Raspberry Kids - fresh, healthy, fun

Shopping with my 6 and 3 year old is painful experience.

I hate to say this, but it's true. The one good thing that has come from my past experiences shopping with my boys is the love I have developed for online shopping!

I can happily sit at my desk, coffee in hand and anytime of day and easily browse the latest and greatest without junior 1 and 2 whining impatiently, "mom can we go now?". Everything from toys, clothes, electronics, and more. They are all easily accessible with a few clicks of my mouse and a few taps on my keyboard. I have found my shopping heaven.

Enter Raspberrykids.com

Raspberry Kids is a purveyor of fresh, healthy and fun products for the little ones in your life. Whether you are a Mom or Dad to-be, a veteran parent or a savvy gift giver, the Raspberry Kids collection has something for you. We have spent countless hours scouring the world of all things children and are pleased to bring the best of the best of our findings to you. Teething babies will not be the only ones drooling over our product line up.

Find your favorites under tabs such as; wearables, playtime, rub-a-dub, let's eat, gifts to go and just4u! Raspberry Kids offers a wide variety of fresh, healthy & fun products and they strive to continuously add more products to keep them on the forefront of children's clothing, gifts, gear and accessories.

Make sure you take a moment and surf on over to Raspberrykids.com, you'll be happy you did!

In my shopping heaven,

Susan

Snow, snow go away, come on back another day.

I actually think this white stuff is great. Emma, Sofia and I have had a blast playing in the snow. I have been using my muscles to dig our driveway and keep the sidewalks clear and have managed to do this all without putting my back out. However, I really miss my daily workouts with the gang of moms at Stroller Strides. It has taken me years to get to the point in my life that I feel the need to workout daily, but I really do. This snow has put a bit of a hitch to my kind of outdoor workouts. You would think that after teaching 5 classes a week I would relish the break but to be brutally honest, I love it and look forward to getting back to seeing my moms in a few weeks time. I can’t wait to start running again and watching the days grow longer. I have already begun my New Year's resolution of 5 fruits and 5 vegetables a day. So with that said and even though the landscape is stunning I can’t wait to be able to glide smoothly over some pavement in my running shoes. Hope everyone joins me in a healthy and happy new year.

In good health,

Anne-Louise

Lotuswear: Yoga Inspired Active & Casual Wear

If you have been to any Stroller Strides Richmond classes lately, you'll see the instructors and moms decked out in active wear from Lotuswear.

Lotuswear is a locally owned & operated Vancouver company - something you don't see too much of these days. They provide yoga-inspired active wear for women and men. Besides offering a great line of products, Lotuswear believes in business practices that are socially and environmentally conscious.

Lotuswear is all about choice, the spectrum of colour, the design and sustainable fabric are as diverse as the people who buy Lotuswear.

Lotuswear has locations all around the lower mainland, the most convenient for our moms is located at Richmond Centre Mall.

Along with a diverse line of yoga-inspired active wear comes two new lines, Lotuswear Run and Lotuswear Golf. The Lotuswear lines are all about uniqueness and diversity, make sure to use the links and check them out, or better yet, drop by one of their stores and make yourself happy this holiday season with a purchase from them.

Mom Friendly Run Group set to start in January 2009

Stroller Strides Richmond has just announced that its moms-only running group will start a new program on January 19, 2009. The program will run each Monday night for 12 weeks with the goal of those moms completing it will be to run a 10K in April.

The Stroller Strides Mom Run group is a non-intimidating and supportive environment for moms to safely train using a slow & gradual progression of walk-run intervals.

If you are interested in joining the group please consult our Stroller Strides Richmond website for more details or contact aparry@strollerstrides.net.

Lean Mommy

Stroller Strides Richmond is excited to announce the arrival of a new class! Lean Mommy will start in Steveston on January 7, 2009. More than 25 moms have already registered for this class and they will be starting the new year on the right track to healthy eating & exercise.

The class will be taught by Anne-Louise Parry, a BCRPA Certified Group Fitness Instructor who specialized in pre and post natal fitness. The class will entail a 45 minute power circuit and end with a core-strength section and a stretch.

At the commencement of the program, the participants will be weighed and measurements taken at chest, hips and thighs. A photography will be taken at the start and finish at the end of the 12 week session. Each of the mom participants will keep a diary and will be accountable to their Lean Mommy partners for their actions each week.

Check back on the Stroller Strides Richmond blog for updates on how the Lean Mommy's are doing! If you are interested in the class, you can check out the Stroller Strides Richmond website or email aparry@strollerstrides.net for more information.

In Stride,

Susan

Pinky Blue

It has to be one of the coolest baby & kids stores in Richmond and it's a Lulu Ladies & Babies Powered by Stroller Strides FAVOURITE!

Pinky Blue Children's Boutique can be found tucking into The Blundell Centre Shopping Mall at the corner of Blundell and No. 2 Road in Richmond.

The owner of this hip shopping destination is Vanessa Uribe, a Richmond mom of two girls. Vanessa and her staff work tirelessly to search for great gifts, useful gadgets and clothes that are to die for.

From clothes, accessories and footwear to feeding, bath & gear for mom, you will find it all and more at Pinky Blue. They have a wonderful section of natural and organic products too! We all know how difficult it can be for new moms to actually get out to the store sometimes, by the time you pack up the gear, pack up the baby and get out the door, well... you know how it goes. To alleviate the stress of this, you can just click on over to Pinky Blue and shop with their user-friendly website.

If you haven't ever had the opportunity to shop at Pinky Blue, make sure you stop in and find out what you have been missing. Tell Vanessa the Lulu Moms say hello!

Heart Healthy Fish & Chips

We really are so lucky to live in Richmond, either in or a short drive from Steveston, BC - hands down, home to some of the best fish & chip restaurants on the planet.

As much as it would be nice to frequent these restaurants, we know that eating anything deep fried too often is not a good heart healthy choice.

Dietitians of Canada: Women's Health and Nutrition position paper suggests consuming two to three fish meals per week, along with a low-fat diet, for heart health. Although all fish aren't high in omega-3s, they still can contribute important amounts of these fatty acids if they're eaten regularly.

With this recommendation in mind and this recipe in hand, you can still have your regular fix of fish & chips, by just revisiting the preparation method to make it a healthier choice.

To Prepare the Fish:

1. fish fillet (any type - halibut, cod, salmon are all great choices and easily found at the grocery store).
2. flour
3. egg (lightly scrambled you can use white only if you wish)
4. bread coating (you can use Corn Flake crumbs, breadcrumbs, finely chopped nuts, even a packaged Shake & Bake coating)

Mix together the bread coating with salt & pepper to taste. Dip fish fillets into the flour, shake well to remove excess, then into egg, and finally into the bread coating mixture until evenly coated. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment. Cook 12-15 minutes until cooked through and golden.

To prepare the Chips:

1. Potatoes, Yams or Sweet Potatoes - or a combination thereof.
2. Olive Oil

Scrub and slice potatoes, yams or sweet potatoes into wedges. Toss lightly with olive oil. Arrange wedges in single layer, sprinkle with salt. Cook 45 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp.

So we you get your next craving for fish & chips, remember to give this a try, your heart and your waistline will thank you.

In good health,

Susan