One in three Canadian families cannot afford to enroll their children in sport or recreation activities. This is where Canadian Tire Jumpstart comes in.
Canadian Tire Jumpstart is a national charitable program that helps financially disadvantaged kids participate in organized sport and recreation. Jumpstart helps cover registration fees, equipment and/or transportation costs.
Since the inception in 2005, Canadian Tire Jumpstart has given more than 581,177 kids across Canada the chance to play. Canadian Tire Jumpstart is dedicated to removing financial barriers, so children can participate in organized sport and recreation.
How can you support Canadian Tire Jumpstart?
- Make a donation.
- Host your own event in support of Canadian Tire Jumpstart.
- Support a fundraising event for Canadian Tire Jumpstart.
- Visit one of our partners: any Canadian Tire, Gas+, Mark’s, Sport Chek , Atmosphere or Pita Pit location and get your own Jumpstart Red Ball for a $2 donation.
- Visit your local Canadian Tire on Jumpstart Day , May 25th.
- ‘Like’ the Pita Pit Facebook page during May, and Pita Pit will donate $1 for every like they get to the page.
- Visit Buffalo Wild Wings on Wednesdays in May, and donate 10% of your bill to Jumpstart
100% of customer donations go directly to help kids in financial need participate in organized sport and recreation.
The Canadian Tire Corporation funds all the general and administrative expenses as well as the program delivery costs of the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program.
Join us! Thursday May 23rd for the #JumpstartDay Twitter party from 9pm-10pm, great prizes and a celebrity guest! Don’t forget to follow your host @CTJumpstart and your moderators: @Nugglemama @Tarasview @Shasherlife @RossanaWyatt.
Prizes are available to Canadian Residents Only, but all are welcome to the party. RSVP below to be eligible for prizes. We’ll be chatting about sports, getting kids participating in activities and chatting with a celebrity guest!
Follow the party on our custom Tweetgrid here.
RSVP : Make sure to enter your Twitter Handle “@yourTwitterhandle” in the Link/Blog Title field, and Twitter URL “www.twitter.com/yourtwitterhandle” in the url Field*
When my daughter was much younger, she loved to dance … so when she was old enough, we signed her up for dance classes. She loved them, she was always excited about showing us what she had learned in class and putting on little “dance recitals” for us. These classes gave her confidence in herself, they taught her that even if you don’t excel at something, it is the fun in doing it that matters! Although she stopped taking dance classes long ago, they were the stepping stone to other sports that have taught her many things throughout the years. We were fortunate that we could give her the opportunity to participate in different sports, where she learned valuable lessons in sportsmanship and teamwork, as well as making friends along the way. She also learned to persevere; if at first you don’t succeed, you practice – an invaluable lesson! As a teen, she doesn’t ‘do’ sports so much now, she still enjoys swimming in the summer with friends and skiing in the winter, but the lessons she learned through sports will be with her forever.
Sadly, not every one is as fortunate as we are; one in three Canadian families cannot afford to enroll their children in sport or recreation activities. This is where Canadian Tire Jumpstart comes in.
Canadian Tire Jumpstart is a national charitable program that helps financially disadvantaged kids participate in organized sport and recreation. Jumpstart helps cover registration fees, equipment and/or transportation costs.
Since the inception in 2005, Canadian Tire Jumpstart has given more than 581,177 kids across Canada the chance to play. Canadian Tire Jumpstart is dedicated to removing financial barriers, so children can participate in organized sport and recreation.
How can you support Canadian Tire Jumpstart?
- Make a donation.
- Host your own event in support of Canadian Tire Jumpstart.
- Support a fundraising event for Canadian Tire Jumpstart.
- Visit one of our partners: any Canadian Tire, Gas+, Mark’s, Sport Chek , Atmosphere or Pita Pit location and get your own Jumpstart Red Ball for a $2 donation.
- Visit your local Canadian Tire on Jumpstart Day , May 25th.
- ‘Like’ the Pita Pit Facebook page during May, and Pita Pit will donate $1 for every like they get to the page.
- Visit Buffalo Wild Wings on Wednesdays in May, and donate 10% of your bill to Jumpstart
100% of customer donations go directly to help kids in financial need participate in organized sport and recreation.
The Canadian Tire Corporation funds all the general and administrative expenses as well as the program delivery costs of the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program.
Join us! Thursday May 23rd for the #JumpstartDay Twitter party from 9pm-10pm, great prizes and a celebrity guest! Don’t forget to follow your host @CTJumpstart and your moderators: @Nugglemama @Tarasview @Shasherlife @RossanaWyatt.
Prizes are available to Canadian Residents Only, but all are welcome to the party. RSVP below to be eligible for prizes. We’ll be chatting about sports, getting kids participating in activities and chatting with a celebrity guest!
Follow the party on our custom Tweetgrid here.
RSVP : Make sure to enter your Twitter Handle “@yourTwitterhandle” in the Link/Blog Title field, and Twitter URL “www.twitter.com/yourtwitterhandle” in the url Field*
I love when we can start to BBQ regularly because the weather is getting so much nicer, GlutenFree Burgers are always great! 
Disclosure : I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Walgreens ,#cbias #SocialFabric however all opinions expressed are 100% mine. #balancerewards #cbias
I have not been as active [or mobile] as I would like these last few months, due to some injuries I sustained early last summer and in the fall, and have gained more weight than I would like. Now that the spring is here, I am ready to start a new fitness regime and get myself back into shape and healthy! Although I try to eat healthy while on a gluten free diet, I still have to have some sort of exercise incorporated to help me trim down. I am setting a goal of trying to get on the treadmill daily and get out and do some kind of activity on a daily basis.
I was excited to be able to participate in the Walgreens Steps with Balance Rewards; there are many different rewards programs out there but this one is different in that it allows you to earn points while track your healthy activity as well!
Although we live in Canada, it is actually a very short drive to the Walgreens in Fort Gratiot, MI, we have friends that live nearby so we are able to get a little shopping in while visiting, and I can keep earning even more points while I am back home simply by tracking my progress while I get fit so I have them to spend next time I visit, how easy is that?
Signing up is very easy and quick! If you sign up on line, you can also use the mobile app to access your account or simply let them know your home phone number when you are at checkout.
You get access online to a dashboard that shows your accumulated points as well as has featured offers, forum topics, earned badges and upcoming events in different areas. It even lets you find and connect with friends.
Upon signing up I earned 330 points right away, and every time you log an activity you earn more!
Already 470 points after 5 entries!
Heading down to do some shopping, we stopped at Walgreens to check out some of the deals, they had a great deal on a pedometer to help me keep track of my daily steps on my fitness journey, so it was a win for me!
There were a lot of great promotions and great ways to earn points quickly – you can actually start to redeem at the 5000 reward points level for $5!
One of the things I really liked were the “Answers” ~little signs displayed all through the store with different tips and advice on them depending on what section you were in, very helpful. There were also coupon books displayed in different sections just in case you missed them on your way in.
I was able to finally find what we were looking for, the staff was great – the pedometers were tucked away in a corner but they finally found them for me!
The pedometer I purchased keeps track of my activity for 7 days- great for me if I don’t get to the computer to log in my activity for the day – I can still keep track of it. Once I log in, I can enter my ‘steps” or my activity and if I weigh myself that day, I earn even more! After 12 logs to my profile, I was already at 870 points. Steps with balance rewards keeps me accountable , is so simple to do and I can clearly see my progress, plus I get an added bonus to spend at the end! I am just a few pounds away from my desired weight but I like that I can continue to track and earn points daily after I have reached my goal. As an extra incentive after I have finished exercising, I like to treat myself to a yogurt smoothie!
I can’t forget to tell you about the great contest that they have on at the moment : Step up to Win Sweepstakes which has daily instant win prizes and a grand prize, a trip to The Biggest Loser resort of the winner’s choice (Chicago; Ivins, UT; Malibu; Niagra, NY). The sweepstakes start April 1 until May 31st. Official sweepstakes rules can be found here.
You can learn more about Walgreens Steps With Walgreens Balance Rewards program here.
Follow Walgreens on twitter or Facebook where you can get the latest updates.
Don’t forget to check out our Aisle Share fun page.
Want to see the rest of my shopping trip to Walgreens? Check out my Google+ album .
Look froward to accumulating my points so I can redeem them next time I go down to Walgreens in Fort Gratiot!
This is my favorite time of the day – love seeing the sun rise! Have a great Wordless Wednesday!
This has been a long winter – seems longer to me as I was unable to enjoy the summer and fall as much as I wanted due to 2 different fractures in my lower extremities. The decrease in mobility led me to become less fit than I would like, and spending hours at the computer hasn’t helped. I decided once the physio gave me the go ahead in January, I would start to get back to healthy and get fit.
I have tried to make it a point to get on the treadmill daily. Some days it is only for 20 minutes depending on what is happening and others it is for 45-60 minutes, but I do it! Along with exercising, I have tried to make sure I am eating healthy and nutritional foods.
Unfortunately, as with any diet, following a gluten free diet doesn’t necessarily mean that all the food is healthy, although I try to be!
I always try to make sure I eat a lot of whole, all natural foods, while cutting out processed foods. One of my go-to healthy snacks has always been yogurt- it helps me boost my calcium intake while giving me some of that healthy active bacterial culture to keep my belly healthy.
Yoplait has always been the trusted brand I buy as I know it is gluten free, and I honestly love it as does my daughter! When they came out with a Greek yogurt, I was excited about the opportunity to try it. Let me tell you, it has not disappointed! It comes in a 500g. container or a pack of 4x100g in a variety of flavours. The best part aside from the fabulous taste? It is only 50 calories per 100g! It also has 2x the amount of protein and has only 4g of sugar per 100g. This is perfect for anyone trying to cut calories and sugar intake. The strawberry was a big hit in this house, can’t wait to try the rest! It is so thick and creamy and loaded with fruit pieces – almost like eating dessert!
I generally have fruit first thing in the morning, so it was an extra treat to add the yogurt!
Along with the great new addition to Yoplait to help you get healthy, General Mills is holding a little giveaway for one of my lucky readers! Four free coupons for Yoplait Source Greek Yogurt to try your favorite flavour and one $100 Lululemon gift card. Simply enter through the Rafflecopter form below.
Giveaway is open until April 29th, value of approx $120.00 and is open to Canadian Residents Only! Winner will be notified and must respond with 48hours, otherwise another winner will be drawn – prize may take up to 6 weeks for delivery.
*Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own!!
I love spring, it is one of my favorite times of the year! The flowers are starting to bloom, all the fresh colors, everything starts to come back to life after a long , dull winter, and the sun comes back out regularly. I start to look forward to the beautiful warm, sunny days ahead! One of the other things that signals spring to me is Easter. It is always a happy holiday [ has to be when chocolate is part of it!]
Around here we still do the chocolate thing, and I like to make some of those chocolate treats. We don’t hide eggs any more [DD says she is too old] besides , she would miss one or two, and and sometime later we would eventually find it! 
Not a good thing!
Since we don’t hide the eggs, I still like to make it special. A friend of mine gave me a recipe years ago that she used to make at Easter. I decided that I would like to add something to help cut the sweetness a bit and boost some protein, So I adapted it slightly to include the peanut butter [can really be used with any nut butters]. Gluten Free Easter chocolate Peanut Butter creme eggs.
Gluten-free Easter chocolate covered peanut butter creme eggs #LMDConnector
Author: Rossana Wyatt
Recipe type: Dessert – Easter Candy
Serves: 16 eggs
Gluten free chocolate covered peanut butter creme eggs
Ingredients
- ½ cup of sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup all natural peanut butter [no sugar etc added]
- ½ cup icing sugar [ you can add a bit more, I like them a bit more moist so my husband can eat them]
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ¾ cup of chocolate chips { I used the milk chocolate but the dark would be just as nice]
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips
- Stir until well blended [mixture will be a bit dry/crumbly- you can add a bit more condensed milk if you prefer more moisture or leave as is for a drier egg] The mixture will hold together well once you squeeze and shape into eggs.
- Place a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet and form the mixture into eggs [I tend to make them about 2" long, so they are not too big.]
- Place the shaped eggs onto wax paper and place into fridge for about 30 min once they are all shaped – can be paced in freezer to firm up quicker.
- Place chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl and microwave until melted [I do for 15-30 sec at a time and keep close eye on it - you do not want burned chocolate!]
- Once it is melted take the eggs out of fridge and with a toothpick or skewer dip eggs into melted chocolate one at a time [ I place the bowl of chocolate into a pan filled with hot water to keep chocolate melted and warm] You can also just place eggs into chocolate and roll in the melted chocolate to cover. whichever works best for you!
- Place each egg as it is covered back onto wax paper-when finished all eggs. place tray back into fridge or freezer until the chocolate is hardened. You can then decorate or leave as is – remember. these are very rich!
I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!
Happy Easter!
There are so many great recipes out there- many that can be adapted with just a few changes. Here is one from the Life Made Delicious site that is a bit different but would be great for Easter as well.
*Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own!!
Going Gluten Free?
Venturing into the Gluten Free world can be daunting, but it doesn’t need to be. Doing research and arming yourself with information can go a long way, there are many resources available out there. This is one of a series of videos that I believe are quite helpful when you are first starting out on your journey. Cross contamination is a very big issue when you first start, and unfortunately may continue throughout your life. Knowing what to look for and passing along this information to others that may be in the same household, or that may be responsible for food you can possibly help you avoid contamination or being ‘glutenized’.
Hidden Gluten & Cross Contamination Sources by Glutenology
Sugar Bush and Maple Syrup!
Always look forward to visiting the Sugar Bush at this time of the year – even though it is modernized and they have a high tech way of tapping the trees now, they still have tours showing the old fashioned way – did you know – takes 40 litres of sap to make 1 litre of Maple Syrup!
Are you on Pinterest? If you haven’t discovered it yet – you should go on over. It is a veritable feast for the eyes! There are so many amazing visuals it is hard to pull away and get real work done! But seriously, I find some amazing recipes, craft ideas and even outfit ideas on there. Beautiful images of faraway lands and exotic beaches have me drooling of all the places that I want to visit. Of course I pin some of these to my board to come back to later. There are also so many gluten free recipes that I have found that I want to try, love the way the have been photographed. Here are a couple that I would like to try soon. Please feel free to repin but click through to the original site to show the original blogger some love.
Source: thegraciouspantry.com via Rossana on Pinterest
Gluten Free Quinoa Tortillas
Source: glutenfreeonashoestring.com via Rossana on Pinterest
Gluten Free Cinnamon buns
Source: familyfreshcooking.com via Rossana on Pinterest
Vegan and Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Scones
Wordless Wednesday – Hoping for spring soon!
It is always important to start your morning off right, so having a healthy, power packed gluten free breakfast goes a long way. After a long night of sleep [okay, let's be honest - we don't always get that!] our body needs to refuel. Putting breakfasts that are full of sugar and carbs and loaded with calories are not good for anyone, let alone kids who need the nutrition to grow properly and function through the day.
Depending on work or school schedule, it may be a bit of time before you can snack again so that breakfast you have should tide you over until you can refuel. One of my favorite breakfasts for tiding me over until lunch time is having quionoa flakes with fruit and yogurt [naturally gluten free], but there are so many more options! 
Why not try some buckwheat cereal or oatmeal, sprinkled with ground flax seed along with fruit, both can be served with yogurt, regular milk or almond/rice milk, for a healthy long lasting breakfast. Both are available gluten free and provide a healthier alternative to foods high on the glycemic index.
These Low-GI foods are digested and absorbed slower, thus helping control appetite and delay hunger so they are great benefits to weight control too!
Lately, I have started my morning with a big bowl of fruit – seems to keep me going all morning! The fact that it is all naturally gluten free and tastes great is an extra bonus! 
What are your favorite breakfasts to keep you going?
Looking back on some of the gluten free recipes I posted last year, I realized that some of those are actually staples that are made over and over and were favorites. My daughter is even making some of them herself, [which is wonderful for me!] She loves being able to look up my blog and go to her favorite recipes so she can make them herself. She is a carb queen and being on a gluten free diet doesn’t stop that – she still gets her fix when she makes these Cheese buns.
mmmm. so yummy!
Can’t go wrong on Friday movie nights with this recipe for gluten free caramel chex mix one of the great recipes found on the Life made delicious website:
Nothing warms you up more than a bowl of this on a cold winter night!
Trying to impress with a great dessert? Try this one out: if you are chocolate fan , you will love it and it is gluten free!
Yum, so good!
There is a recipe that became a favorite during the month of December that I had not had a chance to post yet, so am posting it here to go along with the other favorites from last year.
Not sure why, but we had never had German pancakes before – my daughter makes pancakes pretty much every weekend but this was a treat we had not tried. I was out with a friend, we were having a conversation about Christmas morning and that I was trying to find something new to prepare. She happened to mentioned German pancakes and how easy they were to make. When I got home I researched and found several different recipes that I incorporated into one. It was a hit, and has been asked for over and over. It is also very easy and requires very little effort! Bonus!
German Pancakes
Recipe type: Breakfast
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup flour, sifted
- ⅔ cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1tsp cinnamon
- Icing sugar [for dusting]
- 2 tablespoons soft butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Butter a 9 x11 pan well [I use an oblong one].
- Place pan in the oven to melt the butter.
- Put eggs in blender container, cover and process at until light yellow in color. Add remaining ingredients; process until smooth. Pour into prepared pan once the butter is melted and bake for 20 minutes. The pancake will be puffy when you remove it from the oven.
- Sprinkle with a dusting of icing sugar, and add maple syrup. Enjoy!
Mmmm!
Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own!!
This time of year always brings with it certain traditions for us. Decorating the house, baking cookies, holiday get- togethers and decorating the Christmas tree. Another tradition that we started a long time ago [mainly because my daughter was a picky eater and ate very little when she was much younger] was buying eggnog as soon as it became available on the shelves. It was an extra boost of protein for her. She actually looked forward to October…the time when it first appeared on the shelves in stores. However, once we went gluten free it was a little harder to find one that was gluten free… so I began making my own. I was never a big fan of eggnog, but my daughter loves it.
I found out that Earth’s Own had come out with a special Noel Nog for the holidays; I was finally able to track some down, so when I brought it home, my daughter was eager to try it. This Earth’s Own Noel Nog is also Dairy free and Egg free as it is made from an almond base [filtered water and almonds]. The company has stated it is gluten free as well; my daughter enjoyed it tremendously.
Although not as thick and creamy as traditional eggnog,my daughter said it has a slightly nutty flavour, and is laced with a hint of nutmeg. My daughter thought it was perfect for having with cookies as an after-school snack. It is nice that there is a nog that she enjoys and I don’t have to make!
My favorite flavour is still the Earth’s Own Chocolate Almond Fresh, I really like it on its own -I find it very rich and creamy and I love the chocolatey flavour! As an extra special treat in the mornings, I like adding it to my coffee. But it is great to use instead of regular milk in all kinds of recipes. Chocolate is always good no matter what, right?
Earth’s Own Almond Fresh also comes in the convenient shelf stable 946ml size and a single serve size they call “Almond on the go” these are perfect for sticking in your purse or lunchbox or for having on the go after a workout . The best thing about these is that they do not have to be refrigerated, no need to worry about carrying cold packs! Love that!
Almond Fresh is great for people suffering from lactose intolerance or
milk allergies. It’s high in calcium and also fortified with vitamins.
They are also low in calories and one serve provides 45% of your daily recommended
dose of vitamin D, 25% of Riboflavin, and 50% of B12
•Dairy-free and does not contain lactose or casein
• Fortified with calcium, vitamin A and vitamin D and contains naturally
occurring vitamin E, riboflavin, vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus, magnesium
and zinc
• Almond Fresh Vanilla and Original have about half the calories per
serving of 2% milk and is comparable in fat.
•The Unsweetened flavour contains only 30 calories per serving – that’s
less than half of the calories found in skim milk
• Almond Fresh products are wheat and gluten free- love this!
• Certified kosher
Here is a recipe that can be used with the Noel Nog, or any flavour for that matter!
Noel Nog French toast
Ingredients:
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup (250 mL) Almond Fresh Noël Nog
* 2 tsp (10 mL) cinnamon
* 8 slices gluten free bread
* Slivered almonds and maple syrup
Method:
1. In a shallow dish, beat together the eggs, Almond Fresh Noël Nog and cinnamon.
2. Heat a large frying pan over low/medium heat.
3. Soak bread in the Almond Fresh Noël Nog/egg mixture, one slice at a time.
4. Lightly coat the pan with vegetable oil or butter. Cook each slice of French toast on both sides until nicely browned.
5. Serve with slivered almonds and maple syrup- enjoy!
“Disclosure: although I received some product vouchers and compensation, the opinions on this blog are my own.”
Many thanks to Earth’s Own for providing the review and giveaway product.
Check out the Earth’s Own Almond Fresh facebook page here.
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