Mom’s favorite (she’s definitely Ukrainian!)

Mom and I discovered this shop shortly after it opened, and have been re-stocking our collections ever since! I use three of the oils religiously: un-infused EVOO for general cooking, EVOO with Herbs de Provence for salads (I don’t even need vinegar with this one!) and EVOO with Basil for topping tomatoes or mixing with Strawberry Balsamic for a summery marinade/salad dressing.

I love that you can sample every flavour, with educated staff on help you find the best choices for your culinary needs.

Bread is available for dipping, but it’s quite fun to try them straight up!

Sharon recently wrote about Evoolution’s monthly tasting events; it looks phenomenal!  Have you been? 

Ever curious about people and food, I run a Love to Lunch series on City and Dale. It’s a fun way to get to know Edmontonians through their lunch routines, and I’ve met some pretty cool people as a result. I answered these questions myself over a year ago, when the series was hosted on Revive Wellness’ site, and wondered if they’d changed much… Nope! I think I’m a creature of habit. (and clearly a soup lover.)

Brown bag or out: I usually go home to eat (especially if I need to snap some photos for work.) But if it’s going to be a long day at the office, I make an effort to pack lunch. These days I’m actually lugging a cooler around with me as I need to fit in a few extra eats due to this.

Spot to lunch: In the winter, at my desk or kitchen table. In the summer, on my front step!

Favored lunch vegetable: I eat a lot of kale at lunches (salads, soups, baked into chips) and I have carrots pretty much every day. But I can’t say I really have a favourite; I’m enthusiastic about vegetables period.

Way to stay hydrated: lemon water or green tea (I love me some Japanese Sencha!)

My lunch always… changes. I love experimenting with recipes (and often need to for work) so there’s a lot of variety in my week!

Today’s lunch is:

Black bean soup.

I’d love to hear about some of your lunch routine… answer any of the questions above in the comment section.

With so much going on, I’m often forgetting to snap enough photos or write things down. But thanks to Instagram, I’ve captured a bit of life lately:

Eats

Minestrone Pasta Salad | The best almond milk latte in Edmonton | Obsessed with Evoolution’s oils and vinegars | Black bean soup (recipe on Revive Wellness)

And otherwise:

Spring nails (Butter London in Bossy Boots) | Pretty teacups at Cally’s Teas | The blank “page” of an upcoming design project | Brainstorm session with Cory Christopher

I can’t wait for the snow to melt so I can go for a walk or bike ride, wear some cute floral print shorts and sit on a patio. What are you looking forward to? 

The benefits of green smoothies are numerous, but in the winter I just can’t seem to keep the habit. I crave warm bowls of oatmeal, toast with tea or my grain-free banana bread. In the St.Patty’s spirit, I blended this smoothie for breakfast today, but then had to follow up with a big mug of tea because it’s currently -24°C outside!

For 25+ green eats and drinks that won’t make your teeth chatter, check out my Pinterest Board: all things green.

Did you eat or drink green today? I’d love to hear your ideas!

One of the most famous green teas is Long Jing (translates to Dragon Well) from the Zhejiang province in China.  The name comes from legend, that the well in this area was the lair of a dragon. Besides a great name, this tea is known for its “four wonders”: emerald green colour, beautifully shaped tea leaves, aromatic flavour and sweet taste.

Taste: fresh, slightly sweet and mellow.

This variety of green tea is dried under a wood-fired wok which removes the green, grassy taste of many green teas.

Brew:  Bring fresh, cold water to a boil and then cool to a temperature between 75- 80 C. Using 3 teaspoons per cup, brew for 3 minutes.

While gluten intolerance and celiac disease is a serious issue for an increasing number of people, the gluten-free diet has somehow caught on as a weight-loss solution as well. Many of the clients at Revive Wellness have tried cutting gluten, or even just wheat, out of their diets with great success. But, this does not prove that these people were overweight just due to eating gluten or wheat. It could be the fact that as soon as you adopt this diet, almost all packaged goods are off limits (the whole centre of the grocery store!) and these goods happen to also be filled with sugar and/or fat. Adopting this diet also forces many to eat more whole foods like fruits, vegetables and proteins.

I do not follow a gluten-free diet but do tend to stay away from wheat. The wheat you and I are exposed to today is modified significantly from the wheat our ancestors once knew. The highly processed products lining the grocery store shelves usually contain a very processed wheat. On the other hand, many gluten-free products are no better for you- read the ingredient lists! Highly processed flours (white rice, corn and potato), gums, starches and fillers, and the same amount (or more to make them palatable) of sugar and fat.

So what do I do to stay away from wheat but also highly-processed products?

I bake my own goods. As I prefer to use natural and whole ingredients in my recipes as much as possible, I’ve been happily experimenting with almond and coconut flours. It takes a little more trial and error, and sometimes a few more eggs, but I now have great recipes for cake (see my very first post), zucchini muffins, cookies and banana bread, which I share with you today as I’ve been eating it for breakfast for weeks!

Grain-free Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the liquid ingredients together. Add liquid ingredients to dry and thoroughly mix.
4. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan (I rub coconut oil straight from the jar.)  The narrower the loaf pan the better as it will make your loaf higher. Bake 30-40 min, until a toothpick comes clean when inserted in the middle of loaf.
5. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and cool to your preference.

This bread is great for breakfast as it is high in protein and fibre. Two slices will keep you full for hours!

image via MiraDoson

When I have a goal/idea/dream in mind, I often use this as my mantra. It always pushes me out of my comfort zone and makes me think bigger.

Early in 2012, I had three BIG goals/ideas/dreams and while scary, I pursued them all. They have required working overtime on overtime and much of my free time has been sacrificed.  Besides a little break in the summer, I’ve spent many evenings, including some Friday and Saturday nights at home on a computer.  You can now see why I posted so little here. (I did keep up here though)

I had a lot on my plate between being the PR and Marketing Coordinator for Revive Wellness, writing for City and Dale and starting freelance work. Because what I do for work is also what I’m passionate about, I am definitely not complaining!

That all said, this is not just an update, but an intention. I intend to resume posting here, and engaging more in the food blogging community. I will never tire of reading and learning about food and nutrition and feel compelled to add to the conversation. Eating well does not mean dieting. It does not equal restriction, bland taste or time-consuming processes.

Further, feeling great not only comes from a healthy diet, but also lifestyle choices. I’ve explored this a lot lately and enjoy sharing my findings with others.

I wish you a happy and healthy new year!

Oh, hello! You surprised me!

All of a sudden you’re here and I’m not prepared!

I was busy making strawberry jam and sangria (recipe to come), chatting with friends about life and trying to figure out how to make my life less stressful. When I did, it involved making strawberry jam and sangria and chatting with friends about life!

I was then busy soaking up the sun and taking walks with my man and visiting the farmer’s markets.

Now you’ve arrived and I haven’t cleaned up from Summer’s stay. (Probably beacause I don’t feel like it was long enough this year!)

I love when you come to visit because you bring Fall as your campanion, so please don’t feel put off. It’s just going to take me a little while to get organized!

Enter jam.

While the traditional method can be a bit daunting, here’s a quick way to make jam in minutes!

Ingredients

1.5 cups of chopped strawberries (about 1/2 inch pieces)

1 Tbsp chia seeds

1 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mash strawberries with potato masher or fork.

2. Stir in chia seeds and maple syrup.

3. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

(optional)

4. Spread liberally on banana bread (how did I not think of this combo sooner?)

5. Have a tea party.

Take this week for example, I’m trying to creat the best veggie burger for a City and Dale post and thus, my meal plan:

Monday: black bean burgers with side salad

Tuesday: black bean burgers with homemade fries

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: chickpea burgers

Friday: halibut with roasted balsamic beets

and there may be some more experimenting on the weekend!

Do you have a tried-and-true veggie burger recipe? I can’t wait to find mine!