Bringing a little Aloha to the Breakfast Table

Well, its been almost a week since we hosted our friends to a tropical brunch and I think I've finally digested all the delicious food we ate that morning!

Derek and I were in Maui in November & we went out for breakfast at the Kihei Cafe one morning.  I have a weakness for always trying the local or house speciality, and so I ordered the "Loco Moco", a uniquely Hawaiian breakfast.  Imagine a mound of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg (I actually got my egg poached to make it healthy - haha!!!) and then smothered in gravy.  Now imagine what my arteries looked like after I ate that!

The rest of the menu featured all sorts of yummy Hawaiian influenced treats - banana macadamia french toast, coconut pancakes, tropical fruit salad and the like.  I was struck the inspiration to host a tropical inspired brunch in the middle of a grey Squamish winter, to help lift us out of the winter dull-drums.

We invited a group of old friends up to Squamish and I got to work perusing my cookbook collection for brunch dishes that made me dream of beaches and sunny weather.  Here's the menu I came up with:

Huevos Rancheros (CBC #5 from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)
Coconut Pancakes (CBC #6 from Bill's Open Kitchen)
Pineapple and Coconut Muffins with Ginger (CBC #7 from Sunlight Cafe - a great breakfast/brunch cookbook from the Moosewood collection)
Pineapple loaf & Banana Macadamia bread (both brought home from Maui)
Lime & Mango Yoghurt, Coconut Yoghurt
Tropical Fruit Salad
Bacon & Breakfast Sausage (no brunch would be complete without!)

CBC #5: Huevos Rancheros from this great book I got for Christmas.  I particularly loved this recipe as it was easy to make for a big group and didn't require me standing over a hot stove turning out one egg at a time.

And the Huevos were muy deliciosos!

CBC #6: Coconut Pancakes
Bill Granger is an Australian chef and this book is full of warm-weather meals inspired by the land down-under.

The coconut pancakes were light, fluffy and delicious!

CBC #7: Pineapple Coconut Muffins
If you love brunch, you must get this book!

The gang digs in!

Brunch with Aloha Spirit!

The rest of the weekend was relaxing and enjoyable.  Our tropical meal had a positive influence on the weather; we went from grey and rainy on Saturday to bright and sunny on Sunday.

I went for a very lovely walk on the Four Lakes Trail at Alice Lake.  As is my (bad) habit, I went out for too long and my walk turned into a waddle!

In Squamish we have a wonderful Farmer's Market with local produce, baked goods, and crafts.  In the winter they move indoors to the Railway Museum.  I'd never been to the museum or the winter market, so I checked it out on Sunday.  It was really nice!  The venue is very cool with tons of natural light & some old railcars sitting in the middle of the room.  The market itself is always a popular community gathering spot, so its a great place to catch up with people and hang-out.

Squamish Winter Market at the West Coast Railway Museum

Sunday I attended my first prenatal yoga class.  It was harder than I expected, but I enjoyed it.  It was nice to meet a few other expectant moms.

Belly shot of the week: on my way to prenatal yoga at 29 weeks.
Mini Zambo in the foreground.

Finally we ended the weekend with a delicious meal and Cook Book Challenge # 8.  This meal is getting some bad press over at my mom's blog Wipe Your Paws, but I'm here to tell you that its yummy!

After a Sunday of hiking, market-going, yoga and cooking, I literally collapsed!  I'm no longer the energizer bunny I always thought I was.  This weekend I'll make sure to chill out more!

Cookbook Challenge # 8: Fancy Mac & Cheese from "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" by Ree Drummond

I had never heard of the Pioneer Woman until I got this book as a wedding gift.  After the wedding we left most of the gifts at my parent's house in Victoria while we did a little road trip.  Prior to leaving, my mom convinced me to open up this gift, which was given to me by her very good friend Lolo.  After I left, mom wasted no time cracking open the book and giving it a little "test run" (or two... or three!)  Talk about shameless!!

Now I am very familiar with the Pioneer Woman as I read her blog and have 2 of her books.  Her style of writing is funny and familiar & with lots of pictures to look at, her recipes are easy to follow.  She is not afraid to use fatty goodness in her food.  In fact, I think she might be afraid not to.  The fancy mac & cheese is a perfect example.    But how can you go wrong when butter, whole milk, cream, and 4 varieties of cheese meet to make a white sauce?  Fancy it up with a some fried onions, roasted mushies and bacon and as she says: "This is the stuff love handles are made of!"

I say "YUM!"

Derek shows his approval

Derek enjoys some Fancy Mac & Cheese while soaking the nuisance toe

But don't take our word for it:  Thanks to the Pioneer Woman's super fun blog, you can make it for yourself.  Check it out: The Pioneer Woman's Fancy Mac & Cheese

The Goldilock's syndrome (how to be "just right")

My belly continues to grow, seemingly by the day!  Baby Rufus is a very busy little one; he/she is constantly rolling about, kicking and having a dance party.  Its a pretty surreal feeling to have all this action happening inside.  Most of the time I love it & it makes me feel even more excited and connected to Rufus.  I'm less thrilled when my bladder is being used as a trampoline, but thats all part of the package!

I was warned that I would start to have my belly rubbed & touched by strangers.  I do get the odd belly rub here & there, but no stranger has been bold enough, thank goodness.  I don't wear this shirt out of the house, as it would clearly invite belly-molestation.

Channelling Buddha, week 23

One thing that does surprise me somewhat is that people I don't know will not hesitate to tell me what they think of my size.  I've been told that I am too big and that I am too small.  The other day someone marvelled that I am "so much bigger than Kate (Middleton)", despite the fact that by rough calculations, she is due approximately 6-8 weeks after me!  I don't mind the comments because I feel good, am keeping active & my doctor is happy with the way things are going... but I find it surprising nevertheless.  When else do virtual strangers feel its OK to pass comment on your body?

I am a big proponent of staying active while pregnant, as all of my pregnant patients know.  The benefits to mom and baby are irrefutable.  There is even some evidence that the maintenance of a healthy weight in pregnancy can reduce the risk of the baby developing diabetes when he or she is an adult!  Talk about long-term benefits to avoiding the jelly doughnut that's calling out!  

There are a lot of misconceptions about being active in pregnancy, but the experts agree that regular moderate exercise through the entire pregnancy is a good thing.  A few years ago there was a well-publicized story about a woman who completed the Chicago Marathon just days before her due date and went on to start labour a few hours after she finished.  According to the reports, this was a woman who was fit and active before her pregnancy and who undertook her training and running with the guidance (and permission) of her medical professionals.  From the side-lines, she received cheers & encouragement, but also had people tell her that she was "killing her baby!"  Hers is an extreme example - the average woman is not going to be marathon-fit at 39 weeks gestation, but if woman exercises within the limits and guidelines recommended by her doctor, then even a marathon can be safe for mom and baby.

I dreamed of running through my entire pregnancy, but my body only allowed me to go to about 24 weeks.  But there are still lots of options out there, and I'm actually starting to enjoy swimming!  For me its not just about the health benefits, but it also feels good to keep active.  Also, I figure since I am preaching to my patients about exercising, I should probably "walk the talk"!

Running at 23 weeks

Spinning at 27 weeks

What does scare me is the media attention on the celebrity moms & the nit-picking of their pregnant and post-delivery bodies.  Every pound they gain is flashed across the pages of magazines and everyone has an opinion as to the appropriateness of their weight.  When they remain stick-thin throughout or sport a bikini 2 weeks after delivery they get celebrated for looking so good & so sexy.  I'm all for keeping active & healthy, but this type of attention on the "sexiness" of skinny celebrity moms only contributes to the growing problem of distorted body self-image.  There is even a term for the increasing and worrisome trend of pregnant women dieting and exercising aggressively to avoid weight gain: pregnorexia. 

I personally will be interested to watch the media attention on Kate Middleton as she starts to advance through her pregnancy.  (Although, in an ideal world, I wish for the sake of celebrities that they didn't have to live their life out in the public eye, but that's not going to change anytime soon!)  She has always had an intense spot-light on her weight, and this will only increase as she starts to grow her belly.  One supposes that she is a woman who will have top-notch maternity care & it seems likely that she will gain the recommended amount of weight.  Am I being too optimistic when I hope that the media portraits her as a healthy and reasonable pregnant woman, & doesn't focus on that fact that she's "too thin" or "too fat"?  We shall soon see!

Belly shot of the week: 28 weeks.
Too big?  Too small?  Just right!

Another hard-core centenarian

In a quick follow-up to my blog posting from yesterday, I thought I'd share this story.  I'm sure many of you remember Fauja Singh, who completed the Toronto Marathon in 2011 at age 100.  How awesome is that?  He was denied a Guiness World record as he couldn't produce a birth certificate.  This weekend he'll be hanging up his running shoes after his last race, a 10km in Hong Kong.  Good luck Mr Singh!

CBC article: 101 year old marathoner

104 years young

After visiting Briana & Ted in Toronto, I continued my winter vacation in Winnipeg.  February is a time for annual celebration in Derek's family as his Grandfather Jaring has his birthday on February 11. Jaring turned 104 this year.

Happy Birthday Jaring!

Derek & Jaring

To say that Jaring is a remarkable man would be a huge understatement.  The first time I met Jaring he was 98 and I thought for sure someone had made a mistake - he was fitter, stronger, and sharper than most 80 year olds I've met!  He was working on a Saturday edition of the New York Times Crossword puzzle!  In my line of work, I see a full spectrum of people of all shapes, sizes and ages, and I'm telling you - Jaring is truly amazing!  How many 104 year old swimming champions do you know?  Jaring holds multiple master's swimming world records, even though he didn't start swimming competitively until he was 78!

 In the master's, you compete against historical records, and when he turned 100, he was eligible to swim for the 100-104 records.  In 2009 we went out to Winnipeg to cheer him on.

Pre-race visualization.  Look at that focus!

I felt very lucky to be a part of the birthday celebration & the swim competition.  Much of Derek's family lives in Winnipeg & it was fantastic to meet them all & to see how much everyone draws strength & inspiration from Jaring.

On the starting block at Pan-Am Pool.  

Swimming for the record

That weekend he swam to world record times in 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 50m backstroke.  3 world records in 1 day!

Other than Jaring, I have met a small number of centenarians through work.  Whenever we have a patient in their late 90s or over 100 come in to the office or hospital, nurses and doctors alike say the same things: "Can you believe this woman is 104 and she is so with it?", "Can you believe that this 98 year old man lives independently?", "I can't believe this patient is 100 years old and takes no medications!!!"  I don't believe that these are coincidences at all - whether its genes, healthy lifestyle or a combination - you don't get to your 90s & 100s unless you are healthy, both mentally & physically.

Jaring has developed an acronym to share the secret of his longevity: GEDS.   GEDS stands for Genes, Exercise, Diet and Spirit.  Well, we can't do much about the genetic lot we are given, but having a healthy lifestyle with good exercise, balanced diet and positive spirit is something that we all can and should do.  At work I am often sitting across from patients who are looking for prescriptions as easy solutions to their problems, when what they really need is a change in lifestyle.  It sounds simple, but when we look after our minds and our bodies with healthy choices, we reduce our risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, cancer, depression, anxiety and we live longer, happier lives.  It sounds simple, because at the root of it, it is simple!!  We may not live to see 104, but every small choice we make about the way we treat our body has enormous impact on our health and longevity.

It doesn't mean you can't have a giant piece of delicious ice cream cake on your birthday....

Mmmm.... birthday cake!

Jaring at his 100th Birthday, sharing the secret of GEDS with us

I am inspired by Jaring and think most people who meet him feel the same way.  I wish I could bottle up some of the joie de vivre that he inspires and use it to motivate positive change in some of my patients.  For now, I will just hope that sharing his story & trying to keep healthy myself will help!

Happy 104th Birthday, Jaring, and we can't wait to see you back in the pool going for the 105+ records!

Skiing the blues

This past weekend we had a few days of sunny warm weather & I took the opportunity to head up skiing for my last day of the season.

We enjoyed some great powder days in Dec, but increasing belly-size lead me to the groomers!

 Its sad to say good-bye to the season in early February, but my body started to rebel against my efforts.  Baby, on the other hand, is loving it!  I get all sorts of kicks while I ski & I'm pretty sure he/she is having an awesome time in there.

Belly shot on my first ski day, around 16 wks

Belly shot on my last ski day, 25 wks

We had great company for our ski day: Chris, Louise and Gail.  All are new moms & they are still rippin' up the slopes, so I know I'll still get some great runs in next season too!

Moms & mom-to-be dropping into the glacier

Saturday Derek & I enjoyed brunch at home & the weather was gorgeous again. Derek ventured out for a bike ride & I decide to go for a hike through Coho Park to the Covenant.   The Covenant is a new-ish mountain bike trail.  I've biked it once or twice & didn't find I could get much flow on it, but its a very favourite running trail for me.  Alas, running is also off limits for me these days, as my pelvic symphysis ligament was threatening to abandon me if kept it up.  So I tried hiking it instead.

The Covenant.  Gorgeous trail for biking, running & walking in Squamish.  Features 2 waterfalls!

The walk/hike was fantastic, but possibly a bit too long for me.  One of the challenges I've been having in this pregnancy is actually admitting that I may have some limitations.  Its easy to get use to our bodies behaving the way we want them too, and its hard to accept that I can't keep running, skiing, hiking and all the other things I love to do.  But I am trying my hardest to embrace the joys of swimming, spinning and slow-walking!

It looks like I may have some company in the pool soon; Derek's ride resulted in a broken big toe, so he's a little laid up at the moment.  I would include a photo here, but I am afraid my filter for medical things is not well-calibrated.  Its hard for me to tell if something is gross or not, because very little is to me!

The last adventure of the weekend was buying some maternity clothes.  I've resisted until now, convinced that I could fit into my regular skirts and dresses.  Throw in a "belly band" and I figured my pants could see me through as well.  It turns out I underestimated my belly in a big way & the need for elastic waist-bands was getting critical.  I put on my first pair of those crazy pants with the huge bib in front & breathed a sigh of relief!!  Actually, it may have just been a normal breath, my first in several weeks.  Why did I wait so long?!?

Belly-shot of the week: 25 weeks & 3 days.
Rocking my first official maternity outfit!