Buckwheat Breakfast

I cheated! Boy did I ever cheat.

Yesterday I was celebrating a friends birthday and their new home AND their baby's first birthday! Yeah they are busy. So, how could I say no to cheesy garlic bread. And how could I say no to homemade brownies. And how could I say no to a slice of ice cream cake? I couldn't say no.

Well I got it out of my system and I'm back to eating right today. I started my day with vegan buckwheat pancakes loaded with banana, blueberries and raspberries. I'm still getting used to the buckwheat flour. It's pretty gritty, but I think that is because I an using dark flour. I've seen suggestions for light buckwheat flour and might go that route next time.

Still, with the berries and banana, cinnamon and dash of honey these were pretty good and quite filling!

Bryan is sickly today, which means I might have another excuse for soup for dinner tonight. Even though the weather is warming up there is nothing better and a comforting bowl of soup. It almost makes you forget that tomorrow is Monday.

There is no bootcamp this week because it's march break so I'm on my own in terms of workouts! I am definitely going to make it to my combat class and it would be nice to fit in a yoga class. With the forecast looking so warm it might be time to get a run in too!

For now it's back to laundry, dishes and maybe a little stitching!

Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup almond milk
1 medium banana, mashed
1 cup blueberries and raspberries

Directions
Mix together your dry ingredients then add and mix in your wet ingredients. Lightly grease your pan (I used coconut oil) and spoon the batter on the pan. Cook for 2 - 3 min on each side. The batter doesn't bubble quite the same as regular pancakes so keep an eye on it. Drizzle with honey or maple syrup and enjoy!

Gluten Free Pasta Salad

Made it to Thursday!

Started my day with a strawberry-banana smoothie with greek yogurt, honey, almond milk and kale. I'm starting to get used to the kale and it isn't as bitter as I once thought. the only thing I can't get used to is how chunky the kale stays. Spinach blends up nice and smooth but kale just ends up chunky. Still I'll keep eating it!

My soup has been great for lunches and the veggies and hummus have been great snacks. I'm doing well resisting my sugar cravings and have found that the more days without it the less I crave it. Still, thank goodness for dates and frozen mango for a blast of natural sugar when I need it!

Today was the first day I've missed caffeine in a week. Headed into work I was thinking about a nice cup of coffee when I got to my desk. I resisted the urge and filled up on water. I actually drank SO much water today! It sounds silly but I discovered that drinking water out of a straw makes me drink more of it faster so I reach the daily quota. I'm not gonna fight it if it works!

The weekend is quickly approaching and I'm starting to get nervous. This is usually when I fall off the bandwagon. I have a couple of get togethers with friends and I'm worried about the food options. Tomorrow night I'm headed out to a pub around the corner. I've already checked out the menu and I don't think I'm going to get away with no sugar AND no gluten. I can either go with a salad and dressing (I supposed I could skip the dressing if the toppings are good) or have a sandwich with wheat bread. What do I do in that situation? When you're out with friends at a restaurant that doesn't comply with your diet how do you react? Suggestions?

Saturday I'm headed out to a housewarming. Rather than have my host worry about providing me food I can eat I offered to bring my own. I decided on pasta salad with gluten free pasta! This is really easy to make and everyone can enjoy it!

This is also a recipe for my sister. She's in school finishing up her BFA and has a really busy schedule. I suggested she make a batch of pasta salad or bean salad that she can keep in the fridge for a week and easily take for lunches or eat as a late dinner - no reheating required!

This recipe is really versatile so don't be afraid to try different, less or more vegetables like cucumber instead of zucchini or green peppers, green onions and olives.

Ingredients
1 package of your favourite pasta
2 zucchini's chopped
2 cups chopped grape tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 cup chopped feta (or a little extra if you're feeling cheesy!)
1 small yellow pepper chopped
1 small orange pepper chopped

Dressing
1/2 cup veggie stock
1/4 cup white wine and cider vinegar*
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cloves chopped garlic (or to taste)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil

Directions
Cook you pasta according to the package.
In the meantime, chop all your vegetables and put in a large bowl.
In a small bowl mix up your dressing.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Mix with the vegetables and feta and pour your dressing over top and mix well. Refrigerate for an hour a serve!

This is one of those great left over dishes and tastes better the longer all the ingredients sit together.

*you can use red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar or plain white vinegar, what ever you have

Simple Veggie Soup

How is it only Tuesday?! I don't know if it's the changes in my diet, the weird weather we've had, the insane workouts I've done or the exhaustion my body and brain are starting to feel but this has been the longest two days of my life!

I haven't missed the sugar too much so far but avoiding gluten is just plain annoying. With a big pot of nothing made on Sunday night I found it hard to scrape something together for lunch and I couldn't just go and grab a quick sandwich. Thankfully there is a grocery store near work and I was able to pick up a few random things. The last two days my lunches have been a mish-mash of gluten free crackers, tons of raw veggies, hummus and bean salad (quite the spread at my little desk!) and I've been spacing it out a little more through the day, sort of grazing.

Tonight, after a long, hard BodyCombat class I was able to feast on a hearty veggie soup I threw together.

Before I go into detail take a look at this video a couple friends of mine posted. They are working on their first feature they've written and directed and just finished recording the score. Yay! This is a little behind the scenes at one of their record days. It's really sweet! Their film is called Hills Green and you can check out there blog here.

I was lazy and didn't manage to take any pictures of my soup but I'm not gonna lie this soup isn't anything special. It brown and full of all kinds of veggies. I went with a wild mix of carrots, parsnips, mushrooms, leeks (had to use them u from last week!), onions, bell peppers and potatoes.

I used the corn chowder recipe I made a couple weeks ago as a starting point but instead of adding corn and milk I stuck with veggie stock and water. You can do the same and add your favourite veggies. It was super easy and now I have enough soup to last me the week or freeze some for later.

Instructions:
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup leeks, chopped
1 cup orange and green bell pepper, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
½ cup carrots, chopped
½ cup parsnips, chopped
½ cup potato, diced
¼ cup amaranth
½ cup quinoa
¼ tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp Brewer’s yeast (or to taste)
3 cups veggie stock
1 cup water


Directions: 

1. Throw the coconut oil in a large pot and stir in all the veggies, leaving the mushrooms last. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until veggies are soft.
2. Stir in the veggie stock and amaranth, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. 
3. Stir in quinoa, rosemary and thyme. Add the extra cup of water and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Add in your yeast. I found the flavour of the yeast really took over so start with a little and add more to taste. 
5. Spoon in a big bowl and enjoy! 

I liked how simple this was and how filling it really is! the possibilities are endless in regards to the kind of veggies you throw in there, corn, celery even some spinach would taste good if you want to try something different.