can chat to to get started. If you're an experienced meditator you'll enjoy the sound of the beautiful Tibetan singing bowls and guided meditations by experienced teachers that you know and respect.

Smiling Mind

Smiling Mind is a meditation app program developed by psychologists and educators. Just as we eat well and stay fit to keep our body healthy, Smiling Mind believes that meditation is about mental health and looking after the mind.

If you want to save money

Budget Wiz

Ever wonder where the hell all your money goes each month? Budget Wiz keeps your money well managed, and well spent. Use it to monitor your habits so you can learn where savings can be made.

Pocketbook

This app is one of Kochie's favourites, so it must be good. It is the only popular personal finance app that gives you the option to synchronise with Australian Banks -- so no more manual entry.

If you want to break bad habits

Streaks

A to-do list app that helps you form good habits, Streaks let you rack up to six tasks you want to complete every day. Kinda like a game, your goal is to build a streak of consecutive days. Streaks also works with the Apple Health app to help you achieve your fitness goals.

Lifesum

Who doesn't want their own personalised health and lifestyle guide? Lifesum takes your lifestyle goals and health data and creates a plan to help you realistically reach those goals.

If you want to take up running

Nike+ Run Club

This app gives you everything you need to learn to be a better runner, even if you're a beginner -- including GPS tracking details of your run, customised coaching plans which fit your goals and adapt to your progress, and motivation from your friends who also use the app.

If you want to learn a language

Duolingo

This app is completely free and totally makes learning a language fun. There's a cute little owl called Duo who keeps you on track and an option to compete with your friends.

If you want to curb your sweet tooth

Hippie Lane

This recipe app is designed to empower health-conscious people to make thoughtful recipe choices. Featuring recipes that are 100 percent vegan and free of gluten, refined sugar, dairy and genetically modified ingredients.

Recipes by The Healthy Chef

The Healthy Chef app is full of nourishing juices, beautiful breakfasts, whole food mains, fermented foods, purely delicious desserts and lots more yummy extras. The recipes taste delicious and are simple to make.

If you want to be more creative

Paper by Fifty Three

When inspiration happens, put it on Paper. Paper is the best way to capture and connect your notes, photos, and sketches. Create checklists, spotlight details in photos, and sketch diagrams -- Paper is like a wall of sticky notes for everything that inspires you.

Procreate

This app boasts a complete artist's toolbox to help you create beautiful sketches, inspiring paintings, and stunning illustrations anywhere you are. Create a canvas and start painting with any of Procreate's brushes. With Procreate's incredibly high-resolution canvases you can print your artwork at massive sizes.

If you want to travel more

Guides by Lonely Planet

Get to the heart of the destination you're traveling to with Guides by Lonely Planet. Packed with Offline Maps (genius when you dont have acess to Wi-Fi), Phrasebooks, Currency Converters and advice from on-the-ground experts, the city guides are the ultimate resource before and during your trip.

Airbnb

Find adventures in faraway places or your own hometown. Access unique homes, experiences, and places anywhere around the choose from over 2.5 million homes in over 191 countries. They make it easy, so you can search by price, neighbourhood or amenities.

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This Was The Most Googled Diet Of 2016

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New year, new diet?

When we look back on a year of diet trends -- new and used -- 2016 has been confusing to say the least.

We've ridden the wave of Paleo controversies, __gluten sensitivities and 5:2 diets -- and have reached the shoreline feeling slightly battered.

Amid all the rumble, what have we been googling this year?

According to data picked up from Google Trends, among vegan, paleo, sugar-free, gluten-free and 5:2 diets, Aussies are most interested in veganism in 2016.

'Gluten-free' took out second place, followed by 'paleo', with 'sugar-free' dieting surprisingly coming in last place.

Making the vegan switch is now far more commonplace.

Across the world, 'vegan' remains the most searched diet-related term in the last twelve months as messages against animal-based products continue to gain global prominence.

Back on a local stage, Melbourne's 'Match Mylkbar' has been all the rage...

YUUUMMM an incredible spread of pure NOOOMSS with @yanyqing and co!!😱😍 Smoothie bowls, matcha pancakes, matcha burgers and iced matcha lattes?!! Now THAT'S what we call BRUNCH GOALS 💚

A photo posted by M A T C H A // M Y L K B A R (@matcha_mylkbar) on Dec 28, 2016 at 8:46pm PST

As has boxer Nate Diaz's vegan switch. And the rest.

The top vegan-related queries in 2016 were:

Matcha mylkbar

Nate Diaz vegan

Vegan restaurants newtown

Vegan anzac biscuits

Vegan ramen

If this is you, read on for tips on making a healthy vego or vegan switch.

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MORE: 5:2 Diet Diet Diet Trends Fad Diets Food __gluten Free Paleo Society Vegan

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December 24, 2016

Would you eat canary seed? Health Canada says it’s safe

TORONTO – Move over, feathered friends: canary seed has been approved for human consumption by Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The high-protein, gluten-free grain — similar in size to flax seed and sesame seed — can now be incorporated whole into energy and snack bars and sprinkled on hamburger buns and bagels. It can also be ground into flour for use in cookies, muffins, crackers, breads, tortillas and pasta.

It’s good news for farmers in Saskatchewan, where the bulk of the world’s canary seed crop is grown and exported.

It’s hoped the approval for human consumption will broaden the market, says Kevin Hursh, executive director of the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan.

Carol Ann Patterson, a food scientist with The Pathfinders Research and Management Ltd., in Saskatoon, had been working with the commission since about 2006 as regulatory approval was sought for the seed to be used as a cereal grain, similar to oats, wheat, barley and rye.

“From a protein perspective, compared to other cereals, canary seed ranks up there,” says Patterson.

“And that’s why it’s so good for gluten-free applications because right now a lot of the flours that are used … don’t have the same nutrient composition as canary seed would have in terms of fatty acids, in terms of the vitamins, in terms of fibre and in terms of protein content.”

Roasted canary seed has a nutty flavour with a pleasant aroma, she says, and many baking trials were carried out using the grain because of its gluten-free quality.

“It provides a bit more taste than some of the other products that go into gluten-free foods. If you’re using it with tapioca starch or whatever other starch types we think that it will probably have an application in the gluten-free market because that has been a growth area,” says Hursh, who grows canary seed at his farm near Cabri northwest of Swift Current.

Another bonus is canary seed can be substituted for imported sesame seed. Sesame has been identified as one of 10 priority food allergens by Health Canada.

However, canary seed may not be suitable for consumers with a wheat allergy because there’s one protein that wheat and canary seed have in common. Canary seed for human consumption will need to be labelled with an allergy warning while research is done to see if the restriction can be removed, Hursh says.

The cereal grain originated in the Canary Islands — hence the name — and has been used to feed tame birds for centuries. It’s also been consumed by mainly Spanish and Hispanic cultures in the Mediterranean basin. In recent years, some health-food markets in North America have ground the seed, hull included, and used it in smoothies or soaked it in hot water for a tea, says Hursh.

In Canada, canary seed started being grown in the late 1800s near Indian Head, 70 kilometres east of Regina. It fell out of favour, then was revived in the 1970s and ’80s, says Patterson.

The human food approval in Canada and the U.S. covers hairless (glabrous) canary seed varieties, with both brown and yellow seeds.

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Have high pain tolerance? Don’t ignore these signs of a ‘silent’ heart attack

If you tend to have a high tolerance for pain, doctors warn that you could be missing the telltale signs of a heart attack.

By working through the pain and ignoring the warning signs of a heart attack, you could be damaging your heart and worsening your odds of a strong recovery, Norwegian scientists say.

Typical heart attack symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath and cold sweats but that’s not always the case. Sometimes a “silent” heart attack can strike – it’s called a silent ischemia when lack of oxygen gets to the heart muscle.

“It is unknown why some people experience heart attacks without symptoms. One possible explanation for the absence of chest pain is high pain tolerance. To our knowledge, no previous study has examined the relationship between pain sensitivity and recognition of heart attacks,” Dr. Andrea Ohrn, the study’s lead author, said in a university statement.

Ohrn’s team out of the University of Tromso in Norway looked at nearly 5,000 people. They went through a cold pressor pain tolerance test, which is when you place your hand in ice cold water for as long as possible. After that, they underwent electrocardiograms.

The researchers combed through the study participants’ ECG results and their hospital records to look at their heart health.

Turns out:

Eight per cent of the group had a “silent” heart attack in their past, and 4.7 per cent had recognized heart attacks
Those who had a silent heart attack fared the best at the cold pressor test – they kept their hand in the cold water longer and were less likely to quit than their peers who acknowledged right away that they had encountered a heart attack in the past
Women had fewer heart attacks than men, but they tended to have silent heart attacks more

With these findings in tow, the researchers say doctors need to ask their patients about their sensitivity to pain. They shouldn’t ignore the warning signs of a heart attack just because patients don’t have chest pain either.

Signs of a “silent” heart attack include heavy breathing and swollen legs. These are hallmark signs of a heart failure because of a previous heart attack.

This isn’t the first time doctors are shedding light on heart attack symptoms to pay attention to.

At the start of 2016, the American Heart Association said that men and women encounter very different signs of heart attack.

While men feel their chest tighten, a shooting pain in the arm or shortness of breath, women’s symptoms are much more subtle. They feel nauseous, they vomit or they encounter back or jaw pain, for example.

Read the full Norwegian report published this week in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
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Alberta couple in midst of terrible 2 years, wins big at the Ellen Show

A couple from Langdon, east of Calgary, had a simple Christmas wish list: they hoped for some good news. Their request follows two years of heartbreak and disappointment.

Joe and Karen Clark got married in 2012 but their dream of starting a family was delayed. In 2015, Karen suffered a miscarriage after an expensive round of IVF.

Most recently, in October, the couple endured a second round of IVF, which failed.

“I had lost hope then I’d get excited every time a new cycle would start. I’d think, ‘maybe this is it.’ Then I’d be crushed again. It’s a roller-coaster,” Clark said.

To make the financial burden even heavier this year, Joe was out of work for months.

“I lost my job, I got laid off. Been there a couple years.”

Then they suffered a devastating blow in June when Karen’s father passed away on Father’s Day.

“When is this going to end? Where’s our happiness?” Karen asked.

“We had to do something to look forward to. To change our mood.”

But it wasn’t Santa who answered the call, instead, someone just as joyful.

Their luck was about to change after a trip to the Ellen Show in October.

What they didn’t know was they, along with the entire audience, would be chosen for Ellen’s 12 Days of Giveaways.

“It was just pure luck. I think my dad had something to do with that.”

They were invited back to collect their prizes, including a trip to the Dominican and hundreds of dollars in gift certificates.

It was a rare feeling joy and that’s what they walked away with in the end.

“It put everything we had been through in the past – I didn’t think of it. It was joy and excitement.”

It was good experience for a change that has given them hope for a happier New Year.

Donald Trump vows to expand US nuclear capabilities, receives ‘nice letter’ from Vladmir Putin

President-elect Donald Trump has stepped away from his typically tempered view of U.S.-Russia relations, vowing to expand America’s nuclear capabilities while warning that the two global powers should restore collaboration so they don’t “have to travel an alternate path.”

Trump’s transition team said Friday that the president-elect received a “very nice letter” from Russian president Vladimir Putin, urging Trump to act “in a constructive and pragmatic manner” to “restore the framework of bilateral co-operation.”

The letter, dated Dec. 15, also notes that serious global and regional challenges “show that the relations between Russia and the U.S. remain an important factor in ensuring stability and security in the modern world.”

In response, Trump agreed with Putin, adding that he hopes “we do not have to travel an alternate path.”

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin sent the letter, “voicing hope for an improvement of bilateral ties,” according to the Interfax news agency. Trump’s transition team described the text as an unofficial translation.

The exchange comes on the heels of comments by Trump and Putin about the need to strengthen their countries’ nuclear arsenals. Trump declared Thursday on Twitter that the U.S. should “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability” until the rest of the world “comes to its senses” regarding nuclear weapons. Those comments echoed an earlier statement by Putin, who said earlier Thursday that strengthening his country’s nuclear capabilities should be a chief military objective in the coming year.

Putin downplayed the significance of Trump’s comments at a marathon end-of-year news conference Friday. Putin said he sees “nothing unusual” in Trump’s pledge to strengthen the U.S. nuclear forces, saying the statement is in line with the president-elect’s campaign promises.

In his wide-ranging remarks, the Russian leader claimed that his country’s military is stronger than that of any potential aggressor, but acknowledged that the U.S. military is bigger. He also cast the modernization of Russia’s nuclear arsenal as a necessary response to a U.S. missile defence system.

Trump extolled Putin’s leadership during the campaign and called for a tempered approach to U.S.-Russia relations. And while Putin has described Trump in favourable terms, observers say Russia’s interest is centred around winning relief from crippling sanctions implemented under the Obama administration.

Tensions have been mounting between the U.S. and Russia in recent months over accusations by the Obama administration that the Russian government hacked the emails of U.S. citizens and institutions, including political organizations, and handed them over to DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks for distribution. The FBI said this month that it supports the CIA’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the presidential election with the goal of supporting Trump.

At his press conference Friday, Putin addressed the accusations, saying that the Democrats “are humiliating themselves. They must know how to lose with dignity.”

Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: "In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity." So true!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2016

Trump has repeatedly dismissed claims that Russia sought to usher in his victory, but his remarks indicate that Russia may not be an exception to Trump’s vow to assert American influence through “unquestioned military strength.” His comments are prompting fears of a nuclear race in the making if Trump breaks longstanding nuclear treaties, and if Russia or other countries seek to counter American nuclear gains.

The two countries signed the New START treaty in 2010, capping the number of nuclear warheads and missile launchers each country can possess. The agreement is in effect until 2021.

“Modernization is quite different from expansion,” said Michael McFaul, Obama’s ambassador in Moscow between 2012 and 2014. “Modernization is allowed under the New START treaty; expansion is not.”

“Putin is smartly playing down the tweet because he has several concessions that he wants to secure from President Trump – lifting of sanctions, support for his war in Syria, recognition of Crimea as part of Russia – and therefore does not want to rock the boat right now by reacting to this vague Trump statement,” McFaul added.

Carrie Fisher in ICU, not ‘stable condition’ after cardiac arrest: brother

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Carrie Fisher has been hospitalized and is in intensive care after suffering a full cardiac arrest on Friday while aboard an airplane headed from London to Los Angeles.

The actress was in critical condition earlier in the day, an emergency official told Variety on Friday afternoon. She was moved from the emergency room to the Intensive Care Unit hours later, her brother, Todd Fisher, said Friday evening. The actor and filmmaker said his sister is not in stable condition, despite previous reports.

“She’s in the ICU and everybody’s praying for her,” he told Variety in a phone interview. “There’s nothing new from the doctors. There’s nothing new at all. … There’s no good news or bad news.”

Todd Fisher said media outlets are “writing between the lines” in reporting that she’s now in stable condition. The Associated Press reported earlier today that Todd Fisher said Carrie Fisher was in stable condition and “out of emergency.”

Airport police responded at approximately 12:15 p.m. PT to a woman with a medical emergency on a plane at LAX International Airport’s Terminal 7, public information officer Alicia Hernandez told Variety.

Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics were already on the scene, performing CPR on a female victim who had gone into cardiac arrest, when airport police arrived. She was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.

Fisher, 60, reportedly went into cardiac arrest about 15 minutes before the plane landed following the 11-hour flight, TMZ first reported. She was reportedly taken to UCLA Medical Center and placed on a ventilator.

LAFD spokesman Erik Scott said paramedics were standing by for the plane’s arrival at 12:11 p.m., and immediately provided “advanced life support, aggressively treated, and transported” the patient to a local hospital.

United Airlines released a statement on Friday afternoon.

“Medical personnel met United flight 935 from London to Los Angeles upon arrival today after the crew reported that a passenger was unresponsive,” the statement reads, which was obtained by Variety. “Our thoughts are with our customer at this time, and any requests for additional information should be directed to local authorities.”

According to air traffic control conversation between the tower and the pilot of United 935, at 12:13 p.m., passengers and nurses were assisting the unresponsive passenger before the plane landed.

Reps for Fisher did not respond to Variety’s request for comment.

Her “Star Wars” costars, fellow actors, and others in Hollywood took to social media to send the actress well wishes.

“Sending all our love” to Fisher, Mark Hamill tweeted.

as if 2016 couldn't get any worse… sending all our love to @carrieffisher

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 23, 2016

Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the “Star Wars” franchise, wrote on Twitter, “Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone’s favorite princess right now.”

Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone's favorite princess right now.. @carrieffisher

— Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) December 23, 2016

Several people who say they were on board the airplane with Fisher broke the news on Twitter. “Don’t know how else to process this but Carrie Fisher stopped breathing on the flight home. Hope she’s gonna be OK,” wrote filmmaker and YouTuber Anna Akana.

Don't know how else to process this but Carrie Fisher stopped breathing on the flight home. Hope she's gonna be OK 😞

— Anna Akana (@AnnaAkana) December 23, 2016

So many thanks to the United flight crew who jumped into action, and the awesome doctor and nurse passengers who helped

— Anna Akana (@AnnaAkana) December 23, 2016

Comedian Brad Gage wrote, “I’m in complete shock. Anna Akana and I sat in front of Carrie Fisher on our flight from London and she was just taken off the plane by EMTs.”

I'm in complete shock. @AnnaAkana and I sat in front of Carrie Fisher on our flight from London and she was just taken off the plane by EMTs

— Brad Gage (@bradgage) December 23, 2016

Fisher, known for playing Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” franchise, has recently been on tour promoting her memoir “The Princess Diarist.” She had been filming the Amazon series “Catastrophe,” starring Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, a few days earlier in London. Fisher plays Delaney’s caustic mother, Mia, on the show.

She recently reprised her role as Princess Leia (now General Leia) in last year’s box office phenomenon “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

10-year-old girl with autism sings Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’

A 10-year-old girl from Northern Ireland singing a solo during her school choir’s performance of a holiday rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is becoming an Internet sensation, going viral after a video of the extraordinary performance was posted on Facebook.

Kaylee Rodgers hails from Donaghadee, County Down, and has autism and ADHD. A student at Killard House Special School, she started singing as a way to help build her confidence.

The Facebook video has so far been viewed more than 180,000 times, and the youngster spoke with ITV to share her feelings about the incredible popularity of her performance.

“It was really amazing how many views I got,” she said. “I just loved doing it.”

“For a child who came in P4 and wouldn’t really talk, wouldn’t really read out in class, to stand and perform in front of an audience is amazing,” Colin Millar, principal of Killard House told ITV. “It takes a lot of effort on Kaylee’s part.”

Watch the video above.

December 18, 2016

Try These Healthy Swaps Of Your Fave Christmas Desserts

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Staying healthy over Christmas and New Year's feels near impossible, what with the endless plates of incredible Christmas food, glasses of booze and missed gym classes (whoops).

But if you do want to eat healthy in between, there are delicious swaps of your favourite desserts -- from trifle and truffles, to pudding and chocolate mousse.

These recipes promise the same flavours you know and love about the holiday season, while using fresh, wholesome ingredients like fruit, nuts, spices, dried fruit and cacao powder.

1. Healthy berry trifle

Recipe by The Healthy Chef.

Serves two.

INGREDIENTS

500g strawberries
Handful of raspberries
1 teaspoon honey or 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
500g cultured Greek style natural yoghurt (use dairy or coconut)
100g granola or your favourite nut and seed mix

METHOD

Blend half the strawberries with the raspberries and honey until you have a smooth puree.
Cut the rest of the strawberries into quarters and mix with the berry puree.
In a tall glass, alternate layers of berry mix with layers of yoghurt and granola -- you could also use a bowl.
Serve and enjoy.

This healthy trifle uses yoghurt instead of cream and crunchy granola in place of sponge cake.

2. Raw Christmas pudding

Recipe by The Healthy Chef.

Makes six.

INGREDIENTS

225g fresh pitted dates -- approx. 10-15 dates depending on their size
Zest from one orange
250g organic dried apricots, chopped
150g (1½ cups) almond meal
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
80g white chocolate, melted for decoration

METHOD

Combine dates, orange zest, apricots, vanilla, ground almonds, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a food processor.
Process until mixture is combined and looks like fine crumbs.
Spoon mixture into a large bowl and add 1–2 tablespoons orange juice, then mix again. Your pudding mix should come together in the hands when lightly squeezed.
Divide puddings into six small puddings. The best way to do this is to line the base of your desired mould with cling wrap and press the pudding mixture into it firmly.
Invert the pudding and remove the glad wrap. Repeat until all the puddings are formed.
Melt white chocolate in a small bowl that is set over a simmering pot of water.
Spoon a little white chocolate over the tops of the puddings if using and garnish. You can use goji berries, fresh cherries or anything you fancy. Alternatively, omit the topping if you wish.
Arrange onto a serving plate and set aside until needed. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

These raw versions have all the flavour you expect in a pudding.

3. Healthy chocolate mousse

Recipe by The Healthy Chef.

Serves six.

INGREDIENTS

½ cup organic maple syrup
2 large ripe avocados
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
½ cup cacao powder
Pinch of sea salt

METHOD

1. In a high performance blender, place the maple syrup in first, followed by the avocado, vanilla, cacao and salt.

2. Blend for about 30 seconds until smooth and creamy. Add a splash of water or coconut water to make a lighter mousse.

3. Spoon into a bowl and allow to cool and set in the fridge.

You won't be able to tell the difference between this and traditional mousse. Yum.

4. Coconut and raspberry delights

Recipe by The Natural Nutritionist.

Makes 10-12.

INGREDIENTS

2½ cups almond meal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon __gluten free baking powder
4 free range eggs
¼ cup cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil
¼ cup Natvia
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

METHOD

Preheat oven to 160°C.
Combine almond meal, cinnamon and baking powder in a large bowl.
Add the eggs, oil and Natvia and mix thoroughly.
Carefully fold in the berries. Add the coconut flakes and combine.
Spoon mixture into lightly greased muffin tins.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Best served warm.

These are the perfect summer Chrissy dessert.

5. Raw cashew and chia protein bites

Recipe by The Natural Nutritionist.

Makes 8-10.

INGREDIENTS

250g cashews
1 scoop of quality protein powder
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1-1½ tablespoons Natvia, depending on desired sweetness
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ cup cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon chia seeds
¼ cup water

METHOD

In a cup, mix the chia seeds and water together and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Blend the nuts, protein powder, cacao, Natvia and cinnamon and add to a large bowl.
Add the melted coconut oil and stir well. Stir through the chia seed 'egg'.
Use an ice cream scoop or spoon and form balls that sit nicely in the palm of your hand. To prevent sticking, add a touch of oil to your hands prior to doing so. Make 8-10 balls.
Sprinkle with chia seeds and freeze prior to serving.

Try these scrumptious bites in place of regular truffles or rum balls.

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December 17, 2016

Satisfy Your Banana Bread Cravings With These Recipes

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What do you do when you have a tonne of spotty ripe bananas at home? Make warm, fluffy, moist and golden banana bread, of course.

The best thing about baking banana bread (aside from inhaling it) is the aroma that fills your house. The cinnamon, the caramelised bananas, the sweet scent of butter and sugar together at last... seriously, they need to candle that scent.

Chances are you feel like eating a thick slice right now, slathered in butter and a drizzle of honey. Well, you can. Here are some banana bread recipes for you to try.

1. Chocolate chip banana bread

Recipe from Foodie Crush.

If you love chocolate, you need to try chocolate chip banana bread. The mix of the beautifully melted chocolate and the sweet caramelised banana is absolute perfection.

Try the recipe here.

2. One bowl nutella banana bread

Recipe from Minimalist Baker.

Vegan or __gluten free? You can still get your banana bread fix, with added nutella. This banana bread is moist, fluffy, perfectly sweet and quick to make. YUM.

Here's the easy recipe.

3. Chai spiced banana bread

Recipe from I Quit Sugar.

If chai is your go-to hot drink, this chai spiced banana bread is for you. The warming spices of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg marry wonderfully with the gooey, syrupy bananas. Tip: have a thick slice with warm milk.

Head here for the recipe.

4. Buckwheat banana bread with poached quinces and mascarpone

From Gather and Feast.

For a fancier banana bread, try this enticing variation made with buckwheat and almond flour topped with sweet, spiced poached quinces and vanilla mascarpone.

Give the recipe a go here.

A photo posted by Ashley Alexander (@gatherandfeast) on Jun 11, 2015 at 3:04pm PDT

Need more inspo?

A photo posted by Gaz Oakley (@avantgardevegan) on Sep 5, 2016 at 5:51am PDT

A photo posted by MARMALICIOUS (@marmalicious__) on Dec 14, 2016 at 8:39am PST

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December 15, 2016

Recipe: Gluten-free fruit & honey granola

Food writer and photographer Jennifer Pallian is making a quick and easy homemade granola that can be prepared well in advance for families on the go.

Fruit & Honey Granola

INGREDIENTS

• 3-1/2 cups large flake oats or gluten-free quick standard oats (uncooked)
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• One 6‑ounce package diced dried mixed fruit (about 1‑1/3 cups)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. In large bowl, combine oats and pecans; mix well. Spread evenly in 15 x 10‑inch jelly roll pan or on rimmed baking sheet.
3. In small bowl, combine honey, oil, vanilla, cinnamon and salt (if desired); mix well. Pour over oat mixture; mix well.
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes. Stir in dried fruit. Cool completely. Store tightly covered up to 1 week.

Variations: Substitute dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots or chopped dried peaches for dried mixed fruit.

Separated conjoined twins meet for first time since undergoing surgery

The conjoined California twins that were separated last week following a 17-hour marathon surgery have been reunited for the first time since the operation.

Eva and Erika Sandoval have been recovering in separate beds in the same room, but they could not see each other well. On Monday, their parents and intensive care team carefully carried Erika and placed her in Eva’s bed to say hello, officials at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford said Wednesday.

It’s the closest the twins have been since they were separated on Dec. 6.

“It was such a thrill for us to see the girls next to one another again,” said the twins’ mother, Aida Sandoval.

Dr. Meghna Patel, who is caring for Erika in the pediatric intensive care unit, said both are doing well. “They have had no significant complications,” she said.

Before surgery, the girls shared a bladder, liver, parts of their digestive system and a third leg. Each girl retains portions of the organs they shared, and each still has one leg. The third limb was used for skin grafts to cover surgical wounds. Both girls would likely need a prosthetic leg, doctors said.

In this Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, photo provided by the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit members of the girls’ care team position Erika’s bed so that the twins’ mother, Aida Sandoval, second from right, could pick up her daughter, Erika, from her bed and place her next to her sister Eva, partially seen at left with her father, Arturo Sandoval, in Palo Alto, Calif.

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford via AP

The 2-year-old Sacramento area girls are awake and breathing without ventilators and are expected to continue recovering from surgery in the hospital for another week before moving out of intensive care to an acute care unit.

As few as one of every 200,000 births results in conjoined twins. About 50 percent of such twins are born stillborn, and 35 percent survive only one day, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Only a few hundred surgeries have been performed successfully to separate conjoined twins. Stanford doctors had calculated a 30 percent chance that one or both twins wouldn’t make it through the operation.

December 13, 2016

People Googled 'Where Is New South Wales' This Year

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Who knew there was so many calories in carrots?

Praise the internet lords for Google.

Before it, how did we know how to do anything? How to cook anything? How to live life?

Today, Google revealed the most searched words and topic in 2016. Not surprising the U.S. election was a biggie, as was the Rio Olympics and the rigmarole that was the Census.

Here's the top 10 overall searches:

US election
Olympics
Census
Euro 2016
Australian Open 2016
Pokemon Go
Donald Trump
iPhone 7
David Bowie
Prince

In terms of the people we wanted to know more about, Trump trumps the list, followed by Hillary.

Donald Trump
Hillary Clinton
Conor McGregor
Steven Avery
Melania Trump
Meghan Markle
OJ Simpson
Chris Gayle
Tom Hiddleston
Brad Pitt

Closer to home, we Googled a mix of sporting and political Australians:

Mitchell Pearce
Molly Meldrum
Tara Brown
Pauline Hanson
Mel McLaughlin
Rebecca Wilson
Peter Brock
Sonia Kruger
Malcolm Turnbull
Michelle Jenneke

In terms of what we wanted to learn, the phrase 'how to...' was searched most often with 'tie a tie' at the end, followed by 'screenshot on a Mac' (damn those different shortcuts), and 'make pancakes (which, by the way, is explained expertly in this story). Here are the 'how to...' most searched:

How to tie a tie
How to screenshot on mac
How to make pancakes
How to play Pokemon Go
How to draw
How to write a cover letter
How to get rid of pimples
How to download from YouTube
How to lose weight fast
How to write a resume

In fact, it seems we take to the Google machine a fair bit when in the kitchen. Pancakes aside, we also wanted to know how to perfectly cook carbonara -- which is an excellent question -- as well as banana bread and scones.

Pancake
Carbonara
Banana bread
Scones
Hummus
Cheesecake
Quiche
Chocolate mousse
Crepe
Brownie

Still on food, it seems we're a nation obsessed with counting calories. In terms of watching what we eat, this is what we looked up:

Kilojoules to calories
How many calories per day
How many calories in a banana
Calories in chicken breast
Calories in blueberries
Calories in grapes
Calories in apple
Calories in strawberries
Calories in carrot
Calories in avocado

Along with the 'how' comes the 'what' and 'why'. 'Why is...' and 'what is..' are another two of the most common search terms and this is where things get interesting. People want to know the big stuff -- why the sky is blue, and what is love (deep).

The top 'Why' search terms:

Why is there a leap day
Why is the sky blue
Why is my internet so slow
Why is my poop green
Why is my computer so slow
Why is Australia in Eurovision
Why is the ocean salty
Why is biodiversity important
Why is my period late
Why is my eye twitching

The top 'What' search terms:

What is my IP address
What is a plebiscite
What is Pokemon Go
What is the weather today
What is the time
What is all purpose flour
What is love
What is Brexit
What is gluten
What is the meaning of life

Alarmingly, it seems there's a bunch of folk out there who aren't quite sure where the state of NSW is. We also wanted to know where Brussels was, and where we'd left our phones.

Where is NSW
Where is Brussels
Where is my phone
Where is Bora Bora
Where is Rio
Where is Home and Away filmed
Where is Malta
Where is the Great Barrier Reef
Where is Perth
Where is Mount Everest

So there you have it. Thanks to the ultimate hive mind, Google, for enlightening us.

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December 12, 2016

This Is What Happens After You Drop Your Child At Daycare

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Childcare is so much more than this...

If you've ever thought looking after a toddler on a bad day is hard, try 11 of them. In one room. Now add teething, screaming, vicious biting, scratching out eyes, inconsolable crying and poo, so much stinky, stranger poo.

Now let's try and get these children, fed, well rested, unscathed, clean and returned happily to parents with all their belongings (that they are constantly taking out of their bags and sticking in book shelves and cupboards) or else be screamed at by the parent for a lost dummy or the bump their child got by being, well, a child.

This part of the job is called 'childcare' -- the kind of term most people consider a 'lesser' career choice. What many forget or simply don't realise is that we are, of course, educators. Not only do we have the immense pressure and responsibility of looking after each child and their complicated individual needs (in my class alone I have kids who are __gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, ADD, and have lethal anaphylaxis to egg, soy and nuts to add to my daily supervision) we also of course, teach. And we teach hard.

Toddlers learn numbers, letters, shapes, colours, animals, common phrases, self help, manners, gross and fine motor skills, hygiene and oral health, empathy, emotions... and that's just the beginning. Unlike some other educational sectors, childcare educators not only need to know and understand the individual interests of a child but nurture their interests by creating individual activities for each child. Every day. Plan them. Do them. Remember those screaming, biting, defiant children? Yeah, them.

So you finally have 11 toddlers more or less complying and sitting together for a fleeting moment, even if it means they simply must have Bubby, Fluffy, Blankie, Nanny, Dummy, Ellie and Baba (comforters). You hurry to start your lesson to keep them focused. But hang on, the phone is ringing just as you begin. Again. It's Johnny's mum ringing to ask if he ate all his food at lunch. Yes he did. In fact, we wrote down everything he ate and exactly how much, and it's on the food document which is presented to you each day.

Did I forget to mention the documenting? We also need to document everything. I mean literally everything that happens. Not only so Johnny's parents know exactly what he has done throughout the day (he bounced a ball, he learnt to say please, he did a poo at 11.12am), but to prove our teaching is implemented and successful.

Each day we write a daily reflection where we need to prove how our teaching today has covered culture, sustainability, the children's interests, intentional teaching, parent and community input, principles and practises, the centre philosophy, ELYF learning outcomes, and, of course, all that writing needs to include each child and be complimented by lots of happy snaps. Does your bachelor-qualified school teacher do that for you? Our expectations of school teachers are that they plan and implement lessons as dictated by the government syllabus, but did you know we do that too? Our syllabus is called the Early Learning Years Framework.

To write this reflection each day takes an hour for me, and I write fast. By the way, educators have to type while the children are sleeping, so no, we don't rest when they rest. In fact, it's actually more stressful as this is the only time we will be able to get this done and most children in my room sleep for only 40 minutes and I already have a mountain of work to take home with me.

Yes, we work weekends and evenings too. Unpaid. How else can we write three documented learning stories for each child per month, every month. I may have had 11 children today, but I have 23 on my roll. When -- in my eight hours of constant teaching and 'child caring' -- is there time do to this? And a daily reflection and a six-page critical reflection and an individual weekly planner for each child and source and prepare materials for activities? There's actually even more documenting than this throughout the day but honestly it exhausts me thinking about it.

Childcare educators have studied hard, trained hard and we host mandatory parent-teacher nights just like regular teachers. We also have to attend mandatory unpaid, outside-of-work-hours training every second month to ensure we are always up to date with the forever-changing policies and procedures and to ensure we are the absolute best in the business. Child protection, safe sleeping, holistic learning, inspiring learning environments, epilepsy. We've done them all.

And the cleaning! We sweep, mop, wash mountains of dishes, vacuum, sanitize toys, clean toilets, do laundry, blow leaves, sweep sand and bark, water gardens, feed the centre animals -- and that's not just for our rooms sake. We need to clean the whole centre ourselves. Each and every day.

But the most crucial part of our job? We care.

We love the children as if they were our own and that's the only reason I keep coming back. Our hands have touched your child's drool, vomit, poo, wee and snot. We ourselves have caught every infection your child has brought into the centre. We pay for our own antibiotics and doctors visits and trust me, this year alone has cost me plenty in sick days and medicine, let alone the toll on my body. Our stress affects our personal lives, our relationships, our energy levels. And I implore you to find an educator who hasn't spent their own money on resources due to centre funding being so low. $250 per month is our centre limit, if you were wondering. But we are here because we love our children (your children) and we want their first steps to be strong, confident, loved and educated.

But you cannot deny we are absolutely overworked, overlooked and grossly, grossly underpaid.

I once knew a man who was paid $300 per day to stand in a construction site elevator and hold the door open for tradies. He called the job 'council candy'. $300 per day, five days a week.

Now ask me how much I get paid.

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December 11, 2016

My Mum Was The Healthiest Person I Knew, Until She Wasn't

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ULTRA.F

There's no way to bring my mum back. But we can help other people before it's too late.

My mum was one of the healthiest people I've known. Not the "all-gluten-is-evil" type of healthy, but perfectly balanced healthy. She was the type of person who would eat vegetables, fibers and fruits during the week, avoid sugar and alcohol and enjoy the occasional splurge on weekends. She jogged daily, did Pilates, tried swimming but it gave her split ends so she stopped. She wasn't stressed. She took all her pills for the first symptoms of osteoporosis and checked her skin for weird moles constantly as she'd had skin issues in the past -- she's to blame for my SPF 100+ obsession. She was a 'Perfect A' patient according to any practitioner's brochure. As the good student she'd been as a child, she followed her doctors' recommendations strictly, trusted them blindly.

But I guess life doesn't tend to stick to the brochures.

At the age of 65, what began as an annoying stomach ache during an overseas trip quickly turned into our family's worst nightmare: she was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer that had spread to her liver. In less than three months, she went from apparently completely healthy to helplessly sick.

The following year was the purest demonstration of strength, hope and love. She was fearless, relentless and sweet, as she'd always been. On one hand, she left us a life-changing example of the importance to enjoy life and to fight for it. On the other, a knot in the throat -- how can someone this healthy get this sick? It was unexpected, unfair and unsettling.

After she was gone, my sister and I kept going back to the irony, for lack of a better word, of her case. She did everything she knew she had to do for her health, but she didn't know it all. She didn't know that one you reach 50 it is recommended to do regular FOBT (faecal occult blood test), an easy, cheap and non-invasive test. At the age of 65, she had never been asked to do one.

There's no way to go back. No way to alert my 50-year-old mum to talk about the bowel test with her doctor, to understand the importance of it. No way to tell her she should do it so she won't miss her daughter's wedding, her twin granddaughters' births, and so many memories still to come. But we can tell other mums. Other people who might be neglecting a health check that could potentially save their lives.

Our health is our most precious asset and we should be informed, engaged and proactive about it. Start conversations with your doctor about preventative health checks, put them in your diary, and get them done.

I know it's hard to add yet another task to our endless to-do lists and to fit them into our already hectic lives, but it can really make all the difference. I hope I can pass out this message to many other "mums" so that fewer daughters have to regret not doing so.

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December 7, 2016

Ontario street drugs test positive for carfentanil for 1st time: Health Canada

Street drugs seized by Ontario police have tested positive for carfentanil for the first time and experts are warning the potentially fatal opioid could contribute to more overdose deaths across the province.

Waterloo Regional Police seized a number of green pills they said were manufactured to resemble OxyContin late last month, in connection with two overdoses in Cambridge and Kitchener, Ont.

Samples of the pills were sent to Health Canada’s Drug Analysis Service for testing and officials confirmed to Global News Tuesday it was the first time drugs submitted by Ontario police tested positive for carfentanil, which is 100 times more toxic than fentanyl and 10,000 times more toxic than morphine.

“Obviously the wave of fentanyl has been moving into Ontario from Western Canada,” Waterloo Police Chief Brian Larkin told Global News Tuesday.

“This is a significant public health issue, not only in the region of Waterloo but coming to the province of Ontario and it’s time for immediate action.”

The Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy issued an overdose alert Monday night after confirming with Health Canada the drug had been discovered in Ontario.

“There should be no surprise that the bootleg fentanyls have landed in Ontario and no surprise that carfentanil has arrived,” said Michael Parkinson, a drug strategy specialist with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council.

“We know that Ontario is not an island and we are not immune from what’s happening in our neighbouring provinces and U.S. states.”

Just 20 micrograms of carfentanil, the equivalent of a single grain of salt, could potentially be fatal. Parkinson said the drug is not intended for human consumption — but is instead used to sedate large animals such as elephants.

Dr. David Juurlink, head of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, said that tiny dose “could kill even a seasoned opioid user.”

“If you’re taking a tablet with several grains of salt worth of carfentanil in it, I think death is a virtual certainty,” he told Global News.

“I think the biggest worry with carfentanil is that people who are using opioids don’t realize they’re getting it.”

Juurlink said drug users might think they’re buying OxyContin or heroin, but could actually be getting a drug laced with carfentanil and are “quite likely to die” unless they have immediate access to medical attention.

“We had many years to prepare for this moment but what concerns many across Ontario is the tepid response from senior orders of government and agencies,” Parkinson said. “And it’s particularly concerning when you have weapons-grade opioids like carfentanil floating around in your community.”

“We know from Ohio and from experiences in Winnipeg, Alberta and British Columbia that carefentanil is a deadly killer, that people consuming it will be unaware of its presence and it has all the potential to overwhelm communities, first responders and hospital emergency departments.”

Police said the pills are not manufactured in controlled laboratory conditions, so it would be impossible for a drug user to determine if the doses were fatal.

The pills are imprinted with a “CDN” on one side and an “80” on the reverse and investigators said similar tablets had been seized in Western Canada that had contained fentanyl, which sparked the decision by Waterloo police to test the samples.

“One of the challenges of carfentanil and fentanyl is that it can’t be detected by sight, smell or taste. We don’t have the drug kits that provide the testing and frankly it’s not safe for us to test,” Larkin said, adding that even drug traffickers were warning drug users of the potency of the drug.

“We’re not going to arrest our way out of this. We need a larger public health strategy to manage opioid substance abuse, detox and rehabilitation treatment.”

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins announced a new provincial opioid strategy in October to combat the increasing number of opioid-related overdoses and deaths.

“One of the challenges, I think in policing as well, is that we don’t really have a good handle, and didn’t have a good handle, on the magnitude of the problem,” Larkin said

He added since October, police in Waterloo Region have seen an increase in “bootleg fentanyl” — something that is not addressed in the provincial opioid strategy.

“I’m confident that moving forward we’ll see a much larger, broader strategy … We do have to exercise some patience. That being said, there’s a sense of urgency around some immediate changes that are required.”

Larkin said the fact that the Chief Coroner for Ontario joined the Ontario Chiefs of Police last week at a training symposium for more than 450 officers on the dangers of fentanyl, signalled a “directional change” in the province on the issue.

“I think we’re getting a better handle on it, I think we’re getting a better understanding and obviously detecting carfentanil in Ontario again in my view is another game changer,” he said.

“It’s a reminder to all of us that we have a significant challenge ahead of us and we can’t sit on our hands and we can’t sit and rest on our laurels — we’ve got to go into action mode and we need to ensure that because the reality is that this is about public lives.”

“There are people who are dying, there are people that are facing significant health issues through overdoses and we need to take action.”

adam.miller@globalnews.ca
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carfentanil-alert

Gord Downie breaks down at emotional First Nations ceremony

The Assembly of First Nations honoured Canadian artist and Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie Tuesday in Gatineau, Que. for his work on Reconciliation.

In September, Downie released a graphic novel, music album and movie combo, The Secret Path, which tells the story of 12-year-old Ojibway boy, Chanie Wenjack, who died from hunger and exposure trying to escape from a residential school near Kenora, Ont. With The Secret Path, Downie aims to educate Canadians about Wenjack’s story and residential schools.

The Assembly gave Downie a star blanket and he participated in a naming ceremony; he was given the name Wicapi Omani, which means “walks with the stars” in the Lakota language. He was also presented with a specially commissioned painting and an eagle feather in front of the Chiefs-in-Assembly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and members of the Downie family.

The blanket is traditionally wrapped around the recipient to convey warmth and to protect its wearer from loneliness, and it is considered a very high honour. Chiefs from across Canada have gathered for three days of meetings to discuss issues including resource development, the aboriginal youth suicide crisis and missing and murdered indigenous women.

“Gord Downie is shining a light on the inequality experienced by indigenous peoples,” said National Chief Bellegarde. “Today, we lift up and honour Gord Downie, whose words and music have introduced millions of Canadians to the story of Chanie Wenjack, a young boy who has come to represent the thousands of children subjected to the Residential Schools system, just one of the many who was taken from his family never to see them again.”

“Gord’s devotion to sharing Chanie’s story with Canadians will help to open eyes to a tragic history and light the way to a brighter and more just future for our peoples. First Nations are gathered here under the theme ‘Advancing Reconciliation,’ and that’s exactly what Gord is doing through his work.”

Downie is currently touring for The Secret Path. Proceeds from the album and graphic novel will be donated to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.

Earlier in the day, Bellegarde called on indigenous people to take the lead in the fight against climate change — an issue sure to dominate the agenda for a first ministers gathering later this week in Ottawa.

Watch the emotional video at the top of the article.

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December 29, 2016

December 24, 2016

December 18, 2016

1. Healthy berry trifle

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

2. Raw Christmas pudding

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

3. Healthy chocolate mousse

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

4. Coconut and raspberry delights

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

5. Raw cashew and chia protein bites

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

December 17, 2016

1. Chocolate chip banana bread

2. One bowl nutella banana bread

3. Chai spiced banana bread

4. Buckwheat banana bread with poached quinces and mascarpone

December 15, 2016

December 13, 2016

December 12, 2016

December 11, 2016

December 7, 2016