• Back To School - parenting

    Five Children’s Fall Essentials

    August 29, 2014 - By 

    This is a post by My Contributor Bonnie Way, mom of three girls under six years old, living in BC. September can feel more like a new year than January, as a friend of mine recently mentioned. Summer is over and for many kids (and even parents!), school is starting again. It is a good time to catch sales on new clothes, school supplies, and other fall essentials. Here is what Iím making sure I have on hand as this new season begins. 1. Cups and bowls and spoons. As kids start preschool and school, it seems like there are…

  • butterscotch_pudding
    Back To School - Food - Giveaways

    Back to School Butterscotch Pudding #giveaway

    August 9, 2014 - By 

    Bring on the butterscotch pudding. By the end of September every parent around will be searching for new lunch ideas and snacks to pack in children’s lunches. It doesn’t take long to run out of ideas each school year. But this year I have a great butterscotch pudding snack I am happy to have found for the kid’s lunches. Puddin’ SqueeZ pudding on the go snacks that will clearly kick things up a notch. Let’s be honest. Back to School is not my favourite time of year. Reason number one: the fall signifies the start of the miserable weather slide that ends…

  • Food

    French Onion Soup Recipe #100FootJourney

    August 8, 2014 - By 

    I don’t know about you, but one of my favourite soup recipes is French onion. I frequently order French onion soup for lunch when I go out. Sometimes it is very good and sometimes it is disappointing when big chain restaurants attempt the recipe using small scraps of cheese and croutons. If I see French onion soup on the menu I have to try it at least once. It makes me think of home and childhood. French onion soup was my mother’s all time favourite soup. Funny how food can conjure up a feeling, emotion or memory. That’s precisely the…

  • Food

    The Hundred-Foot Journey Review – A Sumptuous Must See Summer Movie

    August 7, 2014 - By 

    The Hundred-Foot Journey is a real delight. This movie will steal your hearts and make you want to take your own parents to see the lovely story. Charlotte Le Bon, Helen Mirren and Manish Dayal in The Hundred-Foot Journey also starring Om Puri Last month I had the chance to preview the sweet, sensuous, film The Hundred-Foot Journey when I was in San Jose, California. It’s always a treat to see a film at the Blogher conference, but this one was unique and especially well told. The Hundred-Foot Journey is a story of culture and food, passion and love set…

  • Travel

    Vallarta Food Tours: Evening Taco Adventure

    July 10, 2014 - By 

    The beef cheek taco seizes your tastebuds and stops you in your tracks. You think: “Wow, I am eating beef cheek on the street in Puerto Vallarta and it is unimaginably tender and moist.” Who knew? But the beef cheek taco is just one surprise on the Vallarta Food Tours evening taco tour.       Surrender to the Experience These are things you learn when you surrender to the sense of adventure that travel brings:   1. Street meat can be magnificent. 2. The architecture in downtown Puerto Vallarta is regal and dignified. 3. It’s possible for a man…

  • Food - Health

    Turn Your Love of Healthy Foods into a Business You Will Love

    July 8, 2014 - By 

    Eating healthy for many mothers is a way of life. You may go out of your way to find all of the healthiest foods for you and your family to enjoy even if that means you will end up spending a little more on the groceries. Of course, a little planning can help frugal moms to find healthy foods the whole family will love for about $135 a week, according to the Mayo Clinic. The really good news is all the hard work you put into creating menus and buying groceries for your family can also turn into a full…

  • Food

    Four Five Minute Dempster’s Tortillas Lunch Ideas

    June 15, 2014 - By 

    Lunch ideas can be so challenging. Let’s face it – Lunch is often any Mom’s arch nemesis. I get bored with making lunch and the kids get bored with what I make for lunch. It’s a dull and never-ending story. But you can break the cycle. Here are a couple of easy lunch ideas to try when you’re stuck. Avoid Boring Lunches So what’s a busy parent to do? Well, I have a few ideas you can use to avoid lunch letdown. Start with a package of Dempster’s Tortillas and you can build a fast, flavourful hit that is sure to please everyone.…

  • Food

    Spring Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats

    April 21, 2014 - By 

    The best part of unleashing my kids in the kitchen is watching them get creative. Late last week we got an Easter shipment of Kellogg’s products and a suggestion that we might want to bake something fun. We brainstormed today after the kids spent a huge amount of the day playing outside, riding bikes, hanging out at the park and enjoying the weather. I suggested that for Easter we could make some treats shaped like eggs. So here’s what we came up with – Spring Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats.  My girls outdid me in creativity. Payton is sometimes a hoot…

  • Food

    Making Time for Breakfast Treats #strudelgram

    March 13, 2014 - By 

    This post has been sponsored which means I received compensation.  What does your breakfast routine look like? Are breakfast treats ever involved? Is that different on work and week days than it is on the weekends? Ours is typically pretty rushed but we do all make time to sit down together every day of the week. That’s something we have always valued and wanted to maintain. Some days that means we work hard to schedule that time in but it’s mostly natural here now. Family time starts at breakfast when we most eat healthy but small meals and race out…

  • Food

    Kale, Quinoa and Fresh Vegetable Superfood Beef Stew

    March 7, 2014 - By 

    This year’s endless winter has been a challenge. So too has our schedule. The kids are busier than ever with one in a big March break play that runs the entire week. Rehearsals three nights a week. Martial arts, swimming and work, plus SARI. Ouch. We are too busy to cook last minute so I have been using my crock pot like crazy. I am a big fan of stew and my crockpot makes it beautifully. This is what I am calling Superfood Beef Stew. My healthy year and my fitness plan for the whole family has us embracing some…