$1/month razors. Cheap & Practical. Watch this this genius promo for Dollar Shave Club and you’ll be convinced.

I was invited to do a Crossfit challenge a couple of weeks ago against promoter and lazy college student, David King. Being that I haven’t been in a gym in three months, yet remain competitive like I’m in some kind of best shape of my life, I agreed.

Anyone who’s been reading the blog knows I trained and competed in my first boxing match last year, then a half marathon this year. I LOVE a fitness challenge. First I had to learn it on my own though. Maguid Nicholas, from Tidal Crossfit in the east end (Vic Par and Danforth) took me through it in great depth on my first visit (which left me sore for two days). It’s basically a warm up then one strength exercise then some form of circuit you have to do as fast as you can based on army stuff like pull ups, sit ups, push ups and rowing (the bain of all). Mags explained (at length below) the pillars of Crossfit to me.

This is David:

And here’s me:

This is Tidal Crossfit in the East End

PILARS OF CROSSFIT

1 – What is fitness?

Crossfit defines fitness as “work capacity across broad time and modal domains.” It’s useful to look at each piece of the definition in simpler terms.

“Work capacity” refers to a persons ability to do work, and do it fast. As I said yesterday, we use the basic 11th grade physics definition of work (force applied over a distance). In most cases, we are applying force against gravity by moving a load or our own body weight. Doing the work fast gives you what is called power in physics. The greater your power output, the more work you do in less time.
“Broad time and modal domains” refers to the generality of the fitness we are trying to achieve. Time domain refers to the duration of an effort, and modal domain refers to the kind of movement we use to apply force (running, squatting, pressing, pushups, jumping etc.). So by broad time and modal domains, what we mean is the widest variety of movement combinations across the widest span of durations. An example I used yesterday is quite illustrative: An Olympic lifter operates in two specific modalities (the snatch and the clean and jerk) in over one very small duration (a single repetition for maximal weight). In this time/modal domain, this lifter is incredibly proficient, but across others, like running for twenty minutes, not so much. So by Crossfit standards, his fitness needs some work.

As I mentioned before, Crossfit’s brand of fitness means sacrificing absolute dominance in any single domain and exchanging that for proficiency in many. Notably, if you look at competitive (elite) level Crossfitters, we still haven’t found a functional limit on how good you can get at all of these different things while still maintaining general fitness. A few years ago, deadlifting over five hundred was unheard of in Crossfit (people thought you would have to be too big and slow), and now it’s par for the course among top level CF atheltes, who are still insane at bodyweight stuff.

2 – Constraints on achieving fitness:

The second part of Crossfit theory is how you actually get fit, and this is where Crossfit uses its second wordy definition: “Constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity.” What this translates to is the use of gymnastics, Olympic weightlifting and power-lifting, dumbbells, kettle-bells, running, rowing, and plyometrics in as many changing combinations and permutations as possible. Some days that means some solid strength work followed by a short conditioning session, other days that means approaching maximal single rep efforts in the Olympic lifts, and other days that means 30 minutes of gymnastics skill work followed by a 5K run. The point is we move our bodies and external objects in the most natural, intuitive ways possible, and we do that stuff hard. This is where the time component of many of our workouts becomes essential. By timing a workout and requiring the fastest effort possible, our athletes achieve the intensity needed to actually ellicit a change in their physiology.

Okay that’s the less practical side of things… here are some of the more practical elements.

3 – Scalability

A common question we get is “should I be doing this program?” Sometimes the person asking has an old injury they have to work around, sometimes they are deconditioned overall, and sometimes they have just spent their whole adult life hearing people tell them that squatting below parallel is bad for your knees. The simple answer is yes, but it requires some qualification. In Crossfit, we believe that the general needs of a police officer and your grandma are essentially the same. Both of them want to be able to accomplish whatever task life throws at them the best they possibly can. For a cop that might mean sprinting, jumping a fence, and then drawing a gun and being able to fire it accurately. For your grandma, that means being able to get out of the house and do some shopping, being able to sit down and stand up easily, to reach a high cupboard for glasses without pulling something.

The point is that while the modalities are very different, and the amount of work accomplished is different, both of these people need to be able to move a load over a distance as quickly and efficiently as possible – be it hopping over a fence while in chase, or a carrying a grocery bag. This is where scaling comes into play — a new client might not be able to do a pull-up or a full clean coming in, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t need to work towards those movements to improve their overall fitness. Our movements are selected to be scaleable for any level, either by load, range of motion or complexity. Similarly the workouts are structured to be further scaleable by adjusting rep numbers and round numbers as well.

4 – Variance/Periodization

Another common issue that arises, especially with people who are familiar with resistance training, is that Crossfit is too varied, almost random. This is where an important distinction arises: constant variance does not mean chaos/lack of planning. Jeff and I plan month long cycles for our members with peaks in strength and gains in conditioning in mind at particular points, we also change the intensity levels of the workouts throughout a cycle by using work/rest style workouts or shorter, less “grind you into the dirt” conditioning sessions. Crossfit aims for general fitness, and in that respect, it requires that we not focus too much on one area of expertise. But at the same time, it demands a basic level of proficiency in everything, and for all of the stuff we do, that means periods of focused practice to get good at one skill or another (ie gymnastics).

For the record, I beat David’s ass big time:

Anna: 1st round: 5:33, 2nd round: 13:39

David: 1st round: 7:07, 2nd round: 21:32

And just in case we’re counting, I’m a smoker.

Its that time again… for our hubbies, boy-toys, dads and bros to grow their beloved “moustache” in the support of  “Movember“!! For those of you that live under a rock and have no idea of this “Movember” thingie  I speak of, its an annual, month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during November to bring awareness to men’s health, specifically prostate cancer.

Canadian tech-accessories company PKG, decided to hook up with the Movember crew and support the cause by launching a limited edition “Know your Mo” laptop sleeve. The sleeves come in a range of sizes (from tablets to 16″ laptops) and are decked out with awesome renditions of moustaches aka “Mo’s” on the exterior, the pièce de résistance is the ingenious “STACHE KEY” printed on the inside is the image and name of each “mo” (so you can really kno’ your mo)!!

For each limited edition sleeve sold PKG will donate $5 to Movember in an effort to raise awareness, find a cure and fight against prostate cancer. FYI when I say limited edition there is only 50 in each size!! So get yourself down to the nearest Future Shop and pick one up and if your super lazy grab one online!!

“Prostate cancer affects millions of men around the world and we wanted to do something that would help beat this disease. What better way to raise money towards finding a cure than doing what we do best: design an awesome sleeve that will give Canadians?mo? reasons to support men?s health!” says Andy Priestman, Co-founder and Director of Brand Development and we couldn’t agree more… so go out and show your SUPPORT!!

We live in a day and age where we are all constantly bombarded by the media and our peers  when it comes to our self-image and self-esteem. Let’s be real… I don’t know anyone these days that has zero “self-doubt issues”.  So when an invitation from VOCAB Communications came along for a screening of Measuring Tape Girl during Culture Days hosted by our homie Casie Stewart, I just had to check it out!!

Measuring Tape Girl is a real examination of self-image and indecisiveness, it documents a young woman approaching her thirties who turns to social media in particular  posting on-line videos as a means of expressing her doubts and fears, thus creating her alter ego named ‘Measuring Tape Girl’.  Measuring Tape Girl decides its best for her to measure and criticize herself against others,  before anyone gets a chance to reject her, she does it herself.

After the screening the audience was treated to a little Q&A hosted by Casie Stewart, we chatted about the effects of social media on our body image, camera types, and social media do’s & don’ts… Casie even spoke about being one of the most influential female bloggers in the country. The ambitious director/writer Pasquale Marco Veltri and the star of the show Jessica Embro jumped in to chat ’bout how surprisingly easy it was to write this story despite being a man, movie locations, and even dropping hints on the next MTG project (hint: Girlsssss).

A couple special ladies popped up to introduce Windfall, a charity that  acquires new clothing and other personal need items and distributes them to a variety of social service agencies. Suitable Impressions  a facet of Windfall provides meaningful job-training placements and gives a full-day workshop for clients that takes job readiness to the final level by offering clothing, personal care items and first impression training for job seekers. Can we say amazing!!! It was a real treat to have everyone ’round on a rainy Sunday afternoon for something that made you feel so good!!

Please remember to support the cause… its the best thing we can do!!

XOXO,

Pinkie

If you’re like me, you avoided learning to cook, because all you ever really eat is Asian take out and other complicated things that you can’t cook for yourself or buy the ingredients in any size smaller than family-of-six. But if you’re like me in this way, then you might be like me in another and feel that takeout can get pricey and it’s never really good for you. At the end of the day, the more you make your own food, the more control you have about what you put into it, and the better it is for you. Unless you’re making double deep fried chicken smothered in butter dip at home of course.

And now that it’s spring time, the bbq’s are blazing, and the Corona’s are frosty, and it’s time for some sexy summer salad.

Here’s an easy Green Papaya salad you can make to bring as a gift to a bbq or for yourself at home anytime. It’ll keep in the fridge for a week (in fact it gets better as the days go by). This goes great with fish and tofu. But if you must eat chicken, it goes good with that too.

• 1 large green papaya, peeled, seeded and julienned (that’s when you cut it into little sticks, you can buy a julienne-er in Chinatown)
• 1 small carrot peeled and julienned (or several baby carrots)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced (aka green onions)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced (you can also just squirt in some Rooster hot sauce if you don’t want to buy a whole package of peppers)
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp fresh minced ginger
• 2 tsp sugar (or honey)
• 1 tsp mirin (you can just use a second tsp of rice wine vinegar if you don’t have mirin)
• sea salt + pepper to taste
• optional: mango julienned
• optional: 2 tsp fish sauce

Serves 4 peeps–I bought all the ingredients at the Lucky Moose on Dundas at Beverly for just over $10 including the rice wine vinegar.

I made this one at my step father’s house as part of a Mother’s Day dinner of bbq white fish and steamed asparagus, and he didn’t have a julienne-er or a sharp enough knife, so I just used the peeler and peeled both the mango and green papaya until they were gone. It worked great.

Our buddies over at TV Carnage just dropped a little gem into our laps: Let’s Work It Out, a raunchy “workout tape”.

Let’s Work It Out!!! <– watch the preview here

First let’s talk about the DVD case – the cover is a Ken and Barbie couple wearing enough bodysuits and spandex to put Richard Simmons to shame. Inside this case is a 10,000 dollar “Hell Bank Note”, a grey plastic bag in the chance one experiences “Motion Discomfort” during the video, and a TV Carnage postcard.

Let’s Work it Out includes all important parts to a proper fitness regimen:

Warming Up…

Working Out with A Friend…

Or A Few…

Exercising Your Face

Skin Care

and so much more!

The video has clips from (it seems) hundreds of tragic/amazing workout tapes of times past, some of them featuring Alyssa Milano, O.J Simpson,Lou Ferrigno, Cher and various male/female Jane Fonda look-a-likes. It also had a serious musical moment courtesy of Saved by The Bell.

The minutes long breathing-exercise montage was the perfect mix of awkward and hilarious.

“Let’s Work It Out” combines “rockin’” aerobics music, exercises you can do standing at your phone and copious amounts of nipples, damp bodies, perms and crotch shots (both male and female). Besides, anyone who promotes a shot of tequila during tennis and weight lifting with an eye patch is alright with me.

If you want to laugh,  dance and/or vomit “Let’s Work It Out!!” has the footage, music and barf receptacle for you.

Go to the TV Carnage website HERE to hook yourself up with this and other delicious merch.

We (heart) TV Carnage’s Pinky

You may remember reading about how I’m getting a tattoo on my hand removed? My friend Amber, who is a cosmetic magician is removing it for me. Turns out friendships with magicians can pay off when they need to learn how to extend your eyelashes into pillowy bedroom eyes that would fool even the most discerning asian eye.

Amber had me over to Xtreme lash me last week. It took about 3 hours cause she’s learning, but the results are totally worth it. In the end, I have about 70 lashes per eye laid over top of my real lashes and they look real as hell. Like my blonde buns were born with thick, long Middle Eastern princess lashes. No need for mascara anymore, now I just “fluff” with a clean mascara wand and go.

Here’s how it works:

You lie down an they put a pad under your eye to keep your lower lashes out of the way and so they can see your upper ones better.

My eyelashes are actually pretty long naturally. Apparently I’m a ’7′ (eyelashes are numbered 1-12), which means that the longest they’ll extend them are a ’9′ otherwise you look like a drag queen AND your eyelashes can get damaged from all that girth and length. Amber numbered my lashes so that she could affix different lengths from inside to out to make it look gradual like the real deal.

The tools are individual lashes of all lengths, glue and some serious tweezers.

The process involves isolating individual lashes and affixing the falsies one at a time to them then moving on to the next. It takes a really long time, but it’s pretty relaxing. In fact, many people, including myself, fall asleep during the procedure. It takes about 70 lashes per eye to make a real impact. It can run you between $150-$250 for a first session and then you get “fills” just like acrylic/gel nails. Based on how many have fallen out between sessions, a fill will run you around $50 every two weeks for up keep.

Check these babies out. Lush!

If you wanna look at a gallery of how amazing these things can look, click here! They even make them in all kinds of colours for the ambitious.

If you wanna get lashed by Amber, you can make an appointment here:

Absolute Beauty, 1517A Bayview Ave 416.932.3970 ask for Amber.

We’re less than two weeks away from fight night. The first GirlFight at 99 Sudbury on March 4th, 2011. Doors at 7PM, fights start at 7:30.

As anyone who’s looked at the flyer knows, the proceeds from the event are going to Nellie’s Women’s Shelter. Nellie’s is one of the city’s largest women’s shelters for women and children who are victims of abuse. And one of the many amazing programs and services that they offer is a 12-week in-house Violence Against Women Group, led by staff group facilitators. Currently offered at the shelter location, with plans to offer this group at their Community Support and Outreach Office beginning in the fall, this program offers women an opportunity to share their experiences of abuse as well as learn and discuss different ways to end violence in their lives. Through a variety of different topics, women are able to deconstruct the cycle and patterns of violence, while creating an awareness of the different power structures both in their personal relationships and in broader society that they will face when they are on their own.

The women who have participated in the group in the past have said they liked coming together and sharing their experiences without fear, and feeling a sense of community and support with other women who have had the same experiences. So many women who are victims of violence feel like it’s only happening to them, and this program helps to break down the walls of isolation and give them a positive space to express themselves and learn to live with dignity in future. And this is the program that the money raised at GirlFight will help to flourish and reach as many women as their is a need for.

RAFFLE

We’re also putting together a fun raffle as well. Some of the DOPE gifts that you could win are: a Puma bag filled with $300 worth of Puma gear, official leather boxing gloves from Boxing Ontario as well as a free session with Judo Champ, Kimberly Ribble-Orr, a three month membership to 99 Sudbury’s gym (and their swank new yoga studio too), and a Heineken at-home beertending kit (value $250). Were selling raffle tickets for $5 each or 5 for $20. And all the proceeds go to Nellie’s along with the ticket pricing.

I’m fighting in my first boxing match on March 4th in GirlFight, which is a fund raiser for Nellie’s Women’s shelter. And you know what that means? Heavy heavy training. I’ve met the girl I’m fighting and not only is she in great shape, but she’s a fantastic fighter and she’s on it  six days a week.

Not sure if you remember last year when I started to get in shape and I blogged here about it. When I started in May, 2010, my measurements were: Bust: 35 , Waist: 28.7 , Hips: 38.5 , R.Thigh: 21 , R. Arm: 11. Weight: 130 lbs. Now I’m Bust: 31.9 , Waist: 26.4, Hips: 36.2, R.Thigh: 19.3, R. Arm: 9.3, Weight: 118.4 lbs. that’s a total of 11.1 inches lost. And it only took eight months. Ha.

In any case, I’m in the best shape of my life. I don’t drink, smoke or eat anything processed. I box 2-4 times a week, swim, do yoga and run about 20k a week. It’s intense training but totally worth it in the end.

GirlFight is partly a showcase for Women’s boxing, and part fundraiser for Nellie’s Women’s Shelter. Having boxed for the past eight months, I’m floored at how little visibility women have in the sport. Boxing is tailor made for ladies. It’s all about strategy, focus, and endurance, three things that come naturally to ladies. Plus, my trainer, Lee Turner, has taught me so many dope self defence moves that I never worry about running through the ravine on my own anymore. The empowerment is addictive as hell. And it was that empowerment that lead me to Nellie’s. I wanted to take this lovely sport that has brought so many blessings into my life and not only share it as a showcase with people, but also share the fruits of our labor with another organization bringing empowerment to women ever day. As one of the largest women’s shelter’s in Toronto, Nellie’s has helped over 13,000 women and children since it opened in 1973 by providing Since 1973, Nellie’s has helped over 13,000 women and children by providing emergency shelter and community support & outreach programs. 100% of the proceeds are going to Nellie’s programs.

I’d also like to give a special thanks to Newsgirls Toronto, the all-girl boxing club who are hosting the event. Owner and boxer, Savoy Howe, has been nothing short of a lifesaver in helping me put together this fight. She’s organized the card, and given great advice in putting on a great show (if you’ve ever been to a Newsgirls show, then you know they are some of the best in the city).

Click the following names to find out more about their services:

Toronto Newsgirls, Lee Turner, Nellie’s Women’s Shelter, 99 Sudbury, GirlFight.

It’s that time of year again! Everything seems to slow down after new year’s eve and we get reflective. We think about the mistakes we made in the last year. All the late nights, the bad decisions, the hang over breakfasts etc.

Well, in looking back over all my decisions in the past year, for the most part, I gotta say I made some pretty good ones when it comes to the above debauchery, but given that I’m training for my first boxing match (March 4, @ 99 Sudbury, save the date!) and I definitely have my fair share of emotional and mental garbage to let go of, looks like it’s time for a cleanse.

The Tools (all procured from Whole Foods):

Psyllium Husk powder, Bentonite Clay, a giant 3.5 litre bottle of unfiltered, 100% pure apple juice and some digestive pills my cleanse master, Nicola Stephenson, sent to me.

The Basics:

Every morning wake with a glass of purified water (I just boiled a full pot the night before and drank only that all day) + 1 tblsp psyllium husk, 1 tblsp bentonite clay, mix and drink it down. Chase it with a glass of apple juice. Essentially you drink a galss of apple juice every two hours after that. Around 4PM you take another glass of the psyllium husk, bentonite clay combo. 2 digestive pills before bed, and voila, you’re cleansing. I planned on 3 days, but it turned out I needed 4 just to get anywhere.

Health Incentives:

If you were following the blog back in May 2010 when we dedicated and entire month to health, then you might remember Nicola Stephenson’s guest blog on the benefits of juice cleansing as she embarked on a 28 day cleanse in preparation for a journey into Peru to drink Ayahuasca, a psychedelic herb that causes your body to expel evil/ego. It’s pretty serious stuff. Some of the common health benefits include: organ rejuvenation, especially the liver, strengthening digestion, and eliminating toxins from the system. The added bonus is sometimes a lot more seductive: clearer skin, lowered cravings for sugar/salt/fat and of course, weight loss. There is also an underlying emotional tone. In letting go of physical toxins in your body, surely you must let go emotionally. And here in lies the rub I’m looking for.

Preparing for the cleanse:

Leading up to the cleanse days, I spent three days eating a much cleaner diet of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lots of water. I cut out meat, dairy, eggs, fish, alcohol and caffeine. For a lot of people, the three days prep are probably a nice reprieve in themselves for their bodies. For me, it mostly just meant giving up fish and eggs, since I don’t eat much of the rest. I also cut out all rice and bread on the last day. I’m so thankful that I stuck close tot his diet, because it made the not-eating part of the cleanse really really easy.

Cleansing 3 days of bliss:

I chose a weekend when I didn’t have much on the go and got amongst the cleanse right away Saturday morning. I was surprised at how filling the apple juice was and after a few classes and a green tea, I had zero desire for food. Every time I got even a little hungry, I just drank a glass of apple juice. I also took a yoga class a day, cut out television and read a book over the course of the weekend. On the first day, I had to have a nap half way through and there was a moment when my cousin ate a tofu and mushroom wrap in front of me that I felt particularly jealous. Other than the wrap eating and a solid hour where I felt an overwhelming urge to eat chicken wings and those giant, Christmas sized Toblerone bars, I was fine with the tea and apple juice.

They say that you “expel” a lot when you cleanse. Yeah, well I didn’t. Not in three days. I was worried by Monday when nothing had happened in the downstairs. I asked Nicola what that could mean, and she replied pretty plainly, “you are clearly holding on to something.” Almost immediately I stopped having the nightmares Id been plagued with for a month, and everyone complimented me on my skin wherever I went. But on Sunday night I tossed and turned with a familiar nightmare of heartache. On Monday my cleaning lady, and good friend inquired about a man whom I recently found out was not the gentleman I thought he was, and I suddenly felt an urge to uh…eliminate. Well, that solved the mystery of what I was holding on to.

I decided to keep the cleanse up for a fourth day after that, and would have gone longer had I not had a trip to Newfoundland (where they do not cleanse as far as I know) planned and I didn’t want to be breaking a cleans surrounded by fried bread and salt fish.

Breaking the cleanse:

Even though you miss chewing and you are dying to eat all kinds of tasty stuff, you can’t just Jabba-the-hut your cleanse breakaway. For me it was Vietnamese food. I just wanted to sit amongst a bathtub sized pho and gorge. I went with my stepfather to an uptown Vietnamese joint, but I asked for a plain mango salad with no dressing or peanuts, and steamed bok choy. It was the tastiest meal I’d ever had. For two days after I ate fruits and veggies only, and continued to take the psyllium husk/bentonite clay combo in the morning and the digestive pills at night.

Overall, I feel a lot better having done the cleanse. My mind is quieter and clearer, and my stomach bloat is completely gone (in fact, I was surprised to find out I lost 5lbs, mostly water though, I gained half back in two days). A week later and I’m still having trouble with heavy fish or eggs, in fact, I’m not even interested in them at all. I also noticed that my concentration and dedication level with boxing and exercise has doubled. Without one minute of training, I managed to improve my game by 50%. I’d recommend this to anyone going through an emotional time, anyone who feels tired, down, or lost. In fact, I’d recommend this to everyone I know.

After weeks of unlimited indulgence, my own turkey neck is wobbling a bit more than I’d like to admit. Numerous times we hear someone sharing that they can have whiskey in their morning coffee or 4 pieces of pie followed by the explanation “it’s the holidays” – which really isn’t much of an excuse. Whether your doing it because you actually make New Year’s Resolutions or because the muffin top on your jeans belongs in Texas, lightening up your diet come January is usually a good decision. As any form of strict regimen gives me flashbacks of teen angst and rebellion here’s the top 5 foods to include in your diet in 2011.

1. Avocado- This is the salmon of vegetables (well fruits really). Rich in polyunsaturated omega fatty acids, as well as a slew of vitamins. A serving for a woman is 1/4, men 1/2. I can eat a whole one jazzed up with lemon and salt. Use restraint.

2.Kale- One of the best vegetables because you can gorge yourself on it and it will do nothing but good. Rich in fibre, calcium, iron, folic acid, and vitamins A and C. Saute with olive oil, and shallot for 5 minutes and top with toasted pine nuts.

3. Salmon- Do I even have to go here? It’s the best. Eat it twice a week. But PLEASE go for wild or at least organic. Farm fed fish have up to 75% less nutrients.

4. Quinoa- Miracle grain. Quinoa is the Justin Bieber of food, everyone’s obsessed. A complete source of protein as well as a boatload of fibre. Read package directions and squeeze lemon over it. Or use it in place of rice in risotto.

5. Watermelon- Watermelon can have a high glycemic index so watch how much. BUUT it has one-third of a day’s vitamins A and C and a nice shot of potassium for only 85 fat-free, salt-free calories. Eat away. Orr if you’re feeling frisky make a salad with cubed watermelon, red onion, and feta cheese.

This is one of the freshest most delicious dinners ever. Use leftovers for a really good salad with a little arugala or romaine and and a squeeze of lime

Fish Tacos

For Fish:

2 Tilapia filets (or another firm white fish)

1/2 cup orange juice

Juice of half lime

1 jalapeno

2 cloves garlic

Corn or flour tortillas

1. Clean any membranes off the fish and season each side with salt and pepper. Set in a bowl or deep platter.

2. Whiz the rest of the ingredients in a food processor (or blender, or magic bullet), poor over the fish. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for 30 min- 2 hours. Remove from marinade and discard

3. Sear in a a pan with 2 tsp vegetable oil or grill, 2-3 minutes on each side.

4. Warm tortillas between 2 paper towels in the microwave for 30 seconds. Break apart the fish. Serve fish with toppings.

Toppings:

Sliced Red Cabbage (seriously so good)

Salsa (2 tomatoes chopped + 1/2 small red onion chopped+ 1/4 cup cilantro chopped+ squeeze of lime mix it all together)

Avocado Cilantro Guacamole (1- 2 avocados + 2 tbsp chopped red onion+ lemon juice to taste+ 1/4 cup cilantro chopped. Mash either lightly til chunky

If you watch the UFC fight in Montreal last night along with 23,000 fans at the Bell Centre  in Montreal then you probably know a couple things: 1. George St. Pierre is hands down, one of the best fighters the UFC has ever seen (I mean, come on, he won with a jab of all things), 2. An exorbitant amount of ginger red heads seem to be in the UFC (of five fights staring red heads, four were won by them), and 3. that the fight in Montreal was the most attended in history.

That is of course until April 2011 when Ontario gets its first UFC fight with an expectant 40,000 people in attendance. So what does this mean for UFC, Ontario and fight sports in general?

We spoke to Lee Turner, a world class martial arts instructor and personal trainer with a 3rd degree black belt.

PinkMafia: Are you excited for the UFC to come to Ontario?

Le Turner: I have been waiting for 8 years for this to happen! So yes I’m overjoyed!
There was a time, not long ago when the government in Ontario gave us martial arts instructors a hard time for having tournaments that involved more than one discipline as well as amateur kickboxing and also anything resembling kids fighting in a mixed martial arts format was taboo and punishable by the federal government which meant possible jail time! So yes, this is for myself and all martial artist who wished for the law to recognize our right to learn and practice how to defend ourselves in open competition without looking over our shoulder. We have been fighting for change in the laws which restricted us to stylized fighting which was the norm at the time and have now seen it come full circle!

PM: They say that the Montreal fight had the most viewers in UFC history, and that the fight in Toronto will double that. What do you think that means for the UFC in Ontario?

LT: When we fill the Rogers center and get the first MMA live gate of 70,000 people This will confirm what Dana White the president of the UFC has been saying all the time, that Toronto is the mecca for MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Also this will be no problem because we have many amazing fighters in Ontario who are also fight fans.

PM: What do you see in the future for the UFC?

LT: The future for the UFC in Ontario is that they will most likely open up feeder gyms that are official training gyms for UFC hopefuls similar to what they are already doing In the states. Also the TV show The Ultimate Fighter is the most successful show on Spike TV. It is basically what put them both on the map so I believe that they will do a Toronto based reality TV show to increase awareness of who the local fighters are and solidify their position as the top MMA organization in the world! One more thing I hope they is do is to help to create an amateur platform that allows would be professional fighters as well as casual practitioners to test themselves in a competitive environment before going to the “big league”!

You heard it here first kids. MMA is more than just an octagon and a chance for Gingers to have their day, we could be on the brink of a legitimate, regulated, and money generating sport here in Ontario. Stay tuned for the April 30th fight in Toronto, that’s gonna be one hot ticket!

This is what can happen when an uber-adventurous artsy space-case tries to conquer the world.

1. A few spring’s ago after a 2 week coastal road trip to Georgia, I did the unthinkable. The night before flying back to Toronto, after an attempted cleanse during the trip, I mega over-indulged in low grade vodka at a local watering-hole in rural PA. It didn’t help that my American friend was buds with the bartender, so things were doubles and triples. No time to sleep it off, and up and at ‘em at the crack of dawn to pack, I left my guest room in a horrible mess (sorry Jess!) and needed a puke break en route to PHL that only held me over until the freeway. With nowhere to stop and a major ‘white squall’ happening in my stomach, I tried to puke in a plastic bag while sticking my head out the window, going 100 mph. The driver was gaging at my sound effects, so that is why my head was out the car window, and that is why the puke flew back into the car (sorry again, Jess!) and onto my already fresh face.

At the airport, a sassy employee said without a hint of care that I had missed my flight, and an elderly woman helped me to a bench while I hyperventilated, disorientation and nausea taking over. Nursing a hangover in bed with Vice mag is one kind of hell, but attempting the logistics of getting yourself through a huge airport and onto a plane with your carry-on is another. To rub some salt in the wound, I was carrying this stupid huge yoga mat, Pilates ball (deflated) and accessories kit I got for a bargain in the US.

It took me several times to go through customs because I almost vomited on the staff, and would lose my place in line to avoid this. Once past the guards, I needed a personal vehicle to take me to my gate. The ride in the cart was hellish, and as the driver sped through the airport, with my back facing him I projectiled on the airport floor as we zoomed by people waiting for their flights, all through PHL. I’m talking pro-jec-tile, think garden hose. I kept trying to chug gatorade so my puke was just clear, and bright purple.

Horrible turned heavenly when once I boarded my plane, the sun beamed down on me, angels played trumpets, and the man sitting next to me turned out to be a doctor, and gave me medical attention on the flight home.

2. The other day I ordered pizza, and then realized I had lost my bank card, and had no cash on me. That was pretty bad.

3. When I finished high school I moved to a tropical island (St. Croix, US Virgin Islands) for about a year. I volunteered on an organic farm, became a living antioxidant, perfected my ocean-swimming, and had a brief psychotic relationship with a Lion-Tribe Hebrew-Israelite Militant Jew who thought he was the next Eminem/Charles Manson. Towards the end, I’m sure you can understand a born’n'raised city girl needed a break. So I hopped on a tiny sea plane, which took me from my serene farm community on a piddly island to the Caribbean’s biggest city, San Juan, Puerto Rico, population 2 millie. My brain pretty much exploded.

But I wasn’t in the city just yet – The Puerto Rican border guards had a hard time understanding why I had spent the last 8 months volunteering on a farm (to them, farm = grow-op), didn’t get paid (other then with a swank cabana and more coconuts than Jersey Shore), wasn’t even from the states, and had hundreds of dollars in cashish stuffed everywhere in my bag (inherited money; Jew perk). In that moment of being detained in a scorching “security room” -metal shack- it hit me how bad my story must’ve seemed. They kept asking if I had ever done cocaine before, and spent a good couple hours searching my record, my bags and making me sweat. They were kinda cute.

It turns out most of the world’s cocaine comes from Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, and a lot of it passes through “The Caribbean Corridor” – The islands where I was staying and Puerto Rico. That’s where people get it and take it back to the states, where it eventually reaches us in Toronto, filled with 90% baby aspirin. Anywhoo, bad part of the world to be wandering around “finding yourself”. My bicycle and debit-only Canadian lifestyle meant nothing to them.

I found myself in some doo-doo. Suddenly my red gingham capris and pin-up-girl plane makeup didn’t feel so cool. I knew deep down my story was legit, but from their perspective I screamed all kinds of sketchy. They must have taken pity on me, didn’t deport me back to Canada and we worked out an unspoken agreement that I would give them my stash of ativans and they would let me go into their great city where I did TONS of incredible $5 cocai ena off the bodies of delicious hunks.

4. One time in Toronto I went home with this musician/photographer dude who seemed ok enough to maybe be his friend. I’m good at drawing that line clear and he said he had weed. As soon as we got to his place he put Sesame Street on his huge flatscreen TV and left the room, only to return wearing an adult diaper with his bottle sticking out. Before I stood up and left, he jumped in my lap like a baby and tried to suck on my teet, while giggling and looking at the screen. His sexy talk was him speaking like a typical gay little boy, high voice, lisp, the whole bit, and he would say things like “You’re so hot, with your big glasses, ooooh ahhhh”. Let’s just say I got my heiny outta there, but not before laughing hysterically. Sometimes I see him on the street and I hide behind a garbage can.

5. I got the flu right after starting a new dog walking job and my pride prevented me from calling in sick. I toughed it out, walking dogs around town with an increasing fever and biking from one neighbourhood to the next all day and then guh – I get hit by a car biking at Queen and Spadina. Luckily, no injuries, just scared shitless and even more delirious and feverish then before, but couldn’t waste any time crying in an alley, had to go go go! Horrible Day.