St-Patrick's Day Inspiration.

I am not one that usually celebrates St-Patrick's Day; I am not Irish, nor am I a big drinker.  Even when I was in University, St-Patties wasn't really a day I looked forward to unlike most of the people whom I was surrounded with.  To me, it's just another day, especially because it isn't a day for my heritage.  If I want to drink with my friends, I will drink, I don't need a day that means nothing to me to have an excuse to drink. Now I know that sounds cynical, but it's just not my thing, I do however really enjoy dressing in green and seeing what people come up with for kooky costume ideas - that to me is very fun.  This year I won't even be in Ontario for St-Patrick's so, I won't even have the option of drinking with my friends, even if this year I wanted to.

For Christmas, I was surprised with a flight ticket for British Columbia.  My dad, brother and I, along with my dad's girlfriend, and two of her kids will be spending seven days at Big White Ski Resort, which I am very much looking forward to.  It hadn't really sunk in that I was going skiing for a week until last night.  With that being said, the weather in Ontario this past week has been nothing short of beautiful.  Every single day it's been at least fourteen degrees Celsius, and as much as I am looking forward to this trip, going from the beautiful warm weather, to a cold snowy environment is sending chills down my spine.  I know however when I go there, and I see the beautiful mountains, and the abundance of white (in which we lacked here in my part of the province), that I will forget all about the cold and will not be able to contain myself.

Shamrock Shake Version 2.0

Now, as I said, I am not one to celebrate St-Patty's, however, I really love the colour green, and well, one of my latest favourite ingredients to incorporate into my meals is spinach, which is a beautiful, vibrant green as we all know.  This time last year, I had come up with a delicious and healthy Shamrock Smoothie, despite the fact that there wasn't anything bad for me in it, I wanted to make a new and improved version.  At this time last year, despite the fact that I was "working out" (for me to look back on last year in comparison to now, I don't believe what I was doing was really working out.  Not only that, I was incredibly ignorant to protein all together so it really wasn't a focus of mine).  This year however, especially now that I know how to lift weights properly, and how to get my heart working like a mad man without your "stereotypical" cardio i.e. running or biking, I now focus a lot of my attention on how to get protein into my diet.

Shamrock Shake Version 2.0 - is still just as delicious, if I'm to be quite honest, it taste practically the same, except it is substantially higher in protein versus the one I made last year, seeing as last years didn't have any, other than what is in the soy milk, oi.  So here we have it, if I had to choose between the two, clearly version two is much better suited for the needs of my diet!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1 large frozen banana
• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup 0% vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1 tsp cacao powder
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• Cacao nibs - to garnish

Tropical Green Pancakes

Next on my St-Patrick's Day list of goodies, is something that I am a huuuuuge fan of and wanted to healthify even more (yes, I know that's not a word).  At first I was a little skeptical as to how these would turn out, but nevertheless to my surprise they turned out amazingly.  When I woke up this morning, I really wasn't in the mood to have a protein shake, instead I was really craving some pancakes, probably because I'm beginning to get in vacation mode, and pancakes are always a nice comfort food and reminds me of vacation.  However, I'm not on vacation, and even when I do go to British Columbia I will still be maintaining a healthy diet via exercise and food consumption of course.  Despite the fact that I wanted pancakes, I wanted to add a bit more nutrition to them as well, so I decided that I would try making some green pancakes - because I wanted to be healthy of course, but as well so I did have a delicious entry to post.

I have seen various green pancakes on the web, but none of them have ever really drawn a lot of attention to my tastebuds, so I figured why not get in the kitchen.  These pancakes took a little longer to make than usual (first because I'd never made them before, so wasn't quite sure what to do), as well as because I had to use the blender and take out some few extra bowls.  I was in the kitchen for quite a while, but it was seriously worth it.  It was worth it for the flavour of course, tropical, what else could I ask for, but the beautiful green!  At first I wasn't so sure that the green would still be as prominent after cooked, but I'm assuming because it was natural versus an artificial colour i.e. food colouring this is some of the reason behind it, I'm not a scientist, but this makes sense to me haha.  

From now on, I'm going to try and use spinach in a lot more of my foods.  When blended in you seriously don't even know that there is spinach other than the colour.  I love this, and it is such a sneaky way of adding in a lot of greens to your diet.  The thing that's awesome about spinach too is that when it is combined with fruits the iron absorption is greater, win-win-win situation!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 very ripe banana
• 1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp flaxseed + 1 1/2 tbsp water
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped pineapple
• 1 tbsp flaked coconut

Garnish:

• 1/2 banana
• Carob chips
• 0% fat Greek yoghurt (flavour of choice)
• Coconut flakes
• 1 1/2 tsp maple syrup

Directions:

In a teeny tiny bowl, mix your flaxseed and water.  Allow to sit for a few minutes until it becomes almost gelly like (about five minutes).

In a small bowl combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and coconut flakes.  Leave this to the side.

In a blender, add your milk, banana, pineapple, and spinach until there are no visible chunks of spinach.  Add in your flaxegg.  Pour your green mixture in with the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Preheat a griddle on medium low. Using a 1/4 measuring cup, drop batter onto the griddle. Cook until the tops are bubbly and edges are dry. Flip and cook another minute.

Mash the remaining banana and maple syrup together.  Top your pancakes with your banana mixture, yoghurt, coconut flakes and carob chips.  

Devour.

How do you try to sneak greens into your diet?

Have you ever tried sneaking spinach into anything other than smoothies/shakes?

Shake, shake, shake senora.

So, it's been a few weeks now that I've been seeing a personal trainer and things are looking up.  Not only do I get my butt whipped by the trainer (for it's easier to push yourself to the extreme when you have someone dictating for you what to do), but I am also whipping my own butt when I am going into the gym by myself and doing weights.  I was never someone to approach the weight machines, because honestly, it's not that I didn't want to, it was just a fear of the unknown.  I didn't want to use the machine improperly, and with that I just didn't try.  I've always stuck to your stereotypical "cardio" exercises, however, now that I'm education myself, and learning proper terms etc... I now know this - "Any form of exercise can be considered cardio exercise if it raises the heart rate sufficiently and can be sustained for long periods of time. Often normal activities such as walking or climbing stairs can be turned into cardio exercises if they are done intensely. Typically cardio exercise involves engaging major muscle groups which require a large amount of oxygen, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, chest and arms. Running, swimming and bicycling are typical cardio exercises, though a wide range of activities, such as yoga, basketball or even sexual activity can constitute cardio exercise." taken from here.

With that being said, I do miss running and biking, but having my heart feel like it's going to jump out of my chest from doing weights is such an amazing feeling, and it's a nice change.  What's even more fantastic is that I'm gaining the knowledge to make this happen to me without a trainer.  I'm learning basics, and I know how to apply them to machines I hadn't used prior.


With all of this strength training I'm definitely feeling the need to fuel up, not just because I'm supposed to and told to, but because my body is craving the extra protein, the additional nutrients, and the increase in food overall.  On average I'm having about two protein shakes a day, this is helping a lot to keep me full since I'm packing them in along with my meals.  

I now have a lot of shakes under my belt that I'm really excited to share with you guys.  Recently I've stumbled upon a fLAVORATOr page on Pinterest, and it's super neat to see how many people have repinned my recent shakes as inspiration to healthy, delicious shakes.  This makes me feel really happy because I know I don't get a lot of traffic on my blog, but through Pinterest it definitely helps, and it's nice to share other bloggers recipes as well as my own.  Through all of this, I'm just going to jump to some recent shakes I've been enjoying that are simple and quick to make, and that are super delicious that I think you would all enjoy as well.

Peanut Butter Crunch Smoothie

Recipe adapted from here

I'm not sure what it is with me lately when it comes to peanut butter.  I've made three batches of peanut butter cookies.  Been stocking up on peanut butter cereal - these being my favourite.  Making peanut butter, jam and banana sandwiches at least four times a week.  Adding peanut butter into my shakes, or throwing some into my oats in the morning, whatever it is, I have been sucking it in like there's no tomorrow.  When I found a recipe to add peanut butter cereal into a shake, there was no doubt in my mind that I would be making it as soon as possible, especially since I had a box of this exact cereal on hand ;) fate or what?

This is definitely one of my recent favourites, hence my peanut butter binges, but with the peanut butter from the cereal and my protein powder it was pure heaven.  I even made a chia crumble that I'd recently made for some added protein/deliciousness.  This is a for sure you must make sort of recipe, do it for yourself, you will not regret it!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 3/4 cup Peanut Butter Crunch Cereal
• 1 scoop peanut butter protein powder (or chocolate protein if you don't have peanut butter)
• 1/4 cup 0% fat vanilla Greek yoghurt
• More cereal for garnish + chocolate chia crumble 

Directions:

Blend milk, cereal, yoghurt and protein powder until smooth.  Top with cereal and chocolate chia crumble.

Chocolate Orange Smoothie


If you're already a fan of chocolate and orange together, you don't need me to tell you that this is going to be a sure fire hit.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup water
• Juice from 1 orange
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 scoop of protein powder

Avocado Citrus Smoothie

Recipe slightly adapted from here

It's been a while now that I've been tossing avocado's into my shakes, especially when I don't have any spinach left and I want some green-ness added in.  What's awesome about avocado when added to your shakes is the creaminess.  When I was younger and my mom make my brother and I smoothies they would always be made with juice, and I felt that this left them being very runny, and resembled a healthy juice.  When I make my smoothies/shakes, I like them to be creamy and thick - resembling a milkshake.  Seeing as it's been a few years since I've had a milkshake since I never buy vegan ice cream, and when I do have ice cream in the house I like to eat it in a bowl instead of drink form I needed to find a way to have this result in another form - frozen banana/avocado definitely gives you this result.  You don't need ice cream, you don't need to feel guilty you can just drink and enjoy.

This smoothie was incredible.  While I was drinking it, I was wishing that every sip I took, it would magically fill back up.  I am a huuuuuge sucker for citrus, and never think to put it in my shakes (other than orange of course), but the addition of both lemon and orange in this drink is blissful.  It has the perfect punch of tartness, than the yoghurt, avocado, banana and vanilla pick up and add sweet touches as well as bouts of creaminess.  Will certainly be enjoying this puppy come the summer time instead of lemonade, yum!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 an avocado - frozen
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/3 cup blackberry non-fat Greek yoghurt
• Juice of 3/4 lemon
• Juice of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

Directions:

Combine everything into a blender and blend until smooth.

Caramel Apple Green Smoothie

Recipe taken and slightly adapted from here

And lastly - yes, you read correct - caramel apple smoothie.  The one thing I love about eating healthy is that there is almost  always an ingredient to mimic those unhealthy ones that we desire so much.  Milkshake/ice cream = pureed banana, creamsicles = Greek yoghurt + orange juice + pureed banana, caramel = dates, yes dried fruit resembles caramel especially when added with flavours that enhance caramel flavours such as apples.  This was incredibly delightful and such a wonderful treat.  This is sure to be enjoyed by all, even those avid of steering clear of green shakes.  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 apple - original uses frozen, I used fresh
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 cups spinach
• 2 medjool dates, pitted
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt

Directions:

Place in your blender in the order of the ingredients listed, then blend for 30 seconds or until smooth.

When you want something refreshing and healthy what do you throw on in your smoothies/shakes?

Post Work-Out Smoothies

As I mentioned a few days ago, one of the thing's that I've recently "invested" in is a personal trainer.  With that being said, I also stated how he wasn't too impressed with my diet.  One of the major reasons as to why I hired a personal trainer is because I want to tone.  Due to this, I knew I was going to have to augment my protein by a lot.  Now, everyday regardless of if I am working out, or on a rest day I consume at least one protein shake, (yes, I was even told I am no longer allowed to call them "smoothies" but they are now "shakes".  For the purpose of my blog however, I am going to continue calling them "smoothies" ;) ).  

Due to the increase in my protein, and the fact that I am having a smoothie everyday, I also now have a lot more recipes to post.  Not all of them are amazing, sometimes I'm lazy, and just throw in whatever I want without making too much of an effort in remembering what goes in them, or to even take a picture for that matter.  Some however, need to be shared because they are just so tantalizing.

Snickerdoodle Smoothie

Recipe slightly adapted from here

For starters, one of my recent favourites - the snickerdoodle smoothie.  If you're a regular to my blog you will know that cinnamon is one of my favourite spices.  When cinnamon is added to anything I just about fall in love.  When I see a recipe for a smoothie that has the title "snickerdoodle", I don't even think twice about clicking on the link.  Needless to say I quickly bookmarked the link, and made it a few days after seeing it.  This is amazing.  It truly does taste like a snickerdoodle cookie without any guilt whatsoever.  It is a perfect pre-work out/post-work out smoothie.  It is delightfully spiced, full of greens, reminiscent of an incredible cookie, and just, mmmm, cannot wait to enjoy this again!

- if you have yet to try a green smoothie, don't be alarmed.  You do not taste the spinach at all.  If you were blindfolded and were to take a sip you wouldn't even know that there is spinach in it.  This is a great way to get vegetables into your diet!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 2 cups loosely packed spinach
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

Directions:

Blend until smooth.

Tropical Avocado Smoothie

Recipe taken from here

Avocado is not an ingredient I frequently toss into my smoothies as I usually gobble them up in salads or ice creams before I think of tossing them into a smoothie.  However, if I find a recipe that suggests tossing in an avocado I specifically make sure I keep half of an avocado at least to try out the recipe, such is the case here.  I love the addition of avocado as it adds this creamy smoothness that you don't usually get from a smoothie.  This smoothie is definitely different from the smoothies I regularly make as I didn't toss in a frozen banana.  I really enjoyed it, the only thing I would change is to add a frozen banana so that the drink were more chilled with a smooth milkshake consistency, other than that, completely amazing.

Ingredients:

• 1 kiwi, ripe with the skin left on
• 1/2 an avocado
• 1/2 cup pineapple chunks, fresh
• Big handful of baby spinach
• 1/2 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (optional)

Directions:

Scrub your kiwi gently to remove any dirt or pesticides, and cut the ends off (discard).

Blend until no chunks of kiwi skins are left.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Recipe adapted from here

One of my favourite "desserts" are Wendy's Frosty's.  When I read this recipe, and saw that Gina had written that this taste like a Frosty but with peanut butter it was bound that I was going to be trying it.  This was definitely very, very similar.  I've seen imitation Frosty recipes going around the web lately, however they always seem to incorporate condensed milk.  This version does not contain condensed milk and still results in a very similar flavour.  I really enjoyed this and would certainly recommend it for the peanut butter chocolate lovers out there.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup low-fat vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp peanut butter

Directions:

Combine until smooth and creamy.

Cherry Vanilla Almond Smoothie

Recipe slightly adapted from here

I have to say one of my favourite flavours is the flavour of cherry.  However, this is not a fruit you will ever see me eat.  I have this irrational fear of fruits with pits.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but they just... freak me out.  My mom's boyfriend once bought a bunch of grapes that were said to be seedless, however, this was false.  They were not seedless, and because of this, the next hour after taking a few bites from different grapes to reassure me they were in fact not seedless, I cut every one in half and removed each seed.  Yes, I know, this sounds incredibly crazy, but it just urks me.  The only fruit I give exception to to this rule are clementines since it's not in every one.  Wow, okay after reading what I just wrote, I sound like a nut, oh well.  The point of this rant is, Costco has bags of pitted cherries that I go bonkers for.  I love them, because then all the amazing looking recipes I find online that incorporate cherries I can then try them.  One of my favourite one's up to date is the Raspberry Cherry Basil Smoothie, which I happily enjoyed this afternoon after my work out.  The other day however, I enjoyed an incredibly amazing savoury smoothie.  This recipe was packed with sweetness, protein, summer flavours, will definitely enjoy this again after future work outs.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup low-fat vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1 cup pitted cherries
• 2 tbsp whole almonds
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract

Directions:

Put all ingredients into blender and pulse for a “chewy” consistency. If you want it smooth, just use puree setting and blend longer.

What do you enjoy after your work outs?

The last of my summer recipes

Asian Inspired Coconut Kale Chips

When I first got to Korea... okay, well about a week and a half or two in after I mad a major meltdown and Jordan figured out a way for me to use my laptop in the apartment, I was able to speak to my mom on Skype.  At the time she was still working in Montreal, so at the same time I got to speak to my friend Nickey!  The first thing Nickey asked me was, "do they have quail chips there?!"... what she meant was kale chips not quail.  Nope, they certainly do not have kale, and even if they did have kale, I still wouldn't be able to have my beloved kale chips since there is no oven.

Before I left, even before knowing the kitchen situation here in Korea I made myself a batch of kale chips.  Now, they may not be my favourite Chocolate Coconut Kale Chips, the agave nectar, coconut, cashews and just everything that the concoction upholds, this version was still amazing, and was definitely eaten like candy, or like chips.  When Lays made their claim of, "bet you can't eat just one", I don't think they were talking about potato chips, I think what they really meant were kale chips.

My mom has tried my kale chips before, not being much of a fan.  However this time, I'd made them in the evening, she'd gotten home from work and smelt coconut.  Coconut is something that runs in my family, my mom also mows down on coconut.  She decided to give these chips a try, and... when she got to the couch she didn't have her usual Miss Vickey's with her, no she actually had a bowl of my kale chips!  Way to go mom!... except for the fact that I had to share my delicious treat with her... kidding, I was glad to!

If you are not a fan of soaking cashews, since you find it too time consuming (the other recipe I posted) this recipe is certainly for you, as it is super quick, and just needs you to throw them in the oven, and eat!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
  
• 1 large bunch kale, stems and large ribs removed, and roughly chopped
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened large-flake coconut/coconut meat
  
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

While your oven is heating up.  Mix all of your ingredients together.  Gently incorporate making sure that all of your kale is coated.

On a lined baking sheet, add your kale.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until crunchy, flipping once so that they don't burn.

Pistachio Smoothie

One thing I have really missed while being in Korea are smoothies.  Being without my regular kitchen tools, I realize just how much I rely on them.  Sure, I can make an incredible meal using a pot or a pan.  However, seeing as I don't eat eggs, meat, or fried foods (except a few stir-fries while being in Korea since I don't have access to an oven), I am limited to meals I can make on the stove (other than oats).  My blender and food processor are two gadgets that I know I will live with for the rest of my life, bless their mechanism souls.  Smoothies are my go-to quick breakfast meal.  They are so simple to make, and you can throw basically anything under the sun into them.


One smoothie I made before I left that I very much enjoyed was a pistachio smoothie.  I've never been much a fan of salt.  However, once I stopped eating processed foods I started cooking with salt.  It's not that I never liked salt before (which I thought was the case), it's the fact that processed foods are so saturated with salts I never wanted to eat these foods.  When I started cooking, and being able to control the sodium content I realized I really do like salty foods, even for breakfast.  My choice of salts usually stem from nuts, whether it be nut-butters or the actual nuts themselves, that's my weapon of choice when it comes to salt.  Salted pistachios?  Oh, probably my favourite, along with salted cashews that is!  This smoothie was fantastic because it was utterly creamy due to the yoghurt, it was sweet from the banana, and a slight touch of salt from the pistachios, truly a wonderful drink to start off the day!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pistachios
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yoghurt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 large frozen banana

Directions:

Throw everything into your blender, and mix until you've reached your desired consistency. 

Nutella Inspired Banana Soft-Serve

That was a recipe using my beloved blender.  Now here's my last summer recipe that I didn't post for you guys using my food processor.  Ice cream is one thing that you see absolutely everywhere in Korea.  I've tried a bit... but honestly, I don't know what these people are eating, it is not my beloved ice cream that I go banana's for back home.  Their "frozen yoghurt" (I've tried it from a few different places), is the weirdest consistency, and "vanilla" tastes' more like chewing on mint-drenched alcohol rather than vanilla.  To say the least, if I lived in Korea for the rest of my life, I don't think that the "ice cream" here would be a bad habit of mine like it is at home... that is unless I had a food processor.

Oh food processor how I miss thee, and thy ability to make ice cream out of bananas tastes' so real and creamy!  I know that when I come home a nice banana soft-serve is going to be one of the things on my immediate list to make, without a doubt.

This is a recipe for a soft-serve I made while craving some Nutella, and thankfully for my cravings I had hazelnuts on hand.  While it may not of had the rich Nutella-like flavour you get from the tub, it had all of it's counterparts in an "ice-cream" form, I certainly wasn't going to complain.

Ingredients:

• 2 large frozen bananas
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp soy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts
• 1 tsp cacao nibs

Directions: 

In the bowl of your food processor, mix together your bananas and soy milk until you get a creamy consistency.  Add your coacoa powder, vanilla extract, cacao nibs, and hazelnuts and blender until smooth.  Top with additional cacao nibs and hazelnuts, enjoy.

What is one kitchen appliance that you depend on on a regular basis... that you really miss while not being at home? 

Oats, oats, oats!

*Note: I have edited and edited this post, I'm not sure why the formatting is wrong, sorry :(

Quinoa has been a "grain" that I have been using for a couple of years now.  I have used it in cookies, scones, breakfasts’, dinners, and I’ve used them ground as a flour.  Up until this summer I had only heard of/seen quinoa used as it’s circular-self or ground up as a flour.  However, as I was perusing blogs this summer, I came across a truffle recipe that instead of using instant oats used quinoa flakes.  This left me intrigued as I’d never seen this being used before.

I’d looked in my local grocer’s store a couple times when I went, not surprised that I didn’t find it.  However as my mom and I were at our local farmer’s market this summer, I used to always go to this one vendor because they sold organic items, these items didn’t only include fruits and vegetables, there were wide varieties of spices, dried fruits, nuts, varieties of oats and flours.  As I was perusing I came across bags of quinoa flakes, to my delight I quickly grabbed a bag.

All summer those flakes sat in my cupboard.  Every time I made oats I vowed to myself that I would make them with quinoa next time, however, I love oats, and I had the thought of, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” in my head.  It wasn't until I was packing away my supplies from Montreal to head to Korea that I figured I would bring the quinoa flakes with me so that I would have some easy food to eat in case I was having trouble finding veg food in Korea.  Little did I know that Jordan was an oat hoarder /cough.

The first few weeks I was here, I was keeping breakfast simple with a quick peanut butter protein shake with a banana on the side (no blender here, makes for very boring “smoothies”).  Seeing as I wasn’t making my meals at first, and eating far too much rice, I didn’t want my breakfasts’ to be heavy either with oats, so I kept them to simple protein drinks.  However, I’ve been making my meals lately, and a lot more delicious salads, since it’s actually rather difficult to find salads in Korea, I’ve been making those quite often.

For breakfasts’ I’ve been making varied types of oats.  When I first started using the quinoa flakes as oats I was well… confused.  To be honest, I made Jordan a bowl of quinoa flakes first before I made one for myself.  When he ate them his response was, “Sam, you make your oats different than me”.  I was really confused by that statement to be honest, because I’ve made him oats numerous times before, and had made him quite a few bowls since being in Korea. “Your oats have like… melted together”.  It wasn’t until the next morning when I made a bowl for myself that I understood what he meant.

The first bite I took, I almost thought I was eating this grainy who-knows-what.  I mean, the bowl was still delicious because it had flavours that I absolutely adore but the texture was just strange.  However, the more and more I’ve been eating it, I actually really like it.  I’ve been eating it with simply just quinoa flakes, but mixed with half quick oats is super delicious as well.  When this bag of flakes is not, I’m not sure if I would be so quick to jump and buy some more of these flakes, but as an oat substitute for a while they certainly are delicious.

Seeing as I’ve been making these quinoa bowls for breakfast the past week and a bit I have made many varieties, today however, I am going to be showing you two that I really enjoyed.

Fall Inspired Apple Cinnamon Raisin Quinoa Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 large apple, cubed, skin on
• 1/4 cup quinoa flakes
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 heaping tsps cinnamon
• Handful of raisins

Directions:

In a medium pot over medium heat add your quinoa flakes, apple (leave a bit to top your oats with), soy milk, water, salt and cinnamon.  Once it’s come to a boil mix and cook to desired consistency.  Top with remaining apple pieces, raisins and additional cinnamon, yum!

Bowl of Monkey Oats

 

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1/3 cup quinoa flakes
• 1/3 cup soy milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Handful of chopped walnuts
• 1 heaping tbsp peanut butter
• Dash of salt

Directions:

In a medium pot over medium heat add your quinoa flakes, soy milk, water, cinnamon and salt.  .  Once it’s come to a boil throw in your banana (chunks) and mix until you have a nice thick consistency or until you reach your desired consistency.  Top with walnuts, few slices of banana, peanut butter and additional cinnamon.

...

Here is the same version, however, sans peanut butter with maple syrup instead!

Banana Cinnamon Walnut Oats

These may not be your typical oat bowls, I mean everything is the same as I’d normally make my oats other than the actual type of oat itself, but I know that if I was stranded in a remote island with my fixings and quinoa flakes I know I would be okay.

I mean sure, they may not be your regular bowl of oats...

Chocolate Amaretto Cherry Overnight Oats

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup vanilla fortified soy milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp cocoa nibs
• 14 cherries, frozen
• 1 banana, mashed
• Amaretto agave nectar, to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Allow to sit in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

heck you might not even get the same consistency in a smoothie...

Basil Lime Mango Smoothie

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup mango + more for garnish
• 1 banana
• 1/2 lime freshly squeezed
• 3 tbsp oats
• Handful fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp chia seed

Directions:

To be made the night before you plan on eating it, or at least 4 hours in advance.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly and place in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, pour ingredients into blender and process until smooth.

if you were using quinoa flakes instead of quick oats, however, in time, I’m sure I could learn to love everything about them just as much as I love quick oats.

... can you tell I still had some left-over summer recipes to share with you all? ;)

Have you tried quinoa flakes before?  

 If so what did you use them in/what did you think of them?

Smoothie's Anonymous is what I need.

Lately, I have been feeling so unmotivated with blogging.  It's not that I'm not wanting to blog anymore, it's just that my insomnia has been so crazy lately, that when I get home from work, I do my biking or weights (or I don't, which I'm not proud of), and then I rest, rest, and rest, but don't fall asleep.  I literally sit at the computer, listening to music; latest obsessions being Our Lady Peace, Rise Against, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers as I'd forgotten just how amazing these bands are until my friend put music on my hard-drive and my ears started crying of joy.  Nonetheless, the point of this is that my insomnia has been brutal lately, between thirty minutes to two hours of sleep a night, I'm feeling very zombie-ish and looking at trying some natural remedies, I've been using melatonin but... how I see it right now is placebo as it's not doing anything.  The next thing I want to try is valerian root, as I do not want to use prescribed sleeping aids as I've used them in the past and they were nothing but horrible.  I slept yes, but zombie was an understatement, and unfortunately they made me hallucinate, eek.

I know I've been slacking tremendously on my posting, and it does pain me as I really do love sitting on the couch at night and writing my posts, but I just haven't had the motivation to lately.  I've been making new and wonderful breakfasts' everyday, and even my pictures have sort of been slacking which makes me sad... but I guess when you get in slumps, you get in all around slumps and that's whats happening here.  The thing is, I want to get a couple of posts out to you guys this weekend, because... as of next Thursday I will not be readily available to the internet as I am going on vacation.  Where am I going on vacation you ask?  Korea.  I had mentioned it months back that I was going to Korea... but, well, I'd never written about it on here, but Jordan and I had broken up, and irrational me cancelled my ticket.  However, seeing as we are still very amicable, I thought it would still be fun to take a trip there.  I've always wanted to see Asia (Thailand being my number one), but having someone there makes it nice, especially someone who I feel so comfortable with.  I am looking very forward to this trip, as it is very much needed.

We finished shooting Blue Mountain State Season 3 two weeks ago, and it's not that it was a difficult show to work on by any means... but after working long hours everyday it gets tiresome very quickly, especially when you are not rejuvenating properly with sleep.  I found that by the end of the pilot we finished before this show I was so insanely burnt out I needed a vacation because my brain was seriously crying hard.  This show was a blast, I met some of the most amazing people in Montreal, and had the time of my life, but there was also some... office drama that really got to me, and just escaping is going to be nice. Unfortunately once I return from Korea, October 4th, I will be returning back home to Ontario, which to be honest I'm not entirely gung-hoe about... but that's life.  Right now it's looking like I won't have a job until January either... unless by some lucky fluke I get on The Chronicles of Riddick, but I very much doubt that right now.  However, it'll be nice to take some time off, because, fingers crossed, January I will be working in Quebec City, until April, and then be back in Montreal for Blue Mountain State Season 4, until then we shall see though.

One thing I'm very much looking forward to when coming back home is seeing my baby boo, Izzy.  I haven't seen my kitty in five months going on six, and out of this whole experience of living away she's the thing I miss the most, okay fine you're in there too daddy-ola, as I know you'll read this and be sad :P.  I cannot wait to go home, and be able to sleep since I'll have my little munchkin at the end of my bed!  That and... I bought a Vespa!  On the show they rode 9 Vespa's for like 30 seconds, and because they bought them they re-sold them.  Luckily for me, my mom has a high position and I ended up being one of the lucky few who got to snag one (along with my mother).  What's even more fun is the fact that they were all custom painted, mine is beautiful lavender, while my mom's is cool mint!  My first "vehicle", and I cannot wait to get my little tush on the back of it, woohoo!

Okay, okay, have I talked enough yet?  I think so, my fingers are getting sore and I'm actually wanting to do my work out, so I want to post a few of the smoothies that I've recently been enjoying for breakfasts/snacks/post work-out meals. Now one of my all time favourite oatmeal's that I've posted on my blog was the Tangelo Creamsicle Overnight Oats, as they replicated my childhood favourite summer treat.  I had been craving those oats again, but didn't really want a bowl of oats so I figured I would make it into an overnight smoothie, which was perfect.  The same flavours were used, just this time it was to be drank instead of eaten, smart idea Sam, very smart!

Creamsicle Smoothie

Recipe inspired from here
 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 orange, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup frozen strawberries (just because I wanted to twist it up)
• 2-4 tbsp oats
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• Coconut flakes to garnish 

Directions:

Place all of your ingredients in a bowl, stir and cover overnight.  In the morning give your ingredients a whirl in the blender until everything is well incorporated, et voila!  

Orange Pecan Smoothie
 

I have said it time and time again, tropical fruits are my number one love in the world of food (even before cake and pancakes), however, throw in some tropical fruits into a cake (hello Hummingbird) and you'll have me in a crazy house, because I melt at the knees.  This summer, I definitely ate my share of pineapples, bananas, mangoes, and coconut products, however, I also seemed to fall in love with oranges.  Growing up I was never a huge fan of orange juice, unless freshly squeezed, I also wasn't the biggest fan of eating oranges, except halfway through a soccer game.  This summer though, I experimented with oranges (blood being my absolute favourite and cannot wait for them to come back into the grocery stores), but I tried small, medium and large oranges, different types from different places.  I was very hesitant towards the big ones, but found that those were actually the best in fruit salads, where the most flavourful oranges were the teeny tiny baby ones.

With all this being said, as you can see above I even started adding oranges to my smoothies, and not just the juice, but the whole orange. This smoothie was made because... my orange stock was well, overwhelmingly huge (in a good way), but I wanted to use some up so I could go out and buy more fresh ones.  I'd also taken some pecans from work so I wanted to make a smoothie with them for a beautiful nutty flavour.  Well, this was delicious, no, actually that's an understatement.  I can't even really describe the unison of the flavours, but it was a perfect medley and was very much enjoyed, yummm!  

Ingredients:

• 1 medium orange, peeled
• A teeny bit of orange peel
• Handful of pecans between 12-14
• 1 large banana, frozen
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

Place all your ingredients in your blender, give them a whirl until you've reached desired consistency.  Pour into your glass and picture yourself on a tropical island.

Mango Orange and Coconut Smoothie
 

I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again, I consider myself to be 95% vegan.  I bake and cook only vegan foods, but once in a while I indulge (I really dislike vegan ice cream, and sometimes I just want that sinful delicious ice cream that I love so much), in this category is also Greek yoghurt.  One thing I discovered this summer, after depriving myself from... satisfying yofhurt for far too long (3/4 cup of yoghurt at 50 calories, filled with aspartame and gelatin thanks but no thanks), with Greek yoghurt there may be skim milk, but there isn't the disgusting addition of gelatin.

This summer, not only did I fall in love with Greek yoghurt, I also explored the different flavours from mango and orange, maple syrup, date and fig, mocha,  blackberry, and others... and was just in heaven. Truthfully the one I thought I would love the most (mango and orange) was my least favourite.  With that being said though, it did make one heck of an amazing smoothie which I seriously craved for many days... so had to indulge a few times.  Adding yoghurt to your smoothie takes it to a whole new level (this week I've been adding silken tofu, which I find gives the same result), but the fact that it was already mango and orange flavoured was perfect since I didn't have mangoes on hand.  This smoothie was a milkshake, it was sinful, and indulgent yet healthy, mmm!  

Ingredients:

• 1 large banana, frozen
• 1/4 cup Liberte mango and orange yoghurt
• 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

Give everything a whirl in your blender.  Sit, gulp, enjoy.  

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie
 

Last but certainly not least, one fantastical smoothie.  This is the smoothie that inspired me to continue adding oats to my smoothies.  I'd had oats in my smoothies before, but having banana + oats, and allowing them to sit overnight makes the smoothie thick and just all around delicious, almost like a very thick milkshake.  We all know how fantastic peanut butter and banana is, peanut butter oatmeal cookies too, which means that this is basically a no brainer as to how this smoothie is going to turn out.  What I like about overnight smoothies is that, your ingredients are already together in the morning, all you have to do is add them to your blender and poor (snap a picture or two if you're a blogger), otherwise it's basically read in one minute and is utterly wonderful.

Ingredients:

• 2 heaping tbsp oats
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 heaping tbsp peanut butter
• 1 large banana, frozen

Directions:

Place all of your ingredients in a bowl, stir and cover overnight.  In the morning give your ingredients a whirl in the blender until everything is well incorporated, et voila!

Do you like to switch up your smoothies?

Or do you usually make the same ones over and over again?

"Caramel Frappuccino" Smoothie

Still to this day, one question I get asked that makes me giggle a little bit inside is, "don't you get sick of eating just plants and seeds?", as well as the, "so how do you get your protein?" question.  I'm aware that not everyone is aware of nutrition, and the fact that protein and iron don't just come from animals, as well as the fact that the vegan diet isn't composed of simply nuts and seeds, but c'mon now.  We're in the 2000's, technology is so advanced that we can create foods that tastes' exactly like the real thing (not that that's a good thing), but our food variety is so spectacular, that even in normal grocery stores i.e. not specialty health food stores they're are organic, gluten-free, peanut-free, vegan, lactose free, etc options.  No one should be without, especially with the Internet at our fingertips it's so easy to look up a substitution for something you may not be able to eat, need eggs in a cookie recipe, sub for chia/flaxseeds, need butter sub for fruit purees or your soy butters, want chocolate, grab your cacao nibs or some dark chocolate, etc...

When I smell a barbecue in the summer as I'm walking or driving by, I'll admit my tastebuds start to sing, but I'm only human, it doesn't mean I desire those foods, but they do smell good.  The one thing I do however miss, is the ease of not having to worry about the ingredients in the food I'm eating.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my friends moms place for dinner.  They invited us over for dinner, and knowing how my friend is towards my food (thinks I eat the weirdest food ever... cough my kale chips is a prime example), I brought over some food for myself so I was certain that I wouldn't be without.  A couple glances were shared, and I simply explained that I follow a vegan diet.  Understanding was sort of there, but not really... dessert rolled around, and it was lemon meringue pie.  A piece was offered to me, and I quietly said, "no thank you".  "What you don't eat this either?"  And to my surprise my mom was like no, "there are eggs in there".  "You don't eat eggs either?" ... and so the conversation went on.

I do miss certain things like not having to prepare snack foods in advance.  When I go to the mall for instance and know I'll be there for cough... a few hours I bring snack foods in my purse because, for one I don't want to result to processed snack foods, and two, the average "vegan" option on the menu's are salads... well that gets pretty boring.  I mean, it's not something that drags me down, because hey if it bothered me that much I wouldn't do it, I would fall into my old ways and go for the large poutine at New York Fries and mound that down like a beast, but unfortunately with knowledge sometimes comes arrogance... and I just can't reason with myself to put that junk in my body.  If I crave something I will simply make a vegan version and that's that.

Speaking of ease though, one flavour I certainly miss, as I mentioned yesterday is caramel.  Caramel, along with cinnamon, coconut, bananas, pineapple, ginger etc... are one of my all-time favourite flavours.  Give me some butterscotch ice cream and you're my best friend for life.  Before my mom put's her spread on her crispy crunchy French toast in the morning, she likes to take a snack-size bite from the jar of the oozing-golden-brown-delicious looking caramel, and I just sit, and desire.  No, I am not denying myself this luxurious flavour but I do wish sometimes that I could do just that, not think of what is in the product and just close my eyes and devour.  Which I admit, sometimes I close a blind eye and have my ice cream.  As I've mentioned (before I get comments), I follow a 95% vegan diet.  My baking/cooking is 100% vegan, however, if I am craving some ice cream I will not deny myself this treat.  I make my banana soft serves very frequently, as well as I've had some soy ice creams (which honestly to me... they just suck, in my opinion they are simply not creamy enough.  When I'm craving ice cream it's because I want that creamy-yum factor, and those just don't do it for me... the banana soft serves do), but sometimes I feel like just giving a few dollars and having some ice cream in a cup and having a machine spew it out without me having to whip out some gadgets. 

What is the reason behind this little speech?  The fact that I was able to find vegan caramel pudding.  That little container is making my life wonderful.  I can get the "spoonful" of caramel my mom does in the morning all from the comfort of my own home, it may be more expensive than your mass-produced who-knows-what-goes-inside-this-pudding, but it's worth it and it tastes' like heaven on a spoon.

This morning I decided I wanted to treat myself to a mix of caramel, coffee and banana.  That sentence feels a little weird coming from my... fingers (I'd say mouth but I'm not talking haha).  I strongly dislike coffee (however, my coffee yoghurt is making me sort of a fan of the taste), pudding is just iffy with me, even if it's caramel flavoured, and well banana just isn't abnormal for me. 

This smoothie tasted like a cheap version of a caramel latte or frappuccino whatever those fancy drinks are, in the form of a smoothie.  It was wonderful, rich, but not too rich, and was just perfect.  This was wonderful and filled me over until lunch, I could of gave it more time until I ate lunch (I drank my smoothie at 7:30 am and ate lunch at 12:00 pm), but that's because that's what time everyone else eats at.  The added oatmeal definitely helps make the smoothie even more filling.  Will be making this again, and you should too.


"Caramel Frappuccino" Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 large banana, frozen
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup caramel pudding
• 1/4 cup coffee yoghurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp oats

Directions:


Mix all of your ingredients (other than the banana, unless you use a ripe non-frozen banana), in a bowl the night before.  Cover and let sit overnight, or at least four hours before.


In the morning add your mix, plus banana to your blender, and whizz until it's nice and thick.  If you cannot get the blender moving smoothly enough, add some more liquid, but this should be enough.


Add to your cup and slurp back.

 

 Just a little hello from me :)