Hello, healthy habits!

March is National Nutrition Month—what healthy habits are you kickstarting? In our always-exciting endeavours to meal plan with nutrient-rich dishes that aren’t just delicious but chef’s-kiss-delicious, we’re happy to have rediscovered the perfection of the USA Pear. Here’s why (and how!) you should, too.

Reason #1: They’re the sweet you should eat!

That perfectly sweet-but-not-too-sweet pear contains fructose, a natural sugar. Since pears are also high in fibre which slows digestion, the fructose does not cause a large spike in blood sugar levels. In fact, pears are considered low on the glycemic index with a score of just 38, meaning that they have a mild effect on blood sugar.

Reason #2: They’re good for the gut, brain and body tissue

A medium pear (140 grams) clocks only about 84 calories with a whopping 18% of your daily recommended fibre, which boasts the beneficial prebiotic bacteria to support digestion and gut health. (Read: pears help keep you regular!) But that’s not all: Pears are a source of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C (7 percent). Their antioxidant-rich pedigree makes pears a healthy pick that supports brain health, gut health, tissue health and heart health.

Reason #3: They’re ap-peeling

Sure, their unique shape and cute colours make them worthy of any artful countertop fruit display, but they’re ap-peeling in that the peels themselves are full of fibre and antioxidants, so be sure to eat your pears, peels and all.

Reason #4: It’s easy to meal plan with pears

Versatile pears bring bright fresh flavour to about any dish. Add them to any—or every!—meal of the day. From grab-and-go breakfasts (you’ll make these Pear Protein Bars again and again) to light lunches (this Pear and Walnut salad with Citrus Dressing is seriously filling!) and simple yet delicious dinners (this Smoky Paprika Sheet-Pan Chicken with Pears, Potatoes and Carrots is always a hit with guests), mildly sweet and oh-so-refreshing pears complement your favourite savoury dishes. But let’s not forget dessert – this Roasted Pear Crumble with Honey Yogurt is a healthy spin on a decadent classic.

Alexa, add pears to our grocery list!

Luckily, sweet, juicy USA Pears are always there in a crunch. (See what we did there?) Find them always “in season” at your local grocery store and blend, bake, roast or slice them into your day’s healthy dishes—and even your evening’s cocktails and mocktails! Of course, we still love them as a simple snack. Is your pear ripe? Here’s a hot tip: Check the Neck by applying a little pressure with your thumb near the stem. If it gives way to gentle pressure, it’s good to go! And when you just can’t wait for that pear on your countertop to ripen, store it at room temperature alongside other fruits, like apples or bananas.

Pears galore—and then some more!

Pining for more pear inspiration? Here are a few more ways to plan healthy pears into your every day: Spring Greens and Layered Pear Smoothie, Kale Cabbage and Pear Salad with Citrus Dressing, Spiced Pear Chips—and there’s oh, so much more! Visit usapears.org to discover a plethora of pear recipes to kickstart a renaissance with your new favourite healthy eating staple. Do it for you, your health—and for National Nutrition Month!

Early in my cooking career, I worked under a female head chef, which was an anomaly at the time. To this day I have no idea why, but we were all terrified of her. Rumours flew: She had worked at a fancy restaurant in Toronto! She was going to fire a lot of people! She ate her steak blue! To be fair, this all did end up being mostly true, but she also became one of the most inspiring chefs, both then and now, I know. Chef René introduced me to so many new ingredients and techniques and gave me a real education on creating flavour and composing dishes. This dish, a combination of farro, mushrooms, and tofu, is a riff on one of hers from almost 20 years ago. Like all good dishes (and good chefs), it has stood the test of time.

Brothy Farro with Mushrooms and Tofu

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1½ cups (375 mL) farro
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) salt, more to taste
• 12 cups (3 L) low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock, warm
• Small handful of fresh thyme sprigs, tied into a bundle
• ¼ pound (115 g) shiitake mushrooms, caps only, thinly sliced
• 1 pound (450 g) soft tofu, cubed or torn into chunks
• Cracked black pepper
• 6 cups (1.5 L) baby spinach
• Walnut oil, for drizzling

Directions

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, place the olive oil. Add the shallots and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring so that they do not brown, until just barely translucent. Add the farro and toast it for 3 to 4 minutes until the colour deepens and it smells a bit nutty, stirring all the while so nothing burns. Add the salt, stir briefly, then add the warm stock and thyme. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Let simmer for 20 minutes, until the farro is just starting to get tender. Remove the lid and continue simmering, uncovered, for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Add the mushrooms, tofu, and spinach. Stir to combine. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms and tofu are warmed through and the spinach is wilted. Add salt and cracked black pepper
to taste.

Ladle the stocky mixture into bowls and serve with a drizzle of walnut oil.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Excerpted from A Generous Meal by Christine Flynn. Copyright © 2023 Christine Flynn. Photographs by Suech and Beck. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

Next: This Is Not Your Typical Panzanella Salad—It’s a Punchy, Winterized Version

Whether it’s a vigorous hike or vinyasa yoga, movement of all sorts can improve our cardio and help our joints, organs, skin and muscles. Most importantly, exercise can help us with daily movement. “I always advocate for mobility first,” says Jennifer Winter, owner and creator of Have a Nice Day Pilates, a studio in downtown Toronto. “I like exercises and movements that promote overall mobility, so you can do things like carry your groceries. We often need a bigger range of motion than we think we do.”

A few years ago, Winter was feeling restless at her desk-bound admin job, so mid-pandemic, she pivoted. Leaning on her professional dance background and more than a decade of Pilates experience, she opened Have a Nice Day Pilates in January 2021, which offers both in-studio classes and on-demand online sessions. She hasn’t looked back.

With the cold weather firmly in place across the country, Winter says focusing on movement is that much more important: “We need to move to help keep our blood flowing!” Beyond day-to-day mobility, Pilates can keep us limber as we age. Studies show that it helps ease postmenopausal lumbar tightness, improves lower back pain and can be a good option to manage osteoporosis and knee osteoarthritis. The benefits extend beyond our bodies: Physical activity helps keep our mental health in tip-top shape and improves cognitive function.

In particular, cross-lateral movements (common in Pilates) may be useful in strengthening the mind-body connection. These include asymmetrical motions (where one side is doing something different than the other) and actions that cross our midline (an invisible divider that splits our body into right and left halves).

“This type of movement switches on our brain,” says Winter. “It helps us focus our awareness of our body in space, also called proprioception, which is a brain function.” These movements usually require more mindfulness—which, over time, has multiple effects on our brain, like increased attention, more efficient sensory processing and more adaptive decision-making. “[Cross-lateral movements] force us to slow down and zoom in on a muscle group or an area that’s in motion. It takes a lot of awareness to understand what’s going on and perform the exercise properly.”

One of Winter’s go-to moves to train the brain is called bird dog. It’s performed on your hands and knees and involves extending and drawing in opposite arms and legs—all while balancing. It engages deep core muscles, and it works the stability in your hips and shoulder and builds strength in the wrists and forearms.

Winter also likes an exercise called dead bug that uses similar muscle groups, but requires even more mental focus. In its simplest form, you lie on your back with your arms and legs sticking up toward the ceiling—like a dead bug—and coordinate extending out your opposite arm and leg (as in, extend your left arm and right leg, then do the same on the other side). Winter makes sure to offer this in her morning classes: “It’s like a little espresso shot. There’s so much that’s going on there, even though it sounds simple.”

Another go-to for Winter is a gentle bicycling motion with your legs while on your back. “It has room to layer movements [in the sequence] as you go, so you can start easy and work your way up,” she says. First, use your abdominals and hip flexors to extend and draw in opposite legs in an asymmetrical movement. Next, to add a layer of physical difficulty, engage the upper abs to lift your head and shoulders. Lastly, you can rotate your upper body and touch opposite elbow to knee. This switches on the internal obliques and adds mental difficulty with a cross-midline action.

Often, the hardest moves are the ones we need to pay very close attention to. “That is the beauty of Pilates,” says Winter. “You need to complete full-range movements to get the benefits, which requires all that much more mental focus.”

Here are some other physical benefits from lateral movements, common in pilates:

Side bend: Reach up and over to one side with both arms, creating compression on the same side. Repeat on the other side. “You might use this folding motion to bend and pick up something, or reach for toilet paper,” Winter says. Plus, compressing one side means lengthening the opposite side. “Lateral lengthening opens up space to breathe deeply.”

Seated twist: Like a side bend, a spinal rotation creates mobility by gently compressing one side of your trunk and lengthening the opposite. In a seated position, gently twist to one side. “A seated spine twist strengthens the abdominal wall, obliques, shoulder stabilizers and hip stabilizers,” Winter says. Take two deep breaths, then return to centre. Repeat on the other side.

Side planks: You can’t haul a load of laundry up the stairs without a bit of muscle. Lie on your side, then prop yourself up on your elbow. Raise your hips up toward the ceiling, and lengthen and strengthen through your legs. Create one long line from your heels to your head and keep your chest open. To make this easier, bend your knees before you lift your hips so you’re in a “half” side plank.

Next: The Benefits of Having an At-Home Pilates Machine

Shopping for cooking oil used to be easy—there were only a few options available at the grocery store, namely olive, peanut and vegetable. Today, there are over a dozen varieties to choose from, each with purported health benefits.

Plus, the price points are all over the place. Vegetable oil—a generic term for blended oil made from ingredients that could include any combo of palm, sunflower, corn, soybeans and canola—has spiked in price, a trend that began two years ago and remains in a state of flux. Over the last several years, supply has tightened due to extreme weather events (droughts in South America and Canada, typhoons in southeast Asia) and labour shortages during the pandemic, according to an analysis by the International Food Policy Research Institute. The supply of sunflower oil in particular has declined because of the Russia-Ukraine war (Ukraine is the top exporter globally). And of course vegetable oil is not only a staple in home kitchens and restaurants, but a key ingredient in many processed foods, which also drives up the price.

Which oil is right for you? Consider smoke point, nutrition and flavour, in addition to price. The oil’s smoke point (the temperature where it starts to burn and tastes terrible) is key. Ones with higher smoke points are best for roasting, frying, sautéing and baking. Those with lower smoke points are good for dressings, sauces or finishing drizzles. Avoiding the smoke point is also impotant because that’s when harmful free radicals that trigger disease are released.

All oils are a calorie-rich fat, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Most are high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (good in that they’re required for normal body functions and can improve blood cholesterol levels) but some have significant amounts of saturated fat (not-so-good, because they can drive up your unhealthy LDL cholesterol). As with everything in healthy eating, variety and moderation reign supreme, and the type of fat you eat is more important than the amount of fat you eat. Here’s how the most commonly available oils stack up.

Olive

The hero of the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, extra-virgin olive oil is rich in plant compounds called polyphenols, which have been linked to reducing incidences of cancer and heart disease. It is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, containing about 75 percent by volume, so when substituted for saturated fats, it helps lower your “bad” LDL cholesterol. Observational studies have shown a link between lower risks of cardiovascular disease, some cancers, and even dementia in people who consume higher amounts of olive oil than those who use little or none. Always go for extra-virgin olive oil, which is pressed mechanically from ripe olives and processed without high heat or chemical solvents. It has a lower smoke point, but more healthy polyphenols.

Medium smoke point: 325°F (extra-virgin olive oil) to about 465°F (refined or light olive oil).

Avocado

Rich in monounsaturated fats, specifically oleic acid or omega-9 and vitamin E, avocado oil is considered heart-healthy, with the potential to lower bad LDL cholesterol. Its mild, buttery flavour works for sweet and savoury dishes, and it performs just as well for deep-frying as it does as a salad dressing base. The downside? It’s expensive.

Very high smoke point: 520°F (higher than most plant-based oils)

Tip: In terms of health benefits, olive oil and avocado oil are right up there. Avocado oil has a higher smoke point, making it more versatile, but it can be more expensive for everyday use.

Corn

Good for frying and grilling, with a toasty but relatively neutral flavour, corn oil is inexpensive, which makes it a good option for occasional deep-fried treats.

High smoke point: 450°F

Peanut

High in monounsaturated fat, peanut oil contains phytosterols that can block absorption of cholesterol, (Chronic inflammation can occur in response to unwanted substances in the body, such as excess of fat cells, and it contributes to cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and other conditions.) Its slightly nutty flavour makes it a smart choice for stir fry and homemade French fries.

High smoke point: 450°F

Sunflower

Research has found that substituting sunflower oil, which is full of oleic fatty acids, for saturated fats in the diet can produce lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglyceride levels. (Your body converts any calories it doesn’t need to use right away into triglycerides. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells, and high levels can increase your risk of heart disease.) It also has high levels of vitamin E—one tablespoon contains 28 percent of recommended daily intake—and can be used for sautéing, stir frying, deep frying and baking.

High smoke point: 450°F

Grapeseed

A chef favourite, grapeseed oil has a neutral taste, making it an ideal all-purpose oil (frying, baking or even as a blank-canvas base for dressings with bold ingredients). It does contain high levels of omega-6, which can trigger inflammation if more than moderate amounts are consumed.

High smoke point: 420°F

Canola

Like olive oil, canola is high in monounsaturated fat (63 percent) and offers a decent level of polyunsaturated fats. Of all vegetable oils, canola oil tends to have the least amount of saturated fats, at just 7 percent, which means it’s one of the healthiest in that category. And it’s one of Canada’s leading crops. There’s plenty of misinformation about canola oil circulating online, claiming that it has high levels of so-called toxins because of the way it’s processed, but these theories have been thoroughly debunked.

Medium-high smoke point: 400°F

Vegetable

Vegetable oil blends contain the highest levels of polyunsaturated fats, which have been shown to potentially lower coronary heart disease. The knock against vegetable oils is that they are ultra-refined and processed, which means they not only lack flavour, but also nutrients. The trouble, health-wise, comes from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, used to make products like margarine, coffee creamer, packaged snacks and fried foods. This form contains harmful trans fats, which raise your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower your good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Eating trans fats increases your risk of developing heart disease and stroke, and is also associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Medium-high smoke point: 400°F

Coconut

Popular and controversial, coconut oil is so high in saturated fat (82 to 90 percent) that the American Heart Association advises against using it. The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation lists it with fatty meats, full-fat dairy products, butter and lard—for consuming in absolute moderation. It has a wonderful flavour and there’s no problem using it occasionally, but it shouldn’t be your go-to.

Medium smoke point: 350°F (up to 400°F for refined coconut oil, which has been filtered and deodorized, so retains little to no coconut flavour or fragrance)

 Tip: Oils with similar smoke points can be substituted for one another, but be aware that some carry more flavour than others.

Sesame

This oil contains both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, though it’s not especially high in other nutrients. Refined sesame oil has a relatively neutral flavour and a higher smoke point, so it can be used for frying; toasted sesame is bold in flavour, and a little goes a long way.

High smoke point (refined): 410°F

Medium smoke point (toasted): 350°F

Hemp Seed

This rich, nutty-flavoured oil has a high concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acid and a very low smoke point, so it’s not practical to use it for cooking. Use it as a finishing oil for salads, soups and grain bowls that will stand up to its strong flavour (which is similar to sunflower seeds), and store it in the fridge.

Low smoke point: 332°F

Walnut

The delicate, slightly sweet and nutty flavour of walnut oil makes it perfect for a finishing drizzle on dishes. This is not an oil you want to cook with; instead, take advantage of its rich concentration of omega-3 fatty acids by adding it to your salad dressing.

Very low smoke point: 320°F

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A classic panzanella salad is made with ripe tomatoes and stale bread, and this is by no means a classic version. This delicious winter panzanella has all the good stale bread energy you’re used to in a panzanella but also slightly charred and caramelized pumpkin and squash, tons of sage, and nutty hazelnuts. A hit of red wine vinegar and a little Hot Honey (recipe below) carry this panzanella over the finish line.

Winter Panzanella Salad

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

For the honey (makes 1 cup)

• 1 cup (250 mL) pure liquid honey
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) white vinegar
• 2 to 3 long red chilies, halved lengthwise
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) dried red chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) Aleppo pepper
• Pinch of salt

For the salad

• 1 small sugar pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks
• 1 delicata squash, halved, seeded, and sliced 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick
• 2 to 3 shallots, halved
• ½ loaf stale bread, torn into bite-size chunks
• 1 bunch fresh sage, stems removed and discarded and leaves roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pinches of salt, divided Pinch of ground red chilies
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) Hot Honey
• 1 bunch kale, washed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) hazelnut oil, more for drizzling
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) red wine vinegar 8 ounces (225 g) bocconcini cheese
• ½ cup (125 mL) hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Directions

For the honey

Hot honey is one of those things I can’t believe I ever lived without. It’s such an easy thing to put together, and it adds so much to any dish. Drizzle it over Baked Cheese (page 45) or Fried Cabbage with Halloumi and Jalapenos (page 151), or level up your takeout fried chicken (heck, it’s pretty great on a McNugget!), a buttered biscuit, or even a simple platter of roast veggies.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine all the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then remove the saucepan from the heat. Let cool to room temperature.

If you prefer a smooth hot honey, use a fine-mesh sieve to strain out the solids as you transfer the honey to a 16-ounce (500 mL) jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

If you use a clean spoon when dipping into the hot honey, it will keep in the refrigerator indefinitely.

For the salad

Preheat the oven to 475°F (240°C). Line a large-rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, place the pumpkin, squash, shallots, bread, sage, olive oil, a pinch of salt, and the chilies. Toss to combine.

Spread the mixture in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bread is slightly toasted and the pumpkin is easily pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven and drizzle with the hot honey. Stir briefly and set aside to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.

In the same large bowl you used to combine the vegetables and bread, place the kale. Add the hazelnut oil, red wine vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Massage the ingredients until the kale is evenly coated.

Check to make sure the vegetable and bread mixture is not hot; it should be warm or room temperature before you add it or the kale will wilt. Add the roasted vegetable and bread mixture and half of the cheese and hazelnuts to the kale. Toss to combine. Top the salad with the remaining cheese and hazelnuts and a drizzle of hazelnut oil.

This salad keeps relatively well. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Excerpted from A Generous Meal by Christine Flynn. Copyright © 2023 Christine Flynn. Photographs by Suech and Beck. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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Not long after her sixth birthday, Rachel Aviv stopped eating. Her family had just celebrated Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, and it suddenly occurred to her: She could say no to food. Maybe it was a response to her parents’ custody battle, maybe there was a sense of pride in her self-restraint—Aviv’s memories, and her medical records, are unclear. Her doctors, though, were certain she had anorexia, and promptly moved her to a hospital ward alongside girls twice her age.

Her family could only visit if Aviv ate her meals, and, once she did, a spell was broken; soon enough, she’d gained some weight and was sent back to first grade. But the experience left Aviv with an enduring interest in the earliest phases of mental illness, when, as she writes in her book Strangers to Ourselves, “a condition is consuming and debilitating but has not yet remade a person’s identity and social world.” She wants to know how the stories we tell about mental illnesses can carve out their course. After all, she says, “there are stories that save us, and stories that trap us, and in the midst of an illness it can be very hard to know which is which.”

Aviv, who is now a staff writer at The New Yorker, divides her book into a series of profiles of “unsettled minds,” including Laura, an affluent Harvard graduate whose bipolar disorder becomes something of a career; Bapu, a Brahmin mother of two who trades domestic life for consuming devotion to a deity; and Naomi, whose psychosis is hard to untangle from the very real racial injustice around her. Here, Aviv discusses the limits of psychiatric insight, the challenge of pinning down your true self and the power of a community.

You write about what philosopher Ian Hacking calls the “looping effect”: a diagnosis can become a self-fulfilling prophecy as people adjust their behaviour to fit their illness. Did your age at the time of your diagnosis disrupt that loop?

That diagnosis meant nothing to me. Anorexia sounded like this big, fancy word, but it had no resonance. It wasn’t ever used in my peer group. I left the hospital and it was a discrete experience that I saw as sort of this freak moment. I think because I was so young, it just didn’t solidify as the problem with my life. I didn’t have insight. I had no idea why I had done that. And I think I was allowed a degree of: well, six-year-olds don’t have much power over anything in their lives. But one thing they do have power over is what they put in their mouth. That very simple, spare explanation was allowed to be it.

That notion of insight comes up again and again in the book. How does the medical profession understand insight?

There are two different ways of thinking about insight. One is more the psychoanalytic approach: If you have an awareness of what’s causing your suffering or sort of family dynamics produced your sense of self, then you can have this epiphany, and that epiphany itself can be healing. That was the model 40, 50 years ago. And then, over time, what psychiatrists seek for patients to understand in the quick clinical encounter is more like: I have the insight to realize that my brain is not properly functioning, because I have a chemical imbalance and I need to take medications to help.

What context is missing from that model?

There’s one extreme, which is to assume that having insight into the dynamics that cause an illness is going to be healing. Then there’s the other extreme, which is that we’re not even going to try to engage with the context of the family, the upbringing, the community, the ways all sorts of social and economic and political factors might have shaped your sense of being in crisis. Someone like Naomi, who I write about in the book, is very aware of the ways that discrimination, poverty, violence and death have shaped her life. And then to have a doctor say, all I want you to do here is acknowledge that you have a mental illness and you can help yourself if you take medications, it can feel really invalidating.

Is there something compelling about a biomedical explanation for mental illness, though? Does it offer a sense of neutrality?

Yeah, and it does this powerful thing of taking away parents’ sense of being at fault, or people blaming themselves. I think it’s interesting that it’s always assumed the biomedical explanation will reduce stigma, and that hasn’t borne out. There’s a whole other set of stigmatized connotations that come from having this permanent biological illness—that it’s in your bones, it’s in your body, and it’s going to mark you for life.

How can certain illnesses or medications get gendered? I’m thinking of borderline personality disorder diagnosed more often in women, or prescriptions for an SSRI like Lexapro, which your friend memorably described as a pill “to make the ambitious ladies more tolerable.”

Pharmaceutical marketing campaigns are so interesting. Recently, white women are shown with a ring on their finger, the kids in one hand, their briefcase in the other. And the drugs are celebrated as the thing that will allow them to have their full working life and their full motherhood. But a common side effect for SSRIs is to take away people’s sex drives. It’s interesting that we expect a lot of working mothers, but sexuality is not one of them. SSRIs have been widely accepted without much conversation about what it does to sexuality.

And there hasn’t been much conversation about—or even much research on—people who try to come off those medications, either. You write about your own struggles to come off Lexapro.

I think seeing what happens when people go off their medications doesn’t feel sexy and exciting as a research project. I also think there’s some level of paternalistic thinking—we don’t want to study the difficulties that people have getting off medications, because we’re scared if we publicize it, people won’t get on the medications. But that takes the decision out of people’s hands.

Could that also be influenced by the idea, as we’ve moved to a biomedical explanation for mental illness, that if this illness is chronic, we don’t need to study the off-ramps for medication?

Right—that if you are taking medication for a chemical imbalance, you’re always going to have a chemical imbalance, and you’re always going to need to fix it. So there’s this sense of rewriting what your baseline is, as opposed to seeing mental health as something that ebbs and flows. Maybe you go through a hard phase and take that medication until you’re in a better place.

How do we know what our baseline is?

That’s something I’ve struggled with. I went on Lexapro in my late 20s. I was an adult, but I don’t know, maybe I hadn’t grown into my true self yet; your sense of self is always shifting. But if Lexapro allows me to interact with friends and family in a more loving and open and warm way, there’s something sad about me saying, well, that’s not my baseline self—my baseline self is more rigid and inhibited. I don’t like that idea.

There are ways our sense of self shifts as we get older, adding careers and families, but also as we navigate external events that act upon us. I feel the pandemic must have changed my baseline self.

It’s interesting that, in the wake of the pandemic, people have called it a mental health epidemic. You could phrase it that way. But you could also phrase it as people responding to the grief and loneliness of the conditions of their lives. I think loneliness in the culture is talked about more, but I don’t know that’s it’s become more of a focus for psychiatry yet.

Yet all the people in your book found value and help in speaking with someone—in alleviating their loneliness.

One of the things I was struck by with all the people I wrote about was how they felt seen by someone who had gone through a similar mental illness, or even someone who could understand how they were processing their illness. I think psychiatry generally thinks about people as individual brains with individual problems, and not as much about the ways in which problems emerge in the relation between a person’s brain and their community. And then so too does recovery.

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Rachel Barrett, a Halifax-based yoga teacher, starts each morning by dancing with her two-year-old daughter, Lola, in their kitchen. The dancing is a ritual that Barrett began years ago on one February morning, when she and a friend noticed they both felt colder, darker and more sombre during this time of the year. “We wondered, why don’t we make February a little something different? Show up for ourselves and do things that invigorate us,” she says. “Even if it’s just taking a minute in the morning.” Barrett committed to a daily mini dance party, something purely delightful that allowed her “to draw back into joy.” The ritual felt especially vital when Barrett was pregnant and postpartum. Now, she calls dreary February “FABuary,” and posts daily videos of her dancing on Instagram (@luminousandwild), hoping to inject some silliness into her followers’ lives over the course of the month.

Dancing isn’t the only thing that gets Barrett moving—aside from yoga, which she’s been practicing since 2008, she’s an avid surfer. It’s terrific exercise, but it also gives her a sense of peace. After experiencing a loss in her family, Barrett started visiting the water often. It became “a place of healing,” she says. “A place where I could be with my grief, and be with the hope and optimism…and challenge myself and show up for myself.” Since she started surfing six years ago, she and her partner (also a surfer) have tried to make it out onto the water every day. Living right on the Atlantic coast makes it possible, but so does prioritizing movement. Here’s how she does it.

7:15am The soundtrack for Barrett and Lola’s kitchen-floor dance party usually includes Paul Simon’s Graceland, which is a long-time family fave: Even Barrett’s 95-year-old grandma stands up and grooves whenever a song from the album comes on. Starting the morning with dance “sets the tone for the day,” says Barrett, and allows her to “move through whatever I’m feeling, whatever heaviness, and embrace things as they are.”

7:30am  Barrett likes to cap off her morning routine by reading with Lola—a ritual that is super important to her after so much wild activity. “Life with a toddler can be pretty fast. I’m quite chaotic at times, so it’s nice to find those little moments where we can sit together,” she says. Lola’s current favourite book is Peppa Pig’s Happy Diwali!

8:30am For the last couple of years, Barrett and her partner weren’t sending Lola to daycare—COVID-related concerns and a lengthy waitlist meant that Barrett stayed at home with her. Now, Lola is in daycare from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., giving Barrett more balance in her life and the opportunity to take time for herself.

10:00am  “Daycare drop-off is pretty hard,” says Barrett. Often, she says, it’s emotional, especially on days when Lola would rather stay home. Seeing Lola distraught makes her feel “a bit heavy,” she says. On days like that, she recentres by playing a couple of songs on the guitar and adding wood to the fire.

12:00pm  Barrett teaches yoga virtually every day at noon, and she appreciates how online classes make it more accessible for people. “Making [yoga] something that you could do at home…I think it’s important,” she says. Barrett practices in the sunroom, where she can enjoy natural light during the day and see the moon and stars at night.

2:00pm  After teaching, Barrett will walk 10 minutes to the beach—she tries to get out for a surf whenever there are waves or her schedule allows. She and her partner work together to ensure they both have time out on the water, and they will often take Lola with them. “I can feel glimpses of the old me, but I’m also here with my daughter,” she says.

2:30pm  While Barrett didn’t start surfing until adulthood, she’s always been drawn to the water, and as a kid, she was fascinated by scuba diving. “Growing up as a woman of colour on the East Coast in New Brunswick, I never saw any representation,” she says. “There aren’t many women of colour in cold-water [sports].”

4:00pm  Showing surfing to her daughter is Barrett’s favourite part of the hobby. “I hope she loves the water. I didn’t have a connection with the ocean until my early 20s, so I would love to foster that in her from a young age, to find that sense of comfort and confidence in the water,” she says.

Next: “I’m a 40-Something-Year-Old Skateboarder (and TikTok Sensation)”

Maybe you’ve seen under-eye patches all over your Instagram feed (thanks, Dieux). Or maybe they caught your eye at your local bookstore (yes, they’re even at Indigo). Or, maybe you spotted them on the woman sitting next to you onboard a redeye (that was me!). But one thing’s for sure: You’ve definitely seen them, and you’ve probably wondered if there’s actually a good reason they’re everywhere right now.

First, some background info: There are two kinds of under-eye patches—disposable and reusable. Disposable ones are made out of materials like hydrogel or lyocell and are pre-soaked in skin care ingredients like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. Reusable ones can also be made of hydrogel, or silicone, and are designed to be placed on top of an eye cream or serum of your choice to help it better absorb into the skin and therefore boost its efficacy. But no matter the type, most under-eye patches promise the same thing: to make you look a little self-indulgent for 15-20 minutes as they do their thing to diminish puffiness, brighten dark circles, smooth fine lines and make your eyes look like they did when you were a teen clocking 10-12 hours of sleep.

Do they work? I only use them on overnight flights, and they help me look like I was able to sleep just fine scrunched in my seat in coach. But the effects don’t last that long—by the evening, the spell has been broken, and I get two undisguisable dark circles joining me for dinner. I use ones by French brand Klorane, which are hydrogel eye patches formulated with cornflower water, hyaluronic acid and seaweed extract—and they have a decent fanbase. “After I take them off my circles are gone and my skin is glowing,” wrote one reviewer. “My eyes almost felt more plump like they had some life zapped back into them, and they were so smooth and soft,” wrote another.

The Perks

So, can under-eye patches really zap life back into your eyes? “They provide a temporary benefit, like a face mask,” says Renée Beach, a dermatologist in Toronto. For example, if you’re looking for immediate moisture and a smoothing effect, eye patches that contain humectants like glycerin can deeply hydrate the area and thereby plump skin so fine lines are less noticeable, says Beach. That is to say, the patches aren’t actually diminishing fine lines permanently—they’re diminishing the appearance of them, temporarily, for about a day. But, they work. And Beach says they can truly help brighten the under-eye area too—you’d just need to use ones that contain the right ingredients, such as niacinamide, azelaic acid, Kojic acid, and mushroom extract, and use them consistently for over three months.

The Options

Obviously, reusable ones are more environmentally friendly, but Beach says they require rigorous cleaning after every use or they may trigger skin woes like acne or irritations. If you choose reusable ones, you’ll need to pair them with an eye cream or serum—Beach prefers the latter. “I think serums generally absorb more easily and elegantly on average,” she says.

The Risks

Like everything, there are a few risks involved with under-eye patches. For example, if there’s too much product residue left over in the eye area from the patches, it can get trapped in the superficial skin and cause milia, says Beach. Milia are tiny skin-coloured bumps that, while harmless, can be tricky to get rid of.

Beach also suggests avoiding products that contain ingredients like fragrances and their derivatives (like limonene and linalool) because they don’t offer a cosmetic benefit. “While lovely to smell, they can cause irritation,” she says. In general, if you experience itching, burning, redness, or another type of discomfort within hours of applying the patches, you may have contact dermatitis, so discontinue use immediately.

The DIY Version

Another option: Do the old-fashioned cucumber slices trick—apply them to your eyes, and they can hydrate the skin. Or, apply ice packs to de-puff. Not a bad idea: Neither will cost you anything (surely you already have a cucumber in your fridge?), and they’re unlikely to cause irritation, says Beach.

The Top Picks

Prefer the store-bought variety? Then you’ll probably be looking for the best under-eye patches available now. So, here are the highest-rated, buzziest disposable ones available in Canada.

Didn’t get enough sleep? Reach for these patches made with hyaluronic acid, which can help brighten and de-puff eyes to help it look like you got a full eight hours.
Klorane Smoothing & Soothing Eye Patches With Organic Cornflower, $38, well.ca

Vitamin C is the hero ingredient in these eye patches, making them a great pick if you want to lighten up dark circles. The patches also contain hydrating ingredients like aloe and cucumber to revitalize the under-eye area.
Derma E Vitamin C Bright Eyes Hydro Gel Patches, $41, well.ca

If crepey skin is a concern, these hydra-gel patches from Peter Thomas Roth can help. They contain collagen to help boost skin elasticity and firmness.
Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx® Collagen Face & Eye Hydra-Gel Patches, $65, sephora.com

You apply retinol to your face—what about the eye area? These eye patches deliver a touch of retinol (just enough to make a difference without aggravating the delicate skin around the eye), resulting in skin that is smoother and firmer.
Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Eye Masks, $42, sephora.com

If dry skin around the eyes is the concern, try these patches by Lise Watier. They’re made with aloe to deeply moisturize skin, and also contain collagen to reduce the appearance of fine lines.
Watier Bio Lift Eye Patch, $42, shoppersdrugmart.com

Eyes looking tired? These patches, which contain hydrating ingredients like niacinamide and glycerin, can hydrate skin and fill in fine lines, helping you look bright-eyed again. Although the patches are disposable, they’re biodegradable, making them a more sustainable option.
Goopgenes Lift + Depuff Eye Masks, $165, goop.com

Next: The Problem with Today’s Buzzy No-Makeup Makeup Look

Renée Reardin is an editor at Best Health and the author of a newsletter called Curious Chat, where she finds answers to beauty questions just like this one. Subscribe below!

If you want to live a healthy lifestyle, staying hydrated is one of the most important steps you can take. Not only is hydration important for lubricating joints, protecting tissues and getting rid of wastes, but failure to drink enough fluids can cause overheating, constipation, mood changes and unclear thinking.

That said, all drinks aren’t created equal. For Tom Brady and Beyoncé, alkaline water is the must-have beverage for improving hydration and overall health. It’s also the choice of BodyBreak co-founders and Canadian wellness icons Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod.

But what exactly is alkaline water?

This quick primer delves into the pH scale, the alkaline diet and how alkaline water could become part of your health regimen.

How the pH scale works

“The pH scale measures how acidic or alkaline a substance is,” explains BodyBreak’s Joanne McLeod. “The scale ranges from 0 to 14.”

• 0 is highly acidic
• 7 is neutral
• 14 is highly alkaline

What does “alkaline” mean when it comes to food?

Pure, distilled water has a pH of 7, making it completely neutral. Otherwise, foods and beverages tend to be acidic or alkaline. Foods with a low pH (below 7) are considered acidic, while foods with a high pH (above 7) are alkaline.

“Maintaining a balanced alkaline diet has become a popular approach for wellness,” notes BodyBreak’s Hal Johnson. This type of diet involves increasing your intake of alkaline foods and decreasing your acidic food consumption.

Examples of alkaline foods and drinks

• Most fresh vegetables
• Soy including miso, tofu and tempeh
• Fats like olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds
• Herbal teas
• AC+ION water (the highest pH water in Canada)

 Examples of acidic foods and drinks

• Some types of cheese
• Fish and seafood
• Eggs
• Salty processed foods
• Deli meat
• Commercial grains like breakfast cereal and bread
• Refined sugar including soft drinks, sugary sports drinks, candy and pastries
• Coffee
• Alcohol

When to drink alkaline water

“Proper hydration is essential and has a huge impact on your overall health,” Johnson says. “It’s even more important if you’re active, have poor eating habits or you’re stressed.” Beyoncé has been known to drink exclusively alkaline water while on tour, while Tom Brady believes that an alkaline diet (and anywhere from 12 to 25 glasses of water in a day) reduces inflammation and keeps him young.

AC+ION alkaline water promotes optimal hydration and has the highest pH of any water in Canada. “It’s filtered multiple times to remove impurities and is UV processed, reverse osmosis demineralizes it and then it’s ionized to create a pH of 9.5,” notes McLeod. According to Johnson, “AC+ION is a great alternative to low pH, sugary sports drinks, helps balance out low pH foods and is a great way to keep hydrated.”

Wherever you go, tote your alkaline water with you—especially if you’ll be exercising. If you find that you don’t drink enough throughout the day, set an alarm every 30 or 60 minutes to get into the habit.

AC+ION water is available at select convenience stores across Canada for a suggested price of $2.99/litre bottle. You can also find it at amazon.ca. For more information, visit drinkactionwater.ca.

Calling all meal-prep procrastinators! Roasted root vegetables offer a low-effort, high-reward dinner solution with endless possibilities. Here’s why they’ll be your winter cooking hero.

You’ll eat the rainbow

Variety isn’t just the spice of life—it’s also good for you, especially when vegetables are involved. For example, orange-coloured veg like carrots, squash and sweet potatoes are good sources of vitamins A and C, which both contribute to immune function. For a mix of nutrients in your meal, pick different-coloured vegetables, making sure to chop them into equal-sized pieces so that everything cooks evenly. When I’m in a hurry, I’ll chop veggies small to speed up cooking, but if I’m getting tired of chopping, I’ll leave my veggies chunky.

You’ll consume more healthy fats

Fats, like cooking oil, not only make the veggies crispy and tasty, they also help your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins found in these vegetables, like vitamins A, E and K. Picking out a fat or oil to use can be tricky. When roasting at higher temps, choose fats that have a higher smoke point to avoid burning your meal and giving the food an unpleasant scorched, bitter taste. If you’re roasting at very high heat (over 450°F), try refined avocado or safflower oils, which have some of the highest smoke points. Olive oil and sunflower oil is fine up to about 425°F.

Your digestion will improve

Regardless of what raw-food diet trends say, cooking vegetables is good for you. While it’s true that some nutrients dissipate when heated, cooking vegetables helps break down their fibrous cell walls, so your body has to do less work to digest and absorb them. Plus, cooked carrots, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, cabbage, peppers and tomatoes all supply more of certain antioxidants, such as carotenoids and ferulic acid, to the body than they do when raw.

You’ll have so many options

If you’ve ever been gifted a spice blend set that’s now gathering dust in the cupboard, pull it out for a batch of roast veggies. Spices are a good way to boost flavour, especially if you’re limiting salt intake. Mixes like herbes de Provence, Chinese five spice and za’atar can really breathe new life into your roasted veg.

Stroll down the international aisle for more inspiration: Middle Eastern shawarma spice, for example, is great on roasted carrots, along with olive oil and honey. And don’t be afraid to try blends usually reserved for meats, like peri-peri and Jamaican jerk seasoning.

Some of my favourite spices to add (beyond salt and pepper) are chili powder, ground cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and turmeric. Or, use curry powder or garam masala, which include some of these spices and pair well with winter root vegetables.
Dress up your roast veg to give them even more flavour. In the winter, when fresh vegetables look less appealing, these upgrades make everything more appetizing.

To add freshness, use leafy herbs, such as parsley, dill and basil, to make sauces like chimichurri, pesto or salsa verde. For a creamy flavour, add crumbled feta, Greek yogurt, diced avocado, tahini or miso. Looking for some crunch? Top your veg with toasted nuts and seeds, pickled onions, pomegranates or chili crisp. For sweetness, try hot honey. And to add some tang, opt for vinegars, a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime or a splash of orange juice.

Some of my go-to combinations include roasted squash drizzled with tahini and topped with pickled onions; carrots, dolloped with Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of toasted nuts and dill; and eggplant brushed with miso and hot honey, garnished with sliced green onion.
With the right cooking technique and some well-placed seasonings, root vegetables will soon be the most colourful, nutritious dish on your table this winter.

Laura Jeha is a registered dietitian, nutrition counselor and recipe developer. Find out more at ahealthyappetite.ca.

Next: This Recipe for Spice Roasted Root Veggies Is Our New Favourite Winter Dish