Abbey Sharp – Urban Suburban Mommy

We are so excited – we just received the perfect Mother’s Day present: We were nominated for a Sunshine Blogger Award from fellow and fabulous blogger Taylor Rongholt from Peas Romaine Calm.

We absolutely love the genius and catchy name of your blog Taylor!

We definitely recommend checking it out – there are lots of great food recipes and travel-inspired posts. We are particularly excited to try the fried pickles recipe! (Anything pickles, yum!)

So thank you for the nomination – we appreciate the pat on the back and it excites us that in only 5 short months, we have come a long way. We love doing it and will continue to shoot for the stars! We of course want to thank all of our fantastic contributors including Alissia Marciano, Erica Wearing, Kasia Waloszczyk, Krista Holmes and Alexis Nicols (as well as all of our fabulous interview subjects).

Lots of Love,

Elisa & Michelle

xo

The Rules:

Thank & link the person who nominated you.
Answer the questions asked by them.
Nominate 11 bloggers.
Give your nominees 11 new questions to answer.

Taylor’s questions to Urban Suburban Mommy:

1. What is your “reach for the stars” goal as a blogger?

E: I love writing and sharing. My “reach for the stars” goal is to continue developing our interactive space where we can share great parenting advice and have lots of fun with lots of contributors.

M: I love “reaching for the stars” and I believe if you put it in writing you are so much closer to achieving your dreams and goals. So here goes – I hope to grow Urban Suburban Mommy into the go-to destination for parents, expectant parents and anyone who likes great content. We hope to be as big and respected as such well-known and deserving sites as Yummy Mommy Club and Parenting.

2. What makes you smile?

E: My boys’ senses of humour. Definitely. They’re both such characters. And Michelle’s answer to this question – 3 boys – that definitely made me smile!

M: My 3 boys – my two children and my hubby. Definitely their laughter.

3. Describe something you have done recently to save money?

E: This is going to seem completely insane and not just a little cheap, but I got tired of replacing the kids’ plastic IKEA cutlery all the time. My son is constantly throwing the forks and spoons away with his lunch remnants, so instead of buying more, I grab an extra fork and spoon (or 2 or 3…) every time I see disposable take-away cutlery.

I know, that’s bad, right?

M: I got rid of my home phone. I am saving money monthly and no more solicitor calls – yippee!

4. What is your favorite home cooked meal?

E: I absolutely love my husband’s chicken schnitzel. He worked at a Hungarian restaurant as a teen and learned from the best. It’s time-consuming so he doesn’t make it often, but when he does, it’s the best. Easily as good as my old Hungarian Nana Sophie used to make. (Sorry Nana!)

M: Anything that I don’t have to cook 🙂

5. Do you have pets? And if so, what kind and why do you love them so much?

E: We have 2 cats. An enormous brown tabby named Merv and a fuzzy little snowshoe named Captain Coconut. I love how Merv rules the neighbourhood and keeps the wildlife population in check (though I hate finding the occasional dead snake or bird that he leaves as a gift). Captain Coconut is a lovey dovey snuggler who won’t leave your side. He’s a doll. We don’t have a dog and we’re not getting one, despite what my children and husband may say about the matter.

M: I don’t have pets. Having 2 small children is more than I can handle right now. Lol.

6. Do you prefer to eat meat or vegetables?

E: We are meat-atarians.

M: I prefer vegetables for sure.

7. Where is your hometown?

E: Toronto, Ontario.

M: My hometown is Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.

8. What would you ask Santa for (purely and selfishly!) yourself?

E: I want a Porsche. A silver Porsche 911. I figure if I keep asking, someone will break down and give me one, right?

M: I would love for Santa to babysit – I would steal 8 solid hours of sleep. Mama would be so happy!

9. What does your blog mean to you?

E: My blog means an outlet where I can connect and express and explore. It’s truly a passion project and I’m so grateful to have found the perfect partner to team up with. I feel like we complement each other in so many ways and just enjoy working and planning and creating with Michelle so much.

M: It means the world to me. It is super cathartic. I love the collaborative process and am grateful for it.

10. Who is your favorite TV character?

E: I’m having a really hard time deciding whether it’s Edina or Patsy, though I’m also crushing on Abbi and Ilana after a marathon sesh of Broad City.

Actually, I’m going to go with Sophia Petrillo. Final answer.

M: What an awesome question. I have to think on this one. I have 2 – diametrically opposed – I love Fred Flintstone. He fully reminds me of my dad. I of course love Carrie Bradshaw.

11. What superpower would you like to have?

E: I’d like to have super speed, I could see that being kind of fun and productive.

M: I would like to be able to wrinkle my nose like Samantha from Bewitched and have any household task complete itself.

Our nominees:

Casie Stewart: This is My Life

Your Questions:

You are trapped on a desert island – you can bring one celebrity (alive or dead). Who and why?
Who is your biggest role model in life?
One thing that scares you?
Vanilla or chocolate?
Why do you love blogging?
Favorite piece of clothing in your closet right now?
No sleep or no food for 24 hours?
What is your biggest pet peeve?
What is your life’s motto?
Favorite book and favorite film?
They turn your life story into a movie – who plays you?

Food writer, blogger and Registered Dietitian, we caught up with the ever-so-chic Abbey Sharp to ask her the questions you know you want to know about what we really should be eating.

What are super foods?

I think they’re foods that some marketer or self professed “nutrition expert” decided instantly makes a dish healthy.

It’s a buzz word. It’s a health halo. It’s unfortunately not real.

No one food has the ability to promote good health, or bad health. And even these so-called super foods can appear in dishes that aren’t otherwise well balanced. Wild blueberry donuts are still deep fried sugar bombs. I think we need to stop labeling foods in general, but the term super food is one you won’t generally hear me use.

What 5 foods should every household have as nutritious staples?

I don’t think there are 5 universal foods for everyone, because we all have different likes, cultural practices and dietary needs. But some of my go to staples are : canned or dried beans and legumes, balsamic (or another flavourful) vinegar, plain Greek yogurt, oats, eggs.

Abbey Sharp

So many women – especially moms – struggle with losing weight. Any advice on what to do and what not to do?

My first suggestion is to look at your motivation. Why do you want to lose weight? Most people would suggest that they want to live longer, be stronger, reduce the risk of disease and live a healthier life.

Well, you can do all of that without the scale ever budging.

Healthy eating and activity can promote health at any size. You may lose weight if you start to be more active, or if you start to eat a little more fresh produce, but the key to long term success is to change the goal to health, not weight loss.

Research also tells us that dieting doesn’t work. When we restrict our intake, we tend to feel so deprived that the moment we have access to some sort of “forbidden” food, we binge, we feel guilty, then we start the restriction cycle all over again – but even more stringently. The key is to just not get started down that path in the first place. Rather than focusing on restricting, I recommend a technique called mindful eating. It involves listening to your body and nourishing it as it needs. There’s no depriving, there’s no moral weight assigned to foods – or you for eating those foods. You just eat what you want, start when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full.

If the thought of letting go of the control scares you and you’re convinced you’ll just go crazy and gain a bunch of weight, keep in mind that as soon as you give yourself permission to eat without guilt or fear of future denial, the desire to go overboard on any food will disappear and you will just focus on eating to feel strong, nourished and satisfied. Research tells us, mindful eating and having a healthy relationship with food is the secret to long term success.

When a mom is shopping at the grocery store, what ingredients should she be concerned about when buying food for her family?

When reading nutrition labels and comparing like products, I would aim to choose those with higher amounts of protein and fibre, and lower amounts of salt and sugar. Also, don’t be lured in by claims on the front of packages – they are technically true, but there are a lot of tricks that marketers use to make their product seem healthier than it may be. The back of the package has the facts, so always reference that.

As for ingredients, I would stay away from hydrogenated oils altogether, and try to limit an excess of added sugars, which can be identified by the suffix “ose” (sucrose, fructose, maltose etc.). Ideally, look for products with relatively short ingredient lists. For example, I would rather buy plain yogurt where the only ingredients are milk, and maybe some probiotics and added nutrients and where I had the option to add my own fruit or sugar, than a flavoured yogurt that has sugar, colours and other stabilizers. There are exceptions, and there is no question that some added ingredients can make getting dinner on the table easier and more likely, but when time permits, go simple and build from there.

What is your favourite part about being a Registered Dietician?

Well, I’m definitely a different breed of RD. I work only in media, so I do a lot of TV and writing, which I love. My favourite part of my job is definitely communicating nutrition to the masses in my YouTube channel and on TV, trying to make it fun, and hopefully debunking the myths out there perpetuated by unqualified “nutrition experts”. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be as complicated as the media tries to make it. Listen to your body, move your body, nourish your body and do what feels good.

Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), avid food writer and blogger, TV and radio personality, food brand spokesperson, recipe developer, YouTuber, and the founder of Abbey’s Kitchen Inc. Abbey believes that a pleasurable relationship with food is inherently essential for good health and shares this unique philosophy through her regular contributions to The Marilyn Denis Show (CTV), Best Health Magazine, and countless other media outlets and publications. Abbey has worked as a celebrity Brand Ambassador and Spokesperson for dozens of popular food, health and lifestyle brands such as Electrolux, Frigidaire, Almond Board of California, Jamieson Vitamins, Labatt, Sunkist Citrus, and Panasonic. She is also often touted as the go-to personality for hosting popular food activations including Toronto’s Food & Wine and Taste of Toronto. Today you can catch Abbey’s cheeky approach to food and nutrition on her popular food blog, and Tastemade YouTube channel, Abbey’s Kitchen.

@AbbeysKitchen