Chocolate Covered Banana Popsicles

First of all, Happy BC Day to all my fellow British Columbians!  Let's take some time today to really take pride in this beautiful province we are so lucky to live in.

Okay...now onto some wonderful food related rambling, starting with my love for Overnight Oats.  Here is today's breakfast, which has been a repeat for the past week or so (okay maybe 2 weeks).

In the mix: Oikos greek yogurt, scottish oats, almond milk, chia seeds, raspberries and a perfectly ripe peach!  I LOVE waking up to to my breakfast already made for me.  It's such a treat, even though I am the one who made it, but who's keeping track? ;)

Another thing I've been LOVING lately, or rather wanting to make lately, Chocolate Covered Banana Popsicles.  I used to make them all the time, and for some reason this summer I have completely forgotten about them...that is, until now :)

I started off by melting some dark chocolate chips over the stove.  I used EnjoyLife brand.

Then I cut the bananas in half and put them on chop sticks.

Next I got my toppings reading.  I crushed up some Extreme Chocolate Flavoured Cookies (SO GOOD)

which are all natural, wheat and gluten free! So, a fairly "healthy" chocolate cookie, I'd say.

Vanilla yogurt

Cookie crumbs

Crushed walnuts

Melted chocolate (drool...)

I then started the process.  A little chocolate dip, then roll in cookie crumbs.

Oh baby...they are SO GOOD!

I then made about 4 dipped in yogurt and walnuts, topped with a little leftover chocolate.  I mean, I couldn't let it go to waste now could I? No, I could not!

I froze them on a tinfoiled cookie sheet for about 3 hours, then took them out and wrapped them in tinfoil.  They are now stored in the freezer for a nice, cool summer treat!

Okay, now go and make them a.s.a.p. DO IT! You will NOT regret it.  

Have a great night and Happy BC Day to all my fellow British Columbians!

Blueberry Pickin'

Hello everyone! Firstly, I would like to apologize for being completely MIA for the past month or so.  I don't have any excuse other than I have been extremely busy.  I am going to school full time and working part time, so all of my free time (which is very little) is spent doing homework, exercising and enjoying the beautiful summer Victoria is having!

I am going to try to blog more often now, but don't be surprised if they are a little bit sporadic, because that is how my life is at the moment!

So let's get down to business.  Today was my first day off in about a month and I was SOOO excited about it.  I wasn't even sure where to start.  I wanted to do EVERYTHING.  That's how excited I was lol.  I slept in quite a bit (until 8:00 am, which is a sleep in for me), got up and enjoyed some overnight oats with fresh berries and then Francis and I decided to go blueberry picking!

It was a gorgeous morning/afternoon to spend picking berries.  It actually got extremely hot.

What I loved more than anything about these berries is that aren't sprayed and are a very good price.  We got about 6 lbs for $16.  Pretty darn good if you ask me.

There were a few others there, but it was pretty quiet - just the way we like it.  

We definitely picked the best berries, even the owner said so himself ;)

kind of an awkward pic I know...best one out of the loot though, which says a lot ;) lol

On the way home we stopped by a few different markets.  Our first stop was an absolute gem, one that we've been to before.  We started off by getting a large flat of raspberries, a container of blackberries and local corn.  As Francis was picking out the corn, I was looking around at the fruit and came across sunrise apples from the Okanagan.  

I WAS SO HAPPY! I can't even explain how happy I was.  The only one who knows how ecstatic I was is Francis.  I think I may have squealed a little bit so I'm sure he has some amazing impression he can grace you with if you ask him one day ;)  Yeah...I really love apples.  Those of you who know me very well know how obsessed I am and how I wait ALL YEAR LONG for sunrise apples!!

Anyways, enough of that.  We also stopped at a market, where we picked up a HUGE bouquet of local flowers for such a steal and sampled homemade chia chips and hummus!

When we got home I washed up the berries and put some in the fridge and the others in the freezer.  

Here's our loot.  We also bought a local tomato!

Aren't these absolutely stunning? I made two HUGE bouquets out of them.  After a few chores at home, Francis and I both whipped up some lunch.

I had a California Burger (Amy's) topped with an almost too ripe avocado, spicy hummus, rice crackers and greens.  Topped with a simple dressing made of fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, honey and olive oil. Absolutely amazing.

Francis and I spent the afternoon wandering around downtown, then we made out way to the mall for a little browse.  We made a delicious chicken dinner with the local corn we bought at the market this morning and brown rice.  

After dinner we watched the Olympics while our tummies settled before heading out for an evening run.  We decided to go to Elk Lake, where it would be shaded and nice and cool (Victoria hit about 30*C today!!).  It was shaded, but it wasn't very cool.  It was a mighty hot and speedy 6 km.  We both really enjoyed it, though!

When we got home we had cold showers and lots of ice cold water before changing into our comfies and settling in for the night.  

Overall, it was an amazing day off and I am so happy I got to spent it with Francis!  Can't wait for the next one!

Goodnight,

Amy

xo

Chocolate Mint Granola Bars

What better way to beat the summer heat then to have the oven on for a couple of hours in your already boiling hot apartment.  Probably the worst idea I've had in awhile...but it was worth it! I had every intention of going for a run and enjoying the weather but I used every excuse in the book, such as "I'll go later when it cools off...I'll go to the gym later...I'll go to the gym first thing in the morning" ...which eventually lead me into deciding that I just wanted to go home, clean up, get organized and make some granola bars for lunches!

These aren't just ANY old granola bars...they are something different from anything I have ever made before, using some different flavours. After a lot of taste testing, I finally figured out what combinations I wanted to use!

Chocolate Mint Pretzel Granola Bars

Ingredients:

makes 12 granola bars

1/2 cup raw sesame seeds

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup crushed pretzels

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup mint chocolate chips

1 cup natural, unsalted peanut butter

1 cup brown rice syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350.  Toast sesame seeds, almonds and coconut in a frying pan over medium high heat, stirring frequently unti lightly browned.  Set aside and allow time to cool completely (otherwise it will melt the chocolate chips.

2) Once nuts are cooled, combine this mixture, pretzels, oats and chocolate chips in a large bowl.  Mix well.

3) Combine peanut butter and brown rice syrup.  Microwave for 30 seconds to make it easier to mix.  Add vanilla, stir to combine.  

4) Add wet mixture to dry.  Stir well to combine.  

5) Spray 8 by 8 square baking dish with spray oil, transfer mixture and press down firmly.

6) Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Take out, allow to cool completely before cutting.

Check in tomorrow for another amazing granola bar recipe.  HINT: banana and butterscotch are involved...

Have a wonderful evening!

xo

Vegetarian Sausage Pasta Bake

Last night, after spending the afternoon cleaning up from our camping trip, paroozing the mall and galavanting downtown (wow, quite a vocab today hey?) Francis and I came back home to start dinner. Emphasis on "I" ;) I had all of the ingredients for a wonderful dish that I knew Francis would absolutely LOVE! Despite the heat, I decided to have the oven on for about an hour and a half...probably not the best idea...we were super hot for the rest of the night! But, it was worth it :)

Vegetarian Sausage Pasta Bake

adapted from Sarah Matheny's Baked Penne with Sausage and Peppers from Peas and Thank You

Ingredients:

Makes 8-10 servings

1 pound whole wheat penne pasta

1 package of Italian Tofurky sausages

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

1 1/2 cups sliced onions

2 tsp minced garlic

4 cups spaghetti sauce

grated cheese

basil

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2) Prepare pasta el dente.

3) Coat a LARGE frying pan (learned from experience...) with cooking oil.  Add onions, bell peppers and sausages over medium high heat until tender.  Add sausages and garlic.  

Let cook for 5-6 more minutes.

4) Add pasta sauce to the vegetable sausage mixture and mix until combined.

5) Add 1 cup sliced fresh basil.

On a side note...is that not the biggest basil leaf you have ever seen????

6) Transfer mixture to 13 by 9 lasagna dish, which has been sprayed with cooking oil.

7) Grate as much cheese as you'd like on top, put in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes.

6) Garnish with fresh basil.

7) Enjoy!

Have a wonderful night!

xo

Weekend Getaway

How's everybody's weekend been going so far? Hopefully you are all doing something fun and that you enjoy, no matter what it may be!

Francis and I had a great weekend! Saturday morning we picked up our friends, Alyssa and Eric, to go camping in Sooke!

We went nice and early to get a spot (it's an hour out of Victoria)...and we lucked out and got an absolutely amazing one! We were so relieved and happy!

This was our view! Amazing, right?

We got started right away and put up our tents, put everything away and got settled in!

We had a quick lunch of a delicious vegetable pasta salad that Alyssa made...which was obviously super amazing because i didn't even snap a quick pic.  We had some raw veggies on the side!

After we finished up our lunch, we headed out to find a beach to spent the afternoon at.  We found a beautiful spot that was quite private.  We explored along the shoreline and found a waterfall and some cliffs, which we jumped from :)  Yes, it was scary...but I did it and it was a blast! A fareeeezing blast!

After the sun went behind the trees we headed back to our campsite and munched on some chips and goldfish (which we pretty much filled up on...woops)...

Then we played a little bit of Scattergories and Jenga! I haven't played Jenga in such a long time...and I'm still just as bad as I remember! And no, that is not my arm :)

Alyssa and I started on dinner.

Our site :) don't ask what I'm doing...because I have no idea!

Alyssa and Eric put their veggies (yellow zucchini, mushrooms, onions) in tinfoil as well as their chicken! They weren't sure if it was going to work...but it did! It was perfect!

Francis and I BBQ'd our chicken...and roasted our new BC potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions in tinfoil on the grill...topped with some thyme, salt and spray oil.

Everything was SO good! I think your senses are definitely heightened when you eat outside because everything smells and tastes so much better!

Eric and Alyssa brought red wine that was leftover from their wedding (which we went to last weekend on Pender Island), so we had that for an afternoon cocktail and with dinner :)  It is such great wine.  It is very mild and smooth yet it doesn't lack flavour and has no aftertaste! It's perfect!

Alyssa and Eric chowing down! I'm so happy we brought tinfoil because we didn't have any dishes after dinner :) Gotta love that!

Francis cleaning the grill!

Immediately after dinner Eric and I went for a dip (he sort of dared me to...so I had to...), got changed into some warm clothes and then snuggled in by the fire and made s'mores.  I didn't take any pictures because, obviously, I was way to excited about them! So excited that I happily chowed down on 4. My my my...

After that we set up our table for a game of Cranium!  Eric and Alyssa had never played before so it was a lot of fun!

We turned it in around 11:00 pm because we were all exhausted! 

We went to sleep with the sound of this rushing river...it was really relaxing!

We all got up around 7:00 am after a pretty decent sleep!  I put on the coffee and we sat around the fire and chit chatted before we started on breakfast (which took around an hour or so to make)!

We made bacon, sausages, banana oatmeal pancakes, courtesy of Alyssa (I am going to ask her for the recipe because they were amazing), eggs, toast and fruit salad.  HOLY!!

It was interesting trying to cook everything on our tiny grill and trying to keep it warm! But we did well with what we had and it all worked out just fine!

The grub...which we almost completely ate! The boys were starvin' marvins.  Eric was pacing back and fourth at one point because he was so hungry! It was quite cute...luckily they didn't have to wait too long!

My plate :) 2 small banana oatmeal pancakes, 1 egg and some fruit salad! It was delicious!

hey guys!

Why hello there cutie pie!

We packed up our stuff right after breakfast and headed home.  It was sad to leave but it was wonderful while we were there! We all had a great time and I think will be going back very soon :)a

Taking down their tent!

A little picture of our view! Literally right on the river!

And now for a few scenic pictures purely for your enjoyment :)

Alyssa :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

xo