Community News
Book Club: Furiously Happy   

A Funny Book About Horrible Things

Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best. Furiously happy is a book about embracing everything that makes us who we are – the beautiful and the flawed – and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. Maybe crazy isn’t so bad after all!

Jenny Lawson, www.thebloggess.com

The Importance of Alkalizing

To be at its absolute healthiest, your body needs to be in an alkaline state. Your cells and immune system all work better in a slightly alkaline environment. In an acidic state, your systems do not work as efficiently as they should. To prevent disease, including cancer, you want to aim at maintaining a PH balance of 7.365. To avoid becoming acidic make sure you are getting enough sleep, reducing your stress levels, being conscious of taking deep breaths rather than shallow short breaths, and avoid chemicals and toxins in your foods and products. Choose 100% Organic and chemical free alternatives wherever possible, and look at supplementing your nutrition with Alkalized products.  Be sure to test yourself and your family regularly to keep your immune system functioning at its best!

Angel Balichowski, www.theorganicmommy.com

Clean Eating: Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower is a great low-carb substitute for crusts, breads, and more! Here’s the cauliflower pizza crust recipe everyone is buzzing about!

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

½ cup shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup grated parmesan

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp garlic powder

2 eggs lightly beaten

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Break cauliflower into florets and pulse in food processor until fine. Steam cauliflower and drain well. In a bowl, combine with all ingredients. Transfer to baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Add your favorite pizza toppings and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Family Endorsement 

Care At Home Pharmacy is the epitome of what is needed today to help seniors remain in the comfort of their home and have quality care come to them. My parents have greatly benefited from “visiting pharmacist” Yolanda Yeung’s involvement. She initially developed a medical profile for each of them and made recommendations to their doctor regarding medication changes. She pays weekly visits to my parents’ home to monitor their progress and well-being and readily provides their prescriptions and any other pharmaceutical needs as recommended by their doctor. I am my parents’ primary caregiver but do not live in the city so Yolanda and I communicate by email. She also regularly communicates and collaborates with the doctor and nursing service involved with my parents’ care. It just doesn’t get any better than that in my view!

Daughter – Lorna, www.careathomepharmacy.ca

Finally the Perfect Pair! 

Perfect Pairs features Ultra Premium Olive oils. The UP standard is reserved for the finest extra virgin olive oils in the world, as such, the UP grade exceeds all existing European, Italian, Spanish, Greek, North American, Californian, or any other standard for the grade known as extra virgin olive oil. In order to qualify for the UP grade, the extra virgin olive oil must meet or exceed a comprehensive set of Production, Storage, Transportation, Testing, Chemistry, and Organoleptic requirements as set forth in the following document. Instead of placing an overemphasis on what is less important to the detriment of the most critical factors (Chemistry and Freshness), the UP program is intended to reward farmers for producing high quality oil.

Giselle Riegel, www.perfectpairs.ca

Credit Card Debt Help

Credit cards are a helpful tool when used carefully. However, if your credit cards are maxed out and payments are straining your budget, it may be time to seek credit card debt help.

Here are four things you can do today to get your credit under control:

Make a Plan

A debt reduction plan is the perfect starting point. Start by determining how much you owe and how much your payments add up to each month. Examine your budget and adjust your spending to make cash available for debt elimination. Take extra time to analyze your spending habits. Trips to the ATM, overspending on groceries or other necessities, and too many shopping trips can sabotage the healthiest budget. Once you know where your money is going and when it’s coming in, set realistic credit card payoff goals. Add “debt reduction” to your new budget and redirect spending so that you can reach your goals. You can also use online debt reduction calculators to set deadlines and make a timetable.

Nix New Debt

While you work to pay off credit card debt, it’s best to stop using your cards. It can be hard to stash credit cards that have been your go-to source of extra cash, but putting them away speeds up the payoff process.

Here are some creative ways to keep your cards out of service:

  • Fill a small bowl with water, drop your cards in, and freeze them.
  • Delete credit card numbers from online shopping sites.
  • Remove your cards from your purse or wallet.
  • Cover the magnetic strip with duct tape.

If these tricks won’t keep you from using your cards, think about cutting them up. You can always ask for new ones when your credit cards are paid off.

Avoid the Minimum Payment Trap

There’s a reason many credit card companies put a low payment warning on your statement each month. The high interest rates associated with most cards, multiplied by the time it takes to pay off your balance, equals a huge interest charge. For example, if you have a credit card with a balance of $3,000 and a 21% interest rate, by making the minimum payment of $60 each month it will take you a little over 10 years to pay off your balance. During this time, you’ll end up paying approximately $7,200.00 in interest charges.

If you’re curious about how much your cards are costing you, search for payoff calculators on the internet. Adding just $5 to your minimum payment can save you money and time.

Get Professional Help if Needed

Juggling credit card payments, missing payments, and using one credit card to pay another are signs that you need credit card debt help. Don’t wait to seek professional advice—by acting quickly you can avoid damage to your credit rating and start working on a plan to get your debt under control.

A bankruptcy trustee can be a good advisor if your debts have become unmanageable. Trustees can help you determine which solution is the best fit for your situation. They can also refer you to other financial advisors who can help.

Kim Powell, Client Services Manager, LCTaylor Trustees in Bankruptcy
www.lctaylor.com

Why a Diabetes Educator? 

Diabetes is a complex disease that affects many organs in the body. More than 50% of people who are newly diagnosed have signs of irreversible long-term complications: vision loss, kidney damage, nerve pain, erectile dysfunction, loss of sensation in hands and feet and gastrointestinal complaints. A Diabetes Educator has special training to assist those who are diagnosed with pre-diabetes, the newly diagnosed, and people with longstanding diabetes to self-manage. A Diabetes Educator is equipped with skills and knowledge to identify barriers to optimal blood sugar control that are different for each person and tailor a plan to suit each person’s needs in one-on-one and step-by-step fashion. After a few sessions you will be confident to self-manage and achieve your blood sugar targets. People say they feel better and have more energy even with marginal improvement of blood sugar control. Delay the progression of diabetes complications, not diabetes education!

Mathilda Prinsloo, B Pharm CGP CDE, www.seniorcarepractice.com

10-Point Risk Assessment 

When do you know it’s time to get a medical alert system in your home? Take this short assessment to find out! If you answer “yes” to most of these, maybe it’s time to consider one!  Are you over the age of 55? Do you live alone? Do you lead an active lifestyle? Do you use a cane, walker or devices to assist you in walking? In the past year, have you fallen or been at risk of falling inside or outside the home? Do you take daily medication? Have you been hospitalized in the past 3 years? Do you sometimes feel weak or dizzy? In the past 12 months, have you been concerned about falling in the home? Is it important for you to continue living independently? With a medical alert unit, you can have peace of mind knowing that at any time, 24 hours a day 7 days a week, help is available at the push of a button.

www.lifeassure.com

Medication Reviews

Most people are aware that prescription medications can interact with each other, sometimes causing adverse side effects. However, over the counter products such as vitamins or herbal products can also interact with prescription medications – these interactions can potentially change the effectiveness of the drug and lead to harm, such as a fall. This in turn can lead to an emergency room visit or hospital stay. If you are on prescription drugs, it is important to have a discussion with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any over the counter products to ensure you are taking the right products at the right times. A pharmacist can also conduct a full medication review with all your prescription and over the counter products and advise you on safe medication use. If you are on a complex medication regime, a visiting pharmacist can help you monitor the effects of your medication in the comfort of your home.

Care At Home Pharmacy, www.careathomepharmacy.ca

Garcinia Cambogia Fruit

An incredibly efficient fat burning ingredient, Garcinia Cambogia has received much media attention for it’s effect on weight loss and food consumption control. This pure ingredient is 100% natural; it is sometimes referred to as Tamarind, and it grows primarily in the lush green mountains of India, southeast Asia as well as in Central Africa. Its primary ingredient is the dietary super supplement known as HCA, which is proven in scientific studies to stop hunger in its tracks. The tamarind fruit has traditionally been used in soups as appetizers before meals, because of the smaller portion sizes due to limited amount of food. It’s appetite suppression qualities helped make villagers feel more full (satiety) and the fruit would increase the workers’ fat burning skills (thermogenesis) providing an increase in energy and productivity.

Greg and Bridget Doll, www.myvalentus.com/lakewinnipeg

The Magic Bean Sprout

Did you know that Mung Bean Sprouts contain EVERY vitamin known to man? These delicious home-grown sprouts are packed so full of nutrients that they can actually be considered natural supplements. Kids love watching them grow, and even more, they love the fresh garden taste. Mung beans produce an edible sprout that’s crisp and nutty tasting. These sprouts are substantial enough to stand-up to stir-frying, but they’re often used raw in salads and on sandwiches. Because of their high nutrient density, mung bean sprouts are useful in defending against several chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. While mung beans may be new to some people in Canada, they’ve been a part of traditional Ayurvedic diets in India for thousands of years. Mung beans are considered one of the most cherished foods in the ancient Indian practice. Don’t just take our word for it – try sprouting today!

Rick, www.scoopandsave.com