Nuttin Butter

As mentioned last night, I took a little trip to the farmer's market located just two blocks from my place at Mayfair Mall. 

This week's mission was to find the fellow I saw selling nut butter the last time I wandered through.  Fresh made nut butter?  Yes freaking please!!

I found the lovely man selling his wife's creations at his "Nuttin Butter" booth and was pleasantly surprised to see quite a fun selection!  I asked him what the most popular flavour is and he suggested people have really taken a shine to the Maple Walnut.

Walnuts, salt, real Canadian Maple Syrup.  Um, yum!

I also couldn't pass up something labelled as Pumpkin Pie.  This one doesn't have the sweet edge but that is easily resolved with a swirl of honey.

 

Barney Butter eat your heart out.  :)

After my nutty buddy toast I enjoyed a perfectly ripe Red Haven peach.  First of the season and oh so juicy.

 

Of course there was coffee.

Lunch was going to be a salad but I kept thinking about of all those lovely berries I have...so decided a Triple Berry Smoothie was in order.

In the KA today: ice, 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, 1/4 cup fresh raspberries, 1/4 cup fresh blackberries, 1/2 cup Organic vanilla yogurt, 1/2 packet of Vega Smoothie Infusion for added protein, and a healthy sploosh of light vanilla soy milk to get the whole thing moving.

  

Deeeelish.  But blackberry seeds are tres annoying in a drink. ;)

Before heading off for group training with Tia I cleaned out the crack hummus with a celery stick and some Tostitos.

Tonight's workout was a challenge!!  Tia's neighbours were having a BBQ so rather than workout with an audience she took our little group for a short field trip. She found us a nice cul-de-sac on a hill...perfect for cardio...ahhhhhhhhhh!

Lower body day consisted of lunges, squats, and multiple trips up and down that hill.  I had a good sweat going on that's for sure!  So far my piriformis doesn't hate me any more than usual.

This post is getting crazy long so I think I'll save dinner for tomorrow's post...trust me, it's worth the wait.  Sometimes I even impress myself. ha!

Dessert is more glorious BC fruit...this time cherries.  With a side of Lemon Liberte and a spoon...my evening is complete.

 

Question:  I keep meaning to get back to two shorter posts per day instead of one gargantuan one.  What would you all prefer?

Unsleeping Beauty

Well people, it’s hump day…and let me tell you it sure feels like it.  I’m tired and borderline grumpy.  My sleep pattern is still effed up from my trip so it’s throwing my whole day out of whack.

Monday night I was awake until 4am!  I did get up on time yesterday because I had a chiro appointment so I thought I would be exhausted last night, but no luck.  I was awake until almost 3am…which led me to sleep in this morning…and now I feel blaaaahhh.

I skipped an evening work out last night because I know that can affect my sleep.  And didn’t have a refreshing shower before bed because oddly enough that also keeps me up sometimes.  I’ve even been sticking to my coffee restrictions…no more than 2 cups per day and none after 12 noon. 

It’s not working.  I’m thisclose to picking up some Gravol from the pharmacy to force myself asleep tonight.  The big problem with that is that the drowsy effect often wears off and I wake up in the middle of the night.  That’s actually worse than not being able to fall asleep at all.

So, dear readers… barring medication from your doctor… what do you do when sleeplessness strikes?

When I did drag my groggy self out of bed I definitely wanted coffee.  I had to squeak in my two cups before noon, but I pretty much made it…

Since it was actually past breakfast time I decided on a protein shake instead of a full meal.  I keep forgetting about my Vega samples so I actually laid them on the counter so I’ll use them this week.

I chose the Vanilla Chai Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer because  a) I know it’s tastes good  b) it’s only 100 cals  c) it contains 11 grams of protein  and d) it’s rich in all kinds of minerals, vitamins, Omega 3, and antioxidants. 

Health in a package really!

Blended up with 1/2 small banana, ice cubes and about 1 cup of UVAB. 

Fresh pineapple and blackberries on the side.

Lunch was enjoyed during my weekly conference call.  Hummus and veggie sammich on oatmeal molasses bread…

With a side of baby cucumbers…

I never get sick of the tomato + hummus combo!

Not sure what to do about working out today.  I’m going to be working for a while yet to make up the time from this morning and complete a couple of important projects, but I really would love to get to a real yoga class tonight.  I could go wear myself out with some crazy cardio and heavy weights instead…but that wouldn’t happen until later and I’m worried it would keep me awake.

What’s a girl to do?  :(

Time to Go

My ride to airport arrives at 5:30am!  That’s tooooo early for this girlie!  Good thing I’m generally good at sleeping on the plane.

The worst part is I’m nowhere near tired because I slept in today!

Late breakfast of teeny tiny multigrain toast with PB and Supercrack…

Hazelnut is the new Vanilla!  Had to run some last minute errands and took a trip through Starbucks along the way…

Triple grande half-sweet hazelnut non-fat latte.  Mouthful.

Because breaky was late, I didn’t really need lunch…so I snacked on an apple while catching up on some stuff for work.  What a nice girl I am…not leaving my co-workers to fend for themselves while I’m off condo hunting this coming week.  :)  haha.

Late afternoon I made time for a trip to the gym!  It’s been a week of overeating and next to no activity so I wanted to squeeze in one last sweat session before getting on the plane.  I should be able to get a few workouts in while I’m gone, but I can’t be counting on it!

On my way there I snacked on this Vega Whole Food Vibrancy Bar.  I was expecting it to taste a little more “green” like the Amazing Grass bars, but this was pleasantly tasty and had lots of little crunchy bits in it.  I’m curious to try the other two flavours they sent me.

Started my workout by getting my heart rate up and my sweat on with 2.15 miles on the elliptical, cross-country style. Then did a full body push…

3 sets of 12:

• leg press
• calf press
• overhead press
• hammer curls
• planks (3 x 30 seconds)
• squats on bosu
• bicep curls on bosu
• lunges (first set on bosu)
• crunches
• reverse crunches
• leg lifts a la Jane Fonda and Booty Camp Fit
• side planks (30 seconds per side)

Finished up with stretchy stretch stretch stretch!

Since I have a totally bare fridge I grabbed dinner from the supermarket on my way home.

Sushi…spicy shrimp and spicy salmon rolls…

I prefer tuna.  The salmon were so-so…I tossed out 3 pieces.

Oriental Chicken Salad…

I ate about 3/4 of the actual veggies, 1/2 the cheese, 1/4 of the almonds, and all of the chicken and mandarins…

 

Actually a fairly tasty salad!  Although I really don’t know what cheese has to do with an Oriental salad?

The rest of my evening has been spent doing laundry, packing, cleaning the bathroom and vaccuming (anyone else hate going away and leaving a dirty house?), prepping my work stuff, and various other puttering.  I also washed, dried and flat ironed my hair because doing my hair at 5am just doesn’t seem appealing at all!

This time tomorrow night I’ll be arriving in Victoria!!  I land in Vancouver early in the day and get to spend the afternoon with my lovely girl Cat!!!  Then she will put me on the ferry to the island. I will try to blog but somehow I think I’ll probably just fall down and sleep as soon as I get settled.

If you don’t hear from me, I will be looking at potential new homes all day Monday!!  Eeeeeeeeeeeeek! 

Please cross all available digits that my home sweet home is out there!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Coconut Shrimp

Had to change my plans for a garage sale today as it was freaking cold!!  Like minus 10 or something ridiculous today.  I’m going to attempt it tomorrow, but I just realized I didn’t get any change so I hope people come with small bills and loonies.  LOL. 

This morning started with much needed coffee to take the chill off…

And a green smoothie to help detox away some of the carby cheesy goodness from last night’s dinner adventures.

Decided it was time to test out some of the Vega products those lovely people over at Sequel sent to me.  Did you know Sequel is Canadian?  I didn’t!  No wonder their stuff is so readily available around here!!

I went with my basic green smoothie, but instead of my usual Amazing Grass I used a half packet of the Whole Food Smoothie Infusion…

Into the KA with: ice, 1/4 frozen banana, flax meal, baby spinach and UVAB…

Not too shabby at all!  A little “healthy” tasting and mildly sludgey in my glass.  That was probably because I didn’t blend as long as usual for fear of waking Arron up.  :)

After the greens had time to settle I headed off to the gym.  No yoga today (couldn’t find a class to attend at a good time) so I reverted to my usual beloved strength training.

Warmed up on the elliptical cross-country style for 12 minutes, then proceeded to mix and match all three days of Intro to Iron for a full body workout.

Spent triple the time stretching out this time as all of that yoga has actually left my back and hip a bit stiff and sore.  I think I managed to work most of it out though.

When I got home I didn’t even take time to shower.  That smoothie had completely worn off and I needed lunch STAT!!

Toasted sesame bagel sammich with light herby cream cheese, kumato tomatoes, and deli turkey…

Served with leftovers from that bigass supermarket salad, with added carrots and dressed with Fig Balsamic.

That salad goes on forever!!  Still have one more serving.

Later in the day I snacked on a Blueberry Clif Zbar…

And then mulled over some recipes that would incorporate my Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil and some big shrimpies I was thawing out.

Recipe: Coconut Shrimp  (serves one)

Ingredients:

• 8 big shrimp, peeled, tails on, patted dry
• 1 egg  (I used egg white with a splash of UVAB)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• desired seasonings (I used paprika, cayenne & salt)
• 1 rounded tablespoon of coconut oil

Directions:

• Scramble the egg in one bowl.
• Mix the flour, coconut and seasonings in another bowl.
• Heat the coconut oil in a medium non-stick pan over medium-high heat.  (Test with drop of water…if it sizzles, you are ready!)
• Dip shrimp in egg mix, then dredge in dry mixture, then drop in pan.  Work quickly and repeat with all shrimp.
• Cook approx 2 minutes on first side, then flip and cook 1 additional minute (until brown & crisp) (you will probably be flipping the first few before you get the last few in the pan). 
• Remove to paper towel then serve.
• If you double the batch for two people, add another tablespoon of coconut oil to the pan and do a second set of shrimp.  (Don’t crowd the pan with both batches at once.)

OMG!!!  These turned out soooo fabulous. I love that this uses a flavourful healthy oil instead of butter. 

Served with steamed broccoli and a quick rice concoction I threw together.

Basmati rice to which I added chopped dried apricots and a nob of coconut oil during the last few minutes of cooking. Stirred in some cinnamon at the end, then topped with toasted almond pieces.  Easy peasy but soooo yum!

So now it’s time to prep for my garage sale!  And by that I mean lay on the couch and watch a movie.  :) 

Sludge

I fell asleep on the couch last night.  FH went to bed early and I took the opportunity to curl up on the big couch and watch a little TV.  Next thing I knew it was 6am and I could hear FH getting ready for work.  oooops.

Decided that today I should start off with a big ol’ green smoothie.  I’ve been a little short on fruits and veggies the last couple of days, so it’s nice to cram a bunch into one meal.

As mentioned, I can’t get Amazing Meal locally so while I procrastinate ordering some online I grabbed a couple of packets of Vega Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer at Planet Organic.  I’ve heard mixed reviews about Vega, but it’s good to be your own judge.

This morning’s smoothie was definitely not my best.  I had two things working against me… the Vega… and my inability to read cartons when shopping.  I accidentally bought the unsweetened Original instead of unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze.  Trust me, this is HUGE for me.  I find the vanilla is what can make or break a green smoothie.

Anyway, into the KA went:  1/2 frozen banana, the Vega, 2 heaping handfuls organic baby spinach, 2 tsp flax meal, 1 scant tbsp White Chocolate Wonderful (I was looking for something to make up for the lack of vanilla), about 8oz unsweetened Almond Breeze.

The result?  Sludge.  Not necessarily the worst green smoothie I’ve ever made…but certainly not the best either. 

The problem?  Don’t know whether to blame the Vega or the almond milk.  I’m going with a 50/50 split.  I do have another packet of Vega in a way fun Vanilla Chai flavor so we’ll try again! 

After I choked down that salad in a glass, I couldn’t wait to tackle my coffee…oh bliss!

And when lunch rolled around (I will say that the smoothie held for about 2 hours…not too shabby) I wanted a do-over breakfast!

Repeat of the fantabulous Chocolate Coconut Banana Oats.  Deeelish!! 

Since I already used flax in my smoothie, I decided to skip it in the oats and added chia seeds instead.  Just let them steep in the milk/water right from the beginning and by the time it boiled they had started to gel. 

 

Totally made up for the sludgy mess from this morning.

Now I have my weekly conference call…during which I shall drink up a litre of water.  Too bad really…it’s snowing lightly outside and I’ve been dying to drag the Rebel out into the elements and take pictures of something other than food!

And just a little reminder: Check out the Amazing Grass giveaway!  Two more days to enter.  :)