Since my short visit to Western Canada last month to promote Adams DIY peanut butter snack bars, I’ve been getting many requests for the recipes.

The four snack bar recipes can be found at: www.Adamspeanutbutter.ca

With Valentine’s day around the corner, these simple recipes are perfect for procrastinators (like me) that are running around last minute not knowing what to do for their loved ones. Although these snack bars are healthy enough to eat post-workout, they’re also so delicious they could pass as a special treat!

Why I love them:

No baking, say what?! Adams PB snack bars take less than 10 minutes to prepare, throw them in the fridge or freezer and…you’re done.

What’s in your PB? Adams 100% natural peanut butter has no artifical colours, flavours or preservatives- the only two ingredients on the back of the jar are: peanuts and a dash of salt.

You had me at Chocolate. The recipes use delicious ingredients that you can easily adjust or modify, depending on your preference. Think oats, nuts, dried fruit, natural peanut butter, toasted coconut, protein powder, and even dark chocolate!

No mess, no fuss. I was rocking through making these bars, one after another…by my fourth recipe, I was just eye-balling all the ingredients- I couldn’t go wrong!

Grab and Go: Just as easy as grabbing a snack bar from the store (except with all the ingredients you love).

They taste awesome. Approved by my 3 year old daughter!

Sesame PB Date Bites:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (250 mL) pitted dates
½ cup (125 mL) Adams® 100% Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
½ cup (125 mL) finely chopped peanuts
2 tbsp (30 mL) toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

Purée dates in food processor. Add peanut butter and mix until well combined. Remove from food processor and knead in peanuts. Shape into balls and roll in toasted seeds. Refrigerate overnight.

For other great Adams recipes, including:

On-the-Go Coco-PB Bars
No-Bake Fruit and Nut Balls
Dark Chocolate Cherry & Nut Bars

Visit www.Adamspeanutbutter.ca

Click here to view on mobile.

I was just recently in Toronto to attend the big announcement of Canadian Tire signing an 8 year contract with the Canadian Olympic Committee as a Primary National Sponsor. This is great news for Sport in Canada, from grass roots level to our Olympic athletes. It was great to see a private corporation, such as Canadian Tire, taking a leadership role in supporting Canadian athletes and sport programs.

My personal situation leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games demonstrates how individuals, companies, and a community can come together to show their support and contribute in a variety of ways, and that the end result can have a significant impact for an athlete.

Here are some great examples from my experience in Calgary of how an athlete can be supported:

NOV Wilson (previously CE Franklin): www.cefranklin.com

Goal: To support a group of Canadian Olympic Athletes that personify their operating code of conduct (including commitment to Excellence). Employing the Athletes as ambassadors for the organization and their core values both internally and in the community.

Strategy: Incorporating Athlete Ambassadors in corporate events and charity events. Naming each meeting room after an athlete with their photo on the wall and a quote that reinforces company operating values. Send out on-going updates by athletes to all employees.

Results: After coming back from the Olympics in Beijing, I attended a CE Franklin event and many of the employees came up to me glowing with excitement. They explained how amazing it was to be able to support an athlete (one of THEIR athletes) that they knew so well from the updates we’ve been sending. It totally changed the way they experienced watching the Olympics and some found them shouting at the TV cheering us on (in the office!) like they’ve never done before!

Jason Zaran, Owner of The Main Dish: www.tmdish.com

Goal: Being a big fan and supporter of amateur sport, Jason wanted to promote his values of healthy eating and healthy lifestyle while helping out local Olympic athletes.

Strategy: Mutually promote each other whenever we could via social media and attend charity events hosted by the restaurant (if it fit into our schedules). Jason had a wall in the restaurant that displayed framed photos of the athletes (fit, healthy-looking individuals) and our testimonials about the amazing food. In return, the athletes received free food (dream come true!)

Result: I felt like I was adopted into a family whenever I went to eat at the restaurant or to pick up food to take home. It was a very successful way for the Main Dish to give back to the community, supporting Olympic athletes in a very important way (eating well is priority #1 for athletes) while getting the word out there about the healthy & great tasting eat-in/take-home options the Main Dish provides.

Andy Nghi, Owner of Armour Projects: www.ArmourProjects.com

Goal: Market his new supplement store Armour Projects, while helping out a local Olympic athlete.

Strategy: Host a fitness competition, advertising that all entry fees and additional donations will go towards supporting an Olympic Athlete.

Result: Andy’s event was a great success, providing me with much needed financial support and afterwards he sweetened the pot by offering to provide any supplements that I needed at no cost. I promoted his store on Facebook and signed a photo for his store. After the arrival of their baby girl that same year I was happy to drop off some of my daughter’s baby toys before we moved. Although I am now in the USA, Andy is still offering to ship my favourite supplements to me at no cost.

Martin Maherx, Owner of the Laurier Lounge: www.laurierlounge.com

Goal: to raise money for me and my family, after seeing an article in the newspaper about how I auctioned off my championship bib to raise money to bring my family to watch the Olympic Games.

Strategy: Martin advertised in his restaurant that for every lunch sold for the duration of the Olympic Games (2weeks) $1 would be donated to me and my family. He also put out a donation box for anyone who wanted to make their own personal donation.

Result: When we came home from London we were pleasantly surprised by the cheque Martin had waiting for us, with an invitation for my husband and me for a grand evening of food and wine at the Laurier Lounge. As it turned out, Martin’s act of kindness drew local media interest; providing his restaurant additional publicity above and beyond the (very accurate) glowing reviews about the food.

Bruce Bowser, CEO of AMJ Campbell: www.amjcampbell.com

Goal: To help two Olympians to relocate after living in Calgary for 10 years working with National team programs.

Strategy: I owe both Bruce Bowser and Michael Smith (former Olympic decathlete, and CBC track commentator) for this set up. At a charity event we all were attending, Michael introduced me to Bruce and explained my situation, and with no hesitation Bruce generously offered to move our belongings to Connecticut.

Result: Bruce said it would be a favour to Michael Smith, so I guess I owe Michael big time! The generosity of AMJ Campbell lifted an enormous amount of the stress of relocation from our shoulders. Our belongings arrived at our new place in Connecticut the day before Hurricane Sandy swept in. In thanking Bruce, I told him how comforting it was for me (and my daughter) to be able to sleep in our own beds while the hurricane passed though.

Individuals:

Goal: To help raise money to cover the expenses of getting my husband and daughter to London to watch me compete at the Olympics.

Strategy: Posted a Pay Pal link on my website before the Olympics.

Result: After the media covered the auctioning off my Olympic Trials bib to raise money, many listeners responded by making personal donations on my website. With many individuals donating whatever they could, it added up quickly and made a big difference to help cover the remaining expenses of getting my family to the Games. When I returned from London, I mailed out 40+ autographed cards across Canada to all those who donated.

TORONTO – Jessica Zelinka has to take a pass on an upcoming warm weather training camp in Phoenix next month — what would have been an ideal opportunity for one of Canada’s top track and field athletes to work with an actual coach.

Zelinka’s been without a coach since she moved to the U.S. with her husband. She also lost her funding for her three-year-old daughter to travel with her around the same time.

“It’s too hard paying for Anika to either go with me to Phoenix or to bring her through Toronto and drop her off in London (Ont., where her parents live),” Zelinka said. “In the past, she was covered if I needed to go to training camp, they would help with childcare.

“So I have to pick and choose which training camps are worth paying for.”

“] 

The 31-year-old was in Toronto on Wednesday to attend the Canadian Olympic Committee’s announcement of an eight-year partnership with Canadian Tire.

She moved to Stamford, Conn., this past fall when her husband Nathaniel Miller, an Olympian in water polo, took a job there.

Zelinka, who dominated Athletics Canada’s annual awards for 2012 by picking up three honours, learned from the sport’s national governing body that she would be losing funding for such things as childcare she received from Own The Podium in the leadup to the London Olympics.

“What our program has decided is for the first couple of years within the quad (four years between Olympics), we’re not going to be as focused on particular individuals, we’re going to be more focused on funding the systems,” Athletics Canada CEO Rob Guy said Wednesday.

“We wouldn’t, for anybody, be providing some of those real sort of extra additional things like childcare. It’s certainly not just Jessica. She certainly has the opportunity — obviously she is a great athlete and had a great summer last year — to be involved in our training camps, the warm weather camps that we do, and we look forward to some good stuff for her next summer.”

Zelinka was seventh in both the heptathlon and 100-metre hurdles at the London Games, four years after she finished fifth in the Beijing Olympic heptathlon. She booked her ticket to London in spectacular fashion, winning the heptathlon at the trials in a Canadian record performance and also winning the hurdles.

She’s set her sights on the 2016 Rio Olympics, despite losing her longtime coach Les Gramantik.

She would have had the opportunity to work with Gramantik and hurdles coach Gary Winckler at the Phoenix camp. But Gramantik isn’t providing her with training plans, saying he wasn’t comfortable coaching her from afar.

“He said, ‘Coaching is actually coaching, you have to be there, you have to be able to adjust the program, watch the athlete,’” Zelinka said.

The situation isn’t so dire right now. She’s only competing in hurdles this season to allow herself a break from the training for the seven-discipline heptathlon.

“So it’s not like I need a lot of technical help with anything,” she said.

In Connecticut, Zelinka is working with strength and conditioning coach Ben Prentiss, better known for the NHL players he works with such as Montreal Canadiens winger Max Pacioretty.

Zelinka trained alongside Pacioretty and several other NHLers before the lockout ended.

“(Pacioretty) is one of Nathaniel’s favourite players. I asked him for Christmas ‘Oh can you be my husband’s Christmas present so you can go on a date together?’ He’s like ‘sure.’ But then the hockey started again and he was gone,” Zelinka said, laughing.

Prentiss isn’t charging Zelinka.

“He’s doing it for free because he just likes working with athletes who are passionate about what they’re doing,” Zelinka said.

She also lost any kind of medical support she received when she was based at Calgary’s National Sport Centre, but a top physiotherapist in Connecticut — whose clientele consists of mostly pro athletes — is treating her at a reduced rate.

“He charges $500 an hour, and he said ‘Just pay what you can, whatever’s within your budget.’ So right now I’m giving him $30 a session,” Zelinka said.

“Things in Connecticut are working out due to a lot of people helping me out until I figure out funding.”

Training with Prentiss has been a big departure from what she was used to. Zelinka, one of the fittest athletes in her sport, said she’s starting from the base again, working on her “weaker areas.”

“I’m not lifting heavy weights right now, whereas before I’d be lifting three times a week at this point of the season for sure,” she said. “I want to take this year to gradually get into it.

“It’s totally different, and that’s what this year is all about in my mind. I have four years. And that’s my goal, four years still, I’m not trying to win worlds this year or do anything fancy.”

She’s looking forward to focusing on just the hurdles, an event she’s proved that she’s also competitive at on the world level.

“Mentally I’m just taking a break from the training for heptathlon,” she said. “I can’t see at this point in my career another four years of push push push training as a heptathlete. It’s nice to switch things up, and just doing the hurdles is something totally new for me and exciting.”

Link to video on whereparentstalk.com

OTTAWA — Jessica Zelinka of London, Ont., dominated Athletics Canada’s awards for 2012, collecting three honours.

Jessica Zelinka of London, Ont., throws the javelin on her way to winning the heptathlon event at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, June 28, 2012. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

The heptathlete won the outstanding athlete of the year, the most outstanding athlete in track events, and the combined events athlete of the year.

The winners were chosen by an awards committee from athletes nominated by the track and field community. They’ll be honoured at the 2013 Canadian championships in June in Moncton, N.B.

Zelinka capped an exceptional season by winning the Jack W. Davies Trophy as both the outstanding athlete and combined events athlete. She booked her ticket to the London Olympics with a Canadian record in the heptathlon at the Olympic trials, and added another victory in the 100-metre hurdles. Zelinka went on to finish seventh in London in both the heptathlon and 100-metre hurdles.

Zelinka and Phylicia George of Markham, Ont., tied for the Phil A. Edwards Memorial Trophy for outstanding athlete in track events. George finished sixth at the Olympics in the 100-metre hurdles. She also qualified in the 100 metres, but elected not to race that event in London.

Olympic bronze medallist Derek Drouin of Corunna, Ont., won both the Cal D. Bricker Memorial Trophy for outstanding performance of the year and the F.N.A. Rowell Trophy for outstanding athlete of the year in field events.

Drouin’s bronze was Canada’s only track and field medal in London and first for a Canadian in high jump since 1976.

Vancouver’s Inaki Gomez won the Fred Begley Memorial Trophy for outstanding athlete of the year in off-track events, finishing 13th in the men’s 20-K race walk in a Canadian record time in London.

Sarah Wells, a 400-metre hurdler from Unionville, Ont., won the Fred Tees Memorial Trophy as the outstanding athlete of enrolled in a Canadian University (University of Toronto).

Toronto pole vaulter Shawnacy Barber earned the Eric E. Coy Trophy as the outstanding junior athlete, while hurdler Nicole Setterington of London, Ont., claimed the Myrtle Cook Trophy as the outstanding youth.

Ottawa’s Jason Dunkerley picked up the outstanding para-athlete of the year in ambulatory events, while Michelle Stilwell of Nanoose Bay, B.C., is the top para-athlete in wheelchair events.

Anthony McCleary of Pickering, Ont., was voted coach of the year.

(all photos: Steve Ryall)

I’ve been visiting my hometown London Ontario before making the big move to Connecticut. It was the week before Thanksgiving, and I posted on Twitter and Facebook…”who would be up to join me for a workout at the park Thanksgiving Monday? Hills and core?”. The idea came to me just as spontaneously as I posted it. I was planning on heading to the park for a workout anyway, so I thought I might as well open the invite to everyone and anyone who would appreciate joining: all ages, all levels, no pressure, lots of fun…

Hitting the hill

Before I knew it, I was on two local radio shows talking about it, not really having much to say except, “come out; it’ll be fun!”. Another London hometown Olympian, Damian Warner (wearing red toque in photo above), tweeted that he and 2 other National Team athletes would love to come.  London’s Metro paper came out the day of, as well as Steve (meet director of the Forest City Road Races) to take photos – thank goodness because I forgot my camera! I asked a sponsor of mine, Eload, if they could to pitch in some samples of their electrolyte and energy gels (both products I use and love), and they arrived at my parent’s door step within 24 hours.

When I first posted the invite, I was hoping for 15-20 people to show up; Sunday night I guesstimated around 40. I arrived Monday morning to a crowd close to 100, of which 80 or so were there to participate!

It was a beautiful setting at Springbank Park, with the sun out, a crisp breeze, and a fall scent in the air that brings me back to my high school years of tough Cross Country seasons in London.

The group was great, and there was a great excitement in the air. People were there that I had met in the social media world; people I’ve chatted with on Twitter or that posted messages on my facebook page, as well as kids I’ve met over the years at banquets and on the track. A family, the McDougalls, woke up at 6am to travel from Niagara to be there for the workout!

Warming up with Pilates

We went through a Pilates series to warm up, then strides and drills. We hit the steep hill just outside of Storybook Gardens for an intense 15-20 min. workout, and closed off with a short core series. My sister Andrea, and brother-in law Dave (both physiotherapists who worked with me in Calgary)  just moved to London and were there to help out with proper form during the exercises. My dad joined in for the workout too, just like in the ol’ days when we would run together :)

Explaining how to use core muscles properly

It was fun, but it was hard.

I had a few key messages, in general:  not to cheat yourself by staying within your comfort zone; but instead bring “intention” into your workouts and challenge yourself (including ALWAYS running through the pylon, which many learned the hard way). I suggested that everyone go at their own pace, not wanting to be liable for injuries (or heart attacks): advice I should have taken myself, knowing it was only my 4th workout  back after taking a long post-season break of doing absolutely nothing.

There was a buzz in the air when we hit the hill, and a rush of excitement. Before I knew it, I was accepting challenges of racing boys half my age up the hill. It almost killed me. I was so close to revisiting my turkey dinner and pumpkin pie from the night before!

McDougall family that drove from Niagara!

Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves, and perhaps were a bit surprised at the tired state I was in by the end of the workout; nevertheless, it was an absolutely amazing morning, and I was thankful to have shared it with so many nice people. Please leave comments (especially if you were there)!

For those who wanted the info on my sister and brother-in law physiotherapy practices, here it is:

Dave Zelibka – Physiotherapy and IMS in London, Ontario

Andrea Zelibka – Skye Physiotherapy and Pilates, London, Ontario

Big thanks to Eload for the samples. Eload products can be ordered online from www.eload.net, or in London Ontario are available at The Running Room or MEC.

Jessica Zelinka finished seventh in the heptathlon and seventh in the 100-metre hurdles at the London Games. Photo credit: Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

By Sean Fitz-Gerald, National Post

TORONTO — Jessica Zelinka, the Canadian track champion and owner of the country’s most famous Olympic abdominal muscles, had just left the stadium when she attacked the first cupcake. It was gone in seconds.

Another followed quickly.

It was unclear which one survived long enough to be photographed and posted on Twitter by her husband that night last month in London. What was clear was her smile, broad and genuine as she marked the end of her gruelling Olympic cycle with a modest frosted treat.

“But it hit me about 10 minutes after that I didn’t feel so good,” Zelinka said with a laugh on Friday. “Because the sugar high and the gluten — I was really strict before, right? — I felt sick. I thought I was going to throw up. But it was amazing.”

The years of monitoring her diet, of training twice a day and of living within the rigid set of rules the life of an elite amateur athlete demands, were over. At 30, Zelinka arrived in London believing the Games would be her last.

That might not be the case.

After finishing seventh in the heptathlon and seventh in the 100-metre hurdles, Zelinka, who turned 31 this month, is considering making a run through one more Olympic cycle, to Rio de Janeiro in four years. That decision will not come without challenges in the short and long term.

For starters, she no longer has a coach, or a track, or a place to live.

Her husband, former Canadian Olympic water polo player Nathaniel Miller, has accepted a job coaching the sport in Connecticut. It is a one-year contract. He moved down earlier this month, and has been looking for a place for the family to live while Zelinka and their three-year-old daughter stay with her parents in London, Ont.

“I think with going for another Olympics, I need a change of scenery, a change of a lot of things,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for many, many years. I’ll probably be changing up my training, too.”

Her long-time coach, Les Gramantik, is not moving with them. She has identified two high school tracks near where they might live, but does not know how difficult it might be to book time on either. She said Canadian officials will meet next month to determine how much funding she will continue to receive, given her move.

Zelinka broke her own national record in heptathlon during the Canadian trials earlier this year in Calgary. She finished seventh in London, where the event played a transformative role in how the Olympics were perceived in the United Kingdom, as English hope Jessica Ennis won gold as part of a magical Saturday night in London.

Three nights later, Zelinka raced in the 100-metre hurdles final — having won the race at the Canadian trials — and finished seventh. The cupcakes were her deserved reward.

She was tired, worn out. She raced again in Zurich, but skipped another meet in France earlier this month because of the fatigue.

“My body was more sore than it’s ever been in my entire life, just because it thought it was going down, and then it had to get up again,” she said. “It was not liking it.”

She has taken a couple of weeks off, but only from training. Zelinka was in Toronto for the Canadian Olympic Committee’s parade of Olympians Friday, and will fly to Calgary to pack some of the family’s belongings for Miller, who will drive a loaded Honda CR-V back to Connecticut.

She is not sure exactly what her life will look like in a month, and she feels that is a good thing for her renewed Olympic goals. A change of scenery will help, though she said she will probably make the final decision whether she really wants to chase Rio 2016 in two years: “Right now, I do, but you can never predict it, right?”

There will be some predictability, though. The three of them — Zelinka, Miller and their daughter, Anika — will be separated from New York City by a 40-minute train ride. And they already consider themselves culinary explorers, beyond even cupcakes.

“Nathaniel’s like, ‘Every weekend, we’re going to New York City, and hit somewhere to eat,’ ” Zelinka said with another broad smile. “There’s so much to explore there. We’re so excited about that.”

Related

• London 2012 hurdles: No Olympic medals, but two special athletes in Zelinka, George
• Olympic parade a chance to say thanks to Canadian athletes