A Nutritionista's Guide to Gift Giving!

'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas; soon the bells will start, and the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing right within your heart.'

With just over a week to Christmas, malls are chaotic, line-ups are long, parking lots are full and last minute shoppers are searching for gifts for their loved ones.

Here are a few of my favourite gifts ideas...

For the Love of Chocolate: Purdy's Hedgehogs; milk chocolate, dark chocolate or sugar free.

Vampires & Werewolves: Twilight books and accessories for the Twilight enthusiast. For fans of the paranormal who need time off from Edward and Jacob My Soul To Take is a Harlequin must read.

Tea Please: The Tea Leaf for classic favourites and David's Tea for tasty twists.

Discovering TO: Toronto has a lot to offer! Give gift cards to the Ontario Science Centre, ROM, Bata Shoe Museum and AGO.

Canadian Pride: Support our athletes by giving the gift of Olympic apparel. My favourites: Full Zip Hoodie and Torchbearer Mittens.

Positivity goes a long way: Inspirational coasters, The Secret and Louise Hay help recharge positive vibes on days where positivity is hard to find.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!: For those that love to workout or those who want to try something new how about a Hot Yoga gift certificate? Moksha Yoga has locations all over the city.

Pages of Memories: Scrapbooks are fun to make and great to get.

Good Luck & Happy Shopping!

Stay Healthy!

A testament to good nutrition...

On Friday during a trip to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) to see the much anticipated Vanity Fair exhibit...

For insight into our ROM visit check out: Not a Model

I started to feel sick and, shortly after, the sniffles began. By the time I got home my sniffles turned into a fever that included sneezing, watery eyes and a runny nose. With a week from hell in short sight I needed to kill this intruder. I needed to get ready for Monday!

I made my plan of action! This was war. This uninvited intruder was going down!

My action plan:

(1) Water, Water, Water; to flush out those germs!

(2) Mom's warm soup made with LOVE...

(3) Lots of tea (Earl Grey, Camomile, Peppermint, Lemon Thriller  and Gingerbread Spice) + Honey in my favourite m&m mug; for a feeling of warmth & comfort!

(4) COLD-FX to help reduce the symptoms and boost the immune system.

(5) Oil of Oregano to strengthen the immune system and help kill intruders!

(6) A box of ultra kleenex with a beach view; a "mood enhancer."

(7) DayQuil and NyQuil to deal with the fever and knock me out in the evening!

(8) My laptop; A 'sick day' doesn't exist in the world of PR...

          

At this point I'm sure a lot of you are thinking: DayQuil & NyQuil!??!?! That's not very HOLISTIC of you!??!?!

Here's my response and an add on to my intro blog...

I'm an RHN with a twist! Meaning: I believe that you need to pick your battles. Pick the better of the two evils. I'm not perfect, but I thrive for optimal health and I'm realistic about it.

I was really sick, I had a high fever and could not sleep... Remember, This was WAR!

I needed to be:

well, functioning and ready for Monday = the choice made

That evening I drank lots of water and tea. Whenever hungry, I had mom's 'get well' soup and I went through two 'beachy' boxes of ultra kleenex. I spent the night working away on my laptop and answering the calls from my mom who wanted to make sure I was still alive and that what I had was NOT H1N1.

The next morning, I woke up:

(1) ALIVE!!!

(2) Without my 'sickly' symptoms!!!

I won the battle...

I may not be a full 24/7 Health Guru that sticks to every nutrition rule that exists, but I do watch what I eat and try to incorporate good nutrition into my life.

I believe that this lifestyle is what helped me fight this cold and get over the horrible symptoms quickly...

I feel better today and I'm ready for tomorrow; No sick day needed!  

Stay Healthy!