04.10.15 DECONSTRUCTING DINNER

When I'm out of ideas for dinner, I like to pick apart some standard meals to figure out what specific ingredients I feel like eating. Then when I catch on something I love, say, sweet potatoes, I start to think up all the things that go well with sweet potatoes.

Sometimes I don't piece back the ingredients into a blended meal. In fact, I love to leave the meal deconstructed. Each ingredient stands alone. It is perfect just the way it is. And I'm not by myself in this, the explosion of the "lunch bowl" concept proves that!

Next time you are looking for dinner inspiration, try it yourself! There are tonnes of lunch bowl variations if you decide to google it. I've seen some good ones on the Oh She Glows website like this one (what an appetite!) and this one (inspired my dinner tonight). Make sure your meal is a well balanced blend of food groups to maximize nutrition. It's super easy, and trust me - you'll love it!

Meal pictured above: roasted cauliflower, roasted sweet potatoes, hummus, naan bread, quinoa and asparagus.

04.06.15 TAKING BACK MY FITNESS

Now that I have a better work-life balance, I feel like I can take control of my life again. I'm not drained at the end of the work day. I have energy to move. I have time to dedicate to self-care.

I've taken up yoga over the past few months. At first I did it to help deal with my anxiety. And you know what? It helps. It actually helps. And I feel amazing after every class. I want to do yoga all the time, but it's so darn expensive! Regardless, it's become a staple in my life.

This week I'm getting myself a gym membership to a local recreation centre that gives me access to cardio equipment and weights. I like yoga for relaxation, so I will make sure to get my cardio when I go to the gym.

And now that it's beautiful out, I have visions of runs on trails and along rivers. I signed up for soccer for the first time in years and I don't know if I can even sprint anymore. Maybe I should have figured that out before signing up?

I hope that you will join me in my adventure and read my odd fitness posts. I'm excited to take back my health and active lifestyle. It's time for me to rebuild this area of my life and I'm so happy I can finally do it.

What do you do to stay active?

03.27.15 FIVE THINGS THAT I AM GRATEFUL FOR

Source: Instagram @Stephynow

During my yoga class this morning, just as we were settling into shavasana, the instructor asked us to focus on what we are grateful for. That made me smile. Honestly, when was the last time you consciously thought about what you were grateful for in your life? It's been an embarrassingly long time.

What are five things that I am grateful for today?

ONE: TODAY.
I am here, present, and happy. I am grateful that I get to experience the day today. What makes it better? That it's a day off from the stresses of a workplace, and that I get to enjoy what I love doing which is yoga, cooking and baking. I am grateful for today.

TWO: THE JOB I JUST QUIT. 
When I think about what my job gave me, I realize it gave me experiences but also very important relationships. I met Mike, made a great work-family, and made a few friends. Some of whom I hope will continue to keep in touch as I pursue this new adventure. I am grateful to have met such wonderful people, and to have met the best man in the world.  I posted a #tbt on my Instagram about this yesterday.

THREE: MY HEALTH.
I mean more than just eating well. I mean taking care of myself emotionally and physically. I feel the best I've felt in months. I'm consciously eating well, practicing yoga, working out, and spending time doing things I love. I am truly happy. For that, I am grateful.

FOUR: GOOD FOOD.
Over the past few months, I've become quite the foodie. Some nights, Mike just wants to get something prepared and stick it in the oven. I never let him - I love making food, experiencing it, feeling proud about it. You can't do that when you buy a pre-made meal. I am grateful to have access to good, quality food, and to have the time to make it for us.

FIVE: MIKE.
Did I save the best for last? Maybe... Mike is my rock. He's there for me anytime I need it. I love him to death and am so lucky to have him in my life. Honestly, I could count a million and one reasons. I won't name them all because you'd be reading this post forever, but I'm grateful that he let me into his life the same way that I let him into mine.

What are you grateful for today?

02.26.15 RECIPE TESTING: VEGGIE BURGERS

Veggie burgers. Last weekend I explored the territory of making my own. I googled a recipe and found this simple one from the blog She Likes Food: Smokey sweet potato, black bean & brown rice veggie burger.

Here is the recipe for your quick reference:

Ingredients for the patty:

1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup cooked brown rice

3 cups roasted sweet potatoes, see recipe below

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon paprika

Ingredients for Roasted Sweet Potatoes:

3 cups diced sweet potatoes

1 teaspoon olive oil

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

"Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F. On a large sheet pan, place the diced sweet potatoes, olive oil, and all the spices. Toss until sweet potatoes are coated and place into the pre-heated oven. Roast for about 25 minutes, flipping once, or until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Let cool for a few minutes.

Place all of the veggie burger ingredients into a food processor and process for about 10 - 20 seconds until everything is mixed together but still has some texture to it. Form patties (you should get about 6 of them depending on the size you make) and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and coat the bottom with a thin layer of olive oil. Place burgers in the hot pan and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping once, until burgers are heated through.

If grilling the burgers, grill over medium heat and rub a little bit of olive oil on the grill to ensure that the burgers don't stick. "

- She Likes Food blog

I made a few of my own modifications. I didn't add onions, reduced amount of beans, omitted smoked paprika and cilantro, and didn't use a food processor. But they still turned out fab! I found that they broke apart a little bit, but I think that was maybe because a) didn't use a food processor, and b) didn't let them sit in the fridge like I should have...

But the flavour? Totally bang-on. I definitely recommend this recipe. Now I shall return to the She Likes Food blog and continue to go through their mouthwatering food recipes.

Do you like veggie burgers? Or are you a beef-burger-lover through and through?

02.06.15 Coconut Curry Sweet Potato Soup

The winter months are long and cold. Laziness sets into your bones. You go to work, it's dark. You come home from work, it's dark. Dinner? What to make? Who knows. Who cares. You just want to get under the blankets and curl up for a night in front of the TV or a good book. You know you need to eat something, but what?

As I've said before, my soup obsession is real. When you're too lazy to grocery shop, soup is the best (and easiest) thing to reheat from frozen.

The other day, I was looking for a coconut curry soup recipe, but couldn't find exactly what I wanted. I decided to wing it and this wonderful concoction came to be!

I wasn't planning to post this, so my measurements are approximations. 
Modify as you wish.

INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp of grated ginger
1 tbsp of coconut oil
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1.5 - 2 tbsp of curry powder
1-2 large carrots
2 sweet potatoes
4 tomatoes, small-medium sized* (I do this instead of diced tomatoes in a can, feel free to use diced)
2 cups of cooked chickpeas
1L of vegetable broth
1 can of coconut milk (I used full-fat)
2 cups cooked quinoa

DIRECTIONS:
*If you have decided to make your own diced tomatoes, prepare them now according to these steps: cut X's in the bottom of each, submerge into boiling water, and wait until the skin starts lifting at the "X". Remove the tomatoes from the pot and peel back the skin - discard the skin. Caution: I burn myself on this step EVERY time. Chop up the rest of the tomatoes, keeping the juices.

Peel and chop the carrots and the sweet potatoes.  Add to large soup pot and set to medium heat: coconut oil, ginger and garlic. Fry for a minute.

Add coconut milk, vegetable broth and curry powder. Bring to a boil.

Add carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and chickpeas. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Blend soup, and add quinoa to the blended mixture, stir and serve.


Voila! One of my favourite soup combinations so far. Bon appetit!

01.31.15 My Experience with a Naturopath

I want to preface this post by saying I don't have a serious illness, disease, or any other ailments that have led me to a naturopath. Partially out of curiosity, and partly due to recent experiences, I wanted to see what kind of insight a naturopath might have for me.

At work we go through very busy and stressful periods. Every day is go-go-go, but there are certain times during the year where even THAT gets ramped up.  Last time I went through this, I got pretty bad stress/anxiety. I was getting stress headaches, feeling fatigued all the time, and even feeling dizzy.

I decided to see a naturopath because I want to make sure I am well prepared for next time. Since I don't eat a lot of meat, I feel like maybe I'm missing some basic foundation so my body can thrive in these situations. I was mostly concerned about vitamin B's and protein.

I wanted someone who could look at my lifestyle, diet and other situations, and give me some tips for strengthening my body from the inside. I definitely looked in the right place.

I met with a doctor and we discussed why I was there, she asked many questions, and listened intently. She was super sweet, into a lot of the same things as me, and we gushed over how much we love the Oh She Glows cookbook. Is it weird that I kind of want to be her BFF?

Then we went through my normal diet. According to her, I have a pretty good foundation, I just need to introduce more protein into breakfast (vegan protein powder being her suggestion) and add more substance to my afternoon snack, especially if I have a yoga class that night and don't plan to eat dinner until 9pm.

She gave me a few supplements, explaining why/how each one would help. What I liked about this was that she gave options - vitamin D? Doesn't matter where you buy it. Magnesium? Doesn't matter what brand. The only one she particularly stressed was a certain vitamin B "stress blend", because of the high dose and my high stress/anxiety related to work. If I was going to spend the money anywhere, this is where, she said.

I'm very fortunate that I could make an appointment like this without a serious illness. I am extremely grateful for a healthy body. Now I feel that if something were to come up, it's the first place I would go again.

Time to get get hopped up on some supplements and hopefully get back on the right track! If you're looking for a naturopath in Ottawa, let me know :)

01.25.15 SUNDAY FUNDAY

I spent the today preparing for the week ahead.

4 loads of laundry.
Groceries.
Baking.
Cooking.

I'm covered in flour and need a shower.
But what have I accomplished in all this time?

1) Cooked chickpeas and black beans, and then froze 'em. Did you know BPA can be found in canned food? Unless the can says BPA free, you can't be sure. So I'm trying to buy dried beans instead. The problem? It takes much longer to cook. But with the help of this website, I decided to give freezing the cooked beans a try.

2) Made my favourite recipe from the Oh She Glows cookbook: Classic Glo Bars. These are my favourite to eat in the morning at work. They keep me full and are a great boost to the day. Chia seeds, hemp hearts, shredded coconut? YUM!

3) Chocolate chip cookies. Okay, so these aren't healthy at all. I haven't made anything for the man in a while. I figured it was time to making something a little less "exotic". Since the beginning of time, my mother has been using this recipe from Nestle Toll House. It's probably the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. Unfortunately I burned more then half of them, so better luck next time I guess?

Hope your Sunday's been swell :)

01.11.15 Dairy Free Broccoli, Cauliflower and Potato Soup

I'm not a chef. I don't know how to make special fancy dishes. I mean, I just recently learned how to cook Brussels sprouts. But I like to experiment with new recipes.

I like simple. I like minimal work. I like as few dishes and ingredients as possible.
At the same time, I like to eat dairy free if I can. And I like to eat vegetarian most days.

I've been on a huge soup kick lately. When my boyfriend asked me "when are you making me some broccoli soup?", I figured today would be as good a day as ever to try it out.

By combining a few different Pinterest recipes, I came up with my own version of Broccoli, Cauliflower and Potato soup. Bonus: it's dairy free!

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cauliflower
1 bunch of broccoli (not sure how much in cups. I cut up the whole head I bought from the store)
3 white potatoes
1 tbsp of onion powder
5-6 cups vegetable broth (I eyeballed it)
Salt and pepper as desired

Directions:
Peel and chop the potatoes. Chop the broccoli. Chop the cauliflower.

Add vegetables, vegetable broth, and onion powder to a large pot. Bring to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low.

Once potatoes are cooked through, remove the pot from the element. If you want your soup to be a bit thicker, you can remove some of the broth at this stage. I didn't do this, so it was a bit runny. I don't mind it either way.

Transfer the soup into a blender.  Blend until smooth. To get through all the soup I need to blend about 3-4 batches. My blender is quite pathetic and needs to be retired.

Once the soup is blended, add salt and pepper as desired. I use no-salt broth so I can control the amount of salt I want to add.

And voila. Serve with crackers, a warm bun, or enjoy it as it is!