What a week!

This week I went to 3 hot yoga classes and enjoyed every minute of them. I can't help but feel so relaxed - mind, body and soul when I enter the studio and all stress and anxiety slip away as I focus on breathing and allow the energy to flow through my body.
I am excited to continue next week as I become more familiar with the poses and breathing exercises.

Thursday after yoga, I made myself a Breaded Eggplant Sandwich
Over the last 6 months or so my love for eggplant has grown enormously as I learn different ways to prepare it. This week I sliced it up and breaded it (as you would onion rings) and heated them up in some coconut oil. They were the perfect addition to my toasted tomato sandwich (with spinach, sprouts cucumber and vegenaise) on a whole wheat ciabatta roll.

To accompany this sandwich was a sweet potato (sliced and boiled) with a sprinkle (ok fine A LOT) of cinnamon.

For a snack I grabbed a can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed them, then sprinkled them with: cayenne pepper, cumin, curry powder, turmeric and sea salt. Then I laid them out on a cookie sheet (on parchment paper) and popped them into an oven at 350º for about 40 minutes, but turned them every 10-15 mins.
The result? very crunchy and spicy - they only lasted a day and a half so I will be making them again soon!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of eating at Magic Oven for lunch (my second time) and it was just delicious. I am mad at myself for not taking a photo but I was so excited to eat it that I totally forgot :( I guess I'll just have to go back soon!

Here is what I had:

Both were amazing and I was stuffed with the Small pasta dish.

Dinner with some girlfriends at BerBer last night. The place was Moroccan with beautiful decor and fabulous entertainment (on friday and Saturday nights).

The waiter looked at me like I had 2 heads when I said I was vegan and asked if they could they make a rish/veg dish for me. After asking if I could have meat (errr that would be a NO), he suggested a veggie pasta with a creamy pesto sauce (I said no cream/dairy) so the chef did a rare mixed veg with rice that was very tasty and filling. Look at those colours! Now if only they'd add it to their menu. My omnivore friend beside me was scoping out my dish - Ahah!

This morning I made some...dare I call them super-truffles? They are raw, vegan, gluten-free and contained many oh-so-amazing superfoods - Cacao, chia and blueberries.

I mixed 30 dates (approx 5 medjool dates) in a food processor with 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup blueberries until paste formed. Added 2 tbsp coconut flour (or almond flour), 1 tbsp cacao powder, 2 tbsp ground chia seeds and mixed with a spatula.

Rolled these into balls (made 12) and chilled for an hour in the fridge. Then I fancied them all up in coconut flakes, chopped peanuts and cocoa powder.

These turned out pretty soft so they are in the freezer now but I ate 3 (1 of each) and I really liked the one with chopped peanuts, made next time I'll add some nut butter in to the truffle...

Have a sweet day (weekend)!

Introducing...

As if we need an excuse to make something sweet, but hey we made it through Monday, which is most often the hardest day of the week so why not celebrate and give yourself a boost that'll get you through the remainder of the week.

For my first Sweet Tooth Tuesday, I made a simple brownie recipe that was probably one of the easiest and quickest desserts I've ever made. In the end I only had 4 items to clean (bowl, spoon, measuring cup and tsp). I am a big fan of using parchment paper in baking to avoid greasing a pan (or not greasing enough and having the dessert burn and or stick!) and because it's 100% biodegradable (and 1 less pan to clean).
I also reuse parchment paper when I make kale chips...which is almost daily.

Here are the Brownies. Recipe from The Vegan Scoop adapted to use less sugar and whole wheat flour. Next time I get around to make these bad boys, they will be gluten free!

They turned out incredibly moist and decadent. A Sweet Tooth Tuesday indeed!

Have a sweet day!

Trying Something New

So today I went to Yoga for the first time, and wasn't sure what to expect. I had only done a few poses in the past (thanks to my wii fit) so most of it was new for me. After waking up I had my usual glass of warm water with lemon, then I made sure to have a light breakfast - apple slices dipped in chocolate almond butter with cinnamon (oh ya!) and I drank about a litre of water. Thank goodness I did because boy did I sweat!!! Did I mention it was hot yoga?!?! Talk about diving right in.

I have a 30 day unlimited pass so I will be going back for more. I admit I really enjoyed it, but by the end of the hour I was done. Leaving the studio I felt so calm and remained in a peaceful state, I can't believe it took me so long to try this! Upon returning home I rehydrated with coconut water and snacked on quinoa and kale chips.

I spent the afternoon finishing building my raised vegetable garden, so tomorrow the soil can go in and seeds and plants later this week. So far in the raised bed I'll be planting: Cucumber, Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Carrots, Beets, Lettuce, Eggplant and Watermelon. In separate planters I have already planted Green Beans, Edamame and Parsley. From previous years we have green onions, strawberries and so much rhubarb - next week will be pie making time! :)

Have a sweet day!

It's a Blueberry Kinda Day

Happy Friday!

For some reason waking up today was a struggle, and it took me awhile to gather the energy to do anything. First things first, a girl's gotta eat! I made a smoothie that had 1 banana, 4 strawberries, 2 handfuls of blueberries, 6 spinach leaves, 2 kale leaves, orange juice and soy protein powder.

I then devoured a vanilla cupcake with blueberry filling and blueberry "cream cheese" frosting.

I made the cupcakes yesterday and they definitely taste better today. The vanilla cupcake was a standard vegan recipe and the filling, was a homemade blueberry jam I whipped up. The frosting was interesting. I hardly ever use fake cheese but thought to give this a try with Tofutti. It was sweeter than I liked, thanks to all the powdered sugar but I'll have to tweak before I post the recipe. No food colour needed, these were vibrant with the blueberries mixed in!

Have a sweet day!

Cinco de Mayo

In lieu of Cinco de Mayo today, we made Fajitas for dinner. They were delicious and with the nice weather Ontario had today, I could have sworn I was in Mexico. I can dream...

Here's what was in the Fajita:
Whole wheat tortilla wrap (instead of corn, I know not authentic but healthier!!)
Refried beans
Yves ground "beef"
Guacamole (I made for snack earlier in the day)
Sautéed red and green peppers and red onions

It was very filling and packed with protein, fibre and iron!

Salud! (Cheers!)

Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream!

I know summer is just around the corner but it sure didn't feel like it today. Summer means so many things, and the first things that come to mind when I think of summer are: the smell of fresh cut grass, juicy watermelon and cold and delicious ice cream.

I've never made ice cream before but usually can be found digging into a tub of Coconut Bliss. As I searched through flavour options and compared the ingredient lists to what I had on hand to use, I narrowed down my choice to Banana Peanut Butter and away I went with my ice cream maker. I added mini chocolate chips in at the end for an extra crunch and sweetness, and garnished my bowl with chopped peanuts. On most days I'm not even a huge fan of Banana but this combination was beyond my expectations and I won't have a problem polishing off the rest!

Have a sweet day!

Quote

if there is no love in the world, we will make a new world ♥ - - jonathan safran foer