Three things that should precede this… 1) I’ve been listening to Jillian Michaels audio book Master Your Metabolism - I spend way too many hours on the road. Book on CD is perfect. 2) I have two girls that I believe are gluten and lactose sensitive. Upset and bloated tummies make them really uncomfortable and me crazy! I’ve got guts of iron. Not much upsets my stomach – but somehow, half of my offspring are super sensitive to wheat and dairy. Go figure. 3) Lucky for me, I don’t love white bread, white pasta or white potatoes. I genuinely prefer sprouted grain...

Make and Serve these Popular Dessert Bars At our Holiday POWERShopping events, Leah has prepared, served and sold literally hundreds of exquisite home prepared desserts. These three had buyers BEGGING for the recipes. Here they are, long over due. The top three sellers at the November Holiday POWERShop – perfect for parties, guests, potluck, showers and holidays. Caramel Shortbread Base 1 cup brown sugar 2 cups flour 2/3 cup butter pinch of salt Topping 1 ½ cans condensed milk 1 ½ cups butter 1 ½ cups brown sugar ½ cup corn syrup Base: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine brown sugar,...

Just in time for Spring! Fragrant Fruit Salad 1/2 cup sugar 1 Lime – rind and reserved juice 4 tbsps. Kahlua 1 small pineapple 1 mango 1 papaya 2 cups berries Add 2/3 cup water to sugar and lime rind in small pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool and strain into a large bowl, discarding the rind. Stir in lime juice and liqueur. Peel fruit and cut into bite sized pieces. Add to bowl and let stand at room temperature one hour to enhance flavour. * Feel brave? Substitute pomegranate and passion fruit for the berries. Vietnamese Noodle Salad 4 cups crisp romaine 1...

Real Easy Twists on Special Occasion Favourites (without spending a day in the kitchen) Stuffed Chicken Rolls  (Turkey & Stuffing) 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts* 2 cups bread crumbs ½ cup minced onion ½ cup minced celery 2 tbsps. butter 1 tsp. poultry seasoning Salt and pepper ¾ to 1 cup milk or water  Place one chicken breast at a time in a large Ziploc bag. Gently pound the bag with the bottom of a frying pan until chicken is flattened.  Sauté onions and celery in butter until softened.  Mix into bread crumbs.  Add seasoning and milk/water.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Will...

Your Enouragement… Out of control busy schedules and workloads, both and home and at the office, we have all fallen into the trap of purchasing ‘quick fix’ dinner items from the freezer section in the grocery store. Although they are fast and easy to prepare, pre-packaged and factory prepared dinners are no where near as tasty of nutritious.  Take advantage of a cool afternoon and pre-cook beef for use in easy meal preparation. These recipes and tips are super simple and suitable for any family on the run. Double Duty Cooking is all about cooking once and eating two or maybe...

Strawberry Margarita 6 oz. tequila 2 oz. triple sec 4 oz. frozen limeade concentrate 8 oz. frozen strawberries 4 cups ice Crush ice in a blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Don’t like tequila? Try substituting lime vodka. Blackberry Lemonade 8 lemons water sugar, to taste ½ cup frozen blackberries Juice the lemons into a pitcher. Add water and sugar to your liking. Chill. Serve with blackberries. Optional spirits: cassis vodka. Banana Daquiri 2 oz. vanilla rum 2 oz. banana liquer 1 oz. white crème de cacao 1 large ripe banana 1 cup orange juice 12 ice cubes Crush ice...