Blog | Reader's Digest Canada

8 Ways to Shake the Salt Habit

1. Omit salt from recipes or automatically reduce sodium by 25 per cent by measuring out the same amount of coarse salt instead. (The coarse granules of these salts don’t pack as tightly into a measuring spoon as table salt.)

2. Take the salt shaker off your dining table. If it’s not there, you may not think about adding salt to your meal.

3. Use other flavourings, such as herbs and spices, lemon or mustard to flavour your foods.

4. Use spices such as coriander, caraway and fennel seeds to add flavour to fish dishes and cooked vegetables.

5. Choose the “no added sugar or salt” varieties of canned foods such as kidney beans, chickpeas and sweet corn. If you can’t find beans packed in water, rinse them thoroughly before using them to remove some of the salt.

6. Processed foods, such as canned soups, often contain very high levels of salt. Invest in a blender or food processor so that you can make your own.

7. Give unsalted or reduced-sodium pretzels, chips, peanuts and condiments a try.

8. Instead of adding salt, give cooked vegetables a bit of a lift by adding the zest (grated rind) and juice of a lemon.

Michael Coren: The RD Interview

Q&A WITH MICHAEL COREN

Reader’s Digest: Your new book, Epiphany, outlines your position on same-sex marriage: you used to be against it, now you’re a supporter. The dedication reads “To my daughter Lucy. So wise.” What’s the story?

Michael Coren: My wife and I have four children. None of them are political, but Lucy, who’s 26, comes closest. She’s never tried to influence me, but when I changed my view on marriage equality, she simply said, “Dad, I’m so pleased.”

Your father was a secular Jew; you became a Roman Catholic in your 20s. For the past two years, you’ve worshipped in the Anglican Church. Are you fickle, as your detractors imply?

Ah, the “He keeps changing his religion” thing. That is said to belittle me. I was received into the Catholic Church in 1984, and my theology remains Anglo-Catholic.

In Epiphany, you identify yourself as a “middle-aged, very white, very straight, very Christian man.” Not exactly the traditional profile of an ally to the gay community.

For years, I was a prominent social conservative, one who supported the Roman Catholic position against gay marriage. In late 2012, when Uganda was considering the death penalty for gay sex, John Baird, Canada’s foreign minister at the time, chastised the country’s parliament. The Christian right went crazy here. In 2013, I went to bat for Baird, saying that even if people opposed same-sex marriage, they would surely condemn Uganda’s proposed law.

Instead you were attacked.

People said that I was having a breakdown, that I was doing it for money. People trolled my kids on Facebook. I was stunned and hurt. In the summer of 2014, I wrote a column in the Toronto Sun apologizing for any harm I had caused gay people. I received thousands of hateful messages and I thought, Good Lord, if this is what it’s like when you’ve asked for a Christian approach, what is it like being gay?

You’ve since said that some of the finest Christians you’ve met are gay.

They love Christ, and some are prepared to overlook the nastiness of those who claim to follow Him. One of the most moving moments in my life happened last year, when I gave a sermon at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, where most worshippers are gay. I got a standing ovation. Everyone was so forgiving.

Did you consider remaining within the Roman Catholic Church as an agent of change? Some people stay despite disagreeing with tenets.

They do, but they’re not supposed to. I could’ve remained a Roman Catholic while disagreeing with Catholic teaching on homosexuality, but I wanted to be open about my beliefs.

Do you regret writing other books, like 2011’s Why Catholics Are Right?

Am I embarrassed by some of what’s in them? Yes. But I’m different now. We base faith on scripture, rational thought and prayer, but also on experience. Understanding can evolve.

Apologizing can be difficult, but you did it with aplomb.

No one enjoys saying “I was wrong,” but the alternative means you are never wrong. And it’s impossible to be human and not be wrong.

Epiphany: A Christian’s Change of Heart & Mind Over Same-Sex Marriage is available April 26, 2016.

What Is It - May 2016

Mayo Milliken of Walsh, Alberta, writes, “This object was among some old, horse-related items given to my partner by an older horseman. It’s made of cast iron, stands 12-inches high and looks as if it could have been mounted on a wall. The round part on the end might have had some sort of wood dowelling go through it.”

What do you think? Can you help Mayo solve this mystery?

Submit your answers in the comments below or by sending them in through Our Canada’s submissions site (please identify it as an entry for “What Is It?”).

Challenge yourself to more “What Is It?” mysteries!
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Hearts & Hammers Five years ago, Ramon Ramirez woke up and couldn’t turn to look at his wife, Noemi. Overnight, his left side had frozen from neck to toes, the result of a Parkinson’s-like illness called corticobasal degeneration. The 52-year-old, who had once enjoyed heaping plates of meat and rice for dinner and lazy weekend afternoons drinking coffee, saw his condition progressively deteriorate: within six months, the paralysis had spread to his right side, and his neck drooped until his head came to rest on his shoulder. By 2013, he was being fed from a tube, unable to swallow or move anything other than his eyes and mouth.

Ramon was using a wheelchair, but the couple couldn’t afford the changes necessary to make their Calgary home accessible. So Noemi carried her husband around the house on her five-foot-two frame, at times tying a rope around his chest and pulling him step-by-step down the stairs and out the door for doctor’s appointments. As Noemi’s caregiving responsibilities grew-she didn’t want Ramon moved to a facility-she put in fewer hours at her nursing job and struggled to earn enough to cover medical costs. “We didn’t know where to turn,” she says. That’s when her husband’s speech pathologist, Lora Baker, told them about Hearts and Hammers, a new charity that was renovating homes for people with mobility issues. Baker had nominated Ramon and Noemi, and they’d been chosen.

Dave Bonk, a Calgary contractor and real estate investor, founded Hearts and Hammers in 2012. When he was 15, Bonk began working for a flooring company. A few years later, he started his own flooring business; at 26, he was investing in real estate full-time. But despite those successes, by the time he hit 30, Bonk was looking for something more fulfilling than flipping houses.

He’d noticed that some of the foreclosed homes his company was buying were in abysmal shape. “I thought, in a city as affluent as Calgary, why are people living in these conditions?” says Bonk. He started out by calling a plumber, a painter and a lawyer he knew and soon assembled a board, then solicited recommendations for candidates they could help. The nominees needed to meet three criteria: be homeowners, face economic hardship and suffer from mobility challenges. Hearts and Hammers set out to tackle one project a year.

The group takes suggestions via its website and word of mouth; this year, nine families were nominated. To execute the projects, which can cost up to $70,000, Hearts and Hammers relies on volunteers to donate money, materials or sweat equity. Local contractors help out with dry-walling and other tasks, and fundraising events collect cash for specialized work such as mobility lifts. At the Ramirez home, Hearts and Hammers renovated the bathroom and installed an outdoor ramp, an automatic front door, a wheelchair lift and a ceiling lift in Ramon’s second-floor bedroom. “Now we can easily go outside and get fresh air,” Noemi says. “Bringing Ramon to the doctor, I no longer think, How the hell am I going to do it?”

Next up, Hearts and Hammers plans to install a lift and a ramp, as well as renovate the bathroom, in the home of a 71-year-old woman who sleeps in a chair on her main floor because a back injury makes it difficult to access the upstairs bedroom. They’ll also outfit the home of a single mom whose three-year-old son suffers from Pallister-Killian syndrome, which causes developmental delays and weak muscle tone.

For the Ramirez family, the newly completed renovation has allowed Noemi and Ramon to live comfortably-together. “I had told myself, no matter how I do it, I’ll keep my husband at home.” Noemi says. “I thought we were alone, but then Hearts and Hammers appeared. Our life is totally different than it was before.”

Top Romantic Spots for an Unforgettable Date Night in Edmonton

You’ll find endless fun activities for couples in Edmonton, and with many hotels in this lively city, there are plenty of ways of stay close to the main attractions and keep the attention on making memories as a couple. Here are a few date ideas in Edmonton sure to be looked back on with a smile.

You have several options for diving into Edmonton’s history and culture. Hand in hand, you could hop on the High Level Bridge Streetcar, a refurbished trolley car built in the early 1900s that provides incredible river valley views from the century-old High Level Bridge. Other possibilities for culture-lovers are the free 12-block Gallery Walk or Art Gallery of Alberta, which features contemporary and historical art exhibitions. Take advantage of Late Night Wednesdays and tour this gallery with an art-themed drink in hand.

Edmonton has a fantastic, diverse restaurant scene. The Common, Corso 32, XIX Nineteen, and Three Boars are just a few unique restaurants that offer a romantic, inviting vibe that are sure to keep you craving more. Or, get hands-on and attend a cooking class at Get Cooking, which offers cooking varieties including local, simple, and masterclass (and many more). Another delicious alternative is to pick out local produce and baked goods at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market and have a picnic for two.

With an exterior as breathtaking as what is inside, the Muttart Conservatory houses themed gardens within four glass pyramid buildings, each expressing diverse world biomes and species: Tropical, Arid, Temperate, and Feature (curated by Muttart’s creative staff). Many unique plants live within these astounding architectural pyramids, including an Amorphophallus titanium, the tallest flowering plant in nature. The conservatory is ideal for strolling and admiring what nature has to offer.

Maybe you have a different idea of romance-perhaps a challenge will get the connection flowing. For a more serene experience, take a walk (or jog, for you athletic folks!) along the Louise McKinney Riverside Park walkway (pictured) and admire the water. If you’re ready to break a sweat and exercise your brain, try out an Edmonton escape room like Escape City or BreakOut. For 45 minutes, you’ll be locked in a room and presented with a scenario that requires many puzzles and stimulating tasks in order to escape.

Beginning mid-May each year, canoeing on the North Saskatchewan River becomes a very popular activity, with several trip options available from hour- to daylong variations. Imagine watching the sunset with your loved one after a day spent together-what a perfect way to experience Edmonton!

Nia Vardalos: The RD Interview

Q&A WITH NIA VARDALOS

Your latest film is a sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which came out in 2002. What inspired you to make a follow-up more than a decade later?

At the end of that film, my character, Toula, became a mom. In reality, becoming a mother was an extremely difficult process for me. I can only write from emotions I know, so I couldn’t write what came next. Then I discovered adoption. Our daughter was almost three when she came to us. On her first day of kindergarten, another mom said, “Just think: in 13 years they’ll be going off to college.” I was overwhelmed by panic because it had taken me so long to become a mom. I also saw myself in my generation, with an aging parent on one side and a child on the other. I realized that I am Toula and that I had to write her next chapter.

In the movie, your teen daughter rebels against her Greek heritage. Is that an autobiographical detail?

Yes. When I was younger, a male guest would come for dinner, and an aunt would always lean in, saying, “You’d make good babies with this boy.” I’d be like, “Okay, I’m 12!”

Your real-life daughter is now 10. Have your parents started talking up nice Greek boys?

Not in front of me. Who knows what goes on when they put her to bed.

Awkward baby-making comments aside, what is the best parenting advice offered up by your family?

The wisest is, “Conduct your life as if a video camera is on you at all times.” The quirkiest: we were at a family gathering, and my daughter brought me her plate and said, “I’m finished.” I said, “Did you eat until your body was full?” She said yes. And my family was like, “What? No, you push past the point of full!”

Your parents live in Winnipeg, where you were raised. How do they fare when they visit you at your home in Los Angeles?

They don’t miss a beat. I’ve taken them to many Hollywood events, including something I hosted for John Travolta. Afterwards, my mom walked up to him and said, “John, you did a very good job!” And he just looked at her and was like, “Well, thank you very much, Mrs. Vardalos.”

Everyone in Hollywood has a squad these days. Who would be in yours?

Amy Poehler, Melissa McCarthy, Tina Fey, Amy Schumer, Rachel Dratch. We’d be the geek squad.

Being Greek is a major part of your heritage. Is being geeky equally important?

Absolutely! I was the nerd everyone let hang around because I was funny. Those oversized glasses I wear in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I sketched them and asked the props department to find a pair like them. And when we screened the movie in Winnipeg, all the friends I’d grown up with screamed with laughter, “She’s back!” I’m still a nerd, walking into every party convinced I’m not on the guest list. Talking to Barbra Streisand and spilling a canapé down my chest. Tripping on the red carpet. I hope I never stop being a nerd. There’s no funny in cool.