Weekend swag and goals!

Hello all!!

        Hope you have had a great week so far! I'm smokin' busy this time of year as this is when we experience our big orders at work. Days are flying by which is nice:)

But I wanted to share with you the experience and swag I received at The Wellness Show on Sunday. I was quite impressed by the show! Lots of great vendors and even better, lots of samples! I didn't take any photos. It was super busy and I was focused...on sampling lol!

Some of my faves were :

Larabar, Choices Market, Vega, Mumm's sprouting Seeds, Manitoba Harvest, Denman Island Chocolate, Salba Seed, and Hemp Bliss. 

Some interesting products/companies were: 

Grounding technology, naturopathic spa company, vibrating fitness equipment, and chia seed oil

Do you like attending big tradeshows with a bunch of vendors under one roof? I love seeing the public exposed to plant-based foods and natural products that they would not likely buy on their own. Products that can really help people become healthier!!

So what did I pick up? sprouting seeds and chocolate:)

 I learned from the mumm's representative that I was soaking my broccoli sprouts for too long and that's why I wasn't getting the full growth out of them. 4 hours max for those little guys!! Want some more info on broccoli sprouts and sprouting in general? Check out an older post here. I LOVE sprouts.

Super easy, super cheap, super nutritious. What more could you ask for?

These are lentil sprouts that I'm "greening" on my window sill. When I say "greening" I mean exposing the sprouts to the sun which will help these little guys develop chlorophyll. It just means more nutrition for me:) Yipee!

Now it's chocolate time...

Denman Island Chocolate is amazing stuff. I've tried their chocolate before and really love it. Denman Island is one of the Gulf Islands located between the mainland and Vancouver Island. So, it's pretty local!! 

At the show we tried their raspberry and rosemary varieties. I thought the rosemary and chocolate combo  wasn't too bad. I think it's a flavor that would actually grow on me the more I tried it. The raspberry was awesome. We ended up buying a raspberry and a mint bar. I simply can't pass up a mint chocolate bar it is my weakness favorite.

What's the strangest chocolate flavor you have tried?

Some of the swag from the show!

Salba Seed, Sunbutter Sunflower seed butter, organic shampoo and conditioner. Products like the Old Dutch potato chips, chicken stock, and the Et Tu Caesar pack aren't really health foods in my books. Yet you can't be choosy with sway bags unfortunately!

All in all, I had a great time at the show.

I was able to sample some new products too which is always a great!

I feel it's really important for me to keep up on what's new and exciting in the field of health and wellness.

I will soon enough be emerged in the field and want to be able to pass along the info to my future patients:)

Goal for this week

I am setting mini-challenges for myself and this week's challenge is to complete one week of bodyrock.tv workouts and exercise challenges! I already goofed up and started on an exercise challenge day when it should have been a full workout day. Oops. Today was the Quantum of Sweat workout. Awesome!! This mini-challenges are not just challenges on their own, they are part of a bigger goal to see my abs by August! I think it's more fun and more motivating to break up a big goal into smaller "bites." This way you feel like you have achieved something amazing every week.

Anyone have a goal this week??

Have a great night!! I'm off to finish watching Biggest Loser. I know, great television, right?

shopping loot and Jillian

No you aren't seeing things. I am actually writing two posts in one day. Strange yes but I feel the urge to write so I'm going for it!

I finally made it into the closest health food store today. I needed some goodies and well, I ended up with a whole lot more! Although I did draw the line at the $15 bottle of macadamia nut oil..next time!

The biggest collard leaves I've ever seen!! These were destined for wraps:)

Biodegradable kitchen bags, Amazing Grass sampler, ginkgo leaves (going to try it in a tea), whole dulse (my favorite kind!), veggie cubes, detox sprouting seed mix

 I love Vega but sometimes I just want the protein. So, I found this hemp protein that hopefully tastes okay. I love quinoa pasta! It's so awesome. Pricey, but awesome. As pasta is a rarity in my house I'm okay with spending the big bucks every couple of months. I'll share what I used the pasta for soon:)

Chia seeds for more protein puddings of course!

That's right, I'm one step closer to making VOO. I think tonight's the night..wahoo!!

Now onto some fitness!! I finally caved and got a copy of  Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I don't plan to use her program for 30 days, just for days when I'm short on time or want a little something different.

I did Level 1 today and wow, I am humbled. I was cocky and used 20lbs of weight...ya well within a couple minutes of the strength circuit I was using only the one ten pound weight in two hands. I only have one 5lb dumbbell in the house and so I think I better buy another one because 20 lbs of weight was WAY too much. Lesson learned. If the trainers are only using two 5lb weights, don't think you can up them!

 Yep, Jillian kicked my but...and my hair..ugh

All in all I really liked the workout and it went by super fast! Nice variety and no "cheeze" which a lot of workout DVD's seem to have.

Have you tried her DVD's? What did you think?

Have a great night everyone! I'm off to a conference for work tomorrow then it's the weekend..wahoo! Have a great time and I'll be back soon with a delish casserole recipe.

XOXO

Finally some eats!

Hello Everyone!

Happy belated Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!!! Hope everyone had a great day wherever you were in the world:) I puttered around the house, got a workout in, made lunch for my mom, went for a run with the hubby, and made some grilled veggies:) But you know what? I didn't take in any Canada Day events at all...uggh..does that make me a bad Canadian? I hope not because I already gave my shout out to the world about the stereotypical great things about my country! To my defense the weather was not nice at all, yet, the weather network promised pure sunshine for that day..boo! Did you take in some parades, food fairs, or fireworks? I know my American friends are going to be having a celebration too this weekend. Happy 4th of July to you!!

I'm finally going to share with you some eats. Yes, I have been eating some great things!! Even though I haven't posted food in FOREVER! Any readers left out there? HAHA! So, today I'm going to make up it, big time:) Enjoy!

Jicama fries!! I was quite skeptical to make these because I just didn't see how a raw potato -like veggie was going to compare to the cooked version. Oh I was wrong!! These were fantastic and I can't wait to pick up another jicama. Obviously these don't have that greasy, deep-fried, overly salty taste but trust me your taste buds will be happily surprised. And this root veggie is packed with healthy vitamins and minerals like beta-carotene, B complex, vitamin C, calcium, iron, and potassium.

I almost didn't want to save any for the hubby but I was nice and left him half...okay..3 haha! I used the base recipe from Brigette Mars on Care2 but had to adjust it because I didn't have chili powder on hand. Instead I used cayenne powder, paprika, cumin, and garlic salt. Yum!! These are like kale chips, play around with your favorite flavors!

I also had this big bag of Bulgur that I just kept forgetting about! I finally decided it was time for tabouli because my mint plant was just bursting with flavor and I was craving a good grain salad. This salad is beyond simple, super cheap to make, and so healthy! To "cook" the Bulgur I just put hot water over it and let it sit...simple and easy,anyone? I used this recipe as a guideline and had to change it a bit because I didn't have the full amount of parsley (used cilantro for the remainder) and didn't have the full amount of lemon juice (added a splash of rice vinegar). Even with the changes, it was fantastic and made a super huge bowl!!

Dessert:) I bought two of these gorgeous pineapples and they were beyond juicy and sweet.

Oh these pictures make me want to run to the store right now...Mmmm!

I have been loving my local health food store. The owner is super nice and will order in anything that they don't normally carry in store. Love that! Check out this sea salt I picked up. I love that they kept the grey color which is due to a local seaweed:)

I don't use much salt but sometimes a recipe just needs it. I was going to buy some kelp salt that they usually carry but it was sold out. The salt I usually use is the Himalayan salt..but I like trying new products too!

Love the big granules!!

I love Brazil nuts. They are probably my favorite nut! I love the mild, buttery flavor. I read here that you do not need to soak them. Does anyone know if this is the case?


According to Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, she recommends eating 2 Brazil nuts a day as they contain the cancer protective mineral selenium.

I picked up some D3 too! This product is made locally which I thought was pretty cool!

With the essential oil and orange flavor it actually goes down pretty easily! And only 5 drops a day.

I needed to stock up on my sprouting supplies so why not go for the fitness mix?


In case you couldn't see what the seeds were this package contained white radish, mung beans, and wheat!

What's a girl supposed to do when her food processor goes caput and she needs to grind up some chick peas? She gets creative that's what!

Haven't you ever wanted to get some anger out using a frying pan? Well here was my chance to do just that...to a bag of chick peas!

Here is the victim result! Not too bad..could have used more pounding lol! I finished the rest off with a fork!


All that work for some fantastic egg-less salad. This was for my moms as it was not made with vegenaise! Although I need to pick some up because this salad is so awesome..especially loaded with pickles..yum:)

I served the egg-less salad with some organic chibata buns that I scored at my work open house the other weekend.

I also made some of Nikki's hummus which turned out to be more of a yellow zucchini sundried tomato dip. It wasn't as thick as I usually have it because I didn't' have a whole cup of zucchini and I used almond butter instead of tahini (about half the amount she used!). Still tasted amazing:)

I also made a salad with greens out of the garden - butter lettuce, romaine, kale, and mustard greens!

Check out the size of that mustard green leaf! Mmm spicy!

I haven't had chick peas in so long! I love them in salads, there is something about their soft, fluffy centers that makes me digging around the greens for more!!


My mom was so kind to save me a couple handful of bloobs!! OH BLOOBS how I have missed you:) These are my first (but definitely not last!) of the season and they are so sweet and yummy!

After our run, the hubs and I fired up the BBQ. He had a burger, I went for Asian marinated grilled veggies! I could eat grilled veggies everyday (with lots of raw veggies mixed in, of course)

You are getting very sleepy!!! haha


I made this chocolate dream pudding for the hubby. This amazing recipe is from Kelli's blog. Thank you Kelli for telling me about it because it sure is dreamy and delicious! I was still full from all the grilled veggies so I didn't have any (call me crazy!) plus I'm on the last month of my TT contest so I'm tightening up the diet a bit!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I'm going out for dinner tonight with my MIL and her hubby, going shopping with Mom tomorrow, going to hopefully pick some raspberries, and have a bbq at the casa on Sunday! Summer is officially here..wahoo! Let's hope the sun says hello soon. I'm still wearing jeans..in July:( Talk to you all soon!!

PS I appreciate you all and am sending you BIG HUGS!!

Averie's protein bars, hemp-esan, and pink celery?

Happy Friday everyone!

The weekend is finally upon us:) I just got back from running some stairs. Holy, talk about a cardio challenge. I did variations every set from taking every 2nd step, every 2nd step with hands behind the head, cross overs, and jogging. My heart was literally pumping out of my chest after each rep. Love that feeling! If you want a FREE cardio and strength workout I highly recommend it. I'm sure you have some stairs nearby so no excuses, right?

So onto the food of my week. I have been eying Averie's coconut oil protein bars for awhile. I rarely buy protein bars unless I'm travelling or working and I didn't bring a suitable lunch. Yet, now that its spring I'll be out hiking, walking, camping etc and so having a great protein source would be handy. I made her bars with almond butter and unfortunately I ran out of chocolate chips. Don't tell the hubby there is chocolate around because it will be inhaled...lol! I also added half raisins, half cranberries. I used Vega Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer for the protein and nutrient PUNCH. It was the chocolate flavor so that made up for not having the chippies in there.
Check out that almond butter goodness....mmm. I put a little more in than she did...hehe!


All ready for the freezer. I followed Averie's advice and put the mixture on some plastic wrap for easy clean-up.
All cut-up and ready to be devoured! These are awesome and cheaper than store bought protein bars.
A little cross-section of one bar. I made mine a bit thick and so next time I would lay them a bit thinner.
One last picture to entice you if you weren't already in the kitchen making these:) See the one with the cranberry..that's all mine, baby!

A second recipe that is floating around the raw foodie blogosphere is hemp-esan. I never was a huge fan of parmesan but I love a recipe that provides a substitute to something that is loved in the non-vegan world. I think it is really helpful to those entering into a new lifestyle, vegan or raw to have something with similar flavor or texture. I know it was important for me to find recipes that would be similar to meat or dairy in the beginning of making the switch. So thank you Gena for posting this recipe! It really isn't a recipe pe se as it is so easy. Just put 3 tablespoons of hemp seeds and 3 tablespoons of nooch (nutritional yeast) into your food processor and pulse until you reach the consistency of parmesan.

Ta-da! There you have it hemp-esan on my dinner salad. I've seen it used on pasta as in Gena and Kelli's blog. I found the salad hid it's flavor too much so pasta will be the next adventure:)

Check out the tower of hemp-esan! Yum! Definitely try it on your next salad (Cesar salad anyone?) or pasta dish!


For today's lunch I had another wicked salad and this time it had some pink celery in it. Check it out....
Pretty cool huh? Well its not some crazy GMO product (luckily)..its actually the stem of this beauty....
Isnt' that the most beautiful piece of organic chard that you have seen? For me it was and I was really excited to find this in the grocery store. Usually I only find limp or dried up bunches.


Check out that plant blood! The veins on swiss chard are always crazy and the color is so cool!

Here is the final product with my lentil and sunflower seed sprouts, avocado, lettuce, parsley, basil. A hole hodge-podge really! I topped it with a tahini-orange dressing inspired by Russell James. PS if you want a great tutorial on sprouting, head on over to Bitt's blog. She did an awesome job explaining the whole process.


Have a great weekend everyone! Get your sprouts ready for next week:)

Got Sprouts?

Hey All,

One of the funnest, healthy foods I adopted into my diet is sprouts. You have seen those alfalfa sprouts at the grocery store, but how many times have you just pass them by? Too many, I’m sure. I’m even guilty of it. Yet, during my research into raw foods, I discovered that I was missing out on some big time health benefits. Sprouts are nutrient powerhouses and a great, cheap way to add some healthy food into your diet.

So, what is the difference between eating a piece of cooked broccoli, and eating broccoli sprouts? The difference is enzymes. A piece of broccoli that has been cooked above 115 degrees has denatured some/most of its enzymes. This results in more work for the body as it needs to use its own enzymes to break down proteins, carbs, and fats. The process of sprouting, according to Brigette Mars’s book Rawsome, brings to life the plant hormones in the seed called phytosterols. These hormones cause an increase in metabolic activity whereby complex nutrients such as, proteins, carbs, and fats are broken down into their simpler counterparts: amino acids, simple sugars, and free amino acids. Sprouts are obviously very rich in enzymes and can help your depleted enzyme reserves get back to positive levels. Another cool fact that Brigitte mentions is that seeds (and nuts) contain enzyme inhibitors. One such inhibitor called phytic acid prevents calcium, iron, and zinc from being absorbed into the cells. If you sprout seeds the enzyme inhibitors are destroyed. Other abundant compounds are chlorophyll, and vitamins C, B-complex, and E.

Society today is eating so much processed foods that the body is constantly being depleted of enzymes. As most processed foods are chemically made or heated to such high temperatures, there is nothing “living” in these foods that can help to digest it. Therefore, the body needs to produce digestive enzyme, also known as endogenous enzymes, to break these foods into their simpler components. If this sort of diet continues, the body may become so depleted that it can no longer produce specific enzymes (I’ll go into greater depth in a later post). This depletion can result in numerous conditions such as, allergies, skin problems, diabetes, cancer, weight gain, and lethargy.

An article on Natural News mentioned a new study that looked at efficacy of using broccoli sprouts to help reduce the colonization of H-pylori, which is linked with stomach cancer. This immediately caught my attention as my mom nearly died from a very aggressive colonization of H-pylori a few years ago. They discovered that a compound in the broccoli sprouts called Sulforaphane helps to activate cells in the body to produce enzymes that protect against free radicals and inflammation. Although the sprouts did not completely rid the body of the bacterium, it helped to reduce its spread. Isn’t that just awesome? I told you these things pack a punch!

The all popular alfalfa sprouts are loaded with saponins. The sprouted seed has over 450% greater saponin content compared to the unsprouted seed. Now that’s a great rate of production! These little guys reduce the bad cholesterol (LDL) but they leave the good cholesterol (HDL) to work its magic. Saponins also play a role in the immune system function. They wake up the immune system by increasing the activity of killer cells (T-lymphocytes).


There are so many types of sprouts to try, pick a few a give it a shot. My favorites are alfalfa, mung beans, peas, buckwheat, lentils, and sunflower seeds. On my list to try are broccoli, red clover, radish, and almonds. You can buy sprouting equipment such as bags, lids, and automatic sprouting machines, but I just use some mason jars which you cover with some mesh material or cheesecloth and then place an elastic around the mouth. I sometimes don’t even do this, using only my hands to prevent seeds from escaping. A quick and easy guide to sprouting can be found here. It’s so simple and takes only seconds a day. The kids will love it too as they can watch the seeds germinate and grow.

Have fun with some sprouts this year, your body will thank you!



Just a little side note! I needed something to relax after my memory stick decided to not work on my best camera and now over 200 pictures have disappeared like Houdini himself. So, who else to the rescue but Nemo the cat, whose hide-and-seek places need a little work but are always amusing. Thanks Nemo for brightening my day!