Welcome to Canada!

Good day to everyone and greetings from Canada! I arrived in Toronto on Wednesday night, and I’ll be staying here till Canada Day. Then my next stop is New York.

First, I needed to motivate myself to pack for an 18-day trip.

A pot of mint tea to help me relax.

Thankfully I had someone cute to help me pack… or atleast keep me company.

Whilst I had a super skin-tightening clay mask that always makes my eyes bulge out.

Progress!

Packed a bagel for the trip.

Sprouted Wheat Onion Poppyseed Bagels with cream cheese, marinated portobello mushrooms, avocado, and some cucumber slices.

Alvarado Street Bakery makes great bread along with other things like bagels, rolls, and pizza bread! My old roommate would always get these bagels and they smelled so awesome when she’d toast them.

Fig Almond cake for snacking–check.

When we got to the airport there was a flight delay. It worked in our favor since we weren’t sure if we’d make it in time for check-in since it was an international flight, plus we had Matilda.

Oh, and that bagel sandwich? It was so good!

 We finally made it, and the cutest Canadian ever granted us permission to enter the country. My mom and I should’ve taken him up on his offer as tour-guide… even if he was just kidding!

Checking out her new surroundings.

First morning I decided to go downstairs with my mom to have breakfast.

They get their scrumptious bread from a local bakery, and the fried potatoes reminded me of Bratkartofeln. Alongside with a bowl of cottage cheese topped with fruits, muesli, and nuts.

My mom looked lovely before she headed into work.

Around lunchtime my mom and a few of her co-workers swooped me off to a Vietnamese restaurant.

I ordered the stir-fried vegetables with tofu. It was a simple meal, but I’m not sure what was in the sauce… or what it was but my stomach was swimming for the rest of the day.

Also tried a funky looking lychee drink.

Later on we went on a real food adventure–a Canadian grocery store!

My goodness! The produce section was HUGE! Foods from all over the world. Lots from Asia and South America. My mom even found granadia, also known as passion fruit. I also found a ton of kabochas, but there’s no way of preparing them here… unless the hotel lets me use their kitchen.

I was amazed by all of the cheeses and breads that were at the store–these are some Canadian specialties.

They had a shelf just of German breads, and different kinds of pretzels to choose from. There was also a freezer-full of gluten-free options as well!

And lookie here what I was reunited with!

They stopped carrying these in America because people may choke on the small toys inside -cough-stupid lawsuits-cough-.

Milk chocolate goodness!!!

Beware you could choke on these, bahaha!

I was curious about these… they reminded me of a less saltier version of Bugles–tasty.

Got some of the best hummus ever (you can smell the caramelized onions!), and I wish the US had lentil salads like this on the regular.

I would gladly buy pre-packaged food like this!

Enjoyed over a bed of lettuce and various sprouts.

We also got a loaf of Swiss fruit and muesli bread.

Ze cheeeese

Cheese monster

Such a creamy and oily texture under the rind.

Pantry full–check.

Fridge full–check.

My mom spotted fresh gooseberries at the store as well.

We also got this interesting tea to try–this is what it looks like when a tea bag is holding on for dear life.

I also found some chamomile flowers when I was on a walk with Matilda.

This is just the beginning of my trip so there will be many more recaps! So far I really think it’s neat that everything here is in French and English. I’ve been reading everything in French with my best accent, and just having fun with it. I wanted to go on a run and explore some more. Alas it started raining heavily so that will have to wait.

In other news, Meg has started a new tradition on her blog called “Feature Friday”, and she asked me to be on her blog! Meg is one of those girls that has a good (and incredibly beautiful) head on her shoulders. She’s got a great outlook and such an awesome sense of humor. So check out her blog if you don’t know her already, and you can also check out my post right over here!

I hope you all have a great weekend ahead of you.

How do you guys like to get to know the places you visit?

Anyone have any recommendations for while I’m here?

Fear has a large shadow, but he himself is small

Hello, hello lovely people! I see that we all love our grilled veggies, but more importantly the friends that we have made through blogging. Some times I wish that the distances weren’t so long because I would love to have the chance to meet all of the friends I’ve made through this. I definitely think the commonalities go way beyond food, and there’s just something more.

Beautiful summer peaches

Mixed with oats, Greek yogurt, ground flax seed, and the fig tartlet “filling”

A mish-mosh breakfast bowl, with homemade sunflower seed butter!

My usual bowl of oats with random things piled on… sounds good! Here I threw in frozen banana slices, the last of the fig tartlet “filling”, pumpkin seed butter, homemade sunflower seed butter, and cinnamon. The sunflower seed butter tasted really good, especially since I added honey when making it. However, next time I need to mix it with oil. I’ve found that with nuts and seeds that don’t have as much fat in them naturally need that extra “oomph” from additional oil. For instance, when I make macadamia nut butter, macadamias have enough oils in them to have a semi-gooey consistency when made into a nut butter. Next time!

I made up a random delicious hummus recipe!

When I first tried this I thought “hmm… this kind of tastes like sausage.” Then I had my roommate try it and she mentioned that it reminded her of beef jerky. Who knows! This hummus recipe definitely has a flavor reminiscent of something.

“What Do I Remind You Of” Hummus

1 can of chickpeas, drained

a bit of water

1 dried chipotle pepper, broken into pieces

a few splashes of hickory smoke

1-2 tsp curry powder

2 tbl olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Pour the chickpeas into the food processor, and start processing them with a little water so they get broken up.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients–except for the olive oil, salt, and pepper–and mix. Then add the olive oil and mix. Add salt and pepper to your liking and mix again.

And I certainly haven’t forgotten about my beloved sweet potatoes.

Baked these “cheetahs” tossed in olive oil, turmeric, and curry; then sprinkled with blackened Old Bay seasoning.

I haven’t made collard wraps in ages!

M’mm yummy filling!

I love collard greens! They look like the leaves from the cabbages for the cabbage patch dolls. This time when I was making my wraps I thought of what it would be like to steam them; kind of like dim sum–little packets of deliciousness! Did you know that “collard greens provide us with this cholesterol-lowering benefit whether they are raw or cooked. However, a recent study has shown that the cholesterol-lowering ability of raw collard greens improves significantly when they are steamed.” A sign that I should make them kind of like dim sum. “One cup of boiled collard greens has about 119% of the daily value of vitamin A, 58% of vitamin C, and 880% of vitamin K. Vitamin A is an important nutrient for the eyes, vitamin C is essential for healthy skin, and vitamin K is necessary for the blood to clot. You can read more here: collard greens benefits.

Yesterday, my friends and I went on an adventure!

How peaceful looking…

But really each of us had to face a fear.

The rope swing…

It was funny how some of us weren’t that nervous at first, but as soon as we were nestled on to a step our fears set in. We had many countdowns, many words of encouragement, and lots of laughs!

And I did it too!

Meet my new roommate! Unfortunately, she ended up leaving the river with a battle-scar.

All in all it was a fun day though.

Eventually, it was time for the troopers to head back home.

It was really helpful following through that day because of the help of my friends, and feeling comforted by the thought that it was going to be okay. There was a point where I just had to stop thinking, stop looking around, down, and just do it! Have you guys faced some sort-of fear recently?

We Eat What We Like

Remember that from the Apple Jacks commercials? Anyway, I will start off this post the same way I start off my days

Some green tea!

And another one of my favorite beverages

A refreshingly thick vanilla, banana, and peanut butter smoothie.

Oh my, I was a little hesitant to try this simply because of the unappetizing color.

In this smoothie is a packet of Amazing Grass Chocolate Meal Shake with a frozen banana and some vanilla. It actually wasn’t too shabby. I definitely could taste the greenness of it, but the banana helped balance it out.

Lots of ground flaxseed!

In the background you can see a little bag of Hazelnut Sweet Chips from Kay’s Naturals. These were so yummy! I mixed some in with my yogurt and blueberry puddle. I also enjoyed these with another treat that I’ll be sharing with you in another post. I also tried something new with my yogurt. The people at NuNaturals sent me some items to sample and review. Thanks guys!

Stevia baking blend, vanilla stevia extract, and plain stevia.

I put a few drops of the vanilla stevia in my yogurt. It was a nice addition to my blueberries, and just the right amount of sweetness. There was no weird aftertaste either. Stevia is such an interesting sweetener. I went to a garden once and I picked off a stevia leaf and I could taste the familiar sweetness. My roommates parents actually have a stevia plant, but we’re not sure how to use that. Does anyone else know?

Okay, I’m not quite sure where to start with my eats… so let me just randomly choose! I hope you’re in the mood for something Mexican.

Some mini soft tacos + pepper jack with a side of red cabbage + coconut oil + applesauce.

I wish I could eat cabbage raw without suffering the gaseous consequences. I would probably make so many different kinds of slaws.

Now let’s move on to some buns!

Zucchini with white beans and garlic.

Snobby joes with cauliflower, corn, and avocado on the side.

I baked a loaf of Irish soda bread for my roommate.

In my old place when I first moved in, I would bake this bread and it was fun because I could shape it however I pleased. However, I just didn’t feel like baking it anymore. I think it might’ve been because I felt in some weird way… unappreciated. The only person who really showed any appreciation was Kim, and I thought it would seem strange to bake a loaf for only us two when three other people were living in the house. But I promised Kim that once we moved to the new place I would bake her loaf since she loved it.

A cold bowl of Chinese sweet red bean soup with tapioca pearls and almonds.

I tried my leftovers with toasted coconut, and I loved it! These red beans are so small and adorable!

A new cereal to try!

Have you guys heard of Erewhon? They’re a part of U.S. Mills (which has so many breakfast grains to choose from). This is the Strawberry Crisp cereal, and for anyone with gluten allergies this is a gluten-free cereal. Usually, I don’t eat cereal because it’s not very filling but sometimes I just want something refreshing. The only thing I have to say about this cereal is that it could be a tad bit sweeter. I am surprised at how many dried strawberries actually come in the box. I find that most cereal with dried fruits shouldn’t even claim to have them! If you like cornflakes, then I think you will enjoy this. I know that I’m enjoying my box!

Cinnamon Raisin instant oatmeal with soymilk!

I’ve also tried another U.S. Mills product from Uncle Sam. Instant oatmeal is perfect for a college student, and anyone else with a busy lifestyle. But when was the last time you guys saw one with soymilk? That’s right! This was so delicious! They also have a French Vanilla flavor. Yum! Moreover, I got to enjoy this in a most delicious jar of almond butter with crumbled graham crackers.

And what’s the fruit concoction to the right?

Strawberry-Kiwi Salad with Basil

It doesn’t look too pretty, but don’t judge a book by its cover! I followed this recipe, but I didn’t have white balsamic vinegar on hand. I’m sure it made a difference, definitely in color!

I’ve also noticed a lot of you guys putting pretzels in your wonderful oat creations. I wish I had thought of that before I finished my Kay’s Naturals sample!

The last of my Kay’s Naturals goodies – and boy was this good!

This is turning into a breakfast post!

Yogurt with kiwi and strawberries and some ground flaxseed.

I also toasted some cinnamon raisin swirl bread. That slice on the left is topped with… Cacoa Bliss! I had graciously gotten these adorable samples of Artisana nut butters from Tristan awhile ago . I finally busted into some of them. Let me just say now that this is just as amazing as everyone has been exclaiming!

Army of deliciousness.

So far I’ve tried Cacao Bliss, Cashew Butter, Pecan Butter, and the Macadamia Butter. I really don’t think words can do these nut butters justice. You just have to try them! I’m so grateful to the people who sent me this generous package. Thank you for introducing me to something new and taking me on another food adventure. I think my mom would love the Macadamia Butter since they are her favorite nut.

The mothership!

Let’s see… what other breakfast goodness to I have to share?

These had a Manager’s Special price tag on them!

I just added corn and served them with apple sauce and sour cream.

No one makes latkes better than my dad though. I’ve even tried sweet potato latkes at a restaurant once, but my dad takes the potato on these!

Okay so I’ll show you guys something that’ll help you digest!

When I went to the James River the other day.

My friend Clinton sitting on a big rock.

And now for my crazy dog lady picture from when my friend, Sway, visited.

She’s so freaking cute!

A close encounter with another kind.

Special Alert!

If any of you are interested in winning samples of the Crofter’s spreads, they do giveaways regularly on Facebook and Twitter.

Twitter: Croftersorganic
Facebook: Crofter’s Organic

p.s. Last post featured an array of yummy creations thanks to Sullivan Street Bakery. I found an article on them that I thought you all might enjoy!

Super Bowl Party Sandwiches

p.s.s. Gorgeous Justine had the brilliant idea of a giveaway. Well, right now I’ve got something in the works. I’m really excited about it because I’ve never hosted a giveaway before, and what’s more wonderful than sharing?