Tag Archives: Toast

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 10: Reading Material

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Another great spin class yesterday morning. The new RPM release just came out. New songs and new sequences. For the 100 pushup challenge afterwards, we did 4 sets of 10 regular push ups, 2 sets of 10 hand release push ups and finished with 2 sets of 20 regular push ups. Getting stronger!

For breakfast I had a toasted peice of buckwheat millet quick bread with peanut butter, banana and raspberries with a green energy smoothie on the side.

Once lunch rolled around, I had hoped to make sushi with some left over millet and roasted veggies

Nope.

Plan B was a stirfry with broccoli and snap peas. I simply slid the sushi mess into the skillet, added some Braggs aminos and sesame oil and called it lunch.

I had work all afternoon and had the usual tupperware salad beast and met a friend afterwards for yoga, a movie and a sleep over.

I’d like to think that I know some things about following a healthy, balanced, and delicious vegan diet. But I can certainly find myself stuck caught in a rut and eating the same thing meal after meal for the sake of ease. Here is a list of some of the blogs that have offered a  good dose of recipe inspiration for the cleanse (and the future!)

Happy reading!

Crazy Sexy Month

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I mentioned that this next month will be straight work work work. But I’m adamant about squeezing in some daily play. I have the tendency to hermit when things get busy but sometimes I like to remind myself that I’m twenty years old and being responsible is nice and all but there’s more to life than to-do lists and alarm clocks.

It was my lovely Natradee friends birthday on Wednesday and we went to Double Zero Pizza for dinner.

The table ordered a bunch of their pizzas and shared. I’ve gotten into the habit of going out and enjoying a glass of wine on Wednesdays. Completely by accident but it’s a great way to celebrate the week being half over!

Eats from the week

Standard yogurt mess. So much delicious fruit. Can’t stop. Won’t stop.

Always.

Peanut butter and banana or Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread with cherries. I am going to turn into a cherry.

Omelette stuffed with butternut squash, carmelized onion hummus, and brie. So out of season but so, so good.

The other night I was desperate for ice cream but we didn’t have any in the house. So I made a protein shake and put sprinkles in it.

Not the same thing, I realize.

The other night I was out with my friend Torrie, and while catching up, we decided to embark upon The Crazy, Sexy Diet (while chowing on nachos and beer, no less)

My intentions are pure. It has nothing to do with losing weight. I simply want to clean up my meals and get back to more ‘real food’, cut back on meat (the CSD is vegan) and feel sparkly-er (totally a word). Summer comes with fun beverages and food, which I am happy to enjoy, but whether I like it or not, it has a huge effect on my energy levels and does not do much for my wimpy stomach. I mentioned it to my parents and they hilariously jumped on board, which will make things much easier and more fun. More to come! Over and out.

I’m starting to notice a pattern here

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Another weekend bites the dust.

On Friday I went to a orthodontist appointment to pick up my stylin’ new retainer. Fact: I wore braces for seven years, plus two years of special retainers and head gears. Every time someone tells me I have a nice smile I reply with a snarky “I had better have a nice smile after all the years of torture I went through” It’s very unbecoming of me but I can’t help myself.

I went to work at Yoga Passage for the afternoon. It was my first solo shift and just when I started to get a little bit anxious, I heard an OM from the studio behind me and a sweet yogi gave me a Vegan, Gluten-Free cookie and tea. I could get used to this.

Typical Friday night.

On Saturday I was up early, double fisted a smoothie and tea and went to the Ashtanga 2 class before working.

I had a birthday to go to later that night so I did my hair, put on a uncomfertable outfit and even worse shoes and then proceeded to fall asleep (fully dressed) on top of a pile of laundry. I guess the week caught up with me. I felt awful when I woke up to my friends text that read “Heyy how far are u“

This morning I had breakfast with my friend Natradee, we enjoyed a spread of yogurt with fruit and granola, peanut butter on toast and a boiled egg. It felt like a hotel breakfast.

Afterwards we went to Body Combat, where the instructor cruelly added plyometric lunges and donkey kicks to the mix. Grunting. Lots of grunting.

As much as I wanted to stay at home for the rest of the day and watch more Mad Men, I knew today was really my only chance to make a significant dent in my research paper that is due on Thursday -silent sobs- so I packed my bags and set up camp at Higher Ground Cafe for some work time.

Feminism + Fuel.

More Fuel.

This is my life. Cookies, Wine, Exercise, Work. I’ll take it.

TGIM

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This weekend was so busy with Market Collective and Eat Real YYC, training for my new job, play time with friends and a couple of workouts, it was a relief to finally make it to Monday

Breakfast before Body Combat yesterday was Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast with peanut butter, banana and grapefruit.

Then I kicked some ass. After a 30 second shower, I made a big Green Smoothie and took it to the Yoga Passage to learn the ropes for my new job. I think I’m going to like this a lot. Another bonus of working at YP now is that I get to chat with a bunch of happy, bendy people in Calgary and get paid for it! What a gig.

This morning I woke up early, inhaled a breakfast ( greek yogurt, mango, banana, granola, peanut butter ) and walked to the gym, lifted heavy things and walked back.

Quick lunch before work was a cucumber, mango and feta salad with Spolumbo’s spicy chicken sausage and lime juice.

I had better get to bed. There is a 9:30 Vinyasa class (at my new place of work – kgdkjgdh!!!!) tomorrow morning with my name on it!

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!!!!

Breakfast Nostalgia + Healthier Spinach Artichoke Dip

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I do this thing where I find a breakfast concoction that I love and eat it daily –sometimes twice a day if it’s a breakfast-for-dinner situation– for weeks, even months on end until one day, the thought of it makes me want to hurl. I move on to a new breakfast obsession and make sure to avoid my previous flame like the plague. Then, one day, I remember my old favourite breakfast and invite it back into my rotation.

I ate this breakfast daily at a HORRIBLE time in my life that I would never want to repeat. Remember that one fateful month that I decided to take a semester’s worth of Chemistry in four weeks? It was positively miserable. But here’s what fueled me through it.

Toast, banana, peanut butter, raspberry jam, chocolate chips, granola, coconut

I’m currently in the last couple of weeks of school, so basically, this is my life right now…

I’m not complaining, though. I love all of my classes. I’m writing a research paper on blogging communities and studying the Confucian Analects. Life is good.

Sad but true: I had a dream about spinach artichoke dip on the train ride home the other night. Sad but true: If I am in a moving vehicle, there’s a very good chance that I am asleep.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Serves me. 

  • 3 c. fresh spinach
  • 1/2 c. canned artichokes (rinse well), chopped
  • 1/4 c. carmelized onions, chopped
  • 1/3 c. cottage cheese
  • 1 laughing cow wedge
  • 2 tbsp. vegetable broth
  • 2 tbsp. parmesan cheese
  • black pepper to taste

In a small sauce pan, heat the vegetable broth with the spinach until it is just wilted. Add onions and artichokes, heat through. Stir in cottage cheese, laughing cow wedge and pepper until everything is well combined. Sprinkle with parmesan and broil on high for five minutes

I ate it all. Straight from the oven. Didn’t come up for air once. The entire inside of my mouth is scalded. So… there’s that.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

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Today I was violently thrust into my normal routine.

Toast + banana/ almond butter/ pumpkin butter/ granola

6 A.M. WAKE UP. 9:30 YOGA 11:30 – 6 WORK. GROCERIES. MAKE DINNER. EAT. BLOG. WHAM-BAM-ALAKAZAM. Trying not to let December insanity get to me, it’s my favorite time of year so I’m doing my best to savour all the sparkles and music and cookies and time with my favorite people.

Dinner was chicken enchiladas

I asked my mom to bake-off some chicken in tomato salsa while I was at work and when I got home I simply shredded it and mixed it with corn, wrapped it in whole grain tortillas, drowned in salsa verde and sprinkled with sharp cheddar. Baked at 375 for 20 minutes and broiled to the finish.

Family Get Togethers

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Even though weekend mornings offer more time to make an elaborate breakfast, I was super lazy these last couple of days and stuck with the basics

celery-carrot-apple-lime juice and toast with sunflowerseed butter and jam

Toast with peanut butter, honey and banana and fruit

I went to Body Combat this morning for some air punching and then met up with my coworker friend Shayna to do some groceries for our work’s Christmas party this Thursday that we are catering!

Not long after I got home, my cousins came over for a late lunch/ early dinner for my cousin Sam’s birthday

He killed it for Movember. *shudders*

This picture highlights how random and informal our family get togethers can be. Random fruit cake that my aunt bought for $25 from our mosque, with a dinner candle shoved into the middle, sliced with a cheese knife.

Well! Better get ready for the week, it’s going to be a busy one!

Put up your dukes

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After I signed off last night, my girl friend Torrie came over for some tea and talk.

We chatted until the wee hours of the night and passed out  while watching Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Never gets old.

Lazy Sunday breakfast of (brown rice) toast with almond butter, banana and honey

Mid-morning, I went to the gym for Body Combat. I love to punch! When I was little, my brother would make fun of me because I used to make my fists like this.

I felt so tough, but if ever the time came that I needed to punch someone in the face, my thumb would probably break.

When lunch time rolled around, I made a plate of baked sweet potato wedges. I tossed the wedges in olive oil, cayenne, salt and a little bit of honey and baked them at 375 for 4o minutes, flipping half way through. Once they were hot out of the oven they got a big squeeze of lime. Delicious!

Have a relaxing Sunday night, back to the grind tomorrow!

At Home Foam

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Hands up if you like pumpkin!

Hands up if you didn’t know that you like pumpkin until you started reading food blogs in the fall and became aware of this crazy community of people who stir pumpkin into anything and everything that they eat and secretly hold pumpkin appreciation parties where they dress like pumpkins and eat pumpkins and sing about pumpkins. Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin.

I ate a lot of pumpkin today.

This morning I had gym plans, the latest Les Mills releases for all of their programs have been released and my gym was offering ‘sample’ classes of each new release. I stayed for four out of six classes, and tried two that I never have before, Body Jam and Body Combat. Body Jam is essentially a dance class, they build on choreography throughout and by the end you are a pro dancing your way through an entire song. LOVED.

But my new obsession may just be Body Combat. Holy aggression release! It’s a mixed martial arts inspired class full of kicking and punching and screaming. Even though I punch like a girl I had a killer time and my shoulders are killing me! It hurts to type, so bye!

not quite.

Before I went to the gym, I had two slices of pumpernickel bread with maple-cinnamon pecan butter, pumpkin butter, granola and chocolate chips

and after I got home I tried my hand at making a pumpkin spice latte, it worked! Maybe now I can quit depleting my savings account in the name of delicious coffee beverages, all in the name of foamy foam!

A couple of times a week, I go to the Second Cup near by my work and ask for a small medium roast brew white with soy and one pump of pumpkin spice. With a side of raised eyebrows from employees and bystanders. I’m a bit of a coffee diva, but truth be told, it’s because Second Cup coffee isn’t that great! Tim Hortons coffee however, is hot brewed cocaine and unicorn tears. I love it black and bitter.

Anyways, Second Cup seems to charge an extra dollar for each additional word in an order, so even though I only get a coffee once or twice a week, it adds up and I’d much rather spend my money on pretty bowls (weird habit) or groupons that I’ll never end up using, or shoes. Mmm… Shoes…

Pumpkin Spice Cafe Au Lait

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c. strong brewed coffee
3/4 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/4 c. soy milk
1 tbsp. pumpkin spice syrup

DIRECTIONSIn a small sauce pan, heat the milks together. Once the milk is slightly scalded (small bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan) add as much syrup as you like and either transfer it carefully into a blender, or use an immersion blender to whip the milk until it becomes nice and frothy. Pour the milk into a mug over the hot coffee.

Pumpkn Spice Syrup

INGREDIENTS
3/4 c. maple syrup
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. pumpkin puree
2 sticks cinnamon
2 cloves
1/2 tsp. dried ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONSIn a small sauce pan, combine all ingredients and simmer on low for five minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and press the pumpkin through with the back of a spoon. Put the strained syrup back into a sauce pan and simmer for another five minutes until it thickens slightly.