Love yourself before you can Live your life











Friday, March 26, 2010

Pass It On

So I was watching a clip about Ellen DeGeneres becoming a vegan and why she did. One thing she talked about was the 'Earthlings' movie....in one word SAD. We all know deep down unruly things happen to animals, but I guess we look at it like outta sight outta mind. But it is time to WAKE up and do something, ANYTHING to create a change. There is power in numbers, so let’s all come together and make this world more peaceful for one and all. Here is the link for the trailer of 'Earthlings' http://www.earthlings.com/ . I hope you watch the whole thing...if you can watch a horror movie you can and should watch this, remember ignorance is NOT bliss.

Some ideas to make a change is to get mailing addresses for you major grocery stores and start writing them about bringing in fairly treated meat products. The more we demand the more change can occur. Also spread the word...don't stop talking about this matter until something is being done. This is a movement, and one that you should want to be a part of. We don't accept slavery anymore, so why should we accept the brutal torture and murdering of helpless animals for our own selfish desires and wants? Do you have some ideas about making a change? Share them!!!

Much love...

Uh Oh!

So confession time!! Last night I had some lamb :( Here is how it all went down...I wanted some salmon, so I said if I can find some wild/organic salmon I will have 1/2 of a portion. However there was none!! Nowhere...I went to 3 different grocery stores and told them what I was looking for but nothing!! So I checked out what kind of meats there were that were first local and then next if it was 'free from'. At the superstore there are sections in the meat isle that are called 'free from', that are usually local and defiantly free from chemicals and hormones, which is good. So anyways I got some 'good' lamb for me and Justin and had maybe 3 ounces and automatically felt heavy. It was so weird...because all I had with it were some roasted veggies, no grains. Anyways I can't even remember before then when I had meat...and I can tell you it will be a long time before I do it again, that heavy feeling was just so blah!!

Nutrition Notes

Brussels sprouts are full of nutrients and contain significant amounts of vitamin C. In fact, gram for gram, Brussels sprouts contain nearly fifty percent more vitamin C than an orange. Just four to six Brussels sprouts contain the adult daily requirement for vitamin C.
Like other cruciferous vegetables, Brussels sprouts contain nitrogen compounds called indoles, known for their cancer fighting properties. Brussels sprouts are also a good source of folate, potassium, vitamin K, fibre and beta carotene.
Nutritional information per serving (4 sprouts): 33 kcal, 7 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 3 g protein, 3 g fibre

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Delightfully Delish Vegan Pattie

It has been about a week since my last blog...oopsy!! Anywho I'll make this a good one to make up for it :) I made these super yummy veggie/grain patties that you could put on a bun OR just eat alone with some avocado or tomato so here goes...

1/2 can of black beans, 1/2 can of chickpeas, 1 cup cooked brown rice (or Arborio rice), 1 cup cooked lentils, 1/2 medium zucchini chopped, 1/2 small onion chopped, 2-4 cloves of garlic, 1/2 radicchio sliced, 10 broken up dates (I used honey dates), salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 tbsp or cayenne and oregano (or basil). Blitz all with a hand blender or in a blender. If it is too hard to blitz add some veg stock or water....just a touch!! If too liquidy add some oats or whole wheat flour. From there form into balls...depending how big you want your patties. I cook these to order, I like them better that way, and just cover the leftover mix in the fridge until I want some more. So heat a pan to about a 6-7 just over medium. When hot add oil (safflower, veg whatever you want) then place 'ball' in pan and smooch down with hands to flatten. Leave about 3-5 min then flip and leave the same on that side. NOTE they are a bit mushy so be gentle flipping they are a little tricky until you get the hang!! That’s it..like I said I put avocado on mine and stacked two. I served it with some roasted brussel sprout YUMMMMMM!!! Enjoy!!



Also check out www.herbivoreclothing.com. I love it! I just got a cute tee saying 'Im vegan and I love you' with a little elephant on it, a few stickers and a cool stainless steel lunch box!!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Awesomenesssss


SO cool news for me!! A girl who works with Kamut saw my blog about using Kamut noodles in a recipe and asked if she could quote me and post a link to my blog on the Kamut facebook!! Sweet!! You guys should check it out and find out more about Kamut, so good for you and yummy too.



Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Spring Is Here!!!

I find when the sun is shining I want delicious good for me food more than ever! This morning I had a little medley that I have used a few different ways over the past few days. Just using up some produce in my fridge so it doesn't go to waste. The first thing I made was a pizza...I even made the whole wheat vegan friendly crust myself (I am awesome). It wasn't the best crust ever BUT it was my first attempt, so I will perfect it. Then I made my pizza topping with sliced radicchio so it was in thread like pieces. Then I quartered up some mushrooms LOVE them and used 1/2 and avocado. I sautéed up the mushrooms first for a minute in safflower oil, but you can use any oil you'd like. Then I added in the sliced radicchio (yum yum) and tossed it around a little...OH and I grated up one garlic clove and tossed that in with the radicchio. From there I just added in the cubed avocado just to warm it up a little, adding some salt and pepper. I then put it on the cooked pizza crust and voila!! Since then I have used the same mix for a wrap and then this morning I had it on a slice of toast. It is one of those yummy things that while you eat it you are saying to yourself....how can this taste so good and not be so bad? But is not only scrumptious but your body will love you too with all of the wonderful fats you are getting from the avocado which will make your hair shiny and your skin glow, who can refuse that? Here’s a little about radicchio 'Good for you… Radicchio is especially high in antioxidants such as flavonoids and phenylic acid. Interestingly, radicchio contains much more antioxidants than other varieties of chicories (such as escarole or curly endive). It also provides vitamins A and C and phosphorus.'

So try something new today and I hope you can realize how simple and easy making nutritious yummy food is. Make the time to help develop your best you!!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Who Said?!?!

So I am writing this exciting blog as I 'mop' up my breakfast mmmm breakfast, even though it is 1:28pm (damn spring forward!!).


Who said that breakfast had to consist of typical breakfast type food??? I wanted pasta dang it so I had pasta!! Plus I just had a great workout, therefore I needed to refuel. So I had my kamut udon noodles which have 15g of protein per 3oz serving which is essential after a workout. Did you know it is so important to get protein in your system ASAP after a workout? Your muscles are hungry and protein is their fave food...so get it in you and the sooner the better. If too much time passes (2 hours past your workout) your workout is borderline pointless because your muscles depend on that protein fuel to shape and grow. Anyways back to the pasta breakfast! So on my udon kamut noodles I added a load of homemade tomato sauce yum yum thanks to my man friend, and topped with sunflower seeds and used my cute rose bowl again (she is getting very good use!!) From there I toasted a slice of organic 12 grain bread made by a local baker, no sugar and all readable ingredients, and smothered it with Earths Balance organic buttery spread....hence the mopping up my breakfast. I couldn't let all of that yummy sauce go to waste :)

Eat up!!

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm Check out this link for some other vegan friendly protien sources

Friday, March 12, 2010

I love cute bowls...

Check out this awesome bowl! I got it from Winners for $4.99, I love it :) It makes eating anything that much more exciting. For lunch I used it today and had a yummy spinach salad with raw unsalted sunflower seeds, organic raisins and a dressing made with organic Olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some Dijon mustard mmmm!! Then after that I had a homemade butternut squash soup made by my man friend, totally vegan (recipe to come). Question to ask yourself today "Where did this food I am eating come from???"

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Toasted Quinoa w/ Avacado, sauteed Mushrooms & Lemon pulp

Yummmmm.....Oops I was just daydreaming about my scrumptious din din last night :) So LOVE Quinoa 'Although not a common item in most kitchens today, quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavour when cooked. Quinoa is available in your local health food stores throughout the year.' I suggest getting it from the Bulk Barn...another thing I love. They have organic quinoa and it is so much cheaper than the grocery store, and I then transfer it to a recycled glass container (maybe an old pasta sauce jar) and store in the fridge. For more info on quinoa, check out www.whfoods.com and search quinoa.

So getting down to business, here is the recipe. You will need 1/2 cup of quinoa (this will make 2-3 portions), 1 cup of water OR low sodium vegetable broth. My super fantastic man friend made some tasty homemade veg broth, even better since we know every little thing going in. 1/2 of an avocado cubed, 6-8 button mushrooms (or any kind, but obviously not 8 Portobello’s...too much!!), olive oil and the squeeze of 1/4 lemon, salt/pepper/oregano/cayenne to taste. That’s it. So to create this yum yum dish get a pan hot at a medium heat, add in quinoa to dry pan, constantly tossing the quinoa around so it doesn't burn. Do this for about 5 min till you get a nice toasted aroma. From there put the quinoa and veg broth in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer and cover until cooked about 8-10 min. In a separate pan sauté the sliced mushrooms in a splash of olive oil over medium. When they are cooked, place on a paper towel to allow some of the oil to come off. Cube 1/2 avocado. When quinoa is cooked, add in the avocado, mushrooms, squeeze of lemon and spices to taste....and thats it!! So tasty, filling and fast!! ENJOY!! In the picture you will see I served it with some lightly steamed cauliflower which I topped with a little Earth Balance Organic Buttery Spread....so yummy...dairy free obviously. You can get this at major grocery stores in the health food isle. I experimented with a sauce for the cauliflower which was made up of blended tahini (Sesame paste), cayenne pepper, brown rice syrup and some other items, but I will post when it is perfected...until then love and live in fitness. Oh and p.s. those are my kitties...they are so weird, this is how I found them, Ollie is the one is spread eagle form and Zeus is all cuddled by Ollie's butt...coo coos!! 








Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Work It...

The Interval Training Workout: Build Muscle and Burn Fat with Anaerobic Exercise
So I LOVE interval training!! This simply means changing up your pace/incline/resistance while you are doing cardio. My favourite is when I am on the treadmill. You can easily do this also if you are running outside. Remember to always do a 4-5 min warm up just to get your heart rate going to help prevent injury. Then every two minutes I change my incline (on a treadmill) while remaining at a 4.2 mile and hour speed (you can walk less quick if starting out). So my 'home base' incline is 3.5. After 2 min I go to 5.5, then back to 3.5, then up to 7.5 and so on like this; 3.5/9.5/3.5/11.5/3.5/9.5/3.5/7.5/3.5/5.5/3.5 spending 2 min at each incline. SUCH a good workout and tough. So you have a steady incline up and steady incline down. You can make your base 0 if you are starting out going 0/2/0/4/0/6/0/8/0/6/0/4/0/2/0 again 2 min at each interval. If you are running outside or on the treadmill, you can quicken your speed. Sometimes I run different speeds to different songs. So let’s say 6.0 for one song, and 7.0 for another. The benefit to interval training is your body is being constantly challenged and therefore burns more calories rather than maintaining a constant speed or incline. PLUS it helps me when I use the treadmill to not get too bored since I am changing things up. For more on interval training check out this link...Get moving!! http://www.intervaltraining.net/

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Clean Out That Fridge!

So obviously everyone has thrown out food that has gone bad, right? How about we buy less, eat more, and waste less??!! Shopping for only what we need will not only create less waste, but save us money. So when I am really hungry I need something hearty and filling, so I usually grab a stew, stir-fry or pasta. Last night I had pasta....yum I love pasta! I started with organic Kamut Udon noodles by Sobaya. It has 19% of your daily fibre, 25% of your iron and 15g of protein. Here are the steps for the sauce; I was just making enough for two:
- One small onion chopped and cooked in 1/4 cup of oil (olive or safflower) until translucent at med heat
- Then add 2-3 cloves of grated or diced garlic.
- Add in veggies of your choice (Mushroom, green peppers, celery, tomatoes, spinach are what I used)

- Sautee them at a medium heat for 3-5 min
- Add in 1/4 cup of vegetable broth and 1/4 of tomato sauce (I use edens choice), continue at medium heat.
- Add 1/2 tablespoon of both apple cider vinegar (I like BRAGG raw and organic) and Shoyu sauce (like soya sauce, I use organic Tamari brand)
- Squeeze the juice of about 1/4 of a lemon or lime
- Add other seasonings you like, dried herbs (oregano, basil) and spices like cayenne, curry powder etc.
- Leave at medium heat to simmer and cook for about 8-10 min so sauce thickens
- Top sauce on noodles and garnish with sunflower seeds...ENJOY!!