Nothing says fall like root vegetables right? Janet Craig brings you a new take on beets – the reddest vegetable of them all – with a beet bruschetta recipe that will blow your mind!
The easiest way to do this recipe is with canned beets, but if you like them fresher, check out these ways how to cook beets, HERE.
Ingredients
2/3 cup of balsamic vinegar reduced down to 1/3 cup in small saucepan on medium heat until syrupy. Find out how, HERE
1 tsp garlic powder
1 can of beets drained & chopped
Feta cheese or goat cheese
Bread for toasting, baguettes work well
Directions:
Combine ingredients. Place on toasted bread with crumbled goat cheese or feta. Grill under broiler and serve.
Chef Janet Craig recipes are simple, healthy, delicious and ABI friendly. You can find out more about her HERE.
Out of nowhere things can change and make you feel as though everything you’ve worked so hard for doesn’t matter. That happened to me the summer before my last year of university when I was struck by a car, as a pedestrian, on my way to work.
I do not remember anything about what happened, other than leaving my house and then waking up in the hospital in an enormous amount of pain. I had severe traumatic brain injuries, including a concussion, brain bleeding and brain bruising.
Until this time, I always focused on achieving high grades in school. I pushed myself to excel in every course I took. I majored in psychology at Ryerson University with a full course load every year. Although it was challenging at times, I worked hard and landed on the dean’s list.
I did not realize the extent of my injuries until I returned home from the hospital. Doctors, social workers, family and friends, said I should take the year off school to recover. I was completely taken aback. I thought, “How could I possibly take the year off? This is my last year and I want to apply to masters programs in a few months!”
School was one of the most important things in my life and I being told I shouldn’t go back threw me off guard.
I learned I had a mild cognitive impairment, which caused problems with focus, concentration, and writing. I noticed my writing difficulties right away, I spelled words incorrectly and my sentences didn’t make sense. I was devastated.
How could I go from being a straight A student, to not being able to spell words correctly?
Even after hearing everyone’s advice, I did not want to listen. I was determined to go back to school, maintain my high average and graduate on time, no matter what. And let me tell you, it was extremely hard.
I told all of my professors about my situation the first week of classes. They were all very understanding and told me if I ever needed extra time with an assignment or extra help, to let them know. During this time, I was still attending frequent doctor, therapist and specialist appointments. Trying to manage everything took a huge toll. I broke down many times and cried because I could not focus, I could not remember the topics I was studying, and my essays did not make sense.
Fortunately, my friends and family were always there for me during my struggles, helping me and making sure I was getting enough rest.
Due to my injuries, my fatigue levels were very low. I took a nap almost every day after school, before starting my homework, in fact, I scheduled them in. Without enough rest, I couldn’t focus and concentrate on what I needed to do.
However, there was one time in particular where I knew I had to persevere and prove myself. It was during one of my mandatory psychology classes, and the material was so different from the majority of my other classes. I was very confused, so I asked my professor for help. He tried to help me, however, he also told me that if I didn’t understand, I should drop the class.
I was furious! Drop the class? Not graduate this year? There was absolutely no way I was letting that happen! That comment made me realize that just because you don’t understand something, does not mean you should give up. I studied long hours, and, as always, I took naps when I needed to. I made sure I ate enough to fuel my body. I continued visiting my professors and asking for help, and I spent a tremendous amount of time working on essays.
I wanted to prove to myself and others that my brain injuries, and the struggles caused by them, do not define me and what I am able to do.
Before my accident, I had worked part-time at a grocery store for almost six years. Initially after my accident, I did not work for three or four months so I could adequately recover. Then I tried going back to work but I could not manage it. I experienced extreme fatigue and dizziness from standing during my shifts. Even though it was unintentional, I also felt as though some people did not understand the extent of my brain injuries because they were not something anyone could physically see.
Working and being a student was something I could no longer do. I was trying so hard in school, and it was time consuming. I resigned my position to focus solely on my studies.
Through all of my battles, I managed to yet again get straight A’s. I have never been so proud of myself and what I was able to achieve, despite the circumstances. However, my most proud moment was achieving 90% in none other than, the psychology class I was told I should drop.
I graduated university that year, with honours, making the Dean’s List and most importantly making myself proud of this achievement.
I am now working for a health care clinic and I am still planning on applying to masters programs in the future. I continue to experience more fatigue than I am used too, and some difficulties in writing and focusing.
Even with these difficulties, I am going to try and preserve as best as I can.
Maria Liscio is an ABI survivor who is working towards a career in health care. She currently works at a health care clinic that assists many individuals with ABI. Maria uses her personal experience to connect with others facing life’s challenges, and strives to encourage positivity. Follow her on Instagram at @maria.liscio.
May’s Community Meeting featured Osteopathic Manual Practitioner Ricki Richter who came to talk to us about mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) through an osteopathic and movement lens.
About Riki Richter
Riki is an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner and Movement Based Rehabilitation Instructor at Synergy Sports Medicine in Toronto.
She has been a Pilates and Yoga instructor for over 20 years!
She sustained a brain injury when she was seven years old and was at SickKids for a week.
Osteopathy is a form of manual therapy with the goal of maximizing health by treating the source of dysfunction in the body.
Osteopathic practitioners combine their extensive knowledge of anatomy and the inter-relationships between body systems, while utilizing gentle hands-on techniques to improve health.
How Osteopathy may help mTBI symptoms
Following mTBI, it’s common to experience headaches, neck and shoulder pain and muscle weakness, among many other symptoms. There are a few simple and non-invasive osteopathic techniques which may make these symptoms more bearable.
First, let’s jump into the physiology behind the techniques. If you want to skip the science, scroll to the bottom of the post for five simple exercises.
Breathing & Its Effect on the Body
Blood Flow and the Brain
Breathing affects blood flow throughout the body.
Using the diaphragm (the primary muscle that controls breathing) with a directed inhalation is the most efficient way to breathe.
During a directed inhalation, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord) moves up to the brain, bringing nutrients and clearing waste.
Maximizing this flow of CSF can decrease headache severity!
The lymphatic system functions to maintain fluid balance within the body and also plays a role in immune system function.
During shallow breathing, there is less movement of the lymphatic fluid.
The heart and pelvis have the deepest lymphatic systems within the body and they are completely dependent on breathing and movement to flow.
We know sleep is important, but did you know that the lymphatic system is responsible for 60 per cent of increased drainage during sleep? This means that the body is clearing out more waste while you are (hopefully)sleeping!
Generally, most people breathe into their chest or maybe breathe into their belly. While belly breathing is seen as more ideal compared to simply breathing into the chest, 3D breathing helps with posture and improves body system flow. With practice, this will become second nature and may even minimize the severity of headaches!
Method:
Sitting tall in a chair or standing with good posture, bring awareness to how you breathe by holding a stretching band or towel placed around your ribcage just below the sternum.
Inhale and feel the strap expand as the ribcage moves out to the sides and back.
Exhale, keeping the strap tight while breathing all the way out.
Focus on keeping the breath slow and silent.
2. Tight Neck/Poor Sleep Exercise
Purpose:
To improve poor sleep or tight upper two vertebrae.
Method:
Sit at a table placing the right elbow on the tabletop.
Place the right thumb under the right cheekbone.
Lean head into thumb and allow the thumb to slide up the side of your face to the ear.
Repeat on left side.
3. Shoulder Exercise:
Purpose:
To loosen tight shoulders.
Method:
Place fingers up and under collarbone (see picture below to help locate the collarbone).
Add some pressure by placing the opposite hand on the wrist.
Sit straight and allow the head to float over the ribcage and the ribcage to float over the pelvis.
Inhale slowly through the nose using the 3D breathing technique (Simple Exercise 1) and exhale allowing the ribcage to recoil.
Continuing to breathe, shift body weight forward so sit bones almost come off the chair.
Osteopathic College Student Clinic
Are you interested in seeing an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner but have a tighter budget? The Canadian College of Osteopathy holds a student clinic where you can be treated by a student overseen by an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner. Find more information about the student clinic, HERE
Julia Renaud is a ABI survivor with a passion for learning new things, trying new activities, and meeting new people – all of which have led her to writing this column. She is an advocate within the health care community and has been featured in the coffee table book, A Caged Mind by May Mutter, which exposes the nature of concussions through body painting.
Beans on toast may be a hardcore British comfort food, but that doesn’t mean we can’t glam up the traditional dish on our side of the pond. Here’s Janet Craig’s take on a UK classic – and no worries mate – you’ll be chuffed at how easy this is to make!
Ingredients
1 can white kidney / cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves of chopped garlic
2 bay leaves,
½ cup white wine ( I use Vermouth)
Salt and pepper, parsley to garnish
2 slices whole grain bread
2 tsp unsalted butter
2 tsp honey or maple syrup
For meat eaters: 4 slices of bacon or grilled pancetta
Directions
Lightly sauté onion and garlic in 1 tbsp oil until translucent
Add the rinsed beans to the pan with wine & seasonings. Turn up the temperature on medium to simmer until wine is evaporating.
Toast the bread & spread with butter & honey or maple syrup
Plate the now glazed beans on toast topping with as much bacon as desired.
Chef Janet Craig recipes are simple, healthy, delicious and ABI friendly.
BIST’s August Community Meeting was an Ocutherapy demonstration with Alex Theodorou.
Alex Theodorou
About Alex
Alex’s father sustained a stroke in 2005, changing the lives of him and his family forever.
This event lead Alex to pursue a master’s degree in neurolinguistics from McMaster University. He wanted to find a way to improve the lives of people living with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and other cognitive difficulties.
In 2016, Alex came up with the idea of Ocutherapy, a Toronto-based Virtual Reality (VR) program aimed at improving speed of recovery for individuals in post-acute care rehabilitation programs. The company was launched in 2018 and its momentum is strong.
Ocutherapy uses virtual reality to bring together patient and practitioner to inspire, motivate, and educate in the recovery journey. [It] offer[s] interactive experiences that make the healing process both engaging and intuitive.
Health care and brain injury
ABI is one of the most common neurological conditions.
Treating ABI can be costly to the health care system and patients may receive limited treatment.
Limited care, high drop-out rates, and potential for re-injury can leave patients feeling defeated.
Features of Ocutherapy:
Patient-centered
The program learns from the user to determine the level of difficulty.
It tailors its exercises to help train the areas of the brain and skills that are most important to each individual.
A check-in is included at the end of each game to get feedback about how the user felt the game went.
Utilizes a connected rehabilitation approach.
Data can be easily accessed by health-care workers to better track the progress of each patient.
Beneficial and fun!
There are different tasks involved with each game allowing the individual to stave off boredom while focusing on key areas of the brain.
Works on fine motor movements and can enhance quality of life.
Accessible
The virtual reality headset and controller make Ocutherapy portable, improving access to care.
The headset can be worn with or without glasses.
The headset also utilizes bone conduction technology. This permits the user to hear the sound without having their ears covered and, if you aren’t the wearer, you don’t hear any of the sound at all, which is very cool!
Intuitive
Since Ocutherapy throws away the traditional method of therapy*, it learns from the user and adapts the program accordingly all while tracking progress.
*For me this involved the wall clock, laser and stick pointers, tones of papers and tape everywhere to name only a few. Also, if I never had to see the letter ‘A’ again, I would be completely fine with that!
Who could benefit from Ocutherapy?:
Ocutherapy aims to improve speed of recovery for individuals in post acute care rehabilitation programs.
Benefiting individuals include those who have experienced or continue to experience effects from:
ABI
Neurodegenerative disease (such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s)
Aging
Ocutherapy may aid with memory, attention, spacial orientation, brain fog, and mood, to name a few.
Due to the nature of the VR device, Ocutherapy may not be ideal for individuals with:
Visual impairment that cannot be corrected by glasses.
Motor impairment affecting the hands.
Why haven’t I heard about Ocutherapy before?
Ocutherapy is in its early stages and is in the midst of being trialed and tweaked.
Early testing has been conducted; however, Alex and his team continue to adapt the program, improving its accessibility, technology, and ease of use.
Want more info about Ocutherapy?
Check out the official website: www.ocutherapy.com where you can meet the team, read articles about Ocutherapy and watch Alex’s Tedx Talk.
Have any ideas, suggestions, or questions? Alex and his team would love to hear from you!
Julia Renaud is a ABI survivor with a passion for learning new things, trying new activities, and meeting new people – all of which have led her to writing this column. She is an advocate within the health care community and has been featured in the coffee table book, A Caged Mind by May Mutter, which exposes the nature of concussions through body painting.
June’s Community Meeting was a chair yoga workshop by BIST’s Programs and Services Coordinator, Julie Notto.
About Julie Notto
She discovered yoga as a way to deal with chronic pain issues.
Julie became a yoga and Pilates instructor and taught for over ten years. She was also a yoga teacher trainer.
She has taught movement classes at many locations including at university, a wellness centre, and within the corporate sector.
What is chair yoga?
Yoga is a physical and spiritual practice which involves using various breathing techniques, exercises, and meditation to improve overall health for the body, mind, and spirit.
While yoga is commonly practiced using just a mat and the body, a chair can be incorporated to make it accessible for everyone!
Why practice yoga?
Yoga is great for your overall health, including brain health. It can be relaxing, rejuvenating and wonderful for improving circulation to the brain and body. Increased circulation means more oxygen is transported to body’s organs, and more toxins get cleared out from the body, including the brain.
Incorporating the three basic movements of flexion, extension, and rotation, yoga can be a great way to stretch sore and tired muscles and can also be challenging enough to act as a form of exercise.
Yoga is great for brain health! It’s a modifiable and fantastic way to be active at the pace your brain and body need.
How do I start?
Find yourself a chair; any chair will do, as long as it doesn’t have wheels! It’s best to be able to plant your feet flat on the ground while you are seated. If your feet dangle or your heels can’t quite touch the floor, get creative and find an item that can help give your feet a boost. You may try folding a yoga mat, using a step stool, or even a sturdy shoe box!
Don’t push yourself too hard. Try one exercise and see how you feel. Check in with your body (and brain) throughout to make sure you are working at your own pace.
Remember that there is no right or wrong way to breathe; each breath will be different. Relax your shoulders and breathe however is comfortable for you.
To keep your mind focused on your breath, try saying ‘in’ with each inhalation, and ‘out’ with each exhalation.
If you’re more of a numbers person, maybe you would prefer counting breaths: inhale with the count of one, exhale with two, inhale with three to ten. When you reach ten, start again at one.
When doing poses, try to take three complete breaths at the peak of each individual movement. If three breaths feels like too much or too few, adjust accordingly to what feels right to you.
While breathing, feel the support of your breath, bones, and gravity.
Exercises
Give these a go to strengthen your legs, increase blood flow, improve balance, and to calm the mind and nervous system.
Make sure the chair or table you are using stays sturdy throughout this pose to prevent face planting onto the floor! If using a stand-alone chair, push it against the wall before beginning. The goal is to not move the chair during this pose.
Stand facing the chair, placing your hands atop the back rest.
Walk your feet back until your upper body is extended, keeping a slight bend in the knee and heels on the ground.
Lift your pelvis and feel the stretch as you extend through your spine, while breathing with intention for several breaths.
Walk your feet back in, and roll up from the base of your spine to the top of your head.
Stand with the back of the chair facing the side of your body, rooting your feet into the ground and holding on to the back of the chair with the closest hand.
Slowly and carefully, lift the foot opposite the chair off the ground, pushing its sole into the side of the supporting leg in one of these variations:
Lower: Keep the toes of the raised foot touching the ground so your heel is roughly upper-ankle to mid-calf height.
Higher: Place the sole of your foot higher along the supporting leg, above or below the knee. Keep your knees happy by not putting your foot on the joint itself – knees aren’t made for this type of lateral pressure! Press your raised knee out to the side to open your hip and raise your free arm above your head. Breathe! Repeat on the other side.
Stand tall, with both feet together and rooted into the ground. Inhale while bringing your arms overhead and pressing your palms together.
Shift your hips left while bending your torso and arms right to make a crescent shape with your body. Press your knees together for balance.
Hold the pose and breathe.
Repeat on the other side.
Julia Renaud is a ABI survivor with a passion for learning new things, trying new activities, and meeting new people – all of which have led her to writing this column. She is an advocate within the health care community and has been featured in the coffee table book, A Caged Mind by May Mutter, which exposes the nature of concussions through body painting.
Most people don’t realize that the most painful part of living with a serious health issue is losing your identity.
When every day things – that you’ve never given any thought – become difficult and you’re no longer able to do the things that you enjoy, you constantly feel self-conscious, misunderstood, and pressure to be who you once were, especially around people that knew you before your injury/illness.
It feels like you’ll never stop grieving the loss of your old self. To cope with this and to pre-emptively explain themselves, I’ve noticed that a lot of people with brain injuries are very quick to share a detailed recount of their medical history, even with people they’ve just met. This makes me sad to hear, because it means that they have likely turned their injury into their identity. As a result, the injury becomes the only thing that their peers see in them, too.
People from this community also tend to talk more about their past lives than their current ones. For example, they often tell you about the things they used to do; i.e. their past careers, the sports they played, or their hobbies, talents, and skills from before their acquired brain injury. This may be because, on some level, they worry that the current version of themselves is lesser than their original version. Although this line of thinking is understandable considering the constant reminders they have of their new limitations, it is completely untrue. Here’s how I changed the way that I define myself and how I measure my self-worth now.
After a debilitating brain injury, I wasn’t able to tolerate any form of stimulation which meant that I wasn’t able to do anything. I couldn’t even lift my head off the bed to take a sip of water without excruciating pain and exhaustion. At my lowest point, I was absolutely useless to the world and had become a huge burden to my caregiver. But luckily, I have always believed that every life serves a purpose and adds value to the world. So, I refused to accept the notion that I had become worthless. First, I allowed myself to mourn the loss of my old life and then I accepted the reality that things would never be the same. I never gave up hope that things would improve but even if they didn’t, I resolved to do the best with what I had and live my best life. The next step was to figure out who the new me was.
I asked myself, who am I if I can not work, socialize, or volunteer anymore? Can I still tell people that I love to travel if I may never travel again? Am I still considered a TV and movie lover if I no longer watch them? Am I still a foodie if I can’t cook or eat in restaurants? That’s when I realized that I had been using the wrong definition of “self” all along, because I had based my identity on things that I “do”.
Who we are is not simply a sum of our jobs, likes and dislikes, and strengths and weaknesses. Even our thoughts don’t make us who we are; it’s what we do with those thoughts that does. Eckhart Tolle coined my favourite philosophical definition of the “self”. Paraphrasing in my own words: The real you is the part of your mind that’s aware of your thoughts.
Too often, we base our self-esteem on measurable things such as salaries, belongings (e.g. cars, jewellery, wardrobe), size (e.g. waist, chest, bicep, etc.), fitness abilities, and achievements (e.g. professional and conventional life stages). I decided that I would define myself and measure my self-worth based on the choices that I make. Every time you try again, exercise patience with yourself, focus on what you have as opposed to what you don’t (or how far you’ve come as opposed to how far you’ve left to go), show appreciation to people that have helped you, or do something that helps your health (e.g. drink a glass of water or stretch), you’re building character and proving your value. Internal decisions such as these are significant victories, especially in the face of struggle.
So, who am I? Before my brain injury, I would have answered that question with my profession, travels, and plans for the upcoming weekend. Now, I will tell you that I am grateful and funny, that I’m learning, I persevere, love dogs, and care about others. The more important question is, who are you?
