Market Finds and salad frenzy!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Phew! It's another hot one here today. At 7AM it was 19 degrees! Yet, you know how cool and crisp the summer mornings are? I really love this time - for running, working out, reflection, whatever really. I think there is something about the morning freshness that makes me feel empowered (especially knowing I better get moving because in a couple of hours I'm going to be a sweaty mess LOL).

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to check out my local market, and I did!! It's pretty small but it still had some great vendors.

I bought a lot of produce from this vendor. The farm is essentially a coop. You pay (a lot) and become a member/part owner of the farm and you get all the veggies you could eat.

Organic beets, organic carrots, cucumbers, mini-bell peppers (hothouse),

tomatoes, local clover honey

Mmmm raw honey:)

And these two organically grown plant babies. Some more kale because apparently 12 plants isn't enough for this household!! And chamomile because I love adding different herbs to the garden. I want to make chamomile tea and maybe some beauty products!

Not bad for $20! I found some of the vendors were a bit unrealistic in their pricing. Especially when a vendor just down the way had the same produce for a lower price. Oh well, their loss I guess. I did talk to a few raspberry vendors and one said to call to see about bulk pricing. I called her when I got home and she said that she would call me if there were some left from the market. In the mean time, I created 3 salads for dinner.

I heard so much great stuff about the massaged kale salad that I decided to give it a go. I went with Gena's recipe as I did it on the fly and her recipe came up on my google search. I know she is a trusted resource for yumminess:)

Baby kale from the garden:)

This salad was pretty good. It needed something though and I'm not sure

if it was more avocado or more spice!

What is your go-to massaged kale salad?

Next up is one of my favorite salads, especially when its scorching outside.

Tomato, cucumber, onion, and sprouts (optional) drizzled with some EVOO and vinegar (I used rice) and topped off with some sea salt and pepper. Mmmm!!

The third salad you have seen already but its so good that I thought I should put it the spotlight again!

Tabouli!! I just love this salad. It is summer in a bowl!

After eating up all this fresh goodness, I got the call saying there were some berries left if I was still interested. Well, I jumped in my car lickedy-split and headed over to their farm (5 minutes away) and scooped up 5 lbs of raspberries and 5lbs of blueberries. I'm in HEAVEN!! I love fresh berries so much:)

Bloobs!

They are so delish and not sprayed!! Wahoo! I plan on getting a ton more for freezing over the winter. Why not? They are literally in my back door and cheaper than buying the frozen stuff every week!

Have a wonderful rest of your day!! I'm going to the okanagan for a weekend of digging my feet in the sand and soaking up the rays. Hope you have a wonderful sunny weekend! I may be back to post tomorrow, if not I'll talk to you all on Monday!

XOXOXO

Mail find, scape crazy, and lid-less blender!

Hello everyone!!

How are you doing this hump day? Wait!! What's that in the sky? NOTHING...but the sun:)

It is officially summer here in BC. Seriously, it's about time. It literally went from 17-20 degrees to 28-30 degrees overnight! It's crazy hot but I'm loving it! I love getting my tan on in the summer. Yet, Ontario is in a major heat wave right now so I feel for you guys. Hope you get relief soon:)

I was so lucky to receive a package in the mail the other day that was just so full of love!

I was one of the lucky winners of the giveaway from the gorgeous Nelly!! I've heard such great things about this book and so I'm super excited to try it all!! I've been reading it from the beginning because I don't want to miss anything. Let's face it, I'm a newbie and Ani's a super pro raw foodie, so she has a lot to teach me! Ry has already eyed the pancakes and I've eyed the quinoa pilaf..yet, every recipe sounds amazing. Maybe I should just start making the recipes in order?? I would be eating amazing raw food FOREVER!! Ahh..bliss! I've only read the intro section and it feels like she is talking to a friend. She speaks so humbly and with such gratitude that it really made me realize we are so lucky over here in the Americas.

Thank you Nelly:) PS she is having another amazing giveaway so check out her super blog!

This week my work had to harvest the garlic scapes in order to force the garlic to put more nutrients into the bulbs:) (PS we are trialing some organic soils so we have a huge veggie garden..I know its pretty amazing!) So, that meant I got to take a bunch home to play around with in the kitchie! I happen to know another lovely lady is scape crazy too! So, I took some inspiration from her and fried up the scapes

I had the quinoa already cooked so I just fried the scapes for a couple minutes in some coconut oil. Then I added some sea salt and pepper. They were super yummy! I want to try Angela's approach and chop up the skapes in a processor and add them to vegetable broth and cook it along with the quinoa. I loved Angela's scape photo's so I decided to join in and take a few of my own!

I call this the "scape"-tooth!!

I love this photo. I'm no pro photo taker so when a pictures turns out so clear it makes me want to know how I did it HAHA! Oh well, the experimentation continues!

Have you used garlic scapes before? What did you make? I find the flavor is a lot milder compared to the bulbs. So if you find garlic too powerful this may be just for you!

Lately for lunch I've been making a green smoothie. During the holiday last week I took my blender home and made smoothies over the weekend. Well, I was in a hurry on Monday and I put all the blender parts in a bag and rushed out the door. I got to work and discovered I missed a vital part of the whole smoothie equation - the lid! Now, because I only brought alone ingredients for a smoothie I was determined to make it work so I wouldn't have to skip lunch. I first thought putting just a simple lid across it would be alright but oh boy was I wrong. I splattered semi-processed spinach everywhere -the carpet, drawers, microwave. Not fun! Then my brain finally clicked in and put this contraption together:

A simple ziplock bag with some elastics.

A rather ugly looking contraption but it kept my smoothie IN the blender and that's all that mattered.

Have you had a lid-less blender experience? Do tell!

Have a wonderful day!! I'm going to check out my local farmer's market and hopefully I'll pick up some interesting goodies:)

Question of the Day

Do you spend a set amount of money at the market? Or do you take out $100 and see what happens? I would love to be the latter but I have other responsibilities besides food (bummer!) and so its $20 spending money for me!

New kitchen appliance plus veggie wraps!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Happy belated 4th of July to my American friends:) I know there are lots of gatherings, dinners, and fireworks taking place in honor of Independence Day. Maybe you set off your own fireworks?? My weekend was lovely and included shopping with my mom, some yard work, a wonderful dinner out, and some more Grouse Grind action.

After my workout on Friday I quickly made a juice. This one was a little hard to drink as I made it with mostly beet greens and not enough cucumber or something sweet to balance it out. But I chugged it anyways and said "cells, you better enjoy"..haha!

Almost there! Had to take a breather..powerful stuff!


Green goodness all the way!

Later on that night we went out to the Vault for dinner with my MIL and her hubby. It was a lovely dinner which featured a Flamenco guitar player. Loved his music! I had a beet salad with spring rolls as I wasn't feeling the pasta. They all went for DQ after dinner but I sat patiently knowing I would get my dessert on the way home:) I picked up a Cocoa Camino dark chocolate with coconut bar. It was pretty good but I prefer their mint chocolate or just plain chocolate bars better. I had this stage where I ate everything sweet with mint..then it got to much and I left the mint alone...but now I'm back on the wagon. Maybe its because my mint plant is just growing like crazy and the smell is sucking me in!! Mmmm.

On Saturday I did some grocery shopping at my fave grocery market . I LOVE going here because each week there is a new veggie that is ready in the garden. I get so excited to wander around and see what goodies I can try this week. It's like a farmers market really because they grow a ton of the food themselves and most if not all is grown organically. Here are a couple of my finds :

Peas, glorious peas! Have I told you that I have a slight obsession when it comes to eating shelling peas? Yep, it's true! As a kid my aunt wouldn't let me out in here garden if the peas were ready because she knew she would never get any for herself..lol! I love them so much and the season is just too short so I eat as many as I can get my hands on. That bag above was gone in about an hour..seriously, I have a problem:)

All those greens are for which veggie? Do you know? Take a guess!

While you ponder over those greens, here's a broad bean. MASSIVE, hey? I have never had them before so I thought I would try them out. Will keep you posted.

Ta da!!! It's daikon! Were you right? Look at all those greens. I kept some and so I'm going to see if I can use them in a salad or smoothie. They look too amazing to throw out:)

My Mom came over later on (she left on Monday:( and we went for lunch where I got the salad sans the chicken. It actually was pretty good and they gave me lots of veggies...no skimping..which I liked! Then we went shopping for a new house plant. Mom wanted to get me a snake plant for our house warming gift because I love the one that she has.

Mine is a bit smaller than this but with some TLC she should grow big! These are very good for cleaning the air in your home..so big bonus. I found mine for $5 so they are very reasonable too!

Plus she bought me a new aloe plant! Mine just wasn't doing too well so hopefully this beauty will thrive. I feel a deep connection to aloe. I think its an amazing plant and am constantly in awe as to what it can be used for. Check out my post on aloe for a more in depth discussion.

Then we headed out to check out food processors because mine officially died the other day. I mean I liked beating those chickpeas..but I don't have that much frustration to be beating food with a pan everyday..ha! We did a little compare shopping but then we found this....

A 14 cupper wahoo!! Seriously, I was using a 3 cup processor for nearly two years. This is heaven:) Plus it was very reasonable.


Plus its got a timer on it which I think is pretty cool! I like the stainless steel design too. It's got this sweet chopping blade and immediately when I saw it I thought...KRAUT!!! Soon people, soon!

Thank mom for the amazing house warming gifts!!! You know they will be put to good use! Even if the plants only job is to not die lol!

Saturday night I was alone for dinner (boo!!) as the hubs was out watching modern day gladiator fights, also known as the UFC. I actually don't mind the fights if there is a guy in there who I value. Some people may think that it's just a macho man kind of sport but its highly disciplined with tons of training, goal setting, healthy competition (for the most part), and mindset work. There are a few who are a walking ego but then there are the guys who came from nothing and literally fought their way to the spotlight. My favorite guy is George St. Pierre. He is from Montreal and I believe he is the champion right now in his weight class. He supported himself through his job as a garbage man. I mean talk about humble beginnings. He works so hard and the ego doesn't show itself which I really like.

Not bad, hey? Ya, he's quite the looker..especially when he wears his tighty fight shorts:)

Don't worry Ry already knows about my crush LOL!!

Moving on...or should I give you a few minutes to stare?? Te he! Anywho, I made a lovely solo dinner that I ate outside in the cold..haha! It was sunny but the wind but chilly. Raw veggie wraps are quickly becoming a top favorite of mine. They are quick, healthy, easy, and you can make whatever dipping sauce you desire.

Love all the color!! I had yellow bell peppers, carrots, cucumber, avocado, daikon which were wrapped in collard greens and kale. I dipped the wraps in honey-dijon sauce (simply some dijon with whatever amount of sweetener you like added in) and salsa. The salsa was a trial to see how it would go but I didn't really like it that much. Next time I'm going to make a spicy doritos cheesy dip or remake this dip from another veggie wrap day. How do you like your veggie wraps?

I also had some fennel that was part of my work open house stash. I remember Averie cooking some up in one of her posts so I decided to follow here recommendations. I couldn't find my ginger anywhere so I left that out and I ran out of black pepper so I used a small amount of cayenne for bite! Then I added some cumin, nutmeg, and garlic.

Mmmm! I've never cooked fennel before and I'm not sure why...it's so delish! Soft and caramelized..you have to try it.

I devoured these..oh so good!

And this handsome fella decided to join me after patrolling the yard. He loves it back there even though he thinks the neighbor's yard is a much hipper place to be:)

On Sunday we hit up the Grouse Grind with some friends and my SIL. It was a lot tougher this time around because there was a low lying cloud and so it was quite humid in there. Still not bad 1 hour 1 minute, 4 minutes slower than last time. Still I loved it, its such a mental push for me! We then hit up The Naam for lunch except they were only serving brunch so I opted for a breakfast bowl with potatoes, tofu, some other veggies, and miso gravy. Definite must try..oh so yummy!

Once we got home I was feeling pretty mellow so I decided to just do some laundry and blog..but then a friend came over so the blogging was put to the wayside..but that's okay because that's life and I want to enjoy whatever comes my way:)

Tomorrow I'm going to share with you what came in the mail!!! It's awesome:)

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!!