Nuts for Quinoa!

Happy Hump Day! Hope everyone's making it through the week okay. I sure am looking forward to the weekend already...

I am always amazed by the super energetic morning people...you know, the ones that wake up at 6am (or earlier) and go for a run and come back in time to make a healthy breakfast AND make it to work on time? Yeah. Definitely NOT me. I am a scrambler in the morning. It's a good thing I live close to work because I pretty much wake up 30 mins before I have to get to work. Yep. I am one of those.

So...breakfast at home is rare. I'm usually munching on my breakfast at work while scrolling through the news...

Sprinkled in some Kashi Cereal with Oikos Blueberry Greek Yoghurt , followed by some red globe grapes.

For lunch, I had stir-fried together whatever was in my fridge with some alfredo sauce. 

       

Firm Organic Tofu, Broccoli, Red Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, and Onions mixed in Alfredo sauce, over Catelli Whole Wheat Spaghettini. 

  

And obviously I was hungry by 4 so I snacked on some of these....

            

Then I went for a 8K run on the treadmill after work. Tried interval training (both sprinting and incline). I will...most likely be sore tomorrow :(

I decided to finally try making Kale Chips ... SUPER easy to make. Note to self though for next time: less salt! 

Separate Kale leaves from its stem. Throw the leaves into a bowl and mix them with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle in Salt and Red Chili Pepper to taste. Then lay the leaves flat on a baking pan and bake at 350F for about 15-20 mins. Voila. Almost as good as real chips...? :)

I stumbled across the blog "Iowa Girl Eats" and fell in love with one of the recipes: Thai Fried Quinoa. I decided to give it a shot tonight and I must say...absolutely LOVED IT. My pictures don't do its justice (I really need to learn how to take more appetizing photos...), but you can check out the recipe on her blog (Iowa Girl Eats - Thai Fried Quinoa) 

I cooked the Quinoa in light coconut milk and chicken broth for about 20 minutes. In the pan, I stir fried together ginger, garlic, and green onions, then I added in peas and the pineapple tidbits for about 3 minutes. Cracked two eggs in a separate bowl then mixed it in (as in picture). Then, just threw in the cooked quinoa and cooked for another 5 minutes.

This might just be one of my favorite quinoa recipes! 

Yummy in my tummy cont.

Weekend Part II. 

I got an early start to Sunday ... met up with my running buddy Wayne for a 8K run at High Park in anticipation of our actual run in 2 weeks (Harry's Spring Run Off 8K for Prostate Cancer). Fueled myself with a hearty bowl of steel cut oats and munched down a couple of dates (my new found fav snack before a run!)

You can't tell from the map but it was friggin HILLY. The actual course was pretty confusing...Wayne and I spent about 20 mins all together trying to figure out where to go...The whole run itself took about 45 mins...but that was with all the little breaks in between as we tried to figure out where to go...wonder how long it would have taken without the breathers. 

I could only take a quick lunch after the run since I had to rush to go to the Royal Ontario Museum for an exhibit. So, I quickly ate a banana, powered up a carrot, beets, and apple smoothie, and a hard-boiled egg. Random combination I know. 

Dinner, on the other hand, was a lot more appetizing! Went to Japanese restaurant Ginza in the Yorkville area (Bay and Bloor). 

Salmon and White Tuna Sashimi

Mango & Smoke Salmon, Firecracker Roll (Scallops!), Submarine Roll (essentially dynamite roll  with eel)

Stopped by Pusateri's to pick up some desserts (No chocolates this time! :))

Butter Pecan Tart & Cranberry/Blueberry Tart

Yummy in my tummy!

BRRR. Winter definitely officially made a comeback today. How did we go from sunny 21 degrees to windy -5 degrees? What a way to start off the work week...Oh Toronto - you never seize to surprise me.

Weekend Part I. 

Friday was a break from the routine outdoor run and hot yoga: back on the elliptical (45 mins) and a quick jog on the treadmill (15mins). The workout was followed by the above yumminess: classic Chinese dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes (always a favorite of mine), roasted brussels sprouts, sauteed broccoli, and pan fried firm organic tofu with red chili pepper.

It was way too windy and suicidal to run on outdoors again on Saturday so I settled for interval training on the treadmill followed by some weights at home..

The boyfriend and I finally made it to the restaurant Bannock for dinner on Saturday (such a great reward after a workout :). We've been talking about it for months but never got around to it. SO WORTH THE WAIT. 

Our shared appetizer: Pickerel Taco + Apple Cucumber Salad. Absolutely delish. The "taco" was more of a Chinese "bao" (bun), which I really liked. (Sorry for the poor lighting...)

My dish was the Seared BC Albacore Tuna Teriyaki with glazed carrots and ginger semolina. The flavor of the fish was very full and complemented with a very light teriyaki sauce (I hate it when they just clobber and drench things with thick teriyaki sauce). 

The boyfriend's order of Onion Glazed Pork Shoulder with Spaetzle. According to him  (since I'm still off meat), it was really good. The meat just melts in your mouth and was rich in flavor. 

And the piece de resistance! S'mores Pie with homemade marshmallows!! Okay I know what all of you are thinking...there's chocolate. I realized this AFTER I ordered (yes, I had a blonde moment) and yes, I did cheat a little....but it was so friggin good that it was worth it....TOTALLY.

Hope everyone had a good St. Paddy's Day weekend!

I started the day off with about 4 pints of green beer, green eggs, green pancakes, followed by a green jello shot. Breakfast of champions! Okay not really. It's been so long since I've done the traditional St. Paddy's day celebrations that I can't even remember the last time.

So instead, I decided to fix up some Country Choice Organic Steel Cut Oats. It was my first time trying steel cut oats and I must say, I am absolutely in love with the coarse and chewy texture! The nuitritional benefits of these also outweigh the microwave-ready oatmeal packets: it is much less refined and so contains more of the nutrients.

  

Cook in boiling water for about 5 minutes and sprinkle in a teaspoon of brown sugar!

Decided to snack on some salted pistachios, grapes, and fresh pineapples as well about an hour before my run. Need all the extra energy I can get!

Met up with my running buddy Wayne again. We decided to push ourselves a little bit and tried to go further than 10K. The weather was definitely NOT cooperating with us; it was freezing and the wind was just absolutely treacherous. I swear, both of our hands were frozen by the end of the run. But we made it! I think this was the furthest run I've had ... ever!

And then I rewarded myself with my own variation of a green St. Paddy's Day drink...Green Monster Smoothie :)

1/2 Apple, 1 Banana, 1 cup Spinach, 1.5 cup Almond Milk, 1/2 cup FrozenBlueberries, and 1 Scoop of Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer.


On Sunday, I finally had the time to cook up something , though I did resort to my usual choice of salmon. It's just such an easy main to cook and the boyfriend loves it at the same time so ... :)

Baked Honey Dijon Salmon with Pecans 

• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
• 2 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F 
2. Stir together butter, mustard, and honey in a small bowl then set aside. Mix together the bread crumbs and pecans in a separate bowl. 
3. Brush each salmon piece with the mustard mixture. Make sure there is a thick coating on the salmon. Then, sprinkle on top the pecan and bread crumb mix. 
4. Bake the salmon for about 15 mins, depending on the thickness of your salmon. You can tell when it's done when the salmon flakes easily when you try it with a fork.
5. Then, season with some salt and pepper to your liking.  Serve immediately!
   

Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Potatoes

For the brussels sprouts:

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the brussel sprouts with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Throw onto the baking sheet and bake for about 30 mins. Easy peasy. 

For the potatoes:

I used only about 3 small potatoes. First, chop up the potatoes into chunks and mix in a small mixing bowl with the following ingredients and spices:

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon of marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon of dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon of thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon of oregano
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes. 

Sauteed Broccoli with Parmesian Cheese

5 ounces of broccoli
1 tablespoon fine grated Parmesian cheese
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspooon salt
1/8 freshly ground black pepper

Wheeeee! Another beautiful day in Toronto! Wish I could have spent the day reading a book down by the lake but .... we all know that's impossible on a Wednesday. And so back to the desk I go.

The morning started off with a cup of Astro Original Plain Balkan Style Yoghurt with some Kashi GoLean Crunch cereal and ground chia seeds sprinkled in. I use to hate the thickness of Balkan or Greek yoghurts (I didn't even really eat plain yoghurts!) but have been a big fan of the richness and texture recently. An added bonus is that that it has more protein per serving than regular ones...and with me not eating meat these days, I'll take protein in any way that I can! 

By the time noon rolls around, my stomach's calling for more food. I had made a huge pot of vegetarian chili last week and I brought the leftover for lunch. And when I say huge pot...it was huge. I swear there was enough chili in there to last a big family two meals.

(This picture does not do the pot justice in terms of its size!)

Chili is a great solution for packing in a lot of different vegetables and beans into one meal. The problem with me though is that you have to make such a huge portion every time...and there's pretty much only me eating it...So, I usually end up having to freeze portions of it (or else I would be eating it for every meal for 5 days straight....)

Here's the recipe for the Hearty Vegetable Quinoa Chili:

• 1 Cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 stalks celery, chopped
• 5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 sweet peppers, chopped
• 1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• Pinch of salt
• 4 cups of chicken/vegetable broth
• 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 2 cans mixed beans, drained
• 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 2 cups of diced firm tofu

Cook the quinoa according to the directions on package (for me, it took about 15 mins) then set it aside. In the large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Then saute the onions, celery, carrots, sweet peppers, and zucchini for about 5-8 minutes or until softened. Stir in the garlic for about a minute and then season with a pinch of salt. 

Pour in the chicken/vegetable both, your already-cooked quinoa, tofu, can of tomatoes, beans, cumin, chili powder, hot sauce and lime juice. Then simmer on low heat for about ten minutes and serve when ready!

The Chili is pretty flavorful and filling at the same time (thanks to the beans, tofu and quinoa), which is great. I still got a little hungry though towards the end of the day and I knew I still needed the energy for my run after work. That's where the Luna bar steps in!

It's suppose to be a whole nutrition bar for women with less calories per bar than your average protein bar (180 cals, 9g of protein). It was tasty but after the second bite I realized....there was a thin coating of chocolate at the bottom!! AHHHH. My first taste of chocolate in so long ... I felt pretty guilty afterwards but...let's just put it behind us for now...

I felt pretty good for my run today. The weather was perfect and so I really had no excuses to not go. 

My 8K time was slightly better today...around 46m45s. I'm really hoping that on the actual race day, I would be able to get down closer to 45m. Fingers crossed!

But for now, I am exhausted from the run. Looking forward to a good night's sleep! Gonna have my cup of herbal tea and curl up in bed with my book now. Goodnight! :)

Spring is here?!

Sorry guys, I decided to cram in my whole weekend into one entry this time. I do apologize if I ramble on too much (as I tend to do in life - just ask the boyfriend).

Instead of partying it up on Friday night, I opted out for some good ol' baking. Yeah, you heard right. Obvious choice of entertainment for when the roommate's out and the boyfriend's stuck at work. Duh. I decided to bake up a healthier variation of one of my favorites: banana bread. 

The trick to less fat is to substitute the sugar (and I'm assuming partly the texture of the butter) with ... wait for it ... apple sauce! I found the original recipe from Kim Eggleston on about.com and added some of my own personal touches.

• 1/4 cup sugar (I substituted this with brown sugar and only did 1/3 cup)
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup ripe bananas, mashed 
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used all whole wheat flour instead)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder (this is my own personal addition)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract (this is my own personal addition as well)

Soften the butter and mix it with the sugar. Then add in the egg with the unsweetened applesauce and fold in the mashed bananas. In a separate bowl, mix the flour with baking soda and powder, salt, and vanilla extract. Then, add the flour mixture in with the banana mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until its a moistened batter. Lightly coat the loaf pan with butter and pour in the mixture. Bake at 350F for 50 minutes to an hour. Allow the loaf to cool for about 5 minutes after it's ready and then serve :)

After my baking rendevous on Friday night, I decided to start early on Saturday by going to a hot yoga class at Yogatree up at Spadina and Richmond. I bought a new-comer 30 day unlimited pass for $40+tax (pretty good deal I must say!) - I try to go as much as I can but I've only managed to average about 3 times a week so far. The trek there on foot is a workout on its own, especially when it's -20C out. I find hot yoga to be especially good for not only detoxing but also building my upper body strength (which is currently btw, weak hah). It also helps me relax the muscles in my lower back, which is especially beneficial after my runs.

To replenish, I decided to make good use of my juicer and fixed up a juice introduced to me by my good friend Denise..beets, carrots, and apples. I think the redness of the juice would deter most, but it is absolutely delicious! I supplemented the juice with an Active Green Organic Food Bar.

My Sunday consisted of finally committing to my good pal Wayne on running with him outdoors. The weather was absolutely beautiful (for Toronto at least) - 14C, sunny, and blue skies all day. We met up at Spadina and Queensquay and embarked on a 10K run by the lake. It was great to see so many runners out that day - extra motivation!

(I love this Nike+ app!)

...And the run was, in return, rewarded with a dinner at Earl's...

Maple Glazed Salmon Salad with green beans, warm butternut squash, farro (anyone heard of this before? it's now kind of my new favorite), goat cheese, organic greens, and spinach, with lemon honey vinaigrette dressing on the side. 

And that was essentially my weekend in a nutshell. I know I promised to whisk up a fun and healthy dish for you guys this week but I got caught up with all the errands thatI had to do this weekend. Fingers crossed...next weekend?!