The Pay Chen Show

Do you really know what's in your "healthy" cereal/breakfast/protein bar? No...do you REALLY know? Nutritionist and founder of Sproutright.com, Lianne Phillipson-Webb talks about the alarming amount of crap and calories in some of the popular healthy snacks you're packing for work and lunch. Plus, what some of your not-so-good-for-you food cravings might really mean - Lianne helps you find the source and the problem. Toronto is full of secret menu items and you won't find them advertised. Huffington Post Canada's associate editor, Arti Patel, joins the show to reveal some of the city's best hidden menu items. And do you know what toxic chemicals are lurking in your mattress? Ecoholic columnist, Adria Vasil shares her discoveries about mattress companies and the questions you need to ask, plus the chemicals that are still legal but bad for you and your family. And you need to STOP using that face wash with the microbeads. It has drastic consequences and is affecting your health. Chef Ricardo talks about his best tips for introducing Indian flavours into your home, and Pay reveals her encounter with an A-list Hollywood celeb.

It's Spring! It's Spring! It's freezing. Do you want to get the best travel deals and find out what the frequent fliers do? La Carte Magazine editor Maryam Siddiqi joins Pay to share her travel tips. From her favourite sites for deals, to the underrated European destinations, and top picks for Canadian travel. Plus, new direct routes from Toronto might make traveling to new cities more appealing. Odin is the 13-year-old boy who ended up having a great birthday on the weekend after his story went viral. His mom posted on FB asking people to wish her son a happy birthday after realizing none of the kids invited to his party were showing up. But not all parents think this was a good idea. Finally! Coffee...delivered! How to win at laziness. And now a new option for getting rid of your body when you die. Yay..?

Back from a safari in Namibia, Pay talks about her adventures and how she got her luggage back after the airline forgot it somewhere. More than half of Canadians lie about their financial situation, surprised? A Debt Relief Professional from BDO Canada talks about the results of this survey, what we're lying about and how to fix our spending habits. Toronto Star columnist and cookbook author, Jennifer Bain, joins the show to talk about her family's buffalo ranch, raising and eating bison and why you should think about including it in your meals. Her new book is: "Buffalo Girls Cook Bison". Kudu, oryx, springbok, impala...what are these? And Pay fills you in on the food company that was forced to change the name of the meatballs to just "balls" because they don't contain enough real meat. Buyer beware!

It's hard to believe, but Spring IS around the corner...really. Pay talks about her recent experience at a travel clinic and all the fun shots and medications you can get there. Would you like an app that lets you lock yourself out of your phone for hours at a time to keep you from being distracted? What about using it to lock the phone of your kids or your easily-distracted partner? Pay talks to one of the Toronto co-founders of Flipdapp to find out how it works and why you might want to use it. Vivian Maier spent her life as a nanny in the US and took photos as a hobby. When she passed away, storage lockers of her belongings were discovered full of over 100,000 negatives. What was found on those rolls of film captured the interest of people around the world and her mysterious life even resulted in a documentary. A Toronto gallery has a few of Vivian's pieces and an upcoming event will you the opportunity to bid on one. A growing trend among parents is to crowd-fund for their kids birthday parties. Some just want a bigger and better bash than they can afford and are asking you to contribute money so their toddler can have a giant blow-out of a birthday. Writer, Emma Waverman talks about the story she wrote for Today's Parent. And a mermaid school might be coming to Toronto. Would you?

It's a sassy lady show as comedian Amanda Brooke Perrin co-hosts! Pay and Amanda talk about Fifty Shades of Grey, the handcuffs you should leave at home and the body parts you shouldn't put into a toaster. Chef Christine Cushing celebrates 10 years of growing olives and producing olive oil. She talks about the olive oil shortage expected in the next year and how to spend your cash wisely on the good stuff. Mark Bylok wrote "The Whiskey Cabinet" and pops by the studio to give the girls a whiskey tasting and and Whiskey 101 with the basics on buying, ordering and tasting whiskey. And...The Toronto Artist's Project is coming up - find out how you watch 16 artists battle it out live, and bid on their artwork. In between, Pay and Amanda talk about Amanda's worst comedy moment, and cheese.

What are the new flavours and foods you can expect to enjoy in the city soon? Trevor Lui chats about his two food companies that do global flavour mash-ups. His new restaurant Kanpai Snack Bar will serve Taiwanese street food and introduce people to some of the trendy foods from Taiwan's busy night markets. Chef Ricardo joins the show to talk about the latest issue of his cooking magazine which highlights 13 different areas across Canada with unique soup recipes. What's better on a cold, winter day than a bowl of hot soup? Spice up your meals with one of Ricardo's easy recipes. And Pay and Vinney chat about the woman who will never win Mom of the Year...she organized a kidnapping of her child to "teach him a lesson". Take a listen to her terrible kidnapping plan.

Do you know someone who is a disaster in the kitchen? A new Food Network show wants to pair them with one of Canada's top chefs to create a restaurant-quality dish! Apply or nominate someone for "Chef In Your Ear". Producer Daniel Gelfant talks about the kind of clueless cooks the show is looking for and tells you how to apply. La Poutine Week is back until February 7th. Listen to some of the mouth-watering creations that are being offered up by local restaurants this week. And celebrity chef and Food Network star, Anna Olson is the cupcake crusader for National Cupcake Day where cupcakes can help animals at local SPCAs and Humane Societies across Canada. Make sure you listen to nutritionist Lisa Cantkier before going gluten-free! A life-long celiac, Lisa explains why some people GAIN weight when they go on a gluten-free diet and the big mistakes we make. Find out how to do gluten-free the right way. Bet you didn't know the Glycemic Index was invented by a Toronto doctor! Dr. David Jenkins joins the show to explain why we should pay attention to the foods that spike our sugar levels. And if you had the cash, would you pay $32,000 to have a company help you create a unique baby name? The company exists....

It's a 2-hour show this week and Cory Vitiello (The Harbord Room, THR & Co.) co-hosts for the first hour. The Harbord Room is celebrating their 7th anniversary with a social media contest where you could win dinner for you and 6 friends in your home, and Cory will come over and do all the cooking (and clean-up, he says.) There's a new app that lets you create a fake boyfriend or fake girlfriend...complete with real-time text messages and phone calls to keep relatives from getting up in your business. And...you'll never guess who makes the most money from their youtube channel. It's a random woman who made almost 5-million dollars last year. In the second hour, nutritionist Theresa Albert compares the pros and cons of popular diets and has tips on making reading food labels easier. What is social entrepreneurship and why should you care? The co-founder of See Change Magazine explains. And if you're looking to escape winter and want a warm destination. Think about Scottsdale, Arizona - they've got everything you're looking for.

Do you have room for a cool, new friend? Yes New Friends thinks you might. Maybe things in your life have changed and you find yourself wanting a fun person to hang out with. Amy Wood, the creator of YesNewFriends.com stops by to talk about the success of her website which helps (mostly women) find potential new friends in the city. If you're a runner (or aspiring runner) chiropractor and running coach Clara Leung has tips on getting the most out of your run and how to avoid injury. Also, what do you need to winter running and when should you stretch? Clara has all the answers. How do you feel about a restaurant who offers free meals to the most attractive people in the room?

Health Sciences expert and University of Alberta professor Tim Caulfield looks at the impact of celebrity and media on our health decisions. His new book is called, Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? Tim tries Gwyneth's Clean Cleanse, changes his beauty regime to use expensive products with huge claims of anti-aging and looks at the trends in cosmetic surgery. He finds out the truth about cleanses, juicing, detoxes, and popular beauty products. Also...just HOW influential are Pamela Anderson's breasts? You might be surprised!

Happy New Year! Pay returns from being a parent to her parents during their holiday trip to British Columbia and dining at A&W because a travel guide said so. Registered Nutritionist Lianne Phillipson-Webb stops by with tips to shed the holiday bulge and get you on track if you've made it a goal to eat healthier or drop some pounds. She also gives us the pros and cons about those popular cleanses and detoxes. And do those juice cleanses really work? Lianne has the answer! Getting healthy and losing weight are always the most popular New Year's resolutions...but this year, many Canadians wish to reduce stress! And guess what the most popular resolution for the family is? And tune in to find out the most popular period for online dating (the best chances to meet someone new!) and the top 10 reasons to NOT call 911.

The last show of 2014 starts with a call to Pay's mom with a belated birthday greeting. If you're confused about rewards points and now to maximize them, Kathy Buckworth provides tips for collecting points the right way and how to get the most bang for your buck. And if you're that jerk who waited until the last minute to buy your holiday gifts, lifestyle expert Shoana Jensen has tips on crossing everyone off your list in one place. Plus giving you the feels with some top words from 2014 and the story of a homeless man who offered a stranger college student his last bit of change for her to get home.

MasterChef Canada judges Claudio Aprile (Origin restaurants) and Michael Bonacini (Oliver & Bonacini) co-host the show with Pay for the hour. They chat about the holiday special, Season 2 of MasterChef Canada and their experiences in the restaurant industry. How do these professional chefs deal with bad reviews and negative criticism? Michael talks about the recent Globe & Mail review that had everyone talking. And they share their favourite hidden gems in Toronto.

Pay takes a trip down memory lane and talks about the candies you remember as a kid. Gobstoppers, Nerds, Fun-Dip, Sour Patch Kids, Mojo's and all their sugary goodness. To help you with your holiday entertaining, Interior Decorator Paul Semkuley shares his tips for making your home comfortable for your guests and provides a list of items you need to keep on hand to make hosting a group easier. Flying fish and cou cou, souse, conkies...say what? These are the local foods in Barbados. More than just sun and sand, it's a popular winter destination for cold Canadians. Pay chats with Cheryl Carter from Barbados Tourism about other things to see and do on the island. And what are the top trends in baby names for 2015? Just wait until you hear this list...

Have you ever been gouged by an airline? What's the craziest price you've had to pay to get somewhere? Pay vents about the crazy cost of travel and listeners chime in. Also, Jackie Breyer, Editor-in-Chief of Toy Insider dishes on the season's most popular toys and gift ideas for the kids you know (or don't know that well). If you really want to make someone's day, consider the Shoebox Project. They're collecting boxes until December 5th and will distribute them to women in shelters. It's easy, it's inexpensive (fill a box with small items) and it makes a huge difference to someone who can't afford to buy themselves a little treat. Plus, Pay reads the most adorable love letter written by a 4-year-old boy.