Balance Is Beauty

Hi Sugar Plums!

Before we get going – I have some EXCITING news to share! To my American friends, you were able to experience this excitement months and months ago – but us Canadians always lag behind I was shopping in the health food section of my local grocery store the other day and could not believe my eyes, I almost had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming . . .

What was stocked on the shelf ??? None other than the PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY LARABAR!!! I have scoured the health food stores, grocery stores, basically any store for the new (well not so new to my lucky Americans ) flavour and have not been able to find it anywhere! Finally my prayers were answered – I could hardly contain myself with excitement. This flavour was everything I wished for and more!! It was the perfect combination of peanut butter and jelly – not to tart – just right! This has definitely taken the top spot in terms of flavours for me, I am totally kicking myself for only buying one – they better not be gone when I go back

In other exciting news, this morning I decided to lace up my running shoes and hit the snow covered pavement. The motivation behind me deciding to run outdoors vs. the comfort of my warm indoor treadmill was the new running outfit I received for Christmas! Lululemon did not disappoint this year, I absolutely adore this outfit and it kept me nice and warm for our below zero weather here in Toronto:

Sorry for the less than stellar quality photos – yes these pictures are taken in hallway closest doors I did 5 easy miles this morning and it was probably one of the most delightful runs I have been on in a long time – I truly enjoyed it so much and the 45 minutes flew by. I wasn’t overly concerned with my pace – but ended up averaging about an 8.4 min/mile pace – which is not too bad! The weather was definitely chilly but it was actually refreshing – I felt great when I was done! I definitely think I am going to start getting outdoors more often, rather than the treadmill, the fresh air makes such a difference!

When I returned from my run I was definitely hangry and ready for lunch, I whipped up this salad, which has basically been my staple lunch this week – I honestly can’t get enough of it (like I’ve mentioned many times before – I am SUCH a creature of habit when I find something I LOVE):

Broccoli/Cabbage Delight Salad

1/2 C Broccoli

1/2 C Red Cabbage

1/2 C Cauliflower

Carrot – diced

1/4 Apple – diced

1/4 Avocado

Celery – diced

1 Tbsp hemp seeds

Sprinkle of Sea Salt

Dressing

1/2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp olive oil/hemp oil/flax oil

1 tsp raw unpasteurized honey/ agave

I can’t say enough about this salad – feel free to mix up the veggies – depending on what you have (I basically just toss everything I have in the fridge in), as well as the seeds/nuts. The other day I threw in 1tbsp of raisins and 1 tbsp of pumpkin seeds – AHmazing! Have fun with it and adjust the recipe to suit your tastes

After the salad my sweet tooth kicked in and I finished lunch off with a macaroon topped with almond butter . . . The Perfect ending to a delightful meal

After lunch I headed to the mall in search of a New Years Eve outfit – as I mentioned yesterday, hubs and I are hosting a party this year. I skipped into one of my favourite stores BCBG as I knew they were having an amazing sale and found a great dress for tomorrow night and may or may not have walked out with a couple of other items I’ll post some pics tomorrow of the items I picked up – I definitely walked out of there with a lighter wallet, but also with a HUGE smile on my face

Since I was on such a high – I figured it was only right to keep it going and headed over to Starbucks for my all-time fav Soy Latte and paired it with one of my homemade fig/date squares:

As if this day couldn’t get any better – Hubs and I are now off to the movies to see The Blind Side – I have wanted to see this movie for a while – so I’m super excited!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! I’ll see ya’ll tomorrow for a sneak peak at my purchases from today as well as some details about our New Years Shenanigans!

xoxo

Krissy