Category Archives: Dinner

Hello Sunshine

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School is out. I officially handed in my final Spring semester assignment last Thursday, then dove face first into work, organization, and a loooong day of volunteering at this year’s Canada Day celebrations here in Calgary.

I have finally settles into my Summer break. There will be lots of working, playing with friends, yoga, running (I guess I like running again) eating, drinking and being merry. I’m off to Miami in exactly a month, so I’m ok with the fact that I am basically working every single day of July in some way shape or form.

This morning I worked at Yoga Passage but first, a hot breakfast. I have been on a smoothie kick due to the intense, muggy heat in Calgary, but this morning was a bit on the chilly side

-Rolled oats, cinnamon, almond milk, banana, blueberries, granola, peanut butter, chia seeds-

I had plans to run some stairs with my friend Natradee before hitting my favorite 6:10 hot class back at Yoga Passage, but time didn’t permit and I’m kind of glad because this class was nuts. My legs were shaking and I couldn’t imagine what would have happened had I run up and down several flights of stairs before hand.

After class we took our sweet time before heading home, enjoyed a coconut water with random emergency snacks from the bottoms of our bags

Weirdos.

I was feeling un inspired for dinner and was contemplating just digging into an entire watermelon, but my mom had made a turkey Shepard’s pie and apparently that was exactly what I was craving.

With half a cup of sriracha on top.

It’s good to be back! 

Sunday in chambray

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Hey, it’s Ina Garten

Right!?!? The hair is one thing but the chambray shirt just puts it over the top.

I decided to give cereal a second chance today. This time I mixed it into 2% greek yogurt and it stuck to my ribs for 6 hours. Through a Body Combat class and weights.

With heaps of berries (can’t get enough ! ) banana slices, cereal(s) and peanut butter Welcome to the breakfast rotation!

Like I said, I made it to the gym today, after a week of depending on walking and yoga for activity, it felt good to have a grunt-inducing workout for a change.

Showered and lunched on a salad beast of epic proportions.

Last night’s leftovers over romaine with lime juice and siracha

A few hours later I got hungry again and made a smoothie with frozen banana, almond milk and vanilla protein powder with hunks of Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread on the side.

I know I’ve mentioned that I hate all protein powders but I think I have found one that I actually enjoy. It makes everything taste like vanilla ice cream and the real kicker is that it has been right under my nose. As in, I’ve been selling it to people at work for the past two years. This is the brand, it’s about as good as it gets ingredient-wise for whey protein.

After snacking I walked to the grocery store. I have a catering gig on Tuesday and needed to pick up some supplies.

Back at home there were turkey burgers on the grill! I quickly cut up some sweet potatoes and tore up a bunch of kale, coated both in the same coconut oil, granulated garlic, salt and herb mixture and threw them into the oven. 30 minutes for the sweet potatoes, 10 for the kale chips.

I piled my cobs bun high with olive oil mayo, siracha (addicted), lettuce, banana peppers, cheddar, sauerkraut and one of the burgers.

Any plans for Victoria Day, fellow Canadians??

The Bucket List

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Last Saturday I finished at work but it was just to gorgeous outside to simply come home and play on Pinterest all night long. After exchanging a few texts with my friend Torrie, I ended up sitting on the patio at The Living Room with a big glass of wine. Love it when that happens.

We shared a couple of oysters. This was my first time trying oysters and they were essentially what I was expecting. Briney, slimy and clean. Checked off my unwritten bucket list

It’s that wonderful time of the year that my cravings switch and healthy eating becomes effortless because all I want is simply prepared, fresh foods. Also ice cream and sangria but I digress.

I want green monsters for every meal. I have my recipe perfected:

Big scoop (~2 tbsp) each of: vanilla protein powder, peanut flour, rolled oats. Little scoop (~1 tbsp) each of chia seeds and cocoa powder. 1 frozen, chopped banana, 1 c. almond milk, ~2 packed cups of spinach/ kale.

A big bowl of cereal had been calling to me for the last few days so this morning I slept in an threw together a bowl with a couple different kinds of cereal, flax, peanut butter, banana slices and beautiful berries with almond milk.

Cereal always makes me really full and then really hungry a few hours later. Lesson learned. Cereal = snack, not meal.

My mom and I tag teamed dinner tonight.

She charred grilled veggies and I made shrimp and potatoes. I steamed the baby potatoes for about 20 minutes and tossed them while they were still hot with lemon juice, pesto and goats cheese.

The shrimp was sautéed in butter with corn, garlic, and Cajun seasoning. Spicy and smokey, this dinner was extremely multi-cultural now that I think about it.

Do you have a bucket list?

I am constantly updating a bucket list in my head. Items on my list generally revolve around travel, education and food. i.e. go gallivanting across Europe for a non-specific amount of time, take Yoga teacher training at The Yoga Passage and learn how to poach an egg.

In the Fog

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Played this song on repeat in my brain all the live long day

Calgary has been swallowed whole by a blanket of fog. I took a walk this morning expecting an axe murderer to emerge from the grey.

Foggy Steamy bowl of oatmeal for fast-breaking

Oats, almond milk, banana, craisins, chia seeds, cinnamon, cottage cheese

+ Peanut butter, pumpkin butter and granola.

Meandered (through the FOG!) to the gym midmorning and came home to Lunch which was an open-faced turkey sandwich – whole grain toast, hummus, artichoke Asiago spread, tomato, spinach, turkey (found a brand with an impressive ingredient list) and a sprinkle of parmesan, vegetable and tomato soup and mango for dessert

I went to karma cleaning later in the afternoon and stuck around for a class. The usual teacher was away and the teacher subbing taught the fist EVER class I took at the Yoga Passage. Happy flashbacks.

Dinner

I made white-bean and kale soup — with chickpeas instead of white beans because that was all I had. I also threw in the rind from a wedge of parmesan cheese like they do on the Food Network #pro.

and brown butter quick bread, I stirred in chunks of sharp cheddar cheese before baking.

Look at that HUNKA CHEESE Now I’m snuggling up with a glass of wine and watching episode after episode of LOST with my girlfriend Torrie

Morning Dreams

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I had twelve. TWELVE. Glorious hours of sleep last night. My alarm went off at 6:45 this morning and I had exciting plans to go to Body Combat, but instead I turned my phone off, threw it into my pile of laundry (still not gone yet) and went back to sleep for three more hours of weird, morning dreams.

Brunched on a cinnamon raising bagel with whipped cream cheese and raspberry jam, with a side of LOST.

Dinner was a salad with romaine, spinach, mango, hearts of palm, feta, tempeh, tahini, balsamic vinegar, and siracha.

Head -> Pillow.

Backwards Monday

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Dear Self,

Your gym pants aren’t uncomfortable because you ate too much gelato and drank too much wine in Hawaii. They’re uncomfortable because…

You’re doing it wrong.

Love, Self.

Ran to and from the gym with a leg workout in the middle this morning! I had to pull up my pants after each set of squats and didn’t realized my pants were backwards until I was about to hop into the shower. How. Embarrassing.

Breakfast

Green monster: Almond milk, coffee, frozen banana, spinach, cocoa powder, ice + Cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter

Lunch was lettuce wraps stuffed with tuna [+olive oil mayo, dijon, chili flakes, garlic powder and pepper]

Side of cottage cheese and an ornje.

Back to work today! I work in a great part of town and you can tell it’s getting warm and sunny outside when all the customers become extra friendly from the Vitamin D! Looking forward to my third summer on the job : )

For dinner, I made an omelet with goats cheese and salsa verde, side of Portuguese tomato rice and simple wilted greens

Juggling watching LOST on Netflix, putting together a Hawaii album, and folding laundry. Multitasking at its finest. G’night!

Down time

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We are now in the precious lull between Winter semester exams and the beginning of Spring time courses. This week will be nothing but fun including going back to work. You know you love your job when you find yourself sitting on the beach in Maui, looking into the ocean and declare, “I MISS WORK!”

Hot (Skype) date with Preeya Saturday night, I get to see her in real life this August!

Sunday

English muffin + Peanut butter/ honey + Mango –pales in comparison to the ones freshly picked from the tree in our frontyard in Hawaii

I went to Body Combat after breakfast, I missed it last week and kick/punch/screamed my face off. My mom and I went grocery shopping immediately after. We are polar opposites when it comes to grocery shopping. She is fast and efficient and I like to browse, read and find new things.

Midway through putting the groceries away (worst. task. ever.) I could not ignore my stomach or plummeting blood sugar any longer.

Romaine, Carrots, Tempeh, Tahini, Siracha, Feta + Half a cinnamon raisin bagel with whipped cream cheese. Post-grocery trip meals are the best

Out of excuses to justify my ignoring the tornado in my bedroom and mounds of dirty laundry, I dedicated this afternoon to regaining some sort of order in these areas. Sad times, happy music.

Dinner was steamed kale with dark amber honey and truffle oil, potato salad and tandoori chicken.

Toodle-oo!

Easter Weekend

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Hello! Long weekends are so pleasant, especially when there isn’t much to do in terms of school work. I have a 500 word paper and one last exam before I leave for Hawaii on Thursday, but nothing that I’m stressing over.

Food things:

Sprouted wheat toast with tahini, dates and honey before Ashtanga on Friday

Spolumbos chicken sausage + leaves — made delicious with this dressing.

Saturday began with overnight oats with chia seeds, vanilla, raspberries, banana, peanut butter and granola. After breakfast I went to my first spin class in months and my butt is killing me. Thought you should know.

The rest of my Saturday was spent doing some last-minute shopping for Hawaii, a little bit of school work and this:

Spur of the moment decision to lose six inches! So much for my fixes for post-gym greasy hair.

I’m trying to clean out my fridge before leaving for Hawaii. It is packed with vegetables, I have a plethora of fruit and some dairy products that need using up.

Saturday Dinner

*please note that these measurements are approximations because I don’t normally measure when I am cooking.

  • 1 c. brussels sprouts
  • 1/3 c. vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp butter (coconut oil/ olive oil would work too)
  • 2 tbsp. dried cranberries
  • 1/4 c. salted pistachios
  • pinch of dried thyme
  • pinch of garlic powder
  • 1/2 tbsp honey

Add brussels sprouts and vegetable broth into a small sauce pan. Cover with a lid and simmer on medium heat until sprouts are tender and liquid has evaporated. Add butter, honey, garlic and herbs. Toss and allow sprouts to brown slightly. Mix in dried cranberries and pistachios. Serve and devour!

Breakfast this morning was Crepes (this recipe, subbing spelt flour for all-purpose) with home-made lemon curd, almond slivers and raspberries.

Back to the grind tomorrow. Only four more days!!!!

Sweaty, Sexy Hair

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During the week I go to the gym on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. That means that I spend the entire day sporting a sweaty head of hair (luckily my sweat isn’t stinky, I’ve asked strangers to smell me so I know.) I shower after the gym, but only wash my hair twice a week at most.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are also my work days, so I do make the effort to make myself some what presentable. I wear nice clothes and do my make up  put on chapstick, but a head of frizzy, greasy hair is just not a good look.

Until now!

I’ve been rotating a few different hairstyles that trick people into thinking I’m stylish but really, I’m just a sweaty mess!

Side swept + Cowlick.

Bonus points if you throw in a braid because they’re freaking fancy and make people think you put in a tonne of effort!

High-fashion bun-on-top-of-head

The dirtier your hair is, the better the bun. It makes you look very put together when in reality, you’re just a giant grease ball.

Front Braid

Avoid the sweaty bangs plastered to your forehead look with a simple front braid.

Inverted Ponytail

Take a normal sweaty ponytail to the next level with an inverted ponytail. It’s kind of like flipping over a dirty couch cusion.

And now, DINNER

Broiled Salmon on top of carmelized onion and roasted cauliflower puree with balsamic reduction.

I tried to be fancy with the balsamic reduction but ended up making a mess of my plate. It tasted good anyways.

Final notes:

  • My brother has a bad habit of leaving parishable food out overnight. Two days ago in the morning, I found a half eaten can of sardenes sitting on the kitchen counter so I put it in his shoe. He found it today.
  • Last night, I decided to skip Tuesday night hot yoga in favour of making a good dent in my research paper. Then I proceeded to read blogs for four hours and eat pizza. Then I really felt like doing some yoga, made my way into a bind and my pizza almost came up. That, my friends, is how yoga keeps you thin!
  • The paper shredder at work made me cry today.

Counting Down

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This week has gone by so quickly I don’t know what to do with myself. Just that much closer to the weekend and that much closer to the end of this semester and THAT much closer to my trip to Hawaii! Twenty days and counting!

The other day, I made the rookie mistake of going to the grocery store absolutely famished. I managed to walk out with a block of tofu and a can of organic artichoke hearts. I haven’t had tofu in a very long time, I backed off of it substantially following my kinda-sorta-vegitarian-but-not-really phase. But I really do enjoy it! Particularly raw/plain and dipped in Dijon mustard. What? As for the artichoke hearts, they might be my favorite vegetable but I never have them in my kitchen! I made a big salad with both of my impulse ingredients for dinner last night:

Spinach, tomato, tofu (cooked in balsamic vinegar), artichoke hearts, feta and hummus.

My breakfast involved two creations from Oh She Glows: raw buckwheat porridge with baked apples (slice, toss with maple syrup, cinnamon and coconut oil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes) and ABU (almond butter sauce) plus a sprinkling of granola.

After a long and tiring day of class, lots of reading, karma cleaning and a sweaty Ishta class at The Yoga Passage, I was so happy to be home and burry my face into a big bowl of carb-oh-hydrates!

Annie’s Mac n Cheese, made with cottage cheese instead of milk, mixed with broccoli, roasted tomatos and peas.

Now that my belly has been sufficiently stuffed, I have a presentation on Feminism to finish up