Whitewater Granola Bars

Yesterday morning I woke up and made a delicious green monster for breakfast.  Coconut milk, kefir, greek yogurt, frozen raspberries, half a banana and 2 cups of spinach.

Blended up until smooth!  Unfortunately red and green don't make the prettiest colour, but I assure you that this was absolutely delish! Tart, with a hint of sweetness.

bran buds on the side!  Gotta get in my daily fibre :)

Enjoyed on my parents sun deck in the beautiful morning sun.

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This morning I had planned on going for a run bright and early - before breakfast - but I couldn't seem to wake up, which is quite unusual for me - being an early bird and all.  So, I decided to give myself some time to wake up and have some breakfast first, hoping it would perk me up a bit.  I made myself a bowl of greek yogurt with local strawberries, banana and bran buds.

 It was oh so good.  After breakfast and a couple hours of digesting...I headed out for my run.  My mom biked along side me, which was awesome! I love when people come along with me :) It's so much fun!  I covered 9 km, which included some fartleks and it was great!  It took me awhile to warm up, again, because I just felt really tired this morning, but after awhile it felt great!  Stopped to snack on salmon berries along the way!

Later on in the afternoon, my mom and I made some absolutely delicious granola bars, a recipe she found in her Whitewater Cooks cookbook.  She has made them once before, but she changed up this recipe a little bit and it was for the better I think.  Not to say that the others weren't good - they were UNREAL - but I preferred this recipe because it included almonds and I really LOVE almonds :) Texture, flavour, just everything.  These bars are definitely easily adapted to your dietary needs and could be "healthed" up a bit for sure, but why mess with a good thing, right? Unless you have to of course!  Now, I know some of the things in the ingredient list may seen like a lot, such as the butter and corn syrup, but remember, this recipe makes 2 HUGE lasagna pans of bars.  That is probably about 30 granola bars, so it really isn't as much as you'd think.

Whitewater Granola Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla (or if using almond extract, omit this and

add 1 tsp of almond extract)

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup corn syrup

6 cups oats

1 cup toasted coconut

1 cup toasted sliced almonds

1 cup toasted sesame seeds

2 cups chocolate chips (or 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup raisins 

I prefer it this way - I love the chew of raisins)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a skillet, toast the almonds, sesame seeds and coconut.  

Take out of pan, put aside to cool.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar and peanut butter...

until nice and smooth.

Add corn syrup and mix well.

Add in vanilla extract or almond extract.

Add in remaining ingredients.

Mix well.

Pour mixture into 2 well greased 9 by 13 lasagna pans.

Once mixture is in the pan, press down mixture until firm.

Helpful hint: Wet a large metal spoon and use the back of it to press down the sticky mixture.  This keeps it from sticking to the spoon.

Cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting.

I swear these are the best granola bars I have ever had, hands down.  That's saying a lot considering I do love my Luna Bars, Cliff Bars, Lara Bars...well....you get the picture.  These bars have so many different textures and flavours with a hint of sweetness and chew.  Absolutely perfect in my books.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post - I will be giving you an amazing recipe called Scentilentil Journey -talk about a cute name right? -  from the Looneyspoons Collection cookbook.  Trust me, you don't wanna miss it! 

Goodnight

xo

Happy Father's Day!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!  Francis and I came up to Campbell River to visit my family for Father's Day.  Saturday morning we had a lovely breakfast of eggs, fresh fruit and toast (I tried a local spelt bread - which was fantastic).  There were also sausages and hash browns.  It was delish!

My mom and I spent the day at the Farmer's Market and getting groceries in town for dinner and Father's Day breakfast!

For lunch my mom and I had a quick bite of vegetarian lasagna and a delicious salad we bought at Costco!  It came with everything in the bag - all you had to do was assemble it.  

It was actually extremely fresh and yummy!

After lunch my mom and I ventured into town to run a few errands, including grocery shopping for dinner as well as Father's Day breakfast!

My mom made the boys sweet and sour ribs and chicken for us gals!  She coated the chicken in a dijon mustard, greek yogurt mix and bread crumbs with delicious herbs.  We have local broccoli, beets and beet tops and Oh...my...god...I can't even begin to explain how absolutely amazing the vegetables were.  Tender and flavourful! Nothing like store bought that's for darn sure!

After dinner the four of us went for a nice long walk along the river, stopping for salmon berries along the way!  We stopped by the pier on the way home.  My dad got a pistachio, my mom got a rolo and Francis a black cherry!  For myself, well I got a mango frozen yogurt - my absolute favourite!  

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Happy Father's Day!

This morning started off with a very early, absolutely wonderful 10 k run!  It was cool, but not cold, there weren't any bugs and it was really quiet - only a few people out walking their dogs!  It was really lovely.  On the way home I stopped at the store for a couple of things and hurried home to start on breakfast.  My mom made a wonderful fruit salad full of cherries, kiwi, oranges and blueberries.

I made crepes with a simple - yet unbelievable - apple filling.

Apple Filling

4 apples peeled, cut in half and sliced 

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp-1/4 cup brown sugar (depending on your preference)

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

On medium heat, put butter and apples into a pan.  Once butter has melted, add sugar and honey.  Mix well.  Cover and let simmer until apples are soft, yet still crunchy.  We aren't making applesauce here people ;)  Remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla.

We also made a grand mariner infused whipped cream.  Holy cow - it was sooooo good and super easy.   Fresh watermelon on the side.

Grand Marnier Infused Whipped Cream

1 cup whipping creme

1 ounce grand marnier

Whip until it reaches you desired consistency!

Look at that beautiful crepe.  Cooked on a crepe pan, which I have never used before.  We picked it up yesterday and works so well.  I will never use a regular frying pan again.  No stick and easy to flip! Win win!

Apple filling on the right.

I had a crepe with a dollop of whipped creme, topped in warm maple syrup (to die!), fruit salad and fresh watermelon.  Words can't explain how absolutely delicious this breakfast was.  Probably one of the best breakfasts I've made - dare I say, EVER? - Yeah, I know.  It was THAT good!  I guess it's a good thing I went on a run first thing this morning ;)

My Dad's Father's Day plate.  I think he liked them :)

The rest of the day was spent with the fam at the market, walking downtown, sitting on the beach with Nicole's (my sister) dogs, Leelu and Sadie, and hanging out at home.  

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday evening!

Run Run as Fast as You Can!

How's everybody's week going? Mine is going great!  I have starting training for a 10 k, which will be in October/November (which I would like to have a personal best in), organizing my apartment, cooking and relaxing!  All things that I love to do!

I decided to train again after talking to my friend, Britta!  She told me she is training for her very first half marathon (GO BRITTA) and I thought to myself, well I should train too!! I had been thinking about it a lot lately but hadn't thought about it too seriously until now.  I am happy to be training again and for a much shorter distance.  I have trained enough to know what I should be doing and on what days I should be doing it!  No need for a program this time!

Even though I say I am training...I am not going to be as crazy as I have been in the past.  I used to be SO strict to the point where running just wasn't fun anymore...by the end of my training it felt like a chore.  The reason I was like this was because I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to do well in the race - even though if you follow your training you will be amazed at what your body can do.  So this time around I am going to take it at my own pace and just have fun with it.  If I have learned anything about training, it's that you should always trust your training schedule and try and enjoy the journey.  Don't stress yourself out - it isn't worth it!

That being said, on Tuesday morning I got up nice and early and headed out for a run.  I thought I would do a short 6 k run, but after about 4 k I thought, well, why not do 7, after I got to 5 I decided to do 8 and then when I got to about 6 I thought, why not do the 10 k loop (which I haven't done in MONTHS).  So I did.  And you know what? It was awesome! It was difficult at all.  I guess the short, fartlek training that I have been doing has paid off!  It's definitely hard as a runner when you are used to running long distances and then you don't keep up with your intense training (because it's nearly impossible) and aren't able to run the same distances anymore...but I was shocked and beyond happy that I was able to do it! In a really  good time too!

After I got home from my run I whipped up an old favourite.  Chocolate Banana Smoothie (which tastes more like a milkshake - I kid you not)!

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana

1/2 almond milk/soy milk/milk of choice 

1/4 cup silken tofu

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1-2 tablespoons honey

Instructions:

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

I obviously had a HUGE jug of lemon water to go along with it.  I made a few of these on Monday night.  I filled them up with my fruit of choice, squished all the juice out of it with the back of a wooden spoon.  Filled with water and refrigerated over night!

Lemon lime and watermelon blueberry!  In the morning I poured them into a glass without the fruit.  I just didn't have the patience to do this with my first one, obviously ;)

One other thing I did this week was cleaned all of my fruit and berries in warm vinegar water.  Fill up your sink with hot water and about 1/4 cup vinegar.  Allow to soak.  Rub gently and rinse thoroughly.  The amount of dirt that was in my sink after I finished with this was quite disgusting...

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On Wednesday I went for another 10 k run because my run on Tuesday was just so awesome.  I did about 20 minutes of a slower pace to warm up, followed by 2 minute fartleks with 1-2 minute slower pace in between to rest.  I did 6 sets and then ran the rest of the loop at a slower pace.  

After my run (which was in the later afternoon) I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a few things for dinner.  I broiled a very simple salmon stuffed with garlic, topped with salt and pepper, lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.  Broiled on high for 15 minutes.  We had fresh asparagus (YUM), beets (not so yum - not in season) and brown rice.  The salmon was okay - not my favourite.

Now, back to running.  No matter what I've been training for, my schedule has always said Tuesdays and Wednesdays are intense training runs (fartleks, hills and intervals) and Thursdays run is meant to be a steady, easier run.  And trust me, after 2 hard runs, Thursdays runs feel so so good!  So today I ran a steady 8 k (at a slower pace) and it felt great.  I was a little sore (because of my runs and going to the gym with Francis) and tight in my calves, so a slower run was just what I needed.  It was such a great way to start my day - especially since people who are out walking their dog, or running are always so friendly and happy.  Can't always say the same about people in the afternoons or evenings.  YIKES.  Sometimes I wonder about people...especially when you say "hi" and flash them a smile and they don't say anything back even though they clearly heard you.

Anywho - I better get going and finish up getting ready.  I am meeting a friend, Alyssa downtown to do a little bit of shopping!  It's pretty decent out there today so it will be nice to walk around a little bit!  Have a great day everyone!

xo

Weekend Highlights

Hi all! Did everyone have an awesome weekend? Sure hope so!  My weekend started off with one of my favourite people coming into town - MY MOM!

She was arriving later in the evening so I decided to prepare a nice meal for her when she arrived.  I marinaded some fresh sockeye salmon using a recipe from the Eat Shrink and Be Merry girls!

If you are a salmon lover you will absolutely fall in love with this recipe! I'm tellin' ya...it's a keeper!

Ingredients

1/4 cup Lime juice

2 tbsp Minced cilantro

1 tbsp Soy sauce

1 tbsp Honey mustard

1 tbsp Barbecue sauce or ketchup

1 tsp Grated lime zest

1 tsp Minced garlic

1/4 tsp Each cumin, ground coriander, salt and black pepper

1 and 1/2 lb Boneless skinless salmon fillets, cut into chunks

Skewers (or one large fillet)

Instructions

Combine all marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well.

Place salmon chunks in a large, plastic bag along with marinade and seal bag. Turn several times to coat w marinade. Refrigerate for 30 min

Preheat grill or broiler. Remove salmon from marinade and thread onto skewers. Coat grill rack or broiler pan with olive oil. Grill or broil for 3 to 4 minutes per side, brushing often with remaining marinade. Salmon should be slightly pink in the centre.  If you are using a large fillet, you will have to broil it on high for about 15 minutes! 

I steamed some spinach and brown rice on the side.

Loving peonies right now...in fact, I think they may be my absolute favourite flower.  So simple and perfect.

On Saturday night...after a day of walking at Elk Lake and having lunch at Glo restaurant - awesome restaurant on the water - we decided to put together a nice dinner.  My mom and I both prefer making a nice homemade dinner over going out somewhere.  We decided on lovely organic chicken.  

Basil Parmesan Crusted Chicken

8-10 basil olive oil Breton crackers crushed into crumbs

2-3 tbsp parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp salt and pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

Instructions

Heat olive oil in frying pan on medium-high heat.  Dip chicken dip in flour of choice (I used spelt), dip in egg wash, coat the chicken breasts in a very light cracker crumb mixture.  Pan fried in olive oil until lightly browned on both sides and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.  Cover and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

It turned out absolutely perfect!  Steamed new potatoes, peas and fresh corn on the side.

My my my was this ever good.  Simple and delicious.  Now, I am not a potato lover by any means...but steamed new potatoes - plain with absolutely nothing on them - are so sweet, not starchy at all and just plain perfect.

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Fast forward to Sunday morning....

My mom and I had a bowl of greek yogurt, blueberries and Love Crunch Apple Pie granola (YUM!).

After breakfast we decided to go on a walk....we walked from my apartment to the Fisherman's Wharf for lunch.  Francis and my mom order the Halibut and fries, which unfortunately were not very good.  I ordered the steamed salmon and a side salad, which wasn't very good either.  Oh well, it was a lot of fun walking there on such a beautiful day and the atmosphere there is always so much fun!  It always makes me feel like I am on a vacation.  

After lunch we had every intention of taking the little water taxi home (it stops really close to our apartment) but my mom and I both thought it would be nice to walk back home...and so we did! We stopped at Cafe Fantastico on the galloping goose trail for a caramel machiato and treat for later ;)  All in all it was about a 14 km walk and I enjoyed every.single.kilometer :)  It was so nice to share the day with my mom doing something she loves (walking) and doing something I love (spending any sort of time with her!).  She's the best!

Later that afternoon we were hot and ready for a nice, cold drink.  My mom used to make watermelon daiquiri's, which neither of us have had in years, so we thought this weekend would be a great time to make them!  I bought a watermelon earlier in the week, cut it up and froze it so it was all ready to go!

Here is a way that I like to cut it up that works extremely well.  Because they are so huge and extremely awkward to work with it can be a little bit tricky to figure out how to cut them properly.  If you cut both of the ends off then it will stick straight up and down and will be nice and balanced.  Then just cut down the sides, cut in half and cut into  the size chunks that you want! Easy peasy!

And here in the beautiful beverage that made our afternoon absolutely delicious!  

Watermelon Daiquiris

Serves 2 3

3 cups frozen watermelon in chunks

1/4 cup of rum (or a little more... ;)

juice of 4 or 5 limes

1-2 tbsp of sugar depending on your taste buds (I don't really think it needs sugar)

Put all of the ingredients into your blender, adding more rum water until it reaches your desired consistency.  

Rim the glass with lime juice and dip in sugar.  Top with freshly squeezed lime juice and a fancy schmancy straw (not shown here)!

These are SO SO SOOOOO good.  Seriously amazing.  Probably my favourite drink.  I am excited to try them without the alcohol as a refreshing afternoon smoothie :)  They are reasonably healthy (without the rum of course) and they taste a million times better than those sugary daiquiri's you can find in the bottle at the grocery store AND they are simple to boot! 

Last nights dinner was from my mom's new cookbook, Whitewater cooks, that she brought along with her!  It is called the Glory Bowl.  It is just that - Glorious!

Ingredients

Serves 8

2 tbsp vegetable oil or oil of choice

2 cups cubed extra firm tofu

8 cups cooked brown rice

2 cups grated carrots

2 cups grated beets

2 cups backed baby spinach leaves

2 cups slivered almonds, toasted

Dressing

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1/3 cup Tamari or soy sauce

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup water

2 tbsp tahini

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1-1 and 1/2 cups oil of choice 

(definitely does NOT need this much oil - we used olive oil)

Instructions

In a large skilled, heat oil over medium-high heat, fry tofu, until brown and crispy.  About 10 minutes.

Dressing: In a blender puree ingredients except the oil.  Add oil in a steady stream until you have reached your desired consistency.  Cover and refrigerate for a week (trust me, you will have a lot leftover)

To serve, divide rice among 8 bowls (we only used 3), top with spinach, beets, carrots, tofu and drizzle in dressing.  Top with toasted almonds.

Well, that was sure a LONG post.  Hopefully you didn't fall asleep on that one ;)  Overall, it was a fantastic weekend spent with fantastic people!

How about you? What did you get up to this weekend? Any awesome recipes you would like to share?

xo

A Little Running Inspiration

I have a daily running calendar my mom got me this past Christmas and everyday it shares a little running tip.  I thought yesterday's tip was super cute and a neat idea so I thought i'd share it with you all.

"If you want to do more with your logbook, write down how you felt or what you saw.  So, instead of a drudgery, a 3- or 4-mile run becomes a voyage of exploration that you can about afterward."

Isn't that such a cool idea? It would definitely take your mind off of running and make it into a fun activity.  You could even make a list of things you hope to find on your run and keep and eye out for them.  When you get home you can check to see if you found everything that was on your list.  Kind of a neat little scavenger hunt!  I'm hoping to try this out very soon!

What do you think? Will you incorporate this into your next run?

Spa Day!

When I got up this morning I wasn't sure what I wanted to have for breakfast.  This is really weird for me considering I plan tomorrow's breakfast the night before and get excited about it usually a couple of hours after dinner!  I started browsing through the fridge, cupboards and didn't really find anything that was appealing to me..that is until I looked in the freezer! BREAD I FORGOT ABOUT YOU!  I don't eat much bread because I really don't like it that much...but sometimes I really love the crunch of a nice piece of toast...so that's exactly what I had today!

I toasted up 2 pieces of Silver Hills Steady Eddie bread, topped with PB and banana!  I had half of a HUGE grapefruit on the side.  

 Why haven't I eaten grapefruit in so long? It is so delicious.  Tart, juicy and extremely satisfying!  

I have a feeling this is going to be a daily thing...and I'm totally okay with that :)

After I had my breakfast...I went for my massage appointment at the Willow Spa at the Fairmont Empress Hotel.  My good friend, Nicole, gave me a gift card for a massage for my birthday months ago and I was saving it for a time when I really needed it - today felt like the day! My shoulders were in desperate need of a massage.

First of all...you would never expect this spa to be as beautiful and tranquil as it actually is because of where it is located and the exterior isn't all that nice.  But if you know anything about the Fairmont Empress Hotel you wouldn't expect anything less than amazing.  It is absolutely beautifully decorated in marble with mini fountains and waterfalls everywhere you look accompanied by beautiful music in the background.  I was immediately brought downstairs to get into my bathing suit and robe so that I could enjoy their sauna, steam room and their special bath before my appointment!  I took advantage of the sauna and because it was first thing in the morning there were only 2 or 3 other people around so I had it all to myself.  I closed my eyes and relaxed.  Next, I moved onto the bath, which again, I had all to myself where I sat under the fountains as the water trickled over me.  SO NICE.  That was just the beginning.  I was already feeling as though I had had my appointment but it hadn't even begun! Gotta love that!

I sat in the waiting room, sipped on some tropical tea for about 2 minutes before I was greeted by my masseuse.  She brought me upstairs to a beautiful room that was warm and smelled like lavender....after 60 minutes of an absolutely amazing massage (except the feet...I swear I was ready to kick her in the face I was so ticklish) I went back into the sauna for about 10 minutes before showering up and heading home.  

Overall experience? I can sum it up in one word - INCREDIBLE!  This was the best massage/spa treatment I have ever had.  It really felt like a treatment and I felt like I was on vacation.  What made it extra amazing was that it is a cold, rainy and windy day today so I totally appreciated being in a nice, warm environment!

If you haven't been to the Willow Spa I urge you to at least check of their website.  They offer so many wonderful treatments, any of which would make an amazing gift for that lovely lady/gentleman in your life!  I took the price list home and am already planning on what treatment I want to have next!

Anyways...enough of that babble...now I am going to finish up my coffee (didn't get to finish it this morning so I just microwaved it when I got home....does anyone else do that or am I just gross?) and probably lay down for a bit because I feel absolutely zonked from my massage.  Funny how relaxing can make you even MORE tired....that's okay though, because I have nothing else that I have to do today!  I have plans for a run and the gym later with Francis but other than that I am free as a bird...and I am going to enjoy every second of it because it doesn't happen very often!

What do you all have planned for today?

Cheanut Butter Valmond Protein Cookies

First of all, I would like to wish everyone a very happy National Running Day! I hope you all find the time to go outdoors for a run or at least go for a little walk if you aren't able to run!  I am really looking forward to my run today because it is an absolutely gorgeous day! Before I do that I just wanted to share something very special with you.  A new recipe of course. I came across a recipe for Chocolate Protein Cookies on the Dr. Oz website and was very intrigued.  I am usually very hesitant to experiment with protein cookies that include protein powders because I can usually taste the powder and they come out with a super funky texture...but today I thought, why not? What do I have to lose other than a few dollars worth of ingredients? :)

So here I introduce to you...Cheanut Butter Valmond Protein Cookies.  Cheanut = Chocolate peanut, Valmond = Vanilla Almond (okay, maybe the name needs a little bit of work but it'll do for now)!

Cheanut Butter Valmond Protein Cookies

Ingredients

2/3 cup natural peanut butter

1/2 cup egg whites

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups oats (I used Scottish Oats)

3/4 cup ground flax meal

1/4 tsp salt (I used 1/8 tsp sea salt)

71 grams Vega Chocolate protein powder

25 grams Vega Vanilla Almondilla Shake 'n Go Smoothie

**Please note that you may substitute these protein powders for 4 scoops of your protein powder of choice**

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a large bowl mix together peanut butter (microwave for 35 seconds to soften), egg whites, brown sugar and unsweetened applesauce.

2) Add vanilla, baking soda, oats, ground flax meal, salt and protein powder.  Combine well.

3) Spoon dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for approx. 12-15 minutes

4) Take out of oven and allow to cool before you begin to shove them into your mouth (if you have the willpower hehe)!

I just finished snacking on one of these bad boys and they are very tasty! I am super impressed by this recipe!  They have a really nice texture, meaning that they aren't grainy, they have a very light peanut butter flavour and the protein powder is barely detectable, which is a bonus in my books (not a huge fan of the texture of most protein powders).  

These will be a perfect on the go breakfast, pre/post workout snack, afternoon pick-me-up or after dinner dessert.  They are also a perfect snack to make your Dad who is trying to eat more nutritious foods (shout out to my friend, Nicole's Dad)!  Basically they are great at any time of day!

Again, I am planning on freezing them...who knows, maybe they will be even better frozen! I'll keep you posted, pun not definitely intended ;)

Now please, go out and enjoy the day...and try your best to celebrate National Running Day by going out for a jog/run/walk!

xo