Yoga Frog on Frog Pose

Frog Pose (Mandukasana)

If you want to free your hips and really let go of stagnant energy surrounding the hips then you must try frog pose. I have been working on this one all week in my personal practice as well as in my classes. One thing I observed is that frog pose sure makes me sweat!! I really felt the joy in it today, 2 days ago I felt a lot of anger, stirred up a lot of emotion for me and didn't want to stay in ...the pose (but I did), very resistant! Today I was finally able to release deeper and felt like I was on the other side of those emotions, pure joy, love and release. Also on a physical level the subtle discomfort that comes and goes in my right hip for the last 6-12 months hasn't been bothering me this week. Nobody ever said yoga was easy and it's not meant to be but it's so worth the hard work.

Link to video of dude doing Frog Pose

That's it, breathe through it, big man! There are a few different versions of frog pose and I wanted to find a reference for the one I've been doing and (I can't believe it) this is the best one I found. I think it's great and shows that an...yone can do this pose, unless you have issues/injuries with your back, knees or hips. You can use pillows under the knees, folded blankets or towels (as shown in video). When coming out of the pose use any method that's most comfortable for you, I bring my feet together and move my hips towards my heels and go straight into child's pose. Enjoy your happy hips.

The Blissology Project

One of my Christmas gifts this year was The Blissology Project by Eoin Finn.  Eoin refers to himself as a blissologist.  The blissology project is a set of 6 DVDs that includes yoga and meditation.  The blissology project has 6 big easy bliss commitments: 1) yoga, 2) meditation, 3) food awareness, 4) nature appreciation, 5) gratitude, 6) wild card (which changes every week and is posted on his website).

Each DVD has 2-3 yoga practices, one is a "quickie" version running about 30 mins and the others are a longer practice from 45 to 60 mins, depending on disk.  Each disk also includes a meditation.  Five of the disks are titled Bliss Monday- Bliss Friday and the 6th is Bliss Weekend.  If you would like more information on this DVDs or the Blissology Project please check out Eoin's website Eoin Finn Yoga + Blissology.

I haven't had the chance to do all the yoga practices yet but the ones I've done are great!  I've always enjoyed going to Eoin's classes and the DVDs do not disappoint.  Even the quickie sessions leave you feeling lighter and blissified.  I've even used some of the sequences in my yoga classes when I teach.  The great thing about the DVDs is that he only charges $49 + shipping!  Or you can buy the video download version for the same price, no shipping.  For the amount of yoga and meditation you get it's a great deal!

Namaste

New Year Resolutions

I don't really believe in new year resolutions.  I don't ever remember making them so I don't have any experience or any attachment to them or feel the need to make them.  This year I have made so many healthy changes in my diet long before New Year's that I don't need to reiterate them as a resolution.  I'm already doing it.  I suppose I could make an "I plan to exercise more" resolution but I already do that too, for the most part quite regularly.  I will admit that I have been on a 3 month hiatus from my exercise routine but looking back I think it was because of my diet changes.  Now that the new diet has acclimatized itself, I'm ready to get fit again. 

I've always liked the expression "never say never".  This is a good place to insert it.  Not that I ever said I would never make a New Year's resolution because over the years I've learned not to say never.  I just never planned on making any...but this year I think I am going to make an official new year's resolution.  I came across a status update on facebook on Jan 1st that caught my eye "any grudges or ill will you have towards someone, leave it in 2010.  Let's all start 2011 with love in our hearts."  The author is Eoin Finn, the infamous blissologist from Vancouver, BC.  I have one relationship in my life that is not the best it could be and I feel helpless because there is nothing I can or can't do to make it better or (hopefully) worse.  As they say the only person you can change is you.  So my new year's resolution is to leave my grudges behind and with effort move forward without any expectations or attachments to this someone.  Is indifference a negative word?  I hope not.  And for the record I don't have any ill will towards this someone and do my best to approach them with compassion because I only have room in my heart for love these days.  I can see how holding onto negative feelings towards someone can have a negative affect on your own health and that is my motive, to be free of negativity.

BVCE (Best Vegan Christmas Ever) Dinner

We hosted Christmas dinner again this year and since there were only 6 of us we did it on a smaller scale.  I was the only vegan and my wonderful step-MIL, Maris, went out of her way to help out and make her dishes vegan too!  Bryn decided to made his wonderful Roasted Goose for the omnivores, since there was no need for a giant turkey.  Amazingly everything was vegan except for the goose!

The menu: Roasted Goose stuffed with oranges and lemons, Festive Chickpea Tart, Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes, Baked Apple Stuffing, Miso Gravy, Whipped Potatoes, Broccoli, Carrots, Cranberry Sauce. 
Dessert: Ginger Cookies, Fruit, Chocolate Pumpkin Pie with Macadamia Maple Butter Cream.

I made some appies on Christmas Eve...

Walnut, White Bean & Spinach Phyllo Rolls 

(from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan)

Photo By Bryn

Photo by Bryn

photo by Bryn

Then I made the Festive Chickpea Tart (from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan Blog)

photo by Bryn

Photo by Bryn

The end result, delicious!

photo by Bryn

OK, I had to add at least add one picture of the goose.  Bryn did such a great job, as usual.

photo by Bryn

The table is almost ready...

Nom nom, My Vegan Holiday Feast! 

photo by Bryn

photo by Bryn

Sparkled Ginger Cookies

photo by Bryn

(from Vegan with a Vengeance)












Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
(from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan)

photo by Bryn

 Chocolate Pumpkin Pie with Macadamia Maple Butter Cream (both from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan).  I really wish you could taste this!

photo by Bryn

I hope you all enjoyed your festive holiday meal as much as I did!  I know I'm looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow!

White Bean Hummus

I was never a big fan of hummus, this is until I made it myself.  Prior to my epiphany I never understood what the all the fuss was about.  I loved all the ingredients that went into hummus: garlic, lemon, chickpeas and olive oil...but for some reason it just never tasted any good.  If I remember correctly most of the hummus I tried was probably store bought but even the odd homemade batch did nothing for me.  It didn't make any sense to me so one day I decided to try making my own.  I found a few recipes and from these made some adjustments according to my person preferences and came up with my hummus recipe.  This is when I fell in love with hummus and understood the attraction, I had been missing out!  I found out I prefer my hummus less garlicky and more lemony and now that I know, I can make it this way.

Once I had discovered a passion for hummus there really was no need to mess with perfection but I couldn't resist and I ask you, why can't there be room in one's heart for another hummus?  I remember two summers ago when Bryn and I went out for dinner on our anniversary we had a number of different tapas as an appetizer and one of them was a white bean hummus, it was amazing!  In one of my new cookbooks Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, Dreena Burton has a whole section dedicated to hummus and one of them happens to be for white bean hummus.  It was fate.  And I now have a second hummus love.  Dare I expand my hummus love even further with the black bean hummus?  (you bet I will)

White Bean Hummus with Fresh Thyme & Basil

*photo by Bryn*

If you're interested in trying it yourself, you can find the recipe here on Dreena's blog.

First Batch of Vegan Cookies

Since omitting sugar from my diet back in September I haven't been baking at all.  With the holidays fast approaching I have decided I would make an exception and bake my way through the holidays with some yummy treats.  I have always baked Christmas treats and some years up to 10 different things.  This year I will be doing it smaller scale and everything will be vegan!  I'm excited.  Last Sunday was my first attempt at vegan baking and I decided to go with a favourite standby of Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I used Isa Moskowitz's recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance.

Bryn got a new camera for Christmas, which means my blog pictures just got a lot better because he's insisting on taking all the pics...YAY!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies *photo by Bryn*

The cookies turned out great, the texture was perfectly chewy and I like them very much...there was just one flaw and it was completely my fault, the recipe called for 2.5 cups of all purpose flour and me being the healthifying nut that I am HAD to substitute 1 cup of the flour with spelt flour.  It wasn't a huge mistake, I had to add 2 tbsp of almond milk because the dough was too dry to hold together but the spelt flour took over and it wasn't all purpose spelt flour so it was a bit grainy.  Kaden wouldn't eat them even though they were loaded with tons of choco chips.   

Mental note for all future vegan baking endeavors:  

DO NOT HEALTHIFY INDULGENT BAKING TREATS!!!

Indulgent baking treats are meant to be just that, indulgent.  Just because they are vegan doesn't necessarily mean they are automatically healthy.  I want them to be sugary and "unhealthy" tasting.  That's why I'm making them to enjoy and indulge.  Alright, my commitment to delicious, not necessarily nutritious vegan baking has been made.  Enjoy the sweet feast for your eyes.

The Year of Cookbooks

I can barely contain my excitement!  I have the best "Mother Christmas" in my life and every year she pretty much gives me exactly what I have on my wishlist for Christmas.  Maris, my step mother in law, does everything in her power to spoil me and my family on Christmas, she is the best.  This year I asked for cookbooks and she had me order them online to make life easy.  I spent about 2 days perusing Chapters website, Amazon.com and various blogs to narrow down my selection, which I had to whittle down from about 20 books.  It was an overwhelming process and I hope I did ok, some I chose on intuition, some on rave reviews and others because I follow their blog.

Here's the list:

Eat, Drink & be Vegan by Dreena Burton.
I believe this is Dreena's 3rd vegan cookbook and she has a 4th one coming out soon.  She lives in the lower mainland and is very active in the online community, I have been following her blog for a while as well I am facebook "friends" with her.  She has a very approachable persona and I can't wait to try the cookbook, it's been at the top of my list ever since I came across it.

Get It Ripe by Jai Steele
Another Canadian Chick, if I remember correctly she resides in Toronto.  Her book also received great reviews.  She is a RHN and uses that to her advantage in the cookbook.  I have been to her website and blog but don't follow it.  I'm hoping to sign up for the RHN course in September so I was interested to see the cookbook of someone who is one and possibly how the training has influenced her lifestyle.

The Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen
Tal Ronnen is a professionally trained chef who used his training to create delicious meatless dishes.  This cookbook is for rich and fatty cooking, not healthy!  I bought is specifically for this purpose, as a foodie I do enjoy a decadent meal once in a while and I'm prepared to put the work into it as long as the results deliver.

The Urban Vegan by Dynise Belcavage
This one I went out on a limb.  As the full title suggests, The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes From Streetcar Favourites to Haute Cuisine, I feel like I can't go wrong as it's got 250 recipes.  I did check out her blog and some of the recipes looked good and she also has another cookbook deal in the works to come out next year.

Vegan Yum Yum by Lauren Ulm
This young lady is quite impressive, you gotta admit.  She's been on Martha Stewart, I've seen the clip but I have to say that I wasn't impressed with Martha's inattentive attitude toward Lolo (as she nicknames herself) regardless I thought Lolo did a great job in her 3 min spot to portray her "knitted marzipan".  Her cookbook received some conflicting reviews and it seems like she may or may not have a bad reputation in the vegan cookbook author's community.  Irregardless after reading the table of contents I was ready to order the book.  Fingers crossed!

100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek
This in another "went out on a limb" book.  I'm a sucker for great photographs of sugary treats, what can I say I'm a sugar addict through and through.  The book also got better reviews then The Joy of Vegan Baking so we'll see.

Kids Can Cook: Vegetarian Recipes
There aren't that many kids vegetarian cookbooks out there so it wasn't hard to decide which one.

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (not a cookbook)
This one is a National Bestseller and it just looks like an interesting read.  I like that it's called "part memoir, part investigative report".  Memoirs are one of my favourite genres to read!

And that's all she wrote!  Now you can see why I'm so excited, I don't think I've ever gotten so many books at one time, other then school books.  I am so grateful and my tummy will be grateful too.

Vegetarian Challenge Interview

 I interviewed Bryn about his experiences during his 7-Day Vegetarian Challenge.  I found some of his answers very interesting and some surprising.  What surprised me the most was when he posted about it on facebook the response from his "friends" was overwhelmingly unsupportive of his efforts, even our family took joy in undermining him.  Bryn is amazing, he is like a rock that can only be eroded by my love! :)

YF: Is this the first time you've tried a vegetarian diet for any length of time?  If not, when and for how long.
BW: Honestly I don't think I've ever gone more than a day without eating meat.  It was a staple of my lunch/dinners growing up and I've never really thought about going veggie before.

YF: Why did you agree to do the 7-day veg challenge?
BW: I thought it would be an interesting challenge, and I wanted to see if I felt different/better after not eating meat for a week.

YF: What were you hoping to get out of the challenge?
BW: I was hoping that I wouldn't miss meat one bit and I would be able to join my wife full time on a vegetarian diet.  Unfortunately it didn't turn out that way.

YF: Did you notice any changes in you body, mood, appetite or?  If any, can you please explain.
BW: I found I was hungrier than normal, and I ended up eating more food than I usually would.  I did feel good on the diet, not a huge change from my "normal", except for the gas.

YF: Now having gone 7 days without meat, what are your thoughts or reflections on the experience?
BW: I'm glad I did it.  It was an interesting change for me, I gained a new respect for people who choose not to eat meat products and I also saw that many people view vegetarians with a certain amount of cynicism, I didn't expect that.

YF: Has this experience changed your views on vegetarianism or how society heavily relies on meat and meat by-products in their everyday living?
BW: Like I said above, I was amazed by the number of people that took pot-shots at my challenge and made derogatory comments about the vegetarian lifestyle.  I think that society should change the way we treat our animals, not necessarily stop eating meat.

YF: After having completed the 7-Day Challenge is there anything you would've done differently?
BW: I would have tried to have more variety of vegetarian dishes, I really enjoyed all the different beans, but maybe some raw food meals or some different cultural dishes (Indian, Thai, etc) would have been a better variety.

YF: Would you consider a 30-Day Vegetarian Challenge?
BW: I would have to take some time to consider that, 30 days is a long time.

YF: Would you consider a 7-Day or 30-Day Vegan Challenge?
BF: Yes I would consider a vegan challenge, perhaps in the summer?

YF: Would you consider a 30-Day Pop-less Challenge?
BW: No, never. Shut your mouth.

YF: Would you ever consider permanently becoming Vegetarian?
BW: No.  I enjoy meat too much to give it up. I'm willing to become more moderate in my meat-consumption but I don't think I'm ready to give it up all together.

YF: What is your favorite vegetarian meal?
BW: The vegetarian Ceasar salad with tofu was good.  I also really liked the baked beans.

YF: If you could choose any super power what would it be? Why?
BW: I would want to be able to fly.  No traffic, no airline fees, total freedom.

YF: What's your favorite song (right now)?
BW: Good Evening by Outasight

YF: What does BCE mean? And please explain.
BW: BCE stands for "Best Christmas Ever".  It's just a mantra that I've been using to try and build excitement for the holidays.  This summer we kept calling it the "Best Summer Ever", and it WAS.  So I was hoping that the same logic would apply to Christmas.  I've also been working really hard on a gift for my wife over the last few months and I was so excited about giving it to her that I let the cat out of the bag a little early.  I really wish I had waited to surprise her, because her expectations are so high now that it is going to pale in comparison to what she is expecting.  It's nothing fancy or extravagant, but it is from my heart and I hope she appreciates it even if it doesn't meet her expectations.  As a family we've had some trials and tribulations over the last year, and I just wanted to make our holidays fun, stress-free and memorable.

I hope you enjoyed Bryn's answers and perhaps find inspiration to make changes in your own kitchen.  Above all, be kind.  Thank you very much to Bryn for taking the time for my interview and I can't wait till our next challenge!

Now that the challenge is over...

For some reason last week seemed to be a really busy week for us and I felt that I didn't get the chance to elaborate on Bryn's 7-Day Vegetarian Challenge.  So I thought I would do a retrospective.

I believe it's easy to switch from a meat eater to a vegetarian cold turkey then it is from meat eater to vegan.  There is a big difference between vegetarian and vegan diets.  Vegans don't eat any flesh meat as well they omit all dairy products and eggs, strict vegans will also refrain from wearing or using leather products.  Vegetarians for the most part abstain from eating flesh meat, however I've heard that some still consider eating chicken and fish a vegetarian diet, I happen to disagree.  In the vegetarian philosophy meat industry by-products are still acceptable to consume because the animals don't have to be slaughtered for their milk or eggs.  Since starting my journey back in September I have slowly made the transition to vegan and through my experiences I have made the conclusion it's better and easier to ease into the vegan diet rather than trying cold turkey.  As for Bryn's challenge, we opted for the vegetarian diet, he likes his lattes and his high protein breakfasts!  He omitted all flesh meat and we substituted with beans, tofu and soy products.

Here's what a typical day looked like before:
Breakfast: Latte, 2 eggs, 6 chicken sausages.
Lunch: Chef's Salad
Dinner: Tossed salad, stir fried veggies, chicken breast

Typical Vegetarian day:
Breakfast: Latte, 2 eggs, 2 slices Yves vegan bacon, 1/2 cup vegan baked beans.
Lunch: Tossed Salad, 1 cup vegan baked beans or chili, 1/2 cup hummus and veggie sticks
Dinner: Tossed Salad, stir fried veggies, more beans and marinated grilled tofu.

I think the changes were really subtle and it made it easier that I had already gone through my own transition and with my experiences I could make dishes that I knew he would enjoy eating.  As I said before I'm really proud of him and I've gained a new respect for him too!  I hope our experience will challenge you and your family to try your own Vegetarian Challenge!  You can make up your own, maybe you go for a week or maybe 30-Days!  Or try 1 day a week for 3 months!  There are no rules or limits!  I guess there's one rule, you must have fun with it, oh, and send me your favourite recipes ;)

Bryn's 7-Day Vegetarian Challenge

Today marks the end of Bryn's 7-Day Vegetarian Challenge.  I am very proud of him for sticking to it.  I didn't have any doubt that he would finish.  He's a stick-to-it kind of guy and if he puts his mind to it, it shall be done!  Bryn had a great attitude going into the challenge and I believe that had a lot to do with it, mentally he was ready.  I was more worried about him physically not being able to function without the meat protein but the vegetarian diet proved itself again.  He's always eaten a lot of veggies throughout the day but breakfast was a concern which is 100% meat protein.  All of the food I prepared for him was vegan which means not only do they not contain flesh meat but they also don't contain any meat by-products (eggs, dairy, cheese, etc) but he was following a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet which means he ate eggs and dairy products.  This was very important for his breakfast meal so he could continue having eggs and I got him some fake bacon.  He started the challenge last Monday, Nov 29th.  I got a head start on Saturday to get the dry beans ready to make them into meals on Sunday.  By Saturday night I had a four different beans cooked and ready to be made into yumminess.

Beans, beans and more beans!

All the dishes I made were requested specifically by Bryn and they were hummus, baked beans and chili.

Here's the hummus, easy to make and so delicious.  We eat it with raw veggies but you can add it to sammiches or use pita bread or crackers to dip into it.

Hummus and chickpeas.

The baked beans are a huge hit with Bryn!  He ate them with his breakfast, eggs, baked beans and fake bacon!  Sounds good doesn't it...well, I know fake bacon doesn't sound to appetizing but he liked it.


Here are some pictures of the Baked Beans, I took pics before during and after cooking because I think it looks really cool lol.

This is the before, altho there is some pre-cooking.

This is after about 1 hour of baking.

This is after 2 hours, you can see it's boiling!

This is the after picture, 3.5 hours later!  Nom-nom!

I got busy and didn't get the chance to take pics of the chili but I assure you it was delicious too, I used both the black beans and kidney beans shown in the beans pic for the chili.


I would like to thank Bryn for doing the 7-Day vegetarian challenge.  I never dreamed it would be such a positive experience and I hope this little game has had a long term effect on you.  I'm not saying that I think you have to become a non-meat eater full time but it's nice to know that you could if you chose to.  Eating consciously and making a conscious decision to eat less meat is all that I ask.

Did the Earth Suddenly Stop?

     This Monday will be a monumental day, even if it's only in my world.  Bryn, yes the very one I married, is going vegetarian.  This may not seem like a big deal but in my reality it's a big deal!  It's only for one week but still a big deal.  Bryn has been on a high protein/low carb diet for over ten years, which means he eats a lot of meat.  I like to think the recent changes in my diet and overall health had something to do with him deciding to go vegetarian but in all honesty I believe it's because I told him that I thought there was no way he could do it (yes, I'm pretty proud of myself).  I never thought he'd actually take the bait.  But he did and now I must feed him delicious vegetarian dishes that meet his tastes and preferences, he's a bit of a picky eater.  So the challenge is set, I'll have my work cut out for me and I hope he realizes that the food I make will be for both of us!

New Favourite Soup #2

It seems that whenever I open a can of coconut milk I feel compelled to use every last drop and write 2 posts about it. My 3 favourite ways to use it are: smoothies, soups and curries. With this recipe I get to do all three, I know, I'm a culinary genius! I improvised a little with my previous New Favourite Soup, the Curried Coconut Butternut Squash Soup by adding yam and cranking the heat up a little. I love making soups, they are so easy and if you have some experience in the kitchen they can be a lot of fun playing with and changing to make your own. Truthfully, I rarely follow a soup recipe 100% and for that matter any recipe, I guess I have my own flare in the kitchen and I've been doing it for over 30 years so I'm confident in my abilities ;)

This soup is no exception, I had fun experimenting and loved the results!

Spicy Curry Butternut Squash and Yam* or Sweet Potato* Soup

*depending on what you call the orange ones.

1 sm-med butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 sm-med yam* or sweet potato*, peeled, chopped
1 lg carrot, peeled, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil -divided
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp curry powder
1/8-1/2 tsp cayenne
2-3 C veggie stock
1 C water (optional -depending on your consistency preference)
2/3-3/4 C coconut milk
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F and put the squash, yam, carrot on a large baking sheet, drizzle on half of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat veggies, you can add a little more olive oil if needed. spread evenly on baking sheet and roast about 30-40 mins stirring veggies every 15 mins or so. Test for doneness by piercing with a fork, set aside.

In large pot heat up rest of the olive oil and saute the onions until they start to turn golden, about 5-8 mins. Add curry powder and cayenne heat spices for 1 min and add the roasted veggies, stir well with onions and spices. Add stock to cover veggies, using water if more liquid is needed. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 mins, stirring occasionally. Turn heat off and with an immersion blender puree the soup to desired consistency (alternately you could do batches in a blender or food processor). Add coconut milk, stir until well blended and season with salt and pepper to taste. At this point you could add extra stock or water or coconut milk if it's too thick for you. Garnish with fresh lime juice and cilantro. Enjoy!

Not sure if I mentioned yesterday but the coconut milk I buy is Earth's Choice and it's the most delicious brand that I've tried.

drool

The Best Protein Shake

Tuesday is without a doubt my busiest day of the week! Just getting the kids ready in the morning used be such a big job but now add in all the other bits that need to be done and planned for (not including meals and healthy ones at that) and I'm exhausted by noon. Kaden has school and I have Brody registered in 2 classes at the rec centre in the morning (music & swimming) then Brody and I head home for lunch. After lunch I get myself ready for work, which includes putting together my dinner and the kids' stuff ready for karate. By now, it's time to go pick Kaden up from school. Some Tuesdays my friend Natasha is kind enough to take the boys with her after school, feed them dinner and take them to karate with her kids. Yay for Natasha!! On the other Tuesdays when that doesn't work out, I'm not without help, Bryn kicks in and makes dinner for the kids and makes sure they're ready when I get home from work. So once I'm done teaching at Children's I rush home, grab the kids and my already prepared dinner and run them to karate. While I'm waiting I get to eat my dinner and hopefully hang out with some of the other parents if they're there. And sadly all of this is going to change come the new year because I'll be teaching another class right after this one and won't be able to do the Tuesday run around.

Now, what does this all have to do with the best protein shake?
I make a protein shake for my afternoon snack, it has become part of my "get ready for work" routine. Tuesday is the only day of the week I have my protein shake and I love it! This is one of the smoothies I drink about an hour and half before I teach a yoga class.

The Best Protein Shake

handful of spinach
1 banana, broken into chunks
1 scoop vegetarian protein powder
1/2 C coconut milk (canned)
1/2 C almond milk (depending on how thick you want it)
2 tbsp Udo's oil

Put all ingredients in blender and blend to desired consistency adding more or less almond milk to your preference.

If I could get you to try this without knowing what's in it you would be surprised! I can't believe how good this combo is, it tastes like a real junk food style milkshake. I think it's the quality of the coconut milk, it tastes so authentic. The brand I used is Earth's Choice, I've tried a few others and this one is by far the best. It's high in fat and that's just the way I like it, if this is going to be one of my main fat sources I'm going to drink the whole can!

A Little Food Obsessed?

It may seem that I'm a little obsessed with food lately with 3 days worth of rapid fire food related posts, well what can I say, guilty! And today's post is no exception! Now that I have made changes in my own diet, we as a family have become the most difficult family to have over for dinner. Bryn with his carb-free diet and it's taken our family 10 years to get used to all the things he doesn't eat. Now here's me, practically the opposite as him, with an almost vegan diet (I say almost because there are times I occasionally eat cheese). One of my biggest challenges at the moment is that our family doesn't know the difference between vegetarian & vegan, as well, the misconception that if something pre-made is vegetarian then it must be healthy. I'm taking my time and exercising my patience as we all walk this uphill hike together. It's all good and the great positive thing about it is that I get to help educate the ones I love about a healthier way of nourishing our bodies.
So this evening we are going to my inlaws for dinner and it's going to be great! My step-mother inlaw is always so accommodating to everyone's needs, which admittedly can't be easy for her with all the diet restrictions but that's the awesomeness of family.

Here's the menu:
BBQ Chicken Wings
Ceasar Salad (one batch without croutons & one with)
BBQ marinated Portabello Mushrooms (for me)
Black Bean, Chickpea & Avocado Salad (again for me)

there may be a veggie pasta (artichoke canelloni or lasagne)
& there will be wine :)

I am bringing both dishes that are tagged for me but I don't mind because everybody can have some and they might even like it too!

Recipe review -Skinny Bitch

"Curried Chickpea Cakes"
From Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook

First recipe is a success!
***** stars

They're made with cooked chickpeas and brown rice all mashed up and shaped into little patties with a perfect amount of curry seasonings, I added a little fresh chopped cilantro. Topped them off with some organic Peach Chutney from Mission Hill Winery in Kelowna BC and served them with a green salad. They are easy to make and reminiscent of pakora (chickpea battered & deep fried veggies) that you would typically find in an Indian restaurant. I would definitely makes these again! Can't wait for lunch tomorrow, leftovers! The only negative thing was that the kids didn't like them, booo. They "liked" them enough so they could get their dessert but complained about it the entire time. I'm hoping it's because the chickpea cakes are a new taste sensation for them and next time I make them will go over a little easier because they should have the opportunity to be skinny dudes ;)

Skinny Bitch -a cookbook review

Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook

I've never done a book review before but I couldn't resist plunging in when Bryn surprised me with Kim Barnouin's (of the Skinny Bitch series fame) "Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook" yesterday. I haven't put it down since he brought it home and even slept with it last night! I haven't had the chance to make anything from it yet but I'm already in love with the philosophy/lifestyle behind it and the pictures look good so the recipes must be good too. I mean if the title alone doesn't grab you then maybe you don't deserve to be healthified...but wait, yeah, you do! Who doesn't in some deep dark corner of their teenage self-esteem self want to be a skinny bitch? I know, I know, did I just say that out loud? In all honesty, we all are awesome just the way we are and it's not about our weight because we are all beautiful on the inside (gag)...Ok, let's just stop with the mamby-pamby pandering. The Skinny Bitch series is not about weightloss or having a "prefect" body nor is it a crash diet. This cookbook is promoting veganism without being in your face about it and I feel that it caters to the inexperienced layperson possibly new to vegetarianism or veganism or just a healthy lifestyle in general. The recipes seem simple with easy to find ingredients and simple steps and there are lots of pictures, which should be mandatory for all cookbooks. Kim hasn't lost any of her charm in this book and is just as sassy as ever, if anything, reading the book for this alone is worth the cost of the book. I haven't read all of her first book, Skinny Bitch, just the bits that are on google because I'm already on the same path of eating consciously but I do love a great cookbook and there's always room for one more. I never would have chosen this book for myself because I'm not a fan of celebrity-ism and probably wouldn't have gotten past the cover. So a big thanks goes out to Bryn for thinking of me and bringing this dandy home!

***** stars

First Recipe Review Curried Chickpea Cakes

Nut-thing Better!

Today I decided to try my hand at making a "healthy" sweet treat for myself to indulge in. I remember really loving Nutella but haven't had any in years since I started eating consciously. It was surprisingly easy to make...once I got all the hazelnuts peeled, oi vay! I think this is my new favourite thing.

Homemade Vegan Nutella

1/2 Cup Hazelnuts
1/2 Cup Almonds*
1/4 Cup Carob Powder
1 Tbsp Vanilla
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
3 Tbsp Almond Milk
1 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil

I wanted to keep the ingredients raw but had to heat the hazelnuts slightly to help loosen the skins so I could peel them. Pre-heat oven to 275 F and roast hazelnuts for 10-15 mins. Roll the hazelnuts in a kitchen towel to help loosen the skins and peel the rest by hand, let them cool completely. Put almonds and hazelnuts in food processor and blend until they become smooth and shiny. Add carob, vanilla, maple syrup, almond milk and grapeseed oil and blend till mixed stop and scrap the sides if needed mix again.

Makes about 1 cup.

* I only had 1/2 cup of hazelnuts on hand so I subbed almonds to make 1 cup of nuts. You can make the recipe with 1 cup hazelnuts and I highly recommend getting organic raw hazelnuts that already have the skins removed.

He Won the Gold!!

Last Saturday was Kaden's Karate Tournament, yes the one I was very nervous about last week. He did such a great job that his Sensei and some of the Sempais didn't recognize him because he brought it when he stepped into the ring (also he had a hair cut -but still). He was so focused and intense. He and his best buddy were in the same category and they tied at first so they had to do their katas over again. After the second performance (I know I'm not supposed to call it a performance but I like to think of it as a dance :)) I have to admit I felt a little anxious for Kaden and his scores weren't as high as the last round...I know, I know it's not about what place he comes in and I really didn't mean to feel this way but I couldn't help get caught up in the drama of it, I mean, come on, they tied and I thought they both would've gotten gold metals. Anyway, Kaden ended up winning the competition by .1 of a point! It was so close. We are just so proud of him, what a wonderful experience for him too.

Family Love -The Johnston-Yu's stopped by to support Kaden!

Getting ready to begin the Katas

Milos & Kaden with their metals

Another Performer

This weekend is Kaden's first Karate Tournament. I filled out the forms, handed over the money, read the information handout and thought everything was done and taken care of. I registered him for "team kata" (what I like to call a coreographed karate dance routine) or so I thought. I emailed his Sensei to ask about some equipment that Kaden told me he needed for the tournament which didn't make sense since he was only entered in the team kata. Sensei told me that he didn't have Kaden on the team kata list, only for individual kata! What?!?!? Doesn't that mean he'll be going it alone, by himself, without a team?? There must be a mistake, how am I going to fix this for him 2 days before the tournament?
So I casually ask Kaden "who are you doing your kata with."
He casually answers back "no one."
"Really? How did that happen? I thought you signed up for team kata?"
His (again casual) reply "ya when Sensei asked us to put our hand up for team kata, I didn't raise my hand. I wanted to do it by myself so I could be in front."
"Oh, are you ok with that?" He nodded "do you feel prepared?"
He just gave another nod and said "yup".

I felt myself immediately bust with pride for this kid, who is nothing like me because I was insanely nervous for him, not only did he make this decision on his own and go for it but he's also so unassuming and humble that he doesn't need to announce to everybody that he's done it. If I hadn't emailed Sensei then I would've found out at the tournament. I hope I don't cry like I did at his talent show last spring. I'm just so darn proud of him and am amazed at the kind of kid he is which is much more like his Papa.

Please Don't Pass the Sugar!

It's been about 2 months since I stopped eating sugar among other things that aren't good for you. I thought it'd be a lot harder then it is. I was hooked on the stuff and ate a lot more then I would ever admit to. I didn't really have any set goals on my diet other then it being healthy and meat-free. I never imagined it would be this drastic of change nor did I realize how much work it'd be. Don't get me wrong, I love this new diet and lifestyle and I feel great but I have to admit it is a lot of work. I was always one of those people that thought/said "I could never do that" meaning that I could not stop eating sugar. On one hand, it's true I couldn't stop eating sugar, I really loved it, dessert has always been my favourite meal! On the other hand I now know it is a mind set and I just needed to make the choice not to eat it and stick with it. It's been 8 weeks and I have done a great job of not eating sugar, even if it means passing up things that I really love like Starbucks Soy Chai Latte, honey in my (herbal) tea, (homemade) muffins, bread and especially birthday cake and desserts. In the process of this lifestyle change I have lost about 10lbs and my skin looks much healthier, although I still sometimes get my "bindi zits".