Note: There are no spoilers in this post. Because seriously, it’s an action movie!

Watching The Avengers this weekend, it struck me - whether one is working with an internal team, a community coalition, or a corporate board of directors, at some point we have all seen the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor and the Hulk.

Who among us hasn’t tried to get the group’s cocky know-it-all to play nice? Or hasn’t worked alongside the old fashioned guy who appears to be a bit out of touch? We’ve all encountered the person who seems talented at just about everything, but who we still don’t entirely trust. There’s the rich guy. The geeky guy. The token fill-in-the-blank (in this case, a woman). There’s the person who shows up at the last minute, as if to save the day.  And the outsider, who clearly doesn’t fit in but wields one hell of a hammer. 

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Today's Meatless Monday recipe comes from Eating Well

Looking for a Spring-y dish? Crêpes aren't just for dessert—they make a quick and savory weeknight dinner. Here they're filled with ricotta cheese, green beans, zucchini and corn and topped with a chive-cream sauce. Don't skip the step of placing a piece of parchment or wax paper under each crêpe as you fill it—without it, the crêpes are tricky to roll. Serve with: A tossed salad.

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While I’ve had many different jobs and challenges over my 18-year career, they’ve all been in one industry: technology. It has duly fulfilled three critical needs in my life: a passion, a hobby, and a career.  Over time and combined with life experience, I also found that technology gifted me the ability to continually self-actualize and to become drastically more efficient. Or so I thought. 

We’re all drawn to technology for different reasons. Some are amazed by its magic. Some in awe of its power. And some hopeful for its utility. There are actually two types of technology that deserve our attention: technology that we own, touch, and use daily in our lives (think Apple & Amazon) and technology that we see, read about, and admire from a safe distance (think NASA & Nanotech). Both are integral to our livelihood, but for now, let’s address consumer technology components like gadgets, web services, apps, games, and media. 

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‘Hmm! It’s 4:30 already. Does anyone realize it’s my tea and biscuit time? Woof! Woof! Where is everybody??’ In walked Asha with a small cup of tea and 4 Marie biscuits, and promptly came Bambie’s bright pink tongue out, licking her own nose and mouth.

My 11-year old German shepherd, Bambie, suffered from hip dysplasia, a physical ailment which affects most shepherds in their old age. She was rendered immobile to the extent that she couldn’t walk, stand or change positions without human intervention. In the two and half years that she suffered this condition, Bambie, through her behaviour and spirit, taught me many lessons about life. The strongest and most powerful one was, ‘Faith’.

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The climate movement is about to take a giant step forward: The EPA has proposed the first national standard to limit carbon pollution. 

But you may have missed hearing about this because it’s a federal rule, and that means it can get lost in jargon and wonky terms. But it’s doesn’t have to. It’s actually really simple. And I want to tell you about it.

First, who is the EPA? Don’t be shy. It’s a fair question. The EPA is the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s the part of the federal government that’s charged with protecting human health and the environment. The end.

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The hips are the main power engine of the body. They are the epicenter of many simple everyday movements and the source of very complex and explosive motions involved in sports. Visualize the serve in tennis or a golf swing, that power comes from the hips.

Many of the injuries I have seen over the years of training fitness enthusiasts and athletes come from imbalance somewhere in the hip area. The tightness or weakness will be compensated somewhere else in the body. Common areas of injuries are low back and knee. To avoid injuries and make your hips function the way they are supposed to, you need to give your hips what they need: movement in various planes of motion. Not just forward and backward like most people do.

In this video I will be sharing with you a sequence of multi-plane lunges.

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Recently the story of Natasha Harris hit the news. She died. She was 30 years old. In the months before her death she is reported to have consumed up to 10 liters of Coca Cola a day. That's sad. Sugar is a drug and she was an addict that overdosed. That meant that Natasha’s death was being directly linked to the overconsumption of Coke and her accompanying poor diet. The sugar delivery system people had to weigh in on this ASAP. 

The Coca Cola Company didn’t keep the global media waiting. A spokesperson named Karen Thompson was sent to make the rounds with talking points and she dutifully delivered, "The grossly excessive ingestion of any food product, including water, over a short period with the inadequate consumption of essential nutrients, and the failure to seek appropriate medical intervention when needed, can be dramatically symptomatic.” 

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As my profession has been evolving more into being a nutrition/wellness coach, the questions from friends and clients come up more frequently. I want that, I want the invitation to educate them so they can make better choices and move towards having great health.

One of the big topics today is wheat. Is it that bad? Some people say they eat only whole wheat, or whole grain breads. Others may say they eat only organic flour or organic pasta, and the subject goes on. Organic or conventional, it does not matter. The first problem is that wheat today is not the same wheat that our ancestors ate hundreds of years ago. Genetic changes have been induced to increase yield per acre.

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Across the world, organic (variously called bio, eco or oko) food's cultural cachet and steadily rising market share has caused policy makers to regulate how it is produced and marketed. As the illustration below makes clear, its production has become "vertically integrated," making it harder for consumers to decode and trust than ever. Food bureaucracies are also complicating organic farmers' lives.

Suppose you're a small U.S. farmer who wants to grow healthier food without using chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Of course, you want your produce, livestock, eggs, and/or dairy products to be officially certified as "organic." And if you produce processed foods, you need to know what additives you can safely use. With the help of trade organizations, you start collecting information about how to follow best practices and satisfy "applicable regulations." Eventually, you note that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) runs something called the National Organic Program (NOP) that's in charge of regulating organic food production.

So you search for its Web site and go there to look around. There you find the fruit of an entrenched bureaucracy trying to come to grips with a new environmental and consumer ethic, which will keep you up at night for some time to come.

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