Sunny Days & Juice :)

Hey Guys/Gals

I have been HOOKED on this lately! 100 percent organic carrot juice , hellz yaaaa ... plus the nutrition stats are pretty stella! Only 70 calories per 250 ml, 0 grams of fat, 15 grams of sugars ( all natural ) and the vitamins are crazy - 370% of daily vitamin A Sold! - I prefer to juice my own veg's but Costco had 3 of these on sale for $7 :) Quick healthy easy fix



Hope everyone is enjoying there short work week :) It is a beautiful day here in Edmonton today. The weather has been beautiful for the past few weeks I'M LOVING IT! I have been getting outside to do some of this

Those stairs/running across the bridge and back + a mile run + squats and lunges combined with lots of yoga lately = sore legs today! Today I am taking a day off to re coop and get back in the fitness regime tomorrow :)

I started today with the usual



1/4 cup oats, 1/2 scoop protein powder - I need to order Sun warrior ... I am out and have been using a substitute :( - 1 tbsp almond butter, 1 tsp maple syrup, cinnamon, 1/2 banana + strawberries some crunchy cereal I found in my pantry for the topping ! Twas delicious!

I went out to tackle my to do list and stopped for one of these mid way

- Parsley

- Spinach

- Celery

- Carrots

Yum ! I needed some nutrients ! G had a Mind Over Matcha as it has a whopping 30 grams of protein per smoothie so he was all over that like white on rice :)

We just got home and are a bit hungry so we are off to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant for din din - G is tired of seeing me slave in the kitchen and is treating me to dinner tonight cute right :) I will leave you with the recipe for the sweet potato casserole I made and a few eats from the past few days xo !

Sweet potato casserole with a chicken breast seasoned with salt + pepper ( I ate a few bites of the chicken and all of the casserole - to be honest I feel "meat ed" out. I need some vegan dishes in my life starting tomorrow. I see black bean burgers in my very near future.


This was from Easter. I feasted. I did not eat all of what you see on that plate, but I did a good dent at it. It just goes to show you can "cheat" every now and then. I usually only have gravy, stuffing etc when its a holiday. I made my own vegan stuffing and gravy 2 Christmas's ago for G and I... it was OK, not great so I will have to tackle it again soon; however, our friends were AMAZING Easter Hosts and GREAT cooks :) we felt very blessed and owe them a nice meal in the future as our belly's thanked us and them ha ha. Great to have such amazing friends.

Here is the Sweet potato casserole

I adapted this recipe from Angela over at Ohsheglows but made minor changes to mine

• 4 large sweet potatoes ( diced and boiled)


• 2 tbsp vegan butter ( I used earth balance)


• 1 tbsp vanilla extract


• 5-6 tbsp maple syrup


• 1 tsp nutmeg


• 2 tsp cinnamon ( I used extra I love cinnamon)

Topping

• 1/4 cup earth balance or vegan butter melted


• 1/2 cup sucanut or brown sugar


• 1/3 cup spelt flour ( or whatever you have handy)


• 1/2 cup walnuts ( pecans would have been better but I was out )

Directions :

Pre heat oven to 350 , lightly grease 2 qt casserole dish , I used extra virgin olive oil cooking spray but canola oil will work great! Boil sweet potatoes till cooked, mash and add in maple syrup, vanilla, nutmeg & cinnamon. Combine well. Pour into casserole dish. Mix the topping together till well combined and pour evenly over mixture. Bake for 45 Min's give or take. Check on it frequently, when the topping looks a bit darkened and hardened it should be done :) Serves 8-10 Enjoy :)

Hope you all have a great night and will see you all tomorrow morning with some Vietnamese pics and perhaps a power cookie and black bean burger recipe xo!

Yo G

chocolate lovaaa!

Happy Easter

I hope everyone is having a great Easter Sunday with loved ones :) I have already had a productive day :) I woke up at 10 am, made breakfast, finished the squares for the potluck, made a sweet potato casserole (It is in the oven now, so I will post the recipe and photos later on today) went for a run and cleaned my kitchen! SUPER YO!

I started today with

The usual Breaky - 1/4 cup of oats, 1 scoop of protein powder of choice, 1 tbsp of maple syrup, 1/2 banana, 1 tbsp of almond butter , 1 small blob of Greek yogurt , topped with kashi go lean crunch for a bit of crunch :)

I also finished these :)

I made Angela's Ohsheglows GLOW Cakes and Peanut Butter Cups. I revised her recipe a bit and made it my own way but i give her mega props for the delicious recipe!!!

For the peanut butter cups I took

1/2 cup of vegan butter - I used Earth balance

3/4 cup of crunchy peanut butter - I just used the natural kind from the bulk barn

3/4 cup of vegan graham cracker squares - or if non vegan regular will work also

1/4 cup of sucanut - brown sugar will work to but I try'd to make them a bit healthier

1 cup of non dairy chocolate chips - either dark chocolate or carob chips (again bulk barn)

1/4 cup of almond milk

1 tbsp of chia seeds (bulk barn)

1-2 tbsp ground almonds

Directions : Take muffin liners and line a pan or muffin tin with them. I got 12 peanut butter cups out of the recipe. Melt butter over low-medium heat and add in PB and graham crackers, sucanut or sugar. Combine well. Remove from heat and evenly divide the mixture into the muffin liners. Next, combine the almond milk and chocolate into another sauce pan until melted. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter cups. Top with chia seeds and almonds. Freeze for about 1 hour until firm. Serve and enjoy :)

These are a great alternative for Reese's which is G's all time favorite! He also loves Reese's ice cream so I am going to come up with a vegan soft serve ice cream in the vita mix and add these in ...YUM!

For the Glo Cakes

1 large banana

1/2 cup of oats

1/4 cup of crisp rice cereal

1 tbsp of pure maple syrup

1 tbsp of peanut butter ( her recipe called for 1/2 tbsp but I love me some PB)

1 Tbsp of chocolate chips - her recipe called for cocoa nibs but I didn't have any

1 tsp cocoa powder

unsweetened coconut for topping

Directions : Mash banana in medium size bowl, add cocoa powder , Pb, maple syrup until well combined. Now stir in oats, chocolate chips and rice cereal. Divide into 4-5 cakes in a muffin liner. Sprinkle with coconut and freeze for 60 Min's. Serve immediately and enjoy :)

I love trying new recipes :)

I also went for a 5 km run

This is what I ate for din din last night SOOOO GOOD!

I took extra lean ground turkey, black beans, organic brown rice, salsa and stir it together with salt and pepper topped with an egg white with some hawt sauce! delicious! Super filling!

I also had some strawberries , a green drink and some dry cereal to snack on at work :)

Well Guys I am off to my friends potluck! I hope you all have a fab day and enjoy every minute of your long weekend however you are celebrating! I will see you all later.

Xo Yo G

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Weekend :)

I am VERY overdue on posting! I apologize :S With G being banged up ( he tore his MCL and maybe his ACL :s ) I am left to be superwomen and sadly blogging got put to the back burner this week as I had to cook, clean, work , workout and take care of us both since he is still immobile :( Fingers crossed he heals up soon as I may have had one or to minor breakdowns due to overwork and stress LOL. When all else fails two things that ALWAYS make me feel better



HOT YOGA *LOVE*


RUNNING *LOVE*



I started practicing hot yoga after Christmas and have been hooked ever since. I used to get bored in regular yoga classes and often felt distracted and could never stick to it, but this my friends is a Triple A+ ... if you have yet to try it it is a for sure MUST! :) Running has been my love for almost 6 years now. I try to get in a run a few times a week , at least five - ten km :) A few other fitness Faves are my beloved pole dancing - I no longer do weights because of my arm strength developed from advanced pole tricks as well as boot camp type workouts - burpies, squats, jumping lunges etc :) Switching up your workout routine is key , I find that something different every day works for me :) Different strokes for different folks , but one thing is for sure, if you focus on the same routine everyday your body eventually gets used to it and you most likely will plateau, so switch it up friends and get that heart rate up :)


Some recent eats for the past week have been




Pre yoga snack - Steddie Eddie toast with natural PB side of fruit , salad organic tomato soup/grilled chicken and taters, beloved oats <3 Green drink ( green apple, kiwi, spinach, lemon juice, cucumber ,water )
avocado pine nut chicken salad with a Dijon vinaigrette - DELICIOUS! and lastly, Corn tortillas with black beans, organic brown rice, chicken salsa + a bit of cheese and a small salad :) yum!



These were just a few eats from the week, I promise to be a better blogger this week! I just finished hot yoga and devoured a bowl of oats before you could say Go! :) I am full bellied and ready to go for the day :) I am off to Costco and a few other stores to pick up some baking goods for a friends pot luck tomorrow, I promised I would bake something vegan and healthy :) See yas all later with an update! Have a great Easter Weekend, I hope you all have a terrific holiday and enjoy time with friends or family.



Love YoG

TGIF ?

Good afternoon friends! Hope everyone is having a great Friday! I have been a busy bee since I got up this morning ( I had to took my car into the repair shop to get a new bumper since someone rear ended me :S but I got a snazzy rental car for the weekend out of it :) ) I also ran errands, picked up my nanny some Easter treats to mail her, and helped the bf with some things he needed to get done. So far the to do list is 95 percent done, I just need to nap and gym .. and clean the pile of dishes sitting in my sink which involves unloading the dishwasher ..blah lol ! - usually G's job but he's a gimp still so I have been super women lately :) Here are some of yesterdays eats that I didn't post yet :) hummus & rice cake, spinach poppie salad from planet organic, organic turkey meatball from planet organic, cosmic power cookie - my fave! from P.O. , and leftover sweet potato salad , I Also had a berry and spinach drink I blended but drank to fast for a pick ha ha :) Today I got up and was exhausted but knew I had a busy day ahead so I made a power house breaky as usual - 1/4 cup oats,1/2 scoop of protein powder, 1 tbsp of maple syrup, cinnamon, 1 tbsp of nut butter - I am all out of almond :( so I used organic natural Pb, 1/2 banana & a few strawberries :) This filled me for a good 3-4 hours through running errands. When I got home I needed a snack , so I made something fast and easy.

1 egg + 2 egg white salt + pepper on multi grain toast + earth balance

hummus and veggies + a few rice crackers

1/4 cup of black beans with 2-3 tbsp of left over wild rice and salsa. hit the spot.

I also had a few pistachios and a small piece of chocolate :) my tummy was happy!

Well I am off to relax a bit .. I am pretty tired. I will be back later on :) See ya's all soon and have a great weekend ! xox

Yo G :)

detox vs chocolate

Hello Friends,

Hope everyone is having a great afternoon :) I ended up calling into work sick last night , I was having such a off day and just wanted to sleep and stock up on vitamin C .... or eat a piece of chocolate lol so I did!

It was the best piece of chocolate I felt like I ever had...no joke. The words out of Gs mouth were "what are you going to tell the people on your blog, that you cheated" ha ha ... I said "NOPE, I will tell them the truth :)" Everyone often thinks I am super perfect in terms of eating, and I have extreme will power towards bad foods, well I am human and even I get cravings and when I get a craving I often try to make a healthier version of it. If I want a cupcake, I will make a vegan healthier version, If I want chocolate I will have a piece of dark etc. So clearly, because of eating the chocolate the detox has ended. I hate to say it :(. Due to Gman being gimpy ( I literally have to do everything around the house, cook, clean, help him around and go to work and gym and more, I was getting burnt out. I had a semi minor breakdown yesterday and I blame half it on myself because I was trying so hard to be perfect gf, and perfect eater. I realized at this point in time, I am not one hundred percent ready to do 3 weeks of squeaky clean eating, instead of detoxing I am going to use the recipes and continue to eat the way the book is telling me to with some yoyo modifications. I am going to most likely keep dairy out - I gave it up a while ago - besides the rare yogurt, and feel much better without it, as for the wheat - I LOVE OATS, but I am going to continue with the brown rice, quinoa and other grains. For the most part I am going to use the book to introduce me to new recipes and not stress about detoxing :) I love detoxing , but right now I just wanna eat what I wanna eat... If I want a banana I am going to eat it LOL. Different strokes for different folks :) Anyone else have any shortly ended detox stories they want to share ?

So I woke up this morning and realized I was able to have my beloved oats, so I stumbled to the kitchen and made a delicious bowl of

1/4 cup of oats, 1/2 scoop of protein powder - I am out of sun warrior :( must order more asap! no other protein powder compares - , 1/2 frozen diced banana, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp of organic natural peanut butter , cinnamon and topped with a small handful of kashi cereal for crunch. Anyone else a serious cereal lover?

Well I am off to do my taxes.... :S I have been procrastinating for to long! See ya's later this afternoon xo

YoG

spring blues?

Good evening friends!

Today has been busy. I am tired. I woke up this morning , or shall I say noon and realized I had a to do list to tackle.

I stumbled to the kitchen in excitement for oats... then I realized I am still on this dam detox. I love to eat healthy and find the meals very easy, but I want chocolate!!! like no other.... and caffeine. I need a coffee... I don't no I may have to have one...seriously.

I made us this glorious smoothie though instead of oats :)

It had 1 cup of frozen organic berries, 6 strawberries, 1 scoop of hemp protein powder, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1 tbsp of almond butter topped with coconut and walnuts. Love.

I did the remainder of laundry, cleaned and prepped more food. I accidentally boiled sesame seeds thinking they were something else... ha ha whoops!

I went to the gym and was pretty drained, I only did 30 Min's on the elliptical, I was going to run but my sports bra made my chest hurt so I didn't ( I am having the hardest time finding a good supportive bra for my new additions! Any suggestions ? I am desperate! I bought 4 bras all of which I cannot use because they don't support me enough when I try to run :( boo!

I came home after the gym kinda bum, drained and feeling off - I think I am having one of those days... I just wanna have a nap and be lazy days but there is to much to do...

I prepared us this super fast and delicious meal from the detox book

lemon dill salmon, sesame stir fry with zucchini and peppers on top of brown rice. The boy liked it, as did I ... winner winner!

Well I am off to have a 15 min power nap before I need to get ready for work... See ya's all later tonight or tomorrow morning have a great evening

xo Yo G

detox day 1

Good evening everyone!:) I had mega slow Internet today so I apologize for the late blogging ( I know I promised a few people I would post recipes from some recent eats I posted on fb :) ) Before I get to that let me recap the past few days.

• Gman had a accident and dislocated his knee and is on crutches :S


• I played nurse for my gimpy bf :)


• I ate ice cream for the first time in a long time, and enjoyed it...then felt sick lol


• We started the 3 week detox "DELICIOUS DETOX" by naturopathic Doctor Carol Morley :)


• I had my first run since my surgery! 5.5 weeks!

Gimpy but still sexci ...* swoon* note - I was laughing sooo hard as he was driving his "cart" around walmart.. poor guy love him!

So today was day one of the detox - so far so good! The night before the detox G and I decided to be bad... we bought a tub of ice cream and made giant sundaes ...first time in AGES.. we did not feel so good as we rarely have milk products...but we survived and enjoyed it ha ha!

On today's menu was a smoothie for breakfast it contained fresh mango, diced pineapple, strawberries, almond milk 1 scoop of hemp protein powder , tablespoon of flax seed oil and a small blob of almond butter - it looks nasty but tasted great! the color is due to the hemp protein

This filled me for about 3 hours. I cleaned the house, did laundry, played nurse, and prepped food. The key to eating healthy is food prep!! Take one day a week and prepare a lot of things in advance hummus , a whole chicken , tubs of rice, quinoa etc. I made a roast chicken from the detox book for dinner.

By far the best chicken I EVER made! I cannot legally post the recipe because of copyright issues, but let me tell you , day one of this detox has been the best food I have eaten in a long time! very flavorful and full of nutrients!The chicken had fennel bulbs, onions, celery,carrots, lemon and spices...YUM! I highly recommend this book even for non detox purposes! It is great to use it to try new recipes :)

We gobbled the chicken up along with a side of spicy sweet potato salad ( again from the book ) for dinner.It contained all of my favorite things - adzuki beans - great for folate and iron , sweet potatoes - great for carbs, peppers, spices and more. It only took about 25 Min's to make! I have a giant food baby as we speak!

Other recent eats from today are

Frozen blueberries and Pineapple , homemade hummus with rice cakes and sesame crackers. For the hummus I took

• 1 can of chicken peas rinse and drained


• 1-2 tablespoons of tahini


• 2-3 tbsp of lemon juice


• 1 tsp of paprika


• 1 tsp sea salt/pepper


• 1 tsp of garlic


• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil + 1 tbsp for drizzling

BLEND IN FOOD PROCESSOR TILL FULLY MIXED. Drizzle with evoo :)

Well , I am off to relax and hang out with the boy.. I am a bit tired from my 20 min run today... it was a bit hard I am not gonna lie... 5.5 weeks off sucked!

I will see ya's all tomorrow with some more delicious eats! xo

YoG

spring has arrived :)

Good afternoon bloggies :)

Hope your having a great Saturday so far , mine has been splendid so far. I woke up till at 1030 am stumbled to the kitchen and made the usual .... 1/4 cup of oats, 1/2 scoop of protein powder, 1 tsp maple syrup , 1 tbsp of nut butter, and 1/2 of a banana :)

It was Perfect.

Today started out pretty lazy, I caught up on some TV shows I pvr'd and relaxed for the morning. I finally tackled cleaning and organizing :) - my house is spic and span , just how I like it. I have to admit I am a bit OCD when it comes to cleaning, where as G is opposite. Bless his heart, he says hes a clean freak , maybe he is, I may just be overboard ha ha.. regardless I am the one who often does the full scrub downs.. not because he is incapable, but because I like things done a certain way ... also with cooking ha ha.. simply put , he has it good some days LOL. However, he always has a way of showing his appreciation :) I was surprised with a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers today *just because* swoon * Love him :)

After cleaning I decided to make us lunch as our belly's were growling... simple and yummy

Organic tomato soup , open faced chicken sandwich on a slice of steddie Eddie with earth balance and plain hummus with carrots and tomatoes :)

with some of these for dessert - -

I am catching up on emails and blogging and hanging out with the boy before the gym , then off to work for the evening :) I didn't have a chance to blog yesterday, but I did take a few pics of some eats so here they are :)

green drink,

workout shake with protein powder banana flax almond milk nut butter, rice cake with almond butter and jam , Mongolia grill stir fry while at work :)

Have a great Saturday everyone I will see you all back tomorrow xoxo

yoG

Hump Day :)

Good Afternoon Bloggies!

How is everyone today ? I slept in till noon today as per usual - I am a night hawk and often am not in bed till 3-4 am. I woke up and stumbled to the kitchen and made the usual

• 1/4 cup of oats


• 1/2 scoop of protein powder


• 1 tbsp of almond butter


• 1 tsp of maple syrup


• heaping spoonful of cinnamon


• 1/2 banana + 2 strawberries


• 1 tbsp of Greek yogurt

Twas delicious !!

Last night before work , I decided to make up a new dish I have yet to try. Sun dried tomato + Feta stuffed chicken breasts!

I added 1/4 cup of wholegrain brown rice, green beans and broccoli slaw salad ( for the salad I took a bag of broccoli slaw - you can find it at most grocery stores and stirred in 1 tbsp of

*Lemon Ginger Sesame Dressing

topped with almond slivers

For the chicken , I took 3 chicken breasts - the recipe could do 4 , but I only used 3 - and flattened them till they were thin. For the stuffing I took :

• 1/2 cup light feta cheese


• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes - soaked for 5 Min's in boiling water removed from heat ( I cut them into small pieces before soaking them in the water)


• 1 tsp of oregano


• 1 tbsp of fresh basil


• sprinkle of pepper

I combined all of this into a small bowl and mixed until well combined. I took a good spoonful of the mix and put it in the center of the flattened chicken breast and begin to roll/fold the chicken over the mix - I used toothpicks to secure the chicken in place so no filling was coming out the sides. I put the chicken on top of tinfoil on a baking sheet sprinkled with lemon juice and pepper

I cooked at 400 for about 25 Min's :) This was by far one of my favorite chicken recipes!

I cleaned my entire plate!! :)

After supper I was off to work , were I brought a green drink with me , and 2 plain rice cakes with almond butter and raspberry jam between them - its my new addiction! The green drink had

3 BIG handfuls of spinach

1 green apple

1 kiwi

lemon juice Water filled to the top of my vita mix - blend well add ice and serve :)

Green drinks for me are my life savor! I do not get all the greens I should in a day and find drinking them makes it ALOT easier. The vita mix is wonderful for liquefying everything , but I am looking into buying a juicer to try different veggies - carrots, beets etc.

I drank the green drink, had my rice cakes and had a few jelly belly's from the candy jar at work :)

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to do a post of my fave foods that I always have at home, and are VERY common staples in my meals and everyday life.

Organic spinach

Bananas tea - chai & green & other favorites black beans

chickpeas - great for hummus!

organic Fresh fruit - oranges, apples,melon etc

Organic veggies - broccoli,sweet potatoes,

green beans - etc Almond butter sliced almonds

chia seeds! - very good for you Maca powder - can be purchased at bulk barn great for smoothies, ALMOND MILK, Oats

Sucanut for baking, maple syrup for baking, unsweetened coconut for baking, dates, dark chocolate for snackage ha ha. I eat lots , but these are items I usually always have on hand :) Some days I am vegan, some days I eat meat ... some days I have eggs other times I go a week without any animal product , so it varies :) I DO NOT use sugar or bleached products of any kind. For baking I often make my own flour using grounded oats, or use spelt, W.W., or kamut flour :)

Well folks, I am off to go for a walk it is another beautiful day in Edmonton today :) I am going to dinner with a few girl friends tonight so I will keep you posted on today's events ...I am tackling my to do list bright and early

- call tax person to do my taxes ( I am very late this year :S )

- get my car registered

-gym, tanning

-hang with my Partner in crime - gman :)

Talk to you all soon xo

Yo