Community News
Assessing our Relationships

There comes a time in our lives when we are in need of evaluating our relationships to assess what life is giving and serving us and what is no longer meeting our needs and holding us back. It is important to distinguish between unfinished resentments that need to be expressed and cleared in order to open up communication and ease between friends, versus getting stuck in old entrenched patterns that have nowhere to go and keep being played out. One of the biggest gifts we can give ourselves is surrounding our lives with loving and kind people. Creating an inventory of who is in your life, where you are spending your time and how enriched you are feeling is valuable information. Sometimes a person comes into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime, and we don’t always know their purpose in advance!

D’Arcy Bruning-Haid, www.souls-journey.com

Who Should You Know Better Than Anyone Else?

Have you ever met a celebrity? How many family and friends do you know on a personal level? Whose advice do you take over anyone else’s? Now here’s a good one for you – do you know yourself? Often, we are so focused on work, family, friends and daily distractions that we have never taken the time to get to know ourselves. As an example, I was so busy trying to be the best at everything and become an all-star at life, that for years I ignored myself and the aspects of me that needed TLC, growth, and attention – until my health and happiness reached an all-time low. Then I got to know myself in a hurry! In order to prevent problems from arising OR to dig yourself out of them – I highly recommend that you connect and listen to… You. It may be surprising what you can resolve for yourself.

Shannon Russell, BodyMind Freedom Solutions, www.thedashmethod.com

Ask The Expert: RRSP’s

What is my RRSP invested in? A. Your RRSP can hold a wide variety of investments, like mutual or segregated funds, stocks, GICs, bonds and even mortgages. There is no one-size fits-all plan, so your retirement savings should be customized to you and your goals. Are you a risk-taker with a long time horizon until retirement? Then your RRSP will likely hold very different investments than that of someone who’s only a year or two from drawing on their account. Q. Will I use my RRSPs before retirement? A. If you think you may tap into your RRSPs as part of the Lifelong Learning Program or Home Buyers’ Plan, that will impact your plan design. For starters, you should ask about fees or restrictions on withdrawing the funds. Secondly, if you withdraw any contributions made in the previous 89 days, you may lose the tax deduction. So be sure you leave your contributions invested long enough to maximize your RRSP benefit.

Thomas Johnson, Financial Advisor, Cascade Financial Group

Is Diabetes Preventable? Reversible?

Current medical ‘experts’ that treat diabetics and support organizations for diabetics claim that Type 2 diabetes can only be managed. They are ignoring the science that shows that the diet that allows humans to thrive is the diet that humans evolved eating. The current Standard American Diet is the root of most chronic health issues, including diabetes. People that permanently change their diet to one that supports their genetic heritage typically eliminate T2 diabetes or greatly reduce the effect of T1 diabetes. Do you want to continue on the path of ‘managing’ diabetes and accept the inevitable heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, amputation and neuropathy? Enlist the help of a Primal Health Coach to educate you on what steps to take to allow your body to heal and thrive.

Tom White, www.EndDiabetesManitoba.ca, www.becomeHEALTHY.ca

Float Your Way to Happiness

People generally have heard about floating by the terms “pods” or “tanks,” and start to feel claustrophobic. Float “Cabins” are different. Float Cabins come as large as four feet wide, eight feet long, and nearly seven feet high, and they are easily accessible easy to come out of with standard swing or sliding doors. Within each float cabin, 10 inches of water is infused with up with 1,000 pounds of dissolved Epsom salts, this makes the water extremely buoyant. With the option to remove light and sound, you experience the sensation of floating through space. Other options include the ability to play your own music and enjoy colour therapy as well. Floating regularly helps reduce physical and mental stresses on the body. The brain gives out alpha waves associated with meditation that allows the body to recover from stress and relax. Floatation therapy is a simple way to invest in your own health and happiness.

Fluid Float Studio, www.fluidfloat.com

Have You Tried Kefir?

Kefir is a unique cultured dairy product and one of the most probiotic-rich foods on the planet. Drinking Kefir has incredible medicinal benefits for your digestion and gut health. It’s tart and refreshing flavor is similar to a drinking-style yogurt, but it contains beneficial yeast as well as friendly probiotic bacteria found in yogurt. The naturally occurring bacteria and yeast in combine symbiotically to give superior health benefits when consumed regularly. It is loaded with valuable vitamins and minerals and contains easily digestible complete proteins. For the lactose intolerant, kefir’s abundance of beneficial yeast and bacteria provide lactase, an enzyme which consumes most of the lactose left after the culturing process. Drink up for benefits to your immune system, your bowels (see you later, IBS symptoms!), and your bones. It helps fight allergies, improves lactose digestion, supports detoxification, and even kills candida.

Disability Tax Credit, www.disabilitytaxcreditwinnipeg.com

Positive Mental Health is a Laughing Matter

While living with mental illness is no joke, laughing for positive mental and physical health seriously works. In fact, evidence supports the claim that a joyful heart provides a similar benefit to that of medicine. Although not considered a replacement for medical treatment, some doctors are using laughter as an adjunctive therapy. In the short and long term, laughter has been shown to, 1. Stimulate/boost the immune system; 2. Alleviate pain; 3. Reduce anxiety and stress; 4. Reduce depression; and, 5. Promote a sense of hopefulness. What if you don’t feel like laughing? No problem, fake it until you make it. Physiologically speaking, for the most part, your body doesn’t know the difference. And, faking it often leads to the real thing which may be exactly the health supplement you need to get to the positive side of negative circumstances.

Sean Miller, Canadian Mental Health Association, mbwpg.cmha.ca

Book Club: Big Magic Creative Living Beyond Fear!

Empowering author Elizabeth Gilbert asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

Did You Know?

Blue corn has been popping up as an ingredient everywhere from tortilla chips to breakfast cereal. New research suggests that anthocyanins, the nutrients that give the corn its blue color, may help protect against metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer!

www.newhope.com

Clean Eating: Spaghetti Squash “Mac ‘n’ Cheese”

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash

3 tbsp coconut oil

3 tbsp spelt flour

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp onion or garlic powder

pinch ground black pepper

1 cup (4 oz) any hard cheese, shredded.

Red pepper flakes, to taste. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Wash squash, cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds with a spoon. Place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 40-50 minutes. Let cool and separate into strands with a fork. Preheat medium pot on low-medium heat and melt oil. Whisk in flour and milk until smooth. Add salt, onion powder and pepper; whisk and let simmer for about 4 minutes or until sauce has slightly thickened. Add cheese and whisk again until smooth. Add squash and mix gently with a spoon to combine. Cover and let squash warm through for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

www.ifoodreal.com

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Also known as a weekly farm box program,  CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) are an excellent way for you to become better connected to a local farm. Your produce will never be fresher than when it’s harvested and directly received by you, with minimal transportation. This allows your food to maintain its high nutrient content. CSA’s help farmers to plan their seasons; to know how many people he/she will be growing for therefore help define crop production; and make important early investments in infrastructure and maintenance. When buying a share of a farm’s crop you can expect the varieties of produce to be seasonally oriented, the way people throughout history have always eaten. Becoming a member is easy and rewarding. Simply purchase a share from the farmer, and as the growing season begins come down to the farm or pick up location each week to receive your bountiful basket of fresh farm goods.

Brian Prince, Farmer
princeacrescsa.com