Take Two

Happy Tuesday all,

          How was Valentine's night? Mine  was, well, blah. We ended up having a little "tiff" and so it wasn't the most happiest night ever. But hey, that's life and you grow from it. It's all good now, just in case you were wondering:)

We are having dinner #2 tonight and who can argue against that:) Besides I'm excited to try some different recipes tonight anyways. Plus I'm so making another chocolate dessert which in itself is worth it right there lol!

Take 1...

A simple salad with dried cranberries, apples, sunflower seeds, spinach, cucumber, NOOCH, and hemp seeds served with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Angela's 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta. This was okay but I screwed up by mis-reading the recipe. I thought I was supposed to cook the sauce when in fact I was only supposed to put all the ingredients in the food processor. Oops! I think I cooked most some of the flavor out of it so I'll have to give it another try sometime.

The other half of the pasta went into a standard tomato sauce...from a jar...eek!! It was good and together with the avo pasta it was quite tasty.

Dessert was banana softserve with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls. The cookie dough balls were good but I used quinoa flour which was a bit too strong for this cookie. I think dipping them in chocolate would have made them amazing. Should have gone with my gut haha!

Now for some interesting eats! My mom just returned from Kona, Hawaii and brought back some pressies:)

Macadamia nuts!!!

These babies sure do have a hard shell. Ry tried to crack one with the nutcracker but nearly got a sprain lol! A hammer is indeed a requirement

I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure it's going to be awesome!

If you look closely you can see that it contains 21.5 grams fat per 28 ounces.

This one is definitely an "in major moderation" butter")

Macadamia Nut Blossom honey:)

I'm not a big fan of energy shots or whatever other names they come up with, but I'll try a sip.

I'm going to go for a run today after work! How are you moving your body today?

PS I tried Jillian's 30 Day Shred Level 2 yesterday and it was awesome!

Have a great rest of your day!



7 lives

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!!

            I know its a commercial holiday, but it doesn't hurt to have more love in the world right? I think Valentines should be more than giving your sweetheart a chocolate heart, it should be about loving ourselves and all the special people in our lives. That includes you my lovely readers♥

Ry and I don't go all out on V-day. We might go and workout together which NEVER happens so that should be fun:) I will most likely make him a meal that he loves and some kind of chocolate dessert for us to share. Time together is very precious and because it's been pretty limited lately, I'm happy with staying home and getting in some quality snuggle time:)

Anyone going big today?

I'm rather giddy today for another reason. Guess who came home yesterday?

Mr.Oddie!!!

Ryan was up at 6:30 getting ready to go to work and he opened the door to let Nemo outside and I heard this high pitched meow right after. Then heavy footsteps up the stairs. Ry came around the corner and said "look who's home" and put Oddie on the bed. It was surreal. Okay, maybe it was because I was still asleep. But you look and you look for the little guy EVERYWHERE and you almost give up hope and then BAM he's at the front door. I'm so happy!!! I did a lot of crying on the weekend which left me feeling pretty drained so I'm elated that he's home!! Oddie is fine, no injuries. He did have some black soot or oil on his neck so he most likely was hiding under a car for awhile. He ate and he ate and then had a long nap with Nemo:) I guess 5 days in the "wild" will do that to you. I tried to get in some studying last night but he just couldn't stop snuggling and giving me kisses:)

And this morning Oddie is at the vet to get snipped and to get a tattoo. I'm not messing around now that I've been given a second chance to make it right! He is now down 2 lives!! I'm coming to think that the saying, cats have 9 lives, is true.

This pict was taken in my office as he had to come with me to work before going to see the doc!

 On Sunday morning I went for a run and took down all the posters I had put up in the hood. One guy I talked to said that he was looking out for him but he was concerned because there have been quite a few coyotes in the neighborhood recently. Eeeek!

Question for all you pet owners out there. Do you vaccinate according to what the vet suggests or do you have your own schedule? The vet is requesting Nemo and Oddie get over $100 worth of shots each and I'm a little skeptical if they need that much. Also, I'm getting Oddie tattooed but Nemo has a chip. My logic tells me that people are more apt to bring an animal to a shelter if they see a tattoo. Since they cannot see the chip, they might just think it's a stray and keep them:( What are your thoughts.

Also Nemo and Oddie LOVE to be outside and so I don't think I could ever deny them that. Some people said to keep them indoors from now on but I just don't think it's fair to them especially since they are used to being indoors AND outdoors. They are inside when we are at work or on big outings but in the morning and afternoon when I get home they make their rounds. Oddie usually following Nemo which is good because Nemo stays close by.

Moving onto blog related stuff, I just wanted to thank you for reading and commenting as I know my posts have been pretty erratic and the content not too exciting. Love you all!! Lately tons of ideas for posts have been popping up in my mind so I'm going to pumping out some good reads soon. These will include, but are not limited to, new fitness ideas, gardening, crafts, juicing, running, travel, races etc etc! Of course food is going to be a topic I'll never stop talking about:)  I'm very excited!

Have a great rest of your V-day and don't forget to do something for yourself today! You deserve it:)

Coming up tomorrow: Hawaiian treats and V-day re-cap:)

Just when I "needed" the sugar, I go sugar free!

Howdy folks,

           I apologize for the absence as I have had an insane week. I was asked last minute to attend a trade show for two days and then yesterday I was at work from 7AM to 7:30PM working on a report. Plus there is some sad news regarding Oddie that is really tearing me apart.

Oddie has disappeared. We let him out a couple of days ago with Nemo for their morning bathroom break. We have done this for awhile now and they always hang out and come in after sniffing all the new scents in the backyard. Well, Nemo came inside but Oddie was nowhere. We have taught him to come by whistling and tried this for nearly an hour but nothing. I came home from work and whistled some more and looked around but I couldn't see him anywhere. We talked to our neighbor who said that she saw him and Nemo in the morning together. I feel terrible. I feel like a terrible owner for letting him outside in the first place as he is still intact. He was to get neutered this weekend. I feel like a terrible person for not getting him tattooed yet. Again this weekend was supposed to take care of all of that.

I do feel it is highly unusual for him to take off like that. So, it is possible that he caught the scent of a female in heat. He is also very skiddish so it's unlikely that he would just walk up to someone and they would take him in kind of thing. I have contacted every organization, vet, and website possible to get his picture and info out there. I will be printing posters today and placing them on mail boxes and telephone poles in the area.

I have read that it isn't unusual for an intact male ( AKA a Tom) to be gone for days looking for the scent of the female in heat. As much as I don't want him "spreading his seed" and causing a greater impact on overwhelming pet population, this is my biggest hope at this time. I have placed a scarf outside on our fence as I read that toms can become so overwhelmed with the scent of a female that they can get lost. I know it's long shot but I'm trying everything. I also have been leaving food outside every night. It is eaten every morning but there are tons of cats in our 'hood so who knows who/what is really eating it.

Please no haters. I feel terrible enough as it is:(

As my title indicates, I have gone sugar free this week. I was planning on making a big post about it but I just don't have the energy. Maybe later on. But we all know sugar in large quantities isn't good, right? Right!

I started on Monday and surprisingly it hasn't been that difficult. Maybe I've had a lot of distractions this week but with all the added stress I usually turn to sugar to soothe my emotions. So I guess you can say it's a victory already! Yet, the weekend is when I usually indulge more so tomorrow and Sunday will be the real test.

I have really noticed my habits lately. I eat stellar all day and then at night I just eat too much sugar! This not only makes me sluggish in the morning, it often leads to a vicious cycle where I beat myself up about it. I used to tolerate those negative thoughts but I'm becoming more and more sick of feeling like crap emotionally and physically the morning after.

I know a week without sugar seems like nothing so I think I'm going to continue for another week and re-evaluate from there. Dr. Scott Olson ND who is the author of  Sugarettes , has a free program to help you go sugar free for 30 days. Jen at Girl Heroes went sugar free for 2 years in order to conquer her cravings. Cheers to that!! Charlotte even gives some tips on Silencing The Siren Song Of Sugar.

It's very interesting and I think I'm going to read a couple of the books on the subject to get a better understanding of the whole sugar deal. I don't think I'll ever cut it out completely but I would like to come to peace with it.

What's your relationship like with sugar?
Peaceful, love/hate, full of emotion?

I sign off today with a picture of my beautiful little guy! Please send good vibes my way in hopes that he will be found safe and sound:)

XOXO

Happy Travels

Happy Friday!!

Friday's never get old do they?

I think that I'm going on a roadtrip today. We are waiting on my SIL's boyfriend to get off work which he says is 3:30 but he never knows for sure. We've decided that 5pm is the cut-off point. If they aren't able to make it before then well too bad. It is still winter in the mountains so I don't want to be driving at 9 at night in snow and ice.

Tick tock tick tock

So, I busted my booty in the kitchen last night and was happy with the delicious results.

Carrot Cake Cookies:)

Oh the yummy goodness. These have quickly become one of favorite raw cookies! Plus where do you get veggies with your cookies that actually tastes amazing?

PS I took this picture in manual mode..yay!

Scrum bars!!

Meatballs!! Ha..just kidding. These are super fudgy, chocolaty, protein goodness! These are Averie's chocolate chip prtoein balls. I used chocolate hemp protein and dark chocolate processed into small chunks. These are awesome, minus the fact that they could pass as a meatball:)

I made juice too!! It was a fun night:)

In other news, I just finished my last assignment for Organic Chemistry...wahoo!! Now I just need to study for the exam. So happy!!

I better run! Have a great weekend and have fun watching the Super Bowl if football is your thing:)

VOO virgin no more!

Holy, where did January go? I don't know about you but I'm excited to move on to a new month! This means:

1. Spring is coming. Even the groundhog said so which is a highly reputable source, in my opinion:) Sorry Eastern Canada and US, there must have been some sort of glitch for you guys:(
2. Can start dreaming about the garden
3. It's now T - 6months until I say goodbye to my job and say hello to 3 weeks of California bliss (more on this to come)
4. The days are getting longer


That's a lot of pluses for the month of February!! March has a lot to live up to:)


Now onto a food first for me!!!

VOO

Yes, I did it! I actually enjoyed eating my oats this morning. Now, the reason why this is such a big deal is because ever since I was a little girl I could not cooked oatmeal. It caused such a terrible gag reflex that my mom couldn't help but to burst out laughing. Apparently my oat-eating performance was quite humorous to my oatmeal-loving family.

So, I never touched the stuff. It was only once I started blogging and heard about this un-cooked oatmeal version that I became intrigued. I had a few bloggers tell me that they didn't like the cooked oatmeal but they loved the VOO! Finally after blogging over a year I decided to give it a shot.

I followed instructions. Yes people if I am going to eat oatmeal, I need directions from the best VOO creators out there. One wrong move and my little reflex would rear it's ugly head ultimately giving my coworkers a good laugh in the morning. The three A's (Angela, Averie, and Ashley) were my sources. I ended up following Angela's latest recipe carob banana chia VOO but I used raw cacao instead of the carob.

Watching the mixture come together last night I was highly skeptical. Then there was a little tickle in my throat...Mrs.Gag was waking up after 20 years of dormancy.

I quickly put the mixture in the fridge and went to bed thinking about sprouted bread + almond butter, sprouted bread + almond butter...The tickle quickly vanished.

I slept well with no oatmeal related nightmares. I was really curious in the morning so I ran down to the fridge and looked at the bowl. Guess what? My tummy rumbled and there was no tickle in my throat. That's a VERY good sign I thought. When I finally sat down at my desk ready to eat, I took a deep breath and dug in!

I LOVED IT!! I think the key for me is that the oats were still a bit crunchy. The banana, walnut, and cacao combo is awesome. I also added in the Amazing Grass powder I bought the other day. All in all a great success. I'm very excited to be able to say I had oats for breakfast!!

Overnight oats with a splash of almond milk:)

Do you like VOO or do you love the cooked version? Are there any texture sensitive folks out there? Seriously, if cooked oatmeal makes you shudder, VOO will make you smile:)

Quick question: Have you tried using steel cut oats for VOO? I'm curious if they would work

Okay enough about VOO already!! I know that train departed years ago lol!
The other night I had my mom over for dinner. She was in town because the next day she was departing with her sister from YVR to Kona, Hawaii!!! Oh, so jealous :) I talked to her last night and she was RAVING about the fruit. Her and I are huge fruit lovers so I can only imagine. She went to the market and the papayas were 10 for $2.If only fruit were allowed to pass through borders I would have ordered a whole suitcase for myself lol!

Anywho, I decided to make Ashley's Thai Jambalaya. I love thick soups and stews so this seemed right up my alley!

When I see long instructions to a recipe I get a little nervous thinking I'm going to be in the kitchen until 8pm cooking up the darn thing.

Well, don't be intimidated by this recipe because it really didn't take that long at all. I didn't even have help in the kitchen to stir the roux all the time and the dish turned out okay. In fact better than okay, it was fabulous!

Nice and thick with a great combination of spices! I added in a teaspoon of coconut cream for good measure:) I ate mine on a bed of kale with some quinoa. Perfecto! I was sad when all the leftovers were gone. I will for sure be making this again! Thank you Ashley for the recipe!

I rarely pick up prepared foods but the other day I was hungry and it was already 7pm so I was not about to cook. So I picked up these...

They were actually pretty good. Not too greasy and with some good spice too.

Have you tried Veggie Patch products?

Have a great day everyone!! One more day until the weekend:) I'm actually going away this weekend so I need to start preparing my road trip eats and snacks. I'm thinking:

Scrum bars or these

Juice - I'm not going to take my juicer along so I'm thinking about making some in advance

Balls

Oats - eek!! VOO is definitely going to be made. I haven't decided what flavor I'm going to go for. Need inspiration too? Check out:

                        Averie's Overnight Chia Seed-Coconut-Mango Soaked Oats

                        Ashley's Cinnamony Overnight Oats

                       Angela's Chocolate Protein VOO

                       Kath's Strawberry Banana Overnight Oats

Raw cookies - I loved these carrot cake cookies

Cut up veggies - This is key for me. If I have these ready to go I will not be tempted to eat the bad stuff!

The best part about all the above is that I could have it ready in an hour or less. Score!!

Well folks have a great rest of your day! Move that body somehow today and nourish, nourish, nourish!

Oh and ...

Gung Hay Fat Choy!!!

The beach

Hey Folks!!

         How was your weekend? I had a pretty mellow weekend. This seems to be the theme of my weekends in January. Although I did....

 Get a great visit in with my grandma (she's doing a lot better:),
 lock my keys in the car at the Seniors home (begged my cousin to drive me home)
 had lunch with a bunch of my aunts and cousin (bought said cousin lunch for driving me home)
 Bake muffins
 Walk on  the beach
 Went out for Indian Food with my in-laws and SIL
 Let Jillian kick my but again
 Juice a lot
 Discover a love for Americano's with a splash of soy milk
 Begrudgingly worked on O-chem which I still don't understand..grr
Watch Notorious even though I'm not a rap fan. Westside, Yo!!

Now that I listed my weekend I did more than I thought. I love lists:)

And now for the pictures to prove it...no, there are no more post-Jillian pictures. You're welcome:)

This was fantastic! I don't normally add apple to my juices. I stick mainly with veggie-only but this was a nice, refreshing change.

This was the above juice without the apple but with ginger and cucumber added in! I made it last night and took it to work this morning. It was so awesome to have juice at work!

I think I will be making this a Sunday night habit.

Now for the beach...

Oh why not start the walk with a piece of heaven.

 This Dark Almond Brittle from Roger's Chocolates was awesome!

Welcome to White Rock!!

There is actually a large (painted) white rock..cheesy, yes! Cool? You bet!

It was beautiful out. Lots of sun but it was still really chilly on the pier!

Mt. Baker just barely visible but still stunning:)

I love the look of this old girl!

Have a great day everyone!!! I'm off to think about what to make for din din.

For the rest of the week I'm making a list of recipes and shopping accordingly. Does this work for you?

XOXOXO

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