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Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts

2012-01-31T13:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday as I was doing some errands I stopped by the Bulk Barn since I wanted to get a mini heart cookie cutter for Valentine's Day. Of course when I shop at the Bulk Barn I have to check out their baking supplies, since there is always something new I can add to my collection. As I was perusing the Valentine's stuff I stumbled across a heart shaped doughnut pan, woohoo! Doughnut pans are a lot cheaper than what I had expected them to be, for only $10.00 something, I definitely snatched one up.

I have never been a huge fan of doughnuts. I worked at Tim Horton's for quite some years while I attended school and truthfully was never really tempted by them. I can honestly say I probably ate less than ten the whole time I worked there (now cinnamon buns, and cranberry blueberry bran muffins are a different story mind you...), but, seeing healthy-baked versions of doughnuts on blogs has always tempted me. I even attempted to make a batch of doughnuts in the past, thinking that without a doughnut pan they would still rise, silly me, this was when I first started blogging however, and wasn't really aware of the tools back then, it's funny to think how much my culinary knowledge has extended since then, wow.

Anywho back on track. I looked at a few recipes last night, knowing I wouldn't have time to make a batch since I was going to dinner then heading over to my boyfriends, but I wanted to save some recipes so I can make them today. /I guess this sort of makes up for the crummy blogiversary food I had yesterday right? ;)

I reviewed a few of the recipes I had saved, but they didn't quite satisfy what I wanted, until I remembered that Ashley from (never home)maker had posted a few doughnut recipes lately. I quickly scooted on over and saw a recipe that seemed really interesting to me. A doughnut that has oat flour, wheat bran, maple syrup plus others? Healthy and baked, yet still delicious? Let's try it out. I went over to the kitchen, started pulsing my oats, adding the ingredients, stirring, and within less than twenty minutes I had a delicious smelling, freshly baked batch of doughnuts, perfect. Needless to say, I gave them only a few short, short minutes to cool down before spreading the chocolate frosting on top and digging in.

I absolutely loved these. I wouldn't say they are your traditional Tim Horton's doughnuts or anything, they remind me of an almost lighter muffin or something, but they are incredibly delicious, and you can definitely tell you are eating a treat rather than something healthy. The wheat bran and the oat bran definitely add some sweetness which is delicious. The only thing I would however just alter a teeny, tiny bit is the amount of maple syrup. I would probably change it to 1/4 cup instead of 1/3 as I found it to be a little too sweet, however, everyone else enjoy them entirely so perhaps it's just me considering I haven't been eating sweets as of late. However, an amazing first attempt and will surely be savoring these bad boys until they disappear, which hopefully isn't too quick.

Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats - processed into flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp flaxseed + 3 tbsp water - mixed together (or 1 egg or other egg replacement)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a doughtnut pan.

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour into the six doughnut holes (this recipe made 10 doughnuts for me).

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until slightly firm. Let cool in pan and then turn over to pop out.

Chocolate Frosting:

Ingredients:

2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2-3 tbsp coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

I used the paddle attachment on my food processor -- on high -- to blend together.

Do you have any recipes for healthy doughnuts you can pass along?

Second Year Blogiversary.

2012-01-31T05:05:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days I truly did not want to wake up. The night before I didn't have the best of sleep, and I thought due to this my night would of been rocking (since I've actually been sleeping like a rock lately), but I was clearly mistaken. I finished reading The Hunger Games (amazing read!), then tried getting to sleep, which did not happen until about 4:30 am, sad to say. I tossed and turned all morning. At ten o'clock I finally got out of bed because I needed to start my day, and make my breakfast because I had personal training at 12:00 pm.

This morning I truly wasn't feeling it. This is the first time since I've started my training that I just did not want to go. I could of called and re-scheduled but over the weekend I was really lazy and didn't do any exercise (not something I'm happy to admit). I went and to my surprise it wasn't as bad as I thought. We worked on my arms, and since then it's been a pain in the butt. I could barely even pick up my bottle afterward. When I went to shower (which I almost thought of doing at home, because I was moaning like a crazy person from how much my arms burned) picking up the shampoo bottle was a nightmare. Nonetheless, I shan't complain, feeling a nice burn after a work out is always a wonderful thing, and then you get to refuel! Secretly, refueling is one of my favourite reasons to work out, haha. This morning I had a delicious shake made of coconut milk, frozen strawberries, frozen mango, and vanilla protein powder, I didn't have any spinach or anything on hand so it was just a quick and simple yet absolutely delightful treat after my work out.

Today marks my second year of blogging. I remember writing up my post last year (as I'm sitting in the same chair I was), and the feeling I felt. I wanted to make something sweet and special for this post, just like the average blogger does when they celebrate their blogs birthday, but this year I thought differently.

This year I'm in a completely different mind set. At this point last year I was beginning to work through my eating disorder, I was wanting to put on weight (which I thought just meant eating a lot of food, which would usually end up with me turning to tubs of ice cream), I was also just beginning to work out. This year, I'm at the point where I'm seeing a personal trainer three times a week, being aware consciously and mentally of the amount of protein I need in my body, and continuously getting it in my body, I am trying to put on mass, my being purely lean mass. With that being said, as grand of an occasion as this is, I didn't want to make any sweets, even healthy raw sweets. I wanted to celebrate with something that would taste fantastic, has fat, protein and would still satisfy me in a way where I feel like I'm celebrating something. It may not look all fantastic to the regular viewer, but, it's about me when it comes down to it, and this is what I want in me to celebrate, because this is more than just celebrating my blogs birthday, it's about celebrating me as well, and how far I've come.

About a month and a half ago I had posted how I wasn't going to blog that frequently, but... that has not been the case. I love blogging. I love getting comments from fellow readers/bloggers. I love the support. I love sharing my recent snacks/meals/desserts with others. I love being able to write about whatever I want, freely. I love being able to share stories and take pictures and improve my skills in the artistic world via photographs and literature. I realize that blogging is more than just writing for me, it's a great stress relief, and it helps me feel social when I sometimes don't want to leave the house. It also helps me keep my diet in check, I need to remember to eat healthy, balanced, and moderate meals.

The meal I chose to make is one that I've been pushing farther and farther away for about three weeks now. I planned on making it three weeks ago, but then always just make kale chips with the kale in the fridge. This afternoon when I came home and had my shake I wasn't sure truthfully what I was going to make, since the fridge is a little empty (heading out to the grocery store in just a few minutes to stock up), that and the fact I had no motivation to cook. However, I looked at the beautiful organic kale I had in the fridge, and I figured today is the day to make this meal that I've been post-poning.

I don't know why I waited so long to make this, but it was fantastiiiiic. The smell once was the sauce was simmering was incredible, and truthfully anything with kale in it is usually a win in my books, especially if peanut butter is included. Okay in all honesty, the reason why I'd been pushing this recipe back is because of one sole ingredient - tahini, I just really hate that stuff. I buy it, and I cook with it, but it just grosses me out to no end, I'm not sure why considering I loooooove sesame seeds, but the flavour and consistency of tahini ew. I know I could of just opted not to put it in, but tahini does give a fantastic creamy consistency. To my delight, the other flavours melded wonderfully with the tahini and the salad was fantastic. It took very little time to make, it was all done in one pot and took less than ten minutes to throw together. It is healthy, has a lot of healthy fats and protein (which I also decided to bake up some crispy tofu to also add some more protein after my work out) and it was wonderful. I made enough to have left for a few days, and cannot wait to dig in.

Yes, this may not be a dessert, nor might it be sweet, and it certainly isn't your typical blogiversary post, but it satisfied what I was craving. Plus, there is always another day to broadcast sweets, I also figured since the last few posts of mine have either been bowls of oats or smoothies that I would show some "meal" food ;).

Spicy Peanut Ginger Kale Salad

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:

Salad -

2 large bunches of kale (or 3 small)
1 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts - fold in
1 tbsp pickled ginger, chopped - (unfortunately did not have for today's salad but will be adding some after I go to the store!)

Spicy Ginger Peanut Sauce -

2 tbsp creamy salted peanut butter
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp tahini
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp pickled ginger, chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled/chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp tamari
2 tbsp rice vinegar (yuzu flavored or add 1 tsp lemon juice)
2 tsp agave syrup
5 dashes cayenne
Fine black pepper to taste

Tofu -

1 package of extra-firm tofu
Salt and pepper - to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425. Drain and pat try your tofu. Cut your tofu into triangles, season with salt and pepper. Place on a non-stick mat or parchment paper. Bake for 45 minutes, or until crispy.

Place a large soup pot over med-high heat on your stove top. Add all the sauce ingredients and stir briskly until they melt and blend together. Reduce heat to medium and simmer/stir for about two minutes. Turn heat to low.

Pull the leaves in bits from the thick stalks of your kale. Wash if needed. Add the kale leaves (toss thick stems) - add kale to the pot until filled to the brim. Fold the kale into the hot sauce. Fold well. The hot sauce will wilt the kale.

Turn off heat and add the remaining amount of kale. Also add in the pickled ginger, peanuts and red onion. Fold the kale salad well for about a minute - until all the kale has wilted and the leaves and onion mixed with the sauce.

Serve warm or place in fridge - covered - to chill and serve cold. Will keep well for up to a few days.

How do you spice up your kale salads?

(Need kale ideas other than chips)

Post Work-Out Smoothies

2012-01-26T19:35:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned a few days ago, one of the thing's that I've recently "invested" in is a personal trainer. With that being said, I also stated how he wasn't too impressed with my diet. One of the major reasons as to why I hired a personal trainer is because I want to tone. Due to this, I knew I was going to have to augment my protein by a lot. Now, everyday regardless of if I am working out, or on a rest day I consume at least one protein shake, (yes, I was even told I am no longer allowed to call them "smoothies" but they are now "shakes". For the purpose of my blog however, I am going to continue calling them "smoothies" ;) ).

Due to the increase in my protein, and the fact that I am having a smoothie everyday, I also now have a lot more recipes to post. Not all of them are amazing, sometimes I'm lazy, and just throw in whatever I want without making too much of an effort in remembering what goes in them, or to even take a picture for that matter. Some however, need to be shared because they are just so tantalizing.

Snickerdoodle Smoothie

Recipe slightly adapted from here

For starters, one of my recent favourites - the snickerdoodle smoothie. If you're a regular to my blog you will know that cinnamon is one of my favourite spices. When cinnamon is added to anything I just about fall in love. When I see a recipe for a smoothie that has the title "snickerdoodle", I don't even think twice about clicking on the link. Needless to say I quickly bookmarked the link, and made it a few days after seeing it. This is amazing. It truly does taste like a snickerdoodle cookie without any guilt whatsoever. It is a perfect pre-work out/post-work out smoothie. It is delightfully spiced, full of greens, reminiscent of an incredible cookie, and just, mmmm, cannot wait to enjoy this again!

- if you have yet to try a green smoothie, don't be alarmed. You do not taste the spinach at all. If you were blindfolded and were to take a sip you wouldn't even know that there is spinach in it. This is a great way to get vegetables into your diet!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/2 cup water
1 frozen banana
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 cups loosely packed spinach
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

Directions:

Blend until smooth.

Tropical Avocado Smoothie

Recipe taken from here

Avocado is not an ingredient I frequently toss into my smoothies as I usually gobble them up in salads or ice creams before I think of tossing them into a smoothie. However, if I find a recipe that suggests tossing in an avocado I specifically make sure I keep half of an avocado at least to try out the recipe, such is the case here. I love the addition of avocado as it adds this creamy smoothness that you don't usually get from a smoothie. This smoothie is definitely different from the smoothies I regularly make as I didn't toss in a frozen banana. I really enjoyed it, the only thing I would change is to add a frozen banana so that the drink were more chilled with a smooth milkshake consistency, other than that, completely amazing.

Ingredients:

1 kiwi, ripe with the skin left on
1/2 an avocado
1/2 cup pineapple chunks, fresh
Big handful of baby spinach
1/2 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/2 cup water
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (optional)

Directions:

Scrub your kiwi gently to remove any dirt or pesticides, and cut the ends off (discard).

Blend until no chunks of kiwi skins are left.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Recipe adapted from here

One of my favourite "desserts" are Wendy's Frosty's. When I read this recipe, and saw that Gina had written that this taste like a Frosty but with peanut butter it was bound that I was going to be trying it. This was definitely very, very similar. I've seen imitation Frosty recipes going around the web lately, however they always seem to incorporate condensed milk. This version does not contain condensed milk and still results in a very similar flavour. I really enjoyed this and would certainly recommend it for the peanut butter chocolate lovers out there.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 frozen banana
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup low-fat vanilla Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp peanut butter

Directions:

Combine until smooth and creamy.

Cherry Vanilla Almond Smoothie

Recipe slightly adapted from here

I have to say one of my favourite flavours is the flavour of cherry. However, this is not a fruit you will ever see me eat. I have this irrational fear of fruits with pits. I know that sounds ridiculous, but they just... freak me out. My mom's boyfriend once bought a bunch of grapes that were said to be seedless, however, this was false. They were not seedless, and because of this, the next hour after taking a few bites from different grapes to reassure me they were in fact not seedless, I cut every one in half and removed each seed. Yes, I know, this sounds incredibly crazy, but it just urks me. The only fruit I give exception to to this rule are clementines since it's not in every one. Wow, okay after reading what I just wrote, I sound like a nut, oh well. The point of this rant is, Costco has bags of pitted cherries that I go bonkers for. I love them, because then all the amazing looking recipes I find online that incorporate cherries I can then try them. One of my favourite one's up to date is the Raspberry Cherry Basil Smoothie, which I happily enjoyed this afternoon after my work out. The other day however, I enjoyed an incredibly amazing savoury smoothie. This recipe was packed with sweetness, protein, summer flavours, will definitely enjoy this again after future work outs.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup low-fat vanilla Greek yoghurt
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup soy milk
1 cup pitted cherries
2 tbsp whole almonds
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp vanilla protein powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Directions:

Put all ingredients into blender and pulse for a “chewy” consistency. If you want it smooth, just use puree setting and blend longer.

What do you enjoy after your work outs?

2012-01-24T17:59:00.000-08:00

Very, very late post...

October 30th is my one of my best friends, Brent's birthday. I told him for his birthday I would make him a little something. What I love about Brent's palette is the fact that it doesn't matter what I feed him, he is always open to what I make vegan or not, and even if it's weird looking or completely abstract he is still willing to try what I put infront of him. When it comes down to it, Brent's palette is very similar to mine, and I knew that by choosing something with pumpkin would be a winner, since we both adore the fall flavours. Thankfully, in knowing this I was able to make a cake that I had previously saved and couldn't wait to make... however, I was waiting because as we know, cake is one of my all time weaknesses. I can make a cake, and literally eat it in one sitting, it's bad okay, not even bad, just all around horrible for me, but I can't help it. I never have cake in the house for the sole reason of me not being able to control/portion myself when it comes to cake, so when I find recipes for cake it's nice when something like a birthday comes along so I can indulge in my obsession but not go overboard.

I'd found a recipe from one of my favourite blogs; Healthful Pursuit, in the past I've tried many of her recipes and have never been let down. So when I found a recipe for Gingerbread Brownies I knew that this would surely be a fantastic recipe to try out, and it surely was. I adapted it a little bit, to work with what I had/go more with my palette and it turned out wonderfully. What I love about this cake was the substantial amount of molasses. Molasses cookies are one of my all time favourites, and to have such an abundance of this flavour in a cake/brownie is just bliss. When you bite into it you are not overwhelmed by molasses but it's definitely the biggest role in this dessert, the other flavours are not however hidden as you get appearances from each flavour within the bite. I'd decided as well since I had some cream cheese in the fridge that I would make a nice pumpkin icing to go on top since it would add a nice colour to the brownie and that I knew Brent like's cream cheese. The brownies were heavenly without the cream cheese (as I'm not a huge fan of cream cheese), but even with that said, not being a huge fan, the pumpkin cream cheese frosting definitely took the brownie to an even higher level. I highly suggest making these brownies, especially around the fall/holiday time, they are perfect and certainly bring some warmth... as well as it's a good excuse to bring some gorgeous aromas into your house ;).

Gingerbread Brownies

Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup soy milk
1/4 avocado - mashed
3 tbsp pumpkin puree
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 1 tbsp water)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 8×8 square pan with parchment paper so that it’s draping off both sides. Set aside.

Place all dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside

In a large bowl, combine all wet ingredients.

Drop dry ingredients into wet and stir until just combined. The mix should be runny.

Pour into prepared pan and bake in prepared oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan and placing it on a wire rack to cool.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Cover bowl and chill in the fridge for at least an hour before using.

And top with walnuts.

Bowl of oats x3

2012-01-24T16:25:00.000-08:00

Reason #267 why I love oatmeal so much: how quick it is to make. Whether you make it in the microwave, add boiling hot water and let your oats sit for a few minutes, or make a bowl on your stovetop, no bowl takes more than a few minutes to make - even when you are fancying this bowl.

As mentioned in my last post about oatmeal, I have been eating a lot of oatmeal lately as that has been my pre-work out meal. I seriously love this, especially because you can also sneak in a lot of protein before your work out as well. The other day as I was doing my normal blog perusing I came across a post that really jumped out to me. I have browsed Sonia's blog from The Healthy Foodie many times always marveling at the beautiful photographs that go along with her recipes, however I can't honestly say I've ever tried any. This weekend however, I decided to give three recipes a try. All oatmeal recipes of course. The reason this post stuck out so much to me is because of the Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal. Greek yoghurt, protein powder, chia seeds, and almonds, that's a lot of protein in one bowl of oats, that didn't even include my smoothie afterward.

Yes, even the fanciest of oatmeal recipes only take a few minutes to assemble. This one, I had a few different dishes going because you have to (well don't have to, but I assure you it's better this way) toast the almonds and additional oats to create a crumble. You need to have a separate bowl for the "custard". A small saucepan for the blueberry sauce and then a separate one for the oats itself. Other than the extra dishes that would normally come with my regular bowl of oats that's all that really made time seem a little longer, however, I enjoyed an incredible cup of green tea while doing this, so it was okay.

This oatmeal was amazing. The different layers of flavours was just impeccable, the presentation was absolutely beautiful, and the aroma, mmmm yum. This is definitely one of my favourite oatmeal concoctions, I mean hello, it's dessert in a bowl for breakfast, while being very healthy and full of protein, no way your tastebuds (or your personal trainer) could tell you you're doing something wrong with this. I definitely had a lot of energy for my work out, certainly was not full by the time I came home, however I needed to repair my muscles so I of course made myself a protein packed smoothie and gobbled it down nonetheless. This is most definitely an oatmeal I will be enjoying over and over again, maybe with a raspberry sauce next time ;).

The tropical twist oatmeal was also very delightful, it had some of my all time favourite fruit, with one of my favourite nuts, and of course Greek yoghurt, how could you go wrong with this, especially during the cool winter months? Loved, loved, loved.

Lastly the banana bread oatmeal, now hot dang. It's been a loooonnnggg time since I've made/had any banana bread. I never think to make banana bread since I throw bananas into everything, and if my bananas get really ripe, they go into my Ziploc bag in the freezer and then they get gobbled up within the same week on my smoothies. When I saw the recipe on The Healthy Foodie for banana bread oatmeal I figured I would spice it up the way I would enjoy my banana bread. This was definitely amazing, especially to wake up to and enjoy. If you were to wake up and not know what was baking on the oven you would definitely pass it off as a joyous banana bread. This was so insanely delightful, and I can just imagine the various things I can throw in and top off in other versions, yummm!

Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:

Oatmeal

1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/3 cup water
1 ripe banana
Dash of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Blueberry Sauce

1/4 cup blueberries
3/4 tsp amaretto agave nectar
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
1 1/2 tbsp water
Big squirt of lemon juice

Crumble

1 tbsp slivered almonds
1/2 tbsp old fashion oats

“Custard”

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

In a small saucepan add milk, water, salt, vanilla and oatmeal, once it starts to boil stir in your banana until all liquid is absorbed and oatmeal is nice and creamy.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, cook blueberries, water, lemon juice, chia seeds and agave nectar over low heat, stirring occasionally, until blueberries start to “explode” and sauce thickens. You might want to swoosh the blueberries a little bit with your spoon to help break them up. Set aside when ready.

In a small non-stick pan, over medium heat, toast the sliced almonds and old fashion oats until golden and fragrant. Set aside.

In small mixing bowl, mix protein powder with plain yogurt until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

When all your components are ready, transfer to serving bowls, starting with oatmeal, then blueberry sauce, followed by custard and finally the crumble.

Tropical Twist Oatmeal

Ingredients:

Same oatmeal components as above
3-4 strawberries, cut into little cubes
1/2 cup fresh mango cubes (you can use frozen if you don't have fresh)
1/4 cup pineapple cubes
2 tbsp low fat plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp crushed pecans, toasted

Directions:

Add fruits to your cooked oatmeal. Stir gently until heated through and transfer to a serving bowl.

Garnish with plain yogurt and toasted pecans.

Warm Banana Bread

Ingredients:

4 dates, chopped
2 tbsp low fat plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp crushed walnuts, toasted
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Maple syrup to drizzle
1 tsp hemp hearts

Directions:

Add the chopped dates to your oatmeal while it is cooking.

Pour in cold milk and garnish with Greek yogurt and toasted walnuts.

Have you tried making any dessert-oatmeal bowls for breakfast?

Almost-Raw Apple Butter Tarts

2012-01-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

As of January 8th of this year, I officially hit my one year mark since I'd officially got my life back on track. By this I mean, I started working out officially on the 8th, and I admitted to myself that yes, the past year I had been suffering from an eating disorder and needed this to change if I wanted to live a healthy life. That was an incredible step for me, and since then the steps have gotten even bigger as to my improvement, and I couldn't be happier.

To mark my one year "anniversary" I wanted to treat myself to something, to compensate myself for the hard work I'd done the previous year, and for all the sweat I shed, and just for the emotional and physiological progress I'd improved on. I had decided I was going to buy myself some new work out clothes. However, when I got the mail around January 4th, I got a promotion flyer from the gym my dad works out at. I didn't think twice about this really, other than it gave a coupon for a one day trial, I figured I'd give that a shot. As I was going to the mall to go buy myself a new gym outfit (which still hasn't happened), I decided to stop in at the gym. Typical Sam springing on impulses I was now a member to a gym, go me!

When you become a member of this gym (I'm not sure if other gyms offer this, which is why I'm writing such as this), they give you a fitness assessment. My results weren't too bad considering, what I'd put my body through the past few years, but it still however wasn't good enough for me. After talking about what my goals were in joining the gym, I realized one of them really was to get toned. So long the days of skinny is beautiful, as you read on all over many picture boards strong is the new beautiful, and I am definitely a believer in this. So, with that being said, I decided I would hire a personal trainer. Hey, I'd been working basically every single day for the last year, and yes, the results are much better than what I looked like prior to this, but my knowledge when it comes to exercise is limited, regardless of all the hours I spend reading about it on the internet.

With this being said, I could continue doing what I was currently doing at home, only have some more cardio options, but that's not what I wanted. I want muscle. I want to be toned. I want people to look at me and know that I work out, not that I'm just this skinny girl, that's not who I am, and that's not what I want to portray. I decided to hire a personal trainer until April, and will be seeing him three times a week. I am very much looking forward to this.

I'm finding it a wee bit intimidating at times however, because a lot of things are being assessed, and it's not only my strength or my ability to know how to use a machine, but the foods I consume, my mental state and just how I deal with things overall. It's a lot of fun, incredibly information, and definitely a work out, and I cannot wait to see what I will see for myself again both emotionally/physically within the next few months.

Now, onto the point of this post. Food is definitely my trainers bigger criticism when it comes to me. It's not that he's telling me to eat meat (although he keeps trying to push chicken into my head... and well, more to come on that I'm sure in the future), but for now, I'm making an effort to consciously intake more calories - this is incredibly difficult for some reason, but I've been eating much more protein, and my meals are definitely complete meals. Regardless of all of this, he still doesn't think what I'm eating is enough, which for now is too bad because I'm not going to make myself sick.

Through out all of this, I've been trying to find ways to sneak in more protein. Since it'd been two weeks since I had any "treats", I decided I would make myself some "butter tarts". I found a recipe for an almost-raw pumpkin butter tarts, and since I had a gigantic jar of apple butter sitting in the fridge I figured why not, especially considering I had all the ingredients on hand. They were incredibly easy to throw together (typically as most raw recipes are, uhhhh, hello no stove needed), but hellloooo the flavours?! These are amazingggg. I absolutely love raw desserts, nuts + dates (natural sugar, nomnomnom), and they are still healthy, so regardless of if your new years resolution is to not consume junk foods, these can still keep you in tact ;), unless that is you go buck wild and eat the whole batch, hehe.

Will definitely be making these again, and will play around with fillings, I'm feeling a nice raspberry jam ;) yuuummmmyyyy. Now, go on ahead, and try these!

Almost-Raw Apple Butter Tarts

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients -

Crust:

1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup almonds
1 tbsp cornstarch (I forgot to add this in)
Pinch of salt
2 dates
1 tsp coconut oil

Filling:

1/2 cup apple butter
4-5 dates
1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 cup whole pecans

Directions:

Combine ingredients for the crust in the bowl of your food processor and press into muffin tins.

Combine ingredients for filling and process in your processor again. Add all of your ingredients other than the pecans. Then fold in the pecans. Spread filling into tart shells. Refrigerate for at least six hours.

Makes 6 tarts.

What are ways in which you try to sneak protein into your diet?

Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips

2012-01-21T09:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago, okay, more specifically when I was in grade nine, so let's rewind almost nine years ago, (holy, am I really that old?) I gave up eating potato chips. If there is one thing my family loves it is potato chips, including myself. I loved them so much, I would grab a bag a day. Yes, this is embarrassing to admit, because honestly, just thinking of what I was putting in my body back then, in my primal years of develop, holy that's gross. However, I learnt my ways. As I said though, potato chips and I were best friends, even lovers, and I cut him out cold turkey. I couldn't make do with just seeing his face one in a while, so I said goodbye, and have not said hello since.

Over the years, of course I've missed out on gobbling down on Sour Cream and Onion, All Dressed, Barbecue, Dill Pickle and other of my favourites, but I've found other snacks that have allowed me to substitute those cravings onto healthier versions. This is where my favourite snack comes into play: kale chips.

Kale, just like tofu and oatmeal is incredibly versatile. Sure, you can make a kale salad, or toss them in a soup so it's like spinach, add them into your smoothies for a boost of green, stir pieces into a stir-fry etc... these are all very tasty, however my favourite comes to the crunchy, crispy, crackly kale chip. I love them because, you can make them sweet, salty, tart, spicy, earthy, etc... whatever flavour you want you can make them into. I make a batch about once or twice a week. I absolutely love them. Especially when I am bored, and just want something to snack on (not something I should be doing I know), these little buggers couldn't be a better option to choose in a time like that.

The other day as I was perusing I came across a recipe for a salt and vinegar version. Salt and vinegar were never a favourite of mine when it came to potato chips, however, my mom really likes them, and over the years I've become more of a fan with salt, especially when mixed with vinegar so I figured hey, why not give it a try. Holy, am I glad I gave these bad boys a try. When I think about kale chips, I always think about my top, top favourite version - Chocolate Coconut Kale Chips, now when I think about kale chips it will be the above, as well as this Salt and Vinegar version. These are so wonderful, especially that wine vinegar is used, it just has the perfect zing, with the right amount of salt, ah it's delicious. If you're a fan of salt and vinegar, this I'm sure will be right up your alley! Go on and give these a try!

Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:

1-2 bunches of kale ~ 6 ounces of washed, trimmed, chopped
1 tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Sea salt to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Place kale in a large bowl; drizzle olive oil over kale, and using hands, toss oil with kale until all the leaves are evenly coated. Drizzle vinegar over kale and toss with hands to coat the leaves.

Spread kale leaves evenly in one layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15-25 minutes, shaking the pan now and then and checking to be sure the leaves are crisping up the way you'd like.

Transfer kale to a bowl, and sprinkle with kosher salt to taste (start with about 1/4 tsp and work from there). Devour!

What are some of your favourite kale chip combinations?

These are a few of my favourite things.

2012-01-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

Oats and I haven't always been the greatest of friends. I'm not saying I was never a fan of oatmeal muffins, or oatmeal raisin cookies (because trust me I would mow down on those like there's no tomorrow). However, when it came to a bowl of piping hot oats, it just sort of freaked me out. I would always see porridge and think it looked like slop. I would have these vivid visions of Goldilocks eating her porridge, or being back at my overnight camp when I was younger and seeing the older kids happily waiting in line for a big bowl of what looked to me as mush. Because of this, I never had any incline to even trying it.

Over the years however, and especially once I started blogging and trying foods I never thought I would like and realizing that once cooked the way you like it, foods you might have strongly disliked before now become foods you crave on a regular basis. Oatmeal is one of these things. I'm not sure why I decided to try oatmeal, or even when, but it's within the last two years, and I've never regretted that decision. Other than pancakes, oatmeal is by far my favourite go-to option in the morning. I love how versatile oatmeal can be. Oatmeal to me, is how tofu is in a regular dish. You can make it simple, you can spice it up, make it tropical, make it luxurious, make it downright sinful, make it creamy, make it thick, make it nutty, make it cold, make it overnight, add some variety by choosing different genera of oats, etc... whatever it is, oatmeal can meet your taste-buds and give your mouth a little party at the start of the day.

I love how healthy oats are, which, come to think of it is probably the thing that motivated me to try it in the first place. The past few years, I have made variations upon variations of different types of oats. Sometimes I've even used different types of grains, but held the concept of oatmeal in my mind (quinoa, bulgur, millet). Oatmeal is perfect before a work out, especially because you can add in flaxseed, chia seeds, nuts, protein powder, and nut butters for an added boost of protein, and it is full of carbohydrates. Even if you're not working out this is a great way to start the day, because it keeps you fueled and satiated for hours. If you don't have time in the morning, you can make them overnight for a quick on the go breakfast. You can spice it up and have it as dessert, hello Tiramisu Oatmeal (also other dessert forms on this link). You can have them for a pick-me up after a work out, in an oatmeal scramble form, throw on some nuts, nut butter, and seeds for your protein. However busy your day is, there is always a way you can eat oats that'll fill you up and give you the boost of energy you eat (granola, snack bars). With all of this being said, I have been eating oatmeal like there is no tomorrow lately, especially because I need a pre-work out meal packed with fuel, and this is my favourite way of getting it.

Sometimes I like to keep my oats simple, sometimes I like to spice them up, however, no matter what I may or may not toss in, my oats definitely always have certain staples to go in: oats, soy milk (or other non-dairy milks), water, banana, salt and vanilla. Other than those ingredients, the rest is decided by what I'm craving.

This morning for instance, I made one of the simplest oatmeals I've ever made before, however, truthfully it was one of the best. Sometimes it's nice to just keep things as simple as they can be, and you actually get blown away how amazing simplicity really is.

Banana Mixed Berry Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup Holly Nog
1/3 cup water
Dash of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ripe banana
Handful of mixed berries - mine included, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries
Handful of hemp hearts
Cinnamon

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt and vanilla to a boil. Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana. Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard). Top with cinnamon, then fruit, then your hemp hearts.

Served this alongside of my mug of my Candy Cane Lane green tea, and it was reminiscent of a beautiful Christmas morning, awwww.

Some more of my recent favourite oat combinations:

Indian Spiced Oats

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup coconut milk + more to top
1/3 cup water
1 ripe banana
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp vanilla
Dash of salt
2 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp sliced almonds
1 tsp hemp hearts

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt and vanilla to a boil. Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana. Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard). Stir in your spices. Then top with your hemp hearts, raisins, almonds and additional coconut milk to flavour.

Peanut Butter Banana Jam Sandwich Oats

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
Dash of salt
1 ripe banana
1 heaping tbsp of peanut butter
Handful of raspberries
1 tbsp of raspberry jam

Directions:

In a small bowl mash your raspberries until they resemble a chunky jam. Once your raspberries reach that consistency add your jam and mix until well incorporated - set aside.

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt and vanilla to a boil. Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana. Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard). Top with peanut butter and raspberry jam mixture.

Gingerbread Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup water
Dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 ripe banana
2 Gingerbread Spice tea bags
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
Drizzle of molasses
Handful of chopped pecans

Directions:

Same as above, just top with molasses and pecans instead.

How do you enjoy your oats?

Just because it's a cheat day doesn't mean it can't still be healthy.

2012-01-07T06:52:00.000-08:00

It's been an incredibly long time since I have had pancakes. When I think about it, I don't think I've enjoyed some of those bad boys since Montreal. This makes me a bit sad considering pancakes are one of my all-time favourite foods, especially breakfast foods. I am the biggest fan of cake, I would love if I could have a piece of cake for every meal instead of real food, but that's just not what my body needs, so pancakes are my way of having a little bit of "cake" in a healthy way for breakfast.

My mom and her boyfriend have been on vacation at a chalet for the past nine days, and to be quite franc I've been using up the remaining foods that were left... let me tell you I'm down to the bare minimum and thank heavens they are coming back on Sunday (yes, I have been that lazy/cheap to go out to the grocery store). Thankfully, there has been ample food up until about two days ago, and now I'm left with condiments and well, not so much else, however I was still able to make pancakes, a beautiful protein-filled broccoli salad and even pistachio pudding for dessert!

With all that being said, my mom left about five million apples (wow, do I seriously exaggerate that much? Wow). Anywho, I've had ample apples left in the fridge, and seeing as I wanted to leave my remaining frozen banana for my after-work out smoothie I needed to figure out something else to come up with to fuel before I hit up the gym for yoga/boot camp class. As I was perusing Katie's blog because I knew she had single serving pancake recipes, I found one for apple pie pancakes, perfect or what?! Seeing as I still have quite a few apples left I figured this would be awesome. And let me tell you these pancakes are divine, and it's not just because I'm a pancake lover to the max, or because I haven't tasted any on my tongue for a long time, it incorporated so many flavours that I absolutely love and it was just a perfect fall-holiday medley of flavours.

By steeping the gingerbread tea bag in the coconut milk, the addition of extra cinnamon (since we all know how much I love fall flavours), and the pieces of chopped apple, oh my word. I am not a fan of pies, not in the least (cake > pie), and apple pie, ehhhh... but I love the flavours that are incorporated in an apple pie (really, I just strongly dislike the pastry that a pie has, but I love the insteriors), and so this pancake was right up my alley, especially when filled with hazelnut peanut butter + apple butter and topped with slivered almonds. Yes, today may be my "cheat" day, but it doesn't mean I need to cheat by going into my cupboard and diving into the container of chocolate covered raisins, or opening the freezer door and noming down on some candy cane ice cream that I hadn't finished before deciding I would make this year about throwing away the junk.

Yes these pancakes definitely were pure perfection, oh goodness gracious. I will certainly be keeping this recipe on hand, and will be making these as soon as possible!

Apple Pie Pancakes

Recipe inspired from here

Ingredients:

1/3 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
2 tbsp oats
1 apple finely chopped (or 1/2 cup as suggested, I used one whole medium apple)
1 tsp cinnamon
2/3 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 gingerbread tea bag
Hazelnut peanut butter + apple butter - to fill the pancakes
Slivered almonds - to top

Directions:

In a small pot over high heat, bring your milk and tea bag to a boil. Let steep for seven minutes for full flavour.

Combine your dry ingredients in a bowl, then add wet. Mix, but do not over-mix. Cook on an oiled (or sprayed) pan, on low-medium, flipping each pancake once.

(Check out those apple chunks, yummm!)

How do you like to spice up your pancakes?

To new beginnings.

2012-01-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year my friends!

It's been far too long since I've posted, I know in my last post I said I wouldn't post on a regular basis, well, that's true, but I still want to use my blog as a place where I can let go when I want to be creative, other than the kitchen.

Seeing as today is January 1st, 2012, I thought it would be a good time to try and get back on track with certain things that I truly enjoy doing, and try making a habit out of it again. However, before I start I figured I should discuss what my new years resolutions are. Truthfully they are rather basic... but I think that's a good thing, because the easier they are the more likely I will keep them right?

Last year, well as of January 8th, when I actually set my resolution into stone I had decided that after battling certain things physically and psychologically that working out would be a great way to get back on track and be healthy again, and I kept that! Other than when I was in Korea, because it was a little more difficult to work out (however I still did work out just not everyday) I've managed to work out almost every day (with rest days here and there). I feel 95% better, sure I have my off days, but the way I feel about myself, and the strength physically and psychologically that has come with being fit and healthy is an amazing feeling, and I plan to continue keeping up with exercise. Today was just like any other day, and I sweat my derriere off, and it felt great!

This year I want to add in a few new things on top of working out:
I want to take a picture every single day, just to sort of document my life. My pictures aren't going to be specific, they are just going to be things that will allow me to sit back years from now, and be all "oooh yeah!". If I like how my cat looks, well hey, that day will be easy, other days I'll plan on going out and looking for things, which will also allow me to explore my surroundings more.

I want to start eating healthier again. I introduced fish back into my diet and have been eating fish on a fairly regular basis. I hadn't planned on eating fish as regularly, but my body has been craving it, and I'm not going to deny it what it's feeling naturally. However, I fell off the bandwagon for a bit, and started bingeing on not-so healthy foods i.e. chocolate covered raisins, ice cream, and pretzels. It's not a bad thing, it's not like it's everyday, but it's enough to negate my work outs and to set back the way I want to feel and look.

This year I plan on trimming my stomach. I know it's not a giant tub of goo, but when I look in the mirror I am not in-love with the way my stomach looks. So, this comes in hand with the second resolution as eating healthier will definitely help with trimming down on the waistline.

Having an overall positive things towards things, regardless if things go my way or not. The glass will not be half empty, especially considering there is liquid and air in the glass, so it's not possible to be empty!

And of course, to try and show my face more around my blog because I really do miss writing, having my readers, and just sharing my trials with you all.

With that being said, there is one thing you need to know about me: I am a sucker for all things holiday or limited edition. It doesn't matter if I'm a fan of the flavour or not, I have to get it, this is actually how I began to fall in love with mint/peppermint flavours, because of Christmas time. Hallowe'en/Thanksgiving, all things pumpkin. Valentine's Day, all things cinnamon, etc... when it comes to Christmas, of course the fall flavours are on my agenda, but egg nog... not so much, especially considering it's made with eggs, derp.

About a week and a half ago I went out to do some groceries and my eyes saw some holly on a bottle, and what-do-ya-know, my least favourite drink in the universe other than champagne was in the dairy aisle, and it was soy... oh boy. To my... surprise, I actually kind of jumped, and clapped my hands together. What? I was excited for soy nog? ...errr... I'm not quite sure why, but then again, I do, it's my darn weakness to holiday flavours. I picked it up. I figured if worse comes to worse my best friend will drink it since he absolutely loves the nog, (well, that wouldn't work... I gave him a glass to try and he didn't enjoy it).

I'm not the type of person who goes to the fridge and picks out something to drink unless it's water or alcohol. I have not had a glass of milk in probably three or four years. I don't drink juice. I don't drink pop. I do however, and unfortunately drink Crystal Light... so that's as far as my palette get's to dance when it comes to the liquids department. So, with that being said, I could use the remaining soy nog in a smoothie, or I could cook/bake with it. Seeing as it's been quite a while since I've used my hands to get messy in the kitchen I figured why not look for a recipe that includes some of the nog.

At first I was going to make some soy nog bagels, then thought perhaps I'd make some pancakes, but I stumbled across a recipe for egg nog scones, with one of the funniest blog stories I've ever read and I just had to try out the recipe. I'm sure glad I did because it was out of this world. It took little time to make. It didn't need butter, cream or eggs. It took one bowl, one whisk, two sets of hands, and simple ingredients that I always have on hand. Now, I'm really not keen on using granulated sugar, and I thought I'd cut it out, but I figured what they hey. I liked the scones so much, that I decided I'd use up the rest of the nog in another batch, and freeze them, this time I'm going to however reduce the sugar because I did find them a bit too sweet, but so, so good!

These scones are light, and fluffy, and would definitely be perfect with a nice glass of warm Chai tea! I highly suggest you make these scones, whether a fan of egg nog or not... also you need to check out the story attached to the recipe, hilarious!

Soy-nog and Cranberry Scones

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:

3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup soy nog

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Whisk together your flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Next, whisk in the cranberries.

Add the nog and use your hands to gently bring together the ingredients. If you need to add a bit more nog or flour then do so judiciously. It will be sticky and clumpy. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead twice.

Form the dough into a disc and cut into 6-8 pieces. Brush the tops with a bit more soy nog.

Bakes for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

Happy New Years again!

Hope you all celebrated a wonderful goodbye to 2011, and a great hello to 2012 :)

This isn't goodbye, this is just farewell for a bit.

2011-12-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

My blog started off in a time in my life when something was missing. It was at a time that I was experiencing health problems (fibromyalgia), and when I started working full-time. With that my life felt very empty. With that, my now-ex, Jordan, had suggested that I start blogging. Thankfully he helped me with the layout, and helped me to understand just how to make my blog interesting. Even though it took me a couple of months to really get the hang of it, within only a few posts I was hooked.

My blog taught me to enjoy food. Before I started blogging my diet was very simple, bread, cheese and pasta, yes I basically lived off of this stuff. However, with the introduction of my blog I realized that to keep things interesting my diet would have to be more than three foods with random ingredients thrown in from time to time. By just reading other blogs my palette started to change, and I started becoming very interested in trying out new foods all of the time. Almost every time I went to the grocery store I was picking up something I hadn't ever had before, or something I strongly disliked that I was determined to test it to see if I could make myself like it - and I did every time, thankfully. Blogging made me realize that honestly, you should not dislike any food (I mean, I will not eat liver or anything) but when cooked right every food can taste amazing.

In the months to pass by, as my diet was changing as was my psychological point of view. As I've posted before about my eating disorder in more detail. At first food saved me, in the sense of, dealing with the whole fibromyalgia situation, eating healthier relieved me of my pain, however, learning about food, I became obsessed which then, caused me to fall off the wagon for a while. It was my protector, my savior, then it engulfed me, I became afraid of it, I dreaded it, I didn't want to see it. After a couple of months of seeing food in a deadly way, I learnt again that food is my friend, one of my best friends, and I should never fear something that allows me to live day by day, that gives me fuel to survive. With that mind set, I gave myself a New Years Resolution to work out every day and eat healthy. As of January 8th of last year, the light bulb went off, and since then I've been doing just that. It's not to say I never binge and eat five million chocolate covered raisins, or half a tub of ice cream in a sitting, because I do, I have my weaknesses and I love them so much, but 95% of the time, I maintain a very healthy diet.

In the past (almost year), I've kept my resolution and I learnt to love myself. I realized that with moderation and balance any food can be healthy food. Even your junk food you can make healthy (hello, have you all seen the numerous healthy vegan/and or raw desserts out there?), there are numerous and you don't have to fear desserts.

In the past year I even decided to go vegan, well for about 90% of the time, because I just couldn't give up my ice cream... in the summer I started introducting Greek yoghurt into my diet. Other than that, my diet was vegan. However, I started wanting something more, I wasn't feeling the right satiation as I should. I realized this time and time again, because although I was eating healthy, I could seriously out-eat any of my friends, male or female... and I'm a tiny girl of 114 pounds.

While in Korea I was seriously tempted to try some fish meals (especially because it was so difficult to find meals that didn't contain these foods, it just made it a hassle for both Jordan and myself... however more so for him unfortunately). Since I've come home, I've been going for sushi quite often (since that's what a lot of my friends and I do when we get together), as well, as just seeing people eat fish in front of me really made me realize that when I used to eat fish I used to really feel full, and not the same type of full I get from legumes.

I toyed with the thought of re-introducing fish back into my diet. One of my friends that I hang out with regularly consumes fish quite often, and every time I see his plate of fish I want to jump on his lap and steal the plate and consume it all myself but I don't.

When I was in university, the sign on my bedroom door read "Samantha - change is everything"... Jordan used to mock me all the time, and tell me to take it down because I wasn't able to adapt, I hated change. Being a human being, this is one of the most ridiculous statements ever. I'm a human, my brain is so developed, I know how to change, but I didn't like it. However, at the time I was also depressed and struggled with OCD, now, I no longer experience symptoms of either and I'm very open to the concept of change.

Last week the plate of fish my friend had on his plate was the last straw. I have never been tempted by pork or beef, and I haven't consumed those meats in almost ten or eleven years. Chicken doesn't tempt me either because there are so many amazing products out there that taste, in my opinion, eerily similar in taste and texture to chicken. Fish however, even when consuming "vegan fish" yes, they taste insanely similar, but I still miss the real protein. I also miss not being a pain in the butt. I miss not having to just rely on getting a salad at a restaurant when I go out. I miss the luxury of having non-vegetable sushi.

Last week, I had the motivation I needed to do what I knew I wanted. I'd struggled with the concept for quite a while, as I posted about eating meat while I was in Korea (I'm not interested in eating anything other than fish, nor am I interested in making it a daily occurrence, but I do plan on having it back in my diet... as well as I still will not be consuming butter/eggs/dairy other than Greek yoghurt), with that being said... yesterday was the big day. I wanted some sushi, and I wanted it to taste as I remembered it when I truly loved it, when I could hands down say that sushi is my favourite food. Yesterday my friend and I went for sushi, and I did it. Thankfully it wasn't difficult, as I'd already been preparing myself psychologically for truthfully months, but more specifically a week and a bit.

Truthfully, it wasn't as I remembered, the salmon especially. The salmon had a texture that I just couldn't remember at all, but I got through it. I then tried imitation crab and shrimp. At first I didn't like the salmon/crab so I was like huh... maybe I just wont go through with this, but the shrimp it made my taste buds sing, and I was in my happy place. Afterward however, I was not feeling well. I felt like I was going to die. My stomach ached so much and I had the worst nausea I'd experienced in a long time. Thankfully however I didn't get sick - at all, thank heavens for that.

The lesson here was, I am capable of change. I'd been told time and time again, not only by my ex, but by numerous people that I like stability way too much, it's why I control certain things, especially my diet. Eating those few pieces of sushi with the fish made me realize that I am capable of change, I am capable of moving on, I am capable of growing, and I'm a heck of a lot stronger than I give myself credit for. Once I am determined, once I set up goals for myself, and think something is important I make it a priority and not just something that needs to be done. Eating fish also proved that, even though I still get criticized for my "skinniness" - I'm no longer ruled by food in a negative way. That if people still question my ED, they are wrong. I knew I was hurting myself and others around me drastically with my ED, and the light bulb went off one day, and with that I needed to change. I wasn't willing to see or speak to specialists about it, it was something I needed to do on my own to truly help myself. I did. The foods I put into my body now are fuel, they aren't these horrible bugs that are going to hurt me or make fat because I eat too much ice cream in one day.

I love myself. I love the shape of my body, especially my legs because of my daily biking. I even love my stomach, even though I am still self-conscious about but I know it's what makes me me. I know I have a lot to offer as a person, and that looks aren't everything. In the past few years, blogging made me love foods, it made me learn about nutrition, it tested my strengths, it tested my psychological state, and it tested just how strong I am as a person.

I needed my blog at a time where I needed an outlet, a hobby, a way to connect with others. It taught me many lessons along the way. But over time, it taught me who I am as a person, and that's when my dependency for blogging stopped. I still love blogging, and will probably do it from time to time, but eating without taking pictures every time I create something in the kitchen is how it should be, art without actually making and setting up the situation for it to be art. I want to thank all of those who supported me, and helped me out along the way. This isn't goodbye, this is just farewell for a bit.

I will see you again,

Samantha

Not the greatest picture: but it's me trying my first piece of fish in over 9 months.

Not your traditional miso soup.

2011-11-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

Ever since I started eating sushi, about six years ago, one of my favourite soups is now miso soup. I love the fact that it's light, but still incredibly satisfying, especially before gorging on all-you-can-eat sushi. Lately I've been craving sushi like there is no tomorrow, however, every time I go it's not as satisfying as it used to be; this does have something to do with the fact that I only eat vegetable sushi now. The past few times I've gone out for sushi as well I've passed on miso soup and gone for the salads, why? I'm not quite sure. This afternoon however, after doing my work out, I wanted to actually cook something.

As you all have probably noticed, seeing as it's been about a month now since I've posted on here, I've gone a little awol. When I got back from Korea I was getting into the habit of writing up my entries as I was making the food, however, somewhere along the way that stopped. Not only was I not writing up my posts, but the foods in which I was making were stopping, no, I did not stop eating, but I just haven't been very creative as well as just haven't been feeling very inspired when it comes to the kitchen lately. I've been dealing with some personal things, and to say the least I just haven't been motivated in certain aspects of my life due to it.

With all that being said, even the meals I plan for the week came to a halt. My breakfasts' haven't even been the greatest, sure they've been tasty, I love me a giant bowl of Greek yoghurt with either cereal mixed in or a giant bowl of fruit to go alongside with my yoghurt, but I haven't been doing my usual smoothies or oats. I've been lazy, and well feeling down to be quite honest, and spending some time in the kitchen when it's not 100% necessary has not been something that's been on my mind.

Unfortunately I was just kick starting my usual work out habits too, and I've been sort of slacking here and there. Usually I don't take rest days, but I've been taking between 1-2 a week, that's not a bad thing at all, since your body needs rest, it's just not something I typically do, but lately it has been something I do more regularly.

Anyhow, I apologize about my absence but sometimes you just need a break from certain things. Usually I turn to my blog/recipes for inspiration in my daily life, but I tend to notice that whenever I get anxious I just don't feel motivated in the kitchen and I stick to very simple, and quick meals. With all that being said, I'm going to make an effort to write up posts, and get back into the kitchen and my regular routines, as I very much miss sharing the delicious meals with my readers.

Now to finish what I was saying before I went into a tangent. After my work out I didn't want anything heavy, and I didn't want anything that would take a long time to make, so I decided on soup, miso soup to be exact. Before I went on my boredom streak in the kitchen I of course mapped out my meals for the week, one of the meals being miso soup. This soup has been on my mind for quite some time and I figured what better time to make it then today, especially when I was feeling motivated to actually cook.

This soup isn't your regular Japanese miso soup that you would get when you go out for sushi. In fact, it's very different, the only thing I think it shares in common to be completely honest is the miso paste haha. I would call this a kitchen-sink miso soup. Honestly though, this may be one of the best miso soups I've ever had, but it's because it was an actual meal and not just a little appetizer so it's a little hard to compare the two.

This was a cinch to throw together, and it used up a lot of the vegetables we had laying around in the fridge. It was perfect, especially because I thought I was going to have to make a side dish but in throwing all the vegetables I had laying around it was actually a really great portion and surprisingly filling. I would certainly make this again, especially in the winter, yum!

Chinese Five Spice Miso Soup

Recipe inspired from here

Ingredients:

1 tsp EVOO
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 tsp garlic, minsed
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1 cup frozen unshelled edamame
1 large bunch of kale, chopped
1/4 cup broccolini, chopped
1 bunch of bok choy
5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
4 tbsp white miso paste

Directions:

Heat EVOO over medium high heat, cook onion until translucent, about five minutes; add Chinese five spice, mushrooms, edamame, kale, bok choy, broccolini and garlic and cook an additional five minutes.

Pour vegetable brother and water into your pot, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the miso paste.

Have you ever tried to re-make your favourite restaurant soup?

Mmm mmm good.

2011-10-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

Sticky Banana Walnut Oatmeal

Recipe inspired from here

Remember that breakfast I ranted and raved about when I first got home from Korea? The ever-so-amazziiiinnnngggggg Maple Rosemary Banana Split that I am fully anticipating on making again very, very soon... ahhhh, well, this morning I was craving it again so I decided I would make the base of it, and use it as an oatmeal topper! Genius or what? I do believe so.

Between the two they are both so decadent and grand. The banana split incorporated rosemary which gave it this fresh-earthy flavour to it, while the one I made this morning incorporated cinnamon so it gave it a fall flavour. Both fantastic, and definitely my favourite breakfasts' that I've ever made. I can't wait to try more flavour combinations with this technique.

If there is one recipe you must try on this blog... okay fine, that was a little severe. Let's try that again, /clears throat, if there is one recipe I highly suggest you making on this blog, it would be this. It is so versatile, even just the topping. How amazing would it be on pancakes, or atop some banana soft serve, oorrr... just in a large bowl eaten with a spoon and sprinkled with more maple syrup? Oh heavens.

Please, please make this, and tell me just how amazing you think it is!?!?!?

Ingredients:

Oats:

1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup water
1/2 banana
Dash of salt

Sticky Topping:

1/2 banana
Handful of walnuts, chopped
1 heaping tsp of cinnamon
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions:

Heat a small non-stick skilled.

Chop half of your banana in slices (keeping the remaining half for your oats), and chop your walnuts,

Add your maple syrup to your hot skillet, turn temperature down to medium-low. Toss your bananas and walnuts in with your vanilla and cinnamon. Allow to saute for about five minutes, but make sure to stir a teensy bit so the nuts don't burn.

Set aside.

Add your oats, milk, water, and salt. Once it starts to boil, add your remaining banana half. Mash it all in, mix your oats until reached desired consistency. Add to your bowl.

Top with your sticky topping, and additional spices (I used a teensy amount of cinnamon, dark chocolate, and sugar).

Chickpea Salad with Mexican Mango Dressing

Recipe inspired from here

Now for lunch. Lately, I have been craving salads. Salads like there are no tomorrow. And not green leafy salads, not that there is anything wrong with them, I just however prefer salads that the base is chickpeas, black beans, broccoli, sweet potato or other vegetables that aren't lettuce or spinach. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love them, I just... get sick of all the crunching, well doesn't that just sound a little ridiculous?

This salad was incredibly good. I love when salads have both fruits and vegetables. We all know how obsessed I am with fruits, so when I can sneak a bit into a salad it makes my tum very happy. This was a really quick salad to throw together, and it had an interesting array of flavours. This salad would have been perfect in the summer, but thankfully we can still get mangoes this time of year so we can try salads that we missed out on making in the summer, am I right?

Ingredients:

1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small apple, cubed
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Handful of toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

Dressing:

1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
Juice from 1 lime
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp smoked chili powder

Directions:

To make the dressing, place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Season to taste.

Peel and chop all the vegetables for the salad.

Place the drained chickpeas in a large bowl and pour the dressing over top. Add in the sliced vegetables, avocado and cilantro, and stir until the dressing is completely mixed in.

Keep in refrigerator until you are ready to eat. Garnish each serving with toasted pumpkin seeds if desired.

Now tell me, what would you put that sticky topping on?!

Pasta without the dough x2 + a salad

2011-10-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

As you all may notice, I've been posting once a day for the past week (or since I returned from Korea). The reason for this being that I am not working. I don't know how I feel about not working. It's been exactly a year now since I've been working full-time in the film industry, and to be quite honest you get burnt out very quickly. Working 60+ hours a week, it's hard not to get burnt out especially if you have trouble sleeping. Funny thing is, it always seems I can sleep when I'm not working. Lately I've been sleeping like a log, except I've still been getting up at about 1:00 am (2:00 pm in Korea), I'm not sure if it's because subconsciously I know I can speak to Jordan at this time, or I just, who knows.

So what have I been doing with my time since I got back? Sleeping, a lot. Getting back into my exercise routine, this morning I was able to do thirty minutes on the bike without having to take a single break, hopefully I can get back up to 45-60 minutes by the end of this week. Organizing my room as well as the kitchen. Umm... browsing Pinterest a lot, /cough. And of course cooking and baking. I notice that when I am off work this seems to be when I post on a regular basis, so I suppose I should take advantage of making hot meals before I go back to work, shouldn't I?

With that being said, I have three meals I would like to share with you today. The first being a broccoli salad. Followed by two "pasta" recipes. Mmm, let's get to it!

Curried Broccoli, Apple and Cashew Salad

Recipe adapted from here

Remember when I was in Korea and I was craving salads since I was a) sick and tired of eating rice every single day and b) the spice in their foods upset my stomach? Do you remember that Broccoli and Trail Mix Salad I raved about? Well, as I was perusing some blogs the other day I came across a salad that was very similar to the one I enjoyed so much. I figured why not give it a try, and so today this was my lunch. Between the two I couldn't tell you which I enjoyed more. A lot of the same things are in both salads but the dressings are different so it alters the salads immensely. I enjoyed both so, so much.

This is a perfect salad to whip up when you're in a rush, as it is uncooked. All you need to do is chop some apple pieces, broccoli florets, toss in some dried fruits, mix some ingredients together, toss in a bowl and voila! It is super healthy and super delissshh.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups finely chopped broccoli
2 small apples
1/4 cup cashews, chopped
2-3 tbsp raisins
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup plain Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp mango and lemon jam (as I didn't have mango chutney)
1 tbsp curry powder

Directions:

Make the dressing by whisking the yogurt, mango and lemon jam (or mango chutney), curry powder in a small bowl.

Prepare the rest of the salad ingredients and place in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over top and stir together until everything is evenly coated.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving time.

Makes 2-3 servings.

Tofu Noodles with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Tahini

Recipe taken from here

On Saturday I went to my dad's house to spend the day with him. I went to my dad's place around noon, and I knew I would get hungry sooner or later so I brought some ingredients with me to make a healthy "pasta" dish. I absolutely loved it. It was so simple, that all I had to do was toss my noodles in some hot water, boil, and then throw the other ingredients into a bowl. You then finish off by adding the noodles in with the remaining ingredients and stir. It takes so little time and resulting dish is fantastic.

Since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia I had noticed certain foods that would cause flare ups, one of them being certain grains (depending on how they were made). Pasta is something I gave up eating almost two years ago because every time I consumed noodles it always resulted in my being in some sort of pain. While I was in Montreal this summer I however stumbled upon tofu noodles! I had never seen these before and had to pick up a package. Oh my goodness, they are so amazing! They taste almost identical to noodles, they don't leave you feeling full, but not the "I ate too much full". They take two minutes to cook. You can use them exactly as you would regular noodles and they are incredibly cheap, with a ton of protein. Since finding these noodles, I've had them a few times, and have made some very interesting dishes with them. I don't crave noodles anymore, but whenever I do, I always go for these instead of trying other noodles (not knowing how they'll sit with me), and they're perfect. If you see these at your grocer and haven't tried them I highly suggest giving them a try!

This salad was perfectly light yet filling, and it was so incredibly refreshing. Cannot wait to make it again.

Ingredients:

1 package tofu noodles (or 6 oz of noodles)
A good handful of cherry tomatoes
1-2 small cucumbers
1 cup chickpeas
1 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Start a pot of water to boil your noodles. Boil according to the package instructions, about 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the two cucumbers into bite-sized chunks. Drain and rinse your chickpeas.

In a large bowl, place your cherry tomatoes; mash them with a potato masher/fork until they are all smashed (leave the juice in the bowl to combine with the pasta).

When the pasta is finished, drain it and rinse with cool water. Add the pasta to the large bowl with the smashed cherry tomatoes, then add the cucumbers and chickpeas. Toss with 2 tbsp tahini, 4 bsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp sea salt, and fresh ground pepper. Taste and add more salt or tahini if desired. Serve topped with fresh ground pepper.

Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Recipe adapted from here

Have you ever tried spaghetti squash? I tried it about two years ago, and have only had it a small handful of times, but every time (other than the first time) I have absolutely devoured it; this time included. What I love about it, is that duh as it's name suggests, is that it so closely resembles spaghetti. I have made it with many sauces, spices, and add ins.

While being in Montreal some flavour pairings that I very much became, well to say the least, addicted to were Southwestern flavours; black beans, corn, cilantro, lime, and jalapeno, etc... when I found a recipe for spaghetti squash that included these flavours it was bound to be made, devoured and enjoyed. I made this dish yesterday for my dad, his girlfriend and I. My dad's girlfriend and I devoured this, while my dad picked at the toppings. He very much enjoyed the add-in's, but the actual squash itself he wasn't fond of. My pops thought that there needed to be an extra sauce or such on the squash. Unfortunately he wasn't won over by this gorgeous vegetable, and left the squash there (however this left more for me). I definitely ate a lot, and kept munching at his.

The aroma while this was cooking because of the chili powder, oregano and cumin was like nothing I'd ever smelt. It was so aromatic and beautiful, not cookie dough beautiful but it's own category of beautiful. Once I started smelling those spices I knew that I was in for a treat. And yes, I surely was.

If you are a fan of spaghetti squash as well as those Southwestern flavours, this is surely a dish that'll please.

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
2 tbsp EVOO
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp chili powder
1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
1 cup canned corn
4 green onion stalks, chopped
3 large handfuls of spinach
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup freshly torn cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 lime

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Roast squash on a baking sheet for 50 minutes. Let cool another 30 minutes, then cut in half. Spoon out the seeds, then using a fork, scrape up the flesh, making the “spaghetti.”

Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion, garlic, and red bell pepper. Saute 2 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, chili powder and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Saute another minute. Add the beans, corn, spinach, green onion and cilantro. Stir to combine. Squeeze in the lime juice and give one last stir.

Add in the “spaghetti” to the bean mixture and stir to combine. Taste and season accordingly. Stuff each squash half with the mixture (optional: top with grated cheese).

Garnish with a little bit of cilantro and some more lime juice.

Have you tried any alternative "pasta's"?

If so, which and how did you enjoy them?

Pumpkin. Peanut Butter. Oh.my.gosh.

2011-10-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday everyone,

Hope you all had a fantastic week! I sort of did, I am very much missing my boyfriend/Korea to absolute bits. I've been trying to fight off jet lag, and only yesterday was I able to stay up the whole day until a reasonable bedtime, /cough 9:30 pm, yes I am an adult. Trying to get back 13 hours behind is very difficult, especially when you don't have a purpose to try and fight it, unfortunately, it's not like I'm working or anything. I haven't been trying to sleep regular hours, but I know I have to. Last night I slept from 9:30 pm until about 1:00 am, stayed up for an hour or so talking to Jordan then went back to sleep until about 5:00 am then layed in bed until I was craving breakfast. This has been happening on and off all week. This week I shall change that, and I shall have a fun week, woo!

As for recipes, boy do I have some amazing recipes for you. Let's start off with the recipe that makes the other recipes I'm going to post killer good. It has been about a good year and a bit since I have purchased peanut butter. Once I started making it I didn't see a reason to buy peanut butter from the jar, especially when it was loaded with added sugars. Yes, I know you can buy the all natural peanut butters, but what fun is it when you can't alter it to your own flavours (I'm aware you can take the base, but making the whole thing from scratch is part of the fun!). Ever since making peanut butter I have never made the same one twice. Now, peanut butters are not something I usually post the recipe for as 99% of the time I just throw in whatever flavours I'm feeling at the moment, and never take measurements or photographs for that matter.

I found a peanut butter recipe however that is going to blow your socks off. This may even be a peanut butter recipe that I make over and over and over again, because it is just sinful. It reminds me of caramel, served on top of an apple you would surely have a healthy "caramel apple" sort of thing going on. I wish I would of thought of this recipe myself because it is simply a masterpiece, but being able to find it online, hot dang am I ever happy I did. Now without dragging on for too long about a spread here ya go ;)

/you know when people say that they eat peanut butter with a spoon? This one is definitely one of those peanut butters that... I don't even know if I'd be able to stop once I got my first spoon in there, eek.

Maple Walnut Peanut Butter

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:

1/3 cup homemade peanut butter
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup walnut halves, toasted, chopped finely

Directions

In the bowl of your food processor mix until everything is incorporated and you have smooth peanut butter (unless you like chunky peanut butter, mix by hand)

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

Recipe adapted from here

Now, I have a dessert for ya'll (I had to eventually throw that in at one point in my blogging "career", I mean it flows well... sorta, but it just feels so much faster to type). This is my first pumpkin dessert recipe of the season, unless of course you count Pumpkin Pretzels as dessert, but who are you kidding, that is just an appetizer to dessert!

Until yesterday's breakfast: Pumpkin Pie Overnight Cereal, I had never thought to mix peanut butter and pumpkin together, I'm not sure why, but when I was topping my breakfast the peanut butter just magically happened to plop on top of my bowl, meuahhahaha. I realized just how amazing this mix is, and well it seems other's had come across that marvelous knowledge as well. When I stumbled on a recipe for Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars I knew I had to make them. I had enough pumpkin puree in my can for this recipe and well for breakfast this morning (not that I'm not hoarding a ton of cans in my cupboard or anything, doo doo doooo). But these bars, oh holy moly.

I changed the recipe slightly, by changing the sugars. Instead of using brown sugar I made a date paste from heated dates/water, and then instead of granulated sugar I used coconut sap, plus the addition of homemade peanut butter, ah brilliant. I let them sit out for a while before I indulged in one... but I had just done a work out and unfortunately was craving some sweets so I dug in, and well, it was blissful. These bars are purely genius, the pumpkin is definitely evident as is the peanut butter, it was like a 50/50 tie, it was a perfect melding of two wonderful flavours in one.

These are certainly perfect snacks to keep around the house, especially during this beautiful fall season. It is not too heavy, nor is it too light. It isn't too sweet, however it also isn't undersweet. It is moist and cakey, and just mmmm, you need to try this out for yourself! Also, these are a one bowl recipe which makes it even sweeter! Do yourself, and those around you a favour and go make these!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup homemade peanut butter
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups oats
1 1/4 cup hot water (or 1 cup of brown sugar)
8 dates
1/4 cup coconut sap (or 1/2 cup granulated sugar)
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a measuring cup add your hot water and dates - I just used hot water from the tap no need to get fancy. Let your mixture stand for 10-15 minutes.

When done, take out 1/4 cup of water, and transfer the remaining water and dates to a food processor. Process until your mixture becomes a smooth paste.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir by hand. Spread batter (it will be pretty moist) into a lined and spayed 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan.

Bake for 22-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. The bars may still look underdone, but that’s okay because they will continue to set up as they cool.

Allow to cool very well before slicing. Store extras on the countertop, refrigerator, or in the freezer for long term storage.

Pumpkin Spice Oats

Remember yesterday how I said that after enjoying my Pumpkin Pie Overnight Cereal so, so much I was going to have it again the next day only in a hot-oat version? Well if not, that is what I said and I did of course follow through with it.

After having a large can of pumpkin open all week, I finished it off this morning, went by quickly it seems, but I got many delicious creations from it. The only thing that was different in this mornings bowl of oats is that of course it was warm, with ooey-gooey banana morsels strung through out, but I added more pumpkin since I wanted to toss the can. This bowl had 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree rather than a 1/2 cup.

So, which one did I like more? Honestly, regardless of the fact that they both contained the exact same flavours and basically the same measurements (other than the pumpkin), they were both incredible in their own way. To choose between the two would be like choosing between peanut butter and jam, or peanut butter and chocolate (only when it comes to Homemade Peanut Butter Cups though), it's not possible and you shouldn't have to make that decision, nuh uh, no way Jose.

What I liked about the Pumpkin Pie Overnight Cereal was that it was smooth with some crunch here and there, that it was almost like a smoothie only thicker. The one this morning was a whole different dimension because of the cooked bananas versus the blended banana. Okay, okay, I liked both so so much and you should just try them, do eet, doooo eettttt.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup soy milk
Dash of salt
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1 banana, ripe and mashed
1 tbsp chia seeds + 1/4 tsp chia seeds
1 tbsp walnuts - chopped
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 heaping tbsp peanut butter

Directions:

In a small pot add your oats, soy milk, water, pumpkin, spices, chia seeds, vanilla and salt. Once it comes to a boil add in your banana, mash it well and incorporate until everything comes together.

Top with additional chia seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and your peanut butter.

Now tell me, peanut butter and pumpkin?

What do you think?

To eat meat or not to eat meat? That is the question.

2011-10-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

Note: if there is ever a time I would like you to read my blog post and give me some feed back, it is today.

Hello,

So before I post the recipe's I intended to show you all I have a question. This is something that has been on my mind lately, and I know I don't get much feedback from readers (even though I know you are all out there), if there is ever time I want to hear from my readers (okay I always love hearing from readers) but this post I would really love to hear from you all.

Before I left for Korea, I had read Amanda's blog post about contemplating to reintroduce meat back into her diet. This got me thinking, because myself personally I don't not eat meat because I don't like it. In fact I really did love meat, well, chicken and fish that is. Since I stopped eating pork and beef almost nine years ago, I've never looked back, it's just not something that interested me. When I gave up poultry however, there have been times where I really wish I was eating it, the same with seafood especially while eating sushi.

Now, I know that makes me sound like a hypocrite, to be honest, I don't really care, I hear vegetarians who claim that they don't like meat, I'm sorry but what is there not to like, other than the fact that it was once living.

This is where my question comes in.

Meat is honestly not something I crave. It's not. When I look at fellow bloggers posting their recipes with meat, it doesn't pain me to look at it, nor does it instill any sort of salivation processes because it's just not something I crave. The thing is, and I realized this in Korea, being a vegan is sometimes hard yes, we all know this, but sometimes it's almost close to impossible. While being there, there were some things I just stayed away from, because instinct told me that there was going to be animal product in it (soup broth's especially), other things were a little harder to know, so I would have to make sure to ask if it was vegetarian or not. The truth is, sometimes I feel like a complete nuisance. If I go to someone's house for dinner I have to make sure to bring some sort of dish just so that I know that there is something I can eat for sure. This gets to be a little ridiculous at times. I mean I had to prepare some food in order for me to go to Korea just in case.

Sure, I love being in the kitchen. Making up snacks, meals and desserts are things I will almost never turn down doing, but to have to prepare so far in advance for certain things it's just frustrating at times. My intent is not to give up on veganism, not at all, because I love the lifestyle, I love the food and the meals we eat, and how veganism in my opinion is the most creative since you have to replicate flavours, and replace foods and know how to do it in a way that still remains flavour-wise, well good.

My thought however is this. Wouldn't it be nice if I could go to a restaurant and not have to worry so much if perhaps my soup was made with a little fish sauce? Or perhaps if the salad really sucks; I'm sorry but when the only option on a restaurant menu is a salad with lettuce, tomato and cucumber there isn't any other way of saying it other than this: it sucks. It sucks so much, especially when you are looking around and seeing other people's meals that look so good. I mean, eating a piece of fish from time to time hasn't hurt anyone right? So why shouldn't I be able to as well? Well here's the thing. Myself personally, I don't not eat meat because at one point veganism was this thing that allowed my eating disorder to be easier (I'm sorry but that's the truth, and that's what appealed to me so much at the beginning. Which is why I'm almost positive some people are still vegan because when you look like you weigh 70 pounds and you continually announce how this is fat-free, or how it contains little to no calories you're just not making a case for yourself). So yes, as I was saying... it's not that I'm worried that eating meat is going to make my waistline a little wider, or that the number on the scale is going to tip up (after my ed I barely ever even weigh myself anymore, maybe one every month/month-and-a-half?), but it's the psychological fear.

I am scared to eat meat again. When I stop eating meat it's because I no longer distinguish them as food, something that is on a plate. I see it as something that was living, something that once breathed, something that once fought to stay alive, something that once roamed the planet, and now it's on my plate. I've been doing a little reading on how to re-introduce meat into a vegetarian/vegan's diet, but I would love to hear from you all, as I know there are ton of people who were once in my position how they started implementing meat back into their diet.

Now before I get any hate mail, as I know there are readers (hopefully not mine) that I've heard like to bash people for their choices when it comes to eating meat. Just because you are a vegan or vegetarian doesn't mean you have to be one for life. Let's think of pregnancy, it would almost be crazy to not eat meat while going through pregnancy. I don't intend on eating meat on a daily basis, or even on a regular basis to be honest. What I want however is some ease. I want that if I'm going out to a fancy restaurant (which when my show ended before I left for Korea, we went to this beautiful restaurant... well there wasn't even an option for me because everything had either fish/poultry/beef, so I just sat there. It's not fun, and it's times like those where you not only look like you're a freak, you look like you have a problem. I don't have a problem anymore, and I don't want that to show in my diet either). I would like for when my boyfriend comes back from Korea and which I know for a fact he is going to want to celebrate with sushi, I want to be able to go out, eat and enjoy with him, and not just cucumber, or carrot rolls because let's be honest here they just don't compete with dynamite rolls.

I don't want to feel guilty that I'm doing this either. I will not feel like a failure because I know I am successful at being vegan (even though I eat Greek yoghurt and ice cream from time to time) but that's life. Life is not about being absolute, it's not about denying yourself pleasures, especially pleasures as simple as food. I know it has been years since I've eaten meat, and almost a complete year since I've eaten fish. I know of the amounts of animal products I have not eaten and have passed up in these past months and years while changing my lifestyle, I know I am capable of doing it. I just want to make my life a little easier when it just shouldn't be a difficult process (eating out at a restaurant for one, or wanting to go camping and wanting to enjoy a piece of fish with some fries). I still want to continue my vegan lifestyle because there is nothing wrong with it, but if once in a blue moon I want to eat a piece of fish I feel that it is okay. I have no intent right now on re-introducing cheese or eggs, but maybe that's how I should start before introducing fish back in? I'm not sure I really would like some advice, I'm almost begging you all to give me some advice on how I could go about transitioning back into eating fish and getting over my "it was once a living specie", to know that it is okay... does that make sense?

...

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Cereal

And just to make it so that this post actually has a recipe on it, this morning's phenomenal breakfast. Inspired by a medley of different pumpkin combinations I have been stumbling upon I melded different mixtures and came up with something phenomenal. The smoothie yesterday was delicious yes, but in comparison to today's breakfast... I would not look at yesterday's breakfast again. This literally tasted one hundred and one percent like pumpkin pie. The addition of peanut butter was brilliant, and definitely made the pumpkin flavours stand out even more. I will be making this again tomorrow for breakfast only a hot oat version. We shall see which version is better!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup soy milk
Dash of salt
1/4 cup pumpkin
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1 banana, ripe and mashed
1 tbsp chia seeds + 1/4 tsp chia seeds
1 tbsp walnuts - chopped
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 heaping tbsp peanut butter

Directions:

Throw all of the ingredients in a bowl (except the extra 1/4 tsp chia seeds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds). Mix thoroughly. Let sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning add a little bit of water or extra milk to loosen up the concoction a bit.

Top with additional chia seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and dollop of peanut butter.

What are your thoughts/opinions?

Oh fall, how I love thee.

2011-10-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Good day my friends,

If you are just tuning into my blog here is something to know: I am on a late start to pumpkin season. I spent a month in Korea (just getting back Tuesday evening) and was not in reach of pumpkin. With that being said, I have a lot of catching up to do. Here is another thing, pumpkin and the spices that are associated with this beautiful gourd are off the charts my favourite spice combination. I eat pumpkin all year long, but definitely eat massive amounts when fall arrives because the cans/pumpkins themselves are so much cheaper!

This morning (and well, the next few weeks) you will be seeing a lot of different pumpkin breakfasts'; smoothies, oat combinations, muffins, desserts etc. I love it, and plan on going knee deep in the recipes.

Unfortunately I am still really feeling the jet lag. I've been sleeping more than I ever do on a regular basis, as I'm sleeping on and off through the night (Canadian time), and sleep for a couple of steady hours in the afternoon (Korean night time). Since this is happening, I'm finding that not only is my sleep-cycle off, but my body is confused as to when it's supposed to eat. I woke up at four o'clock this morning because I was hungry (since that would be 5:00 pm in Korean - dinner time). I woke up and decided not to eat since I'm trying to get everything back on track and would still be eating my lunch at noon and that's a huge gap even with a snack in between. I decided I would play around in the kitchen for a bit, and prep tonight's dinner instead. Yes, I know it was 5:00 am when I started this madness but I figured why not.

Yesterday for breakfast I started off the day of course with pumpkin. It had been over a month since I'd had a breakfast smoothie (okay other than protein powder and milk but that is NOT a smoothie, no, no, no). So, I was very eager to gulp down this bad boy, especially because it also had pumpkin in it, and until then I'd only made the Pumpkin Pretzel Bites so I'd gotten a taste for my favourite flavours and just wanted more, more, more. This smoothie was awesome, it had spice, creaminess, pumpkin, sweetness everything I could of asked for in a smoothie. It was incredibly filling that when noon came around and it was time for me to make lunch I was still feeling a good fullness, but I ate regardless so that my bodies regular schedule was back.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vanilla Greek yoghurt
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger (if this is too much cut down, but I like a lot)
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp raisins
1/2 large frozen banana
1 tsp maple syrup
Pumpkin seeds - to garnish

Directions:

Place all of your ingredients (other than your pumpkin seeds) in your blender. Incorporate until desired consistency. Garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Bok Choy and Chickpeas with Soy Sauce and Balsamic Dressing

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Lunch was certainly a tastebud pleaser. While being in Korea, one thing that was really hard to come across were chickpeas. I'd found the tiniest of cans at a health store which cost me about ₩ 4000 (so almost four dollars Canadian), and it was probably about 7.5 oz, it was not big at all. I picked it up though because I was missing my legumes. Unfortunately I only had my favourite source of protein once in one month (where I usually have chickpeas 3-4 times a week) so it was a big change.

When I got home, one of the things I stocked up on when I went to the grocery store were cans of chickpeas, and the 26 oz cans were on sale for only .99, so I was very happy! I knew that one of the first meals I was going to make when getting back into Canada was going to incorporate chickpeas. I couldn't of picked a better recipe.

This meal was incredibly, incredibly simple to put together. It took just a little bit of chopping. Can opening. A little steaming. A little mixing. A lot of enjoying. I love balsamic vinegar. When it comes to sauces or condiments whichever, I am not a big fan of. When it comes to dressings on salads, the only reason I use a mix of EVOO + balsamic vinegar is because a couple of years ago when I'd seen a nutritionist I was told I wasn't getting enough fat in my diet and was advised to top my salads with EVOO (since I would eat them dressing free), that's also why I started adding avocado to my salads even though at the time I really disliked the flavour/texture (I absolutely love avocado now, but it took some time), however this was a very easy way to add fats into my diet. Anywho, the warm chickpeas, steamed bok choy and simple dressing was perfect.

Simple meals that take very few ingredients, little time to throw together, and are actually healthy always reign high in my books. This will certainly be made again, mmmm.

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of bok choy, or other greens
2 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas (1 1/2 400g (14oz) tins, rinsed and drained)
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp EVOO

Directions:

Prepare your vegetables and chickpeas by rinsing and drying them. Chop the bok choy into pieces around 3cm (1 inch) long, placing the stems in a separate bowl from the more leafy parts. Make the dressing by combining the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a small bowl.

Heat a heavy chef pan or stockpot over a high heat. When the pan is hot, add 2-4 tsp of extra-virgin olive oil and quickly throw in the bok choy stems first, then add the chickpeas and bok choi leaves.
Don’t stir. Put the lid on and cook for 2 minutes without stirring or lifting the lid.

Add half a cup of water to the pan and stir through. Put the lid back on and cook for another 2 minutes. Taste some of the bok choy to see if it’s cooked enough and cook for a little longer if needed. Take off the heat and stir through the dressing. Serve right away.

What are your favourite simple meals to throw together?

First pumpkin recipe of the season.

2011-10-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

Hellooooo Fall!

My favourite season of the year.

I love the change in the colours of the leaves.

I love the fresh crisp air early in the morning.

I love bundling up in warmer clothes.

I love the fall harvest.

I love fall spices.

I love that cans of pumpkin are very, very cheap.

Seeing as the last month I have been in Korea, my "to-try" pumpkin recipes folder has went up and up and up. Fortunately while all of the fall recipes were popping up in cyber space I was still able to pick up some squash and cinnamon, but I didn't have access to a blender (therefore, adios smoothies), I didn't have an oven (therefore, adios cookies, breads, and other baked goods), and well I didn't have access to pumpkin (adios oatmeal, and other non-bake pumpkin goods).

This morning I went to the grocery store to pick up some of the food items I wanted for the week that my mom hadn't thought of to pick up for me; pumpkin being the most important. When I was in Korea, there was one recipe I saved that I couldn't wait to get my hands onto.

Pumpkin is one of my favourite flavours. Pumpkin by itself is amazing of course, but what I love about pumpkin is it's usual accompaniment of my favourite flavours ever: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Now my favourite go-to snack is hands down pretzels. When I found a recipe for pumpkin pretzels I couldn't wait until I would get to make and devour for myself.

Once I unpacked all of my groceries, the can opener quickly came out. With that, as did my cats. I forgot what living with cats is like, after seven months you forget their normal habits. Hearing a can open instinctually means tuna for them. Well not for me! Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumkin! I made my dough, let it sit and rise, and patiently waited in anticipation. I let my water boil, cut my dough into chunks, then realized that while packing up my kitchen supplies in Montreal I forgot to pack up my baking soda. Thankfully I learnt something today: if you run out of baking soda, use 2-3x the amount of baking powder as you would baking soda. At first I was a little hesitant, I was going to get into the car and go to the grocery store (but seeing as I lost my barings this morning I forgot how to get to the grocery store... after seven months can you blame me? Errr... and didn't feel like having that happen again). Thankfully it worked like a charm. I didn't use egg wash of course, and I didn't want to melt any butter on top of the pretzels since there is already more than enough in the dough, so I very generously sprinkled the pretzel bites with more cinnamon!

These are certainly wonderful pretzels. If you are on a diet, or a huuuuge pretzel fan, or a gigantic fan of pumpkin, even better a feign for pretzels and pumpkin I highly, highly advise you to make a batch and immediately freeze some. I left mine out for quite some time... and while making my lunch well... about 1/4 of the batch disappeared (and it's a big batch). After doing so, I quickly got some containers and started dividing the pretzels up. Freezing 3/4's of the remaining pretzels, and leaving a 1/4 out... probably for tomorrow, oops, I just can't help it.

Pumpkin Soft Pretzel Bites

Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water
4 tbsp cane sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
5 1/2 - 6 cups all purpose flour (I only need 5 1/2)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tbsp Earth Balance (or butter), melted
2/3 cup baking soda (since I ran out of baking soda, I doubled the amount of baking powder)
Additional cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Combine the warm water and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow it to sit for about 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin, sugar, spices, and 5 1/2 cups flour and butter and using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. If dough is too wet add, another 1/4-1/2 cup flour.

Change to medium speed and knead about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl, and place the dough in a glass bowl oiled with vegetable oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 12 inch rope. Using a sharp knife, cut rope into 1 inch pieces.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Using a large sauce pan, fill with water. Bring the water to a boil and add the baking soda.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds each. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Place pretzels on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat mat.

Garnish with additional cinnamon (or egg wash and perhaps cinnamon sugar mixture?) Bake until golden brown in color, approximately 6-8 minutes.

Mushrooms and Tofu en Papillote with Rosemary and Thyme

Recipe slightly dapted form here

/cough, so as I mentioned I ate about 1/4 of the pretzels while preparing my lunch! Yes, I ate dessert before my meal (which happens more than it should). Sort of a bad idea since I didn't eat my whole lunch, however, I'm still feeling the jet lag and fell asleep for a couple of hours this afternoon. When I awoke my bowl from lunch was still there, so I gobbled up the rest of it! It worked out great in the end ;)

The ugh... process for wrapping the tofu/mushroom mixture in parchment paper didn't work out so well. With my lack of sleep, definite hunger I was getting a little frustrated, so I ended up taking out a huuuge other piece and just wrapping everything together. The smell coming from the oven was fantastic, oh how I love rosemary and balsamic vinegar together. This meal was amazing. By the time I was separating the meal into bowls for my mom and I, I had already gobbled up a lot of it. I just couldn't stop. The mix of the fresh spices, delicious Shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and balsamic vinegar it was marvelous. This was a perfect meal on a cold fall day. It was incredibly filling, warmed me up and was just very comforting. I loved it and will certainly be making it again.

Ingredients:

12 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I used Shiitake)
1 package of extra-firm tofu, diced into small cubes
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves finely chopped
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp EVOO
Sea salt and pepper
5 sprigs of thyme

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the parchment paper: Take one sheet of parchment (about the size of a full sheet tray), fold it in half and cut out the shape of half a heart so that when you unfold the paper, the cut out is heart-shaped (ooooh romantic!). Repeat with the other piece(s).

Combine the sliced mushrooms, tofu, garlic, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl and toss until mushrooms and tofu are evenly coated in the vinegar and oil.

Place one side of the heart-shaped paper on a baking sheet. Place half of the mushroom and tofu mixture onto the paper, towards the crease and trying to keep it as compact as possible. Place a thyme sprig on top if using. Fold the edge of the paper toward you tightly, starting at the top curve of the heart. After the first fold, take the next inch or so and fold it towards you again, overlapping the previous fold a little bit. Continue this process until you’ve sealed up the whole pocket.

Repeat the sealing process with remaining pockets/mushroom and tofu mixture. Place pockets on a baking sheet and put into the oven for 20 minutes. The packets should be quite puffed up. Snip them open with scissors carefully and serve.

What kind of pumpkin recipes have you tried this season?

Breakfast or dessert? You choose.

2011-10-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

And now I'm back in Canada...

While I was in Korea, I of course was still looking at blogs when I got a chance when I went to cafe's. And of course, there was a lot of saving, and anticipation for when I would be near a stove again with my cupboard full of ingredients. I had planned my week's menu for when I returned to Canada about three weeks ago (eager beaver is right). With that, I had also sent my mom an email asking her if she could pick up some of the ingredients on my list, unfortunately the email got lost in cyberspace, however, lucky for me, my mom knows the foods I love to eat, and had about 90% of the things I wanted on my list, even down to the fresh rosemary for this mornings breakfast.

Did you read that correct? Rosemary for breakfast? Yes, you certainly did. One of the recipes I had my eye on was for a Maple Rosemary Banana Split. Now, the blog I saw this on made it for dessert. However, after waiting for three hours to board the plane in Seoul, then travel thirteen hours Seoul to Detroit, wait another three hours to board the plane, then fly for another forty minutes, drive home for an hour, unpack for almost three hours, sleep for only two hours, I deserved a nice pick-me-up I shall say.

Nothing about this recipe doesn't scream breakfast... okay, maybe the rosemary, but it was perfect for breakfast. This was by far one of the most memorable breakfasts I've ever made. It certainly would make a fantastic and impressive dessert, but it worked just as well for breakfast.

The combination of the toasted walnuts, caramelized maple syrup, grilled-like bananas, the fresh rosemary, with the refreshing dollop of strawberry yoghurt on top - it was complete and utter perfection. The flavours together was just... culinary heaven, really.

Maple Rosemary Banana Split

Recipe very slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:

1 banana
1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
Fresh rosemary chopped - to taste
1 1/2 tbsp walnuts - chopped
Strawberry Greek yoghurt (or vegan yoghurt)

Directions:

Place the nuts in a dry pan over medium high heat and toast for a few minutes, shaking the pan and
Toast the walnuts. If the walnuts are not already chopped, chop them coarsely. watching constantly so they do not burn.

Peel the banana and cut it half lengthwise, then crosswise.

In a large skillet, place the banana, maple syrup and rosemary sprigs. Bring the syrup to a low boil, then cook for about 1 minute. Turn over the bananas and cook another minute more.

Thicken the syrup. Remove the bananas from the pan onto a plate. Bring the syrup in the pan up to a boil for a minute or two until it thickens.

Place 1 scoop of yoghurt in each bowl. Top with your banana and pour syrup from the pan over the bananas. Top with walnuts.

When would you eat this?

Breakfast or dessert?

Tropical Carrot Cake Oatmeal

2011-10-17T23:29:00.000-07:00

Eeeeh, I'm so excited to post this recipe for you guys. Yes, of course it's another quinoa oat breakfast. I'm actually hooked on this flaked oat now. When I first started eating this breakfast I told you guys I wasn't too sure on the texture. However the more I make it, and in turn the more I consume it, the more I'm beginning to really, really enjoy it. Unfortunately I only have about two days left worth of quinoa flakes left so I'm going to have to think of some good ways to combine them so that they don't get used up in a boring way ;).

The recipe I'm posting you today is certainly not boring. Can we go back in time to Easter of this year? Do you remember when I posted two different Tropical Carrot Cake Muffin/Carrot Cake Muffin recipes? No? How about one of the most memorable and delicious smoothie I've ever posted on this blog; Tropical Carrot Cake Smoothie. Or the ever so delicious Tropical Carrot Cake with "Cheesecake" Frosting? Well... the other morning when I woke up I was craving these flavours. I knew it would be a little "trickier" since I didn't have my blender or food processor, but I did have a pot so I could steam the carrot (as such in the smoothie recipe).

When I woke up to make this oatmeal recipe, I was incredibly excited. I'd written on a piece of paper the night before the ingredients I wanted to go into this bowl... when it comes to carrot cake I'm a little picky. Over time (especially when it's me baking) I will play with more ingredients, but if ever I was to eat carrot cake at a restaurant/store, I tend to only like the basic carrot cake versions sans nuts and raisins. This version has nuts, and unfortunately I had used up all my raisins when I made the Broccoli and Trail Mix Salad. That was okay though, because I still had walnuts, pineapple, coconut, and of course carrots so I knew it would still taste delicious, and it was.

This reminded me of fall flavours with a tropical summer twist to it. I really enjoyed it, and certainly savoured each and every bite.

Tropical Carrot Cake Oatmeal

Recipe inspired by all of the above links.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup quinoa flakes
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup water
1 banana, ripened
1/4 large carrot (or 4 baby carrots)
Handful of coconut
2-3 chunks of pineapple, cut into tiny pieces
1 heaping tsp of cinnamon
Handful of walnuts
Dash of salt

Directions:

Steam your carrot until nice and soft. Once you have a nice soft carrot mash or cut into little chunks. Set aside.

In a medium pot add your quinoa flakes, water, soy milk, dash of salt and cinnamon. Once it’s come to a boil throw in your banana (chunks), carrot, pineapple chunks (leaving some aside to garnish), and some coconut. Mix until you have a nice thick consistency or until you reach your desired consistency. Add to your bowl, top with walnuts, coconut, pineapple and additional cinnamon.

How do you enjoy your carrot cake?

Broccoli and Trail Mix Salad

2011-10-16T21:28:00.001-07:00

Note: is anyone else having formatting problems with their Blogger?! Doesn't matter how many times I re-do this post/last few posts the format keeps bunching together...

Confession:

I love my body, however, I strongly dislike my stomach.

I am a veg, but the biggest part of my diet consists of fruits.

Being in Korea, I have only worked out a few times, but I have done a lot of walking.

…

So here it goes. My days remaining in Korea are very limited, and with that, I’ve been starting to think of how I want to work out when I go home. When I was living in Montreal, the biggest part of my exercise routine was biking, now, I still want to keep that up, but I want to start doing weights as well. I’m not speaking the five-pound weights I was doing in my metcon workouts, but I’m talking the heavy guys, so I can do “real” weight lifting. Now, I’ve considered a few things, hire a personal trainer, get a gym membership, think of different ways to get varied work outs in from rock climbing, running, swimming, biking, etc… I just want there to be variety.

With all of this being said, I do not believe it will take very long to see results. I eat healthy, I’m already pretty skinny, and definitely have muscle, but my diet is a little, ehhhh… I mean, I do not eat poorly by any means, but there is one thing that I have a weakness for and that’s fruits. It doesn’t matter how healthy a food is, eating it in bulk quantities is just as bad as eating little quantities. Eating a whole pineapple in one sitting? Yes, it may be healthy, but it’s loaded with sugar, which doesn’t matter if its fructose or glucose it’s still sugar, it still turns into fat. If I were to cut down on the amount of fruits in my diet, and upped the vegetables even more than I do, I should see results from that alone.

I decided yesterday I was going to try to make a change in my “fruit-intake” and yesterday I definitely did well. I had two apples only. Yes, two apples, it’s because Jordan cut one and left it there so I didn’t want it to go bad, and I’d already eaten one. Now I could of cut into my pineapple but I did not and was very proud. Right now I am at one banana, woo!

Anywho, with all that, I decided I’m going to double my vegetable intake versus my fruit intake. This morning I made one of the best salads I’ve had in a long time. It was super filling, incredibly healthy (wait until you read the ingredients), and a synch to throw together, no cooking or baking required, all you need are your ingredients and voila!

Broccoli and Trail Mix Salad

So I wanted a very basic, vegetable salad with a little bit of additional fruit (however, a tiny amount in comparison to the vegetable amount). I didn’t have a food processor, so I chopped my vegetables very small beforehand. I didn’t want to have large chunks of vegetables, I wanted everything to be minced, and it was perfection.

Ingredients:

Gosari Namul (Korean fern), chopped very small
2 broccoli florets, chopped very small
1 large carrot, chopped very small
Handful of mushrooms, cut into tiny pieces
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp raisins
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup dried cherries
~ 1/2 cup coconut meat
1 lemon, juiced
Maple syrup, dressing
Salt

Directions:

Cut and chop all of your vegetables very small, unless you have a food processor toss ‘em all in. Mix well together. Add in your dried fruits, seeds and coconut meat. Mix together. Toss with salt. Squeeze your lemon over your salad. Top with some maple syrup and eat up.

How do you spice up everyday-day salads?

The last of my summer recipes

2011-10-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Asian Inspired Coconut Kale Chips

When I first got to Korea... okay, well about a week and a half or two in after I mad a major meltdown and Jordan figured out a way for me to use my laptop in the apartment, I was able to speak to my mom on Skype. At the time she was still working in Montreal, so at the same time I got to speak to my friend Nickey! The first thing Nickey asked me was, "do they have quail chips there?!"... what she meant was kale chips not quail. Nope, they certainly do not have kale, and even if they did have kale, I still wouldn't be able to have my beloved kale chips since there is no oven.

Before I left, even before knowing the kitchen situation here in Korea I made myself a batch of kale chips. Now, they may not be my favourite Chocolate Coconut Kale Chips, the agave nectar, coconut, cashews and just everything that the concoction upholds, this version was still amazing, and was definitely eaten like candy, or like chips. When Lays made their claim of, "bet you can't eat just one", I don't think they were talking about potato chips, I think what they really meant were kale chips.

My mom has tried my kale chips before, not being much of a fan. However this time, I'd made them in the evening, she'd gotten home from work and smelt coconut. Coconut is something that runs in my family, my mom also mows down on coconut. She decided to give these chips a try, and... when she got to the couch she didn't have her usual Miss Vickey's with her, no she actually had a bowl of my kale chips! Way to go mom!... except for the fact that I had to share my delicious treat with her... kidding, I was glad to!

If you are not a fan of soaking cashews, since you find it too time consuming (the other recipe I posted) this recipe is certainly for you, as it is super quick, and just needs you to throw them in the oven, and eat!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 large bunch kale, stems and large ribs removed, and roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups unsweetened large-flake coconut/coconut meat
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

While your oven is heating up. Mix all of your ingredients together. Gently incorporate making sure that all of your kale is coated.

On a lined baking sheet, add your kale.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until crunchy, flipping once so that they don't burn.

Pistachio Smoothie

One thing I have really missed while being in Korea are smoothies. Being without my regular kitchen tools, I realize just how much I rely on them. Sure, I can make an incredible meal using a pot or a pan. However, seeing as I don't eat eggs, meat, or fried foods (except a few stir-fries while being in Korea since I don't have access to an oven), I am limited to meals I can make on the stove (other than oats). My blender and food processor are two gadgets that I know I will live with for the rest of my life, bless their mechanism souls. Smoothies are my go-to quick breakfast meal. They are so simple to make, and you can throw basically anything under the sun into them.

One smoothie I made before I left that I very much enjoyed was a pistachio smoothie. I've never been much a fan of salt. However, once I stopped eating processed foods I started cooking with salt. It's not that I never liked salt before (which I thought was the case), it's the fact that processed foods are so saturated with salts I never wanted to eat these foods. When I started cooking, and being able to control the sodium content I realized I really do like salty foods, even for breakfast. My choice of salts usually stem from nuts, whether it be nut-butters or the actual nuts themselves, that's my weapon of choice when it comes to salt. Salted pistachios? Oh, probably my favourite, along with salted cashews that is! This smoothie was fantastic because it was utterly creamy due to the yoghurt, it was sweet from the banana, and a slight touch of salt from the pistachios, truly a wonderful drink to start off the day!

Ingredients

1/3 cup pistachios
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup plain Greek yoghurt
1/2 cup water
1 large frozen banana

Directions:

Throw everything into your blender, and mix until you've reached your desired consistency.

Nutella Inspired Banana Soft-Serve

That was a recipe using my beloved blender. Now here's my last summer recipe that I didn't post for you guys using my food processor. Ice cream is one thing that you see absolutely everywhere in Korea. I've tried a bit... but honestly, I don't know what these people are eating, it is not my beloved ice cream that I go banana's for back home. Their "frozen yoghurt" (I've tried it from a few different places), is the weirdest consistency, and "vanilla" tastes' more like chewing on mint-drenched alcohol rather than vanilla. To say the least, if I lived in Korea for the rest of my life, I don't think that the "ice cream" here would be a bad habit of mine like it is at home... that is unless I had a food processor.

Oh food processor how I miss thee, and thy ability to make ice cream out of bananas tastes' so real and creamy! I know that when I come home a nice banana soft-serve is going to be one of the things on my immediate list to make, without a doubt.

This is a recipe for a soft-serve I made while craving some Nutella, and thankfully for my cravings I had hazelnuts on hand. While it may not of had the rich Nutella-like flavour you get from the tub, it had all of it's counterparts in an "ice-cream" form, I certainly wasn't going to complain.

Ingredients:

2 large frozen bananas
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1 tsp cacao nibs

Directions:

In the bowl of your food processor, mix together your bananas and soy milk until you get a creamy consistency. Add your coacoa powder, vanilla extract, cacao nibs, and hazelnuts and blender until smooth. Top with additional cacao nibs and hazelnuts, enjoy.

What is one kitchen appliance that you depend on on a regular basis... that you really miss while not being at home?

Oats, oats, oats!

2011-10-13T23:25:00.000-07:00

*Note: I have edited and edited this post, I'm not sure why the formatting is wrong, sorry :(

Quinoa has been a "grain" that I have been using for a couple of years now. I have used it in cookies, scones, breakfasts’, dinners, and I’ve used them ground as a flour. Up until this summer I had only heard of/seen quinoa used as it’s circular-self or ground up as a flour. However, as I was perusing blogs this summer, I came across a truffle recipe that instead of using instant oats used quinoa flakes. This left me intrigued as I’d never seen this being used before.

I’d looked in my local grocer’s store a couple times when I went, not surprised that I didn’t find it. However as my mom and I were at our local farmer’s market this summer, I used to always go to this one vendor because they sold organic items, these items didn’t only include fruits and vegetables, there were wide varieties of spices, dried fruits, nuts, varieties of oats and flours. As I was perusing I came across bags of quinoa flakes, to my delight I quickly grabbed a bag.

All summer those flakes sat in my cupboard. Every time I made oats I vowed to myself that I would make them with quinoa next time, however, I love oats, and I had the thought of, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” in my head. It wasn't until I was packing away my supplies from Montreal to head to Korea that I figured I would bring the quinoa flakes with me so that I would have some easy food to eat in case I was having trouble finding veg food in Korea. Little did I know that Jordan was an oat hoarder /cough.

The first few weeks I was here, I was keeping breakfast simple with a quick peanut butter protein shake with a banana on the side (no blender here, makes for very boring “smoothies”). Seeing as I wasn’t making my meals at first, and eating far too much rice, I didn’t want my breakfasts’ to be heavy either with oats, so I kept them to simple protein drinks. However, I’ve been making my meals lately, and a lot more delicious salads, since it’s actually rather difficult to find salads in Korea, I’ve been making those quite often.

For breakfasts’ I’ve been making varied types of oats. When I first started using the quinoa flakes as oats I was well… confused. To be honest, I made Jordan a bowl of quinoa flakes first before I made one for myself. When he ate them his response was, “Sam, you make your oats different than me”. I was really confused by that statement to be honest, because I’ve made him oats numerous times before, and had made him quite a few bowls since being in Korea. “Your oats have like… melted together”. It wasn’t until the next morning when I made a bowl for myself that I understood what he meant.

The first bite I took, I almost thought I was eating this grainy who-knows-what. I mean, the bowl was still delicious because it had flavours that I absolutely adore but the texture was just strange. However, the more and more I’ve been eating it, I actually really like it. I’ve been eating it with simply just quinoa flakes, but mixed with half quick oats is super delicious as well. When this bag of flakes is not, I’m not sure if I would be so quick to jump and buy some more of these flakes, but as an oat substitute for a while they certainly are delicious.

Seeing as I’ve been making these quinoa bowls for breakfast the past week and a bit I have made many varieties, today however, I am going to be showing you two that I really enjoyed.

Fall Inspired Apple Cinnamon Raisin Quinoa Bowl

Ingredients:

1 large apple, cubed, skin on
1/4 cup quinoa flakes
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 heaping tsps cinnamon
Handful of raisins

Directions:

In a medium pot over medium heat add your quinoa flakes, apple (leave a bit to top your oats with), soy milk, water, salt and cinnamon. Once it’s come to a boil mix and cook to desired consistency. Top with remaining apple pieces, raisins and additional cinnamon, yum!

Bowl of Monkey Oats

Ingredients:

1 banana
1/3 cup quinoa flakes
1/3 cup soy milk
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Handful of chopped walnuts
1 heaping tbsp peanut butter
Dash of salt

Directions:

In a medium pot over medium heat add your quinoa flakes, soy milk, water, cinnamon and salt. . Once it’s come to a boil throw in your banana (chunks) and mix until you have a nice thick consistency or until you reach your desired consistency. Top with walnuts, few slices of banana, peanut butter and additional cinnamon.

...

Here is the same version, however, sans peanut butter with maple syrup instead!

Banana Cinnamon Walnut Oats

These may not be your typical oat bowls, I mean everything is the same as I’d normally make my oats other than the actual type of oat itself, but I know that if I was stranded in a remote island with my fixings and quinoa flakes I know I would be okay.

I mean sure, they may not be your regular bowl of oats...

Chocolate Amaretto Cherry Overnight Oats

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup vanilla fortified soy milk
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp cocoa nibs
14 cherries, frozen
1 banana, mashed
Amaretto agave nectar, to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Allow to sit in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

heck you might not even get the same consistency in a smoothie...

Basil Lime Mango Smoothie

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:

3/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup mango + more for garnish
1 banana
1/2 lime freshly squeezed
3 tbsp oats
Handful fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp chia seed

Directions:

To be made the night before you plan on eating it, or at least 4 hours in advance.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly and place in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, pour ingredients into blender and process until smooth.

if you were using quinoa flakes instead of quick oats, however, in time, I’m sure I could learn to love everything about them just as much as I love quick oats.

... can you tell I still had some left-over summer recipes to share with you all? ;)

Have you tried quinoa flakes before?

If so what did you use them in/what did you think of them?

Thanksgiving dinner in Korea

2011-10-12T23:58:00.000-07:00

As you all know, as I mentioned yesterday I am still in Korea. I also mentioned that, being in Korea meant that we were to have Thanksgiving in a little bit of a not-so traditional way.

First off, prepping a Thanksgiving dinner without an oven makes for a bit of a challenge. Let’s talk about what was on our menu:

· Kabocha squash juk

· Chicken

· Stuffing

· Pumpkin & sesame bread

The bread we purchased from a local bakery called Paris Baguette. It was alright, at best. This is the first store-bought bread I’ve eaten in almost two years. What did it make me realize? I’m a heck of a cook/baker. This bread was alright, but it was nothing to ride home about, and I certainly like my bread a lot more. But for 2000 won (a little less than two dollars Canadian), it would do, seeing as no oven, no ingredients, blah, blah, blah it makes it a little ~~difficult~~, impossible to make bread.

The chicken, now that wasn’t for me of course, but as Jordan said, Thanksgiving just isn’t Thanksgiving without any turkey, or meat for that matter. I agree… regardless of my views on eating the turkey. Nonetheless we had no oven to cook the chicken in, (we couldn’t find turkey), so he looked up a way to cook a chicken without using an oven. To our surprise, and his delight he was still able to get his chicken! It turns out you can make chicken in a rice cooker! Who knew? I’ve made oatmeal, stir-fries, other random little things in a rice cooker, but a chicken? Wow.

We went and got his chicken. Bought spices. He bought sausage to stuff to stuff the chicken with. Marinated it in soy sauce. Can you say this was an Asian chicken or what? How did the chicken turn out? He ate it like a beast. I swear if I hadn’t reminded him we were having our Thanksgiving “dinner” the next day I think he would of eaten the whole thing right then and there while cutting it. It looked really moist, which is pretty cool. It’s nice to know that even when you don't have your everyday kitchen appliances you can still manage to get by without them.

Now stuffing… I’m not sure why either of us couldn’t remember how to make stuffing, or even better, what goes in stuffing but we couldn't. Yes, I’m aware of the tool called the internet, however, using unprotected internet makes loading pages a little difficult. We tried and failed.

We threw together ideas of how our families make stuffing. Truthfully I couldn’t really remember because it’s been years since I’ve eaten stuffing. I have never been a fan of stuffing. It’s either too dry, too bready, too soggy, too bluh, I just never liked stuffing. When I heard about the things that his family put in their stuffing, then also learnt their stuffing wasn’t made in the turkey I was flabbergasted. In the end, Jordan ended up tossing some oil in the pan, added cubed pumpkin & sesame bread, dried cranberries, raisins, apple cubes, and cinnamon. It certainly was not traditional stuffing, nor was it, er stuffing at all, but he enjoyed it with his chicken and juk so it was all good.

Now the juk. I cannot remember if I mentioned or not, my plan was to attempt to make a traditional Korean soup called juk. From Wikipedia:

“ In Korea, the dish goes by the name juk 죽 ([tɕuk]) derived from the Chinese language in which juk [jook] means the same thing. There are more than forty varieties of juk mentioned in old documents.^[5] Depending on the ingredients and consistency, juk can be considered as a food for recuperation (much like chicken soup in modern American culture), a delicacy, or food during famine and war.^[5]

The most general form of juk is simply called heen juk (흰죽, white juk), which is made from plain white rice. Other varieties include different ingredients, such as milk, vegetables, seafood, nuts and other grains. Being largely unflavored, it is served with a number of more flavorful side dishes, such as jeotgal, various types of kimchi, pickled cuttlefish, spicy octopus, and other side dishes.

Notable varieties include jatjuk made from finely-ground pine nuts, jeonbokjuk made with abalones, yulmujuk made from Job's tears, and patjuk made from red beans.

Juk is considered the ideal choice of food for babies,^[6] the ill or elderly as it is easily eaten and digested. It is sold commercially by many chain stores in South Korea, and is a common takeout dish.^[7]”

Since being in Korea, juk and bibimbap have been my favourite meals by far. The first one I tried was a sweet pumpkin version, it was incredibly delicious. Jordan was a sweetheart and ordered a veg version as well so I could try his, and he ordered red bean, which was also super delicious. I also tried a vegetable one which was incredibly filling and super tasty.

I knew when I first tried juk that I wanted to attempt to make it myself. After reading a few different versions, I knew that this would be a perfect thing to make for our Thanksgiving, since it could be done on the element, didn’t take too much time (… shouldn’t of taken too much time at least), was orange, and resembled Thanksgiving.

Let’s begin our story with this. Remember how I mentioned when I first arrived and looked in Jordan’s kitchen and was greeted with four large 1 kg tubs of oats, and about 7 1l milks? Well, I also forgot to mention that as for kitchen tools, there was a pot, small skillet, wooden spatula, two sets of chop sticks, two sets of spoons, and two bowls (think cat bowls, size and material). The second week I was going through blogger withdrawal so I went and bought some plates, bowls and a pot. Thank heavens, because… if I hadn’t the soup certainly wouldn’t of happened, or it would of taken forever to make.

First off the pot I bought was far too small, so I also had to use his small pot. This was troublesome to say the least but it worked out. We let the squash boil (since we couldn’t cook the squash in the oven). Using a chop stick to test it’s readiness we let them sit to cool down. Scraped out their insides and let them sit in the fridge overnight.

The next morning I started the soup. The amount of water I put was… to the say the least far too much. We only have the 1/4 cup measuring cup I brought, and I think I miscalculated. After a lot of, temper tantrums from my side he suggested dumping some water. We did so. We let the water boil for a lot longer than suggested but we let the water reduce.

I was still freaking at this point, because silly me, I didn’t think to buy a potato masher. We had no food processor or blender, and I was just really nervous that this soup wasn’t going to turn out. Thankfully Jordan is a very patient, calm and rational being. He moved me aside and said the soup would turn out. After a bit of mashing with the aforementioned wooden spatula, and the water reduction we got our soup!

We added in the glutinous rice (we cheated and bought them). Topped with pumpkin seeds and walnuts. At first I was a little, ehhh, the broth was still a little thin. But as I ate more, I really enjoyed it. However, the second bowl I went for, about ten minutes later had really thickened up and it tasted like the original juk I had tried!

In the end it turned out great. It was a nice lunch. It was spent with great company. We made our best efforts to make it as Thanksgiving-ey as possible away from home, and it worked out. There might have been ~~a little bit~~, a lot of stress from my part, but, we, okay, okay, I got over it, and it was really great!

I hope you all enjoyed your meal as well, and that it was spent with lots of food, family, friends, love, everything!

Hobakjuk - Sweet Squash Juk

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:

2 medium sized kombucha squash (the only ones available to us)
Water
Salt
1/4 cup sugar
Sweet rice flour (unless you want to cheat like we did, and just buy the ready made glutinous rice cakes)

Directions:

Squash -

Wash the exterior of the squashes in cold water. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and stringy stuff with a spoon.

Place the butternut squash in a large pot. Pour 3 cups of water over them and bring to a boil over medium high heat for 30 minutes, until the contents become soft.

Turn off the heat and let it cool down. When it’s cooled down, scrape the cooked insides out with a spoon.

Place 3 cups of the cooked squash insides into a large pot and add 4 or 5 cups of water and boil

Rice Cake Balls:

Boil some water.

Make rice cake dough by mixing 2 cups of sweet rice flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and 3/4 cup of hot water. Mix it up with a wooden spoon at first, and then knead it for a few minutes with your hand after it cools down.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set it aside for about 20-30 minutes.

Put about 3 tbsp of sweet rice flour into a large bowl (this will prevent the rice cake balls from sticking together).

Take a bit of dough and roll a rice cake ball (the size should be a little larger than soy bean). Put it into the bowl with the sweet rice flour.riceballs

*Tip: to prevent the dough from getting dried out, always wrap the dough in plastic wrap while you are making the rice cake balls

Porridge -

When the mixture of squash and water starts boiling, add the rice cake balls to the pot. Stir it with a wooden spoon and cook it for a few more minutes.

*Tip: when it’s cooked, all the rice cake balls will be floating on the surface of the porridge.

Turn off the heat and add 1 tsp salt and 1/4 cup of sugar and stir it for a few seconds before serving.

How did you spend your Thanksgiving?

What did you eat?

What did you do?

Thanksgiving breakfast in Korea

2011-10-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

Seeing as I am still in Korea, I was unable to be home for Thanksgiving. By the way happy-belated Thanksgiving to all you other fellow Canadians out there! Hope you all had a wonderful day/long weekend spent with your friends and loved ones. Seeing as I wasn’t in Canada, I still wanted to have some food to celebrate with. Truthfully, out of all the holidays we celebrate, I think Thanksgiving is my favourite one. The reason I say this is because, my family doesn’t have many traditions that we keep, every year we seem to lose more and more. We don’t go to church Christmas Eve, my mom hasn’t baked cookies in a few years for Christmas, we don’t spend our two weeks at Christmas with friends and family (going up North to visit our family), coming from parents who are separated also makes it a little harder to keep those childhood traditions we once had.

There are a lot of traditions that have been lost, but there are still a lot that I try to keep up with. Thanksgiving although Jordan and I were not with our families, we still made an effort to come up with a meal so that we wouldn’t be “itis-less”.

Last week we had planned to make our Thanksgiving meal on Tuesday. Silly me, and as I looked up the date for this year’s Thanksgiving, I accidentally looked up last years. Logically I should have realized Thanksgiving never falls on a Tuesday, unfortunately though I didn’t pick up on it until Sunday. That’s okay though. Jordan and I did our groceries for our Thanksgiving lunch (since he works in the afternoons until late), and prepped our big guys Monday night. I am not going to go into much detail yet what we had, because I want to share with you guys the oatmeal I made myself Monday morning for Thanksgiving.

As Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the weather has gotten cooler, you can feel that winter is coming, gasp. However, with winter comes oatmeal, and that is something I look very forward to. I love oatmeal and I love how versatile, cheap, filling, healthy, to name just a few of the reasons why I love a good bowl of oats.

Since I knew we weren’t going to be celebrating Thanksgiving on Monday, I woke up and made myself a hearty-holiday packed bowl of oats. It was super fantastic. Other than my creamsicle oats, I have never used an orange in my oats. For this bowl I decided to throw one in and hot dang, this bowl was certainly magnificent. I definitely enjoyed this bowl and will surely be making it again through out the cold months to come!

Thanksgiving Inspired Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

Ingredients:

1 oranged, cubed
1/4 cup quinoa flakes
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup water
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
Dash of salt
Handful of dried cranberries
Handful of pumpkin seeds

Directions:

In a medium pot, over medium heat add your quinoa flakes, milk, water, salt and cinnamon. As your oats start to cook throw in your orange (keeping some to garnish your finished bowl with). Once cooked, top with remaining orange pieces, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and sprinkle a little more cinnamon on top!

What are some traditions your family upholds around the holidays?