3 Fresh Spring Mocktails to Enjoy With Your Teen
3 Fresh Spring Mocktails to Enjoy With Your Teen By Nicole Abaca Spring is here and it's a great time to enjoy a bunch of activities to enjoy with your teens. If you want to stay closer to home, there's nothing better than sipping mocktails on a sunny day in your backyard! Creating mocktails bartender-style with your teen is not only a fun activity but a good opportunity to bond with them. We featured our four favourite recipes to make spring mocktails with your teen! We recommend using pretty glasses, fancy straws and decorations to recreate that “grown-up cocktails” vibe. Strawberry SlushOut of this world, delicious! Ideal for an outdoor lunch. Ingredients: 1 (16 ounces) pack of frozen whole strawberries. ½ cup water. ¼ cup lime juice. ¼ cup light blue agave nectar (see Tip) ⅛ teaspoon salt. Lime slices for garnish. How to: 1) Add all the strawberries, water, lime juice, agave nectar and blend. 2) Add the ice and blend until it is smooth as you like it. 3) To make it bar-quality, decorate your glass! Wet the rim of each glass with a lime wedge around it and invert the glass to coat the rim with either salt or sugar. Tip - Light blue agave nectar can be found near other sweeteners in the grocery store. - Instead of salt, you can use sugar for the glass rim.Fruity Aqua The perfect one to choose if your teen is inviting friends over. Ingredients: Fresh lemon slices. Fresh lime slices. Fresh orange slices. Cranberries. 2 cups of cranberry juice. 2 cups grape juice. 1 cup orange juice. 1/2 cup lemon juice. 4 cups San Pellegrino sparkling mineral water OR lemon-lime soda. How to: 1) Add the Cranberry juice along with the grape, orange and lemon juice. 2) Once mixed, add the fruit slices. 3) Place the pitch in the fridge and let it chill for 1 hour minimum. 4) Before serving add the sparkling or mineral water. Tips: - You can use a non-alcoholic wine instead of cranberry juice. - If you prefer a sweeter sangría, use soda. If you prefer a less sweet sangria, use sparkling mineral water. Summer SunriseThis mocktail is the easiest to prepare. You might want to replace your morning orange juice with it. It’s the perfect match for any type of brunch. Ingredients: 4 to 6 ounces of orange juice. 1/2 to 1-ounce grenadine to taste. Orange slice for garnish. How to: 1) Fill a tall glass or a pitcher with big chunks of ice. 2) Add orange juice leaving a little room at the top. 3) Pour grenadine over the juice (slowly). Don’t stir it. It will sink to
Foster Boy’s Julie Benz on how the film exposes corruption, abuse in the system
Foster Fail Julie Benz from Foster Boy talks about how the film exposes abuse, corruption in the foster-care system in the U.S.Tell us a little about the movie Foster Boy. Foster Boy is a legal drama about corruption in the for-profit foster care system. It is based on true events.Foster Boy was written by an attorney and is based on his experience as a top litigator in Chicago. How do you think his first-hand knowledge and experience really lends to the credibility of this film? Jay Paul Deratany was able to bring his real-life experience as a top litigator to the page. It adds an incredible richness to the film. As a litigator, he prosecuted numerous child welfare cases against for-profit foster-care companies and won. His screenplay pulls together a number of the cases he has prosecuted in order to tell an extremely compelling story and illuminate the bigger issue of corruption in the for-profit foster-care system.Foster Boy has been described as “Art Activism.” What does that mean to you? Wow. That’s a powerful and accurate description of Foster Boy. To me, ‘Art Activism’ means the ability to inspire change through art. And that’s exactly what this movie does. It holds up a mirror to a very corrupt system in our country and forces you to look at it. It leaves you wanting to make a difference for these innocent children and to fight for reform.Why do you think it’s so important to highlight the abuses within the foster-care system in the U.S.? Foster children are the forgotten children in our country. There are 430,000 children in the foster-care system at any one time. The statistics show that the majority of foster children are abused, neglected and denied basic services. And over half end up homeless, unemployable or incarcerated after aging out of the foster-care system.What’s your take on for-profit foster care? It doesn’t work. Profits are frequently prioritized over a child’s well-being. These companies are hard to regulate and are not always transparent with their data. It’s heartbreaking because it’s the children that suffer at the hands of these greedy companies. There’s an incentive to make the placements for these kids to intentionally fail so the company can make more money. It’s criminal.You play Pamela Dupree in the movie. Can you tell us about your character? Pamela Dupree is a representation of what it’s like to be a social worker in a for-profit foster-care system. Through
My Top 5 Local Shops in East Toronto
My Favourite Shops to Find Fun Gifts for Teens By Rachel Naud When Interac challenged me to shop local, it was a challenge I gladly accepted! Part of the reason I love living in Toronto is the array of independent shops and boutiques in every area. When searching for some fun gifts for teens, I certainly didn't have to travel far! Here are some of my favourite spots where I discovered fun finds and gift ideas. Yellow House Gallery & Framing This contemporary art gallery and custom framing shop in the Upper Beaches of Toronto showcases local, regional and international emerging artists and focuses on original works and limited edition prints. I picked up a super cool graffiti-inspired custom painting, perfect for any teen! (Or myself, really!) Tertulia This independent coffee shop is new to the Riverside area. Inside, the vibe is quaint and contemporary. I went for the gourmet chocolates and caramels but I stayed for the London Fog! Best in the city! The Nooks Located in Toronto’s East End on “The Danny,” The Nooks sells hand-crafted and curated gifts, made by local artisans. The perfect place to get that one-of-a-kind gift! I found some cool necklaces! Good Neighbour This funky find is a one-stop shop for everyone on your list. This little house turned gift emporium serves up everything from house & home and bath & body items to men’s and women’s clothing and winter accessories. iQLiving Located in the heart of Greektown, I adore the kitchen accessories and cookware in this shop, especially the Orla Kiely line. It’s got a retro vibe that I love!