Beware of Energy Drinks

The latest in Food news is that energy drinks are bad for you.

                       
(see full article here at: http://dailycollegian.com/2011/02/15/energy-drinks-may-pose-potential-dangers/)

Perhaps that’s not really news for many of you – I turn into a jumpy, quivering version of the Energizer Bunny when I drink it – though the taste is enough to make me stop anyway. Definitely not a fan of energy drinks.


But for those of you who are, beware of excessive consumption.

Over consumption of energy drinks might destroy your liver. Seeing that the liver is a pretty essential organ, it’s not really one you’d want to kill off.

Exhibit 1:

A 50-year-old construction worker developed acute hepatitis after consuming four to five energy drinks every day over the course of three weeks. His symptoms disappeared after he stopped bingeing on energy drinks.

Exhibit 2:

An otherwise healthy 22-year-old woman was diagnosed with acute hepatitis in 2011 after indulging in ten cans of energy drinks a day for two weeks.

Energy drinks are full of dubious chemicals such as niacin and stimulants like caffeine. Niacin is a drug known to cause liver toxicity.

Definitely not something to drink too much of!

Instead of relying on energy drinks to keep you alert, why not try an apple tea instead? Apples are a natural stimulant and as the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away!

Potato Soup with Carrots, Chicken and Winter Melon

As the weather gets increasingly brrrr, the urge to hide under a blanket on my Lazy Lounge Sofa with a steaming hot bowl of soup is becoming more and more irresistible. I have to admit though, soup is one of my favourite things in the world. It can make you feel better when you’re sick, warm when you’re cold and happy when you’re sad. I love soup.

I also love potatoes. Soft, warm, mushy and adorable in toy-form (Mr. Potato Head!), potatoes are the comfort food to rule them all.

Isn’t he cute?

And the best part is . . . potatoes are so cheap right now in Ontario. 10 pounds for $1.50-$2, they’re practically giving it away.

This soup combines two of my favorites – potatoes and winter melon – for a slightly different potato soup experience.

Ingredients:

5-7 average sized potatoes

2 cups chopped winter melon

2 average sized carrots

1 chicken leg

Soya sauce or salt

Preparation:

1. Peel and chop potatoes, carrots and winter melon into cubes.

2. Put everything in pot with chicken and fill with water.

3.Bring to boil then simmer.

4. Remove chicken after about 15 minutes or when cooked through and shred. Put shredded meat back into pot.

5. Continue cooking till vegetables are soft.

6. Add soya sauce or salt to taste.

7. Sit back and enjoy a delicious, streaming bowl of soup!

Sweet Potato and Mung Bean Soup

As the weather gets increasingly colder and wetter (urgh), the ever enthusiastic flu bug is at its friendliest and most active.

It’s time to start defending ourselves by eating lots of immunity boosting foods. Take that, flu bug!

This is one of my favourite hot desserts that’s simple to make and really good for you. There’s something just so amazing about huddling on my Lazy Lounge Sofa with a steaming bowl of this on a cold day.

During the Sars outbreak in 2002 in Singapore, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners advised people to consume this to reduce their chances of catching the disease.

Sweet potatoes are rich in beta-carotene which is converted into Vitamin A when eaten. Vitamin A is essential for maintaining a strong immune system and keeping the mucous membranes in our nose and throat healthy and functional.

Mung beans (aka green beans depending on where you hail from) are described by some as an ‘ancient superfood’ packed with enzymes, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Personally, I find them awesome for detoxing and erm, constipation (translation: it makes you poop).

Honey is able to fight infection as its loaded with polyphenols, hydrogen peroxide and a natural acidity, which all work together to actively target and destroy bacteria.

Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 cup mung beans (I like more beans so I usually use one cup but use 1/2 cup if you prefer it less dense)

1 to 2 cups sweet potato cubes (once again, add more or less depending on your preference)

Honey to taste

Water

Preparation:
1. Wash and soak beans. Mung beans tend to be smaller so soak them for at least two hours or overnight if possible but they do cook relatively quickly compared to other types of beans.

2. Peel and chop sweet potato into cubes.

3. Put mung beans in a pot and cover with water. Cook on high heat till water boils then reduce heat to simmer.

4. Add sweet potato cubes.

5. Cook till beans are soft. Add more water when cooking if needed.

6. Add honey to taste.

Pulled Pork and Vegetable Rice

I love cooking and can spend hours in the kitchen (except in summer when I turn into Oscar the Grouch and just want to stuff myself into the fridge and never leave). Moving to Ontario and narrowly missing having a heart attack from seeing my first electricity bill has necessitated some changes to my cooking style. A leg infection and being barely able to stand for two weeks also helped inspire some really simple and quick recipes that can be created whilst hopping around on one leg. It never fails to amaze me what pain can accomplish.

This recipe combines various instant and fresh ingredients. It makes two average sized servings and costs around $5 to make (depending on the costs of the items at the time of purchase). To reduce costs, I usually use whatever’s in season or on sale.

Ingredients:
1 pack Uncle Ben’s Fast and Fancy Fine Herb Rice

1 pack Hungry Man’s Pulled Pork

1 lb bok choy or other leafy vegetable

3 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp butter or margarine

Preparation:
1. Wash and chop the vegetables and garlic.

2. Heat a pan or pot and put butter or margarine in.

3. Add chopped garlic and fry till fragrant.

4. Add chopped vegetables.

5. Separate the pork from the rest of the pack. Save for a snack later.

6. Add pork.

7. Add rice and flavoring.

8. Add water as per directions on rice package.


9. Cook until rice is soft and water has dried up (around 15 minutes).

Try Cooking an Easy, Budget Friendly Meal Today!

I’ll be sharing some simple recipes you can enjoy. Quick (generally), oh-so-simple and low cost (for the Grinch in all of us), try one today.

Please feel free to adapt the amount of ingredients as you prefer. I usually don’t use a lot of meat so please add more if desired.

The cost of most recipes is around $5 – $10 for two servings. Costs vary depending on quantity of ingredients used and instore prices.

Moving from Western to Eastern Canada

Moving to Ontario was a headache to say the least. It started with how to get ourselves and our stuff there.

We explored several options:

1. Renting a uhaul and loading it up and driving it to Ontario.
Nah. Too long a drive in the cold weather across unfamiliar territory. We were afraid of getting into an accident or getting eaten by a bear along the way (I'm actually serious here. The idea of driving cross country was a beary scary one). Also, the cost of renting the uhaul was too expensive.

2. Shipping it over via Greyhound.
They didn't do furniture.

3. Getting a mover.
That was the most feasible option to us at that point. Just pack everything up and leave it to the experts whilst we flew to Ontario.

So we begun our journey of finding movers and getting quotations and trying not to get a heart attack from the high prices or getting conned by the overly cheap (and dodgy) ones.

Most movers charge by weight so the heavier your stuff is, well, the more you pay. Thankfully, we didn't have much stuff that was really heavy. The blessing about rental housing in Canada is that they usually come with the larger kitchen and laundry appliances so no struggling with the washing machine or fridge necessary.

We did heaps of research about moving companies as there were too many scary stories out there and lousy ones that lost or damaged or stole your stuff. After many calls and emails, we found a decent and professional moving company that didn't charge an arm and leg. We paid 2000+ in total for our stuff to be picked up in Calgary and moved and dropped off in Ontario.

For anyone interested in a good, reasonably priced moving company, try Riteway Movers. Sam, the main contact person is Calgary, is awesome (calgary@ritewaymoving.com). They were really fast and strong and even carried our sofa down the stairs as it wouldn't fit in the lift without being dissembled. We were on the seventh floor.

The two guys who delivered our stuff in Ontario were really professional and friendly too I applaud their cheery attitudes and hard work.

You may think that coming here and moving our stuff here was the hard part. Nope, the hardest part was just beginning.

Finding a livable space that was reasonably priced and that they’d rent to you was about as easy as hunting a bear in downtown Toronto. The nastiest people I've ever met in Canada work as property managers in Ontario. The nicest thing I can say about them is that their level of meanness surpasses the quality of the housing they manage.

We also had a rather unpleasant experience with zolo and their insistence that we pay the entire year's rent upfront as we were new to Ontario and still job hunting so that was the only way we would ever find a place to live. Every zolo agent we spoke to seemed to sing the same tune.

Even with the nicer real estate agents, it was still difficult to convince them or the owner that you were a good tenant. People in Ontario are really paranoid about people and distrustful. An irony since many of them are actually breaking the law by asking for more than one month's rent upfront.

It was frustrating to say the least. The best thing about Calgary was how easy it was to rent a place. We only had to show the the bank statements to prove we had the funds. The apartments/ condos there are much nicer and better built than in Ontario too. It was always warm and quiet in my Calgary apartment compared to the constant draft and noise in my current place. I can hear the phone and alarm clock ringing for the apartment above mine! Honestly, I didn't particularly like Calgary as I prefer bigger, more developed cities but I really liked my apartment and the view of the river from my window.

Finally, I found a decent enough apartment with a listing agent and owner willing to rent it to me. 

But if you think that it’s all smooth sailing from there on, think again. When I got the keys and went into the apartment for the first time, I realized how dirty it was. It was disgustingly filthy. There were even maggots in the kitchen from the rotting food pieces and lots of garbage left the China student who'd lived there previously didn't bother to throw. Lots of stains everywhere and the stove and fan were dripping with oil. The fridge smelt awful. The edges of the bathtub were covered with dust. The carpet in the room was so dirty it had stiffened up. I'm guessing she wasn't a big fan of cleaning or cleanliness. It took two weeks, two bottles of Easy off, two bottles of Jif, two bottles of disinfectant, a bottle of carpet cleaner and a bottle of dishwashing liquid before the place was livable. Even so, some stains will never be erased.

I've lived in Singapore, Australia, South America and Calgary and the dirtiest places I have ever encountered were in Ontario.

But, I'm here and determined to make the best of it so wish me luck!

Living and Eating in Toronto on a Budget

Urgh, everything's so expensive! Sound familiar? If Ontario had a theme song, it would probably go something like:
Oh, the bills keep going up in this province here.
Pay hydro or feed myself, how do I survive?
What does the government do about this struggle?
Oh Ontario, Ontario, why are you so expensive! 

I moved to Toronto earlier this year (2016) from Calgary to escape the dismal economy and gloomy atmosphere there.

Although Toronto is a much bigger and more developed city, job hunting has proven no less difficult here. Odd jobs are aplenty but 'professional' job hunting still feels like chasing after a unicorn - beautiful but always a dream.

After moving to Toronto, I was impressed by how much living costs weigh heavily on most people here. Hydro rates versus grocery bills; skyrocketing housing prices and rents; TTC fare hikes . . . News always seems to revolve around some cost or other.

As a relatively new migrant to the city (and country) who's still struggling to establish herself, I feel your pain.

I believe that eating and living well shouldn't be compromised because of financial constraints. Through this blog, I hope to share my experiences maximizing the money I have at least to continue to enjoy a hearty meal everyday.

Along the way, I'll throw in a story or two about my trials and tribulations thus far in my life journey. I've lived, studied and worked on several different continents and speak three major languages so hopefully it'll make for an entertaining read!