Life Update!

Hey there good friends!

It feels so good to be back after a well needed break. Everything that was happening with school and finals there was no way I could put up good content! However, I am in fact back now and with a surprise for all of you, I am going to Vancouver!

Travelling!

I will be catching a flight to Vancouver bright and early, so that  means blog posts about food, adventures, sights, and a serious possibility for travel tips. That's right, I managed to fit all my belongings in to a carry-on suitcase. So be ready for that!

Vegan? What!

Since this is a life update I do feel inclined to tell you that I am now vegan, woohoo! After around 11-12 months of vegetarianism I started doing more and more research about not just slaughterhouses, but factory farming, and where we get our dairy and eggs from. That resulted in a full-scale change which will be explained in another blogpost! I just felt like it was all around the right thing to do spiritually, ethically, environmentally, and physically.
For those wondering, right now I am not following any sort of "sub-diet", like starch solution, or raw till 4. For now I am just testing the waters and mainly following high-carb, low-fat and so far I am really enjoying it.
I watched a series of documentaries as well as did my own research, which meant spending my spare in the library reading books until I was asked to leave. Some documentaries that I watched were Forks over Knives and Cowspiracy. I am dreading watching Earthlings as is shows the despicable details of the industry but I need to find an online copy.

I feel like that is all I can share for now but do stay updated for a full explanation on my vegan transition, as well as some travelling tips too!

Until next time,

Tyler 

Fruit market adventure + garden stores galore

Hey there good friends!

I feel like I can officially say that spring has infact sprung!  This past weekend I planned a day with my mom for us to go to the conservation park, local fruit market, and a garden store. The sun was shining and the day was absolutely beautiful. One of the main things my mom and I said we would do in general is get out more, as in get out to nature. I found a little spot for us to go the runs off of the lake. It was so clear and pretty, however my mom thought it was a bit chilly.

The spot was so pretty and we ended up sitting on a log and watching the water for a while. One thing I didn'tmention was the insane amount of bugs flying all over the place. That was a minor set back but didn't draw away from the beauty that was the lake.

Our next stop was this fruit market I'd seen once before. On their website they claimed to sell produce from a local farm but there was almost nothing local. It was all from the United States (no offence) and was more expensive than the grocery store. 

Slightly disappointed with this situation my momand I headed towards the car but realized there was also a garden centre near the back.

 

To our surprise there was a huge amount of flowers, herbs, and shrubs! This little discovery lead to us spending around $50 on just herbs, and vegetable plants! Later in the day we then headed to another garden centre that was 3 times thatsize and packed full of people.

 

To add on to our total purchase for that day we got strawberry plants, succulents, jade, and more herbs. 

For me this was not only time to spend with my mom and relax, but it also got me so excited for spring and summer.

Well there's that little blog post, I should be posting more but I hope this gets in the mood for some spring planting! 

Until next time,

Tyler

Spring strawberry apple date parfait!

Hey there good friends! 

My apologies it's been so long since I've made a blog post. Everything has been so crazy but in the midst of this craziness I discovered a delicious recipe for A strawberry apple yoghurt parfait!

I haven't yet decided what the fruit should be called, is it a jam, compote, purée. I don't know, you can decide!

This recipe has now become one of my delicious breakfast recipes, that is perfectly sweet, creamy and crunchy at the same time. 

This recipe is made without any refined sugar, and even try it with coconut yoghurt, that would be delicious!

The ingredients you'll need!

makes 2 servings in mason jars

• non-fat vanilla greek yoghurt (or any non-dairy yoghurt if you prefer)
• 2 medium sized gala apples  (or any of your preference)
• 5 medium sized strawberries 
• 2 dates (optional)
• 1 tsp-2 tsp of raw demerara sugar or raw turbinado sugar 
• 1-4 of a lemon 
• 1/4 cup of granola

Instructions:

• Begin by peeling and dicing the apples and strawberries.
• Place all the fruit in a small pot on medium high heat and fill with a splash of water and lemon juice. Cover with a lid, until the apples are cooked.
• Once the fruit are cooked turn off the heat add the sugar.
• Place the mixture in a food processor and blend until few chunks are left. Chill in the fridge.
• Once chilled, lay the fruit mixture at the bottom of the mason jar and layer greek yoghurt to fruit.
• Top with granola
• Enjoy! 

Until next time,

Tyler 

Yummy vegan chia seed pancakes!

Hey there good friends! 

I have recently created my own routine of going through a crazy week with breakfasts such as yogurt and granola, or oatmeal. However, on the weekends I think it's quite nice to settle down and make an even more delicious, (yet still healthy) breakfast. So the only answer that lies is PANCAKES.

Pancakes (and waffles) have to be the most comforting breakfast food that never leave me unsatisfied. Most pre-made pancake batters, and home made recipes call for things like butter, and refined sugars. But when I stepped back I thought "It's just a batter, I can put anything I want in to it!"

That's when I started experimenting with different recipes that included super foods like flax, and coconut flour. Sadly, many didn't meet my expectations... So I resorted to Bobs Redmill pancake & waffle mixes. These are much better than regular pancake mixes are delicious and I recommend them if you have yet to find your own recipe or if you're in a pinch. They call for the usual eggs, milk, and oil. I subbed those for almond milk, and coconut oil, which did not compromise the taste in anyway! 

Until one glorious day when I discovered a recipe for vegan pancakes, and thought "hey, why not?!"

Instead of using milk you can sub in almond milk, or any non-dairy milk, obviously! But the real shocker was the use of chia seeds! I had seen so many substitutions of chia seeds, and flax eggs but never ended up going through with it.

When I tried this recipe I was beyond shocked, they came out fluffy, delicious, and better than I expected!
I decided to then play around with this recipe and concept to make it my own.

Ingredients you'll need! 

• 1 cup spelt or whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1-2 tbsp raw cane sugar or coconut sugar (your preference)
• pinch of sea salt
• 3 tbsp chia seeds 
• 1 cup almond milk (or any nony-dairy milk)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp coconut oil (for greasing)

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Starting with dry ingredients and then wet ingredients.
• Whisk all ingredients together really well. 
• Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes until all binded together and has a thicker consistency. Meanwhile, heat a pan and add coconut oil.
• Pour around 2 tbsp of batter on to the heated pan. Flip when bubbles form around the pancake.
• Serve with almond butter, maple syrup and  fruit of your choice.

Until next time,

Tyler 

My banana ice cream recipe!

Hey there good friends! 

Recently I have been going crazy after my discovery of banana ice cream! It is the most simple and delicious recipe. Surely, there are many different variations of banana ice cream, so today I am just going to share my recipe + toppings! 

What makes this so delicious is the toppings you can put on it! I found the combination of granola, berries, carob sauce, and swirled almond butter is just so delicious. The granola recipe you can find on the blog!

I also enjoy the mix of berry nana ice cream with plain. 

All you need to do is blend the ingredients keeping out a handful of berries of your choice. When blended scoop out desired amount of plain ice cream and put in the handful of berries. So delicious!

Ingredients you'll need for the ice cream!

• 2 banana's 
• 1/3 cup almond milk (or until the banana's are creamy)

Instructions:

• Take 2 banana's, peel and cut them in to coins. Put in the freezer until fully frozen.
• Blend in the food processor until broken up. 
• Add the milk and blend until it's creamy. You may need more milk, or less milk to get the creamy consistency. 
• Enjoy!

Optional toppings!

• granola
• strawberries 
• blackberries
• almond butter
• carob sauce (carob powder + almond milk)
• chia seeds

Until next time!

Vegan carrot cupcakes with coconut icing!

Hey there good friends! 

I know this may be delayed because Easter has already passed but prior to Easter I found myself craving the best carrot cake for our Easter dessert! Now I had never made carrot cake or anything of the sorts, unless you count Quaker carrot muffin mix. Those scream childhood, but have too much processed junk for me to enjoy any more.

To satisfy my craving I look at an assortment of recipes for carrot cake. I was specifically looking for vegan recipes because even though I don't follow a vegan diet I like to use it as a guideline in my baking. This is just my preference, but with vegan baking it's easier to avoid the ingredients I'd rather not include. Oh and did I mention vegan baking is just delicious? That's reason enough! 

As I was looking for ideas I really wasn't fond of using up my coconut oil every time I wanted to bake something. That's when I came up with the idea to use apple sauce. Fortunately I was out of apple sauce but I did have apples! With these two small apples, I chopped, and peeled them, and put them in a pot to simmer for less than 5 minutes! I added water, and cinnamon and made a delicious sub for oil or butter. This ended up making the cupcakes extremely moist and delicious, with little bites of apple here and there. If you don't have any apples or you don't feel like making it from scratch ( I highly encourage you to do it), then you can use unsweetened store bought apple sauce.

For this recipe I really wanted to keep the "cream cheese icing" to top the cupcakes off. However, since I was little I can't remember liking cream cheese by itself, or even on cupcakes. It's just to think and strong for me! That's why I came up with a beautiful coconut icing that's lighter than cream cheese but definitely creamy enough!

The cupcakes ended up being better than I ever expected. I think the day I baked them I had probably 3 of them, which left me with no worries because these guys are nut-free, dairy-free, vegan, oil-free, and refined sugar-free!

Serves: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients you'll need! 

• 2tbsp ground flax seed + 6 tbsp water
• 11/3 cup spelt flour or whole wheat flour (I used spelt)
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 large or 2 small apples (apples of your choice!) + 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup raw sugar or coconut sugar (I used raw)
• 1/4-1/2 milk of your choice (I used coconut milk from the carton)
• 2/3 cup grated carrot 

For the icing:

• 1 can of unsweetened coconut milk (full fat)
• desired amount of raw sugar or coconut sugar
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of ginger
• pinch of nutmeg

Instructions!

• Preheat the oven to 320 F or 160 C
• Add the ground flax to the water. If you only have flax seed then blend the seeds with water in a food processor.
• Peel and chop the apple(s) and place in a small pot with water and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. 
• Once the water is lightly simmering, stir and place lid over the top.
• Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.) Mix well.
• Once the apples are cooked place in a food processor, or mash very well (so that it makes and apple sauce.)
• Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl ( ground flax seeds + water, apples, and carrot). Leave the milk to the side.
• Combine dry and wet ingredients and mix until well blended.
• Add the milk until it makes a thick moist batter.
• Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Scoop the batter into the liners and fill 2/3 of the way full.
• Bake the cup cakes for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Allow them to cool. 
• Pour the coconut milk into a bowl and beat with and electric mixer on low speed.
• When blended add the sugar and spices, blend at medium-high speed until a thick consistency. 
• Place the bowl in the fridge to firm for at least 10 minutes while the cupcakes cool.
• Once the icing is chilled and the cupcakes are cooled, ice!
• Top with cinnamon or chopped pecans.
• Enjoy!

Until next time!

Hey there good friends!

Just yesterday I went to the 2015 Green Living Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Last year I was fortunate enough to go with my mom and I was not going to let it slip by this year! The Green Living Show is dedicated to all things green, so naturally I had to be there.
               
                       
It spreads from things like furniture, cars, health & beauty, and food.  I am sort of ashamed (but not really) to say I spent a large portion of the day in the food area. But how could I resist all the delicious produce and samples that they had going on. We were allowed into the show for free because we brought in e-waste, which would later be recycled. This is only a small example of the innovative ideas all around the show. The show wasn't just saying we have a problem we need to deal with it, but creative and diverse ideas on how to adapt to our changing planet. Gathered together were people with different strengths and skills, such as  business men, scientists, artists, chefs, and at-home parents!

 My lunch consisted of samples dishes from local restaurants that you would purchase with a certain amount of $1 tickets. Certain dishes would be worth more tickets or less. I really loved this system because it was a win-win for customer and restaurant.

For samples I got a vegetarian kale stem & Ontario mushroom pie, vegan bread pudding with ugly fruit compote, a red beet-coco brownie and squash sorbet with salted beet caramel (delicious!!), and bao with harissa seasoned napa, & carrot slaw, sunchoked chips & zataar salt. Keep in mind these were small things but I was definitely full by the end of it!

The Green Living show was incredible, I was able to learn more about conserving, and reducing food waste, non-profit organizations that take effect near me, and not to mention all the food was delicious!
I came home on the train carrying two reusable bags filled with purchases and coupons!

In the beginning the people going to see the Green Living Show weren't at all polite. There was shoving, pushing and scowling. Some things that I'd never expect out of a green wellness show. However, as the day progressed I was able to meet more people that were polite and passionate about green living. It was an extremely uplifting experience because I was able to find people who were interested in similar things as me and we were all there together. I kinda wished that we all could've done a huge group hug (just kidding!).

Until next time,

Tyler 

Trip to Yosemite National park & San Francisco adventures pt 2!

Hey there good friends!

I have to ask how you're all doing? Well I have just returned from a well deserved vacation to San Francisco. I know that I said I would blog more when I was there, but I realized that I didn't want to spend all my time there on my computer because it was just so beautiful!

During my time there I stayed at the beautiful Argonaut hotel on fisherman's wharf. This meant waking up each morning to a sunrise grazing the Golden gate bridge, and the wonderful sea side smell (that eventually seeped in to all my clothes!)

There aren't any words that describe how beautiful San Francisco truly is. Not to mention the food. The food was AMAZING! My sister and I stopped at this cute little food truck on Jones and Jefferson named Carmel Pizza. They have a wood burning oven and a marvellous outdoor patio.

Talk about making the most of it! This spot was definitely a unique location which my sister and I said we'd go back to but sadly never ended up going back!  Oh well, there's always next time.

Two other locations that were so delicious were The Plant Cafe and The Greens restaurant. Now both served organic, natural, vegan, all that! Luckily, both served different types of food. The Greens restaurant was probably more up-scale and served up some pretty delicious vegetarian food. I ordered "The Indian plate" which was a combination of basmati rice with cashews, chutney, curried lentils, and cauliflower with another side that I cannot remember. Ahh the frustration! I wouldn't say that it was the best food I've ever had, but it was still a very creative and visually pleasing location!
                         
The Plant Cafe, I was more pleased with. While the Greens restaurant seemed like a great place to host a party or gather friends. The Plant Cafe had food that spoke to more what I liked and had a more intimate vibe, without that sounding strange.
                          

Both overlooked the bay area, I just found that The Plant Cafe was more comfortable while still being up scale. At The Plant Cafe I went two different times! The first time I ordered a vegan cheesecake that was a cashew base and was just as it sounds, delicious. The next day I ordered a tofu and quinoa stir-fry. I actually came in to late that they weren't serving customers any more but the kitchen happily made my meal for me anyway, tips to them!  I think that I would probably opt for The Plant Cafe more because it fit my style better. However, I definitely applaud both for serving up delicious, local and organic food to tourists!

Yosemite!

Now on to one of the most exciting parts of the trip, Yosemite! There are no words to describe just how breathtaking it truly was. I remember on my Liebster Award Post, one of the places I wanted to visit the most was Yosemite National Park, well check that off! Unfortunately we couldn't only do a day tour, but in that time we were still able to see so much.

Our day started off bright and early waking up at 5:30 for a bus to come pick us up, the ride over was around 4 hours and I was happy to spend that time sleeping. It was only till we started getting closer to the park could you actually see the landforms changing. Flat land started turning in to hills, and hills starting in to mountains.

When we get in to the park we make our way to the attraction areas until we get to the lodge. Our first attraction was Yosemite Valley! I had been dreaming of seeing it for weeks and I only wished that I had more time to mentally prepare myself.

Jumping like a cool cat

 I started crying, yes. It is the most beautiful place that I've experienced, that I feel like I'm not bringing it any justice from my description. We had time to soak in the beauty and take pictures (silly and normal), I just wish I could have stayed there forever!

We stopped at other locations like Yosemite falls and managed to head to the lodge for a quick lunch. I gobbled down my food because I was way too excited and wanted to head out and experience as much as I could.

With our free time, we hiked the lower Yosemite Falls trail and got sidetracked and hiked up close to the actual falls and got mist coming down all over us. It was magical! Can I just take a moment to say how much I love hiking. Each step I feel more in tune with myself and the earth beneath my feet.

We spent the rest of our time hiking through the trails, goofing off, and honestly wishing we could stay forever. Before we knew it we had to head back to the lodge to leave. At this moment I was only getting more upset to have to leave. We spent our time with a few final photo shoots and farewell goodbyes... Once we were on our way home it hit me how exhausted I was, so I slept yet again on the way home.

I would just like to conclude that this trip was everything that I dreamed it would be, Yosemite and San Francisco. Yosemite was proof to me that if you want something, then make it happen. While it may not always be easy or affordable to book a trip like that, I mean take opportunities when they present themselves to you! I have been so inspired after this trip but enlightened as well. To see nature in it's beauty, undisturbed state. How large it is in comparison to us, all our problems seem so small.

(I know I am terrible at saying goodbye, but until next time!)

San Fran adventures! The best breakfast at Mama's

Hello there good friends,

So where has the time gone? Well, to keep you updated I am currently in San Francisco! What? I know, it is so beautiful here and I am thrilled to be somewhere that doesn't have 2 feet of snow outside the window. My hotel is right smack in the middle of Fisherman's wharf, so I am pretty much able to see the Golden Gate bridge and the beautiful ocean front. Today is my 6th full day here and I have been spending my early mornings in Starbucks to catch up on my school work and to do some blogging. I personally enjoy this solitude because even though it's February there are still a lot of tourists here!

For starters on my San Fran adventures my sister and I flew down by ourselves to meet our mom and I am not an easy flyer. We also nearly missed our flight because the security didn't let us in until 30 minutes before our flight boarded, despite the fact that we were there two hours early. To add on to that we also got stopped by airport security for a random bag check cause apparently two teenage girls are suspicious. I actually thought it was quite funny, but enough of that!

The flight over was beautiful especially the landforms and the greenery. I couldn't help but almost cry it was so pretty.

Once we landed we immediately started sweating cause we're so used to the cold Canadian climate. Unfortunately, we were lost in the San Francisco airport for an hour trying to find our way around.



On our first day of touritst-ing I planned a perfect breakfast at Mama's. Which is a staple if you're going to be travelling to San Francisco. It is a cute little restaurant at the corner near Washington square and a line literally wraps around the side. We waited around an hour to get a seat and once we ordered we knew we   had to make it worth it.




I started by ordering the cranberry orange french toast (cranberry orange bread made in-house!) with a side of grilled potatoes, and I had originally planned to order a little crumb square for the next morning but it was warm to resist and I ended up eating it there!

  
My sister ordered the blueberry pancakes with a side of grilled potatoes, and my Mom ordered the eggs florentine with silver dollar pancakes.
  
Everything tastes amazing, the french toast was warm and sweet, especially with the home-made jam! I also really loved the eggs florentine with the grilled potatoes. Overall we concluded that it was definitely worth the one hour wait!

Healthy chocolate avocado pudding! Perfect for Valentine's day

Hello there good friends,

It feels so good to be posting another blog post again! I just have so many recipes that I want to share with you, but I have to pace myself. I realized just yesterday that Valentines day is upon us and I wanted to make a little something special. I believe that Valentines day doesn't have to spent with a significant other, it's like any other holiday. You spend it with the people that you love. But, in the spirit I have for you today a recipe for Chocolate strawberry avocado pudding!

 


So why avocado of all things you may ask? Well avocado's are amazing for adding a great consistency to any recipe, along with all their health benefits! I tend to use avocados with my eggs, pasta, or salads. I never thought to use them in a dessert. That's when I concocted this recipe for a rich and creamy pudding. Oh yeah, did I mention it can also be made vegan! I know it's such a treat.

Ingredients:

These are the base ingredients!

• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 1/2 tbsp  cocoa powder or cacao powder
• 2 tbsp honey (or for a vegan option use maple syrup)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil solid at room temperature 
• a splash of almond or soy milk
• 1-2 large strawberries 
• sliced almonds (optional) 

Directions: 

1. Begin by slicing the avocado in half, and taking out the pit.
2. Scoop out all of the avocado into a food processor
3. Add your honey or maple syrup, coconut oil. Blend for 30 seconds.
4. Using a spoon scrape whatever powder is left on the sides and blend again for another 30 seconds. I added a little almond milk as well.

           

 

     5.   Scoop out into a dish
           

     

  6. Add strawberries and sliced almonds for good measure!

           

       7. Enjoy!