Balance Is Beauty

Friends!

Gotta make this snappy, I’m in the midst of packing hubs and I up for our long weekend away in New York (eeekkk!! I can hardly contain my excitement!). I won’t have time to blog before we leave tomorrow evening, and won’t be bringing my computer with me – so expect an EPIC post upon my return, I promise to try and capture as much as I can on camera

As I was laying in bed last night I was thinking to myself, I must make breakfast a little more exciting – I am going to lose all my readers if I show them another breakfast smoothie. When I woke up this morning, the only thing on my mind was . . .

SMOOTHIE – sorry friends, I wanted to be more exciting for you, but I just couldn’t do it   This beauty contained 1/2 c water, 1/2 c almond milk, avocado, 6 cherries, 1/2 frozen banana, 1 scoop sunwarrior and 2-3 cups of spinach, topped with dehydrated buckwheat and coconut. Can I tell you how amazing this was – sometimes the simpler a smoothie is, the better it is. As much as I love the superfoods, maca, spirulina, etc. Sometimes a smoothie with just plain old whole foods is the way to go – I’m so glad I listened to my craving this morning, because I was definitely satisfied!

About 3hrs later – I made a coffee run – yes another Starbucks Soy Misto (hanging my head in shame). Once I return from NYC, I am really going to work on cutting down my coffee consumption, over the past month or so I have really been letting it get out of control. I think I’ll try and switch to caffeine free herbal teas, and treat myself to Starbucks once in a while – my bank account will definitely thank me for this.

Lunch was delicious:

Gluten Free Brown Rice Tortilla with roasted red pepper hummus, avocado, 2 olives and spinach with a side of cherry tomatoes and carrots and of course more hummus for dippage! As I was working away I may or may not have finished the bag of kettle chips off – I’ll let you decide for yourself

Afternoon snack was a piece of my new favourite raw chocolate I was telling you about:

This is the Caramel flavour (my favourite) as you’ll see below I also have the Maca flavour – which is good, but definitely not as good as the Caramel!

These are pretty pricey – so I doubt I will be buying them on a regular basis – they are on sale right now at my local health food store, so that’s why I’ve been stocking up

If you didn’t know any better, you might mistake my dinner for my lunch, but I assure you there was one main difference . . .

Brown Rice Tortilla with steamed KALE, hummus, avocado, 2 olives with more steamed kale and cauliflower on the side. Ughhh I wish I could grab that wrap out of the screen and take another bite – this was sooo tasty – I think steamed kale has to be my #1 love right now. I really have a hard time digesting raw kale, just steaming it lightly makes a huge difference. Dessert was again, protein pudding – this time however I blended it up with a few frozen sour cherries – it was perfection!

Like usual I needed a little something prior to heading to bed, so I just finished a piece of banana bread – it hit the spot and hopefully now I’ll sleep like a baby!

I hope you enjoyed my four days of food journaling. I’m not sure that I’m going to keep it up. I really love posting some of my meals – but I found it pretty difficult photographing them all. I realized how much of snacker I really am – I think that’s something I really need to work on. I definitely feel better when I eat meals vs. continually snacking throughout the day. Let me know if you guys enjoyed these type of posts – I wouldn’t mind maybe doing a full days eats once a week or so – but I kinda feel like I’m boring you all posting every single meal, every day – especially since I am kind of a creature of habit. I’d love to hear your feedback – after all – I want you all  to continue coming back

Ok friends – time for me to get some sleep – I have a very exciting weekend ahead! Can’t wait to fill you all in on the details! I’ll be back with a massive recap upon my return!

Until Then!

xoxo

Krissy

So, I’m sitting here munching one of these:

Watching “So You Think You Can Dance”, and blogging – can you say multi tasker?!

Just as I promised, midnight snackage was in full effect last night – a piece of dark chocolate and a handful of kettle chips – not exactly the healthiest choice – but it certainly tasted good

This morning was a crazy morning and I actually didn’t have breakfast until close to 12:00 – that hardly ever happens, normally breakfast is the first thing on my mind! Although this may look like the usual suspect, friends, let me assure you, it is not . . . there is a special ingredient, which brought this smoothie to a whole level:

The RIPEST mango I have ever tasted. OMG you guys, this smoothie was to die for. 1/2 cup water, 1/2 c almond milk, 1 scoop sun warrior, 1/3 frozen banana, 1/2c MANGO, 2 big handfuls of spinach, avocado (please, please put this in your smoothies – I promise you won’t be disappointed.) I also had half a piece of whole wheat toast – I just needed the crunch

Since I ate my breakfast so late – the afternoon kinda just consisted of a lot of unpictured snackage. The other 1/2 cup of mango (divine), some more kettle chips (oops – but SO good), a Soy Misto from Starbucks (someone please help me – I am fully addicted).

Dinner:

Gluten Free Brown Rice Tortilla filled with Veggie Burger, Spinach, Avocado, Hummus and Olives with a side of steamed kale, zucchini, and cauliflower – topped with Braggs, hot sauce and sesame seeds. Totally hit the spot! Dessert was the same protein pudding from yesterday – I didn’t want to subject you to another unappetizing picture

I’m starting to get super excited for my upcoming NYC trip this weekend! I spent some time this evening mapping out exactly where hubs and I want to visit. I can’t wait to blog all about it If there are any NYC readers out there – please tell me some must see and must do things in New York – I don’t want to miss out on anything! It should come as no surprise that I am most excited about all the raw and vegan food and restaurants  has to offer! One Lucky Duck, Pure Food and Wine, Babycakes, Candle 79, the list goes on . . . I’m not going to go hungry that’s for sure Eekkk! I’m really really excited guys

For those of you who live in NYC or those of you who have been – let me know all the must see’s, do’s and EAT’S!

Goodnight my sweet friends!

xoxo

Me Again!

Scary picture? Kinda . . . not my best angle. . .  not my best hair. . . we can’t look our best all the time

First things first . . . After I left you all last night, I grab myself a bowl of gluten free cereal and almond milk – I figure if I am going to be blogging my eats I better account for it all (even those late night snacks I am famous for!) .

Onto today. I bet you’ll never guess how my morning started out . . .

Shocking, I know . . . this baby consisted of 1/2c water, 1/2 c almond milk, avocado, 1/2 frozen banana, maca, spirulina, cinnamon, sunflower sprouts, spinach and topped with coconut and buckwheat crispies! Look at that – you can even see me in my smoothie if you look hard enough

Lunch was very random and was had in two parts. First I got my fix . . .

Hi my name’s Kristin and I’m addicted to Starbucks Soy Coffee Misto. I sipped my coffee and ate my “super charge me” cookie – life was good my friends, so good!

A little while later, I figured I should follow up my dessert with some lunch (I know I’m not the only one who on occasion eats dessert first – come on fess up!)

Snack plate! Carrots, Cauliflower, Cherry Tomatoes dipped in hummus with 1/2 brown rice tortilla filled with hummus.

I ventured over to my parents to go for an early evening walk with my Mom – the weather in Toronto right now is AMAZING – and then had to hurry home, to get dinner the table for hubs – like a good wife Hubs had stir fry, I had this:

1/2 c brown rice with coconut butter and hot sauce stirred in, steamed kale, zucchini and cauliflower – everything sprinkled with sesame seeds – YUMMY!

Dessert was definitely not one of my most aesthetically pleasing meals  – but what it lacked in photography, it definitely made up for in taste – and it also packed in some protein I was lacking at dinner:

Protein Pudding (one of the staples in my diet!) – 1 scoop sun warrior protein powder, 1tbsp raw carob powder mixed with water until you get the consistency of pudding. I mixed some cherries into this and topped it with coconut and buckwheat – so chocolaty (or should I say caroby), so yummy!

I still wasn’t satisfied after finishing my dessert – so back to the kitchen I went . . . sometimes I feel like I spend a ridiculous amount of time in kitchen . . . and  to make matters worse, when I’m not in the kitchen I’m thinking about what I’m going to make when I do go back to the kitchen . . . ahhh the life of a foodie Anyways, back on track I decided on the other 1/2 of my tortilla . . . this time smothered in coconut butter and raw honey (for new readers – I realize many don’t consider honey vegan – but I do eat local, raw, unpasteurized honey)

Try to contain your excitement – while looking at this photo – I know it’s a lot to take in! Maybe I’m getting a little carried away with this whole photograph everything you eat project – bear with me friends

So that brings us up till now – 9:00pm Tuesday night – I’d like to think the kitchen is closed for the night – but realistically I’ll probably be making another visit – I’ll update you tomorrow – but if I were a betting girl I’d say the odds are not in my favour!

Nighty Night!

xoxo

P.S. Can you believe I have been blogging for close to a year now and I FINALLY figured out how to make my pictures bigger – I am hanging my head in shame.

Hi Everyone!

I decided it would be fun to document my meals for a little while (not sure how long it will last – but I’ll see how it goes!), and it will give me great practice with the camera!

My morning started out as usual, with a green smoothie at 8:00am:

1/2 c water, 1/2 c almond milk, avocado, 1/2 banana, tiny bit of spinach, sunflower sprouts, 1 scoop sunwarrior protein powder. Topped with shredded coconut and raw, dehydrated buckwheat. SO yummy!

About 2 hrs later I had two unpictured pieces of watermelon mmm

I made a quick trip to the grocery store and found some mouth-watering fresh cherries that I just had to have. Believe it or not when I got home all I could think about was another smoothie – so I went with it and packed it with nutrient dense ingredients:

1/2 c water, 1/2c almond milk, 1/4c young coconut meat, 1/3 banana, 6 cherries, 1 scoop protein powder, 2 cups spinach. Topped with homemade raw granola, shredded coconut, cinnamon and a swirl of agave!

I paired the smoothie with a fresh mixed green salad:

A couple of hours later I had an unpictured piece of raw chocolate – I have a new favourite chocolate, I’ll be sure to take a picture and share it with you – it’s AH-MAZING (and RAW which I love!)

Dinner was super yummy:

Massaged kale salad (kale with 1tsp olive oil, lemon juice, avocado, 1 tsp agave), topped with cherry tomatoes and 1 tsp hemp seeds. Veggie wrap – grilled zucchini, avocado, hummus, olives, and lettuce in a gluten free brown rice wrap. SO yummy – I am totally addicted to wraps lately – so chances are you will probably be seeing many of  them in the days to come

After dinner I had a major craving for a warm cookie straight from the oven – so I through on my apron and whipped up a batch of Dreena Burton’s “Super Charge Me” Cookies (with a few alterations – I used apricots instead of raisins and coconut oil instead of canola oil and left out the chocolate chips!). They turned out amazing – and definitely satisfied my craving – nothing better than a warm cookie straight out of the oven

Paired with a cup of herbal chamomile – perfect ending the the evening

So that’s how my day went down today. I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed documenting everything – I was worried it would feel like a chore – but it was actually really fun! (Probably due to the fact I am having so much fun with the new camera!).

Night Night! See you tomorrow for Day 2!!

xoxo

Hi Friends!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I have some exciting news to share . . . If you follow me on twitter (@balanceisbeauty), you probably already know, but . . .

I am the proud new owner of this BEAUTY:

A Nikon D90!! I am SO in love – now I just have to try and figure out how to use it! I think she also needs a name – any suggestions? Expect lots more foodie picks as I teach myself to use the camera I am thinking about posting all of my meals for the next couple of weeks – what do you guys think? Is that something you would be interested in seeing on the blog – I am worried it may get boring because I can be a bit of a creature of habit when it comes to my meals Let me know what you think!

Other exciting news . . . Hubby surprised me with a trip to NYC for my birthday! We are going to be spend the upcoming long weekend in NYC – and I am SOOOO incredibly excited. Neither of us have been there so we plan to do all of the touristy things – but I am so unbelievably excited for off the raw/vegan restaurants (ONE LUCKY DUCK/PURE FOOD AND WINE – I can hardly contain my excitement!!!!) I am also dying to stop by Babycakes. There are actually  SO many places I want to try out, but I know I won’t have time (we are only there for 3 days), that just means we’ll have to go back I promise to take TONS of pictures and blog all about it

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have some goals that I would like to work towards over the next year. It seems as I continue to get older, time seems to move more quickly. Sometimes it feels like a year comes and goes in the blink of an eye. This year I have decided to set some goals to keep myself accountable.  I have mentioned yoga in the past on the blog, it is something I truly enjoy, but often not something I make enough time for. So Goal #1 is:

1) Commit to my yoga practice – whether it be yoga classes in the community or practicing yoga on my own I would really like to develop my yoga practice.

My second goal is along the same spiritual lines . . .

2) Explore meditation and commit to a daily practice – even if it is just 10 or 15 minutes in the morning I would like to commit to meditation. From what I have read and researched, the benefits you can obtained from meditation are amazing – I will blog more about meditation in the future and will let you know how I am doing on my journey.

My third goal is a bit more personal, but I’ll share it with you anyways . . .

3) Be a better wife – and I don’t mean that I am a bad wife, in fact, I think I’m pretty darn good – but there is always room for improvement. I definitely lack in the organization department and have been known to leave things laying around – overall I just want to continue to grow, be more aware of my role as a wife and be the best I can be for my hubby, because he does so much for me and treats me so well

Lastly . . .

4) Embark on my career as a holistic nutritionist. Now that my schooling is complete, it is time for me to really begin to focus on where I want to take my career in the holistic nutrition field. I am so passionate about nutrition and health but I really need to decide where I want to take this new career. I feel SO blessed to have you all along for the ride and am excited to blog about where this journey is going to take me

I have a few other personal goals – but I think I’ll keep them personal for now I will keep you all updated as to how I am doing with my goals – and would love any advice that you may have to help me along the way

Sorry these last couple of posts have been SO word heavy – now that I have my new camera I promise there will be MANY more pictures.  Here are the first couple of pictures I snapped with the new camera:

I also got some good shots of my breakfast this morning:

Green Smoothie!

I’m SO in love with my camera – I just can’t get over the picture quality!!! I plan on taking a course in the next couple of weeks because I really don’t know what I’m doing – I know there is SO much you can do with the camera that I am missing out on. I’m looking forward to learning though

Lots of questions for you guys tonight . . .

Would you be interested in me blogging all of my meals for the next week or so?

Any suggestions for a good camera name?

For those that have been to NYC – what are the must see’s and must do’s??

xoxo

Goodnight!!!

Hi!

(I swear I have a strapless dress on! LOL)

You guys are now officially reading the musings of a 28 year old. Yesterday I said goodbye to my 27 year old self and am now ready to fully embrace my 28th year. Thanks to everyone who sent me love over twitter and facebook – you each made me feel SO special

This is the 1st of 28 birthdays that my twin brother and I have been apart – he is off cruising the world with his new wife – they are having the time of their life, but we have plans to celebrate once he returns Happy Birthday Bro, I love you!

I am finding that as I continue to creep up into the latter part of my 20’s (I just might be shedding a tear as I write this) birthdays are starting to become more of a time of reflection for me. This year especially, I really found myself reflecting on the past year and the things I had accomplished.  Am I where I thought I would be at 28? Am I where I WANT to be at 28? I think the answer to both of these questions are Yes and No. There are many aspects of my life where I am just where I want to be, in fact, probably further than I ever expected to be.

What I Learned/Accomplished  in my 27th Year

• Over the past year I decided to return to school to follow my dreams of becoming a Holistic Nutritionist. I have successfully completed the courses and am now just waiting to complete my oral and written exam and then will have accomplished what I set out too Now the scary part begins – trying to put my true dreams into fruition and making a career out of my passion.
• The past year I have started my blog, made so many wonderful new friends through blogging and refuelled my passion for writing.

The past year I have learned more about myself than I ever thought imaginable.

• I learned that I do have an inner strength which has helped me on my journey in recovering from an eating disorder.
• I learned that my body is my best teacher and learning to become intuitive to my body and what it needs and wants has become probably my best source of healing.
• I also learned that it is ok to struggle and it is ok to fall down sometimes because it is these times that we learn from and these times that we grow from.
• I learned that it is ok to be vulnerable, nobody is perfect, and striving to be perfect is too big a burden for anyone to carry on their shoulders.
• I learned that we need to live for this moment, this very moment, we can’t worry about tomorrow or next month or next year, because all we have is right here, right now. 

Life is too short, too precious and has too much to offer to not enjoy every second of it and I plan on living my 28th year to the fullest

While I am happy with all that I have learned and accomplished over the year, I still have a long ways to go.  Sometimes I look back on my blog and wonder the type of imagine I portray – although I am passionate about nutrition and living ife the healthiest way possible, I by no means live a perfectly healthy, nutritious life ALL the time, I just want you all to know that.  Here are some of my not so healthy vices:

• I loveee french fries, sweet potato fries, chips, tortilla chips, etc – you get the picture crunchy and salty snacks = dangerous around me!
• Diet Pop – I was once completed addicted, now that I know the serious long term effects it can have on your health I really do try to stay away – but a diet pepsi may still cross my lips every so often (maybe once every couple of weeks or mths).
• COFFEE – specifically Starbucks, Grande Soy Misto PLEASE!  – best drink ever, there is nothing better than sipping one of these on a beautiful day. While I am happy to not be addicted to coffee, I do REALLY enjoy it.
• Late night snacking – I have been known to wake up at 2:30 AM and make my way down to the kitchen (more regularly than I’d really like to admit).
• Butter Earth Balance – I put it on my muffins, I put it on my banana bread, my toast, my popcorn, sometimes when I am feeling really wild I put it on my veggies – everything tastes a little better with butter Earth Balance!
• I’m a grazer – it seems like I’m always in the kitchen grabbing a handful of this or a bite of that – sometimes by the end of the day I feel like I haven’t stopped eating (This is something I need to start being a little more careful about!)

I’m sure there are lots more, but I don’t want you to get to bad of an opinion of me

Now it’s your turn!

What are some of your vices? What are some of the best lessons you have learned over the past year? I’d love to learn from all of you

I’ll be back with some of my goals for my 28th year

xoxo

Krissy

Yes . . . I’ve been a very bad blogger . . . very bad. Life just get’s in the way sometimes – please forgive me I’ve had an amazing past couple of weeks, from the festivities leading up to my twin brothers wedding, to the emotional day itself, and finally to today, an amazing meet up with an inspirational group of ladies – more on that in a bit

As promised, I wanted to give you a quick peak at my brothers wedding. It was truly the perfect day, for the perfect couple. My brother and his fiancee (I should say WIFE, now) have been together for 8 years – so she is definitely already apart of the family, however now it is finally official! She was absolutely stunning, and it was a pure joy being apart of their day.

The food was fabulous – I got a vegan meal – which was insanely delicious – sorry no picture – but it was an Indian flavoured dish with chickpeas, grilled vegetables and quinoa – definitely the best wedding meal I have ever had!

They are now off on a 3 week honeymoon – a 2 week cruise plus a 7 day stay in Portugal – SO jealous – but SO happy for them – I know they will have the best time and can’t wait to hear all about it when they return

Fast forward to today! I had the pure honour of being in the company of 6 lovely ladies, the famous Heathy (yes I may have been a little star struck!), Camille, Lisa, Nelly, Marlie, and Kelli! 

If you think these girls are lovely on their blog, you can only imagine how sweet and lovely they are in person. We had such an amazing afternoon, filled with great conversation, laughter, and of course the most amazing raw food ever!

We hit up a popular raw-vegan restaurant in Toronto called Rawlicious.

We started the afternoon off sharing some appetizers, the Raw Nacho platter:

As well as the Spring Rolls:

Both of these were incredible – the raw sour cream and guacamole were spot on and the dipping sauce for the spring rolls was to die for . . . I must find a way to recreate it!

Moving on to our entree’s, I decided on the raw vegan Caesar Salad:

No words – honestly it was delicious – the “croutons” were small cubes of their raw onion bread and it was the perfect accompaniment to the caesar dressing – I’m not exactly sure what was in the dressing, but again I’m going to have to figure it out so I can recreate it.

Some other entree’s included:

Garden Salad  (had by Lisa)                    &                  Raw Pad Thai (Shared by Marlie & Kelli)

We all loved our meals – and basically licked the plates clean

Of course a raw party is not complete without raw desserts, I finished off my meal with a raw chocolate brownie:

It was sooo decadent and delicious . . . however I must admit not as decadent and delicious as this . . .

Straight from the kitchen of Heather, she was sweet enough to share some of her very own homemade raw chocolate – and let me tell you, I have NEVER tasted anything like it, it literally melts in your mouth, it was really, really difficult to not eat the whole bar in one sitting – I definitely had to use some self restraint Thank You SO much Heather for your kind gift – I hope you visit Toronto again soon, because we certainly love having you here

It was so refreshing to share an afternoon with a group of beautiful like-minded ladies, they each now hold a special place in my heart – and I know there will be many more meet-ups in our future.  Thank you ladies, for such a wonderful afternoon and for welcoming me into the group!

Please check out all of their blogs for their recaps – and more importantly their beautiful pictures (they all have snazzy SLR cameras – so their picture quality will be a million times better than mine!!)

Ok friends – I have a sick hubby to go check on (poor thing!).

Have a wonderful evening!

xoxo

Krissy

I made it through a weekend full of partying!!! Not only did I make it through – but I had a complete blast! Hubby was off with my twin-bro on his EPIC bachelor party, so I had a weekend full of wonderful ladies! The festivities started on Friday night, I spent the evening celebrating a very special lady’s 50th birthday. My Moms best friend is turning 50 so her beautiful daughter planned a surprise party for her – it was a very intimate party – The birthday girl, her daughter, my Mom and I, my aunt and her daughter (my cousin), and another one of the birthday girls childhood friends. It was perfect!

Kate(Bday girls Daughter), Me, My cousin Allison

My Mom, My Aunt,Their friend, Birthday Girl

We surprised the birthday girl, with a classy ride to dinner!

I could definitely get used to be chauffeured around in one of these SO fun! 

At the restaurant I had a salad – which was just “O.K.”, definitely nothing special, but this delicious cosmo definitely more than made up for it!

It was a great night, but I couldn’t stay up too late because there was more festivities to come the following night . . .

My Sister-In-Law’s Bachlorette!!

Isn’t she a doll We had an amazing night filled with lots of great food, great drinks and LOTS of dancing! I woke up the next morning feeling like I had run a marathon – my legs were killing me from all of the dancing We have a very fun filled week ahead, with lots of wedding madness, they get married on Saturday July 3rd – and we have lots of fun things planned before than – two parties and a trip to the spa! Yippee!! Stay tuned for the details to come!!!

Besides all the partying I have been doing, I have also been enjoying some good food – I’m sure that doesn’t come as much of a surprise I found a great new product, which I can already tell is going to continue to reappear on my dinner plate . . .

This tempeh was sooo amazing!! While I never get cravings for actual meat, I do get cravings for protein – and this is the perfect hearty product which always satisfies my craving. I had it over steamed kale and steamed veggies and it totally hit the spot

I also wanted to give you a peak at just how amazing Daiya cheese is – as I alluded to in my last post.

Look how amazing it melts!!! For those of you who have tried different varieties of vegan cheese, you will know how hard it is to find a product that actually melts! This product is amazing, there are no words!! I actually just bought my second container of it today – this time I tried the mozzarella – and I actually think I like it better!!! 

I also embarked on a new raw dessert, courtesy of the beautiful Heathy . . . 

Hehehe – don’t you love my new PINK ice cream maker Yup, I tried my hand at raw vegan ice cream – and there is no going back – I don’t think I will ever have to buy ice cream again . . . THANKS Heathy!!!

My first try was vanilla – and I see numerous varieties in my future. I don’t have any pretty pictures of the final product – but I will post some as soon as I do

The next couple of days are going to be crazy busy – but I will definitely be back with a HUGE wedding recap with all of the fun!  I’m saying a speech at the wedding, and really don’t consider myself much of a public speaker – anyone have any good advice for me???!!! H E L P!!

xoxo

Krissy

Yup… you heard that right – I’m not sure that life will ever be the same again. I only have 1 word to describe why . . . DAIYA!!!

There are no words for this amazing, dairy free, soy free, gluten free vegan cheese alternative. I have been hearing so much about it in the blog world and when I saw it at my favourite health food store I almost cried with delight. So far I have just melted it on a brown rice tortilla – and it was heaven in my mouth! It’s been a while since I’ve had real cheddar cheese – but I don’t remember cheddar cheese ever tasting this good! While this product may not be as “clean” as I would like it to be, I’m always happy when a really good tasting vegan alternative is available. Stay tuned to see other ways I decide to use it (as long as it doesn’t disappear – my hand keeps dipping into the container – it tastes really good just on its own!)

Sorry to have been gone so long. Life has been pretty hectic. Between working full time, going to school, and just living life – time is just flying by! However, this is my last week of school and then I will be done all my classes! I will have a final oral presentation and a big final exam in August, and crossing my fingers that both go well, I will officially be a Registered Holistic Nutritionist – EXCITING!!! Hopefully there will be exciting things to come in my future

Other exciting news – my twin bro is getting married in a week in a half!!! So the next couple of weeks are insanely busy with preparation and lots of partying too I am in the bridal party – and this weekend is the bachelorette party, pictures and recap to come!!!

Like usual, I have been in the kitchen baking and “un-baking”. First up was a raw chocolate-banana pie, courtesy of the lovely Heather,  which I was hoping to share with Camille and some other lovely ladies, but unfortunately, plans changed and I wasn’t able to make it to their get together! My family ended up being happy about this because they were able to enjoy it on Father’s Day!

I wish I had taken a picture of the whole pie – these pictures are not the greatest, but it really looked lovely! It turned out great and everyone (none of which are vegans, let alone, raw foodies), absolutely loved it!

Next up – Babycakes Gingersnaps . . .

*Again I apologize for the unappetizing pictures – believe me, the pictures do not do these cookies justice!

See even Zaky is eyeing these cookies – that’s how good they are! For some reason, mine turned out really flat – I am going to have to figure out what I did wrong – but the taste was definitely there! My husband can’t keep his fingers out of the cookie jar! Again they are vegan and gluten free – and one of the tastiest cookies I have ever eaten!

As you can see from my last few blog posts – I’m really getting into baking lately – I love experimenting with gluten free, vegan baking because I want to prove to everybody that being vegan and eating gluten free doesn’t have to taste bad and doesn’t have to be restrictive! I think I eat more variety now being a vegan than I ever did in my none vegan days!

Anyone have any great vegan recipes that are must-try’s – I’m always looking for new ones!!

I have a weekend full of partying So stayed tuned for pictures and recaps!!!!

xoxo

Krissy

Hi Friends!

I can’t tell you how happy I am to be blogging again – when I took my little hiatus, it felt like something was missing – now I feel whole again Just want to take a second to say HI to some of my new readers, I am so honoured that you all even take the time to read my ramblings If you are new to my blog – leave me a comment – I’d love to connect with you. I think one of the greatest things about blogging is that we can all learn and inspire one another – I know I certainly am inspired by all of you!

I want to give you guys a little glimpse into some of the yummy food I have been enjoying lately – it’s been too good not to share with you!

Massaged Kale Salad – with lemon juice, olive oil and a touch of agave – topped with Avocado (obviously!), tomato, sunflower sprouts and hemps seeds. With a gluten free brown rice tortilla (my o-b-s-e-s-s-i-o-n!!!).

Green Smoothies (each and every day my friends!) – 1 scoop sunwarrior protein powder, 1/2 water + 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup either strawberries or cherries, avocado ( KEY ingredient – if you aren’t including this in yours – DO IT!) spinach or kale (or any leafy green), spirulina, maca powder, cinnamon and probiotic powder. Oh yes – and topped with dehydrated buckwheat and coconut. WOWZA – can you believe all of that goes into my smoothies each and every day – talk about a powerhouse meal! This nutrient dense meal (which i always start my mornings with) is almost like an insurance policy. I figure even if I don’t get another healthy nutrient in me (which lets be honest – rarely if ever occurs, I’m a nutrient JUNKY!), I know that I have at least started my day in the best way possible!

Remember the granola from my last post – let’s just say I have a very unhealthy obsession with it. Basically it takes everything in me not to grab a handful every time I am about a 10 step radius from the fridge. It is SO amazing – I love chopping up an apple and topping it with the granola – I will definitely be making another batch very shortly!

More greenery! Don’t those colours just make you happy – when you are preparing your salads try to get as many colours as possible – the more colours the more different nutrients you will be providing your body with!

If I’m not drinking a smoothie for breakfast – you can almost bet money that I’m savouring a warm and comforting bowl of quinoa oats (gluten free my friends!). I make my oats quite simply – 1/2 water 1/2 almond milk, dash of salt, cinnamon and stevia; then when its at the thickness I like I top it with coconut butter and more cinnamon! Simple but oh so yummy!

Finally – I threw back on the apron and tried my hand at another gluten free (vegan) recipe. This time it was carrot muffins! I loved the “fluffiness” of the muffins – but I think the recipe may need a bit of tweeking. While I had no problems polishing off the batch – and certainly enjoyed every last bite – I think there is still some room for improvement!

So that was just a little sneak peak at what I have been enjoying over the past couple of days – of course that is just a small portion, but definitely some of the highlights.

As I’m sure you have noticed in my last couple of posts, I have really been focusing on a gluten free diet. I cannot tell you how much better I feel when I am eating gluten free. Although I don’t have celiac disease, I do struggle with a very sensitive stomach, I have found eating gluten free really helps to minimize any symptoms that I may have. For any of you out there struggling with tummy issues, I really recommend trying to minimize (or ideally eliminate) your gluten and dairy consumption and see how you feel. Try it for a week and then reintroduce one or the other back in and see how you feel – if you are truly sensitive or allergic your symptoms will come back (usually even worse), so then you will know whether or not you should truly stay away from either of these foods. Just be sure not to reintroduce them at the same time – because then you won’t know which one you are actually reacting too!  Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about food sensitivities or allergies – I would be happy to help out in any way I can balanceisbeauty@rogers.com

Until next time Friends!

xoxo

Krissy