LOVE Me More Happy Mail !

Finally a whole day our Rob got to stay home with us yesterday without being called out once ! it had been nice.  

"It was so nice by the end of the Day, you would have thought Bandit hadn't seen Rob all day.  The loving just went on, and on, and on .... Sigh, the bubble was broke as at 3 am the phone rang with Rob having to go out to be The "Crabby Cabbie"."

I never did get back to sleep.  Rob got back home around 4:30 am and was not able to get back to sleep either.  The time flew forward to 6:30 am when it was time for him to be out the door again, heading back down the highway to work.  It has been a long day for the both of us.

I pretty much forced kept myself focused on the Crabby Cabbie bookwork that needed caught up on, again, until it was all sorted out and ready to be entered on the books, hopefully tomorrow.

"Here is sits on the dining room table, pretty much right in my face so it doesn't get somehow "overlooked" tomorrow.  A nice neat pile of most of my day ahead tomorrow ... yech !"

This afternoon my brother and I had a follow-up appointment with a few department heads at Gateway Haven, where our Mother now resides, to see how she has settled in since being admitted, or voice any concerns we might have to this date.

Really neither of us had any huge concerns that stood out, as Gateway Haven is a lovely facility with very efficient and caring staff.

The only one concern I really voiced was the amount of weight Mom had put on since moving from my home into a Nursing Home.  Really it is quite a substantial amount for her tiny, under 5 foot frame, of putting on more then 20 lbs in less then two years.  I realize they get 3 square meals, plus are offered snacks twice a day, and she is less active then she had been here, however it still makes me feel concerned about her health.

As a Caregiver I feel this is part of my duty to be concerned about my Mother's health.

The staff could not express how easy Mom is as a resident there.  She seems to attend pretty much everything going, as well as being happy and smiling while doing so.  They had mentioned Mom is very "social".  This sure makes me happy to know she is "getting out and about" from her room, as this helps with brain stimulation, as well as being "on the move" which is really really good for a person's muscle mass.

Only one concern came from the staff, this being her balance might be a bit off.  They recommend we get her a walker to make things a bit easier for her.  It just so happens we had gotten her one when she had first moved with us, as when she used to occasionally walk over to the neighbouring Garden Center for an ice cream cone, it helped her since the ground was very uneven to walk along from here to there.

Overall as a family we could not be more pleased with our Mother residing at Gateway Haven.  As far as Mother goes, she had stated how much better she likes living there too.  A win, win situation for all of us, especially since it is much much closer for my brother and I to go see her.  YAY for all of us !

After my brother had dropped me back off at home, I didn't do much of anything the rest of the day.  I did however touch base with a girl I used to work with down in Southampton shortly after I had first moved back to Bruce County.  Judy is doing very well having now also starting her own business in the Port Elgin nd Southampton areas..  It was nice when talking to Judy to find she is as excited about supporting other small businesses as I am.  Judy owns Hergott Home Support & Cleaning Service.  You can find more about Judy at her website by going HERE, or follow her on Facebook by going HERE.

On getting the mail today there had been a Package Notice for a parcel to be picked up downtown Wiarton.  Rob was kind enough to stop and pick me up for me on his way home tonight.  Oh man, I was so happy as I do LOVE me some more Happy Mail !!!

Special thanks to Sandi Richard for sending me a collection of her Cook books, Dinner Survival, The Dinner Fix, The Healthy Family, Anyone Can Cook Dinner, and could you imagine ....

"Two copies of Eating Forward ~ Cooking for the Rushed"

What on God's green Earth would I possibly do with two copies Sandi Richard's Eating Forward?  stay tuned, as not too far in the future there is going to be a Give Away here North of Wiarton.

Before I sign off my post for today, I would like to extend my thoughts and prayers for those who have suffered from the tragic explosions that took place at the Finish Line of the Boston Marathon this day.  One of our own Bruce County Heroes, Josh Cassidy, who had participated in this marathon.  Here is a few words from him on his Blog which had been posted today after the explosions .....

http://joshcassidy.com/boston-marathon-2013

Really does it ever end in this World of ours? we can not do much more then pray that it does, and for those who's hands are bloodied by such acts.  *Sad* very much so with hopes it does some day it does get better.

Please should you have a moment, cast your vote for my "Crabby Cabbie" at the following link:

https://www.loveourlocalbusiness.com/base/lolb2desktop?region_id=ca&content_id=20580&tab_id=0

Thanks again for your daily vote until the 6th of May.  I have faith we have friends and family "rooting" for us to get ahead with our Business.

Supper has been long over with dishes waiting for me yet to wash.  My tired Rob has headed for bed.  The "Checkerboard Aussies" will all need out, about and in within the hour, with me thereafter heading off to bed myself with one of Sandi Richard's cook books in hand, of course, "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".

Today Was Interview Day !

This morning the Sun shone, continuing all day through.  Regardless of how I feel, I am sure I always feel better when the Sun is high up in the sky.

February 12th, 2013 I had received an email from Knorr Canada, as follows:

Firstly, thank you so much for your continued and enthusiastic engagement on the Knorr Canada Facebook page.  We saw you recently made the Knorr Shepherd’s Pie recipe on your blog JustNorthofWiarton.blogspot.ca.  As a great love of and ambassador for Knorr, we wanted to offer you an interview opportunity with Sandi Richard, top Canadian meal planning expert.

Sandi has teamed up with Knorr to really get at the heart of why three simple words: “what’s for dinner?”  is so stressful. As mother to seven children, Sandi has first-hand experience with meal planning and has made a career of developing recipes for the rushed and inspiring families to get back around the dinner table. 

Sandi understands that for a mom, it’s not just about cooking dinner – there’s a constant struggle brewing before dinner even hits the table! Meal planning can be stressful and we know dinner inspiration can “eat up” a lot of your precious time.  To help make dinner less stressful and provide solutions to your dinner woes, she can shed light on the following:

• Key findings from a new, national survey looking at perceptions and behaviours associated with the meal planning process
• Getting the most out of your grocery store visits
• Tips to get kids (and husbands!) involved
• Easy meal solutions and recipes that the whole family will love 

If you are interested in coordinating an interview with Sandi to learn more from her experience and insight, please just let me know and we can organize a time for you.

After putting it to Cindy's Recipe Exchange Members, by requesting their input I compiled a few questions, which were emailed back to Knorr Canada.  They in turned responded with Sandi's suggestion a personal phone interview with me would be more beneficial then answering the questions through an email.

Today was interview day I had the telephone interview with Sandi.  I initially had been a tad nervous, hoping I would not put my "foot in my mouth" as I am  known to do this out of nervousness or fatigue, quite often then naught.  

My phone rang at 10:42 and it was Sandi.  The conversation started of as if it had been a long time friend I hadn't spoke with in a while.  This put me to ease in a "split second".

Once the easiness of our conversation continued on for over a half hour (oh my), we had thought we had better focus our attention to the prepared questions on hand.  This is pretty exact on how it went, with Sandi's educated replies on the subject outlined in red to the best of my knowledge from what I have gathered on my note taking (really my attention span and short-hand is not what it used to be):

1) How to budget for a Healthy Menu with today's rising food costs? (mine)

Families need to modernize themselves, rather then making a weekly grocery list.  They can do this by creating an Eat Sheet (Weekly Blueprint Menu).  This can be done by bringing the family together by choosing a "low stress" time to have every family member give their input on what they would like to eat within a 5 day period..  Once this has been established the shopping for this Blueprint can be done for this week.  Sandi recommends 3 Blueprints be made up to be used on a rotation basis, then incorporate more as time goes on.  This Eat Sheets can be used 90% of the time, saving money and time with good healthy food organized and easy to be made with food choice from the family as a whole.

Paying attention to the Grocery flyers (who base their sales on weekly rotations) with buying non-perishable foods or foods that can be frozen, that are listed on  your Blueprint, "on sale" for another week or two ahead.  

Sticking to your Eat Sheet and avoiding going into the store more then once per week will SAVE YOU MONEY in the long run, as we all know what happens when we go into a Grocery Store for that "one" item.

What is an Eat Sheet?  Examples can been found HERE.

2) How to prepare Quick & Easy Meals without the salt content that so many pre-packaged foods have in them? (Kathy Evans)

Yes we always need to be cautious with the amounts of our salt intake.  Sandi recommends going by the Mayo Clinic Standards of 2,300mg/day.  That being said, Salt content made with product "helpers" (pre-made packages) combined with fresh ingredients lessens the salt content in the packaged foods.

NOT eating out is a good way to cut back on your Salt intake.  Cooking and eating at home gives you control the amount of salt that is used in your foods.

3) In your opinion, Sandi, what is the best cooking material you would recommend for oven and stove top? glass, Teflon, cast iron, ceramic? (Angie King-Webber)

Stove Top:  

Sandi's favourite cookware is Non-Stick.  She uses Swiss Diamond Brand non-stick cookware.  She is not a fan of Teflon.  Also Non-Stick is good for the person who does not cook too often as it an easier type of cookware to be used.  Non-stick is also easier for a family to use when working together in the kitchen.  ie, wherein a different type of cookware might require a specific temperature, or oils to be used in them for some desired cooking results, in turn maybe not being so user friendly for the less experienced cook in the family.

Oven:  

Sandi is a fan of using ALL types of cookware.  Changing up cooking materials gives way to our bodies a change to remove heavy metals from it naturally.  Glass, metal, enamel.

4) What is your preferred cooking appliance when cooking for your family? BBQ, Stovetop, Oven, Microwave, Slow Cooker, etc?(mine)

Sandi's most favourite way to cook, if she could all the time, would be the BBQ.  However with that said she thinks every type of appliance should be made use of  when required.

5)  What would you recommend a budget be set at for a family of 2, 4, 6, that would contribute to healthy eating?(mine)

Sandi based this answer on feeding a family of 4-6.  She stated they could be fed extremely healthy, foods to include lots of chicken, fresh fruits and vegetables, on a maximum of $125.00, and even could go as low as $100.00 per week.  This can be accomplished by keeping an eye on the bargain flyers for sale rotation, not shopping more then once a week, and of course making and following a weekly Eat Sheet.

Sandi also stated this could also be done on a decreased budget of $60.00 to $75.00 per week.

6)  How to deal with a child who is a picky eater?(Mandy Newgent)

Sandi has a "one bite rule" for picky eaters, believing it is not the food they dislike but the texture.  Picky eaters are often caused by loving parents who bend to what their children wants instead of standing fast on boundaries.  

Once you begin introducing foods to the child(ren) using the "one bite rule",  or one tablespoon, on a regular basis, they indeed will begin increasing the different textured foods in their eating habits.  Do not worry about them losing out on nutrition when administering/introducing the "one bite rule" to them as they will be fine.  Buckle down parents, let them turn their little noses up, or sit at the table a little longer then the rest of the family, as it will eventually turn around with their different food intake increases with constant persistence on the parents part.

(On a personal note, I used this method with my own children, and still follow through by using it with my Grandchildren.  It does work, and they do not starve by any means.  Also I had read an article in the Lifestyle section of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record years ago which was based on "If we would Train our Children with the same consistency as our Canine(s) we would have very obedient Children.", this is not word for word by any means but the general gist of what I do remember it saying.  Consistency and Boundaries do have their rewards with lots of "love" put in the mix).

This was pretty much the how all the questions I had put to Sandi had been answered.  

I am genuinely thrilled to have had this experience, thanks to Knorr Canada and special thanks to Sandi, herself.  I really would look forward to any future opportunity to another telephone interview at any time.

Should you like to see more of Sandi's meal preparation/cooking insights and tips, you may do so by seeing Knorr What's For Dinner by going to their website HERE, or Facebook Page HERE.

Also here are just a couple of Knorr What's For Dinner recipes that I have made in my own kitchen:

"Knorr Savory Cheese & Leek Scones"

"Knorr Chicken with White Wine & Cream Sauce"

"Knorr Skinny Scalloped Potatoes"

"Knorr Herb-Rubbed Citrus Chicken Breasts"

"Knorr Classic Shepherd's Pie"

... and for Knorr's collection of What's For Dinner Recipes, you can find them HERE.  Stay tuned at a later date as there is a couple in there I am anxious yet to be trying out myself in the very near future.

Any grammar or spelling errors, I do so apologize, however I do the best I can do when I am running on only a little sleep.  I really do not think it was such a good date with Mr. Insomnia after all, knowing all his promises of a night on the town had been bottomless ones...hopefully tonight he stays at bay.

Here I am looking at all these wonderful Knorr dishes I have cooked thinking I have not even begun to think what Dinner is going to be tonight for myself and my "Crabby Cabbie".  What I am thinking is I had better get "cracking" on that right now, "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".

A Flattering Opportunity

This morning I awoke around 4 am with sounds of the wind and heavy rain against our windows.  I snuggled back in to sleep until 6 am.  By the time I got dressed and outside to take out, one at at time, our "gang" it was really windy and rainy, at times turning to wet flurries.

Today was a regular kind of day with last night's dinner dishes needing done up, two loads of laundry to be folded, and the vacuuming of a whole other Bandit from the floors.  Nothing too strenuous or taxing really was done today.

The only thing that had been taxing was the thoughts of being lied to.  Really other then the odd "fiblet" to protect someone, or maybe out of a bit of fear, I do not believe I have ever viciously told lies to harm or deceive anyone, ever !

Once again we have came across people who have lied and been deceitful to us.  I was distraught of learning about this out and out nastiness, even thought I had been suspect to it I had tried to think the best.  The worse part of all of this it is not even youngsters, it is people way older then I !  I suppose once a person(s) has made a practice of lying and being deceitful all their life it remains to be their life all through.  Very sad indeed.

Oh well, I really am of the opinion of what goes around comes around, not wishing bad on anyone, but when we have paid our dues by being honest, why should someone else get ahead from being dishonest?  It does not seem right !

Rob had came home later this afternoon,  and actually took me downtown Wiarton to do a few errands such as the Post Office, Bank, and the Grocery store.  Sunday I had picked up my Mother a new toothbrush and some Sweet & Low Candies I know she likes, so he dropped me around to Gateway Haven so I could deliver them off to her.

"I found Mom in her room knitting away in front of her beautiful bay window.  Oops I forgot to "cue" her to smile this day.  My brother is picking her up on Thursday to go get her hair coloured and all dolled up.  This will be a nice outing for her."

"Once I had left Mom with promises of being back for a longer visit, off toward the Foodland store we headed, not without stopping down to look across the frozen waters of Colpoy's Bay.  Also down by the Bay is where the Old Train Station is located."

I find it kind of nice going into the grocery store at times.  It is like a little social outing when I run into and have a bit of chat with people I know, but do not see on a regular basis.  It is a nice "homey" feeling.

"Off we headed back home.  The photo to the left is when we had been going into town, and the photos on the right were coming home.  It had worked itself right into another bluster of "more SNOW again"!"

"Since I had been cooking like a Mad Woman, that I  had been doing since the freezer broke down, I decided for our Dinner tonight we would have some of that Big Batch Chicken Soup I had made up last Friday.  It sure was good with along with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich by really hitting the spot."

Recipe please?  FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE PLEASE *CLICK* HERE.

This morning I had been reading what one of my favourite Food Bloggers had posted, who happens to be Mary of One Perfect Bite, to see it had been one of my friend's favourite treats she loves making, this being Biscotti.  Mary's post this day was Cinnamon Chip Biscotti.  If you remember, my friend Sharon, had brought me back from Florida some Hershey Cinnamon Chips just after Christmas.  Since she is still in Florida she had some on hand there in her Pantry.

"Sharon whipped the Cinnamon Chip Biscotti up in no time after I had posted Mary's link this morning onto Cindy's Recipe Exchange.  Oh wow Sharon they look so good, and I do LOVE me some Cinnamon.  Thank you for sharing, even if it is via photos."

I am patiently waiting for my new Whirlpool Range Oven so I can begin baking a few creations I have in the back of my mind.  One will be putting to good use the Hershey Cinnamon Chips Sharon gifted me.  Thanks Sharon.

Last week I was approached via Email by Knorr Canada and offered an interview with Knorr Spokeswoman, Sandi Richard. 

Sandi is working with Knorr Canada to help answer the ‘What’s for Dinner?’ question, and the What’s for Dinner? program was created to help families navigate the Dinnertime dilemma. The evening meal can ‘eat up’ a lot of moms’ day, as forty-four per cent say finding a recipe that suits their entire family is a challenge and three-in-ten struggle finding the time to cook a meal. When all is said and done, the large majority of moms (85 per cent) are looking for easy solutions for mealtime options so they can spend quality time at the dinner table with their families.

I wanted to include my Recipe Exchange members in this given opportunity, so this is what I put to them after I had received the email: 

I would LOVE to know if anyone in Our Recipe Exchange would have a Question(s) they would like to have put to Sandi on behalf our the Exchange, that might be included in the questions I comply myself for Sandi. Would love for any and everyone's participation in this most flattering opportunity. Please post your question(s) in the comment section below, and I will take note of any and all. Thank you in advance.

Today I submitted five questions to Knorr Canada to be answered by Sandi Richards.  I am hoping later this week I will be posting about this most flattering experience soon.  Thank you Knorr Canada for this opportunity.

For those who follow me here, know I have enjoyed in preparing with great success Knorr's What's For Dinner Recipes such as Chicken with White Wine Cream Sauce, Savory Cheese & Leek Scones,  Herb-Rubbed Citrus Chicken, , Skinny Scalloped Potatoes, and one of our all time Classic Favourites, Shepherd's Pie with a Knorr "twist" of course.

I have yet to be disappointed with a Knorr Recipe.

Rob is gone out on a couple of Hospital runs, so I think I will wrap things up here, make myself a hot beverage and give my Sisters a call, "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".

**Disclaimer:  I have not received anything from Knorr Canada for posting my opinions here about their Company or their products.