Shelly Wutke

Pasta salad – it’s just one of those things that fits in with everything. Summer BBQ in the backyard? Pasta salad goes great with steak, chicken, or veggie burgers. Having a formal dinner for friends? Pasta salad can fit right in with some of the main courses you toil for hours over.  At my house it’s practically expected that I make a side pasta salad for a roast chicken, and I always whip it out for the official Canadian kick off for summer on July 1st.

There are two things you need to know about Fat Tire Electric Bikes – one, they’re unlike any bike you’ve ever ridden before and two, they’re so fun they’ll make you forget about every other bike you’ve got in your garage. I’d go as far as saying you’ll be hooked on Fat Bikes with just one ride – at least that’s what I discovered when I toured the Surface 604 factory and rolled away on a Surface 604 Element Electric Bike myself.

For many of us, salad is what’s for dinner. It’s not a side dish that goes with something heavier, it’s the actual meal itself. Just start with your basic green leaf, add some protein, toss with dressing and you have an instant, filling dinner.   Thankfully having a salad for dinner is not something you can easily get bored of, and that’s because there are so many different types of salads, salad recipes, and salad dressing recipes to try.    

Maybe you’ve seen people commuting in the bike lane on them, or you’ve watched someone effortlessly cruise up a crazy hill and you wondered exactly what they were riding – for most people, one chance encounter of watching someone cruise on an e-bike is enough to get them to put it on their ‘to-do’ list, and one ride is all it takes to hook you forever.

  If you’re thinking spring you’re probably also thinking about eating lighter. Maybe the weather hasn’t got the memo yet, but it’s high time to usher out the hot chocolate and warm cookies for light dishes like Greek salad.

Juicing has been around for a long time, but people really only started to sit up and take notice of it in the past year or two. With the release of documentaries like “Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead” and a recommendation by Dr.Oz, juicing is fast becoming a way of life for everyone from young parents trying to incorporate all food groups into the diets of fussy young eaters, athletes who want an all-natural energy boost, or people who just want to have a balanced diet.

Every once in awhile I see something that brings the kid out in me – poprocks and gold rush candy, plush stuffies, and Lego are just a few of my favourite things, but nothing makes me want to gear up and get outside to play more than a power toy.   The good news is that Gio has an amazing lineup of electric scooters and electric bikes that are fun, fun, fun, for both you and your kids, and they’re now available on Bestbuy.ca. Just in time too, because spring and summer are right around the corner.

Where I grew up, we didn’t have ‘food trends.’ Everything we ate was simple, basic, and comfortable – from roast beef and mashed potatoes to chili and mashed potatoes. If we were going to spice things up, maybe we’d have spaghetti or pizza.   So imagine my surprise when the person who did all of the cooking during my formative years, the woman who actually served me lasagna and mashed potatoes (I’m not joking), called me up and started talking to me about quinoa. And she wasn’t just calling for a definition of what quinoa is either – she was talking about her long list of personal quinoa salad recipes. I almost dropped the phone in shock. After all, quinoa doesn’t include ground beef or mashed potatoes in the ingredient list, so this was quite a detour.

I’m one of those people that like to pack the most amount of living into the least amount of space. By that I mean that I like to have all of the areas I need – corner library, play area, and even my home office, all set up on my main floor so everything is accessible.   Not every home office has to be a full room full of furniture, shelves, and filing cabinets. Some of the best home offices are simple, stylish, and compact. Here are some solutions for creating a great home office without taking up a ton of space.  

The switch to Daylight Savings time is upon us again, and as of 2 am Sunday, March 9th, we’ll be springing forward by 60 minutes. Not all of Canada participates in the Daylight Savings ritual, with Saskatchewan being the main exception as they observe Central Standard Time all year round.   Some people don’t notice the switch all that much, others will flat out tell you ‘It sucks.’ It doesn’t matter which camp you’re in, because it’s coming whether we like it or not. So how do you survive the transition to Daylight Saving time?