Shih tbsue: (Y Hidden tracks (Y DIY Beauty (¥ Bacon alternatives And more! Meatless Monday » Baked spaghetti squash and cheese Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor Sa by heating your oven to spaghetti squash and lay it, flat-side down, on a baking sheet. Once your oven is heated up, roast the squash for about 40-50 minutes, or until the squash has softened. The flesh should easily come off of the squash now, so remove the peel and set the squash aside—wait until it’s cooled down a bit first though, fingers! to 375 F. Reduce oven temperature On your stovetop, melt the : butter in a pot over medium : : heat. Once the butter is melted, : 400 F, then take your halved : gtir in the flour and mustard : : until it’s smooth. Slowly stir the : : milk in with the mixture until =: : it looks like heavy cream, then : remove it from heat. Mix the squash, spinach, : and cheese in with the milk : mixture. Stir it until the cheese : has melted, and then pour : it into a 9x13 baking dish. : Sprinkle the top with bread : crumbs and parmesan cheese, and be careful not to burn your : then bake in your oven for : about 10 minutes. Serves 10 Ingredients: One spaghetti squash, cut in half and with seeds removed 1 tbsp. butter 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour 1/5 tsp. dry mustard 2 cups milk 342g white cheddar cheese 1/4 cup white bread crumbs 2 cups parmesan cheese, flaked 2, cups baby spinach Have an idea for a story? Let us know! Contact: Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca www.theotherpress.ca stop HIV & Hep C now » Your partner's got HIV, but you've got options Andrea Arscott Senior Columnist ou and your boyfriend have and you feel the relationship is going to progress to the next level—a sexual level. You decide it’s time for a chat about testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and take him out for a picnic in a quiet park where you will both be relaxed. That way, if your partner has an illness or infection to tell you about, he will be more likely to open up. After some food, you bring up your own experiences with HIV and STI testing and ask him if he’s been tested lately. He hesitates, then responds: “I want to be honest because I really care about you, and I'd love to see where this relationship is headed. I’m really glad you brought this up because I wasn’t sure how to do it, but lam HIV-positive.” He goes on to explain that although the virus is in his body, the anti-HIV drugs he takes have resulted in an undetectable viral load (the amount of the virus in his body fluids). This means the risk of HIV transmission during protected vaginal sex is extremely low. Although you're surprised and a bit worried, you have : feelings for this guy and want : to give him a chance. You : bombard him with questions : and jump way aheadandask —: c ! : him if he can have kids. He says, : been dating for a while now, : “Unless I havea sperm problem : : that I don’t know about, yes, I : can. But even though my viral : load is undetectable, there’s : : still a risk, so we'd have to weigh : : the pros and cons with my : : specialist.” : : A webinar at Catie.ca states : : there is a 0.08 per cent chance : of HIV transmission during : receptive vaginal sex without : acondom, but this number : increases as the number of : unsafe sexual acts increase. : The webinar presenter, James : Wilton, offers an example: after : : 300 exposures, there’s a 25 per : cent risk of being infected with : HIV from your HIV-positive : partner. Wilton therefore warns : contracts HIV while taking : that the percentages should not : : be underestimated. If the two of you eventually =: they could develop resistance to : choose to engage in condomless : : sex or want to try to havea : baby, you’ve got options. One : of those options is called PrEP : (pre-exposure prophylaxis). : PrEP is an anti-HIV drug that : HIV-negative people can take : to reduce the likelihood of : contracting the virus from : their HIV-positive partners. : You could consult a doctor : to discuss the benefits and : disadvantages of taking PrEP on : : a daily basis. As with any medication, : there are side-effects. Catie. : ca’s fact sheet on PrEP says that : anti-HIV drugs “may negatively : affect a person's quality of life.” : Ifa person starts PrEP and : these medications, but is not : aware they’ve been infected, : the drugs. This is problematic : because the drugs are the same : ones used to treat HIV. The riskier activity would : be to engage in condomless : sex with a male stranger who is : unaware he has HIV because : the last test he had didn’t : include his sexual partners from : within the one- to three-month : window period. A person : in this acute stage of HIV is : extremely infectious and can : pass the virus on more easily : than someone who has had HIV : : for years. This means their viral : load is high, which, according : to Wilton, can increase the risk : 26-fold. Although PrEP is not : approved in Canada, Catie.ca : advises that some doctors may : be willing to prescribe it “off- : label.” They also warn that PrEP : : shouldn't be considered as a : replacement for condoms, as it : only provides partial protection : : against HIV and doesn’t protect : : you from other STIs. : According to Positive Living : : BC, in Canada there are an : estimated 71,300 people living : with HIV/AIDS, and according : to Newsroom.gov.bc.ca, 13,000 : of them are British Columbians. : : Since HIV doesn’t discriminate, : you cannot recognize the face : of HIV. The only way to know if your sexual partners are HIV- : positive is to ask them when : they were last tested. Don't : raise the topic when youre in : bed with the person or about to : get it on at the drive-in—this : discussion requires a little : pre-planning and some careful : consideration. Stop HIV now. Know your : options and protect yourself : and others. The Purpose Society testing clinic at 40 Begbie Street in : New Westminster will be providing anonymous and : rapid HIV testing and STI and : hepatitis testing on January 16. : It will also provide vaccines, : free harm reduction supplies, and condoms! Any questions? : Email the Purpose Society at : sexyquestions@purposesociety. : org fora free, discreet answer.