Inside The Polished Apple

As part of Elan Family Wellness Centre's Brain Month, we're happy to have this guest blog post from our Reflexologist Sandra Catania. This fun read was previously published in our May Newsletter. When I first heard the topic for this month, I had to laugh. After spending the past five years either pregnant and/or caring for babies (read: not getting much sleep), I definitely subscribe to the idea that "pregnancy brain" can last a very long time. This condition is described with words like "brain fog", "absentmindedness", "forgetful", "short term memory loss". New moms and moms-to-be may even experience spelling and grammatical errors. After consulting with my friend google, it would appear that there are just as many articles disproving the fact that "Momnesia" exists as there are proving it. And what does it matter? I say if you are experiencing any of these symptoms, pregnant or not, it probably means that you...

We came home from Prague with a bit of an obsession.... MARIONETTES! It started when we bought tickets to see the marionette version of Don Giovanni when we were in Prague. Real theatre with four foot tall marionettes! Then it grew as every path from our apartment to any attraction walked us right by a marionette shop. Some were made in Czech Republic, some were probably made in China. Soccer players, presidents, princesses and witches-all with strings attached to animate them. The first marionette we bought was the momento "doll" to add to the collection. But then she became the daily entertainment back at the apartment. Next there was a request for a marionette for dad. No. But we did buy a couple more for gifts to take back home. Of course, we bought them from a little old stooped over lady from some tucked away shop. Czech language only of course. The dolls all travelled well home and found themselves in their respective homes. One string repai...

It does not get easier than this. Unless you dump a can of soup in the pan. What do you make when your food coop order comes into the house and your pantry is exploding? Never mind that we don't actually have a pantry. You want a fast and easy dinner, veggies are good, healthy fats are good, and some ginger thrown in to kick the nausea that may have arrived with eating out yesterday is excellent. And yes, it's 26 degrees out in May and half of the neighborhood is BBQing, but doesn't all of that scream for soup? From Cans in the Pantry... Easy easy soup recipe: 1 Onion 3 tsp butter (or other oil) Melt butter, throw in onion for 3-5 minutes. And add: Can of coconut milk Can of pumpkin purée 2 cups vegetable broth 1/2 tsp EACH cumin, curry, ginger Dash of salt. Simmer for 20 minutes and you are ready to serve up a lavish picnic of pumpkin soup. To a Soupy May Picnic. Did I mention that coconut oil is good brain food? Happy Brain month!