Did you know that the liver is responsible for over 500 functions?  This includes processing digested food from the intestine, controlling levels of fats, amino acids and glucose in the blood, neutralizing and destroying drugs and toxins, storing iron, vitamins and other essential chemicals, manufacturing, breaking down and regulating numerous hormones and making enzymes and proteins which are responsible for most chemical reactions in the body.¹

So, as you can see the liver has many tasks especially when we factor in consuming processed foods, environmental toxins, alcohol and prescription drugs, the liver is quite busy and these toxins can build up.

Every New Year and Spring I always hear people speak of liver detoxing, which most certainly can have its place but is not meant for every body.  Fortunately the body has its own natural detox process built in.  The liver and kidneys do a good job of processing chemicals and eliminating them in sweat, urine and feces.²  We can gently help to improve this process by consuming liver loving foods such as beets and apples.  Pectin, a fiber found in these beets and apples help clean the toxins that have been removed from the liver allowing them to be flushed out of the system instead of reabsorbed by the body.³

Try this delicious, fiber rich salad, it’s like giving your liver a hug!

Love Thy Liver Salad

Ingredients

1/4 raw beet, thinly sliced using mandolin or spiralizer 
1/2 apple, thinly sliced
2 cups baby spinach
2 tbsp walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp hemp seeds
goat cheese (optional)

Dressing

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
juice of 1/4 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Using mandolin or spiralizer (or you can use a vegetable peeler) thinly slice beet and set aside
2. Slice apple into thin slices
3. Assemble baby spinach onto 2 plates and top with beets, apple, walnuts, hemp seeds and dressing.  Add goat cheese if desired.

References
1. “A brief summary of the liver’s functions.”  British Liver Trust.  2011.  19 Feb 12.  <http://www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/home/the-liver/summary-of-the-livers-functions.aspx>
2. “Natural Liver Detox Diets (Liver Cleansing).”  WebMD.  2011.  19 Feb 12. <http://www.webmd.com/balance/natural-liver-detox-diets-liver-cleansing?page=2>
3. Nakauchi, Lenette. “Beets detoxify the liver.”  Natural News.  18 Jul 11.  19 Feb 12.  <http://www.naturalnews.com/033025_beets_liver_function.html>

Today is February 19, 2012.  This day may not be significant to you but it certainly is to me.  In exactly 6 months from today on August 19, 2012 I will turn 30 years old.  Maybe it doesn’t seem like a big deal but I have been hoping/fearing for this moment since I was a teenager.

When I was young(er) I thought 30 seemed so old, like I would have enough time to accomplish everything I wanted to accomplish and I’d have my sh*t together.  If I could go back and tell my 15 year old self anything it would be “don’t worry, everything works out as it should.”

The next 6 months are actually really exciting for me; aside from turning 30, I will graduate and become a Holistic Nutritionist.  It has been a long and exhausting year and a half since going back to school.  Many things have been put on the backburner, my time and energy are lacking and I’ve had to prioritize and give up things that I otherwise might have not.  Since going back to school I have truly found myself but have lost a part of myself along the way as well.

While trying to be a good model for everyone else, I don’t always feel like I’m the best role model for myself.  I’m not doing myself proud.  It’s true, I’m a bit (ok, a lot) of an anal-retentive perfectionist but I’ve never seen that as a character flaw, more like something I just have to keep in check. 

So what does all this mean?  Well in the next 6 months I want to become the best possible version of me there can be.  I want to get my butt back to the gym and go hardcore.  Fitness is a big, giant part of my life and I’ve been totally slacking which makes me feel physically and emotionally crummy.  I’m going to clean up my diet, which for me means sticking with low GI foods, much less sugar and lots of veggies.  And most importantly, going back to the attitude of my younger years when I believed that anything was possible.  I hope you’ll join me for the ride!

Soap that grows on trees?  Oh ya!  Berryplus laundry detergent is a natural cleaner derived from the Sapindus mukorossi tree.  According to Berryplus, Sapindus trees grow soapberries which, when combined with water and shaken, give off a soapy residue that has been used to clean clothes in India and other parts of Asia and now North America!

Berryplus uses a microdose that is 95% berry-based (berries + water), vegetable glycerin (for stability and added softening), olive-leaf extract (to kill bacteria) and a small amount of potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate (food grade preservative for shelf life).

This is a fantastic environmentally-friendly and Canadian-invented product!  To test the quality and efficiency of Berryplus I used it to wash my whites as well as my stinky gym clothes.  Worked like a charm! 

A few weeks ago I was a target of food discrimination.  What’s that you ask?  Well I was un-invited from a party because “I wouldn’t eat anything there.”  Looking back on this I can try and find some humour in the situation but at the time it really hurt my feelings. 

I’m sure said food discriminator didn’t mean harm by their comment but it really made me think…Food can bring us together, but can it also tear us apart?

To generalize people as a whole, we often are resistant to change because we fear it.  The unknown can be super scary.  And having other people tell us they don’t agree with our choices can gets our backs up.  When I first got on to the healthy living scene it caused a lot of strife in my family. They didn’t understand my food choices and I would rag on them for theirs and no one benefits from these behaviours.

With the million ways people eat whether they be paleo, vegetarian, gluten-free, low-carb and whatever else you can imagine, does this mean we all of a sudden we need to stick with our own kind?  Absolutely not.  Why not look at this as an opportunity to learn and grow from each other and have intelligent conversation rather then shut one out?  What about sharing meals that are both healthy and delicious and leave a little wiggle room for dessert? 

Wouldn’t it be such a happier planet if we were all a bit more tolerant of one another?  Life would be better served showing kindness and acceptance and breaking down walls instead of building them up.

And if the person who un-invited me from the party is reading this, I hope you know you missed a damn good dessert.

Laura Jackson is Co Founder / Head Chick of FIT CHICKS, a Canadian based women’s only fitness company.  FIT CHICKS offers 8 week bootcamp programs at over 30 locations across Canada as well as fitness / nutrition challenges, workshops and recently launched FIT CHICKS Gear, a line of workout clothing for women. She is Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition and Wellness Specialist with Canfit Pro as well as a Level 1 Kickboxing Instructor. Laura is also a fitness contributor to national publications and TV Shows such as The Huffington Post, National Post and CTV Morning Live as well as a health blogger at www.fitchicks.ca/blog.

Next 8 week sessions start on March 5^th, please visit www.fitchicks.ca, call 1-877- F1- CHICK or follow us on Twitter @fitchicks for all locations and registration.

TOP 5 VALENTINE’S DAY CALORIE BURNERS – CHICK STYLE!
By Laura Jackson, FIT CHICKS

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. But a day devoted to chocolates and candy shouldn’t leave you panicked and scared of sabotaging your weight loss efforts. So how do you do that? Change the focus of today from food to fun! There are plenty of Valentine’s Day activities to get your heart pumping, have a blast and burn off mucho calories – and they don’t all require having a partner!

Here are our top five fave V-Day calorie burners.

Walk With Someone You Love

This could be a walk with your honey, your dog, your kids or yourself! Take some time out for the special people in your life and burn 300 calories during your hour long stroll!

Cook up a Feast

Preparing food and cooking, instead of sitting in a restaurant, burns 135 calories an hour! Spend the time chatting with your loved ones as you chop, or sing along to your fave tunes if you are making a solo meal. Plus it’ll save you some cash too!

Dance the Night Away

Slow dancing with your love, or going out on the town with the single girls is a great Valentine’s Day calorie scorcher. You can burn up to 350 calories an hour.

Pole Dancing

This one makes a fun surprise for your partner, or it could be a fun class to take with the girls. Either way, at over 400 calories an hour it’s a fab workout that gives you strong legs and a tight booty!

Hugs and Kisses!

After you have your choccie fix – huggin’ and kissin’ will burn off those extra sugars. 1 hour of making out burns about 150 calories an hour – or about 7 Hershey’s Kisses – and it makes you feel amazing!

But most importantly chicks, Valentine’s Day should be about expressing not only love for other people but the love for yourself too. So get out there and celebrate just how fierce and fabulous you are this February 14^th..a little self love goes a LONG way!

As someone who is perpetually single on Valentine’s Day one would think I may be slightly bitter about it.  Alas, I manage to remain perfectly sweet with a hint of sass.  I love V-Day and all that it stands for, a day filled with love and chocolate sounds like perfection to me!

For those of you madly in love and those of you bitter against it, allow me to present this smoothie, a little bit sweet with a bit of lip-puckering tartness.  Perfect for Valentine’s Day and whatever your mood may be!

Sweet-Tart Smoothie

Ingredients

1 banana
½ cup fresh orange juice (if using high-powered blender such as a Blendtec use whole orange)
½ cup cranberries
½ cup raspberries
½ cup coconut water
1 scoop Sunwarrior Vanilla protein powder

Directions

1. If using high powered blender, blend orange first. Otherwise, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.

I was given the opportunity to review Vega’s new Sport line, a group of plant-based products for people who exercise regularly meant to help build muscle, enhance workouts and help the body recover.

There are three groups of products, each with their own purpose and unique ingredients; Prepare, Sustain and Recover.

The Prepare line is a pre-workout drink mix with a blend of plant-based performance-improving ingredients meant to provide both instant and sustained energy for your workout. 

Made with ingredients such as green tea, yerba mate, coconut oil and rhodiola.  Simply add a scoop to water, shake and get ready to workout!  Comes in two flavours – Lemon Lime and Acai Berry (my fav!)

The Sustain line is made for not only helping to sustain energy throughout your workout but can be used throughout the day as well.  Made with plant-based alkaline-forming ingredients, each has an amazing taste that is free from artificial colours and flavours.

I really love the Electrolyte Hydrator, this made a big difference in my workouts especially if I’m at the gym for awhile.  Just mix a scoop with water and it will help replace lost electrolytes, perfect for running and boxing where you get extra sweaty!

Electrolyte Hydrator comes in Lemon Lime and Pom-Berry (my fav!), Endurance Gel comes in Raspberry and Orange Zest and the Endurance Bar in Mocha and Acai Berry.  All the flavours were great but I seem to be most drawn to the berry flavours during my workouts!

Vega’s Recover line takes the cake!  This line is meant to help the body recover post workout by repairing and building muscle, replacing glycogen and reducing inflammation.  These items are also great to help meet your protein requirements and as a meal-replacement.

Full disclosure here, three years ago I started training for a half-marathon while eating vegan and turned to Vega’s protein powders as an extra energy source, I really loved it.  And then something changed and I just disliked the taste of their protein powders very much.  Well friends, I eat my words because they have gone above and beyond with their Sport Performance Protein.  I love not just the taste but the results too, I recovery faster and feel satisfied after consuming.  I also love to eat the protein bars as a snack on my “long days” (the days I wake up at 5:15am, go for a run, go to work, go to school and get home at 10pm)  The Chocolate Coconut Protein Bar rocks my life and contains 15g of pure plant-based protein that is soy-free! 

The Recovery Accelerator comes in Apple Berry (my fav!) and Tropical, the Protein Bar comes in Chocolate Coconut (my fav!) and Chocolate SaviSeed, Performance Protein comes in Vanilla (my fav!), Chocolate and Berry.

I highly recommend these products, not only are they a high-quality plant-based source but they taste great and work!  Thank you Vega for the delicious samples!

Have you met my friend Lisa?  If not, I suggest you find a reason to come to Toronto.  Seriously you guys this girl is the sweetest, most thoughtful person ever.  Once, on a bit of a glum day she stopped by to deliver a hug and chocolate.  True story.  And if that isn’t enough to make you love her, this girl is pure inspiration.  In November 2011 Lisa departed on a trip to the other side of the world, travelling to such places like India, Thailand, Bali, Australia, New Zealand and most recently Hawaii where she has been spreading the word on compassion and cruelty-free eating.

So while Lisa is in Hawaii, soaking up the sun, hiking and spreading cheer, I am in a chilly albeit very sunny Toronto I am secretly wishing I was in Hawaii eating mounds of fresh fruit and chilling with my friend.  Until then, there’s this…

Hawaiian Dream Smoothie

Ingredients

1 banana
1 cup pineapple
1/2 cup mango, frozen
1 passion fruit
1 tsp camu camu powder
1 scoop protein powder (Vega Vanilla Sport Performance protein powder)
2 cups coconut water

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth
2. Pour into a glass, imagine a tropical paradise and enjoy!

Last week at an author meet and greet put on by my work, I had the pleasure of meeting the very lovely Julie Daniluk; Registered Holistic Nutritionist, host of TV show Healthy Gourmet and author of the fabulous new book, Meals That Heal Inflammation.

At the event we were served an amazing selection of meals whose recipes are available in Julie’s book. The food was beyond incredible and the dish that most stood out in my mind was the African Nut Butter Stew. I knew I had to recreate this at home, which I did and fed it to some friends who exclaimed it was amazing!

Meals That Heal Inflammation is a very well-written, well-researched guide based on reducing inflammation in the body. The book covers the main 6 causes of inflammation as well as tons of scientific back-up to support food and healing in an easy to understand and approachable manner.  It includes a colour-guide of the anti-inflammation food pyramid which is a great resource to have on-hand. Also included are 130 easy to make recipes using whole foods and including my favourite, African Nut Butter Stew.  This is an outstanding, comprehensive guide for anyone looking to take charge of their health and eat better.

African Nut Butter Stew

Ingredients

1 cup (250 mL) chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups (1L) vegetable stock (divided)
2 cups (500 mL) diced, peeled if desired, sweet potato
14-oz (398-mL) can white beans (such as cannellini or navy), rinsed, or 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) cooked white beans
1/2 cup (125 mL) brown rice
1/4 tsp (1 mL) grey sea salt or pink rock salt
1/4 cup (60 mL) smooth almond butter
2 cups (500 mL) chopped, trimmed kale
2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) each: tamari (preferably wheat free), honey
1 tbsp (15 mL) coarsely grated, peeled ginger

Directions

In large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in 2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable stock over medium heat to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining stock, sweet potato, beans, rice and salt. Raise heat to high; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes.

Scoop 1/2 cup (125 mL) cooking liquid from stew into small bowl. Add nut butter. Whisk until smooth. Stir into pot with kale. Cover. Simmer 5 minutes until kale is just wilted. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon, tamari, honey and ginger.

Makes about 6 small servings.

Permission to reprint granted by Random House Canada.

I’ve been eating eggs now for about 2 months and I’m physically feeling a bit better, I’ve noticed my carbohydrate cravings aren’t as bad, my skin is better and my blood sugar is more stable.

Eggs are a fabulous source of protein, Vitamin B12 and D, and iron.  And to me they taste great.  As a kid I loved eating quiche but now it is far to rich for my liking so after hearing about egg muffins I thought I’ve give them a try.   These would be great to make a few days ahead and can be eaten as an on-the-go breakfast.

Egg Muffins

Ingredients

1 tomato, finely diced
1 zucchini, diced
1” round goat cheese, crumbled
8 eggs
1 tsp almond milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a bowl, combine diced tomato and zucchini, mix in crumbled goat cheese.  Using a muffin tin, fill each muffin cup about 1/3 of the way full with this mixture and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk 8 eggs and add almond milk, salt and pepper.  Pour this mixture into each muffin cup covering the veggie mix.
4. Bake for 25-30 mins, remove and cool.  Using a knife, edge around each egg muffin and remove or use muffin paper.