A new look!

Well, today was the first day it felt like fall. It was crisp and wonderful. I felt inspired by the beautiful fall weather, so I decided to change my background. This definitely won't be the only time...I get bored very easily so I like to change things up all the time :)

 I started off my super early morning with a delicious carrot spice muffin.

I didn't even realize that my breaky made a happy face! Talk about a nice surprise! It definitely made my early morning a little bit easier to enjoy. I topped my muffin off with a schmear of almond butter and peanut butter. Mmm mmm good!

Carrot Spice Muffins (vegan):

Adapted from ohsheglow.com

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Dry Ingredients:

1 & 3/4 cup whole-grain Kamut flour (I used whole spelt flour)

1/4 cup natural sugar (I used sucanat)

1 tbsp ground flax seed

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp kosher salt 

Wet + Mix-ins:

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp pure maple syrup

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (oil replacer)

1/2 cup coconut milk (the cream on top from a full fat can) OR yogurt (I used the new So Delicious Coconut yogurt - I don't like it on it's own but in this recipe it was perfect. Added some nice moisture)

1/4 cup + 3 tbsp water

1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract

1.5 cups grated carrots (about 3 small-medium carrots)

1/2 cup raisins, soaked in water and drained

1/3 cup chopped & toasted walnuts (I didn't have any, but I can imagine they would be fantastic!)

Directions:

1. Toast the walnuts (optional) on a baking sheet for about 8 minutes at 300F. Remove and set aside. Preheat oven to 400F and line a muffin tin with liners.

2. Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (maple syrup, applesauce, coconut milk/yogurt, water, vanilla). Add the wet to the dry and mix until just incorporated. Batter will be THICK!

3. Fold in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts. Scoop batter into the muffin liners, filling batter to the top. Bake for about 18 minutes at 400F until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

The batter was such a lovely orange that I wanted to capture it. It was like fall in a bowl! Unfortunately this picture doesn't do it justice. 

All ready for the oven!

Mmmm...the apartment smelled like fall. It was fantastic.

I also crumbled a muffin top on top of my oatmeal.

Yes, those are butterscotch chippers on top. I couldn't help myself. The oatmeal was asking for it, I swear! Talk about an incredibly indulgent morning. 

This is a quinoa dish I whipped up a few nights ago. I sautéed an onion with some EVOO and added water (wish I had veggie broth but didn't - would have added more flavour) with some quinoa. I added some cumin, curry powder, cinnamon, coconut milk, salt and pepper and brought to a boil. After it was brought to a boil I simmered it on low for about 15 minutes until the quinoa was cooked. I added organic frozen peas (Costco-hell of a steal!) and some leftover grated carrot from my muffins :)

Topped off with some roasted brussel sprouts (EVOO, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and garlic powder). I love this time of year...brussel sprouts are one of my all time fav. things. I am obsessed. I also roasted another pan of brussels with coconut oil and cinnamon. SO SO SO good!

Simple. Delicious.

Unfortunately I didn't get for my run today...but I will be sure to have an extra good workout tomorrow :) 

Well, I better get back to sipping my tea (in my new favourite mug!) and working on my homework...it is the most important thing on my agenda right now after all. Hey, at least one of my assignments involves blogging :) From one blog to the next... I love blogging!

Have a great night all!

Amy

Miss. Busy Bee

It has been a busy last couple of weeks. School has started up. Haven't had much time for fun, but that's ok...I sneak it in here and there! Running keeps me sane, and hopefully the yoga I've just started will do the same.

Recent blog worthy breakfasts

Pumpkin smoothie in a bowl. Contents: frozen canned pumpkin, frozen banana, silken tofu, almond milk, cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg and ginger. Topped with oatmeal, almonds and a few chocolate chips.

Pumpkin Oatmeal. Oatmeal, almond milk, canned pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg. Topped with cinnamon and raisins. 

Pumpkin Buckwheat Microwaved Bake: 

serves 1

www.edibleperspective.com

• 1/4c ground buckwheat groats [untoasted]
• 1T whole buckwheat groats
• 1/2-1t cinnamon
• 1/4t ginger
• sprinkle of all spice/nutmeg/clove
• 1/2T vanilla
• 1/4c pumpkin puree
• 1/2 banana
• 1/4t baking powder
• 1 flax egg [1T ground flax meal + 2.5T warm water, whisked] or 1 large egg
• 1T chia seeds
• 2T chopped almonds [optional]
• 2T almond milk

Instructions:

1. spray microwave safe bowl with cooking spray.

2. pour contents into bowl and smooth top

3. microwave for around 2 minutes

4. slip out of bowl, top with desired toppings and enjoy!

This is one of my favourite breakies. I would make it everyday if I could. I definitely suggest you try it.

Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna in the works.

mmm...perfect amount of spices! topped with greek yogurt and green onions.

whoops, not in the right order....ready for the oven.

Cocoa chili. I came home last night super hungry and wasn't sure what to make. I whipped this up quickly. Turned out pretty good but even better today. Super thick and rich. Contents: 1 can of black beans, 1 can of whole tomatoes, crushed, cocoa powder, cumin, chill powder, salt, pepper, a touch of sugar, bay leaf. Simmered for about 20 minutes. Topped with raw pepitas and feta cheese. Carrots and a slice of Ezeikiel bread. Fav bread, made without wheat. Use lentils and other protein instead. There is a actually quite a bit of protein in this bread. And it has an awesome chew. mmm, love chewy bread!

As for my lunches, well they are usually really boring so there hasn't been anything to post. But I assure you, as soon as I eat something exciting for lunch I will post it!

Here is the recipe for the Indian Shepherd's Pie. Sorry for the delay.

Ingredients

Instructions (hope you can read them...)

This is the recipe for the Pumpkin Spiced Chickpeas I used in the recipe rather than canned chickpeas. It added a lot of flavour. The perfect spices for fall.

Enjoy

A Whole Buncha Stuff

It's been quite awhile since I have done a blog post, which is pretty lame. It's not that I haven't wanted to write one, I really have wanted to, but I have been busy with work and getting things organized for school. Now that school has started and I am beginning to get settled into my new routine, I am feeling more inspired to create new recipes! Despite the abnormally warm weather we are having here in Victoria, I am feeling fresh and rejuvenated. There is something about September that always does that to me. I love it. Although I feel excited about the fall and the new semester ahead, I still haven't been able to remember to photograph my meals....I'll get back into it soon though.

Because of this, this post isn't going to be like others because I haven't been documenting every meal of the day. Trust me you wouldn't want to see them all. They have been extremely boring, especially since I hadn't grocery shopped in about 2 weeks...until yesterday. Francis did the grocery shopping for me, which was BEYOND helpful. I made him a fool proof spread sheet with the brand, what it looks like, where to find it etc... I am VERY particular about what kind of food I put into my body. But he loves me despite my pickiness. I am one lucky lady that's for sure.

Anyways, for this post I decided to experiment a little bit. I wanted to use the camera from my new phone (Blackberry bold) to see how they would turn out. It is a lot easier to carry around my phone with me instead of my huge Nikon. So here are a few pictures I have taken over the last couple of weeks with my camera phone.

Quinoa, wild rice salad with spinach, dried apricots, pepitas and a lime-cilantro dressing. This was consumed on my 2 hour break during a split shift I had. I had to wait about 20 minutes to get into Rebar to have this salad but it was worth the wait!

I had a coupon for a free frozen yogurt from Qoola, so Francis and I shared this bad boy on a hot summer night last week. Mint (new flavour - FAV!), strawberry banana and plain with fresh mango and rainbow sprinkles. Sprinkles make everything better!

that's my mom on FaceTime. 

This is my new computer that I got for school. I will blogging on this baby from now on. Beyond excited about that.

Francis at The Village in Estevan Village, Victoria this past Sunday. He is eating the Hash, which is everything and a side of meat :P It's a huge meal and he loved it. You can't tell from this pic, but there was a half marathon going on along Oak Bay Ave that morning and we had front row seats! It was awesome. It really made me want to train for a longer race again.

I'm still thinking about doing the Comox Half Marathon but we'll see how busy I am in the Spring. Right now I'm really enjoying the shorter, fast runs with intervals and hill sprints. They are short and sweet and aren't as time consuming as half marathon training. And I don't have to worry as much about how many calories I am eating and how much protein, fat and carbs I am getting throughout the day. This is key to successful half marathon training because if you don't put in what you are putting out you will lack energy and won't be able to keep up the intense training. It really is a lot of work. Fun work, but work. It's always a relief once it's over.

Me at the Village. I had the Omelette with feta, fresh dill and spinach. The portion size was just right. I have NO idea why I look like such a priss in this picture...and why I'm barely smiling....I would have put another one on but this was the only one lol. I'm not a priss at all and was really happy to be out for breakfast but it doesn't come across that way obviously.... Oh well!

Walk along Willows Beach after breaky.

Ahh...veggie overload. I love how many veggies I have after a good grocery shop. Amy's veggie burg topped with some avocado, salad, carrots, celery, brown rice crackers and some ketchup on da side. MMM MMM good. 

Indian Shepherd's Pie courtesy of Mama Pea from peasandthankyou.com. I recently bought her cookbook and am so excited to make more of her recipes. This one is a sure keeper. Warm, cinnamony (not a real word but it is in my vocab :)), pumpkiny with hints of nutmeg and ginger.

This recipes said that it was for 4 servings...well, I don't know who is eating these servings but they must have a ginormous appetite. This is more like 6 servings. Not to complain or anything...I am happy that I will have a good 6 meals out of this, which is great considering it took me over an hour to put together. The topping tasted like pumpkin pie with the butternut squash and sweet potato mixture with cinnamon, earth balance buttery spread and almond milk.

The filling of this pie consisted of quinoa, pumpkin spiced roasted chickpeas, onions, carrots, garlic, tofurkey sausages, veggie broth, curry, coriander and a few peas for a pop of colour! 

So, there you have it...the pictures from my phone. Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of these pictures, however, they aren't anywhere near as clear as the ones I take with the my Nikon. It's just a lot more practical to lug around my phone rather than my huge camera :)

Well, that's it for now...hope you all have a wonderful night and I will be chatting with to you very soon!

End of the Summer Camping Trip

To end the summer with a bang my family and I decided to go for a little camping trip and we couldn't have picked a better few days. It was absolutely perfect. Between 25-27 degrees celcius, not a cloud in the sky kind of perfect! Just what the doctor ordered.

Paradise. This is what I got to wake up to every morning. 

Campsite. Francis, Kyell (my cousin) and I slept in tents on the other side of the site. 

This is where I feel most like myself. In nature. As much as I love the city, nature is where my heart is. The sounds, the smells, the overall feeling I get when I'm completely immersed in it. It really is indescribable. I will never be a total city girl. I'm definitely more of a country girl and I'm okay with that.

View from the beach. Steps up to our campsite.

My Oma relaxing on the beach. Isn't she cute? It was so nice to be able to spend time together. She means so much to me and we don't get to spend much quality time together so this was very special. 

Dad cooling down with a drink on the beach. Looking a little crisp there pops...might be time to get out of the sun? He likes to burn apparently so he can complain about it to people who didn't get to enjoy the sunshine. What a weirdo.

This is one of the fabulous breakfasts we had on our mini getaway. Micky mouse pancake, egg, plain yogurt topped with the juiciest cantaloupe I have had all summer. Delish.

Boys chowing down. The view was just as amazing, maybe even better than breaky. I said maybe. 

The dock the boys spent 2 days building. It was so much fun to use. I have scrapes and bruises to prove it :)

One of my lunches. Veggie lentil soup, carrots, brown rice crackers and home made hummus (made by moi!). 

I snacked on hummus and veggies the entire trip. So refreshing.

The boys eating their burgers made over the fire. They were very proud of them. Luckily there were plenty of veggie burgers for me to chow down. 

Camping is all about the downtime and doing whatever you want when you want. We played badminton, baseball, football and...I got to do some running. 2 intense 5 k interval runs. 1-2 mins fast pace followed by 1-2 mins of a slower pace to cool down. I mixed some hill sprints in there as well. There was a lot of time for games too! I love board games. So much fun. We played scrabble one night and my mom and I played crib another night. This is a pic of a perfect hand in crib that I dealt my mom. Jeez, I must really love her!

My Oma's dog, Pansy came along too. And she is quite the pansy. I had to pick her up and put her in the water to cool her off. She was too scared to go in on her own. She's such a cutie.

We spent a lot of time swimming and laying on the beach. Here's Kyell mid backflip.

We also went fishing, boating and tubing. Lots of fun. 

This is the only shot I got of our beautiful salmon dinner made over the grill on the fire. We wrapped up fresh sockeye (caught by my parents a couple days earlier) with a sundried tomato pesto on top. Veggies and potatoes in the other package. Delish.

Is it ready yet mom?

For our last supper of the trip my mom decided on a vegetarian spaghetti. Mushrooms, garlic and onion sautéed over the open fire. Celery was added later. So much fun cooking outdoors. Everything smells so much better. Probably because the air is so much cleaner.

Simmering...smelled awesome.

My camping attire. I lived in this for the entire trip. Be jealous ;)

Another angle.

With the veggie ground round added.

Smart pasta, spag sauce, shredded cheese on top.

Raw carrots and mushrooms on the side with some hummus. I always try to get my veggies in as often as possible.

This sauce was seriously unbelievable. We were all raving about it. My mom and I think it was the leftover sundried tomato pesto that we added to it. We will definitely be doing that again. Talk about an awesome discovery.

When the ladies cooked supper, the boys were in charge of the dishes. Here's Francis getting some fresh lake water for the dishes. We rinsed them with boiling water afterwards. 

Dad chatting with his mom (Oma) and resting his full tummy on the beach.

The nights were spent making chocolatey smokes (YUMMY), chatting, playing word games, watching the stars (sooooooo clear and bright at the lake) and....

...playing guitar. My cousin Kyell and my Dad were our entertainment. Kyell is only 16 and he is already an unreal artist. He writes and plays his own music all over town. Coffee shops, special events like Canada Day, benefit concerts...you name it he's there. It's awesome to see. I'm very proud of him and know that he will do wonderful things and will be extremely successful in whatever he chooses to do.

My Dad hasn't played guitar in years so it was great to hear him play some of my favourites. Songs I forgot were my favourites. Songs we used to sing together when I was a kid. Brought back a lot of memories.

As soon as it gets dark we all start to yawn and slowly make our way to bed around 9:30 or 10 pm. It's so cool that when you aren't aware of time and aren't being stimulated by electronics such as TV and computers you feel tired when it gets dark and wake up when the sun comes up. I love that. I also love sleeping in tents. It's so refreshing. A little uncomfortable, but that's all part of the experience ;)

I can't even begin to explain how hard it was for me to leave this place. It's my paradise. A place I go every summer to not only have fun, but to rejuvenate, and refuel for the beginning of the school year. I always shed a little tear. I mean...wouldn't you?

Can you spot the dinosaur?

Kyell swam to the dinosaur and checked out the stumps that are underwater for fishing lures (something fun to do). I actually found 2 or 3 lures. I'm awesome. When you're camping you have to be very creative and put your imagination to good use.

When we got home I made sure I picked some of my favourite things of all time: apples. Not just any apples. The apples from the tree in our front yard. There are my favourite food of. all. time. No joke.

Pretty apples.

We also went to London Drugs to check out some laptops and my mom left with an iPad. She loves it. You're cute!

Before we started to head back to Victoria I had to take a couple pictures of my baby.

Whatta cutie...

Overall, I had a fabulous time camping and spending a few good quality days with my family (I don't mention Francis because I consider him part of the fam :) ). It doesn't happen that often, so when it does I cherish every moment. Well, I'm exhausted so it's time for me to head to bed (that rhymed :O). Hopefully this post makes sense. Sorry if it's scattered. I will leave you with a picture of my parent's house. Well...a little chunk of it anyways.

Have a wonderful Saturday night everybody,

Amy