Ice Is Nice

I have watched many hours of ice sports on TV this weekend. It was a hockey & figure skating extravaganza! It’s making me long to get back out there myself. Oh skating, why you gotta be so expensive?

I started my Sunday morning…well….with very little morning left. Oops! Breakfast basically turned into lunch.

I went with a bowl of Matcha Green Tea Goji Oatmeal.

• 1/3 cup oats, almond milk, water
• 1 tbsp Ruth’s Chia Goodness cereal
• 1 tbsp dried goji berries
• 3/4 tsp matcha powder
• Artisana Coconut Butter
• sliced almonds

And a glass of cranberry pomegranate juice.

Dining on the living room rug? Nah, it was just for photography purposes

After enjoy breakfast, figure skating, and catching up on blogging, I made my way outside for a walk with my mom. We only had to endure a short rain storm, and made it home relatively dry. I was needing a little snack by then – bring on the yogurt mess!

Plain, non-fat yogurt, quince compote, pomegranate seeds, and the end of a jar of macadamia nut butter.

Oh, how I’d forgotten how amazing that macadamia nut butter is. I may have to break down and shell out the dough for a new jar one day soon.

Then I had a date with Jillian Michaels and her No More Trouble Zones. I just needed to get some serious sweat on. By the time I was done that, dinner was on the table.

Starting with a wee pour of red wine, leftover from my parent’s social evening last night.

We had baked pork chops with stuffing.

A baked potato with sour cream, a little bit of buttah, and pepper.

And steamed asparagus.

Fun Sunday night dinner.

I followed dinner with a (blurry) piece of dark chocolate.

Then it was time to watch hockey, be disappointed in my team’s loss, and watch the rest of the skating I had taped. So good – I’m excited for Canada’s chances for some figure skating hardware at the Olympics.

Snacky hunger came a calling, and I answered with a piece of cinnamon toast – Silver Hills Squirrelly bread, buttah, brown sugar, and a crap ton of cinnamon.

Plus a mug of Stash Decaf Vanilla Creme Nut tea with almond milk.

Cinnamon toast totally reminds me of being a kid.

And now my mom is watching the skating I taped, so I’m going to go enjoy it again – it was just that good! Night!

Bootylicious

Mom and I braved the crowds at the mall yesterday (aren’t we supposed to be in a recession? Sure doesn’t look like it at all). Looks like Christmas has come a little early this year.

Photo teaser! You’ll have to make your way through the rest of the post for more

I started my Saturday like any other – by sleeping in and making a leisurely breakfast. All while enjoying some figure skating on TV.

When I have time, oatmeal always seems to make it on the menu.

• 1/3 cup oats, almond milk, water
• 1 tbsp Ruth’s Chia Goodness cereal
• 2 dried figs, chopped
• dried cranberries
• splash of vanilla
• peanut butter swirl
• Artisana Cacao Bliss

With the last of the Oasis Pomegranate Berry juice.

Once all that food was ingested and skating was over, we made our big trek to the mall, as well as the grocery store. By the time we got home, it was after 3 pm! Doh! I had to find lunch stat.

Good thing we had leftover Veggie Mediterranean pizza. Didn’t even bother to heat it up!

Then I was having a total chocolate craving. My dad brought this chocolate bar.

So I had a square…or two.

I had hoped to go out in the evening, since my parents were having a bunch of their friends over, but alas, I couldn’t get ahold of anyone to see if they were up for doing something, so I spent the evening in my pj’s doing pretty much nothing. And I didn’t even get around to eating dinner until almost 10 pm…what’s up with that?!

I made myself a little sandwich – turkey, ham, cheddar cheese, spinach on these little sourdough buns we found at the grocery store.

Then I dug into the appetizers that were in the kitchen

A wee little spinach quiche.

And my favourite – Tex-Mex dip with the best tortilla chips.

Oh, I definitely had seconds on that dip.

And guess what? There was dessert as well! I had a wee slice of this rum soaked pound cake with a touch of whipped cream, grapes, and cantaloupe.

I was glad the cake didn’t taste too rummy – not exactly my favourite flavour. But it was super moist.

I mostly hid out in my bedroom all evening, goofing around on the interweb. It’s true, I was a total hermit on a Saturday night. Oh well, sometimes that’s just how it goes, right? And even though I had plenty of time to post last night, I just didn’t feel the writing urge.

Okay, okay…want to see my fancy new boots?

Can I just say, the boot shopping experience was tough! I tried to get boots made in Canada, but the only decent pair I could find didn’t fit in the heel at all (I have a narrow heel compared to the rest of my foot). And then, trying to find boots that fit my giant size 10 feet without making them look like skis was a whole other issue. I tried on this super cute pair of moccasin style boots, but OMG – they made my feet look insanely huge. My mom and I joked I could go out snowshoeing in them without the snowshoes. LOL.

Now I can go to school without getting soaking wet feet, and still look somewhat stylish – since I’m such a fashionista and all.

The rain has stopped, so I think I’m going to head out for a walk. Later gators.

Warm Me Up

Brrrr, is it ever a cold one out there today. It’s rainy, windy, and just unpleasant all around. I’m about ready to curl up under the covers for a nap!

And actually, I would have liked to stayed curled up under the covers instead of getting up to go to school. So much so, that I slept in…again. It must be the end of the semester – lack of motivation to get to class on time and all.

I wasn’t feeling the usual quick breakfast of cereal this morning, so I went with pb + b + h.

Toasted Silver Hills “The Big 16” bread, topped with peanut butter, banana, and honey.

With a glass of that fabulous Oasis Pomegranate Berry juice. I just love the deep colour.

Ready to eat in less than 5 minutes!

After I thrilling biochemistry lecture, I made my way over to the Land & Food Building, and plopped myself onto a comfy couch to pass time until my volunteer shift at Agora. I passed the time with some internet and spelt sticks.

And photographed my bus ride home snack, a Pistachio Larabar.

I basically froze the whole way home on the bus and train. I don’t know why I was so freakin’ cold, but by the time I got home, I was making a beeline for my pajama pants, and knew I needed something to warm me up for lunch.

Earlier while at school I had seriously considered a pit stop to Starbucks for my favourite warm me up drink – a green tea latte. But I was a good little unemployed person, and saved my coin. Since I had matcha powder at home, I figured why not incorporate it into lunch. My mind was set – Green Tea Latte oatmeal

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp matcha powder
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• Artisana Coconut Butter
• almonds

Something warm to drink was in order as well. I went with hot chocolate, topped with some mini marshmallows.

Breakfast for lunch.

Definitely not your typical lunch, but it was completely satisfying, and made me feel all warm and cozy, which was exactly what I was going for.

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For those of you wanting my mom’s recipe for Salmon Loaf, head on over to ZestyCook, where the coveted family recipe is making a guest appearance!

Time To Relax

I’m almost positive I will get to enjoy a truly relaxing weekend. I have minimal school work that needs my attention, no definite plans other than a lunch tomorrow, and hockey on TV tonight. Sounds lovely to me.

I started off this weekend right with sleeping in and chocolatey oats.

Not just chocolatey, but chocolate peanut butter banana oats to be exact.

• 1/2 cup oats, almond milk, water
• 1 banana, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• peanut butter
• chocolate chips
• 2 crumbled peanut butter covered pretzels

With a glass of cranberry juice.

Chocolate oats just seem more appropriate on weekends, no?

The addition of the peanut butter covered pretzel bits was fun. I found them in the back of the cupboard. How sad I had forgotten about them for so long.

I think I’m going to head out for a walk, seeing as the gym is out of the question. Plus there seems to be a break in the rain, so now’s my chance! Later.

Commuter Chaos

Well, getting to school this morning sure turned into an adventure!

I started my morning off like any other Thursday morning, with a bowl of oatmeal.

• 1/2 cup oats, almond milk, water
• frozen blueberries
• 1 tbsp Ruth’s Chia Goodness
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• Artisana Coconut Butter
• raw cacao nibs

Gratuitous coconut butter shot!

With a glass of Oasis Black Currant Elderberry juice.

I packed my lunch, got presentable, and hitched a ride to the train with my sister per usual. As I was going up the escalator, there was a transit person who was talking to someone on his radio, and I overheard something about a fire and buses being diverted, but wasn’t sure where it was, so I got on the train, and headed to the usual station to catch the bus out to UBC.

When I get to the station, the line ups waiting for the UBC bus are massive! We stand there for a good 10 min, and no buses come. The express bus to UBC comes at least every 5 min, if not more, during rush hour, so that was weird. I call home to see if mom has heard anything on the news, and apparently there is a huge fire on the street that the bus takes out to the school, the road is closed, power is out, yadda, yadda. Great. So I hop back on the train, head into downtown, and catch another bus out to the school. Amazingly, I made it to class on time!

A psychology lecture later, and I was on my break. Unfortunately, I had to spend the majority of it meeting up with my group to work on our third presentation for last week, so I had no time to post I did snag some food photos outside in the sunshine though before said meeting

I brought along some leftover mac & cheese, making sure to get plenty of the cheesy crust.

Some carrot and cucumber slices, plus a few medjool dates stuffed with peanut butter. I didn’t want to dirty another container, so I put them all together.

Too bad the peanut butter escaped from the medjools!

I also had a sub par gala apple that I saved for an afternoon snack. I think it was a bit old

Lunchity lunch.

I totally meant to bring some hummus with me for those veggies, but I forgot. Since all that pb escaped the medjools, I used that to dip some of my carrots in. Mmmm, I forgot how good carrot + pb tastes.

Our 4 hour afternoon class was shortened to 3 hours, since 80% of the class had a chem midterm right afterwards. Works for me, I get to go home early. Early enough that I was able to sit down and eat dinner with the family even.

Dinner featured a roasted pork tenderloin, with a little mango chutney for dipping.

Roasted acorn squash, with the standard squash topping in my family – cheddar cheese.

And a mish mash of steamed veggies. Mom was cleaning out all the little bits in the fridge, so there was broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and mushrooms.

Such a nice dinner to come home to.

I had big plans to do some yoga this evening, but I was feeling too wiped out for some reason. So I just relaxed in front of the tv with Sienna. I also enjoyed a little snack.

Plain, non-fat yogurt, peanut butter, grape jelly, and Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax granola. Hit the spot!

2 things on the exciting news front:

• I officially start volunteering at my local hospital on Monday in the Diabetes Clinic.
• I also got my schedule for my volunteer shifts at the Winter Olympics. I’m working at the hockey arena, and guess what? I’m on shift for the Men’s Gold Medal Hockey Game!! WOO! Here’s hoping I’ll be working somewhere where I’ll be able to see a bit. So exciting!

Time to hit the sack – one more day to get through this week. Night!

Mission Accomplished

I have finally finished all of my midterms for this semester. Hurray! And I have to say, I think this one was the most intense. Even though we had all the questions before hand, the 2 hours we were given to write seemed so rushed. Plus, as my luck would have it, the only question I didn’t want on the exam was on there. Doh! I think I did okay though – guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

It was so nice to have a leisurely wake up this morning. I was up at 8:30, showered, then made a nice breakfast.

Banana fig oats:

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 1 small banana, thinly sliced
• 2 dried figs, chopped
• splash of vanilla
• 1tbsp flax seed
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• Artisana Cacao Bliss

With a glass of Oasis Black Current Elderberry juice.

I spent the morning making sure I had all the notes written down to answer the possible midterm questions, so I could review the on transit on my way to school. I also packed a bit of a lunch to tide me over until I got home.

I discovered a lonely avocado in the fridge, and brought back an old favourite – the hummus, cheddar, and avocado sandwich on Silver Hills “The Big 16” bread.

I also grabbed the cookie I picked up at Sprouts yesterday. My mom had stolen a little taste of it!

After the exam, I was freezing, so I stopped into Starbucks and grabbed a grande non-fat half-sweet green tea latte.

Turns out I didn’t really need all that warming up. When I got on the bus, the driver had the heat CRANKED. Seriously, it was so hot. I took my jacket off, and my sweater, and still had a sweaty back (TMI?) And she kept the heat on the entire bus ride (35 – 40 min) to the train station. Ugh. And then of course, you get off the bus into the cold air, and it’s even more freezing that it should be

We went with something simple tonight, that I haven’t had for awhile – perogies!

Topped with low-fat sour cream, and little drizzle of melted buttah. Mmmm. I also scavenged some greenery to have alongside mine, in the form of leftover steamed broccoli & cauliflower.

A little bland looking, but tasted good.

I then watched the car wreck that was the Canucks game (lost 6 – 1, brutal), and decided to head out to the gym. I only did some medium intensity cardio on the elliptical and bike, because let me tell you – my quads, hams, and butt are S-O-R-E from yesterday’s workout with Jillian. I’ve been hobbling around all day like an old lady. Strangely, my abs are just a normal sore, and same with my arms.

Once home, I had a hankerin’ for some yogurt.

I topped it with a little peanut butter, homemade grape jelly, and Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola. Check out that river of pb!

Time to wrap this up – I hear some kitties hissing at each other, and I think it needs some attending to. Night!

A Moment Of Self-Consciousness

Ah Sunday, the day of rest. Which I indulged in by sleeping in, per usual weekend routine. No matter when I set my alarm for, my body is all about sleeping in on the weekend.

Another good thing about weekends? There is always time to cook up an excellent bowl of oatmeal.

Into this bowl of oatmeal goodness went:

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 1 banana, thinly sliced
• splash of vanilla
• shredded coconut (2 tbsp maybe?)
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• peanut butter
• Artisana Cacao Bliss

A new juice found its way into my glass this morning – Oasis Health Break Immuniforce. The main flavours being black currant and elderberry.

Full meal deal.

The juice was tasty, but nothing holds a candle to my beloved Happy Planet juices. What can I say, I’m all about supporting the local businesses whenever I can!

Sienna longed to go outside today. But we saw I coyote out back this morning, so no kitties were going out in the backyard today.

My sister & her boyfriend made a trip down to Tim Horton’s this morning for breakfast, and brought back a big ol’ box of Timbits. Obviously I had to try out at least one. I went for my fave, the sour cream glazed.

The rain decided to hold off for most of the day, so mom and I took the opportunity to go for a walk at Mundy Park. We spent a good hour wandering through the park, getting in some much needed fresh air.

I went on down to the mall afterwards, to get my newly hemmed jeans. I don’t know why it took me so long to get them done – what good is it to have a pair of pants you can’t wear hanging out in your closet for over a month?! I’m such a procrastinator sometimes.

Once I was back, I made a little snack. I wasn’t really in the mood for a full on lunch, since I had a late breakfast, and knew we were having a big Sunday dinner. There was a fresh loaf of French bread just asking to be sliced into. I had a slice with some cheddar cheese, and a sliced gala apple

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing in the lazy boy recliner with the laptop and some Food Network. I *should* have been working on some midterm things, but as I stated above, I’m a procrastinator extraordinaire!

I invited my cousin’s wife over for dinner (since my cousin was at work), as mom was making her delicious beef stew with dumplings, and apple blackberry crisp for dessert. And for some reason, I totally couldn’t bring myself to take a picture. I don’t know what it was – I just felt too self-conscious to do it this evening. I’ve been writing this blog for over a year, and yet I still have this apprehension about photographing my food sometimes. I’ve also never even really told my family or friends about my blog. Is that weird? I’m not sure what it is. I guess I fear explaining it to them, and making them understand that it’s enjoyable and that yes, people actually want to read. Is that odd? Am I making a big deal out of nothing?

Now that I’ve had that little brain spew, I’m off to get into the homework a little before bed. Better late than never, right? Night!

Fish, Fish, And More Fish

I’m soon going to be growing fins and gills here!  

Weird side note – I have a friend who is afraid of fish. Like, freaks out afraid of fish. She can’t watch Finding Nemo. We once got into an elevator, and it had a fish tank in it. It was not a fun elevator ride!

Today was a usual lazy Saturday. It started with an excellent sleep in, then breakfast. I warn you though, this oatmeal turned out a really bizarre colour.

Mom thought it looked like mashed up kidney beans. But rest assured, there were no beans in this oatmeal!

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 3 dried figs, chopped
• frozen raspberries
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• 1 tbsp peanut butter, swirled in

Check out that swirl!

A glass of the Happy Planet Mango Peach Party, of course.

It might look a little weird, but it tasted good.

I ended up getting suckered into watching figure skating on tv, then finally showered up and had some lunch. It was all about the leftovers.

Half a piece of halibut, with tartar sauce.

Plus the rest of the fries, with ketchup.

It reheated & crisped up perfectly in the oven.

I decided to head on down to the mall this afternoon, which really, wasn’t the best idea. It was a rainy, cold day out. Where do you think everyone in the city is going to be? At the mall. I did have some errands to run though – I took in a pair of jeans to get them hemmed so I can actually wear them, made an appointment to get my hair did (Wednesday!), looked around to see if any store I would consider working at was hiring (none), browsed some books, dvd’s, shoes, makeup (hello new Sephora at the mall). And I got gas for my car, which should last me til Christmas, since I hardly drive the thing anymore. So although I left empty handed, I got some stuff done. But let’s be honest – the mall is way more fun when you actually have money to spend!

I got home, chilled with the family, then helped my mom out making dinner. She opened a bottle of wine, so I had a small glass.

Mom was making a family favourite – salmon loaf. I know, I know. It sounds really weird, maybe even disgusting, but I swear, salmon loaf trumps meatloaf any day!

Made with only the finest sockeye salmon, of course

One of my dishes – orzo pasta with olive oil, garlic, parmesan, fresh parsley, black pepper. This was in place of the rice we planned, but apparently didn’t have in the cupboard.

 

And some greenery – steamed broccoli & cauliflower, and a caesar salad (also my creation).

There’s just all sorts of good going on on this plate!

After dinner, I found myself over at the cousin’s place to watch a movie (The Taking Of Pelham 123), where I found myself served with a slice of chocolate cream pie. Yum! It wasn’t a late night this time, and I was home by 11:30. Which was when I planned on getting this post up…until Sienna broke a plant in the living room. Bad kitty! Looks like a trip to Ikea is in order for more plant pots.

Now it is way past my bedtime, so I shall bid you adieu. Night!

Shiver Me Timbers

No, I’m not turning into a pirate. It’s just WINDY out there today. And rainy, and cold   Typical BC fall weather, that’s for sure. Makes me glad I can hide inside all day. And that I had time to make a warming bowl of oatmeal this morning.

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 3 dried figs, chopped
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• swirled in peanut butter
• sprinkle of pomegranate seeds

A glass of the usual.

It was another fig-licious bowl!

 

I decided to dress up as a studious 12 year old today – wore my glasses, and braids. Thumbs up? Thumbs down?

And no, that’s not the only hoodie I own – just the one I wear all the time. LOL.

Psychology lecture was the norm. We finally got our midterm marks back, and it was decent, around what I expected. And since I have a better idea of how he writes his midterms, I’m the next few will improve

I couldn’t find a good couch to curl up on today, so instead I pulled up a piece of floor in the library, so I could compute and chow lunch.

I made biscuit-wiches! Mom had made some baking powder biscuits last night, so I made up a couple of mini ham & cheese sammies. Delicious!

The usual veggie component – carrot, cucumber, snap peas – for dipping in hummus.

Time to get back to my lunch break. I’m considering a stop over at Sbucks on the way to my next class – it’s chilly out there!

Catching Up

I feel like I’m catching up on so many things now that my crazy week is over. Like emails, blog reading, and sleep! Boy, was I exhausted today. It’s always so fascinating how you can go on minimal sleep when you really have to, and as soon as that time is over, you just crash like you haven’t slept in years. That is how I felt all day today.

I managed to get up this morning and myself a nice breakfast though, because I knew I had a long day ahead.

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• frozen blackberries
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• slivered almonds

We were out of juice this morning! NOOOO! I made some vanilla black tea with a splash of almond milk.

I even brew up some tea to take to school with me. It was just one of those days – cold, dark, rainy. Plus I wanted that little caffeine to keep me going.

Biochem was interesting today – our prof was dressed up like Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was pretty funny. Of course, I didn’t clue in that hey, he’s probably doing that for Hallowe’en until this afternoon. Yes, I was that tired.

Even though all I wanted to do was go home and sleep, I had a job to do, so I bussed/trained over to my sister’s workplace and spent the rest of my day doing inventory in their warehouse. They brought in pizza for lunch, so I had a couple slices (something with veggies, and something with chicken, mushrooms, and peppers). I may have dug into the Hallowe’en candy stash a couple times while I was there as well

Once home, I tried to keep my eyes open for awhile, but finally gave in, and had a 3 hour long nap. I totally missed dinner with my family, and missed most of the hockey game (we lost, so not the end of the world). And I missed out on hitting up the gym like I wanted to. Obviously though, if I was that tired, the gym wouldn’t have been a good idea anyways.

I did throw together a little something to eat. I’ll admit it – my food choices weren’t spectacular today, but that’s life. No reason to get worked up over it, right?

Deli sandwich – kasier roll, ham, turkey, havarti cheese, mustard, dill dip. Plain potato chips on the side.

I considered adding lettuce, but just wasn’t feeling it. No point in eating something if it’s not going to be enjoyable.

I figured I should attempt to ingest a little more plant material today, so I heated up a chopped red pear to make a faux pear crisp.

• chopped red pear
• craisins
• cinnamon
• brown sugar
• granola
• pecans

It was a very juicy pear, so it almost became more of a soup than a crisp. Still delicious though

Later on again, I gave in and had some chocolate. Damn brownie cupcakes, why you gotta be so tasty?

Like the festive jack-o-lantern in the background? I’m not sure who carved it – either my mom or sister.

And speaking of Hallowe’en – I got a little card in the mail from Miss Gliding Calm!

I love it! I think it’s the first Hallowe’en greeting I’ve ever gotten. Thanks girl!

This blogger needs to hit the sack – I’m back at work tomorrow bright and early, for more fun inventory. I hear we get Chinese food for lunch, and you all know how much I love that. Night!