May 2011 Newsletter

Elli's Update

The annual Chairman’s Club Retreat took place at Laguna Beach, California this year. Chairman’s Club recognizes the top 1% of the Royal LePage residential sales force in Canada. While at the retreat I had the opportunity to connect with other members of the Royal LePage community from across the country. It is a pleasure to see familiar faces, and to meet agents who have achieved this milestone for the first time.

Chairman’s Club Retreat at Laguna Beach, California, 2011

This event benefits clients nationwide by putting your local realtor in touch with this amazing network of realtors, facilitating easier city-to-city moves. If you are looking to buy or sell outside of the Toronto area I can help connect you to a great realtor in your area!

Finally, don’t forget…this Sunday, May 8 is Mother’s Day. Take the time to tell Moms, yours or someone else’s, how much they mean to you!

Elli Davis
Celebrating 28 Years in Central Toronto Real Estate

April Newsletter 2011

• Elli's Hot Listings!
• Real Estate News: Tips for Spring Home Buying
• Market Watch Report: April 2011
• Toronto Events Calendar for May
• eMbody Fitness April Bites: Striving For Balance

Hot Listings!

Central Toronto - Lawrence - $479,000
149 Cranbrooke Ave

Move in and enjoy as is or make your own! Detached 2 storey with charming original details including leaded glass windows, wood burning fireplace and gumwood wainscotting.

See more

Central Toronto - Yonge & St. Clair - $479,000
63 St. Clair Avenue West #704

'Granite Place'! Treed views over private park! Fantastic location near Yonge & St. Clair. Mint condition suite with hardwood floors, tiled balcony, stainless steel appliances & California shutters.

See more

Central Toronto - Yonge & St. Clair - $429,000
47 St. Clair Avenue West #1102

'The Westclair' luxury building! 2 Bedrooms, 2 full baths, ensuite laundry. Open balcony with sensational unobstructed views. Parking and locker included.

See more

Thinking of buying? Thinking of selling?

Visit our website for the Buyer's Guide and Seller's Guide or feel free to
contact me at and I'll get right back to you.

Tips for Spring Home Buying:

Spring is a busy time of year when it comes to buying and selling homes. We often see articles on what to do to help sell your home, but what can you do as a pro-active buyer? Sean Joyner of Investopedia/The Globe & Mail has given some ideas of what to look for, and what questions to ask, as a potential home buyer:

Tips for Spring Home Buying

Market Watch Report: April 2011

Click here to read the latest Market Watch Report published by the Toronto Real Estate Board.
April 2011 Marketwatch Report

Events calendar for May

Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival

Over 1000 local, national and international artists exhibiting their photos at more than 200 venues! This year the theme is “Figure & Ground”, and the festival runs for the entire month of May.

Toronto Jewish Film Festival

Both local and international filmmakers will be showcased at this festival. Films are being screened at various cinemas from Saturday May 7 to Sunday May 15.

May Bites From eMbody Fitness:
Striving For Balance

Striving For Balance
By Debra Basch, RHN
Director of Nutrition, eMbody Fitness Clubs
Certified Personal Trainer

Last month we looked at the dreaded f word. Fat. We discussed how important it was to eliminate the dangerous kind from our diets and incorporate the healthy type daily. Well, I think we need to discuss it again. And we will continue to revisit this topic until everyone is at their optimum body composition and living a healthy, active life. Have you noticed that I am referring to losing fat and proper body composition? We really don’t want to lose weight – as that can mean losing muscle and bone – important body tissues that are precious to our health and our basal metabolic rate. We want to lose fat and build muscle and bone.

The first goal I set for my clients (in accordance with their needs) is to learn how to manage their blood sugar levels. This is easier than it sounds. When we don’t eat (fasting, sleeping, skipping meals), our blood sugar levels drop leaving us with feelings of fatigue, hunger and wanting to over eat. Some people report headaches, feeling really tired and fuzzy in the brain. When we eat carbohydrates, our bodies convert digestible carbohydrates into blood sugar (glucose). This is our primary source of energy. Our brains only function on glucose. Our blood sugar levels do more than just tell us if we have energy or if we are hungry. They also determine if we are going to store or burn fat. After consuming carbs, a healthy individual’s pancreas releases a hormone called insulin whose primary function is to usher blood sugar into our cells where it can be used for energy. Eating processed, fibre-less food, sugar, or other carbohydrate-rich foods (think white rice, white bread, over cooked pasta, white potatoes, cookies, baked goods – empty calories) that are quickly processed into blood sugar – we overstress our pancreas to continue to create more and more insulin. This increase in insulin sends the message to our body that we have sufficient amounts of energy available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it! Yikes!!!

This isn’t our only problem. Whatever we eat that isn’t readily used as energy is stored as fat. This is evolutionary and why we have survived. The bigger problem is that with this spike in insulin, too much blood sugar is being transported out of our blood and this results in an energy crash. Both blood sugar and insulin levels have dropped below normal. Once again we feel tired, hungry and needing to eat more! This becomes an unhealthy viscious cycle because most of us will once again eat something else with a high sugar content. So what happens when you skip a meal or go on a crash diet? Your metabolism slows right down to conserve your energy – the opposite of what you want. A body believing it is threatened with starvation will go into survival mode – fighting to conserve fat stores - stalling fat loss efforts.

What to Avoid:

• Simple Carbohydrates: fibre-less and can be metabolized quickly causing an insulin spike (all sugars: sucrose, fructose, lactose, glucose – nothing with “ose” at the end, cookies, cakes, fibre-less crackers, candy)
• Hidden sugar in processed foods and condiments: bread, ketchup, salad dressing, canned fruit, peanut butter (commercially made), and some soups
• Sweetened beverages: pop, lemonade, iced tea. These sugars add up quickly and most beverages aren’t filling
• Fat-Free Products: sugar is often used to replace flavour when the fat is removed. This is a double whammy because there no longer is fat to slow down the sugar being absorbed into the blood
• Sweetened sugary cereals: I like to keep it to <6 grams of sugar per serving – max
• Claims of No Sugar Added: 100% fruit juices and fruit leathers often contain concentrated fruit juice-another variety of sugar or fructose. While honey and or agave syrup are considered healthier because of trace nutrients, for weight loss purposes all sweeteners should be considered equal – AVOID!

What to Do:

• Eat breakfast everyday. Studies prove that those who do, jumpstart their metabolism by as much as 25%.
• Eat healthy snacks between meals. However, over snacking can stall weight loss efforts and even cause weight gain. Choose fresh fruit and vegetables over fibre-less juice and salty processed foods. Add a little healthy fat and protein (nuts, nut butters, hummos, hard boiled eggs, edammame, chick peas) will prevent hunger pangs and binges.
• Never go more than 4 hours without eating.
• Keep snack and meal portions in perspective. Not sure – don’t eyeball it! Get out those measuring cups until you can properly estimate. Free pouring can result in twice the portion size.
• Aim for 25 to 35 grams of fibre a day. Fibre helps to regulate your blood sugar levels by slowing down glucose absorption and rate of digestion. Aim to eat 50% of your daily calories from vegetables and fruit.

Green Goddess Bowl

This recipe has kale in it-one of the most beneficial leafy green vegetables. Kale helps to lower blood pressure, detoxes your organs and lowers bad cholesterol. Just half a cup of chopped, boiled kale is only 18 calories but delivering 30% of the daily requirement of Vitamin C and enough Vitamin A and K for the whole day. The sulphur-containing phyto-nutrients found in kale, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables have been shown to reduce a wide variety of cancers. Fibre-rich, good source of mono-unsaturated healthy fat and easy! This dish is perfect for vegans, vegetarians and those wanting more plant-based delicious meals.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

½ bunch of kale, thick stems discarded
2 cups chopped broccoli, steamed
½ cup cilantro finely chopped
4 large green onions thinly sliced
1 avocado sliced and diced
1 ¼ cups of dry brown rice will yield 2.5 cups cooked
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 ½ cups of cooked brown rice, room temperature
350 g package of medium firm tofu, cut into small cubes
4 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
Juice of ½ a lemon – use a whole lemon if you like a strong lemon flavour
1-2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup of almonds, toasted and sliced

TIPS:

Steam broccoli to tender-crisp about 4 minutes
Cook brown rice in vegetable broth for more flavour

Method:

1. Place room temperature brown rice in a large serving platter.
2. Halve kale leaves lengthwise, discarding any remaining thick centre stem. Cut very thinly crosswise
3. In a steamer insert set in a covered saucepan with 1-inch boiling water, steam kale 7 minutes
4. Heat olive oil in a large wok or skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes, stirring. Raise heat to medium high and add kale, onions and broccoli. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Add soy sauce.
5. Remove sautéed vegetables from heat and pour over the room temperature brown rice.
6. Add cubed tofu, chopped cilantro and avocado
7. Squirt lemon juice over the top, toss gently and serve.